Wow. When I noted here on my blog that
"I belong to two Druid orders" in a list of personal trivia
items, I had no idea that there would be so much response and
curiosity from people who read the post. Because I've done a few of
these little awards that require the publication of these lists, I
was running out of even marginally interesting factoids. This
apparently was an interesting one. Who knew? Since I am not sure
whether folks want to know about Druidism generally or my interest in
the discipline specifically, I'll address both as succinctly as I
can.
There's a lot to say about contemporary
Druidism. There excellent books on the subject and dumb ones, and a
lot of places to find out about it, but I think just an attempt at
the basics will satisfy curiosity here.
To begin with, I want to point out that
Rowan Williams, a recent and former Archbishop of Canterbury, is a member of
a Welsh Druid order, his designation part of the Gorsedd of Bards.
As is Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family because
of their special connection to Wales. Their induction was into a
cultural and social order, promoting the preservation and development
of the Welsh language and cultural traditions.
Princess Elizabeth, 1946 Glamorgan, Wales
Although this order dates from the
Celtic Revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries, it's survived as one
of the oldest of the many contemporary groups that seek to make a
modern connection with the ancient Iron Age social and spiritual
structures that defined Druidism. There has been lots of interest
from the children of the Celtic diaspora. In the US, one of the
first organized attempts began with students at Carleton College who,
in 1963, established the RDNA (The Reformed Druids of North America)
as a Monty Python-esque political response to a requirement that
students attend regular religious services. The idea evolved into
something more serious minded, and the RDNA is still around with some
400 groves (affiliated groups) and as many as 4000 self-identified
Druids. The Wikipedia entry on Druidism says that " According
to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), there are
approximately 30,000 Druids in the United States. There are
approximately 50,000 Druids worldwide." These figures come from
their2001 survey.
And before I go much further, I also
need to point out that the image of a Gandalf-class wizard with blue
fire springing from his fingertips has nothing at all to do with the
practice of contemporary Druidism. This figure now belongs in
cos-play and gaming and epic sci-fantasy fiction, although he has his
origins in Celtic folklore and mythology.
In a big, fat, seriously oversimplified
nutshell, the ancient Druids were the functionaries of the educated
classes of the cultures that spoke the Celtic languages. Those
languages evolved in parts of the ancient world that are now
continental Europe and the British isles. Where there were Celts,
there were Druids. They were the teachers, judges, lawyers, priests,
politicians, poets, musicians, storytellers, historians and other
intelligentsia of their tribes. We know precious little first-hand
information about them because, while many were literate and could
read and write in Greek and Latin, they did not leave written records
of their own. The corpus of written history comes primarily from
the Roman records of their occupation of Britain and the parts of
conquered Europe inhabited by the Celtic tribes. Essentially, they
are reports about the vanquished by the victors, and have to be
approached with care. We have other information from remnants of
oral tradition and folk tales, and most interestingly to me, the
early medieval records of very ancient Irish Brehon law. We have
educated assumptions based on archeology, anthropology and
linguistics. However, there is no direct, unbroken connection
between Iron Age Celts and modern Druidism. No matter how much
people would like there to be one, there just isn't. It is a part of
a repeating revival of interest in all things Celtic, and a
deliberate effort has been made to reconstruct the essence of the
real thing.
Today, modern Druidism is as varied as
the groups and individuals who claim it as a philosophical or
spiritual pursuit, or both. It can be practiced in highly stratified
orders, or small casually organized groups or it can be an individual
pursuit. It is one of the rare spiritual disciplines that has
connections with both Christianity and the neo-pagan belief systems
of the Western World, and has acknowleged roots in early
Indo-European religions.
***
To further oversimplify using the
time-honored nutshell method; here are some of the primary ideas
understood and accepted by most Druids and Druid organizations:
A highly valued relationship
with the natural world, and by extension all our primary human
relationships, an understanding of the connectedness of everything.
Most Druids consider the relationship to the Land as primary sacred
concept, and are consequently concerned in some way with
environmental issues. From this understanding of the natural world
flows the more poetic approach to life and death, ancient beliefs in
reincarnation, rebirth and renewal, and the idea of otherworlds.
Druids
are universally tree lovers.
Seasonal festivals
There are four major celebrations
inspired by ancient agricultural festivals, the seasons of nature and
survival ... this is one area that is more or less traceable to
actual practices. There are four more dictated by solar and lunar
events that are sometimes included in modern tradition, but not
viewed as historically likely. Not all are celebrated universally.
Values, Virtues and Ethics
Druidism places high value on the
virtues of truth, wisdom, honor, courage, personal responsibility,
integrity, self-knowledge, hospitality, friendship, generosity, and
creativity. Especially creativity, which is honored within the
concept of "Awen," the divine fire of inspiration.
Ancestors
are venerated. That extends to intellectual or
artistic lineages and inspirators. Family and community are valued,
but those ideas are not limited to only the most traditional
versions. There are lots of ways to experience family through
Druidism.
Theology (a discussion that is
just too big to be tackled here ...)
But, on the subject of deity, I can say
that Druidism acknowledges monotheism, polytheism, all the isms. Or
none of them, and there are lots of Druidy types who are not
religious at all and regard their practice as pure philosophy.
(A personal note on one of the
reasons I appreciate Druid theology; Druidism is non-dogmatic.
Philip Carr-Gomm, a well respected author closely associated with The
Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) was right when he wrote;
“most Druids are keen to avoid the problems caused by dictating a
morality to others.” (What Do Druids Believe?
p. 59.) Consequently, there is no proselytizing
by modern Druids. I particularly like that. )
Most believe in gravity and the
scientific method.
There is an acknowledged value attached
to any honest pursuit of knowledge, the attainment of education,
scholarship and academic excellence. Critical thinking is valued as
well as creativity.
****
This last virtue brings me to my
personal response to Druidism. It is important to me that my
spiritual life is able to exist comfortably with my intellectual
life. Contemporary Druidism allows that. Druidism is not a received
and revealed religion, and there is no sacred text to define it's
parameters. But it is an inspired response to some of the cultural
values that were likely part of the lives of my own ancestors and now
resonate with my own life in the modern world. The Druids of the Iron
Age Celtic tribes were the stewards of all that we now define as
civilization. It was their job to seek order, justice and peace and
to promote reason, beauty and spirituality within a warrior culture.
The intellectual legacy of ancient Druidism belongs not only to men
but to women as well, who we know participated in these important
civil functions and public life more fully than elsewhere in the
classical world. I'm drawn to Druidism's beauty, and I practice the
elements of it that give me the most satisfaction.
Modern Druidism is a system of many
uses for me, inspired by ideals that can be thoughtfully and happily
applied to my personal life and my response to the world around me.
The idea isn't to try to act as an ancient druid in a modern time, or
impose the culture of ancients on our own era. It is to approach the
above values and virtues with an evolved understanding and then apply
them to the issues that we face in a modern world.
I belong to the moderately-sized but
international Order of the White Oak (Ord na Darach Gile) and to the
very small Triskele Oaks Grove, a small independent group. Beyond
that, I'm pretty much a garden variety contemporary Druidess. Any
more than that, I only feel comfortable keeping to myself or sharing
with those who love me and therefore have to put up with me.
If you have other questions that you'd
like me to address, you can reach me through my email address: kelts
at centurytel dot net.
