Clad in floor-length white robes, members of The Druid Order of London marched up Primrose Hill in London’s west side to participate in the pagan celebration of the Autumn Equinox on September 22. It is the only time during the year in which there are equal amounts of daylight and dark.

Laughing and smiling, members of the Order and even a mother toting a child, ascended the hill, forming a circle at the top while conducting pagan rituals and singing. The celebration drew dozens of people who were fascinated by England’s pagan past. The ceremony was followed by a picnic in a nearby park.

Originally founded in Oxford in 1245, the group dates its first official ceremony to 1717, when the Order was established at one of the highest points in the city, Primrose Hill. Since then, it has established several other annual seasonal celebrations in and around London, including the Spring Equinox Ceremony at Tower Hill and the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.

According to the website for the British Council of British Druid Orders, the group considers itself “part of the process of the rekindling, in the 21st century, of an ancient national nature religion.”

Last May, the Order obtained special clearance to hold the first May Day ceremony in 1,500 years at St. Stephen’s Gate in Westminster, which is revered as an ancient place of free speech.

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