Title: A Path through the Forest
Author: Luke Eastwood
Reviewed by: Jill Frew, March 2024
Luke Eastwood’s recent book, A Path Through the Forest, is a compilation of his articles on a wide variety of topics related to druidry, written over the last twenty years or so. I always enjoy his books because his writing style is so clean and clear. I recommend this book to anyone interested in druidry because it’s full of solid research and years of thought and growth on the author’s part.
The book is divided into four sections: Druidry Basics, Environmentalism, Metaphysics, and Ethics. In the first section, he explains the rising of druidry over the past 300 years, the two main schools, revivalist and reconstructionist, and the founders of each. But the part I liked most here was his research on witch burnings and satanic leanings, separating these from druidry historically.
Then, in the environmental section, he urges every druid to get out and garden. Now!!! He could not be more passionate about helping the earth, and thinks that druids especially, who revere spirit in nature, should be at the forefront of environmentalism during these perilous times (and his Druid Garden book is awesome reading as well). He does get fairly negative here about humanity being callous toward nature and the future of the earth, so be forewarned.
In the metaphysics section, Mr. Eastwood explains the history of druids being invaded and shipped out of their homelands into the worldwide diaspora that exists today. He discusses druid traditions during holidays, mainly in Ireland in current times, with several chapters on Samhein (a bit too many just of that one). There is a brief history of religious intolerance through history, plus his ideas about shifting or removing some of the Ogham letters from that alphabet. (I found in my own practice that understanding the Ogham letters and druid calendar fell into place fairly easily once I focused on the energy of the trees and the subtle shifts during the yearly gateways. I think druids were energy healers.) Mr. Eastwood also details the history of County Kerry and pre-Christian ritual sites across Ireland. Then he goes into Celtic cosmology with his understandings and thoughts about the elements and four directions, finishing up with a caution about technology taking the place of physical interactions with each other.
And lastly, Mr. Eastwood discusses the ethics of druidry, the section I personally liked best. He stands tall in his truth in this section, sharply criticizing druid groups with a single leader. He says, “bullying and group think are dangerous,” things he’s experienced himself, and thinks all pagan groups need leaders who are elected by the group as a whole and held accountable. The other ethical emphases for druids he writes about are: to tell and uphold the truth, be tolerant of others paths, foster connection to the earth and nature, keep hope alive and stay positive with all the darkness rising on earth, go inside and make inner change in order to manifest happiness, and especially eschew violence.
He emphasizes a deep connection and commitment to the physical land we live in and the ancestors of place. “Druidry is a comprehensive belief system and way of life, and it is a wholesale rejection of modern nihilistic values in the west,” he says. His three pillars of druidry are: wisdom, truth, and love. This ethics section is very much a call to action and responsibility. I agreed with nearly all of it and thought it well thought out and much needed in the field.