The Anglesey Druid Order was established by Druid author Kristoffer Hughes in 1999 to facilitate learning, devotion and celebration of the wisdom and historical significance of the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) ancient seat of the British Druids. The Order evolved from its previous incarnation as Cylch Awenydd. The Order’s purpose and intent is to celebrate the historical significance of the Isle of Anglesey and the islands rich cultural heritage. It is an Order of learning and inspiration, devoted to the rekindling of the old ways and creation of new traditions that sing in praise of Anglesey’s Druidic legacy. The Order promotes the study of old Welsh literal and oral sources to facilitate a deeper connection to the spirits of this magical island.

The Anglesey Druid Order has two distinct components, on one hand it serves as a ‘Mystery School’ which facilitates the teaching of Druidry within the tradition of the Order. The Order is magical tradition that is distinctly Celtic in nature. This component is initiatory and reliant upon completion of the Order’s official training programme. The course takes the student on a journey deep into “self” by utilising techniques recently developed but inspired by the wisdom of our ancestors. Through study, ritual and exercise the student travels into the mysteries whilst held by the magic of Môn. Upon completion the student is honoured as an ‘Awenydd’ of the Order and an official member. For details of the training programme or further information please contact us.

The second component serves to celebrate the islands Druidic, legendary, mythological and sacred associations. It achieves this by providing events, workshops open rituals accessible to anyone who wishes to participate.

The Order works in partnership with secular organisations and tourism bodies to provide a means by which visitors to the island can learn and experience its sacred past.

Druidry is a living, evolving and continuously growing spirituality, and is one of the earliest native spiritual traditions of Britain and Europe of which any record survives. The Druids of antiquity were the priestly caste of the Iron-Age Celtic culture. Classical European authors wrote extensively about the traditions and practises of Druidry. Whilst a product of the European Iron-Age it is likely that the tradition arose from an earlier native stratum of belief and spirituality. Caesar, writing about the Druids of Gaul, reported that potential Druids were sent to Britain for training, implying that Druidry may well have originated in the British Isles, and was an extension of the earlier Stone-Age, and Bronze-Age religions, flavoured with the newer Celtic Cultural Continuum.

Druidry is Celtic in expression and nature, having been the spiritual belief system of the Pagan Celtic cultures of Britain and Europe. Many modern Druids take their inspiration from Celtic mythology, language and may revere Celtic deities. Whilst supressed by the power of Rome, Druidry survived in a myriad of forms, each one developed by successive generations who reinvented it in ways appropriate and applicable to their time. Today, Druidry has spread its wings and travelled to distant shores where those who are drawn by their Celtic heritage or ancestry continue to add to its development.

Druidry in Wales evolved from the Romantic Movement and the influence of Iolo Morganwg who in 1792 reinvented a new Druidry for a new age. A sudden interest in all things Celtic and Druidic gave rise to a fork in the forest path of Druidism, one path led towards the development of Occult and Neo-Pagan Druid groups, which took their inspiration from earlier fraternity and charitable Druid organisations (such as the Anglesey Druidical Society formed in 1717), and the influence of modern Occultism and Celticism. The second path led to the development of cultural, celebratory Druidry in the form of the Gorsedd of Bards of the Isle of Britain (The National Eisteddfod). The practise of Neo-Druidry since the 1950’s owes much of its creation and inspiration to the two aforementioned lineages.

Druidry is as vibrant and alive today as it was in the days of the Iron Age; it is a relevant and applicable spirituality that celebrates life, learning, tradition, heritage and ancestry.

It is a tradition that sings in praise of nature and of being.

The Anglesey Druid Order’s flavour of Druidry is distinctly Celtic and Pagan. It takes its inspiration, teachings and practise from a number of streams which include mythology, literature, poetry, local lore, and inspiration by figures such as Iolo Morganwg, the Eisteddfod movement, Wil Ifan o Fon, and the sacred landscape of the Isle of Anglesey and Gwynedd.

The use and expression of the Welsh language is an important aspect of the Order’s Druidry. Our Druidry is an expression of the relationship we have with the land, sea and sky of Anglesey and Gwynedd and its natural and human history. The Order promotes and encourages immersion in the Celtic mysteries and celebrates the cycles of life, the powers and spirits of nature and the ancestors.

Anglesey was identified as the Chief Seat of British Druidry, the Order exists to honour this connection and to maintain a Druidic presence and school of learning on the Island. The Order serves to honour the Old Gods of this land and its allegiance lies primarily with Mon as Goddess, and with the deities of the pantheistic houses of Don, Llyr and Beli Mawr. The Order is a mystery school and promotes Druidry as a magical Pagan tradition; it incorporates philosophy, exploration of the self, and Swyngyfaredd as integral aspects of its practise.

Ynys Môn, the Island of Anglesey, sacred island of the British Druids. Floating just off the northern coast of Wales, she is small by stature, yet majestic by nature, she is the Mother of all Wales and ‘Grandmother’ to the world. She is a seers dream, she is the place where magic lives and where dragons sleep awaiting the courage of heroes.

With just under 140 miles of glorious coastline she has fed, nurtured and kept a culture steeped in magic and mystery. Her name alone invokes the past, calling to the echoes of ancestors who whisper from her serene landscape. She is first referred to in European literature by the Emperor Julius Caesar circa 51 BCE, followed a century later by Pliny the Elder; who refers to Môn in his Natural History. Cornelius Tacitus quite clearly recounts the great battle between the Romans and the Druids of Môn in 60 AD under the leadership of Suetonius Paulinus. The Greek scholar Ptolemy working from Alexandria in Egypt during the second century designates the Island under her Latinised name Môna in his "Guide to Geography\.

Perhaps most significantly is the precise nature and meaning of the word Môn; from which the Latinised Môna was derived. According to leading scholars at the University of Wales the name represents a relic toponym in Wales which is pre-Celtic in origin and of considerable antiquity; and perhaps the oldest recorded place name in Britain.

Môn’s association with the Druids and Druidism, which continues to this day, suggests a deeper magic to the island, a magic which may well hide within the name itself. It has been suggested that the name Môn refers to a mother Goddess of the same calibre as Modron mother of Mabon; as Ann Benwell of the Anglesey Antiquarian Society presents in her paper "The meaning of Môn". Giraldus Cambrensis writing in 1188 recorded the phrase Môn mam Kembre, familiar today as Môn Mother of Wales, owing to the fertility of the island and her pseudonym as the bread basket of Wales. Later local lore developed the additional phrase \Grandmother of the world"; perhaps in relation to the vast influence of her Priests throughout the Neolithic and Iron Age periods.

Môn’s aura of magic, authority and power presented a problem for the incoming Romans, who quickly realised that the Druidic stronghold at Môn would have to be destroyed. Tacitus’ description of the ensuing battle further reinforces the idea of the divine, sacred feminine and her association with the island, in the fact that the front line of battle was comprised of women. Described as ferocious, black clad furies and brandishing flaming torches; it was recorded that the Roman army were struck by a great fear at the very sight of the female force. Local lore has long since proclaimed the mighty power and prowess of the Celtic/Druidic Priestess caste, which akin to the might of Boudicca had no fear of battle, and would gladly die in defence of their precious island. In Celtic society women and men would fight as equals, but it seems apparent that on Môn the women actively chose to be the first line of defence perhaps expressing Môn’s reputation as an island of the Goddess.

The plethora of ancient Celtic tales further associates the island of Môn, not only with Druids and magicians, but with their Gods. The profoundly illuminating tales of the Mabinogi tell the story of Branwen, one of the most famous Goddesses of the island and her tale of treachery, brutality, sadness and heartache and the need to acknowledge the essentialness of the shadow side. Her brother Bran, high king of the island of the Mighty, held court in the city of Aberffraw, now a sleepy, sea-side village. To this day the starlings whom Branwen befriended continue to gather in their thousands to roost at the banks of the River Alaw where she died. It is said that they flock and cry in praise of the Goddess they love so much.

Beyond the tales of Druids and Gods sit a myriad of ancient monuments, in fact Môn has one of the largest concentrations of sacred sites per square mile than any other part of Britain. They may not be to the scale of Stonehenge or Avebury, but what they lack in stature they make up for in atmosphere. The magnificent burial chamber and henge at Bryn Celli Ddu (Hill of the black grove) invites the traveller into the depths of the otherworld, to observe the passing of Venus as she shines her light into the inner sanctum, to realign the ancient lunar calendar. The summer solstice lights the long corridor into the mound, whilst the winter solstice shines a dagger upon the magnificent phallus standing free in the womb of the chamber.

No less than 6 ancient hill forts decorate the coastal regions of the island with such romantic names as "Arthur’s Table"; whilst chambered cairns, ancient villages and standing stones tickle the imagination and tease the spirit. Off the beaten track the seeker will find ancient sites almost forgotten by modern man, monuments such as Din Dryfol in the parish of Soar, a mere mile from my home; sings the songs of the mighty, its enormous standing stones piercing the silence with a hum of energy. The crumbled cairn here invites you to sleep in soft earth and dream the dreams of the dead, of the ancestors whose wisdom and magic inspire the living.

The islands sacred monuments however are only a facet, an expression of the sacredness of Môn, for she is also representative of the Order’s primary mother Goddess. She provides us with abundance and fruition, comfort and security; she is the keeper of magic and wonder, awe and inspiration. Those who travel here agree that although the plethora of monuments instils a sense of timelessness, the actual wonder is the island herself. She is a place made sacred by the passing of time and the magic of the people. This presence is very apparent at the ancient site of Llyn Cerrig Bach (Lake of the small stones); where in 1945 the largest deposit of ritualistic offerings from the age of the Druids was discovered. Cauldrons, chariots, swords, jewellery, precious items created for the gods, yet today all that remains is a small, almost insignificant lake. Yet the power and awe one feels here; causes the knee to bend in honour of the spirits of this place, lips to tremble in praise of the Goddess, heart strings are plucked evoking a familiar music from the depth of the soul.

Môn is reached by 2 land bridges from Mainland Wales. Excellent, direct, high-speed train services link the island with London and all UK destinations. Stena Line and Irish Ferries operate from Dublin Bay to Môn. Cardiff International Airport has 2 direct services to the island every weekday. The North Wales Expressway offers an efficient route for drivers.