Why You Joined, Why You Left
Jun. 23rd, 2020 01:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
In the course of the ongoing conversation over on my blog, the Druid organization Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF) came up for discussion. Quite a few people mentioned that they had been members of ADF but left the organization, most of them recently -- and one of my longtime readers and students mentioned that he's long been interested in the religious dimension of Druidry and is looking to set up an organization for people who share that interest. That got a lively response from the former ADF members, and the questions that came up immediately were: Why did each person join ADF in the first place?
Why did they leave?
That's what this post is for: a frank discussion of what attracted people to ADF and what convinced them to quit. Full disclosure here: I'm also a former ADF member, though I left quite a while ago, and I'll be adding my own reflections to the conversation.
I'm well aware that this is a topic about which some people -- notably those who are still members of ADF -- may have strong feelings, and may not express those with the courtesy and thoughtfulness I expect from my commentariat. For that reason, any attempt at trolling, concern trolling, derailing, flamebaiting, or other bits of online gamesmanship will be deleted. This post is a place for those of us who have had experiences with a troubled Druid organization to talk about those experiences, so that a different organization can learn from them. Those who don't want to participate in that conversation are welcome to go somewhere else -- and those who might want to interfere with that conversation are welcome to go shinny up a stump. 'Nuf said.
Some Here
Date: 2020-06-23 10:26 pm (UTC)https://www.adf.org/training/resources/reading.html
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-23 11:41 pm (UTC)(Spence is a fave of mine, thus my grumble...)
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-23 11:45 pm (UTC)Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 12:12 am (UTC)(Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’ll be good now.). 😄
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 05:59 am (UTC)I think I own pretty much everything Spence has written about Druidry and Atlantis, and some of his works on folklore to boot.
- Brigyn
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 07:07 pm (UTC)Count me in!
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-26 04:21 pm (UTC)Manuel
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-23 11:58 pm (UTC)Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 12:06 am (UTC)There was a lot of feminist spiritually writing along the same lines. Women brought up in Christianity, especially Protestant, were thrilled at any evidence that the female had ever, anywhere, been regarded as sacred, worthy of worship or imitation. Merlin Stone's _When God was a Woman_ came as a revelation. So they got carried away. Although one might note, in fairness, that it was male authors such as Bachofen who got the idea of ancient matriarchies rolling. For writers like Robert Graves, it was obvious that the patriarchal god had made a mess of Western culture and that it was time to give goddesses another try. Almost dying in a pointless war will give people ideas like that.
Rita
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 12:10 am (UTC)Graves would be on this list because he knew no Celtic languages and what he writes about the beliefs of the ancient Celts is extremely speculative. I presume Morganwg is on the list because he passed off his own writings as being older material, something that has been frowned upon in recent centuries.
I don't see anything there about these being forbidden books. Some are worth reading later, but not ideal for a beginner who doesn't know chalk from cheese.
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 02:56 am (UTC)They may no longer describe these books as forbidden, but when I was in ADF they did so --- and the Mother Grove constantly debated whether or not to kick out members who owned or had read these books. One MG member in particular would go on and on and on about it at great length at every opportunity, and in fact eventually quit because ADF wouldn't do what he wanted.
Myself, I find much of the material on the present list definitely fit for burning, but I've always thought that ADF missed the opportunity to teach its members how to engage in critical thinking and critical reading, so they could read such books without swallowing the lies and errors therein.
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 03:23 am (UTC)Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 03:35 am (UTC)Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 03:40 am (UTC)I read The White Goddess and couldn’t make head or tail of it. What point was he trying to make?
Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 04:16 am (UTC)Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 07:09 pm (UTC)Re: Some Here
Date: 2020-06-24 08:15 pm (UTC)