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1980. There were weather-workings, the  Druid curse, divinations,
the RDNA. It was okay for a single member to expand their own
an incident of speaking in tongues & prophesy,  exorcisms of the
views, but it was not kind to force their conclusions upon the Coun-
spirit of war, consecrations of altars, prayers, marriages,  Druidings,
cil or even their own grove. Frangquist, long ago, had come to the
and occasional blessings.223 But many of these were done from an
conclusion that:
understanding of the power of one s faith being the source of power
or as an innocent experiment with their  tongues firmly planted in
 religion is essentially a question of personal conviction.
their cheeks. The older Carleton Druids, despite their dabbling in
This is the reason for the failure of the student negotiation
magick (especially weather working), did not see group ritual as hav-
committees. Committees may provide help in solving po-
ing much purpose in and of itself for Druidism. Ritual was more
litical problems, but not in religious problems. The com-
incidental in some ways.
mittees have tried to deal in logical arguments; religion
deals in faith. 227
 Cannot men seek for answers without the crutch of
ritual which has no religious purpose? I can only answer
For some, Reformed Druidism had quickly become an intensely
that ritual has a value because it can be used by different
private and personal search, so much so that they had dropped from
men in different ways.
participation in Groves. These Druids did not take kindly to the
 For one man, the sacrifice of life224 is the offering of
assumption that their search had to be open to the examination of
himself to a god or gods. To another it is offering up of his
others through constant correspondence in order to be valid. Nor
mind to a search for truth. 225
did they like the idea that Druids active in Groves were more  active
than solitary Druids. The search for truth could also be helped by
Frangquist reminds us of the dangers of ritual indulgence:
private conversations with non-Druids. One may well wonder if the
 But we have also recognized that ritual is most often mere act of living was true Druidism in action. Therefore the attempt
a hindrance; and to eliminate it is simply to encourage to bolster the identity of Reformed Druidism by increasing the re-
non-ritual to become the ritual. Rather, as Druids, we have quired participation in the Council met with such reactions:
endeavored to build a ritual which will be the destroyer of
 Communication is a convenience and proselytization is
it own importance. 226
an option, but if I choose to develop quietly by introspec-
356
tion and to write privately to my friends, I am as much an had been nurturing from being out on contact with other Druids.
active Druid- and, I believe, contribute as much to the Rather than dwelling anymore upon the two fascinating years of
Reform- as if I broadcast my views to the entire Council of retorts and recriminations, or providing a running commentary of one-
Dalon Ap Landu. 228 on-one debates,231 I ll return to my history and put the debates into a
larger context of the history of Reformed Druidism among the branches
Isaac also feared that the Carleton ArchDruid, as chair of the
in the late 70s. I should mention here to future historians that many of
Council of Dalon ap Landu, was not stable enough for keeping Re-
the things said in those two years were out of justifiable shock and
formed Druidism alive as an organization. In this attitude, he was
ignorance, but were often patched up by unofficial and unrecorded
again missing the point. The high turn-over rate at Carleton was
communications between the Druids of the many factions. In fact,
considered to be a boon to their organizational nexus; it essentially
once they had overcame the common misconception that Neo-Pagan
prevented Druidism from ever being secure enough in its footing
Druidism had to be anti-monotheistic (i.e. rejecting the validity of some
that it could be bureaucratic or imperialistic. Shelton, who had six
paths of religions) most Carleton members finally had accepted Isaac s
years earlier attempted the same defining and stream-lining process
Neo-Paganism as a good thing for him & others.
with the Codex, was now wisely trying to caution and slow-down
In fact, it has been very easy and pleasantly diverting for a re-
Isaac:
searcher to become over-absorbed in these written debates and feel
that Isaac spoke for-and-of the greatest concerns of all the NRDNA
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