Orders in RDNA

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Zero Order Druids (Order of the Acorn)

Entering the numerical orders of Reformed Druidism, as you will see farther down, can be a bit tricky as it means you have to attend a service of a formal Grove. Thus the Order of the Acorn was devised for solo druids and Protogrove members as a self-dedication rite of passage to become a Reformed Druid.  You can find the script Here.

 First Order Druids

Most people who officially join the Reform this way will prefer to stay at the First Order level. A priest of Dalon Ap Landu will recite the Two Basic Tenets and ask you if you understand and agree with them. You are then given the consecrated Waters-of-Life and are declared to be a First Order druid. There are no other prerequisites or responsibilities unless at some point you wish to be a candidate for the office of the Server in the Grove, whose duties would entail assisting the Grove Preceptor.

Second Order Druids

For First Order druids who wish to train for the priesthood, the Second Order rite of passage isn't much different, but it does have more questions of the seeker. Futhermore the presiding priest might first assign some "homework" to you. Becoming a Second Order Druid unlocks your eligibility to be a candidate for the office of Preceptor of the Grove. A Preceptor's main responsibility would be to assist the Arch-Druid in rituals which sometimes also calls for you to recite portions of the Common Order of Worship. Ideally any seeker to the Second Order should already be capable of taking on the office of Preceptor.

The role of the Preceptor comes to the Reform via Freemasonry, one of its inspirational roots. A Preceptor is in simple terms, a tutor. In the Reform, an ideal Preceptor can be a guide for new druids. They should be able to convey the history and basics of Reformed Druidism. They could host public seminars about the Reform, of course with the assistance of their Arch-Druid as backup. To that end, the Preceptor is in charge of all the other secular operations of a Grove as well, such as event planning and other secretarial duties.

Third Order Priesthood

When a Second Order druid is certain that they feel a higher calling to serve their community, they may be considered for advancement to the Third Order. This is the first level of the priesthood in the Reform, and is also named the Order of Dalon Ap Landu, or ODAL. Before a seeker enters the Third Order, an existing ODAL priest may ask you questions to gauge your motives. Do you feel a call to serve, or are you just after a title? When it is decided that you are prepared to enter the priesthood, you must then face the ordeal of the All-Night Vigil, awake in Nature, communing with the Earth-Mother in contemplation, free from all modern technology and conveniences.

It is a semi-supervised rite of passage punctuated by solitude and meditation. At sunrise if you have completed the Vigil correctly, you would be consecrated to the Third Order. This also means the Vigil and Third Order Ordinations must be in the presence of a Third Order druid. In Reformed Druidism, there is no dogma or orthodoxy (the right way to believe) beyond acknowledgement of some form of the Two Basic Tenets. For those who desire ordination to the priesthood, this is where the orthopraxy (the right way to practice) comes in. Please review the ”bylaws” governing  the All-Night Vigil and ordination to the Third Order of Reformed Druidism.

Once ordained to the Third Order, you would then be able to campaign for the Grove office of Arch-Druid, which is an elected title in the Reform for Grove leaders. A Grove can certainly have multiple ordained priests, but the one who is elected to be Arch-Druid is the one in charge of leading services, conducting ordinations, consecrating the Waters-of-Life, and seeing to all matters of the spiritual. Third Order druids (regardless of elected office) can also establish new Groves or travel to ordain others (we call them Missionary druids) when called upon and if they are able to travel.

Higher Orders of the Priesthood

There are seven main higher orders in the priesthood above being a Third Order. They are harder to get into, but the good news is that you don't have to enter them sequentially. The numbers don't mean much above Third Order, aside from knowing the order in which they were originally created. The higher orders are named after various Celtic deities: Grannos, Braciaca, Belenos, Sirona, Taranis, Llyr, and Danu, and serve as different areas of focus in accordance with the symbolic correspondences of the deities.