The BDO Course
From later this year, the BDO will be offering a mail order course. It will consist of eighteen packages of teaching material, six each for bard, ovate and Druid, mailed bi-monthly. Each package will include recommended reading, and a guide to online, digital, audio and video resources. Students may take as much time as they need to complete each section. Transition between the three areas of study will be by individual rite of passage. We hope that many of you will use this new resource to deepen your understanding and practice of Druidry. Each six-part section of the course will cost about 120 UK pounds, equivalent to just 10 a month.
BARDIC COURSE OUTLINE
1) Druidry in theory and practice, past and present, outlining the respective roles of bard, ovate and Druid. Awakening and opening to Awen, the flowing spirit of creativity and inspiration. Music, storytelling, poetry, mythology, magic and enchantment: the power of sound, speech and song. Creativity vs. practicality. The Universal Druids Prayer.
2) Meditation: the foundation of the active spiritual path. Practical techniques, guidance, focus and visualisations.
3) Self-knowledge. Looking objectively at who we are and where we come from, how beliefs, thoughts and consequent actions shape our lives and understanding. Taking responsibility for our lives.
4) Ritual technique. The how and why of ritual, including creating sacred space, casting a circle, the spirits of the four directions, the Wheel of the Year and its associated festivals, lunar and solar cycles.
5) Community and belonging. Self-doubt, sensitivity and how to deal with them. The big question: are we mad? The personal, social and global vision of Druidry.
6) The Cell of Song: to incubate a piece of art using traditional techniques of sensory deprivation. The Bardic Project: to create a poem, story, song, piece of music, painting, sculpture, dance, &c, to exhibit before the tribe. Moving on to ovate study depends on satisfactory completion of these tasks.
From later this year, the BDO will be offering a mail order course. It will consist of eighteen packages of teaching material, six each for bard, ovate and Druid, mailed bi-monthly. Each package will include recommended reading, and a guide to online, digital, audio and video resources. Students may take as much time as they need to complete each section. Transition between the three areas of study will be by individual rite of passage. We hope that many of you will use this new resource to deepen your understanding and practice of Druidry. Each six-part section of the course will cost about 120 UK pounds, equivalent to just 10 a month.
BARDIC COURSE OUTLINE
1) Druidry in theory and practice, past and present, outlining the respective roles of bard, ovate and Druid. Awakening and opening to Awen, the flowing spirit of creativity and inspiration. Music, storytelling, poetry, mythology, magic and enchantment: the power of sound, speech and song. Creativity vs. practicality. The Universal Druids Prayer.
2) Meditation: the foundation of the active spiritual path. Practical techniques, guidance, focus and visualisations.
3) Self-knowledge. Looking objectively at who we are and where we come from, how beliefs, thoughts and consequent actions shape our lives and understanding. Taking responsibility for our lives.
4) Ritual technique. The how and why of ritual, including creating sacred space, casting a circle, the spirits of the four directions, the Wheel of the Year and its associated festivals, lunar and solar cycles.
5) Community and belonging. Self-doubt, sensitivity and how to deal with them. The big question: are we mad? The personal, social and global vision of Druidry.
6) The Cell of Song: to incubate a piece of art using traditional techniques of sensory deprivation. The Bardic Project: to create a poem, story, song, piece of music, painting, sculpture, dance, &c, to exhibit before the tribe. Moving on to ovate study depends on satisfactory completion of these tasks.
OVATE COURSE OUTLINE
1) Seership. Divination as communing with, and attempting to understand, the divine. Developing sensitivity and reason. Ogham, runes, tarot, etc.
2) Healing. Herbs, massage, spirit healing, sound healing, etc. Dreamtime. Sacred and magical trees.
3) Philosophy: how the universe works and our role within it. Gods, Faery folk, Otherworlds, etc. The nature and role of magic in Druidry.
4) Opening to a deeper understanding of spirit, how it moves through our lives and the universe and how we interact with it. Enhancing meditation and creating ritual. Working with spirits of place. Caring for our environment.
5) Meditation retreat. An opportunity to assess the journey so far, to deepen understanding and enhance practice.
6) A night vigil undertaken as a vision quest. Unlike the enclosed Cell of Song, this is to be undertaken in the open. Progress to Druid study resolves on the outcome of this vigil.
DRUID COURSE OUTLINE
1) Shamanic Druidry. Negotiating Otherworld journeys for wisdom and healing, encountering spirit guides, power animals and other spirit beings.
2) Teaching. Taking responsibility for ourselves, we begin to work with others. Leading workshops, lecturing, teaching by example, etc. This may entail taking further courses of study in some Druid-related field such as healing, forest-craft, art, agriculture, conservation, etc.
3) Conducting ritual. Organising and coordinating group ritual, whether an open celebration of one of the major festivals, or a rite of passage for an individual.
4) Peace-making, mediation and arbitration. Bringing disparate groups together, building bridges, negotiating disputes.
5) Bringing the Druidic commitment to community and service into your daily life. The ethics of the way we live and making changes to align with our spirituality, through running Groves, or through community action, promoting recycling schemes, voluntary work, etc. Enhancing the world.
6) Oneness with the universe...
1) Seership. Divination as communing with, and attempting to understand, the divine. Developing sensitivity and reason. Ogham, runes, tarot, etc.
2) Healing. Herbs, massage, spirit healing, sound healing, etc. Dreamtime. Sacred and magical trees.
3) Philosophy: how the universe works and our role within it. Gods, Faery folk, Otherworlds, etc. The nature and role of magic in Druidry.
4) Opening to a deeper understanding of spirit, how it moves through our lives and the universe and how we interact with it. Enhancing meditation and creating ritual. Working with spirits of place. Caring for our environment.
5) Meditation retreat. An opportunity to assess the journey so far, to deepen understanding and enhance practice.
6) A night vigil undertaken as a vision quest. Unlike the enclosed Cell of Song, this is to be undertaken in the open. Progress to Druid study resolves on the outcome of this vigil.
DRUID COURSE OUTLINE
1) Shamanic Druidry. Negotiating Otherworld journeys for wisdom and healing, encountering spirit guides, power animals and other spirit beings.
2) Teaching. Taking responsibility for ourselves, we begin to work with others. Leading workshops, lecturing, teaching by example, etc. This may entail taking further courses of study in some Druid-related field such as healing, forest-craft, art, agriculture, conservation, etc.
3) Conducting ritual. Organising and coordinating group ritual, whether an open celebration of one of the major festivals, or a rite of passage for an individual.
4) Peace-making, mediation and arbitration. Bringing disparate groups together, building bridges, negotiating disputes.
5) Bringing the Druidic commitment to community and service into your daily life. The ethics of the way we live and making changes to align with our spirituality, through running Groves, or through community action, promoting recycling schemes, voluntary work, etc. Enhancing the world.
6) Oneness with the universe...
Made by Greywolf
Copyright BDO 2008
Copyright BDO 2008
