Recently, I had a talk with another Solitare in ADF about what I percieved the advantages are of belonging to an organization when one is a Solitary practioner. The young lady I was talking to was having trouble with the idea, as she's not on the Lone Path by choice, but by circumstance. These are exceprts from a couple of e-mails I sent on the subject.

[In response to her saying that ADF is not an organization for Solitaries] Personally, I disagree. I certainly think the path of the Solitary is more difficult than the path for someone in a grove, but I think that ADF has much to offer us Solitaries. If nothing else, there are the membership lists, which let us keep in contact with others in ADF, run some of our ideas by others, as well as draw on the experience of those who have lived in the groves, and keep in contact with other Solitaries.

Like I said, the path is hard. Most of my friends are atheists or Catholics (don't ask me about the second... for some reason, I seem to draw Catholics), and it's hard to be the minority voice in any conversation about religion or ethics. I don't have the support of a grove, so I have to deal with everything on my own... I'm my own liaison to the police, media, and community. While there is less that needs to be done to organize myself, I also have to rely solely on my own resources... no asking one grove member to bring the mead or beer, while I work on bread for the sacrifice. It is difficult, and much different from being a member of a grove. But there are benefits, as well.

First of all, I can strengthen my own link to the Kindreds. I don't have to deal with politics or personalities within the grove, and can't rely on other grove members to catch me if I slip... meaning I cannot allow myself to slip. Though I may be growing rigid in my techniques, I'm also growing skilled in them, because I have no option. Ones back against the wall certainly teaches one how to persevere, if nothing else. Furthermore, when I celebrate the seasons, it is my Gods who are praised, and my ancestors who are honored. While I have the resources and knowledge of the rest of ADF an e-mail away, I can grow in my own way, without the constraints that grove life puts on one. You mentioned, Kyrene, that while you were with the grove for communion with Celtic Deities, many of your grovemates were Norse in focus. As a Norseman, alone, I don't have to deal with others Gods and predications. My Sun rituals are all-Norse... I'm even going to experiment with parts of them being in German... and my fire festivals are all Celtic. I don't have to compromise with anyone save the Gods.

Because of time and money constraints, I usually only get to see other ADF members once a year. Last year, it was at Starwood. This year, because I'm attending a wedding while Starwood is going on, I'll be at Wellspring. To me, this is like a mountain man coming down from the hills once a year. He trades the fruits of his lone existence for the things he can't make himself. He bears furs trapped through the winter... I bring a different perspective and the knowledge I get from my studies. He acquires replacements for knives gone dull, or powder for a rifle... I learn new things at seminars and get a massive headache from trying to drink with Ian. When the time is over, we both go to our hermitages, sorry to leave but looking forward to what we know.

I think that ADF has much to offer Solitaries. It's a difficult path, but few of us who join as Solitaries are looking for the easy way. I think many of us who joined as Solitaries are looking for peace of mind, and are hoping to support a vision of public pagan worship... not just for groves of people singing around a fire, but for the lone pagan who chants the names of his Gods over a candle.

[On why to pay dues to ADF when one can be Solitary for free] More importantly, to my mind, is that we are part of a community. We're not howling in the woods alone as ADF Solitaires, but are contributing to the community of ADF. I don't know what it's like to be part of a grove... never been near one. However, it would seem to me that many of the benefits you get from a grove... companionship, group rituals and suppers, even access to other people's Oak Leaves, would be something you could get without joining ADF. The rituals, at the very least, are supposed to be open to everyone (even mine are... though I don't advertise when they are, if someone wishes to come along, they're perfectly welcome). You could join the grove, participate on a local level, and likely get as much out of the experience as anyone who was shelling out their $30 a year to belong to ADF.

But you wouldn't be supporting the community of ADF. To my mind, that's a betrayal of what we're emulating. Gothi, Flamen, and Druids all supported their communities. It was their job to do so, no matter how they wound up doing it. In the Ulster cycle, Scathach lived in an area that was a bitch and a half for anyone to get to. Yet, she trained those who could meet the challenge of meeting her, as her responsibility as a Druid. Can we expect less of ourselves, even when we live out in the wilds because of circumstance, not choice?