NEW FOREST APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS...
...have been patterned as closely as possible alongside the original methodologies employed by the Pheryllt Priesthood, the powerful Megalithic order on which later Celtic Druidism was [in large part] based. Unlike the quasi-commercial, "mail-order-diploma-style" schooling employed by re-constructionists like the OBOD and ADF, New Forest Apprenticeship is unique in that we deal with something truly Authentic... 1:1 exchange with adepts who have both completed the System, and had many years experience teaching it. That is the way it was done, and must be to fulfill today's goals.
New Forest programs are selective and quality-based, with finances never entering into the picture anywhere; the Ancients believed that money and spirituality should never cross lines in genuine Apprenticeship, and so do we. The number of men working through our System at any one given time, is normally between 30-50; this includes those working both at the Center personally, and those participating through online tutorials. While all students are required to complete Major Scale Degrees in person, (i.e. at either NF Centre or Camp NF), interim work is done utilizing a combination of email, website exchanges & Skype communication tools.
New Forest programs are selective and quality-based, with finances never entering into the picture anywhere; the Ancients believed that money and spirituality should never cross lines in genuine Apprenticeship, and so do we. The number of men working through our System at any one given time, is normally between 30-50; this includes those working both at the Center personally, and those participating through online tutorials. While all students are required to complete Major Scale Degrees in person, (i.e. at either NF Centre or Camp NF), interim work is done utilizing a combination of email, website exchanges & Skype communication tools.
SELECTIVITY WITH A PURPOSE
Our programs were personally designed & refined by Douglas Monroe, author of the Merlyn Trilogy (and founder of New Forest Centre NY), and follow the books' philosophy and methodology closely. We have been working actively as an organization since 1991.
It must be stressed here, however, that NF Apprenticeship is neither suitable nor accessible to everyone. The Pheryllt System is still, after 20+ years of exposure, considered academically & spiritually controversial by the "Celtic Orthodoxy"... the main reason being, that critics have become side-tracked either by what we call the "pumpkin patch syndrome," or by misguided sexist interpretations. Additionally, our system was solely designed for use within a very specific group of seekers... albeit, the perceptual problem which blinds our detractors; the simple fact is, that they were never called to the Pheryllt path of study in the first place, and thereby cannot 'see it.'
So, misinterpretation is a built-in part of the NF learning game; unavoidable and understandable. To better grasp this concept of 'selectivity,' we here quote from the prologue to Douglas Monroe's 21 LESSONS OF MERLYN:
It must be stressed here, however, that NF Apprenticeship is neither suitable nor accessible to everyone. The Pheryllt System is still, after 20+ years of exposure, considered academically & spiritually controversial by the "Celtic Orthodoxy"... the main reason being, that critics have become side-tracked either by what we call the "pumpkin patch syndrome," or by misguided sexist interpretations. Additionally, our system was solely designed for use within a very specific group of seekers... albeit, the perceptual problem which blinds our detractors; the simple fact is, that they were never called to the Pheryllt path of study in the first place, and thereby cannot 'see it.'
So, misinterpretation is a built-in part of the NF learning game; unavoidable and understandable. To better grasp this concept of 'selectivity,' we here quote from the prologue to Douglas Monroe's 21 LESSONS OF MERLYN:
"Lastly, let the reader be aware that the Archetypal World outlined in this book
is not intended for everyone--- nor, for that matter, is any one religious system.
Its grand, awe-inspiring, 'Gothic' views on reality, religion & sexuality, will only be fully appreciated by serious seekers--- and we might go as far as to say,
only by those gentle fanatics for whom it is destined.
But to those few readers born into this era seeking to
'Walk once more upon England's mountains green,' I heartily say,'Welcome back!'
For, as the Christian scriptures have come to remind us at last:
'Many are called, but few are chosen.'"
is not intended for everyone--- nor, for that matter, is any one religious system.
Its grand, awe-inspiring, 'Gothic' views on reality, religion & sexuality, will only be fully appreciated by serious seekers--- and we might go as far as to say,
only by those gentle fanatics for whom it is destined.
But to those few readers born into this era seeking to
'Walk once more upon England's mountains green,' I heartily say,'Welcome back!'
For, as the Christian scriptures have come to remind us at last:
'Many are called, but few are chosen.'"
Yet before outlining our system further, let us take a moment to define the 9 key precepts upon which our pedagogy is based:
*1 The Triadic Superstructure (tertiary learning sequence)
*2 The Doctrine of 'Constructive Imbalance' (movement=growth=movement)
*3 The 'Doctrine of Separations' (Duality/Polarity)
*4 The Quests of Mastery (rank qualifiers)
*5 The Concept of 'Elemental Authority'
*6 The Master Sequence, 'Root, Pattern, Destiny'
*7 The Doctrine of 'Right Action'
*8 The 'Learning Ladder of Fion'
*9 The 'Law of Similarity' (spiritual like-forces attract)
"More than anyone,
the Primal Mystic can claim to a vocation:
That it is Druidism that chose him, not he it."
(---Ward Rutherford, 'The Druids: Magicians of the West')
the Primal Mystic can claim to a vocation:
That it is Druidism that chose him, not he it."
(---Ward Rutherford, 'The Druids: Magicians of the West')