 Those who are seeking to propel their druidry in a new direction, the druid grade when the time comes might be great for them. Hey there saplings, welcome back to esoteric moment. Today I am finally doing a review of the druid course from the order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. You've probably already seen my BARD and Ovate videos but if not, there's a link up above or down below in the description, doobly-doo. Check those out if you are unfamiliar with the order of Bards, Ovates and Druids or coursework. The format of this course is the same as earlier format. I don't believe there was an audio version, I think it was just a paper text copy but I could be wrong about that or there could be one in the work. I paid a fee that was pretty similar to earlier courses that covers the materials and shipping cost. After I paid that fee and submitted my review from the Ovate course, then I was invited to do the druid grade. Each month I got a packet with four Gorsi, a touchstone magazine and some supplemental materials depending on where I was in the course. This is all very straightforward, similar to previous courses and still great. The actual material covered in the druid grade is pretty straightforward. There's a big chunk of history and theology. There's another big chunk on how to be of service to be a teacher and leader, somehow to use your gifts for your community and there's some great information about the King Arthur myth, a good perspective on the bits and pieces from BARD and Ovate grade kind of being woven into the druid grade. You have this perspective of all of the coursework you've taken through the order, all of the things you've done on your own, all of the little bits and knobs that become your druid practice and the druid grade is all about weaving that together, gaining a perspective of it and being able to learn how to use that in your community in whatever way is necessary for you. It was interesting for me to see members of our seed group here locally be touching on some of those elements in their own bardic studies and seeing that through the druid grade kind of reflection back. It was a fun way of kind of viewing that material, weaving it into my own life and this anticipation for the people who are studying the bard core, seeing what that manifests for them in their own practice and in their own lives is really interesting. By no means is everyone who joined the order moving on to the druid grade, not because of only a few select people, it can be druids, no. It's more that people are called to do their practice in many different ways. Sometimes the studies in the bardic grade are plenty for them to work on and it takes years or they just love it enough that that's what they want. And the same with the ovate. There is a lot there and that might be where your practice is called to be. I think those who are looking to teach, those who are looking to weave all elements together, those who are seeking to propel their druidry in a new direction, the druid grade when the time comes might be great for them. I am so grateful to all of my mentors in every grade. I am so grateful for the office of the order who's just very diligent about responding to emails, helping people out. They genuinely care about people and their enjoyment of this course, enjoyment of belonging to the order. Gratitude for all of the teachers and leaders who have helped me on my way, who helped us all, who helped create the course. There's a lot in there as cliche as it sounds. I know that like finishing the druid grade is really just kind of starting the next step of my druid practice and that's exciting. This course was totally worth it for me. I think the value that I got out of participating in the order, the value I got out of continuing through all the grades was immense. There's a real sense of wonder at having like taken the last four and a half years to do this whole process, see how it's changed my life. I genuinely feel that without what I've gained in the order, had that not happened in my life, I don't think the magic that is my life now would have been happening. Like I don't think I would have as clear of an idea of my gifts and vocation. I don't think I would have this farm in the same way. I don't think my relationships would be the same. I think it's offered a lot of introspection and understanding of myself and understanding of those around me. There's just a lot here. It's a really beautiful process and I'm again, so grateful. I know I'm not going into a lot of detail about the ins and outs of the material in the druid grade and I really haven't done that on any of the previous videos either. At this point, you can really see that the mystery is not so much to keep information away from people, but it's to allow space for that information and that process to unfold in your own life. And so I'm trying to be very cognant of helping you make a decision about what is great and what will work for you, what is of value to you without ruining or spoiling that unfolding process. I also say this in almost every video, there are a million ways to study druidry or be a druid. Don't feel by any means that you like have to go through the order of bards, ovates or druids or you have to do all the coursework. Do what is right for your druidry and your practice. For me, it's been immensely valuable and exactly what I needed in my life at this time. So to celebrate, I did two things that I wanna share. Again, of course, I bound all of my Gorsi into a big book and did that through Grim Bindery. I'll leave a link down below. The second thing I did is I got a tattoo. If you follow me on Instagram, you can see more close-up photos of it. I have an older video about spiritual tattoos, which I will leave in the description too, that you might wanna watch. The tattoo was one of my ways of celebrating, kind of marking the completion of this process and kind of declaring very vocally to the whole world my druidry and the joy that it's brought me. In the comments below, I would love to hear your thoughts on the whole coursework and grade system from the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, to how are you studying right now? I get so many messages of people starting or considering. I would love to get an update. Where are you on your process? What is going on for you? I am curious to find out what is going on in your druid practice. And this week's Sapling Shoutout is here. The comments below, I'm gonna try and screenshot more of these because there are some great ones. If you want to be a Sapling Shoutout, definitely leave me a comment here on this video or on Instagram, that's how I can communicate with you. Thanks for watching and as always, may you find peace in the sacred grove.