Philip Carr-Gomm

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Philip Carr-Gomm (born 31 January 1955) is an English writer in the fields of psychology and Druidry, a psychologist, and one of the leaders and former Chosen Chief of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

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Early life and education

Philip Carr-Gomm was born in London, raised in Notting Hill Gate, and educated at Westminster School and University College London. His father was Francis Eardley Carr-Gomm, [1] brother of humanitarian Richard Carr-Gomm.

He met his first spiritual teacher, Ross Nichols, the founder of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, when he was 11. He began studying with him when a teenager, and joined the Order when he was 18. He studied meditation with Olivia Robertson [2] in Ireland, who later founded the Fellowship of Isis, and in his twenties he founded The Esoteric Society in London, which organised journeys for members to Bulgaria and Egypt, and hosted talks by well-known authors such as Gareth Knight, W. E. Butler, and Arthur Guirdham.

Spirituality

In 1975 Nichols died, and Carr-Gomm followed a Bulgarian teacher, Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov for seven years, giving talks on his teachings and helping with the translation and publishing of his books into English. He also travelled to Bulgaria and studied the work of Aivanhov's teacher, Peter Deunov, visiting Sofia annually for fourteen years, teaching Deunov's Paneurhythmy dance in England and at Findhorn in Scotland. In his thirties he turned to a study of psychology, taking a BSc degree at University College London and Jungian analysis, with plans to become an analyst. On discovering Psychosynthesis, he trained instead as a therapist at the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London and began a private practice.

In 1988 he was asked to lead the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. [3] He organised the Order's teachings into a distance-learning course, and edited Nichols' Book of Druidry with John Matthews. [4] Since that time, the Order has grown to become the largest Druid teaching order in the world, with Professor of History Ronald Hutton writing that 'the OBOD correspondence course arguably represents one of the major documents of British spirituality from the late twentieth century'. [5] [6]

In 2021 the new "Chosen Chief of OBOD", Eimear Burke, was installed in the presence of Dave Smith (Damh the Bard), the Order's Pendragon, and Stephanie Carr Gomm, the Order's scribe.[ citation needed ] [7] Immediately preceding this Philip Carr Gomm gave a short farewell speech regarding his thirty two years in the role of Chosen Chief of OBOD. [8] Carr Gomm made a broadcast at the beginning of the week in the Tea with a Druid Series, No. 128, addressing the current world situation and the need for peace in terms of the traditional druid's prayer and oath. [9]

Druidcraft

Druidcraft is a spiritual practice embracing elements of both Druidry and Wicca, developed by Philip Carr-Gomm, and is also the title of a book he wrote about the same topic. That book deals with the combination of druidry and wicca in a new, combined practice. Within this book, Carr-Gomm claims that the differences between Wicca and Druidry do not stem from hundreds or thousands of years worth of tradition as these two distinct paths evolved separately. [10] He claims that in fact the differences between modern Wicca and Druidism are due to the differences between two friends, Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols who were deeply involved with these paths less than 75 years ago. [11]

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