Finding the Druids again November 02, 2008
To begin one needs to understand what a Druid really is and why they are important to all today.
First let me start by explaining that no matter how the following material may sound Druidism is a misnomer for it is NOT a religion. It is a way of living. It is following the laws of Nature through the Mother, Earth. For it is Her that gives us life and nurtures us.
It is through her that we wiil learn and discover the paths to growth that the Gods have created and kept open to us. And through them we learn to progress as humans. Expanding the lands of Man beyond the stars and their reality.
Lucifer and the Godess created the Druids as gardians and Guides for the Children of Man - the children. They were the first and were specially trained by Lucifer to fill their role. They were shown the ways to access and use the magic of Nature and shown how to learn to use the magic of Creation.
Due to this they learned to have great respect for all living things, and usderstood the value that each held for Man. Nothing is put here for the sake of Man yet all are available to help him in many little ways and some major ways.
Therefore, the Druids are a group of people who strive to follow the paths of Man beyond, Earth, our starting point. Even beyond what we consider death on this plane of existence. Simultaneously, they watch over the Children of Man, keeping them safe from external threats and leading them on the paths to knowledge.
They are just now starting to return for they must again lead the children through a time of great turmoil, for the second cycle of Man is ending. What equates to their teen years is over, now the children as a whole are entering into young adulthood.
Such is a time of great change. The Druids basically rested while Man went through this second cycle, which will become known as the end of the Christian era. It was necessary for the children to stretch their wings and make mistakes necessary to their learning and growth.
Now the Druids must return and bring back the knowledge which is spoken of in fairy tales and legends of ancient times. And prepare the Children for the next stage of learning and growth. Blending the old with the new in ways that will bring about true progress for the Race of Man.
Troy (An Elder and High Preist in the Traditional Order 2008
Sunday November 2, 2008 - 12:54pm (PST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments
The Druid Tarot......... October 26, 2008
Who reads the Book of Druid Destiny fortunes can reveal;
Here see the mysterious Tarot emblems each displayed,
The pentacle and chalice, the wand and sword of steel,
And know winged Hermes and the tools of his trade.
Hermes is the true guardian of trader and traveller,
Though this trickster is also protector of thieves.
His card in a spread signifies the talented or clever,
But badly placed it indicates someone who deceives.
Down through the ages in many Guises he is seen,
As nordic Loki,Roman Mercury,later as Harlequin;
With the juggler the Tarot's proceedings now begin;
Here comes I Bagatino with the tale of a fool to spin!
He strides the webs of time, the bridges of our years,
He sees the past and future, Knows our hopes and fears.
Troy 2008
Sunday October 26, 2008 - 03:24pm (PDT) Permanent Link | 2 Comments
Druidic culture in Britain..... October 21, 2008
Both on the continent and in Ireland the Druids held themselves above the kings unless they held both offices. They held themselves in very high esteem, which was shared for them by the people. The Druids called themselves "creators of the universe." In Ireland kings went nowhere without Druids to advise them. Druids believed they were the incarnations of the gods.
What were these "sanctified" or sacred places in which the Druids assembled? First and most important they were sacred groves of trees, especially oak trees. The name Druid means, "knowing the oak tree" in Gaelic. It was within these groves that most assemblies and religious ceremonies occurred. The Druids also valued the trees for curative benefits. The mistletoe, which was seen as a sign from the Celtic Otherworld (their name of a place where after life was thought to exist) was used as a cure against poisons, infertility, and even used to cure animals. It can readily be seen that it was here in these sacred groves that the Druids dispensed their judgment and punishments. When the people were not nearby groves they assembled by rivers, streams, and lakes. The Celts worshipped water gods and believed water to be sacred.
Like trees and water the Druids held some islands to be sacred too. One is the island of Mona, (also called Mon or Anglesey); the Romans destroyed the sanctuary there in 60 AD. It is thought that both Irish and British Druids periodically assembled in sacred strongholds. The Isle of Man, sacred to the sea god, Manannan, appears to have been viewed with similar solemnity. A stone discovered in the 19thcentury bore a Celtic inscription, written in Ogam (a cryptic writing used mainly for commemorative inscriptions on wood and stone), which translates: "The Stone of Dovadona, son of the Druid." This indicates Druids inhabited Man as late as the fifth and sixth century AD, and other discoveries and legends also indicate this. There is the discovery of the three sons of the fifth-century Irish King Erc buried on Iona. This preceded the coming of Saint Columba. It seems that one of Columba's brethren was sacrificed to build a monastery there. This indicates pagan beliefs and ceremonies still existed long after the coming of Christianity.
According to Welsh legend such human sacrifices were recommended and performed. During the building of Vortigen's castle the construction was delayed because as soon as a stone was laid it disappeared. The Druids ordered a child, born without a father, be sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the site to cleanse it.
There are several descriptions of Druidic human sacrifices. They were performed within a religious and spiritual sense. Many were performed publicly among the Celtic people especially at the celebration of Beltain. There were also private human sacrifices. If a leader of warriors was defeated in battle, in disgrace, he would often turn his sword upon himself. The reverse was also true, a petition to the gods, was sometimes accompanied by self-sacrifice.
Behind Druidical performance of human sacrifice laid the Druidic belief in an after life. Again Caesar emphatically states it, "Doctrinally...the most important Druid belief was that after death the soul passes from one to another -- hence the Celts' bravery in battle." This belief in reincarnation was not just in the transmigration of the soul from one human form to another, but to other life forms as well. This is evident in the Irish epic 'Tain Bo Cuailnge,' "The Cattle Raid of Cooley." In it two magical bulls possessing human reasoning, initially originating as two swineherds of the Lord of the Otherworld, pass through a long series of metamorphoses -- they become ravens, stages, warriors, water monsters, demons and aquatic worms. The evidence from archaeology, the classic writings, and vernacular tradition to the present reinforces Caesar's assertion. In tombs have been found remains of lavish amounts of food, hearty mead, equipment that would seem to indicate the belief the soul would need these things in the Otherworld.
In the poet Lucan's "Pharsalia," a verse epic about the Roman civil war, he addresses the Druids with, "If we understand you right, death is only a pause in a long life." The writer Posidonius states that Celtic men were willing to have their throats cut so they could follow their prince into death, and then into a new life.
A similar interpretation might be drawn from the sacrifice scene on the Gundestrup Cauldron. One column of warriors are marching to the sacrifice while another, reborn, are marching away from it. An explanation for this might be the Celts compared men to sacrificial vassals in which human life was offered up in exchange for another existence.
It is known that the wheel was a Celtic symbol of rebirth. The wheel appears on sword-sheaths and other pieces of art.
That the Celts did not fear death was not because they had a low regard for life or a feeling of recklessness in battle, but it arose from generations of Druid teachings. Druids taught such teachings for countless generations, having been recited at gravesites. Many seasonal assemblies were held at burial sites, including the enigmatic passage graves (dolmens of the megaliths) that stud Ireland. From these beliefs came the interweaving of the spiritual and mundane worlds until the two could hardly be separated. Such an attitude or viewpoint is a blending of ancient Celtic and proto-Celtic ideals that formed the essential and archaic nature of Druidism.
The Druids were said to be the keepers of traditional wisdom that was concerned with moral philosophy, natural phenomena and theology. They were skilled in the reading of omens, the interpretation of dreams, the conducting of sacrifices, the construction of a calendar, herbal medicine, astronomy and the composition of poetry. Some say they also practiced sexual magic.
One way the Druids read omens was by killing a victim. "The inhabitants employ a very surprising and incredible custom when they want to know matters of great importance. They consecrate a human being to death, drive a dagger into his belly, above the abdomen, and draw conclusions about events to come from the squirming of the victim and the squirting of his blood. They have been practicing this since time immemorial."
The composing of poems was the chief duty of the bard, who was also considered a priest in Druidism. In most, if not all, battles bards went along, not to fight but to record the battle that they later composed into verse to be sung and read to the people of their tribe or clan. Bards were free to move about in battle without being in danger because it was a strict rule of Druidic law that no bard should be killed. Bards, like other priests and priestesses, were considered gifted for their offices. Some were also seers.
Ammianus, a Roman historian (c. 330-395 B.C), said Druids "are uplifted by searching into things most secret and sublime."
TROY 2008
Tuesday October 21, 2008 - 04:56pm (PDT) Permanent Link | 0 Comments
DRUIDISM....... October 16, 2008
The Path to Lucifer Prince of the Morning Star.
As the Path of the Druid is a stream of expression that is romantic and appeals to the dreamer in us, but this diverts us from the full and true expression of the Tradition. Druidism is not a religion . There was no ‘sin’ in the world until the coming of the Christians. Druidism is the ancient spiritual tradition of the Celts, it roots lie in the oldest temples in this island where many Druids still honours the Solar and Lunar cycles. Druidism is a spiritual path to gaining and holding inner Light and expressing your higher self. But as a Druid you have to walk it all the time as you connect to the ancestral ways. Walking this path is only possible by being balanced and in your centre. To be in your centre is to achieve a ‘balance’ between thinking and intuiting. It is only in your centre that you can discover and express your magical higher self. Being in this balance means being in a god like awareness we call the 'Witness'. This is where to hold your awareness – i.e. ‘turned on’ and in balance.
Looking for the Druid path in line with the passage of the Sun and Moon. You can Grow to be involved in simple Druid Ceremonies you will know why you develop our psychic and intuitive muscle. You will see the shift to the magic realms in yourself as you gain awareness of the rites of passage into your higher self. This is where you may discover that the whispers of Spirit (that are often called conversation with the Gods are actually coming from you. You learn to find the Path with an open heart.
You will attend at Rituals wearing a ‘Celtic Mantle’ (full cloak), quietly speaking to the High Druid of the Grove by signing with your fingers - Your Ogham password and then your own name. You will be very much aware
As a Druid, you are a spiritual healer, teacher, counsellor and ceremonial leader. You seek to attend Sun and Moon Ritual Ceremonies at sacred sites. You realise that because you have transformed yourself that the world you live in is also transformed –
Love Life
Honour the Gods
Do no Evil
Practice Bravery
Seek Wisdom
Know the Truth this is the only way for a true Druid. of the the Old faith.
