Sunshine Blessings: photographer Roo Lewis meets modern day druids

Date
23 November 2016

From his Tottenham-based studio, photographer Roo Lewis makes pictures for brands including VICE, Wonderland, Elle, Sony, EMI, Topshop, Audi, Island Records, Getty, The Sunday Times and Waitrose. For this series, exclusive to It’s Nice That, Roo travelled to rural Shropshire in search of the truth behind the myths surrounding the pagan world of the druids. He tells us about how he gained access to this mysterious group.

The project began with art director Lauren Catten (whose former clients include Lloyds, Grey, L’Oreal and The Guardian) who came to me with the idea to explore druidry and what it means today. “I wanted to see what it was that led people to this way of life, what it entailed and who they were. Do they have a cup of tea and a fry up before a ceremony? Do they have a day job?” she wondered. The answer in both cases turned out to be most definitely yes. Paganism is a belief system which doesn’t fit into main world religions and as a result there are many myths about it. Being a pagan doesn’t mean you are a druid, either. Being a druid is an ancient tie to a philosopher, magician, teacher and councillor. A lot of people think of Lord of the Rings as an example of druidry, or of wizards, but the reality is quite different – and possibly even better.

It was 7pm and the phone rang off the hook. I had been given a number of a telephone box in Glastonbury to make contact with the leader of the Rainbow People. Not directly, of course – I had to speak to a man called Pete, who doesn’t have a mobile, to arrange contact. There was no answer, but luckily I had been given Steve Snake’s number and “he would be well up for a photo”. He wasn’t. It was becoming quite the endeavour to make contact with people in the druid community: everyone I emailed was either uninterested in being part of the project or sceptical of my intentions.

Calls to phone boxes proving redundant, I attended a London-based conference I saw advertised and met lots of lovely people who pointed me in the right direction, to Wild Ways in Shropshire. After speaking with the lovely Bristolian and Order of Bards and druids spokesperson Adrian Rooke, I jumped in the car with Lauren and we travelled to Wild Ways to meet our first druids. Welcomed with tea, cake and warm smiles, we began to make a connection. It was important to me that we earned their trust – our intention was partly to dispel myths rather than enforce them – so we spent most of the time learning about who they are and what they do and not taking photos. It was important to them that they were represented accurately: “dressing up for the camera” was not something they were interested in. 

The site at Wild Ways is incredible and holds many elements within the grounds that provide opportunities for all the different ceremonies the seasons present for the druid. We were lucky enough to be invited to photograph a ceremony at the stone circle on site, complete with sheep that behaved like dogs at the owner Elaine’s arrival. As we walked down through the woods to the circle we talked mostly about weather and normal British stuff interspersed with tales of legends of past ceremonies and wild events. This particular ceremony was about thanking nature for summer and welcoming the change in seasons. Druidry is a spiritual path where emphasis is placed on worshipping nature and harmonising with the will of its majesty.

Adrian, who has been practising for over 25 years, describes druidry as “a belief system that encourages me to see and to feel the sacredness of all life, to harmonise myself to the ever turning wheel of the year (Mother Nature), to explore the beauty and the wonder encapsulated within each season, each living being, trees, plants, animals. Druidry is to explore our connection to the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit and to connect with our ancestors embracing change.”

I captured the ceremony and then moved on to portraits as the opportunely-timed sun came out. It was wonderful to capture their different styles and personalities, each of them a celebrated individual. Greywolf, acclaimed author and Chief of the British Druid Order, can be seen howling to the sky and banging his custom-made drum, lost in a reverie of rhythm in the sun’s final rays. 

Ceremony conducted, we returned for tea, cake and cats. For me, the group of old friends relaxing in their robes with a cuppa while surveying the curry menu was the most surreal but best moment: the perfect juxtaposition between old and new, with a group of people very comfortable with their place in the world above, and the world below. 

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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Roo Lewis and Lauren Catten: Druids

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