Stone Creed Grove is a local branch of Ar nDraiocht Fein (Irish for ‘Our Own Druidry’). For over twenty years we have provided public Pagan worship, fellowship and teaching to the Greater Cleveland Pagan community. We offer:
- Public Worship: On the Eight High Days and at other times through the year.
- Newsletter and On-Line Resources: to keep in touch with the folk.
- Occasional Retreats and Teaching: In workshops, special rites and lectures.
- A National Network of Druids working a similar path, sharing experiences and ideas.
We are a membership organization, with annual membership dues (combining local and international) of $45. We offer most of our services to all Pagans, regardless of membership, but members have special access to teaching and national resources.
The Old Ways – Lore and Wisdom
Many Ways, Many Peoples: Stone Creed Grove calls itself a Druid Grove, and that means we attract a lot of people interested in Celtic religion. However, our ways are not limited to Celtic culture and spirituality. As part of ADF, we study the ways of the family of cultures called the Indo-Europeans. From India to the Mediterranean, to northern Europe and the British Isles, these cultures shared spiritual ideas and mythic motifs. At Stone Creed Grove, most but not all of our rituals draw on Celtic or Norse religion, but we have also made use of Hellenic, Slavic, and Baltic practice.
The Way Of The Land: Our Paganism centers on the cycles of the land on which we live, and on the spirits that inhabit it. We worship the Earth Mother, as the Mother of All, and do our best to honor her in common life as well as in ceremony.
The Way Of The Spirits: Our Druidry honors the Gods and Spirits of the Old Ways. We give our greatest worship to the Gods and Goddesses, the Eldest and Wisest who have sustained humankind from the first. We also honor our Ancestors and Forebearers, and the Spirits Of The Land.
The Way Of The Soul: Druidry is a magical religion – we seek to teach the spiritual techniques that allow individuals to take the reins of their own spirituality. We offer a progressive program of training, meant to sharpen skills of meditation, ceremony and vision, leading to a program of training for Pagan clergy.
Growing a Modern Pagan Way
Rooted In The Old Ways: Our Druidry grows from the rich soil of real and honest scholarly research into the ways of our Pagan ancestors. While we acknowledge that there are many ways in Paganism, we don’t hold with outdated theories of universal matriarchies, Atlantean adepts, British Israelites, or many other fables. Instead we focus on the best recent scholarship about the facts of the Old Ways of ancient Indo-European cultures.
Nourished By Intuition: Our Druidry uses established (and sometimes experimental) techniques of mysticism and spiritual work to inspire and awaken the forms of ancient Paganism. Through meditation, conscious ceremony, devotion and vision we seek to make the myths and lore of the Old Ways come alive, to begin to grow again in our hearts and in the world.
Blooming In The Real World: Our Druidry intends to manifest our work in forms that will last through time, and affect generations to come. We plan to draw on the blessing and inspiration of the Gods to build organizations, communities and, eventually, buildings that will strengthen and empower our work. The Old Gods need new homes in the modern world, and we mean to offer them. When we can pass our work on to the next generation not just in ideas but in institutions, we will have begun to succeed in this vision.
Building Pagan Community
Keeping A Public Temple: Stone Creed Grove is committed to providing public Pagan worship on a regular basis throughout the year. With an experienced group of ceremonial leaders we offer meaningful, powerful rites that can bring the Gods and Spirits closer to our souls. We keep the Eight High Days that are universal in modern Paganism, and meet for other worship regularly through the year. Our rites are also occasions for community festivity, with dozens of Pagans of many traditions gathering to share our sacred fire, make music and dance, and share in pot-luck feasting and fellowship.
Membership: Stone Creed Grove is a membership organization, though our public activities are open to members and non-members alike. We are a local chapter of the national Pagan Druidic organization, Ar nDraiocht Fein. Our national fellowship offers resources and networking opportunities to members, including publications, retreats and on-line resources. Members are also elegible for our Pagan training programs in a wide variety of pursuits, and clergy training.
Service and Outreach: Like all ADF Groves, Stone Creed is committed to working in the larger community, and to supporting local Paganism. We have donated to food banks and libraries and given time, labor and paint to women’s shelters. In the future we plan local environmental awareness work, along with continuing our regular projects.
Nine Virtues of the Druid’s Way
- Piety – Keeping the old ways, remembering our ancestors and the proper ways of worship & magic
- Wisdom – the objective voice that sees beyond the personal
- Vision – innovation, create planning and foresight; seeking a developed power of intuition
- Courage – to commit to duty and just action, regardless of fear
- Integrity – inner strength, honest/just action and keeping oaths
- Perseverence – continuing in earnest labor in pursuit of good vision
- Hospitality – proper relations between guest and host that create bonds between people
- Moderation – not too much/not too little; balancing heart, mind and body
- Fertility – production, prosperity, reproduction and bounty