Druid's Prayer

What it is

This is a short prayer in the Welsh language. Its Welsh name is Gweddi'r Derwydd, and it also goes by Gweddi'r Orsedd, which English speakers call the Gorsedd Prayer. Iolo Morganwg wrote it, and it has stayed in use ever since. Druids say it as part of ceremony, and both the gorseddau and Neo-Druid groups treat it as central. Because the same words turn up across many different druid groups, people in the movement often describe it as the prayer in which every druid can join. It exists in more than one form, and groups pick the one they prefer.

In Barddas

The prayer appears in Barddas, the collection of Iolo Morganwg's writings gathered and edited by the Reverend John Williams ab Ithel. That volume holds six versions of the Gorsedd Prayer, given in Welsh and again in English. One Welsh word, gwynvyd, is left untranslated, and it means roughly 'heaven'. The third of the six is the one most druid groups have taken up. Gorsedd Cymru uses it. So does the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, usually called OBOD, though that group changes a single word.

Wording and changes

The original text says Duw, 'God'. Neo-Druids sometimes put y Dduwies, 'the Goddess', in its place, so the prayer addresses a female figure instead. The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids generally prefers 'Spirit' where other groups keep 'God'. These are small edits to a short text, but they show that the prayer is not set in stone: each group says it in the way that fits its own understanding. The Welsh wording, and the English renderings printed beside it in Barddas, stay the base that everyone works from.

A prayer in common

Druids today do not agree on everything, and their groups differ in size and in belief. The prayer gives them one thing they can all say. That is why it keeps returning in ceremony: it marks the shared ground of druidic practice. Saying it, or hearing it spoken, is a way of standing with other druids. The versions matter here as well. Choosing 'God', 'the Goddess' or 'Spirit' is a choice about who is being addressed, and each group makes that choice inside the same inherited text.

How Druid's Prayer is kept

Gorseddau and Neo-Druid groups give the prayer a place in their ceremonies. Those taking part say it aloud together, or hear it spoken as part of the ritual. The sources describe no further order beyond that; it belongs to the ceremony as a whole. Groups choose among the versions, so the words heard at one gathering may differ from those at another. Some druids keep Iolo Morganwg's 'God', others say 'the Goddess', and OBOD, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, usually uses 'Spirit'.

When and where

There is no set day. The sources tie the Druid's Prayer to no festival and no season. It belongs to druidic ritual instead, spoken whenever a gorsedd or a Neo-Druid group meets for ceremony. Because so many groups use it, druids often speak of it as the words that hold all druids together.

It comes from Wales and the wider United Kingdom, the home of Iolo Morganwg's work and of the gorseddau. Welsh gorseddau keep it, and Neo-Druid groups use it too, since the prayer travelled with the broader druid movement.

What Druid's Prayer means

For the people who use it, the prayer is common ground. Druids from different groups can say the same words, which is why they speak of it as theirs in common, across groups and across countries. The small changes matter too: addressing 'the Goddess', or saying 'Spirit' instead of 'God', shows a group making the text its own while keeping the shape it inherited.

Questions people ask about Druid's Prayer

See also

Presentation of Jesus at the TempleA February feast of candles and welcome, kept forty days after ChristmasSaint George's DayA saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSt John's EveBonfires, feasting and worship on the short night before John the Baptist's feastSaint Andrew's DayThe feast of Andrew the Apostle, kept on 30 November and Scotland's national day

Good reading and sources

• Druid's Prayer on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-09.