About

Primal druidry is exactly what it sounds like.

It’s pagan practice for the here & now— for me, Southern California in 2024— not the worship of ashes, but the tending & building of flame. It’s an embodied, hands-on, trance-heavy, primal approach to what was always instinctive to begin with.

Truthfully, much of my fleshing-out of what I call primal druidry was largely borne out of my frustration with what I see as the “LARP” element in modern paganism. The LARP aspect— the understandable but ultimately dead-end desire to attempt historical reenactment of what is impossible and undesirable to recreate— frustrates me as much as the impotence of the crystals-and-materialism-laden New Age movement, selling a commercialized aesthetic-lifestyle brand instead of encouraging real spiritual sovereignty. It was out of dissatisfaction of both extremes, and the love of the path itself, that I decided to start doing my own thing in a way that draws inspiration from the past— but is ultimately present, authentic and effective for people today.

I’m an American; at the time of writing this, I’ve never set foot in Ireland or any of the Isles. It would be bullshit to pretend otherwise. I happen to believe that magic and ritual are real and important in their own right, not just as cultural playacting. Primal druidry is a fully sovereign relationship-building experience, with the powers that be: the divinity of nature, the gods and ancestors. We can, and should, do that without the bullshit.

The druidic fire is a path of immersive trance, heady scholarship and physical movement alike, fused together for one goal.

It’s physicality as well as mental reflection, it’s active relationship to the powers that be— the divinity of nature, the gods and the ancestors with an emphasis on individual sovereignty as the key to acting in honor. That’s what druidry aims to do, regardless of physical location across time.

Primal druidry is the application of the belief that history should be a trampoline, not a restraint system.

As for me personally:

I’m Awen. I’m a Los Angeles native, and I’ve been practicing druidry for over a decade— having written, taught and led ritual from that love countless times over.

I joined the modern druidic organization Ar nDraiocht Fein at age 17, and I am still a member— though I very much do not represent them. I started leading rituals and teaching classes stemming from my own more primal path on and off since around 24, starting my own working group around 25. Ridiculously young for that, I know! I was just passionate and wanted to do and share what I felt a lack of… but unsurprisingly, after teaching, leading ritual and facilitating multiple purely social local pagan & witch meetups to foster real-life community in my area, I felt burnt out and withdrew from public presenting and social media. What you see online today is post-withdrawal-reevaluation.

I maintain a YouTube channel where you can find some of my past classes, ideas and video interviews with other practitioners, but to be honest— you won’t see that one updated too often because I just don’t like recording my ideas. I prefer speaking organically in person, and enjoy my occasional speaking engagements at either my own classes or compatible group events. If you’d like to commission me to speak to your group or event about primal druidry, ritual crafting, the Morrigan or another related topic, contact me at awen@primaldruidry.com.

My teaching background includes

Multiple classes at the Crooked Path Apothecary - A handful at the Green Man Store - Pacific Circle Revival 2023 - Eight Winds Festival - Vamachara Tattoo & Occult Supply in New York (my first and second there are available on Patreon) - DomCon 2024 (my apologies if you were at this one) - Wolfe Academy of Kink (virtual class available on my Patreon)

My public ritual background includes countless rituals led and/or participated in with Raven’s Cry Grove, ADF & my own primal druidry workings. I’ve also completed the Dedicant Path course of ADF.

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Much of what I know about magic, meditation and trance I learned through hands-on apprenticeship, both to a traditional Craft initiate and a Buddhist meditation teacher, and my own experiences in different domains. I do not keep my studies solely to Celtic mysticism, though it’s my fondest source of inspiration. I’m honored to learn directly from Murtagh An Doile, the godfather of Celtic Reconstruction himself— I do my best to credit him as often as possible in the hopes of (respectfully) goading him into finally writing a damn book. I’m a lifelong lover of myth and fairy tales, fascinated by Jungian psychology, and tend to believe that empirical scholarship and faith need not be at odds.

I include this information not to flex them as badges, certificates or feathers in my hat— involvement in groups, even teaching doesn’t guarantee that anyone knows anything. I share this simply to indicate that while I may be under 30, I didn’t start practicing yesterday. It’s been a wild honor to me that I’ve been privileged enough to share my ideas and aspects of what I do with those who feel called. Outside of all this, I do strength training, photography, enjoy belly dancing, and overall I’m a 27 year old woman just riding the damn lightning and cultivating what I feel the need for in this life. If you don’t like it… live your own life.

You can find me digitally barding on Patreon where I greatly appreciate your support!
I can be contacted professionally to officiate handfastings (ordained through the ULC), speak to your group/at your event on my topics of expertise, or lead ritual at your event on a commission basis. While all offers are valued, I gage compatibility individually and will accept or decline based on my own discernment. Contact me here.