The humanity-based path of Druidry: The Star Path

When I discovered Druidry, I first focused on nature and time, or, the Earth and Sun paths. And a lot of things started to pop into my head.

For example, to me, the Earth path includes appreciating and accepting the entire physical realm. This not only includes Nature, but our bodies and matter itself. Thus, I realized that to follow the Earth path not only includes living in harmony with nature, it also means living in harmony with our bodies. And this means taking care of it nutritionally and fitness-wise.

And on the Sun path, I learned to accept and appreciate Winter, rather than moaning about it. And this year, in Pittsburgh, as well as much of the Northern Hemisphere, we really got a heavy dose of it. But instead of fighting it, I took time to appreciate the feel of the cold air and snow, as well as the beautiful shapes the snow and ice took shape.

But then there were other thoughts that I couldn't fit into the Earth, Sun, or Moon paths. And that had to do with people.

As I was learning to appreciate and accept both the beauty and inconveniences of nature and the seasons, I was learning to do the same with people. Like nature and the seasons, people can be both beautiful and downright "inconvenient." And instead of fighting with this reality, I worked to accept people. Just as nature and the seasons have their realities and limitations, so do people.

Since I couldn't find such a practice in the three Druidic paths, I made a personal alteration to the Druidic way and added a fourth path that was the realm of humanity. I added this path to the three others, resulting in four. And instead of paths, I've chosen to call them the Four Realms. But, they are really the same thing as the Three Paths plus one.

Since this realm is based on people, a lot of other concepts and ideas can fit in it as well. For example, ethics, compassion, politics, etiquette, and relationships. And as many can attest, this realm can be both the most rewarding, and the most horrific. We all know wonderful people, as well as monsters.

Lately I've wondered whether I need to create a new version of the Druidic Awen symbol for myself? If so, what would it look like? Would I just add a fourth path?

Well, I thought that if the three paths are represented by Earth, Sun and Moon, is there another astronomical symbol that would represent the path of humanity? And it came to me: the Star Path.

Of course, all symbols are man made. And symbols are really versatile. So there really is no true, intrinsic or right-or-wrong meaning for a symbol. But when I thought about the Star Path, it seemed a good fit to represent humanity.

Whereas there is only one Earth, one Sun, and one Moon, there is a monstrously-large numbers of stars. Also, humans have long looked to the stars for inspiration and guidance. Also, in aligning the four realms to symbology and elements in Tarot, I had affixed humanity to water. And, the largest concentration of stars in our sky is the Milky Way, and has oft been referred to as a river.

Then I figured instead of adding a fourth Star path, I would replace the three dots at the top with 3 or more stars. And, to me, this is fitting. Because, as Jeremy Rifkin claims in his new book The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis, it is through interacting with other people, that we become the most human.

Yes, as Druids, we do need to live in harmony with nature, the seasons, and the creative and mystical realm represented by the Moon. But to me, most importantly, we need to live in harmony with each other. If we neglect this path, there is a danger of too much navel-gazing. But if we follow it and embrace it, it can only inspire and enrich our journeys on all the paths.

Image is by Carl Jones.