© Isaac Bonewits
Originally published in Druid's Progress #2

For what reason is it that ye sit here under the oak? Why is it that ye have come together out under the stars? Have ye come that ye might not be alone? If so, it is good. But verily, I say unto you: Many there are who have come together, yet remain alone.

Do ye sit in the open that ye might come to know Nature? If so, it is good. But verily, I say unto you: Many there are who have sat for hours and have risen up knowing less than when they sat down.

Rather, in your coming together seek to know in what way ye may help the one who is next to you, and strive to act justly. And in your sitting down in the fields of the Earth-Mother, open your minds as well as your eyes. Let your meditation grow and branch out as the oak which is over your head. Except that ye have done these things, your sitting is in vain and coming is futility.

And why is it that ye do stand up before others and speak unto them? Do ye teach them the ways of the Ancient Druids? If so, it is good. For they had their wisdom, and that is oft forgot. But verily, I say unto you: In their day, even they also were young in their traditions.

The wise are not constrained to learn only that which they are taught. Yea, even as there is a time for talking, is there also a time for not talking.

In the silence of your being shall ye find that which is not of your being; and in the Earth-Mother shall ye find that which is not of the Earth-Mother; in Be'al shall ye be made aware, and your awareness shall fill you.

Ye shall be like the morning sun which has risen and whose brightness is already full, but whose path is yet ever upward, and the light of your awareness shall sweep before it all the shadows of your uncertainty.

Then shall ye need wait no more; for this is the great End and all else is but Beginning.

This is from the old Reformed Druids of North America, and was written around 20 years ago. In the RDNA's polytheology, the Earth Mother is the personification of the material world, and Be'al (i.e., Bel, Belenos, etc.) is the personification of the abstract essence of reality. Despite the psuedo King James writing style, I have always liked the meditations and poems in the old RDNA scriptures, and will share some of them with you from time to time.