Reformed Druids - Anthology 08 A General History, Wisdom Ancient

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PART EIGHT
A GENERAL
HISTORY OF
REFORMED
DRUIDISM IN
AMERICA
a.k.a
The Gregarious Epistle of
Michael
or
The Adventures of Prolix the
Druid
An unofficial and very controversial attempt by Michael
Scharding to provide his own personal overview of the main
historical events that he believes has affected the development
of the various Reformed Druid movements in North America
over the first 34 years of their organizational histories. Best
read with the primary materials that are found in the other
parts of “A Reformed Druid Anthology” (see next page).
T
HE
D
RYNEMTUM
P
RESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(You know an Epistle is way too big when it has a table of contents!)
Blessing
May the blessings of the all-surrounding Earth-Mother be upon you,
gentle reader. May my words find a welcome home with you. Please
excuse the gregarious nature of my ramblings. It is over ten times
longer than any other epistle in Druidic history, but probably of less
value than their compact wisdom. Read it at a slow pace, ponder it,
and then tell me what you think of it. Please, do not consider it
dogma and try to forgive my errors and biases. If you do this, you
may receive the greatest blessing of all.
Blessing
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Disclaimer
Table of Content
Forward
Introduction
Dedication
I’d like to dedicate this paper in the memory of my grandparents,
Emmet Gerald Scharding and Billie Johnston Scharding, without
whose love and funding I would not have been able to attend Carleton
or to write this epistle.
Dedication
Chapter One: Resources, Methodology and Biases
Section 1: Problems of Researching Recent History
and Neo-Paganism
Section 2: Previous Studies on Reformed Druids
Section 3: New Resources for Studying Reformed Dru-
ids
Chapter Two: Reformed Druidism 1963-1973: The In-
fluences of Carleton College.
Chapter Three: Reformed Druidism 1964-1973: Expan-
sion Beyond Carleton College.
Chapter Four: The Highly Speculative Possibility of Fra-
ternal and Pseudo-Judeo-Christian Influence.
Chapter Five: Reformed Druidism 1968-1982: Choos-
ing the Colour of Your Water.
Chapter Six: The Return of Reformed Druidism 1982-
1996: The Post-Isaac Years
Chapter Seven: The Conclusion to the paper.
Acknowledgements
Special Thanks goes to Eric Hilleman for helping me to gather,
organize and interpret the International Druid Archives. I’d also like
to thank all the people whom I have interviewed to write this paper,
especially the Frangquists, the Sheltons, Norman Nelson, Robert
Larson and Isaac Bonewits. Mark Heiman is to be thanked for the
final visual format.
It would be remiss not to thank Professor Phillip Niles for his
superhuman patience with my first 10 proposals and innumerable
redrafts. Without his help, I wouldn’t have ever come even close to
the dubious quality of this paper.
Acknowledgements
YO!
BIG, PROMINENT DISCLAIMER TO
YO!
Appendix A: Formation of Ar nDraiocht Fein
Appendix B: ADF’s Spin-off Organizations
Appendix C: My Druid Bibliography
Appendix D: Copies of Previous Research
Appendix E: My Review of Other Essays
BIG, PROMINENT DISCLAIMER TO
OTHER D
OTHER DRUIDS
RUIDS
not to be assumed to be THE definitive, nor official,
statement of the history of Reformed Druidism, regardless of my
previous position as ArchDruid of Carleton. This paper is a compos-
ite of conversations and documents from past Druids that has been
molded by the imposition of my personal thinking processes. It is
one history, yea, one history among many of what was and is and may
be Reformed Druidism. I disagree with some of the trends, but I will
try my best to be objective in my presentation. Read this paper with
caution, because it will be filled with my biases.
Another note, the RDNA tradition of Carleton has been to call
both male and female members, “Druids.” I will specifically refer to
gender of members if it is necessary. I’ve also been lazy and used
“Neo-Pagan” when I should have put “Neo-Pagan, Wiccan, Follow-
ers of the Old Way, Crafters, Worshippers of the Goddess, practitio-
ners of personal spirituality, Polytheists/Pantheists/Duotheist, etc.”
But that would have eaten up alot of time, and you know what I
mean. Also please insert c.e. after all dates.
NOTE
not
NOTE: This epistle has little to do with British, Neo-Paganistic,
Masonic or other forms of Druidism now in America. We welcome
any scholarly comparisons with your groups and we offer the use of
our archived materials stored at Carleton.
330
BIG, PROMINENT DISCLAIMER TO
OTHER D
This work is not
NOTE
NOTE
FOREWARD BY THE
AUTHOR
(Feel free to skip ahead)
1980s, not that this had inhibited their Druidism by the slightest bit.
We knew that the RDNA began as a protest movement in 1963, that
we supposedly had three orders of membership, that we should be
wary of Isaac Bonewits, that we should allow anybody to participate
irregardless of their religion and that the RDNA was the ancestral-
origin of many modern Druid movements in the United States. Some
Druids would have been content with the freedom of ideas that come
out of a vague background, but I stubbornly wished to know what
my predecessors had done so as to augment the possibilities of grove
activities and to predict the long-term effects and cycles of Druidism
on my fellow grove-members and myself.
As a result of this research, I’ve probably collected and read more
Reformed Druid material and talked with more Druids from the
different factions than any other Reformed Druid (except possibly
Isaac Bonewits). This means that I’m either an “expert” or I am now
more irreparably confused in my Druidism than ever as a result.
(More than likely it means that three precious years have passed
from my youth.) I have always enjoyed reading the “small scale”
history of communities and items of local interest, and this is shown
in my choice of studying the Reformed Druids. As a result of my
research, I firmly believe that the simple lessons that can be learned
from Reformed Druidism are just as valid as those from big, “main-
stream” religions with millions of members. Perhaps the Reform’s
lessons are easier to understand since Druidism doesn’t require too
many presuppositions. The archived discussions that I have read
about the simplicity, honesty and omni-compatibility of basic Re-
formed Druidism have made my “tidying up” of its history a real
labor of love and sorrow. I have watched the dramas unfold, both
the touching loyalty to ideals and the disappointing misunderstand-
ings between members. Indeed, each and every Reformed Druid has
an interpretation and a history that are just as valid and important as
this lowly epistle. I now wish to share my insights with others to heal
some of the wounds that have festered from the frequent misunder-
standings and to enlighten others with a few thoughts that might be
applicable to their lives.
As a historian, I have often bewailed & cursed the dead of past
ages for not writing down their thoughts and stories for the future
generations to read & cherish. In some way, I hope that this book
will set a precedent for members of other nascent religious move-
ments to write down their own religious histories, while the details
are fresh in their minds (and make frequent updated versions avail-
able). I only wish that those groups will not forget to be spontaneous
and willing to discard the past when it is no longer helpful.
The Importance of Origin Stories
Why does a history of Reformed Druidism matter to other mod-
ern Druid groups in America? Probably for the same reasons that the
study of Judaism is important for studying Christianity. Few reli-
gious movements, even spontaneous ones, can resist the temptation
to borrow material from other groups. Often this borrowing is never
explicitly acknowledged and scholars are forever doomed to waste
many precious hours debating where every idea came from, rather
than debating what was the importance of the idea. I hope that this
history of the RDNA, in some small way, may serve as an origin-
story for the other modern Druid movements in America. I certainly
hope that other stories will follow and expand the discussions on the
influences that I was unable to adequately discuss; for example the
full extent of the Neo-Pagan/New Age or Environmental influences
upon Reformed Druidism.
All religious movements have a need for origin-stories; i.e. what
year did they begin, how did they begin, who started the traditions
and (of course) who’s to blame for all the crap that has happened
since the Golden Age of Founding. These origin-stories help to de-
fine whence we came from, to notice how much we’ve changed, and
to help us to decide where we may wish to go. Most religious move-
ments keep rather spotty records in their beginnings, mainly because
they are too busy establishing the group. By the time that most origin
stories are written down, the Founder(s) are long dead and multifari-
ous myths have obscured much of the truth. Sometimes, as with the
ancient Druids, the people never got around to writing down the
thoughts, lore & history, and their wisdom has thus vanished into
the mists of time.
Not so with the Reformed Druids of North America. Within 2
years of the Founding of Reformed Druidism, a history was written
by David Frangquist and efforts were made to preserve early docu-
ments and paraphernalia for the edification of future Arch-Druids.
Primarily, this was done because of the high turn-over rate that is
inherent with a college-based group; a system that precluded the es-
tablishment of a resident-elder & made oral-based transmission of
stories an uncertain risk. From our copious records, and interviews
with living members, it is still possible to reconstruct a (overly) de-
tailed history of Reformed Druidism in America.
Although it is possible to make such a history, I sometimes have
wondered if a history should even be published. In many ways, Re-
formed Druidism is far too simple a subject to be written about, for
Awareness must be experienced. Even the most complicated expla-
nation cannot contain the complexities of the simplicity that is Re-
formed Druidism. By even writing a history of Reformed Druidism,
I fear that I may lead hasty scholars even further away from the truths
of Reformed Druidism. If I should do so, I apologize and I hope that
further careful cross-study & comparison will lead you back to the
true purposes and truths of Reformed Druidism. Even worse, I would
be terribly saddened if a Reformed Druid, amidst their struggle for
awareness, should begin insisting that the “only true” Druidism lies
in repeating the ways of the past Reformed Druids. That would be a
tragic waste of time on their part and for those who must listen to
such rantings.
Final Thoughts
During this era of unending questioning, I feel most at home with
calling myself a Reformed Druid. I am tied to no religious dogma or
creed by my association with the RDNA, beyond the two Basic Te-
nets. The vagueness of Druidism has ironically proved itself to be a
sure anchor in my personal search for religious truths in this chaotic
world. I am currently studying the teachings of many religious orga-
nizations and individuals, with occasional successes and failures here
and there. I doubt that I will find any one system capable of answer-
ing all my questions; although I’m interested in Zen, Tao and Chris-
tianity. Perhaps no religion is perfectly fitted for me, or perhaps I can
not bring myself to fit in any one religion. If so, then I may have to
create a religion for myself, or perhaps even create/modify one for
every passing moment.... Who knows?, I may find truth in a few
years and then look back on all this as a silly moment of confusion.
Yet if I find my true faith, I’m sure it will be far richer and more
fervent because of the long study and search that I have made for it.
In the meantime, Druidism will be my haven during a storm.
So why am I writing this?
In the spring of 1993, my grove members and previous leaders
knew little of our RDNA history. Much of the heritage of the Re-
formed Druids had been forgotten by the Carleton Grove by the late
331
-Mike Scharding
Goodhue Hall 310
April 1994, revised April 1996
INTRODUCTION
(Please, feel free to skip to the first chapter)
RDNA, called “groves,” were established across the nation (at first
mostly at colleges), a renaissance of religious exploration and corre-
spondence developed within the RDNA’s nurturing anti-dogmatic
structure. Importantly, this expansion also brought ideas back to
isolated midwestern Carleton students and alumni from Druids ex-
periencing different environments.
I might add that I am not alone in my respect for the importance
of the Reformed Druid debates and their impact on Carleton Col-
lege. The RDNA has probably not had much more than 1,000 total
members at Carleton,
6
but the previous College Archivist, Mark
Greene and the current Archivist Eric Hilleman feel that:
“The Druids are one of Carleton’s most interesting, long-
lived, and (in terms of national following) most influential
traditions. As time passes, I hope that their history will
receive some scholarly attention—either within or from out-
side of Carleton.”
7
The purpose of this paper is to drastically re-interpret and provide
a general historical overview of a nation-wide movement known as
the Reformed Druids of North America and the origins of its various
offshoot branches, up to 1996.
1
With the help of newly collected
and mostly un-published resources, I will provide a new perspective
on the role of Reformed Druidism
2
in spawning the American Druid
Neo-Pagan movement, including the founding of “Ár nDríaocht Féin”
in 1982 and the Henge of Keltria in 1986. In addition to influencing
Neo-Paganism, Reformed Druidism has played a small role in shap-
ing the atmosphere & character of Carleton College.
I hope that this paper will provide better chronological and orga-
nizational understanding to future researchers after which they can
conduct further studies on the RDNA. A good researcher must use
more than one source in order to gain a balanced perspective. The
biases of earlier researchers are the result of an over-reliance upon
interviews taken solely with Isaac Bonewits (or Fisher) or by a prima-
rily exclusive reliance upon his writings. There are no experts in
Reformed Druidism, merely voices who can provide personal defini-
tions. Therefore, I hope that future studies do not use my study as
their sole source either. If they do write reports, I hope that they will
mail a complementary copy of the document to: Carleton College
Archives, 300 North College Street, Northfield, MN, 55057, USA.
Why Reformed Druidism is important in the
Neo-Pagan movement:
Neo-Pagan movement:
Upon entering the catalytic environment of the Bay Area and ur-
ban Universities in the late 60s/early 70s, some RDNA members
quickly allied themselves with the nascent Neo-Pagan movement which
was concentrated there. This quick allegiance was made possible by
the RDNA’s amazing coincidental similarity of liturgy, organization,
and doctrine of religious searching, as will be discussed later.
After years of sometimes bitter infighting during the 1970s over
how to more “effectively” organize themselves and as a result of a
poor economy, a great number of RDNA groves collapsed or went
underground. Some members “left” Reformed Druidism to continue
the growth of the American Druid Neo-Pagan movement, by found-
ing “Ár nDraíocht Féin,” which possesses few immediately recogniz-
able connections to the RDNA, yet they acknowledge the RDNA as
their origin.
8
Yet we should note that RDNA and NRDNA groves
have stubbornly continued to persist alongside with the ADF and
with ADF’s offshoots such as Keltria & Druidactios.
9
Put together,
these three newer groups have currently under 800 paid members in
20+ groves/henges/toutas and perhaps 2000+ irregular attendees.
The American Druids have always been a small, very recognizable
and reasonably public group within Neo-Paganism. But, their num-
bers are not so insignificant when one considers that the Neo-Pagan
movement has between 50,000 to 200,000 members in America,
depending on your statistics.
10
In fact, many people see Reformed
Druidism in America as being defined by its larger, noisier offshoots,
ADF & Keltria or even by the unrelated British/European Druid or
Masonic Druidical movements. As a result, accounts of Reformed
Druidism history could easily be falsely portrayed as being fated into
evolving towards these more noticeable organizations.
Neo-Paganism is a collective umbrella term for nature-oriented
religious movements with an intense interest in borrowing from pre-
Christian cultures coupled with modern sensibilities. Neo-Paganism
has been expanding geometrically since the early 70s and will be-
come more and more noticeable in the future.
11
In the coming years,
I predict there will be greater number of scholarly studies upon the
artistic, musical, liturgical, scholastic, philosophical and theological
accomplishments of these highly creative minority religions.
12
These
studies will likely be initiated by Neo-Pagan scholars, from secure
Neo-Pagan traditions, who are seeking to unearth and explore their
groups’ relatively recent historical origins.
Because Reformed Druids have often been playfully pushing the
definitional boundaries of “Neo-Paganism” as much as they have
with Judeo-Christianity, it will continue to attract some interest. An-
other attraction with the RDNA for scholars is Isaac Bonewits’ promi-
nent presence and activities within Neo-Paganism and Reformed
Druidism throughout the 70s, which was prophetic of the progres-
sive Neo-Pagan Druidic religion known as “Ár nDraíocht Féin.”
Finally, the extensively archived history of Reformed Druidism
For those unacquainted with Reformed Druidism, I will now pro-
vide this introductory synopsis to prepare you for a more detailed
history of Reformed Druidism and perhaps foreshadow the debates
of this paper. I hope that you will find Reformed Druidism to be an
attractive case model for use in your future studies.
3
By the end of
this epistle, I hope that you’ll know more about the overall history of
Reformed Druidism than most present, past & future members. As
for our theology or philosophy, it’s relatively simple, and you’ll be a
master of it by the end (as far as any of us ever will be).
Why Reformed Druidism is important to
Carleton College:
Carleton College:
Reformed Druidism has a special place in the modern history of
Carleton College. Originally conceived as a student protest against
mandatory attendance of religious services, the RDNA rapidly be-
came a powerful and personal tool for individuals at Carleton to
explore the depths of religious truths and comprehend the religious
& cultural diversity of the increasingly pluralistic United States.
Over 33 years old, the Carleton Grove of the RDNA was by far
the longest running, largest, extant, unofficial student-run organiza-
tion at Carleton.
4
It is now an official organization as of May 1995.
Probably only 2% of past Carleton students since 1963 have directly
participated in at least one RDNA service or have received it’s mail-
ings. But, it is likely that a greater number of Carleton students have
interacted with Druids (knowingly or unknowingly) or been intro-
duced to an RDNA member’s religious/philosophical curiosity over
the last 33 or so years. If nothing else, the Druids have become
another nostalgic background ornament contributing to Carleton’s
mystique; joining the ranks of Rott-blatt, Schiller and the Tunnel
Graffiti.
5
The RDNA has also produced a rare, very personal, and
unrivaled amount of alumni-student inter-communication and assis-
tance, which alone should attract closer study by Carleton histori-
ans.
The RDNA is the only known religion or, if you prefer, group-
philosophy, to have indisputably originated at Carleton College (&
perhaps in Northfield or south Minnesota) and spread so far from
home; being a recognizable extension of a Carleton-wide attribute of
respectful skepticism towards all matters. As local chapters of the
332
(Please, feel free to skip to the first chapter)
Why Reformed Druidism is important in the
Neo-Pagan movement:
Why Reformed Druidism is important to
Carleton College:
will provide those scholars with rich comparisonal models and mate-
rials when writing the future organizational histories of Neo-Pagan
movements (especially Druids
13
). This paper will help them over-
come the often treacherous, paltry and deceptive misinformation
currently available about the RDNA and may even change precon-
ceptions of what a “Druid” organization has to be.
Chapter One: Methodology &
Biases
(Casual readers may skip to Chapter Two, where the fun begins)
Why Reformed Druidism is Important for 60’s
Exploration of Religion:
Section One: Problems of Researching Recent
History & Neo-Paganism
Exploration of Religion:
Finally, as a side note, this study will remind scholars how the
multi-faceted influences of local environment can influence the think-
ing and structures of local chapters of the same religion/philosophy.
With the great advantage of hindsight, I will show how the radically
different administrative policies of Carleton College and Berkeley
College during the 60’s & 70’s may have well led to the develop-
ment of different understandings and methods of protest among
student populations and in the local communities. This difference
in protest methodology has in turn drastically affected the course of
the “Carleton” RDNA faction and that of the “Berkeley/Bay-Area”
NewRDNA faction.
History & Neo-Paganism
Most Neo-Pagan scholars have never had access to peruse the newly
available resources that I have used to write this paper, so I feel it is
necessary to explain, at what will seem at an extraordinary length,
just what led to my writing this paper. This section may even provide
some new research ideas to future scholars of Neo-Pagan history.
Non-academics may freely skip ahead to Chapter Two.
Ways of Writing A Neo-Pagan History
I suspect that there will be few groups over ten years old that can
resist writing a history. There are a number of important questions
that the Neo-Pagan historian should ask themselves while planning
the process of writing a history. Let’s explore them.
1. Who am I writing for?
This is the crucial question. There are different types of histories
for different types of audiences.
Diaries are appropriate for solitaries. While you may pass a diary
onto a child or disciple, you want a diary to remind yourself of per-
sonally important memories, personal oaths, and to keep track of the
effects of spells. Diaries, unlike Shadow Books, often includes the
mundane and the magical elements of your lives.
If you are writing a history for a handful of close friends or dis-
ciples, you may prefer the Book of Shadows format commonly used
in Wicca with one large handwritten book being copied by every
new member. Such a book contains a brief description of apostolic
succession, basic rites and basic organizational rules. What’s more
since only initiates will be reading it, you can write very personal
details and be free about naming people. Since everyone in the group,
knows the ins-and-outs of the group, you could avoid explaining the
simple things, place descriptions and take a lot of knowledge for
granted.
If you are writing a history for scholarly study or to enlighten
other Neo-Pagan groups, you will probably go into about as much
depth as a Book of Shadows, but leaving out any craft-secrets (with-
out hopefully making the history unintelligible). You can expect most
Neo-Pagans to understand the Neo-Pagan mindset and opinion back-
ground, but the average scholar will require explanation of such simple
concepts like “the eight festivals,” “sabbats,” “cones,” “degrees” and
“athames.”
If you are writing a history for a recruitment flyer of leaflet for
mass distribution, you need to condense it drastically and emphasis
the drawing points, remove personal details and avoid describing
conflicts (acrimony may turn off recruits).
In my case, I’m writing this Epistle & ARDA collection for the
scholarly audience and as an public-oriented “book of shadows.”
The result, I thoroughly explain the terms, introduce all the players,
tie events into greater sociological cycles, and avoid extremely inti-
mate goofs.
2. What are my biases and reasons?
This is the hardest thing to do. Writing a history can lead to some
deep soul-searching and you should ask yourself some probing ques-
tions. Why are you writing a history? Is it to try to build a historical
sequences that support your opinion of what the group’s true pur-
pose? Is it to show off your knowledge of the trivia? Are there certain
333
Why Reformed Druidism is Important for 60’s
Section One: Problems of Researching Recent
Exploration of Religion:
History & Neo-Paganism
1. Who am I writing for?
2. What are my biases and reasons?
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