The Feminist Druid: Making Way for New Stories

Dr Michelle LaFrance author of ‘The Feminist Druid: Making Way for New Stories/New Work’

Druids are guys with beards in white robes at Stonehenge.

Wrong! That’s not how it is today. Druids are more likely to be female (about 60% in The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids) and wearing colourful clothes in ceremonies held in their own gardens, or out in nature wherever they live.

The majority of authors on Druidry are now women, major Druid groups such as OBOD and the AODA are led by women, and recently a Women in Druidry conference was held online.

OBOD has just published its second Mt Haemus Lecture of the year – ‘The Feminist Druid: Making Way for New Stories/New Work’ by Dr Michelle LaFrance – that looks at contemporary Druidry, sees the influence of the Feminine within it, and asks how we can build on that. Her study celebrates the role of women in Druid history, and the contributions of women to modern Druidry as a global spiritual, religious, and eco-conscious movement. And, as she writes, “it is also a feminist reflection on the present and future of modern Druidry.” It’s a great paper, and you can read it here.