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WHAT DO DRUIDS BELIEVE? PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Philip Carr-Gomm | 100 pages | 03 Apr 2006 | GRANTA BOOKS | 9781862078642 | English | London, United Kingdom What is druidism? What is a druid? Although some Wiccans are also Druids — because there are some overlapping similarities between the two belief systems and therefore the groups are not mutually exclusive — most Druids are not Wiccan. In addition to the above mentioned groups, and other Druidic traditions, there are also solitary practitioners who self-identify as Druids. Seamus mac Owain, a Druid from Columbia, SC, says, "There's not a lot of written material about the Druids, so much of what we do is based upon Celtic myth and legend, as well as scholarly information that has been provided by anthropologists, historians, and so forth. We use this as a basis for rite, ritual, and practice. Share Flipboard Email. Patti Wigington. Paganism Expert. Patti Wigington is a pagan author, educator, and licensed clergy. Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Druids in History The early Druids were members of the Celtic priestly class. The ritual "need fire" ignited on holy days demonstrates the high spiritual regard the Celts had for fire, which was their main source of energy in a time without electricity, and without matches! Druidic mythology points to knowledge as the key to self awareness, symbolised by certain mythological holy-places of great importance that are associated with wisdom, such as the Well of Wisdom auspiciously located at the centre of the world , the Spiral of Annwyn, and the Cauldron of Cerridwen. Mythic places are inaccessible but also not inaccessible, for it requires a leap of faith to find them; the Well of Wisdom is at the bottom of the ocean, but to Sea Gods like Manannan, who are capable of that magical leap, the ocean is as the sky. That leap of faith is often found in the moment of poetic inspiration. As Druids were also required to be the professionals of their society, the skills they had were meant for the benefit of the tribe each Druid worked for. A Druid was expected to use her divination skills and her sight of otherworldly things for many essential and pragmatic purposes, such as: advising the tribe chiefs as they make policy, settling disputes and legal claims, and announcing the beginning of agricultural seasons such as planting, harvesting, and hunting. Druids were involved in stage-of-life rituals such as childbirth, maturity, marriage, and death. In times of war a Druids skills were needed to learn about the enemy's movements and plans, and also to call elemental powers to the aid of the tribe; alternately, the Druids could put an end to an unjust war a power for which there is a great deal of evidence. A Druid's skills belonged to her tribe and not to herself alone. In this way the Druid was an inseparable part of a Celtic tribe's life and necessary for the tribe's continued survival and welfare. In these days of mechanised farming, atomic-clock timekeeping, and satellite weather forecasting, it is difficult to grasp how the mysterious religion of the Druids, and of other ancient priesthoods, was not merely abstract, intellectual, and theoretical. The moral and ethical position of Druidism is also difficult to describe. There is some textual reference to old Celtic morality in the myths, such as the instructions of great heroes and kings to their students; Cu Chullain, Fionn Mac Cumhall, Cormac Mac Art, and others gave "advice speeches" to their juniors that survive to this day. They are characterised by a great interest in justice, honour, and fair play, and emphasise that each person is responsible for her own conduct, not determinist forces like fate or the will of gods. The Fianna hero Oisin gives us this famous statement of Celtic ethics which I shall name Oisin's Answer, because it is how he answered St. Patrick's question of what kept the Fianna together: "It is what sustained us though our days, the truth that was in our hearts, and strength in our arms, and fulfilment in our tongues. What is an Ovate? What Is a Druid? What do Druids Believe? Can Women be Druids? What Is Druidry? What is ritual? Request new password. Brendan Myers Synopsis: Dr. If the web resource below is not being displayed as intended by the site's authors, please click on this link to connect to the web resource in a separate window. Druidic Dawn is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. All rights reserved. Tags: Dr Brendan Myers, druid beliefs, ancient druids,. Filed under: What do Druids Believe? Login to post comments. Druid Forums What is ritual? What did the Ancient Druids Believe? Celtic Knowledge. Druid | Description, History, & Facts | Britannica It was inspired by the accounts of ancient Druids, and drew on the work of historical researchers, folklorists and early literature. Although some Wiccans are also Druids — because there are some overlapping similarities between the two belief systems and therefore the groups are not mutually exclusive — most Druids are not Wiccan. In addition to the above mentioned groups, and other Druidic traditions, there are also solitary practitioners who self-identify as Druids. Seamus mac Owain, a Druid from Columbia, SC, says, "There's not a lot of written material about the Druids, so much of what we do is based upon Celtic myth and legend, as well as scholarly information that has been provided by anthropologists, historians, and so forth. We use this as a basis for rite, ritual, and practice. Share Flipboard Email. So, those who are pantheists, polytheists, monotheists, and animists can adopt druidic philosophy. Monotheistic Druids would believe in a god or goddess. Polytheistic Druids would affirm gods and goddesses. Pantheistic and animistic Druids would deny a personal God and would instead affirm the presence of God, as a force, that would exist in all things. Druidism practices tolerance of many different philosophical and spiritual traditions and teaches that no one system of thought is truer than any other. Rather, it depends on the individual and the "path" that he or she has chosen. Within the Druid movement, there are "Bards" who were the ones who kept the oral traditions alive. They had to learn stories and underwent intensive training for many years. There were the Ovates who were the healers, and the Druids who were the philosophers and teachers. Druids do not practice human sacrifice, but they do celebrate eight festivals that are based upon the seasons. As the Druids looked upon nature and saw it populated with spirits, goddesses, and gods, it is safe to speculate that they regarded nature as sacred and divine. Fire-worship is central to Celtic religion as well, as it certainly played a role in the four annual Fire Festivals. The centrality of fire is another point at which Celtic and Hindu religions correlate. Fire is a spiritual force unto itself, and it is not bound into a cosmology of four equally necessary elements, as the Greeks are known to have done. Fire possesses the magical properties of both destructiveness and cleansing, bringing heat and energy and with it civilisation. Poetic inspiration is said to be a fire in the head, which is why Brighid is a deity of poets and of fire. The ritual "need fire" ignited on holy days demonstrates the high spiritual regard the Celts had for fire, which was their main source of energy in a time without electricity, and without matches! Druidic mythology points to knowledge as the key to self awareness, symbolised by certain mythological holy-places of great importance that are associated with wisdom, such as the Well of Wisdom auspiciously located at the centre of the world , the Spiral of Annwyn, and the Cauldron of Cerridwen. Mythic places are inaccessible but also not inaccessible, for it requires a leap of faith to find them; the Well of Wisdom is at the bottom of the ocean, but to Sea Gods like Manannan, who are capable of that magical leap, the ocean is as the sky. That leap of faith is often found in the moment of poetic inspiration. As Druids were also required to be the professionals of their society, the skills they had were meant for the benefit of the tribe each Druid worked for. A Druid was expected to use her divination skills and her sight of otherworldly things for many essential and pragmatic purposes, such as: advising the tribe chiefs as they make policy, settling disputes and legal claims, and announcing the beginning of agricultural seasons such as planting, harvesting, and hunting. Druids were involved in stage-of-life rituals such as childbirth, maturity, marriage, and death. In times of war a Druids skills were needed to learn about the enemy's movements and plans, and also to call elemental powers to the aid of the tribe; alternately, the Druids could put an end to an unjust war a power for which there is a great deal of evidence. A Druid's skills belonged to her tribe and not to herself alone. In this way the Druid was an inseparable part of a Celtic tribe's life and necessary for the tribe's continued survival and welfare. In these days of mechanised farming, atomic-clock timekeeping, and satellite weather forecasting, it is difficult to grasp how the mysterious religion of the Druids, and of other ancient priesthoods, was not merely abstract, intellectual, and theoretical. The moral and ethical position of Druidism is also difficult to describe. There is some textual reference to old Celtic morality in the myths, such as the instructions of great heroes and kings to their students; Cu Chullain, Fionn Mac Cumhall, Cormac Mac Art, and others gave "advice speeches" to their juniors that survive to this day.

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