sometime I laugh at jokes. sometimes I laugh at a joke I am remembering. sometimes I laugh because I'm nervous and uncomfortable.

Last time, I almost laughed at the absolute wrong time. I almost laughed during a solemn moment at prayer in an ADF ritual.

But the reason I almost laughed: not humor, not nervousness, and not at all becuase of inner mocking or ridicule of the event.


I almost laughed because I felt an intense amount of joy, so intense I am gratefully I don't feel that all the time.

I identify mostly with the Irish hearth culture and have some interest in Welsh and Norse hearth culture and have an interest in some triggering a spark concerning Slavic and Baltic cultures due to my ethnicity.

But the ritual was a blend of Proto-Indo-European and Roman...but rather than feel unfamiliar, it was entirely familiar despite being in a house I've never been to, and with 6 people I've not met before.

The chanting of Proto-Indo-European phrases was so beautiful and the tone of them brought me to a warm memory of the chants I'd often heard and participating in when I was a Greek Orthodox Christian seminarian. Such joy almost seemed unbearable. I struggled to withhold my laughter which would not be understood or explained easily. The moment passed. I felt back in the ordinary world after a few moments of being in a realm of pure bliss.

Other highlights were the great food and getting Cei Serith to sign my copy of his excellent book A Book Of Pagan Prayer. Missing the last train was a survivable adventure and I still have to dring the homebrewed beer one of the other members gave me.

Quick...really quick ....and for that matter incomplete...story of my religious in this life on this earth so far...

Was born into a Roman Catholic family. I became Eastern Orthodox Christian at age 17. Wanted to be part of the oldest, least changing, and most authentic lineage of Christianity. Studied to be a priest.

Left Eastern Orthodoxy at age 32 because I could no longer in good conscience support massive homophobia.

Meandered a bit. Became part of Dignity, an "inclusive, progressive Catholic community of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders and their families and their friends". Nice people, but I found myself going to their masses by rote, not really feeling any sort of growth as a person.

Started going to a Celtic Holy Eucharist that was part of an Episcopal parish. Saw tremendous changes within myself. Identifying with a culture that I could really call my own (I am 37.5% Irish...all those years studying with the Greeks, (Carpatho-)Russians, Syrians/Lebanese I think destroyed my self esteem every bit as the heterosexism, heteronormativity and homophobia did) Celtic studies enliven my weary soul....

But then I wondered about the pre-Christian Celts. Specifically I felt a deep calling to learn divination and magic.

I joined the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. They specifically welcome people of other religions, including Christians, because they said they were not a religion but a philosophy.

I discovered that Celtic Magic was not ceremonial magic of the occult. It did not look to 'raise energy' or 'direct the energy'. Rather it was a simple matter of praying to the gods and goddesses and making offerings.

Wait a tick! What 'gods and goddesses'? I was a Christian, a monotheist, right?

But when I stopped to consider, if there was one God...who were those others who called themselves gods?

Answer 1: All of ancestors were deluded, they were offering gifts, to non-existent fantasies that existed in their mind and no where else.

Answer 2: All of our ancestors were devil worshippers.

Answer 3: These other gods were neither completely imaginary nor were they devils and whatever else they were, the gods and goddess were part and parcel of our ancestors' cosmology and their culture, and Christianity attempt at the other gods erasure was an attempt at cultural eradication.

I chose answer 3: I stopped calling myself Christian (around age 36, I'm now 38) because I could not in good conscience believe in polytheism and continue to call myself a Christian.

But OBOD was starting to look a bit silly to me: we weren't worshipping the gods and goddesses, we were acting out scripts expressing our heart felt wonder at the change of seasons. We weren’t attempting to utilize any cosmology or ritual that was authentically Celtic or ancient, but rather was doing something I can only call Wicca Lite.

I love the people of the Boston Grove (OBOD) and am still a member...but I joined the Henge of Keltria, a druidic group that explicitly state it is Celtic Reconstructionist. Yippee...BUT...their closest grove is in Central New York, and I am on Boston MA's North Shore....


Sooooo....just today I join ADF: Ár nDraíocht Féin (Our own kind of Druidry): A Druidic Fellowship. The closest grove is right here on the North Shore, Salem, MA to be exact. And I spoke today to the Grove Leader and she specifically is a Celtic Reconstructionist!

And yes, I wish to remain a part of the OBOD as well despite the many differences. For a comparison, read: http://www.adf.org/about/adf-and-obod.html written by John Michael Greer, who is a long time member of both ADF and OBOD.

There are many ADFers on LiveJournal....try putting "ADF" in the search with "Interest" highlighted. A big reason is that the ADF has an introductory one year dedicant program which dedicants are expected to keep a journal and many have chosen to keep those journal public though blogger sites, and it seems, for many, LJ is the Way!

ADF ADF ADF *HAPPY DANCE* ADF ADF ADF *HAPPY DANCE* ADF ADF ADF *HAPPY DANCE*

OOOH LOOK AT THE GROVES, OOOH LOOK AT THE GUILDS, OOOH LOOK AT THE KINS, OOOH LOOK AT THE SIGs OOOOOOOOOH LOOK AT ME, I'M AN ADF NEWBIE!