The three Cornerstones:
1. The first cornerstone of our path is that we make no claims to know any one true way, or any one true form of the Divine. In fact, our most fundamental assumption is that we cannot know any such thing. We assume that if there is any "objective", or "objectively true" Divine nature, it is an inherent great Mystery and that any genuine comprehension of it can only be achieved in a mystical fashion. Mysticism is a personal experience, and we therefore leave it to the individual insight. Moreover, we do not prescribe any particular Deity/s as correct or proper to worship, leaving that choice to the individual as well, within the limits given below. We are therefore fundamentally non-dogmatic.
2. The second cornerstone of our path is that it’s focus is specifically on process, rather then end results. What we seek to do is establish and maintain a meaningful relationship with the Divine as it manifests to us, as well as truths that are meaningful to us in common and individually. We call ourselves the Seekers of Truth, and Kin of the Gods - note, "seekers", as opposed to "finders".
3. The third cornerstone of our path is that what we practice as a community is a religion, first and foremost. What that means is that we seek to honor and worship, rather then to gain some specific result as Mages do. While many practice Magick in religious context, religion and Magick are not identical.
The nine keys:
Keeping the above three cornerstones in mind, these nine key concepts serve as road markers along the way. They are not given in any particular order of precedence, but rather form a whole, interdependent structure.
1. Kinship.
The relationship we seek to establish and maintain with the Divine is that of Kinship. This is the very foundation of everything we do, including our group ethics, our ritual form, and our relationship with each other and our guests.
2. Hospitality.
The method by which we seek to strengthen the bonds of Kinship is that of Hospitality. Hospitality traditions include mutual respect of the Guest/Host relationship, the principle of fair exchange, otherwise known as the principle of "a Gift for a Gift", as well as presumption of honorable intent. Hospitality, which can be viewed as ritual Kinship, is one of our most sacred practices.
3. Immanence and Transcendence.
We see all things as manifestations of Divinity, or Spirit, if you will. Pebbles and stars, mice and Gods, even dreams, memories, and ideas. This includes ourselves, as well as all else. We also assume that there is more to Divinity then what is manifested to us. Thus, there is no difference in kind between us and trees, or between us and the Elder and Wiser Ones, known variously as the Gods, the Shining Ones or even the Hebrew Archangels or the Catholic Saints - only in degree of power and degree of manifestation.
4. Interconnection.
All things are interconnected and dependent one upon the other in some fashion. Whether one chooses to look at the Universe and the Spirit within it as One, or as Many, is no more relevant from this perspective then to ask if a human being is a single object, or a collection of body parts; a single soul, or a collection of memories, emotions, attitudes and preferences - the answer is all of the above, depending on one’s point of view.
5. Personhood.
One cannot think of oneself as Kin to an abstract idea. We therefore make our relationship with the Divine personal. We approach the multiplicity of personalities that are meaningful to us as manifestations of the Divine as we would approach "real" persons (however one chooses to define "real"), with history, function, preferences and faces. We neither assume, nor seek, perfection in Those we honor in worship - once again because it is next to impossible to treat Perfection as Kin. We leave Perfection to the personal Mysticism and related musings.
6. Recurrence.
Each thing is a reflection of each other thing. This principle can also be expressed: "as within, so without". Just as the toilet resembles a hurricane when flushed, just as a leaf looks like a miniature tree, so each human is a miniature Universe, and so when we connect with the Kindred Spirits, we also address various parts of ourselves. We recognize the Sacrality of Self in the Sacrality of Other, and the Sacrality of Other, in the Sacrality of Self.
7. Precedent.
The Kinship bonds exist not only in space, but also in time. We do not view ourselves as a new religion instead we view ourselves as inheritors of those who had gone before. Thus, to maintain the connection with the past, as well as for the purposes of education and an occasional "reality check", most of what we do as a group in religious context is based on some either documented or observed practice of the past, as applicable to our particular focus. Since we call ourselves Druids, it behooves us especially to pay attention to Celtic, and related Indo-European traditions. And we do.
8. Nature.
This particular concept is perhaps the most definitive of any modern Druid movement, and strongly inherent in our sensibilities - and that is that a modern Druid, as perhaps ancient Druids, sees the Divine, the essential spiritual inspiration, in the beauty and majesty of the natural world: in the cycles of darkness and light, in the transcendent clarity of the sky, in the eternal mystery of the ocean, in the rich fertility of the land; a Druid hears the voices on the wind, seeks to be a part of the living Universe, honors the life of the world as the manifestation of the Divine, not apart from it, but on the contrary as an integral element; and it is this that many see as the essential Spirit of Druidry.
9. Harmony.
While the focus of our practice is rooted in what we know of traditional Druidry and related patterns, we deny no truths and no influences that are present in our lives. We attempt instead to live in harmony with our modern World, with all of it's history, and all of it’s aspects. We accept and honor the variety of thought and interpretation, seeking to fill the form of our pattern with an understanding that all of the tapestry of human thought affords us as our inherent right.
The Three Boundaries:
There are three things that we consider by default unacceptable and outside the bonds of Kinship:
Bigotry.
Religious extremism.
Harm as sole purpose: this is called "evil" by some, but by whatever name, it is simply unjustified harm, and we neither accept nor worship such things.
Conclusion:
In general, we make no demands, and state no dogmas, when it comes to the matters of belief. Our attitude is that belief is an individual thing. None of us believe exactly the same thing as someone else. Indeed, an individual's particular belief is one of the most important tasks in that individual’s life, a task of learning, a task of a lifetime, not to be circumvented by easy answers of given dogmas. Because of this, and because of our focus on the process, on relationship, rather then on specific interpretation of the Divine, our practice lends itself easily and comfortably to many different interpretations, from monism to polytheism, from cultural reconstructionalism to unabashed eclecticism. However, where we are very accepting of the variety of personal beliefs, we are fairly specific in our approach to relationships both with each other and with those we worship. We do our best to treat each other honorably, as kin ought, and we place a great deal of importance on fairness, truthful dealings, and sacrality of kinship commitment.