Dryadic Paganism

I never set out to write a book. It just sort of happened somewhere along the way. It began with scribbled notations in the margins of overpriced books from secondhand stores. It evolved into notebook pages and then multiple notebooks. At about this point I realized something was up. I enlisted the aid of my friendly word processor to assist in cutting down the stacks of paper that were beginning to take over the counter.

Things started coming together at a decent rate and what started off as my ramblings and notes to self had suddenly found structure. I was able to read back over and amazingly, it actually made sense. Now a few hundred edits later, it's even more readable. At least I think so. Have at.


Dryadic Paganism

Overview - things that will make the reading go more smoothly.

"The mystics speak in a hundred different ways.
but if god is one and the way is one, how could
their meaning be other than one? What appears in
different disguises is one essence. A variety of forms.
but a unity of substance.”
- Masnavi, Rumi

Drayad(ic)- (Dryad/Driad); Tree spirit or Fairy. Commonly believed superstition that cutting down the tree of a dryad would result in the death of the tree spirit. As the seasons would change so did the appearance of the tree and its resident spirit. Dryads are of the element earth. They are near kin to the elementals of water, Niads, who live in small ponds and streams.

Pagan- An umbrella term used to classify primarily earth based religious traditions. Generally speaking, paths that do not fall under the categories of Christianity, Judaism or Islam. Derived from the Latin ‘Paganus’, country dwellers. In Roman states, the Pagani were the civilians, people who were not soldiers. Christians later made use of this term when referring to themselves as the soldiers of god. Another related term is Heathen, people of the heath. Dwellers of the hearth and the hearth land. It can mean Indigenous or Shamanic. Paganism includes but is not limited to Wicca. Reconstructionist paths such as Hellenic Pagans, Kemetics also share the umbrella of Paganism.

Dryadic Paganism applies both terms in loose context. It is Earth based in the aspect that it celebrates the wheel of the year, a cyclic, agrarian calender demarcated by sabats and esbats on which ritual celebrations and workings are held. Like the elemental spirits of nature we seek to understand the workings of the world around us and move within its patterns by living in harmony with them rather than fighting against them -when at all possible. We can strive to understand the flows of subtle energy within and around us. As the spirit of the tree is reliant upon the life force and energy of the tree to be sustained and nourished we are reliant upon the earth and our relationship with it for ours.


We are also quite literally ‘earth based’ as that we live on earth and are sustained by it. This makes it in our best interest to celebrate, understand and conserve its resources to the best of our ability.

Dryadic Paganism is a Pagan path in the sense that it is an alternative to J./C./I. (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) based faiths, structured loosely upon the wheel of the year. It differs from many pagan paths in that the primary practice is ecstatic rather than fertility or regionally based.

Life is seen as a series of initiations and experiences both sensory and sensual (external vs internal) that we have been gifted with. Rather than the epiphany experiences of dedication and initiation into a formal tradition, life path initiations are a bit like walking into the ocean a few steps at a time. Each step takes effort and brings changes in equilibrium. Each step brings a new level of acclimation and eventually you move past the breakers and can swim freely. There is no measure of progress only the journey.

If you claim to be swimming joyously but are still obviously standing on the shoreline, don’t be surprised if you get some odd looks from fellow beach goers. These steps should be taken with an open mind and heart as well as deep respect.

If you were given something of great value it would be a great insult to the giver were you not to use it to it’s best capability. Life on earth is a gift and should be treated as such.

This gift is not a trick. You were not given a voice to sing and arms to embrace with that you should be damned. We are not penitent nor do we believe in sin- original or inherent. We do not feel that physical existence is inherently unclean.

It is in our best interest to maintain our earthly bodies. The body is the vehicle of the soul. But even the best vehicles are not meant to last indefinitely. At some point it will break down and return to the earth it is composed of. This being the case, we should neither elevate it above its purpose, to the degree of becoming narcissistic, and overly fearful of wear and tear but instead embrace our humanity to the best of our abilities by experiencing the pleasures and lessons that each phase of life brings, and in time move on to the next stage in the cycles that make up our lives. We should strive to care for the physical body as well as the mind, and thus keep both in their best working order.

Our life on earth is not meant to be a punishment. I can’t say this enough. Through the practices made use of in Dryadic Paganism; yoga, meditation and tantric exercise merged with the more traditional practices of witchcraft such as divination, spell craft and barding we can more fully live, express and celebrate the life that we have been given.

‘Good’ and ‘evil’ are terms relative to the individual and defined only in the usage of that which does me harm, is harmful. That which benefits me is good. When comparing atoms there are is not ‘bad’ matter and ‘good’ matter. Polarity exists, but it is in the form of charged particles.

There are many different types of matter in the universe, and through understanding how they work together, we can bring to life our fondest dreams and wildest fantasies. The divisions of male and female, yin and yang; seasonal, elemental, regional, and numerical describe variations of polarity and are represented and illustrated through their symbolisms. When we work magic,” the art and science of causing change in conformity with will”; we unite these components towards our purpose through our focus to manifest our desire.


Dryadic Paganism is thus titled, and can be looked at from the perspective of being not just a belief system but a framework on which to build a path of your own. The perspectives on divinity are flexible and so long as some aspect is incorporated, practices and rituals still makes sense and are effective with a few editions.


On life, death, and reincarnation


As far as we know, we are the only animal on the earth that from an early age is aware of and deliberately plans for, its impending death. Perhaps its because for the most part we have been able to conquer many of the ailments of body but the process of time is one we have been unable to treat indefinitely. This motivates us to assign deeper meaning to the patterns of our lives. Eventually, without regard; the vehicle breaks down, and the soul must move on.

Each phase of life, childhood, youth, parenthood and elder age; holds unique benefits and drawbacks. One stage cannot truly be entered into without experiencing and then at appropriate times releasing our attachments to the trappings of previous phases. If a woman when pregnant cant see beyond the loss of her ‘before pregnancy’ figure, then how can she allow herself to enjoy and experience the nature of her pregnant body? If a body or stage of life no longer can serve as an effective vehicle, for what purpose should we try to sustain it indefinitely, at costs both financial and emotional?

“After death we are no more sentient than before we are born”.

This isn’t designed to inspire a sense of fear or insecurity but to instill a sense of value of the incarnation that one is in possession of. If the only form in which we can work through Karma is human, and this only human incarnation we are assured to be in possession of, then there truly is no time like the present.

This does not mean we are godless or soulless outside of human incarnation, only that there is no self to attach human sentience to.

If reincarnation and developed will are linked, then the experience of death could be compared to falling through the ice at night. Bodily senses; sight, smell, sound, touch and taste rendered useless to all consuming nothingness. The only thing left to propel the self into the unknown is will.

What is Karma? Karma is the fruit of the actions and decisions of a previous life. A lifetime when you were not yet you. Before you as you existed, but which dictated who you are today. Surprising in the light which many choose to portray it. It is not the threefold law, it’s returns are not immediate. Should you choose to believe in it or work through it you will not receive the consequences or benefits of it until you have left your current form of existence through death and are essentially no longer yourself. Your efforts will be passed on in assembly line style to the next being that you will experience.

Your current understanding may or may not be the perspective that you were meant to learn from.

Roman philosophers, Astronomers and Sufi Sages alike have held the hope that be it through reincarnation or divine edict that man is in a state of constant refinement. In order for reincarnation to functionally illustrate itself in the population then we as a society would theoretically have increased intelligence, humanity and spiritual awareness in comparison with the societies of previous centuries. Perhaps we do. Our physical capability as we understand it on the other hand remain the same and at times seem to have even diminished.

What has gotten humans through in spite of being soft and pink has been the ability to record our history and build on the achievements of previous generations deliberately. What we leave behind may be our true immortality. Because of our nearly shocking ability to build and procreate, we are as coral.

Rather than questioning the nature of the unknown we should instead ask, what are the tools that we should strive to leave to our children. If you may only live once, then is that life be best lived preparing to die?

It can be observed that humans do not visibly evolve. We even accuse ourselves of devolution. We have not taken steps towards becoming a species that holds domain in the sea or sky in spite of time or desire.

Throughout the history of the earth, animals have adapted and evolved through need. Environmental changes affecting food supply, illness and predators all making demands on a species to weed out the damaged and strengthen the gene pool. Human beings are the only animal that has succeeded on a large scale at changing his environment to suit himself.

If it’s chilly we put on a sweater rather than growing fur. If it’s warm we turn on a fan rather than panting or developing more effective self cooling mechanisms. When the need to adapt or evolve no longer exists, adaptation ceases. Without centuries of adaptation evolution becomes a moot point.

Because of marked influences in quality of life, when tribes had recently ceased living hand to mouth being within a few hundred years of common lineage; as well as the development of concrete, forged metals and large cities, it would have appeared to citizens or Rome, Egypt or Arabia that man had in fact become smarter and finer than he had ever been before. A pattern that we have been able to reproduce through building upon the technological achievements of the generation before us deliberately and successively.

Comparing the great minds of our generation with the numbers of thinkers and philosophers throughout history, even through the bowels of oppression, we can observe that there have been just as many intelligent persons, if not more per capita. Many equaled and surpassed modern minds.

Can we say that we have advanced in our ethics and personal morality? Finding an honest man in the world we live in is equally difficult, if more so than it was while Nero fiddled. Leaders still make music while cities drown. Man at large is no more aware of his purpose or place in the world than on the day Napoleon was crowned. We have yet to discover the secrets of the pyramids creation or the number of the stars.

Man as an animal is sentient of the earth, and that our life span in comparison with it is infinitesimal. Whether this elevates us above any other species, or makes any selected division of flora or fauna in a species more or less desirable is a sheerly rhetorical question. These things are social questions, and significant only to us.

Perhaps as old souls are leaving the incarnation cycle, new ones are being forged, and overall this limits the distance that man as an animal can travel. Maybe all we have is this once, and we had better make the best of it.

While we cannot be sure what happens to us when we die until it happens, we can each strive to find a belief system that brings peace to both heart and mind.

A soul was questioned by
god at the gates of heaven,
“You are the same as when you left! You
were blessed by a life full
of opportunity - so where are
the bruises and scars left by
your journey?”
-Jalaluddin Rumi



On Dryadic Paganism and Wicca

Gardnerian Wicca is a large contributor to Paganism as a whole. The ritual is often wiccanesque, it’s structure and most likely the offshoot paths that Dryadic Paganism draws from also take root in The Wicca of Crowley, Gardner and Valiente Everything that can be read about these individuals and the history and sources of their lives and knowledge is information well learned. It is the history of modern witchcraft.

Witchcraft- (verb) the practice of magical, spiritual and physical transformation. Often pursued through the crafts of divination, herbalism, astrology, barding, or any other action undertaken in a spirituality infused way.

While in itself it is not a belief system, it is a component of many belief systems in the same way yoga can be a facet of Hinduism, Tantra and Buddhism. Witchcraft can be an aspect of pagan spirituality. Because of the historic uses and misuses of the word witch, it is really a personal choice as to whether this is a word you are comfortable using; either describing your practices or your self. The same applies to the word Pagan.

A primary difference between Wicca and Dryadic Paganism, perhaps even the most fundamental difference would be the lack of the use of the Rede. There are multiple reasons for this omission, but primarily it is to encourage ownership of action. We evaluate our actions based upon what it will cost us and those around us today, tomorrow and ten years from now.

Knowledge and wisdom in decision making are things that develop in time. Our levels of ownership will deepen as our judgment develops. A good place to begin practicing sound decision making skills and ownership is through this equation; "if when assessing the cost of action, your consequences outweigh your benefits, both fiscally and spiritually, then it might be in your best interest to consider another course of action."

Through understanding our motives and actions for the greater part of the time we can live in accordance with our ethics and ideals. While our actions need not always conform to the socially prescribed norm of any given agency, so long as one is aware of their motives and is steadfast in perusing a non-destructive course of action then harm is usually subjective.

as Xenophon interprets the Socratic lesson;
...people should limit themselves to such indulgence as the soul would reject unless the need of the body were pressing, and such as would do no harm when the need was there...

While this doesn’t offer a comprehensive system of ethics, it is a framework for building your OWN structure, in which the morality that you subscribe to is recommended to you solely by your conscience and adhered to for satisfaction of the spirit rather than social reenforcement.

An it harm NONE?, Ethics in Dryadic Paganism.

What is a path or religion if not a collection of beliefs and practices created and repeated ritually by humankind? When choosing a path we ascribe to it based upon our agreement with its component parts, and when we practice a path we must then analyze and understand the reasons that we agree and sometimes disagree with these parts. Because these systems are created by people, who are subject to their perception of and interpretation of reality at the time that their statements were made, they don’t always stand the test of time. What applied in 1700 or 1950 isn’t always practical or reasonable given the additional knowledge about the world around us at hand, or an individuals life experience.

The Wiccan (Gardnerian in source) Rede as commonly accepted is “an it harms none do as ye will” This leaves a prospective Wiccan with a couple questions. Who is ‘none’ and what constitutes harm? I would then ask the seeker to consider the subjectivity of perception, interpretation and free will. Every person because of their interpretations and experiences of reality is going to look at this a little bit differently.

While it’s tempting to new age this away with the ‘ be nice and don’t wish mean things at people’ camp, it isn’t a satisfactory answer for the seeker who really wants to broaden their understanding of spiritual opportunity cost.

Is allowing harm to oneself through inaction somehow less harmful than taking defensive action at the cost of potential harm to another? Existential guilt aside, we each have the same right to exist, and pursue happiness as any other being. We should not allow ourselves to be abused or live marginally for the sake of ‘abating generalized harm’.

How many women have continued to be abused for fear of the ‘inconvenience’ that standing up for themselves would present to their attacker? It can even be taken so far as to say that it is QUITE alright to use all means- both magical and mundane, at hand to succeed in protecting the self from harm.

If you are in a jungle and a tiger eats you, the tiger is not evil or immoral, it is just a tiger. It’s nature is to kill and eat. It is not subject to karmic or social retribution for causing you harm. It did what it was built to do. We must also respect our own need to survive.

when we are presented with the choice of being killed or killing the tiger, and if or to what degree we would hold ourselves liable for it, we must factor into our decisions that we are often placed in situations that require taking action to survive today.

We don't always get the most ideal set of options to choose from. In some cases it is quite true that one need not always outrun the bear- we may not even be capable of it. Free will often involves a degree of determinism. We are not always choosing from an infinite number of possibilities.

Because the harm that may result from these actions could happen in some capacity many years down the road, we must also use time and growth in evaluating the consequences of our actions and inactions. This is not only a matter or right or wrong, but of time and experience.

Ethics and judgment mature along with the rest of us. We are not always to blame for not foreseeing difficulties outside of our range of experience. In this case our consequence stems from the need to learn, rather than deliberate neglectfulness or malice, and to what degree reparations need to be made to set things aright.

We must remember that while one should accept a position of responsibility in regard to their choices, they are not solely liable for the outcomes of every person they ever affect or interact with. We all have a vested interest in keeping our selves out of harms way and making use of our opportunities as they arise. There are times when we can only recommend or encourage others to do the same.

Destructive Behavior more often than not does not make fiscal sense. It is wasteful in both time and expenditure. The cost of your action is twofold already in that you had to exert time and energy to create a result, and now you are using additional energy to clean up the fallout of the effort.

When taking magical action, measure your efforts as you would funds in a bank account. A penny spent on one action is a penny that can’t be spent on another. A step away from your center, requires time for the rest of you to shift and catch up, and costs you the position of center that you held before you left it; and all of the options that your step has moved you away from.

Consequences include the resources lost through the cost of action. While you can earn more, this requires time, which is an additional resource. Your cost of action has already grown to threefold. Time, resources and clean up(damage control!).

Easy to see how it could be tied up in a neat little package of three. The buck doesn’t stop here though. There are still future consequence to include in the picture. Who’d have thought it would take a 500 dollar restraining order and a change of address notice to loose that stalker that popped up after the last love spell the witch next door tried?