 Stick around to the end of the video and I will have my top five books for Druidry for beginners, but before that there are some things we should cover that are more important. Hiya saplings, my name is Danny and welcome to Esoteric Moment. Today I am doing a highly requested video that is a video for I'm new to Druidry, I want to start studying or working with Druidry, but I don't know where to begin. First of all, my Druidry is not the only Druidry and the order of bards, ovates, and Druids not the only order of Druids. If this works for you and gives you ideas, great. But if it doesn't, that doesn't mean Druidry isn't for you, it just means you need to explore a different avenue and that's really going to be lots of fun and I encourage you to do so. The second point is I get questions about am I Celtic enough? My ancestors come from this area or I'm really into Reconstructionist Druidry, your Druidry isn't like that, like am I enough? It's kind of the gist of this question and you are. You do not have to be Celtic, Celtic whatever that means, you do not have to come from a certain socioeconomic place, you do not have to have lots of books, you do not have to own your own lane, whoever you are, wherever you are, Druidry could be a path for you no matter what. So explore it if it calls to you. The number one most important thing to starting in Druidry is get outside. I know this isn't always what some of you would like to hear, but really the truth is Druidry is about the natural world and connections with the spirit of place and the old gods and whatever connects you to the earth. If you're able, take a walk around the block, go to a park, study the plants that you plant in your windowsill, put more house plants around your apartment, or dedicate a certain part of your yard to connection and Druidry. Whatever your interpretation of get outside means, just do it. The key is to start working towards regular interactions with a particular place, particular landscape, animals, so that you can practice observation and connection. This is the most important thing. The wisdom that you gain from establishing a relationship with the natural world is going to be far greater than anything you will read in a book or watch on a video. Okay, the next thing that comes up pretty often for people just starting out is how do I get a teacher? How many books should I read? They just want to do it all right now. So my advice is be patient with yourself. I really struggle with patience myself, so I understand how hard of an ask this is. But just give yourself a short time period and a short goal. Maybe you're new to paganism in general. So a year of exploring Druidry where you read two books and go outside regularly. That might be a great starting. If you're new to paganism or you've been kind of exploring Druidry for a while, maybe your first time goal is to explore working with an order, like the order of Bards, Obates, and Druids. But whatever it is, just pick a small goal. You don't have to do it all right now. Just give yourself time. Druidry should grow with you and your life. You will never be done or finished or reach master level. It doesn't work like that. It's going to grow and develop with you. So give it time and space to do just that. My third piece of advice would be to keep a journal. I know. Everyone kind of says this in general, but it is important that while you're exploring things and going through all the changes that Druidry can bring, it's really very useful to reflect and just write down how you're feeling. Even if it's just a notebook by the side of your bed and you only write a couple sentences every week. That's fine. Whatever journaling means to you, just kind of keep track of what is happening in your life and the changes that Druidry is bringing to it. Okay, let's get into my top five books for beginners. Number one, and this is the only book that I would suggest you actually purchase rather than just check out from the library. Libraries are great. If that is the best way for you to get book, I know as I am a librarian. This book in particular will be useful because it's about getting back to nature. So pick yourself up a field guide. And I'd really suggest one that's geared towards people studying natural resources, not a like pagan field guide. The more you're able to connect and identify and know on that like mundane fundamental level of the area in which you're exploring and connecting to, the more confidence you'll have when it comes to the pagan-y elements of Druidry and connection to the natural world. The second book would be one, and I mean one beginner Druid book. So I have tons of book reviews on my channel. You could pick any of them. I would narrow it down to Penny Billington's The Path of Druidry, the Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer, or Philip Kargom's Druid Mysteries. Those would be my top three choices. And I personally probably go towards The Path of Druidry by Penny Billington. But whatever works for you, just pick one. Give yourself time with one to sit, linger, and explore. If you've read like a quarter of it, maybe even half of it, and you're like, ugh, this really sucks. Then maybe try one by a different author. The big pagan authors all have a little bit different interpretation of Druidry. And just because you don't jive with one doesn't mean that you won't jive with another one. Or none of them will work for you, and that's okay. All right, my third book for you would be some type of myth or folklore. I'd really encourage you to pick up a book or read something about your local area. For me, particularly, I have found some resources about the First Nations that were here, and they were peoples who would build mounds for sacred sites and their burial mounds. So that's been really fascinating and great to connect with the spirits of place. Some of those typical traditional Druid myths would include the Irish folk myth cycles, and of course the Welsh tales that we're familiar with. Those are great options too. Number four would be pick a side project. I'm sure there's something that brought you to Druidry. Maybe it was working with the Bardic arts or ancestors or Olam or herbs. Whatever that might be, pick a side author to really work on. Nimue Brown has excellent, excellent books like Pagan Dreaming or Druidry and Ancestors, a book about prayer. I'd highly recommend her books. If you're interested in herbalism, Hopman's guides are really excellent, and there are just a bunch of book reviews on my whole channel that would maybe work really well as side project books. You never know where your interests are really going to lie. You might think, oh, I really wanted to study Olam, but it turns out you just really were interested in herbalism. Be aware of what might change in this area. And my final recommendation is Anamkara by John O'Donohue. This is not strictly a Druid book, but it is probably one of my favorite, favorite books of all time. Poetic way he writes is incredible and awe-inspiring. It's also a key point about beginning a Druidry in general. Be open and aware that things are going to change and your interests might change, and that's okay. You never know where your Druid studies are going to take you, and that's a good thing. Be open to what might transform in your life. All right, that's what I've got for starting out in Druidry. I hope this is helpful to those of you who have been asking or inspiring to those of you already on your path. In the comments below, let me know what seed or kernel brought you to Druidry. I love hearing all the different stories about, oh, my ancestors really impacted me or I read this book. Let me know. I'm curious. This week's shout out is to Abigail Walkholtz. I hope I said that right. She left a great comment on my Midori and Danielle LaPorte's planner video last week, and she talks all about her planner from the Etsy shop Posey Paper. It just sounds like a really awesome setup. So thanks for the comment. Thanks for watching, and as always, may you find peace in the sacred grove.