Jeff Russell

Fair enough!

Hmm, a few thoughts, before proposing a new set of questions. First off, I first tried the Heathen LBRP when getting serious about religion/magic, and I had some very strong-feeling reactions. For the reasons I mentioned above, I ended up switching into the SOP for the Druid Magic Handbook (if Isaac Hill's Heathen Golden Dawn had been available at the time, I very well might have gone with that, but it wasn't, and here I am - likely all to some end). I found the SOP lacked much in the way of "feeling" when I started, and even 2-3 years of practice later, it's not as much as I felt with the LBRP+MP, but my other spiritual work is proceeding well, so I assume it's doing its job.

Secondly, after doing the DMH work for a while, I considered joining the AODA for some community/support, but after talking to some other folks in JMG's community, I decided against it. I've heard mixed things, with the negatives mostly being potential infection by too much of the politics of the day. On the plus side, the newly ordained Bishop in the UGC, Claire, is one of AODA's Archdruids and a (the?) Bishop of the GCC, and she's lovely. All of which is to say that you can quite readily do almost all of the spiritual work the AODA offers solo, if that turns out to be a better path.

Thirdly, though you might already be familiar, just in case not, I figured I'd float a couple of other options. First, if you find the LBRP congenial, have no particular bond with the Heathen Gods, and feel called to Druidry in some shape, there's always the Celtic Golden Dawn. I gave the book a read through when trying to work out what to do for myself and decided it was less amenable to bringing in Heathen Gods than the DMH, along with the thought I needed to be careful bringing too much more solar energy into my life. Also, if you find the GCC attractive, but are not sure about it as an organization, there is also the UGC, which has a different set of benefits and downsides that might fit you better. Lastly, the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose work can be done with either the SOP or the LBRP. Just to say that you might not have to pick between AODA or totally building from scratch.

Now, with all that said, would these two questions (with the same answer spreads as above) work better?

"What does anonymous most need to understand about joining the AODA and/or the GCC?" (cut out the bit about the SOP)

"What does anonymous most need to understand about using the LBRP as his/her banishing ritual?"

Once again, let me know if you think these need any tweaks, and once we have it nailed down, I'll do the reading in the next couple of days.

Cheers,
Jeff