I have been Pagan for twenty years, my category of faith is Pantheism and I practice Druidry. My religious title would be Pantheistic Druid. My deity is Gaia, Greek word for Mother Earth, the moon, and the sun.

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To explain what my practice means to me I must explain "energy". The Planet, the Universe, everything is composed of matter and energy. Energy has no beginning and no end, it cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred, it is ever changing, ever evolving, my entire practice revolves around that energy.

You, myself, every human, rock, tree, creature, we are all connected, we are all composed of the same matter, the same energy borrowed from earth, from the time we are conceived to the time that we die, we are borrowing that energy and matter from earth, and when we die, we decompose, our bodies return to the earth, create nutrients that then feed the plants and animals around us, nourish their bodies and their needs to continue on that cycle of ever evolving but same energy.

The earth, the sun, the moon, their rotations, the seasons are the focus of my practice, the shared energy through space, my intentions, my energy, and how I focus my energy and how that energy changes through the seasons, the gravitational pull, Gaia’s pull. Most of my practice involves being outside or using items that help represent things related to my practice from nature.

The practice of Druidry is meditation based, creativity based, and consciousness based. In this meaning when meditating in nature, or with items that are part of my alter, its representation is very intention based, I'm feeling and focusing my energy, sharing my energy, feeling Gaia’s energy. Feeling the sun on my skin touching the top of my head the earth under me, grounding, feeling the wind on my skin, I'm connecting with that broader energy, focusing on the thought acknowledging that the trees are and underground network of shared roots, one tree helps another if its not getting enough nutrients, its sharing its energy, just as I am sharing mine. I’m connecting and being one and sharing “Nwyfre” (NOO-iv-ruh) “One Life” with my creator, with the energy of past, present, and future life.

The creativity aspect of my practice is celebrating my differences in my portion of energy that I have borrowed, what things make me unique as a variation of that shared energy. My “Awen (AH-wen)”. I embrace arts, music is heavily intertwined in my practice, whether I am playing music myself or listening to music that someone else has shared their creativity with, I celebrate it.

Woodworking is also a very special part of my practice and something I love to share with others. It’s not only a way of celebrating creativity but also, conscientiousness. Recognizing the life cycle of that tree that has transferred energy, honoring its life, woodworking is almost a meditation in itself, its very intention based, focused, becoming one with a lifecycle, sharing in its existence and making something together that can be cherished and admired in a different way, until its energy changes again, beyond my lifetime, and energy shift when we both decompose to become once again, with Gaia.

Conscientiousness is the most intention-based part of my practice. Every rock, tree, and creature gets treated with the same respect and admiration. For example a rock may seem void of life, but it has energy as well. A rock on its own doesn’t seem to move but a rock vibrates at an atomic level in solid form to the rhythm of earth, however small or insignificant that may seem there is energy, shared energy. If I pick up that rock and I throw it, it doesn’t just drop and fall to the ground, my energy is being transferred to that rock and it flys through the air. That rock then transfers that energy to whatever it hits, if water the water will ripple, separate and the rock will sink, if it hits the ground it will stir the dirt beneath it. Just because something’s energy is different in appearance doesn’t make it any less significant compared to ourselves. Our ability to measure feeling, and life, I focus on energy in the big picture, everything that is shared, borrowed, and transferred in a never ending cycle.

Everything I consume, to what I wear, bring into my home, consumerism everything pays a role in my intentions for caring for my environment. I have been Vegan for 5 years, and I am healthier because of it. Although I may not appear as a stereotypical vegan, I wear leather and wool, natural based materials and they are important to my practice, environmental impact is important to my practice. I choose leather pieces in the same way that woodworking is special to me. I’m celebrating and sharing my energy my creativity with the energy of an animal that has transferred its energy to someone or many someone’s; who have consumed their energy and nutrients, I get to spend my life honoring, sharing my focused energy with each piece I own, I am connected honoring their life cycle throughout my lifecycle. And I care for each piece as such.

Being environmentally conscious when making purchases is also part of my Druid practice. Avoiding plastics, synthetics where I can, repurposing, environmental cleanups, outreach, community education programs for environmental impact, are life focuses for me. Taking care Gaia is my whole purpose here with my borrowed energy. It’s deeply important to me and my practice to be as energy focused as I can to take care of all shared energy. Of my Gaia. She is me. The Sun, the Moon, the Universe, they are me, they are us.