Despite being mostly mythical nonsense, the neodruid movement never entirely lost its charm, but by the early twentieth century, interest was dwindling. The decline would not last long. With new scholarship, a better sense of the ancient religion began to take shape. When the 1960s rolled around, bringing increased interest in the environment and alternatives to main-stream spirituality, interest in druidry as a religion began anew.

There are several types of modern druid organizations. A handful of these groups claim lineage from one or more of the eighteenth-century revival orders, and their beliefs and practices are more in keeping with eighteenth century esotericism than druidry as a strict religious pursuit. Still others, sometimes referred to as Celtic Reconstructionists or neopagan druids, try to emulate as closely as possible ancient druid religious practices, gleaned from historical and archaeological reconstructions, but dispensing with the notions of the romantic revivalists.

The modern day neodruid movement sprang up somewhat simultaneously both in the United States and the United Kingdom. The first such group, the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA), was formed in 1963 as something of a lark. A group of Minnesota college students were upset with a school rule demanding mandatory attendance of religious services. Not liking any of the available choices, they opted to create their own. They chose druidry and dressed up their new religious organization with tongue-in-cheek style. When the absurd rule was finally withdrawn, pretend druids actually found themselves interested in studying druidry, and eventually the group began practicing in earnest.

About a year after the founding of the RDNA in the United States, a British poet named Ross Nichols, a member of the Ancient Druid Order, became offended by the group's election of a new leader. He set out on his own and organized a new group, which he called the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), after the classical system of druidical ranking. The OBOD emphasized a more historical, Celtic-centered mythology and ceremonies, and adopted a calendar of festivals based on the ancient Celtic calendar. The OBOD, like its parent order, places more emphasis on personal spiritual growth and inspiration than on faithfully recreating the practices of ancient druids.

What these newer druid groups and their offshoots had in common was an interest in an in-depth real spiritual experience, in contrast to the generalized esoteric spirituality and clubbishness of the fraternal druid orders and the nationalistic cultural emphasis of the Welsh groups. During the 1980s, membership in these groups and many other newly formed druid groups exploded alongside the Wiccan movement. Today, Celtic Reconstruction and druid orders are equally popular with disenchanted Wiccans and others looking for more authentic pagan traditions.

Meso-, Paleo-, and Neo-

There are three popular terms used today to sort and classify pagan belief systems and to separate modern believers from the indigenous religious practices they emulate. The term paleopagan refers to the ancient religions in their original state, as well as present-day practitioners of ancient indigenous religions. Mesopagan refers to modern-era groups who have syncretized ancient beliefs with influences from other systems, and is sometimes applied to ecumenical groups like Freemasonry. The term neopagan refers to those believers who practice admittedly modern-styled faiths such as Wicca.

Druid groups fall into one or more of these categories, depending on their philosophies and religious practices. The oldest druid groups, often described as mesopagan, are the romantic-era, Masonically inspired groups, who put little, if any, emphasis on religion or “authentic” druid practices. They are less interested in the druidry of the historical record, and tend to view their philosophy as what it is: a romantic philosophical or spiritual ideal. Many of the groups labeled mesopagan by their peers refer to themselves as “traditional” or “British Traditional,” meaning not ancient tradition but the traditions of the druid revival.

Modern Druid Beliefs

Both the neopagan and so-called mesopagan groups emphasize the sacredness of nature and its importance to human health and spiritual growth. Both adhere to the concepts of awen, or inspiration, and imbas, or divine illumination.

The “traditional” British groups and their heirs follow a calendar based on the ancient solar calendar, with four main festivals to mark the solstices and equinoxes. These are often referred to as the “Gates of Alban,” and are perceived as times when illuminating energy floods the earth, and the barriers of the Otherworld are dissolved. These are: