About Cascadia Grove

Cascadia Grove is a part of ADF.  The full name of our organization is Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, Inc. The first part, pronounced arn REEokht fane, is modern Irish for “Our Own Druidism” (or “Druidry” or “Magic”) and that’s what we are — an independent tradition (denomination) of Neopagan Druidism. Since many people have trouble pronouncing and spelling our Irish name, we usually just say “ADF.”

ADF is working to combine in-depth scholarship with the inspiration of artistry and spiritual practice to create a powerful modern Paganism. We’re researching and interpreting sound modem scholarship (rather than romantic fantasies) about the ancient Indo-European Pagans — the Celts, Norse, Slavs, Balts, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Vedics, and others. Upon these cultural foundations we are working to build a religion that these ancient people would appreciate and understand yet one which has depth and power for modern people. We’re developing genuine skills in composition and presentation in the musical, dramatic, graphic, textile and other arts. We’re bringing together people trained in ritual, psychic skills and applied mythology to bring the remnants of the old ways to life. We’re creating a nonsexist, non-racist, organic, flexible and publicly available religion to practice as a way of life and to hand on to future generations.

Since our founding in 1983, we have succeeded in building the foundations of this vision’s reality. We have local congregations, called groves, in many cities throughout the U.S. and Canada, along with a handful in other countries. Within those groves we are designing powerful magical and religious ceremonies to bring the blessings of the gods and goddesses to our world. Our groves offer regular public worship of the old gods, serving as centers of Pagan organizing in many localities. We offer our people the full range of religious and social activities including weddings, funerals, child blessings etc. — along with ways of enriching the soul.

We’ve created a system of training designed to work for Druidic Pagans whether solitary or participating in a Grove, so that all can participate in our work and benefit from communion with the gods and spirits. ADF has long worked to build a solid, professional training program for Pagan clergy; in addition we’re building a system of guilds, bodies of teachers and students devoted to traditional spiritual, physical and artistic skills. Together we are striving to make our training system the most complete and effective in the Pagan movement.

We’re holding regional festivals to help our members meet, study, pray and play together. We’re building temples and holy places on the land, places where the Otherworld and our common world can draw nearer. We’re actively preparing for the day when Pagan religions will be part of the mainstream global culture.

Our local Grove was formed in September of 2012 and serves the Puget Sound area.  We meet 8 times a year to celebrate the equinoxes, solstices and the cross quarter days (including Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain). All of our celebrations are free.  We invite all to share with us in celebrating the natural diversity of religious experience and expression.