Reformed Dru

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cial customs. While little is known about the Druids them- due to the lack of programs for very bright students his
selves, scholars say it is likely that Druidism had much in I.Q. was tested at 200.
common with other Indo-European religions of the time. His first exposure to magic came at age 13, when he
The research is ongoing and involves translation of nu- met a young Creole woman from New Orleans who prac-
merous foreign and archaic language texts. ticed Vodoun. She showed him some of her magic and so
Bonewits has identified five phases of liturgical de- accurately divined the future that he was greatly impressed.
sign common in the religions of related Indo-European During his teen years, he read extensively about magic
cultures: and parapsychology. He also read science fiction, which
often has strong magical and psychic themes.
1. The consecration of time and space; the psychic center- In ninth grade, Bonewits entered a Catholic high
ing, grounding and unifying of the participants into a school seminary. He soon realized, however, that he did
groupmind. not want to be a priest in the Catholic faith. He returned
2. The opening of the Gates between the Worlds and the to public school and graduated a year early. After spend-
starting of a flow of energy back and forth between partici- ing a year in junior college to get foreign language credits,
pants and deities. he enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley in
3. The raising and sending of the major part of the 1966. At about the same time, he began practicing magic,
congregation s energy to the deities being worshipped. devising his own rituals by studying the structure of rituals
4. The returning of power from the deities to the congre- in books, and by observing them in various churches.
gation. His roommate at Berkeley, Robert Larson, was a
5. The reversing of the rite s beginnings, and closing down Druid, an alumnus of Carleton College, where the Re-
of the psychic, magical and spiritual energy fields that were formed Druids of North America (RDNA) had been
created. founded in 1963. Larson interested Bonewits in Druid-
ism and initiated him into the RDNA. The two estab-
Sacrifices made to the deities include tree branches, lished a grove in Berkeley. Bonewits was ordained as a
fruits, flowers and vegetables. Although animal, and even Druid priest in October 1969. The Berkeley grove was
human, sacrifices were performed in most paleo-pagan shaped as a neo-Pagan religion unlike the other RDNA
religions, they are strictly forbidden in ADF rituals, as well groves, which considered the order a philosophy. The neo-
as in neo-Paganism in general (see sacrifice). Pagan groves became part of branch called the New Re-
Clergy wear long white robes; members of the con- formed Druids of North America (NRDNA).
gregation are encourage to dress in paleo-pagan garb. During college, Bonewits spent about eight months
Bonewits has introduced the white beret as a signature of as a member of the Church of Satan, an adventure that
ADF; the berets and any other headcoverings are removed began as a lark. The college campus featured a spot where
upon entrance to a ritual site, except during very hot evangelists of various persuasions would lecture to anyone
weather. The ADF s sigil (see sigils), a circle pierced by who would listen. As a joke, Bonewits showed up one day
two vertical parallel line, was first associated with neo-Pa- to perform a satirical lecture as a Devil s evangelist. He
gan Druidism by David Fisher, the founder of the Re- was so successful that he was approached by a woman
formed Druids of North America (inactive). The sigil may who said she represented Anton Szandor LaVey, founder
have been taken from the shape of a foundation of an old of the Church of Satan. Bonewits attended the church s
Roman-Catholic temple. The logo, a branch sprouting from meetings and improved upon some of their rituals but
an oak tree stump, is a Celtic rendition inspired by the dropped out after personality conflicts with LaVey. The
badge of the Scottish MacEwen clan. membership, he found, consisted largely of middle-class
The journal of ADF is The Druid s Progress, edited by conservatives who were more right-wing and racist than
Bonewits and published twice yearly. News from the Mother- Satanist (see Satanism).
Grove is a newsletter published bi-monthly. Bonewits had intended to major in psychology but
through Berkeley s individual group-study program he fash-
ioned his own course of study. In 1970 he graduated with
Magic, Witches and Witchcraft in the US,
a bachelor of arts degree in magic, the first person ever to
1992, pg. 33-35 on Isaac
1992, pg. 33-35
1992, pg. 33-35
1992, pg. 33-35 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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