What About Druids?
We’ve all heard of Druids…..Most of us believe we know what they are…or were…or are…or…
If you’ve seen TV news, you’ve probably seen them performing ceremony around Stonehenge on one of the Solstices. Most people think of them as Nature Priests for the Celtic Peoples of Olden Times and that they still exist today, performing their duties and rituals just the way they did during Ceasar’s time in Rome.
Unfortunately, like the Easter Bunny, this is a slight misperception… Today the world of Druidism is a wild and woolly place. Filled with many factions, filled with fun and oft times filled with righteous indignation. Depending upon who you speak with, you can get a widely divergent perspective on these mysterious folks.
Let’s start at the beginning…..A long time ago in lands, seemingly far, far away there were Druids. According to the American Heritage Dictionary:
dru·id also Dru·id
n. A member of an order of priests in ancient Gaul and Britain who appear in Welsh and Irish legend as prophets and sorcerers.
This is also a terrible abbreviation for a Druid. Druids existed all over, according to the writings of many of those who had occasion to deal with them, such as Ceaser, Tacitus, to the Greeks like Sotion of Alexandria. Indeed, there are members of the archeological community who maintain they were as far north as Scandinavia, as far south as Southern France, as far west as the Isles west of Ireland and Scotland and may have been as far east as the Russian Steppe. Indeed, wherever there were Celts, you would find the Druid. Whether or not this true is still hotly debated today.
But what were they? Were they Priests? Perhaps. But the word ‘priest’ is just as misleading. When one thinks of a priest, one invariably thinks of religion. But the Druids went much further than mere religion. Take a look at the ancient Celts. They were a much mixed group comprised of perhaps hundreds of differing tribes. Each tribe had it’s own politics, religion, government, language and so forth. The Druids somehow were able to bridge much of this and could travel between these tribes easily. This by itself indicates they went beyond mere religion in such societies.
While the common understanding of what a Druid is says that they were the priests of their world (and all male), this is an overly simplistic explanation. While the written record is somewhat sketchy and the archeological record scarcer still, new discoveries are occuring all the time in this realm.
The Druid actually held a wide variety of positions in the Celtic world. Some were Judges and Teachers. Some were Merchants and Tradesmen. Some were Warriors and Kings. Still others might be Oracles or Architects and Healers. One thing they all held in common was a love, discipline and dedication to their roots, their history and the natural order of the world as they understood it.
In many ways they could be considered the ‘Secret Keepers’, if you will. When in doubt, invariably a Druid would be sought to bring clarity to a situation, argument or dispute. They might be consulted during times of construction to make sure that the building was being constructed properly and would be long lasting.
A druid was expected to know his history and to also know their own areas of strength and develop them to their best ability while still pushing the envelope in personal growth and evolution. Druids were not all experts in the same areas and often they would overlap or refer to another Druid with Greater Expertise. This is of course an idealized version of Druidism and in all likelihood they were not as perfect as presented here. They were people, just like us. But unlike most of us, they tried to help lead their people through exemplifying the qualities held most high and thereby helping the survival of the whole as much as possible.
But were they leaders? Not always. While there may have been Kings and Warlords who were Druid, not every leader was. This is one reason why it is so hard for history to pigeonhole them. The Celts were a complex group of peoples.
Druids did not all come from the same tribe. Indeed, they were often those who worked with various groups of peoples who spoke different languages, held very different customs as well as differing political viewpoints. Often a village a mere ten miles from your own might speak a different language or dialect, be organized differently, worship unknown gods or goddesses. Druids often helped grease the wheels of trade and tried their best to reduce enmity.
Perhaps these abilities were one thing which helped hold them in such high regard by their fellow Celts. Having survived the various onslaughts of Roman legions, they only began to fall prey to disfavor only after the Roman Catholic Church had been well established and those who would not convert would have been executed or driven out by the new Christian Church.
Operating using a primarily oral tradition, much has been lost about exactly what the Druids did and what exactly they were experts at and exactly what made them so indispensible to the people of ancient times. The Archeological Record has been opening some doors in recent years and bringing fresh light onto these subjects.
Current incarnations of Druidry includes:
The Ancient Order of Druids (AOD) was founded in England in 1781 as a secret society, rather similar to the Freemasons. The tradition in the Order is that it was organised by a Henry Hurle, builder and surveyor of London, at a meeting at the Kings Arms Tavern in Poland Street, London; it was organized along the lines of Freemasonry, thus setting in motion the movement of Neodruidism that continues to this day.
The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic order based in England. It has grown to become a dynamic druid organisation, with members in all parts of the world. It was founded in 1964 by Ross Nichols, a poet, artist and historian who was Chairman of the Ancient Order of Druids. The teachings were arranged in the form of a distance-learning course mailed to members around the world. There is a network of tutors, many using email, to support the students’ progress through the grades of Bard, Ovate and Druid. Members meet at camps, at workshops and assemblies in various parts of the world, and a network of groves and seedgroups also exists. There are a number of internet forums, a private members’ website in addition to OBOD’s public-access site, a monthly journal ‘Touchstone’ and quarterly journals in Dutch and for Australasia.
Beyond these two (which are some of the best known), there are the following various Druid groups, schools and organizations. This represents only a part of what is available in the modern druidic realm:
http://www.geocities.com/jaronmcllyr/homepage.html
Druid Order of the Sacred Grove
http://druidnetwork.org/
The Druid Network
http://www.sisterhoodofavalon.org/
Sisterhood of Avalon
http://www.geocities.com/mikerdna/
Reformed Druids
http://cobdo.org.uk/
Council of British Druid Orders
http://www.whiteoakdruids.org/
Order of White Oak
http://www.britishdruidorder.co.uk/home.htm
British Druid Order
http://www.druidschool.com/
Ireland’s Druid School
http://www.avalonmysteryschool.net/
Avalon Mystery School
http://www.avaloncollege.org/
Avalon Center for Druid Studies
http://www.igld.org/
International Grand Lodge of Druidism
http://www.adf.org/core/
Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship
http://www.insular.org.uk/
Insular Order of Druids
http://www.imbas.org/
IMBAS - Celtic Reconstruction of Druidry
http://www.aoda.org/
Ancient Order of Druids in America
http://www.keltria.org/
Henge of Keltria
While many of these names sound very serious, somber and austere, there are druid groups who are in it primarily for the fun of it.
The Reformed Druids of North America, or RDNA, was formed at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1963, and marked the start of the American branch of neo-druidism. This congregation is called the Carleton Grove, sometimes the Mother Grove. There are over 40 groves and proto-groves of the RDNA, throughout the United States and Canada. As of 2005 there were approximately 400 grove members, between 2500 and 4000 Druids. and about 100 priests and priestesses. Reformed Druidism began as a protest of the college’s requirement that all students attend a certain number of religious services or meetings per term. One way of fulfilling the requirement was to attend services of one’s own religion. The Reformed Druids of North America proposed to test the degree of freedom permitted under this clause.
So it is quite often with tongue firmly planted in cheek that they view many other druidic groups. Consequently many of the more austere, serious and reconstructionist Neo-Druids in todays world look upon them as not real druids.
There is so much info flying around out in the world these days about what Druidism is and what it is not, often conflicting, that it is quite difficult to wade through it all with complete certainty. The true days of true druidry are long gone. All we have are third hand accounts, archeological evidence attempting to back up conclusions, supposition and in some cases, complete fairy tales to try and understand these complex people and societies with.
The only period info we have comes from the Greeks and the Romans and those within their influence such as Julius Caeser, Pliny the Elder and Tacitus, among a few others. But these are written by non-druids and worse still, by their enemies, their would be subjugators.
Until we can build a time machine and go back and actually observe, we will never Really know who they were and exactly what they were all about.
1 commentRising Gael - Hot Irish Band From Madison, WI!
Rising Gael have established themselves as one of the youngest and most promising Irish groups in Wisconsin, opening for Gaelic Storm last year and set to play multiple venues around the country.
Though only together for a few short years, this young band delivers with both skill, enthusiasm and fun. They are clearly enjoying their work and don’t seem to be taking themselves too awfully seriously as yet.
Clearly, they will only improve with time and greater exposure in the Celtic Music world. Their style at the moment is traditional with a twist into the modern. Rising Gael demonstrates a sense of unity and unabashed fun.
Rising Gael’s songs are driven by their entrancing vocalist, Erin Ellison, who’s delivery is both smoky and light hearted. Backed by the deft, fiddling fingers of Katie Dionne , who’s clearly having fun onstage, and driven forward by the trance-sending drumming of ]eff Olson, who becomes one with his drums, and the versatile guitar of Peter Tissot, who helps tie everyone together, with his effortless-looking guitar skill. There is something organic about each song and even traditional arrangements sound fresh and invigorating.
Erin Ellison caught up with us at the Irish Festival in Milwaukee, several years back. She has been a customer of ours and enjoys our jewelry. On their latest video on YouTube, you can see her singing away, while she wears our designs. She recently sent us an email telling us about her band and our jewelry.
She says: “I have received several e-mails asking where my fabulous jewelry is from! I own several of your pieces–most recently, a dazzling opal ring that I purchased from you at the Milwaukee Irish Fest–and I continue to spread the word on your environmentally and socially responsible jewelry. After every gig I seem to get at least one fan asking where I buy my ornate earrings, rings, etc.”
Now, that’s the kind of feedback we love! Cheers to Erin, Peter, Katie and Jeff!
The band has two CDs out currently (self titled ‘Rising Gael‘-2004, and ‘These City Walls’-2006) and is working on their third, which they hope will be out come spring this year. In 2007 the band was nominated for “Best World Artist” by The Madison Area Music Awards, and won “Best World Album” for These City Walls. They have also enjoyed touring the midwest and western states of the US.
Rising Gael is a Hot, Up and Comer and someone to look forward to. Catch them if you can! Erin’s smokin’ hot style in the traditional song “Donald McGillavry” starts with the traditional arrangement reminiscent of “The Clan’s” rendition from ‘The Roke’ album. Erin makes it a bit more fun while keeping it fast and light and is effortless in her transition to the tin whistle and back. Rising Gael does great justice to this grande old Scottish tale of the Jacobite era.
Visit Rising Gael’s website and order their CDs: www.risinggael.com
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Tales of the Tuatha De Danaan
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*Here are compiled many of the tales of the mystical people called the Tuatha De Danaan, “the people of Danu”, or the “men of Dea” or “the people of the goddess Dana (Danu)”. Though not the first (the fifth, actually) of the many waves of conquerors to come to the Emerald Isle, they are one of the most remembered of the groups. They are thought to have become the source of or joined with the fairy folk when their time was done upon the Isle. Different versions of their stories abound.
The Christians made them primarily mortal men and women who shaped Ireland and were one of the first groups to actually bring Ireland under one rule to the greater benefit of all who lived there. There are still traces left of their ’supernatural’ origins and the tales of the common folk abound and indeed today many have enjoyed a resurgence of popularity.
The tales herein are from a work by Lady Agusta Gregory in 1904. They are a compilation from her work entitled, “Gods and Fighting Men, The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland.” Though she did not write them, she did arrange them and have them translated into English.
Visit the links to view the stories:
The Tuatha De Danaan Tales:
Fight with the Firbolgs
Reign of Bres
The Coming of Lugh
The Sons of Tuireann
The Great Battle of Magh Tuireadh
Hidden House of Lugh
The Landing
The Battle of Tailltin
Bodb Deag
The Dagda
Angus Og
The Morrigu
Aine
Aoibhell
Midhir and Etain
Manannan
Manannan at Play
His Call to Bran
His Three Calls to Cormac
Cliodna’s Wave
Call to Connla
Tadg in Manannan’s Islands
Laegaire in the Happy Plain
Fate of the Children of Lir
The Tales of the Fianna:
The Coming of Finn
Finn’s Household
Birth of Bran
Oisin’s Mother
The Best Men of the Fianna
The Lad of the Skins
Black, Brown, and Grey
The Hound
Red Ridge
The Enemies of Ireland
Cael and Credhe
Conn Crither
Glas Son of Dremen
Help of the Men of Dea
The March of the Fianna
The First Fighters
The King of Ulsters Son
The High King’s Son
The King of Lochlann and his Sons
Labran’s Journey
The Great Fight
Credhe’s Lament
King of Britains Son
Cave of Ceiscoran
Donn, Son of Midhir
Hospitality of Cuanna’s House
Cats Heads and Dog Heads
Lomna’s Head
Illbrec of Ess Ruadh
The Cave of Cruachan
The Wedding at Ceann Slieve
The Shadowy One
Finn’s Madness
The Red Woman
Finn and the Phantoms
The Pigs of Angus
The Hunt of Slieve Cuilinn
Oisin’s Children
Birth of Diarmuid
How Diarmuid Got His Love-Spot
The Daughter of King Under-Wave
The Hard Servant
The House of the Quicken Trees
The Flight from Teamhair
The Pursuit
The Green Champions
The Wood of Dubhros
The Quarrel
The Wanderers
Fighting and Peace
The Boar of Beinn Gulbain
Tailc, Son of Treon
Meargach’s Wife
Ailne’s Revenge
The Quarrel with the Sons of Morna
Death of Goll
The Battle of Gabhra
The Death of Bran
The Call of Oisin
The Last of the Great Men
Oisin’s Story
Oisin in Patrick’s House
The Arguments
Oisin’s Lament
The Mabinogion - Classic Texts from Medieval Wales
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The Mabinogion is a cycle of Welsh legends collected in the Red Book of Hergest, a 14th century manuscript which is in the library of Oxford Universityin London.
Mabinogion means ‘tales of youth’; although this appellation only applies to a few of the stories, it was appropriated by Lady Guest in 1877 as the title of this book, and The Mabinogion is now used as the name of the entire collection.
The stories are based on historical characters and incidents from the Dark Ages in Wales and the surrounding areas, embellished with supernatural and folklore elements. Throughout there are echoes of primordial Celtic mythology and folklore, including the ancient gods and goddesses.
Like most clan and tribal based groups of people, the Welsh have a rich and deep oral history. Almost everything we know about the ancient Celts is based upon writings from Christian monks when these lands eventually became primarily Christian in their religious base. Most of the oral stories have changed over the centuries as the oral system changed over to a written system. We now know most of them as only stories for children and so forth. They have lost quite a bit of their original vim and vigor.
The first five tales are Welsh versions of incidents from the Arthurian legends.
The Mabinogion itself consists of the four connected narratives (called ‘the branches’) from:
Pwll, Prince of Dyved, through Math, the Son of Mathonwy.
Additionally there are three further stories, including the legend of one of the most famous bards of Wales, Taliesin.
The Mabinogion is one of the masterpieces of world literature, and a basic must-read for anyone who wants to have an understanding of Celtic lore.
These stories are brought to you courtesy of the Sacred Texts Website (http://www.sacred-texts.com), one of the most comprehensive sites on the web for religious and spiritual writings.
Below are links to each of the stories. After each story is the comprehensive list of notes that will help clear up any confusion from the story as written. They will also give certain reference sources for further research.
The Lady of the Fountain
Peredur the Son of Evrawc
Geraint the Son of Erbin
Kilhwch and Olwen
The Dream of Rhonabwy
Pwyll, Prince of Dyved
Branwen the Daughter of Llyr
Manawyddan the Son of Llyr
Math the Son of Mathonwy
The Dream of Maxen Wledig
The Story of Lludd and Llevelys
The Tale of Taliesin
No commentsWelcome To Celtic Expressions!
Welcome to our first post! We are just starting it up and soon you will find many things of interest for those whose interests include the Celtic Realms, whether they be the ancient historical Celts, those numerous tribes of indigenous peoples who spanned Western Europe, The British Isles and elsewhere, or the thoroughly modern versions we have come to know and love through the entertainment venues available. Films like Rob Roy, Braveheart, Darby O’gill and the Little People, even TV shows like the Mists of Avalon, Merlin and even modern musical bands like Clannad, Wolfstone, Five Hand Reel and even the Killdares who bring a Rock and Roll aspect to traditional music…
All of these have inspired and shaped our world in varying degrees and shapes. We look forward to exploring the Celtic Realms a little more deeply with all of our readers. Enjoy!
No commentsWhy Celebrate the Winter Solstice?
- A Modern Take On Celebrating The Winter Solstice
We live in a fast paced, work-a-day world where everyone runs at full tilt towards the elusive goal of happiness and success. Many of us experience the winter holidays as an onerous duty filled series of events. Most of us celebrate the holidays as we were taught to through our religious (or lack thereof) upbringings. But regardless of how you were raised, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, there is one thing that is common to all; The Winter Solstice. It is that precarious balancing act of light and dark where we experience the longest night as well as the shortest day for the whole year.
With our modern conveniences and technology, we often take this time of year for granted and look upon the winter as something to play in on the slopes or to simply enjoy for its natural beauty. Many of us take no notice of the Winter Solstice as it slides by us on our busy way to Christmas. We are caught up in the hurly-burly of shopping, planning and travel.
Yet in ages past and even up to as late as the early twentieth century, Winter Solstice has always marked a turning point in our year. To the people of Celtic lands, Winter Solstice marked the turning point for the Winter and the dark times of the year when survival was at its lowest ebb. Communities would come together and often share with each other or with those less fortunate so that everyone could survive. Vigils and ceremonies were held, especially fire ceremonies to help encourage the sun to come back with his promise of summer and a good growing season. Virtually, all of our common holiday ‘traditions’ come from these ancient rites aimed at our continued survival and seeking blessing from the greater powers of nature and of the divine.
Today modern Celtic peoples celebrate these events in various ways and not always on the Winter Solstice itself.
In Scotland there is the festival of Hogmanay, which always includes a fire celebration, which may be as little as marching through the village with flaming torches, chanting, or building a huge bonfire and watching it burn all night to even swinging round huge balls of fire in a dance reminiscent of the Dervishes of the Middle East. After, of course there is the required revelry of feasting drinking and dancing long through the night, oft times into the next day.
In the Shetland Islands, there is the traditional Viking invasion, with a horde of Vikings in full regalia marching into the village and being given the town as their own for the day. By the evening they bring in their full scale Viking war ship which is then burned with much pomp and circumstance.
Modern Druids celebrate the Winter Solstice through the festival of Alban Arthan, (Light of Winter or Light of Arthur, in Welsh) where they perform solemn as well as joyous rites in celebration of the Solstice and also stand vigil for the actual moment itself, acting as shepherds for the light of the sun for that one day. Thus marks the end of the rule of the Holly King and begins the rule of the Oak King. Alban Arthan is a ceremony of renewal and rebirth that welcomes the light of the sun back into our lives to warm us and nurture us.
In ancient times, the Yule Log was a large log of Oak (symbol of the Sun God or the Oak King) and was burned to help bring back the power of the sun and to help release the essence of the Oak King. The log had to burn throughout the night of the Solstice without fail or bad luck would come. This later became the smaller Yule log we know now as a log burned in the home during this same time. This has been further refined in today’s technology driven world to a simple log ornament where a candle is held and kept alight throughout the night.
The celebration of Christmas as we know it now is based upon it’s older pre-Christian celebrations of the Winter Solstice. The choice of December 25 was made by the Pope Julius I in the fourth century AD, as this coincided with the celebration of Winter Solstice. The intent was to replace the Pagan celebration with the Christian one. This helped bring more people into the fold of Christianity.
Yet, why should we, in our enlightened, technological age, celebrate the Winter Solstice at all? Isn’t it all just a bunch of superstitious hooey, to bend us to the will of others, or to keep us cowed by the forces of nature? Isn’t the modern world capable of doing without such antiquated celebrations?
Mankind has always run on belief and faith. This is one thing that sets us apart from many other creatures. Everyone has beliefs, even Atheists. But the celebration of Winter Solstice has its origins in the very real and sanguine world of day to day survival. If it became too cold for too long or you ran out of food, water or shelter, you died. The Winter Solstice is a gesture of faith in our fellow human being as well as a gesture of faith in the world, and those forces we may not always be able to perceive.
If nothing else, Winter Solstice is a time for us to get out of our holes and get together with others, whether family, friends or perfect strangers and take some little time to take stock of ourselves a bit; looking forward to the coming new year and the return of the warmth. Most of us profess to wanting to become closer to the natural world, to be able to slow down a little to enjoy a little of life’s rich bounty. Celebrating Winter Solstice gives us that opportunity to enjoy a little nature, to enjoy a little company of family and friends; to enjoy a little bit of yourself with yourself.
No matter how you celebrate it, whether with ceremony, prayer, reveling, dancing or chanting at a fire, taking a little time to at least acknowledge the Winter Solstice can help you stay at least a little bit more in tune with the cycles of nature and the real world around you.
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