WHAT THE DEVIL IS DRUIDRY? Exploring what it means to follow the nature-based lifestyle!

457706518_515900934718545_7733996147558134085_n — Wren Neumann, one of the very few Australian druids. Photo by Wren Neumann.

When thinking about lifestyles that lie on the fringe, or outer edge, of mainstream society, druidry (or druidism) surely has to qualify. Less than 0.15% of Australia claim to be a druid or following a druidic path of spirituality, as only approximately 33,000 people identified with the label “Nature Religion” on the 2021 Australian Census.

But what exactly does it mean to be a druid? Well, according to Wren Neumann, a practising druid out in Broken Hill, that depends on the practitioner.

“Druidry will be a completely different thing for every individual person. For me, druidry is a spiritual path that speaks of our greatest yearning of being creative in our life, of forming a relationship with the natural world, while also gaining access through a source of profound wisdom.”

Druidry is often confused or used interchangeably with paganism, but according to Neumann there is a distinction between the two.

“So paganism for me has always been an umbrella term. Within paganism, you may have Wicca, you’ve got druidry, there’s those that follow the Norse pantheon, there’s old folk witchcraft, there is [a]
huge number of paths that are pretty much under that term of paganism. There’s no rules or law as to what you can or can’t practice. It’s about you being true to yourself and following your own heart.”

*Wicca and forms of witchcraft don’t necessarily overlap with druidry. Photo by Halanna Halila on Unsplash.*

While membership of an Order is certainly not a requirement of being a druid, many modern druids find themselves drawn to groups of other practitioners. The most well known is OBOD, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, but there are orders and organisations all over the world.

This order, along with a rising awareness and concern about the health and damage being done to planet Earth, is why Neumann believes that more people are going to be drawn towards nature-based spiritual practices in the future.

“I think more and more people are probably looking towards a spiritual path now because most people are starting to worry about the planet and where we’re headed.”

We’ll be very interested to see if the number of people following a nature-based religion increases on the 2026 Australian Census.

You can listen to more about druidry with Wren Neumann by visiting the AFTRS FM podcast.