In an era where artificial intelligence and virtual reality beckon even the most nature-honoring traditions, a seasoned voice from within Druidry raises a troubling question: can digital spirituality ever truly touch the soul? Luke Eastwood, a Druid who began programming computers in 1979 and later studied computing at university before turning to alternative spirituality, offers a rare dual perspective that challenges the headlong rush toward technological integration in Pagan practice.

“While these machines are wonderful tools for communication,” Eastwood writes, “I certainly feel that in terms of actually truly experiencing the spiritual life – computers and spirituality are mutually exclusive.” His concern stems not from technophobia but from deep familiarity: he understands both the power and the profound limitation of digital systems. Neo-Druidry, he reminds us, is grounded in direct connection with nature, the elements, the animal and plant kingdoms, the Earth itself, and the realm of Spirit—including ancestors and invisible forces.

Eastwood observes with dismay that within the Druid and wider Pagan community, there appears to be “little or no opposition to the onward march” embracing concepts like Virtual Reality and AI within alternative spirituality. For a tradition that venerates the living, breathing world, the substitution of simulated experience for genuine encounter with the sacred Earth may represent a crossing of a threshold from which there is no return.