The Book of Druidry

by Ross Nichols

The most comprehensive survey of Druidry available, from their earliest history to the current renaissance--including a study of the shaping of their ideas, their principal deities and myths, their learning and social organization, and more.

Genres: Paganism, History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Spirituality, Occult, Religion

Unknown Binding

First published November 22, 1990

Reviews

[Laura]

I'm going to refrain from giving this a star rating. I read this book as part of the curriculum for the AODA, and it's interesting as a part of the Druidry revival's history. Nichols founded OBOD, a significant contemporary order, and he has lots of interesting things to say about various Druid leaders that came before him; as a text that is part of Druidry's history it's an interesting read but it is not a good source about history. There are definite issues with accuracy, and lots of totally unfounded speculation; while some footnotes are present, many ideas are simply stated with no references. I think the contemporary audience who will be interested in this book is very, very limited.

[Natalia]

Christian druidism is just something I cannot get behind. Ridiculous.

[Ruck]

I have very much been interested lately in ancient Britain. One aspect that has held my fascination is the melding of the various religious systems. Britain saw a number of religions sweep through...the cults of Mithras, the gods of the Roman Pantheon, the introduction of Christianity, the shamanistic, earth based religion of the Saxons, the Norse gods. All the while, there was Druidry. That's not really what this book is about. I found it a little too New Agey, more prescription than description.

[Fredrick Danysh]

A history of the modern Druid movement written by the head of the movement in England and published years after his death. Among other things, the work includes druid sights and teachings.

[Al]

I find Druidism an interesting study. For me the interest is in exploring old religions and customs.

[mirabilos]

rec: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbec...

“maybe don’t read this as first book” and “this is hard-to-digest esoteric teaching, not easy-reading literal statement of fact” (hmm, kinda like Steiner…)

[Zee]

A chewy, eye-opening look at Druidry. I wish the wisdom section had been bigger & better explained but otherwise it was an enjoyable read.

[Bee]

I really wanted to enjoy it, but I just couldn't follow Nichols' writing. The info is also possibly a bit dated. It holds wisdom, but it's just a bit too confusing.

[Julie]

Very interesting to read in terms of understanding the history of modern Druidry, particularly the history of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD).

[Jackie Berke]

You can tell it's a dated book and you can tell it is influenced by Greek and Roman influenced white males. They put way too much Greek and Roman mythology into it. They also took out the entire mother and matriarch part of the Pan-Celto ways. So just be careful with any ADF or quote unquote druid books if you are not an oral traditionalist and abide by the ancestral ways. This book is good information but it is incorrect.