Ellen Evert Hopman is a master herbalist, the author of several books. She founded Tribe of the Oak and currently serves as Archdruid Emerita. She’s been a druidic initiate since 1984.
In this episode, we talk about her work, the ancient druids, modern druidry, herbs, and so much more. And what else can I say? Although conversations with my guests on M3 frequently motivate me to go learn more about a particular topic, it is very rare thing for me to be inspired to join a group or tradition. But this talk with Ellen did exactly that. I found what she said so interesting that I went and joined Tribe of the Oak.
As always, you’ll find the written highlights here, but I can only do a small amount of justice to hearing things straight from the source. For the full understanding of all topics discussed, be sure to watch the video or listen to the episode on your favorite podcasting platform.
A Long Story
When I asked Ellen to share a little bit about her background, she told me it was a long story. Well you know what? I love long stories. She’s been involved in so many different things for so many years that it does take a while to talk about all of it.
I first met Ellen at Summer Magick Fest. She happily brought some of her books as donations to our prison ministry book drive. Unfortunately, the workshop she was presenting that week was slotted right next to mine. Since I wasn’t able to attend, I figured I’d do the next best thing and have her as a guest here.
To give you the short version, she fell in love with Irish music and became a cèilidh dancer. When she visited Scotland, she heard about druids for the first time and immediately resonated with idea. Upon returning to the United States, she managed to link up with some druids while working full-time as an herbalist. Eventually, she was able to form her own druidic groups and orders. I’m probably not giving her story the justice it deserves, but that’s what happens with the short version of things.
Celtic Druidry
Ellen has written many books, but the one we’ll focus on for now is called Celtic Druidry: Rituals, Techniques, & Magical Practices.
According to her, the purpose of the book is to give little snippets of information based on topics she feels are the most important points for every student of druidry should know. And then there’s further information on how to learn more, such as book lists, footnotes, and resource recommendations. She says she isn’t the ultimate authority of being a druid, so there’s no assumption that this is the only valid approach.
Although she rather humbly makes it sound almost like a sampler, I have got to tell you that it’s jam packed with information. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has any level of interest in the druids.
Among its pages, you will find information on druidic rituals, magickal tools, techniques, deities, and holy days. She also spends a good deal of time discussing real history and what survives of druidic writings, easily separating fact from fiction.
Hopefully this book can help you answer this one giant question that’s been burning in my brain…
What is a Druid?
I realize asking “what is a druid” is almost a bit like asking “what is a witch.” It can have a rather simple answer or it can keep people locked in an argument for days. She laughed when I asked her, saying, “one could write an entire book about that!”
Does loving trees or nature make you a druid? Do you have to be an old guy with a long white beard to be a druid?
Ellen breaks it down for me from a historical perspective. The druids were tribal experts. You know our doctors and lawyers today? They would have been druids.
Poets and bards? Also druids.
We’re seriously talking about the ancient equivalent of a doctorate, where you choose and specialty and devote your life to it. These people spent years and years in study. They advised the nobles and the tribal leaders. They served the tribe.
Interestingly enough, magick was only one aspect of a druid’s role. They were also engaged in very mundane tasks like going over laws or history.
This was a completely oral tradition, by the way. They didn’t write down anything! The knowledge was passed down from one druid to another. Unfortunately, that’s why we know so little today — most of the written sources actually come from Christian monks (who were obviously not druids themselves and were merely writing about druids they observed).
Tribe of the Oak
Tribe of Oak Order is a Celtic Reconstructionist Druid order that focuses on online study. You can learn more about them at their website or by visiting their Facebook group.
The order was founded 2014. Ellen served as the Archdruid until very recently. Although she has stepped down from the position (and is now Archdruid Emerita), she is still very active with the group.
From their website:
We are the “People of the Oak”. Oak trees are sacred to all cultures across the European continent and sacred to all cultures that these magnificent trees dwell in.
We have gathered together here to help connect our thoughts and our ideas on what the ancestors may have believed and how they may have worshiped. We discuss the books we are reading and share resources, rites, and the ideas and inspirations of our collective Grove energy.
We are a Celtic Reconstructionist Druid Order which means we base our study and practice on ancient Celtic traditions and readings. The work starts with an extensive reading list (you may have read a number of the books already) and then progresses to one-on-one study with your foster. Most people take about three years to finish. There are hands-on, non-literary tasks, tools to make, and seasonal projects in addition to the basic reading.
Once the work is done there is initiation, and then you pick a major focus and pledge to master and teach for the rest of your life.
If you’re serious about learning, it’s possible to apply for training. I know this firsthand… because I did it! And I’m currently going through lessons.
Ellen’s Other Books
Here are some of Ellen’s other books.
I say “some” because she has written almost twenty, including a fiction series called Priestess of the Forest — if you enjoy reading fiction, definitely check it out!
Herbalism, Parallels, and Other Topics
In the full interview, Ellen explains lots of other topics. One thing I found particularly fascinating was when she talked about parallels between Druidry and Hinduism. We also spent a good deal of time speaking about herbalism, including how she gathers elder berry and echinacea in the woods to make medicinal tinctures. If you want to hear all about those topics (and you should because they’re really cool!) then you’ll have to watch to the full video!
Finding Ellen Online
Ellen is pretty active on social media and also has her own website. As a result, it’s not terribly difficult to find her online!
- Website: https://elleneverthopman.com/
- Bluesky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/elleneverthopman.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elleneverthopman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllenEvertHopmanAuthor
You can also find Tribe of the Oak, the Druidic Order for which she serves as Archdruid Emerita, you can do so at their website.
Music & Magick
As far as combining music with personal practices goes, Ellen shares a beautiful story about playing music for the faeries. If you want to hear that, you’ll have to listen to it in her own words.
But her advice is to take an instrument out into a wild or unpopulated area and play it! Let the faeries know the music is for them, leave them a treat, and see what happens.
Short Videos
If you’ve only got 60 seconds or less… check out some of these short video highlights I put together from the interview.
What is a Druid
Triple Goddesses
Faeries and Music
Conclusions
We covered a ton of different topics in this article, but even more in the full video. If you’re interested in learning from Ellen, do be sure to grab one of her books. I hope you enjoyed reading (or watching). If you wouldn’t mind taking a second to do me a quick favor, please pop over to YouTube and click the subscribe button on my channel — that would make a huge difference to me! And of course, if you really want to help support me making content…. you can always check out my Patreon!
Phew. I know this is your favorite part of every article I write. Yes, the fine print. Listen, there are a bunch of links on this page. Some of those links go to Amazon. If you use one of those links to make a purchase, Amazon will pay me a very tiny commission. Just to give you an idea of how tiny that is, over the past 2 years I’ve made a total of $20. If you divide that by 730 (the number of days in two years), that means I have an average daily income rate of $.02. I hope to be able to retire off of this in 50 million years. That’s just a fun fact for you. Now you know.
Aerik Arkadian 
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