druidism

Discussion in 'Paganism' started by pink floyd, May 13, 2004.

  1. pink floyd

    pink floyd carousing&ransacking

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    Can anyone tell me more about Druidism? i would really like to know more about it (i.e. philosophy, practices, etc)

    id love to hear your thoughts on the subject :)

    -sarah
     
  2. Pharoah

    Pharoah Member

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    I've found a great recource to be www.sacred-texts.com just do a search on Druids. I think I'm gonna do that right now as well!

    :)
     
  3. Nistix

    Nistix Member

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    I was made a 'bard' when I went to the winter solstice at Avebury stone circle near where i live a couple of years ago.

    Basically they believe in the ultimate power of nature and derive their philosophy from their heart felt connection with it.
    So basically... take the feeling you get when you feel overpowered by the beauty of nature and use that feeling to build a philosophy, then you are half way to understanding druidism.

    This is a summery on a website:

    Neo-druidic Liturgy



    The original ceremonies of the neo-druids involved gathering in a wooded place periodically (usually weekly, but some groups used astrology to calculate meeting times), for
    • the ritual consumption of "spirits" (Irish or Scotch whiskey blended with water) called "the water of life" (uiskibaugh, or whiskey),
    • the singing of religious songs,
    • the performance of ceremonial chanting, and,
    • occasionally, a sermon.
    The written RDNA liturgy calls for
    • a "sacrifice of life", reflecting the core of the Reform, namely plant rather than animal sacrifices, and
    • (for the ordination of a priest) an outdoor vigil.
    Specifically in the Mother Grove, the use of Scotch rather than Irish whiskey has been an ironic tradition dating from the first ceremony, at which a partial bottle of Scotch whiskey had been at hand, left unfinished at the end of a party the previous night.


    The major holy days are the quarter days (solstices and equinoxes) and the solar festivals (approximately half way in between the quarter days, these are: Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain and Imbolg). These are celebrated with (usually outdoor) parties with a religious theme, much singing of religious songs, dancing in circles, etc. Various individuals will also have their own private ceremonies. Often, small groups will break off, and perform their own separated ceremonies before rejoining the general group - these groups are often split along initiatory lines as those of higher degree work their own ceremonies.

    Individual choice is a major theme. So is ecology, though more in the sense of being sensitive to it and living lightly on the land than in the sense of a study of the interrelationship of lives at various scales.

    The major gods are, in RDNA liturgy, the Earth-Mother (addressed as "our Mother") and Dalon Ap Landu, the Lord of Groves; otherwise, the Earth and the Sun (named in Gaelic). Some individuals prefer to devote most of their praise, however, to other gods, like Health or Music (usually also named in Gaelic). And "A Druid Fellowship" has various scholastic posts and honors, though usually in the arts as devoted to religious praise rather than as formal studies. Neo-druidism is considered a Neo-pagan religion
     
  4. Nistix

    Nistix Member

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    This is what 'bobcat' the druidess says. (she is the one who made me a bard)



    Druidry is a spirituality which reveres, above all, the powers of nature. Although it exists now as a critically modern philosophy, it does so only because it has continuously evolved in tune with the clearest visions of humankind, and has done so with its roots spread deeply into the soil beneath our feet, around the rockbase of these islands on the western edge of Europe. Honouring the earth and the ancestors it is the indigenous spiritual tradition of our land.

    The path of becoming a Druid, which is an ongoing process with no clear endpoint, one which I would perhaps describe as a journey of self-location. In Druidry we search for our self. We learn of the earth, of nature, of the stars, studying the elements of creation and of destruction, slowly reaching a profound consciousness of where it is we are. In honouring our ancestors, those of our bloodline, of our spiritual heritage and of the land beneath our feet, and acknowledging the cyclicity of live that exists in each day, in each moon tide, in each solar year and stellar revolution, in each life time after life time, so honouring our descendants, we come to a consciousness of where we are in time. This act of locating ourselves in time and space guides us into perfect presence, with an understanding that it is only in that momentary gap that exists between the past and the future, here and now, that we have power, the power that offers us freedom of soul and body.

    Yet to reach this point is a long journey and fraught with challenge and adventure, grief and bloodshed. In Druidry then we also learn the craft of creating sanctuary within which we are able to explore every moment, to find its potential, to break through the barriers, to face the shadows, to dance our rage and glory, to learn of intimacy and trust, that we may progress along the way. That sanctuary, the "nemeton", may be within a circle of stones, a grove of trees, a line marked with a finger in the mud or sand, or it may simply a circle created through intention and ritual. A Druid may habitually create her sanctuary in one way in one place, or she may adapt to each moment, making sacred time and sacred space in countless different ways. Either way, she will be always learning how to take that place with the minutes or hours spent there deeper into a sense of perfect sanctuary, lifting it with reverence closer to the source of pure power and potentiality that is her deity.

    The circle sanctuary is the container within which the Druid intensifies and progresses along his path to perfect presence. Yet there is another key element to Druidry without which the faith would have lost its essence many stellar tides since, and that is the focus on flow. "Awen," meaning "flowing spirit," is the heart of the Druid tradition that has been pumping life energy through its being for these millennia past.

    Some would define "awen" as meaning divine inspiration, for it is that act of reaching into the source of creative/destructive energy, of touching the gods in sacred communion, that floods us with inspiration. That inspiration may be felt in many ways, from a mental clarity to a physical ecstasy, but its nature is holistic, flowing through every part of our being which is able to take it. Blocks of illhealth, in mind, body and soul, will slow up or stop the flow, unless the connection is strong enough to blast through the barricades. The more often the Druid makes that connection with his deities, receiving the "awen", the better able is he to use the inspiration, to allow it to flow through him, and to express it through his living.

    This flow of divine energy is ever moving through the web of spirit connectedness which is our reality and that of the worlds we live in. We may find a moment of divine communion as we take in the beauty of a exquisite moonrise, as we walk into the ocean, as we sit under an old tree sensing it holding us gently. If we understand that every element of creation is animate with its own spirit, its own spark of divine energy, we can understand the flow to be about communication, about relationship. There is awen in the interaction between the rocks and the waters of the stream, there is awen in the touch of the birdsong on the wind in the leaves of the tree. Yet too, where there is ill health in the natural world beyond the human psyche, where there are blocks, where there is friction, the flow of spirit energy is staggered or damned. The result is continued disease, disorientation, dislocation and perhaps death.

    The sanctuary of the Druid, the "nemeton" which is a place of learning perfect presence and the powers of "awen" is not always closed to the reality of shared worlds beyond the temple ritual. The Druid who has learned how to create sacred space learns too the ways in which the flow of spirit energy pours from that sacred space, integrating and inspiring, as she learns how to express the inspiration received in a way that is as true to spirit and as close to potential as is possible.

    Geomancy then, from a Druidic perspective, is about location and flow. It is the art of finding where and when we are, of seeing - with all our sensory receptors - the flows of spirit connectedness, of divine inspiration and shimmering "awen", that run through the here and now. And as we step forward, from this moment to the next, conscious of relationship, conscious of self, geomancy is about the responsible and appropriate placement of each footstep, each sound and move of the hand in creation and destruction, aware of the flow, spirit to spirit. May we be guided by the old gods to do it well.
     
  5. cerridwen

    cerridwen in stitches

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    Nistix, that sounds really cool!

    Any search on the internet will give you loads of detail on druidery....
     
  6. YogaOfLove

    YogaOfLove Member

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    i had never heard of druids before, but i am truly intrigued now, this sounds like something that i am very intersted in, and i think i want to find out more
     
  7. sassure

    sassure Member

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    To get to the crux of druidism, find a place of scenic natural beauty, a place that inspires you, a place that makes you swell with elation. You will see how Nature can empower you, how the natural can affect the supernatural, how a connection can be made between a perceived world and an unperceived "soul"....
     
  8. gnrm23

    gnrm23 Senior Member

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  9. DJ K.A.L.I.

    DJ K.A.L.I. Member

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    Unless I have Clairiton, Benedryl, allergy injections, I just can't enjoy the outdoors.

    Going to a warehouse, filled with Techno music, funny costumes?
    A lot easier!

    It works really! I never used drugs, because I didn't need them. I believed in meditation in dance, and the spirit in motion. Not just sitting there watching others.

    At first I did, because I didn't understand the music, but once I understood the sound that was Techno, I made my own jewelry to reflect the sound I heard.

    Lots of clangs, bomps, 130bpm does kind of throw you off if you haven't heard it before.

    Bye for now!
    DJ K.A.L.I.
     
  10. Cate

    Cate Member

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    Hi,


    I've posted a thread in the UK community forum about learning Druidry through the OBOD course. If you live near the Oxford area and are interested in joining the course http://druidry.org then please check out the thread ('Druidry') and email me at vivelatrout@hotmail.com

    Cate
     

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