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American Druidry: Crafting the Wild Soul
Approaching Druidry as an emerging religious movement that offers an alternative to the mainstream materialist, consumerist culture of the United States, Kimberley Kirner analyses her own life as a Druid through the lens of her profession as a cultural anthropologist.
Interweaving lively stories of her life as a Druid with accessible analytical essays drawing from an unusual array of literature from the anthropology of religion, the anthropology of consciousness, organizational anthropology, cognitive anthropology, and ethnoecology, she leads the reader into an experiential and conceptual understanding of Druidry as a way of life and as a contemporary Western new religious movement that challenges Christo-centric definitions of religion.
Reflecting on three domains of the Druidic life, the author describes the Druidic worldview (place, time, and the body), community (relational spirituality), and vocation (ethics and action). These descriptions are punctuated with reflective essays that question the boundaries and nature of religion as it is generally understood in the Western world by examining how Druidry might be understood using concepts more appropriate to Druids' conceptualizations of themselves.
Interweaving lively stories of her life as a Druid with accessible analytical essays drawing from an unusual array of literature from the anthropology of religion, the anthropology of consciousness, organizational anthropology, cognitive anthropology, and ethnoecology, she leads the reader into an experiential and conceptual understanding of Druidry as a way of life and as a contemporary Western new religious movement that challenges Christo-centric definitions of religion.
Reflecting on three domains of the Druidic life, the author describes the Druidic worldview (place, time, and the body), community (relational spirituality), and vocation (ethics and action). These descriptions are punctuated with reflective essays that question the boundaries and nature of religion as it is generally understood in the Western world by examining how Druidry might be understood using concepts more appropriate to Druids' conceptualizations of themselves.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 2023
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September 2, 2024
This book is a fantastic exploration on a little discussed subject: Druidry as it is practiced in America. It is so different, by the virtues of nature’s differences, than the traditional Druidry we recognize coming from British tradition. OBOD, the leading organization teaching Druidry in the UK, is still the leading teacher for most American Druids, but in the three spirals of this book, Kirner explores the way these actions and teachings are different when put into practice in a different landscape.
As an academic text, it was definitely wordy and challenging to get through at points. This is why I had to take one star away! But it is worth the struggle.
My favorite part was the beginning, talking about the views of Druids in America and the different organizations present here.
The second Triad discusses ways that relational spirituality come into working with Druid practice, including ecocentric community and the different spirits one might encounter.
And the final and third triad, she discusses the foundations of action, peace, and divine connection, really looking at the ways Druidry informs our actions as we show up in the world.
I am citing this book in both my bibliography, and in the recommended reading for my upcoming book on working with land spirits because it has so much value for Americans practicing nature-based religions. Particularly in the discussions at the end of the book surrounding the challenges of living truly sustainably when the overculture demands we don’t.
This is a deep book, although only 200 pages. It’s worth the read and the way I read it was 5 to 10 pages a day for quite a long time. So try some thing like that if you find it dry. Because the content is really worth pushing through for.
As an academic text, it was definitely wordy and challenging to get through at points. This is why I had to take one star away! But it is worth the struggle.
My favorite part was the beginning, talking about the views of Druids in America and the different organizations present here.
The second Triad discusses ways that relational spirituality come into working with Druid practice, including ecocentric community and the different spirits one might encounter.
And the final and third triad, she discusses the foundations of action, peace, and divine connection, really looking at the ways Druidry informs our actions as we show up in the world.
I am citing this book in both my bibliography, and in the recommended reading for my upcoming book on working with land spirits because it has so much value for Americans practicing nature-based religions. Particularly in the discussions at the end of the book surrounding the challenges of living truly sustainably when the overculture demands we don’t.
This is a deep book, although only 200 pages. It’s worth the read and the way I read it was 5 to 10 pages a day for quite a long time. So try some thing like that if you find it dry. Because the content is really worth pushing through for.
Displaying 1 of 1 review