OMS/RDG: Glossary

Grove	A working magickal group of Druids who meet on regular basis for ritual and fellowship.
Nest	A poly-marriage of three or more adults, usually communal. Term taken from SiaSL.
MG	The headquarters, or Mother Grove of the Order of the Mithril Star. Presently located in Humboldt County, CA.
Consensus	A Grove governs itself by consensus - 1 person, 1 vote, all decisions must be unanimous. Two thirds of the members (a quorum) must be present to transact business.
Proto-Grove	A forming Grove. 1 1st-Degree Druid and 2 warm bodies. After a year and a day, and with 3 1st-Degree Druids, and 1 Third Degree, they become a Grove.
Clerk	The Chief Executive Officer of any Grove. This person is elected from the Grove and is the main business representative, record keeper, correspondent, etc., for the Grove. The Clerk serves for a year and a day, and may serve up to three terms consecutively. The Clerk of the Mother Grove serves as Clerk for the entire Order.
Arch-Druid	Spokesperson / High Priest/ess for any Grove. The A-D serves for a year and a day, and may serve more than one term. The Arch-Druid of the Mother Grove of OMS serves as spokesperson for the entire Order . The current AD of the MG is Ceridwen Seren-Ddaear.
Clergy	A Druid of the 3rd Degree or above, who performs clerical duties such as handfastngs, funerals, dedications, etc.
Priest / Priestess	A Druid of the 3rd Degree or above officiating at an OMS sanctioned ritual. These offices are rotated amongst the qualified members of a Grove.
Order (1)	The "degrees" of the Refomed Druids of North America.
Order (2)	The OMS or Order of the Mithril Star is sometimes referred to as simply, the "Order."
RDNA	Reformed Druids of North America .
Druid	Any member of the Reform movement.
Solitaire	A Druid not associated with a physical Grove or Nest, who practices on their own. The majority of Reformed Druids currently fall into this group.
Water Sharing	Principal Sacrament of the OMS, the CAW, the RDNA ("Waters of Life"), and several other neo-Pagan groups. Derived from the novel, Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein. To be valid (in the Reform), the water must be consecrated by a Third Degree (or higher) Druid..
Water Brothers	Any two people (male or female) who share water. Water brotherhood is an intense, serious commitment. It is joining a family, and trust and love are assumed. The principle of "Be excellent to one another " is a must.
Catanative Assemblage	"The water brother of my water brother is my waterbrother." This what happens when you share water with someone who has shared with someone else, or many someone else's. You become one big family with people all over the world.
SiaSL	Stranger In A Strange Land, a science fiction novel by the late Robert A. Heinlein. OMS and CAW "Bible."
Reform	The Reformed Druid movement. The unorganized umbrella group that includes RDNA, NRDNA, HDNA, OMS, ADF, Henge of Keltria and maybe a dozen or so other groups plus countless individual Druids. Begun in 1963 as the RDNA at Carleton College in Minnesota.
CAW	Church of All Worlds : 1) Fictional religious group in SiaSL. 2) Real life neo-Pagan group founded by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, and "sister" organization to OMS.
Naturism	The clothing optional lifestyle (also sometimes call "nudism") promoted (but NEVER required) by OMS and another Druid leader, Philip Carr-Gomm) The schism from RDNA occurred because some NRDNA members didn't want to be associated with OMS because of this and,,,,,,,
Polyamory	.... the non-monogamous marital arrangement promoted (but NEVER required) by OMS and another Druid leader, Isaac Bonawits. Significant feature of SiaSL and promoted by various other Pagan groups including CAW. Another contributing factor to the schism of 2003.
NRDNA	New Reformed Druids of North America, a mainly California-based group that schismed from the RDNA in the 1970s. They dominate the RDNAtalk group on Yahoo Groups, making it largely unrepresentative of RDNA thought.
Pagan	Although we tend to use "pagan" and "neo-pagan" interchangeably, a Pagan is really someone who has grown up in or practices a religion that has been continuously passed down. The Hindu religion, with it's myriad Gods and Goddesses, would be an example of a "Pagan" religion.
Neo-Pagan	A practitioner of a revived, or modern religion, such as Wicca, Druidism, Asartru, Witchcraft, or CAW. The term "neo-pagan" is attributed to Oberon Zell-Ravenheart.
Seeker	One who is interested in spiritual matters, or one who is interested in Druidry. Seeker's usually become students and join the Reformed Druidism 101 class where they are introduced to the Order.
Sacerdotal	The duties of clergy: Ordinations, handfastings, consecrations, etc.
Discordian	1) Descriptive of groups or individuals aligned with or similar to those of the Discordian or Erisian movement. 2) An adherent or worshipper of the Goddess Discordia or Eris.
Circle	1) A formal gathering of Neo-Pagans (can be interchanged with "coven.") 2) An informal gathering of Neo-Pagans. 3) The "degrees" of the Church of All Worlds in SiaSL.
Council of Dalon ap Landou	Within the RDNA there once existed a body of elders, consisting of 3rd Orders and Arch Druids, that spoke for the RDNA. They were eventually disbanded, and today no one speaks with authority for the RDNA.
MYNT	Acronym meaning "May you never thirst."
TAG	Acronym meaning "Thou art God."
/\|\	Using the ascii, and created by a foward slash, a pipe, and a backward slash, this symbol represents the Awen or Imbas, which is the principle of enlightenment among Druids.
Grok	This one is, well, HUGE! Here's a whole essay attempting to grok the meaning of grok. CLICK HERE