Historical Context
Experiencing Gods and spirits, exploring the fringes of the ordinary world and the Otherworld, and contemplating the Big Questions of Life are human activities and are not limited to any particular class or to those born with special gifts. But for as long as we’ve been human some people have been called to dive deeply into these activities, some for themselves and some on behalf of their communities.
And for almost as long, those who are called to this deeper practice have gathered together to support each other, to study and learn and practice together, and to do collectively what would be beyond the resources of any one individual.
We know little of the ancient Druids, but we know their training could take as much as 19 years. And whatever they did on the island of Anglesey, it was important enough and there were enough of them to cause the occupying Roman armies to make a point of exterminating them.
Numerous societies in the Mediterranean and Near East built temples and had priesthoods dedicated to the temples and their Gods. Some priests served for life, but many were ordinary people who served for a few months out of the year, or for a few years at some point during their lives.
Monastic traditions developed both in Christianity and in the Dharmic religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Monks are people who withdraw from the mainstream world to live lives of simplicity and contemplation. The various monastic traditions led to orders: groups of people with specific religious practices and interests.
The concept carried over into the esoteric orders of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the Ancient Druid Order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Theosophical Society, and the many civic fraternal orders.
Our Order
The Henge of the Cobbled Path follows in the footsteps of these groups and traditions. We are not a coven or a grove or a temple, we are an order.
We are a religious order. As Pagans and polytheists, our first priority is honoring our Gods, ancestors, and the various spiritual beings who are part of our lives and our world.
We are a teaching order. Sometimes we teach one-on-one, sometimes we teach in a classroom setting, and sometimes we teach experientially. Our work with the Henge helps us do a better job of understanding what we teach.
We are an ecstatic order. Our practice is rooted in the first-hand experience of Gods and spirits.