BDO Groves
about BDO Groves
You don’t have to be in a grove to be a druid, Many BDO members choose to work in a solitary way and get great benefit in doing so. However for those that wish to work with others, groves can provide an opportunity to meet together for festival celebrations, rites of passage, ritual, teaching, bardic sessions and healing. Groves come in many shapes and sizes and can be a great way to meet new people, share ideas and create magical experiences. Some maybe focus very closely with a particular set of druidic teachings, while others may embrace a much wider range or thought and activities across a number of different beliefs. There is no right or wrong so simply find one that works for you and if that doesn’t exist in your area then consider starting one.
BDO-affiliated Groves are generally open to members of other Druid groups. They provide an opportunity for Druids in a particular area to meet together for festival celebrations, rites of passage, ritual, teaching, bardic sessions, teaching, healing, etc…
DIY BDO Groves – Getting Started …If there isn’t a BDO grove in your area, why not start one?
The first step is to contact others in your area who might be interested. One way to do this is through the free BDO online membership. We’re compiling a list of all those who sign up for this free membership (and of other BDO members who have kindly shared their location data with us). Most indicate where they live. Once we have a good number of people in the same area, we will e-mail all of them to ask if they would like to be put in touch with each other via e-mail. Members can then arrange times and places to meet. Since it can sometimes be quite daunting meeting new people, you might like to think about communicating online to start with and then maybe meeting up socially.
A suggested schedule might be:
- Communicate with others in your area online
- Arrange to meet socially in a public place such as a coffee shop
- When there are a few of you, go for walks into nature together
- Think about starting a grove
We will provide an outline Grove ritual should it be required.
A good starting place for understanding BDO groves is the GROVE GUIDELINES document (PDF)
Current BDO Groves
LIST YOUR GROVE
There are no ‘official’ BDO groves as such, however we know that many of our members do choose to work together in groups already and are open to new members joining them. If you would like your grove to be listed on our website and you are happy to accept new members who are interested in BDO druidry then please complete the online form HERE and tell us about yourselves.
You can tell us as much or as little about yourselves, we don’t set the rules for how you choose to run your grove… you do. If you wish your grove to be listed we simply ask that you provide valid contact details for would be new members to reach you, and that you sign up to the BDO ethics and safe spaces policy.
Please register your interests by completing the form, one of our lovely BDO elders will check that all is in order and then will publish it to this web page. You can change your data and edit your details anytime – it’s your data and you choose how much or how little you wish to publish. If you can include pictures or a weblink all the better, but this is not compulsory.
LOOKING FOR A GROVE?
Find a list of groves listed HERE
Nothing in your area? Keep checking the list. As we get the message out we hope the number of groves appearing here will increase over time.
Alternatively, start a grove yourself by filling in the form above and seeing who turns up!
setting up a BDO Grove
Setting up your own grove may seem like a daunting task but there is plenty of information and support on how to start a group over on the excellent “Seeds For Change” web site. This is general information about setting up co-operatives, charitable organisations etc. but it provides a solid foundation for how to set up a grove as well since the principles are similar.
The fundamental underlying principle of BDO collective participation is that groups should strive to function horizontally. That is to say, with every member or participant having an equal say in the decision-making process so that the group functions with no hierarchy and no individual has more of a say in how things are run, structured and organised than any other member. Group decisions are taken as a consensus process and not by decree or by majority voting.
Consensus Decision Making
"Consensus decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reaching agreement between all members of a group. Instead of simply voting for an item and having the majority of the group getting their way, a consensus group is committed to finding solutions that everyone actively supports - or at least can live with. This makes sure that all opinions, ideas and concerns are taken into account. By listening closely to each other, the group aims to come up with proposals that work for everyone."
Below are some links to excellent resources at Seeds For Change:
Video Guides to Consensus Decision Making
Facilitating Meetings
"Meetings are a necessary part of working in any group – they give us the chance to share information, to reach decisions and to get jobs done. But too often they drag on and on, with tempers running high, people talking over each other, and no decisions being made. Bad meetings leave you wondering why you bothered turning up. Unfortunately this pattern is very common in groups. However by using some facilitation skills it's easy to turn around the style of meetings and actually make them an enjoyable and inspiring experience."
Links at Seeds For Change:
