1. Why Druidism in the 20th Century?
Why not? :) Actually, there are a number of good reasons for modern people to consider Druidism. Some see it as a way to reconnect, or "ground" themselves in history, or to improve their relationship with their ancestors (if they are of Celtic descent). Some are attracted by the relationship with the natural world that a Druid cultivates, or by the artistic, creative methods used to build that relationship. There are those who choose Druidism over other forms of neopaganism. Perhaps a reason for that is because Druidism is not only a branch of neopaganism, but also the subject of academic study. Druidism is often of interest to archaeologists, historians, and mythographers who don't necissarily consider themselves Druids, or even remotely pagan. Thus, there is a wealth of serious academic material available concerning the Druids, and many discover Druidism through it. Finally, there are those who choose Druidism over more conventional religions that are more accepted and widespread, such as Christianity. Christianity belongs to a middle-eastern language, culture, and mythology-set; Druidism belongs to the Indo-European set from which we in the West inherit virtually all our other cultural practices, including our languages. An exploration of Druidism is for many people a resurgence in Western Europe's indigenous spirituality. Many seek Asatru to revive Northern Europe's spirituality for much of the same reason. If mainstream religions cannot provide answers to those "deep", spiritual, and philosophical questions, Druidism or another form of neopaganism often provides them.
2. Do you have to be Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Scottish or Irish to follow the Druid tradition?
No. All though the Path takes its inspiration from the "Celtic" countries, the spirituality and philosophy taught by Druidry is not constrained by your ancestry or where you live.
3. Do I have to be vegetarian if I want to become a Druid?
No. Druidism has nothing to do with eating meat or not. Eating meat is perfectly natural, as nature proves when we look at the hunting animals. It is customary, however, to thank your deities for everything you receive
4. Do I have to become a naturist and walk around naked if I want to become a Druid?
No. Though naturism is a philosophy and a way of life that has historical links with modern Druidry, and fits perfectly with the Druid understanding of life, you don't have to be a Naturist to be a Druid! There is nothing in Druidry that requires nudity, and one of the fundamental principles of the Druid way is that you should never feel that you have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. If Naturism isn't for you that's fine!
5. Do I have to wear a white robe?
No. Many people feel uncomfortable wearing robes. Others will wear a robe linked with the colour associated with their grade, for example: Blue for Bards, Green for Ovates and white for Druids.
6.Do I have to be able to write poetry, tell stories and play an instrument?
It is not necesary to have any artistic talents to
7. In what way does Druidry differ from any other Neo-Pagan paths?
Druids strive to be at one with Nature. Unlike other religions that see deity as a supernatural entity. Druids see deity within nature, within every living soul, within everything. Modern Day druidry is far different from what ancient druids were like, mainly because Druids don't have the same social standing as they did back then. Druids played a very important role in society, responsible for laws, religious worship and entertainment. Neo-Druidry may seem similar to other Neo-Pagan paths, mainly because as with all Pagan Paths, Nature plays a very important role. Wicca has certain aspects of Druidry within it, this is because Wicca is a blend of pagan paths including Celtic Druidry.
8. Can women become a Druid?
Yes. In the ancient Celtic society, both women and men were druids. Women were treated as equals and were able to own and inherit land etc.. There is archeological evidence to support this. The 18th century revivalists, however, were mainly men so Druidry did get the reputation of being a patriarchal tradition. This was mainly because the early revivalist Druid groups bore more similarity to freemasonry than to historic Druidism. In recent years the balance has been achieved and membership of many Druid orders is divided equally between men and women.
9. Do Druids meet in groups?
When Druids meet in a group it is called a "Grove". Some Orders have groups called Seedgroups or Proto Groves, made up of people who are just starting their Druidic Journeys. Several people, however, choose to follow the path of the Solitary Druid, and thus do not gather with others in a Grove.
10. Do Druids have to honour the Celtic Gods?
Although Druidry draws its inspiration from the Celtic religion of Druidism, people are free to find their own Path to their Deity or Deities. Personal freedom is paramount in most modern Druid groups.
11. Can I become a Druid and still be a Christian?
Of course. Though ancient Druidism was not based on Christianity but on the worship of the ancient Celtic gods, modern-day Druids have the freedom to choose their own religion. Druidism does not oblige anyone to worship any particular God or Goddess, or to follow any religion at all. Druidism is a way of life where nature is held in high regard and reverence, and can be implemented in most religions.
12. In the ancient times, they say it took nineteen years to train a Druid, how can people now call themselves Druid in far less time?
The world has changed a lot over the last few thousand years. In ancient times it took nineteen years to become a Druid, but this course of training included many of those subjects that we learn today at school. And nineteen years is also a symbolic length of time: it represents a Metonic cycle: a calculation of the time between two almost identical eclipses, and a calculation which also succeeded in uniting the solar and lunar calendars. And so nineteen years symbolizes the time it might take for someone to unite the sun and moon, the Masculine and the Feminine, within their beings. Today it still takes a long time to achieve this union in the depths of our souls, and the study of Druidry is a lifetime pursuit for many. But we no longer need to train for nineteen years before we can call ourselves a Druid. In fact the term Druid has now come to denote, for many, the type of spirituality they follow.
13. What is the difference between druidry and druidism?
The term "Druidry" was a creation of Ross Nichols, one of the major luminaries in the English Druid community in the mid-twentieth century. He wanted to stress that the Druid path was not an "ism," an ideology or set of beliefs, but a craft, a set of practices and traditions sharing common principles. The English language gives the suffix "-ry" to any number of crafts, such as pottery and forestry; the example of Freemasonry was probably also in Nichols' mind (nobody talks about "Masonism"). More recently the two words have become convenient labels for the two main approaches in the Druid community, with "Druidism" used most often by recent Celtic Reconstructionist groups who base their versions of the Druid way on modern scholarship, while "Druidry" is used most often by older groups who work with the heritage of the Druid Revival. In short, the term 'Druidism' is used when referring to a Druidic community, and 'Druidry' when referring to a solitary follower of the 'path'.
14. Did the Druids build Stonehenge?
Some historians now say that the Celtic race (if there ever was such a thing) never reached the British Isles in any great number. The British were British until the invasion of the Romans and, later, the Saxons. If Caesar's statement that the Druids from Gaul were sent to Britain to be trained, then Ancient Druidry already existed on this island. These ancient people have been called "proto-Druids" or early Druids. If this is true, then Stonehenge was built by Druids, long before the religion reached its height during the iron age. However, other historians dispute this. So, the answer has to be an absolute, positive, maybe....
15. What about Glastonbury?
Some folkloric traditions and mythographic examinations suggest that Glastonbury Tor is the mythic Isle of Avalon. If, for example, the nearby river were to flood, the Tor would be an island. A certain thorn tree is said to be the descendant of the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, which was changed into a thorn tree when he set it there (the Thorn is sacred to faeries!), when he brought the Grail to Britain. Avalon means "Isle of Apples", and apple orchards do grow there. Some archaeologists believe that, if one accounts for centuries of erosion, the sides of the Tor are terraced into the shape of a Cretan Maze pattern. Whether or not the region is Druidic, anyone who has meditated by the nearby Chalice Well knows it is a holy place.
16. Do Druids worship the Sun and always perform their rituals during the day?
There are no fixed rules as to when Druids perform their ceremonies; however, the public rituals are often held "in the eye of the Sun".
17. Do the Druids practice human sacrifice?
NO! The modern-day Druids do not practice any form of sacrifice of living beings. The tales of Druids sacrificing people comes from the Romans, who recorded that the Druids sacrificed condemned criminals. Judicial executions were no different elsewhere in Europe, including Saxony. The Romans wrote that such victims were tied into huge wicker man-shaped effigies and burned alive. Caesar recorded that the Celts who were grievously ill and those who were engaged in perilous battles employed the Druids as ministers for animal and human sacrifice. No one in the tribe was allowed to perform a sacrifice without a Druid. Note that the humans who were sacrificed were probably prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Strabo wrote how the Celts sacrificed their prisoners by slitting out their throats over a cauldron. There is another theory which speculates that human sacrifice was done as a ritual of re-enactment of the Primal Sacrifice from which the world was made; in this manner, the breath would be sent back to the wind, the bones to the stones, etc. There were also some forms of punishment in Celtic law deemed worse than death, such as banishment. Some mythologies describe one person's life being sacrificed so that a terminally ill noble would survive, thus indicating a belief in a cosmic balance of forces. The archeological record does reveal a number of sacrificial deaths, such as "triple-deaths", of which the most famous is the "Lindow Man", who was recovered from a bog near the border of Wales on 1st August 1984. He had been simultaneously strangled, drowned, and clubbed. The absence of any signs of struggle on the body seems to indicate that he did no t resist the sacrifice but rather agreed to it willingly. To the Celts, death was not the frightening, final thing it is to most of us born in the 20th century, and human sacrifice may not have been so immoral. Rather, it was a very special and powerful ritual, performed only in times of serious need. It is important not to assume that ancient people held the same values that we do today. However, there is some debate over this; the written records of Druid sacrifices may have been nothing more than anti-Druid propaganda. Julius Caesar had good reason to make the Druids look bad, because, after all, he was trying to conquer them. It would fuel interest in his campaign back home if he could prove that the Celts engaged in such barbaric practices. Yet the Romans would kill people in gladiatorial games, for the entertainment of the people. The Druids, if they did sacrifice people, could claim religious sanction. The archeological record is ambiguous if such sacrifice was judicial or ceremonial. Furthermore there is no evidence of human sacrifice in Ireland's archeology, to my knowledge, though there is evidence of animal sacrifice there. Rest assured that modern Druids do not sacrifice anything at all!
18. What is Romantic Druidism?
Romantic Druidism developed in the early eighteenth century. Mostly sought after by fraternal-order members, such as Freemasons, to develop an indigenous British mystical order. It is heavily influenced by fraternal-order occult groups such as Freemasons, ceremonial magicians, the Golden Dawn, and other similar groups, even to the extent of using Cabbalistic ritual tools like the Enochian Key! Most of its claim to Celtic origin comes from the Arthurian myths, and the concepts of the Sacred King, the Grail Quest, and the Ordained Knight. It is characterized by a number of features that make it distinct from historical Druidism, although many Romantic Druids assert that theirs is the historically authentic Druidism. In some of their rituals they call upon the four classical elements, archangels, dragons, and non-Celtic gods in ritual methods that resemble wizardly conjurations rather than otherworldly journeys. They often speak of the need for "shielding", as if all of nature's powers are malevolent and threatening, and it is the Druid's duty to subdue them, but these are somewhat exaggerated extremes. None the less, it is much different than the Traditional Druidism mostly followed today.
19. What is Arthurian Druidism?
The Arthurian legends are unique due to their taking place during a delicate transition period between Druidism and Christianity. Christianity was well entrenched as the religion of the nobility, yet Druidism remained in the form of folk-practices. Arthurian mythology contains many distinctly ancient celtic concepts but is a new and unique mythology as well. Misty islands and otherworldly hunting expeditions, which comprise much of Arthurian legend, clearly originate from the older Celtic mythologies where such encounters are common ways to enter the Otherworld. The Irish Druid Uath Mac Immoman challenged a warrior to a mutual beheading in much the same way The Green Knight (who can be interpreted as Cernunnos The Green Man) challenged Sir Gawain. The Perilous Bridge that Lancelot has to cross is similar to the bridge at Scatha's School for Heroes that Cu/Chullain must cross. And perhaps all those "wise hermits", that the Knights are always running into, are Druids in hiding. Merlin himself is now thought to have been a Druid by some modern fiction authors, since he too was an advisor to a king, a prophet, and made his home in the wilderness. To stretch it a bit, perhaps the Grail legends follow those magical cauldrons like the one possessed by Dagda, which could feed armies and raise the dead, and by Cerridwen, which was a font of wisdom. It is worth noting that the sword called Excaliber may have come from legends surrounding a real sword. The Celts were iron-workers, ahead of most other contemporary cultures. Iron-age technology helped the Celts defeat the Dannans (who worked bronze). Around Arthurian times, it was discovered that nickel-iron from meteorites could be used to create stainless steel, and swords layered with this metal would never bend, scratch, break, nor rust. Weapons like that would have been seen as magical, and would have developed names and reputations independently. An important concept in Arthurian Druidism is the concept of the sacred king. Arthur is a sacred king because he was chosen by God to rule, by virtue of his birth and the wisdom he developed. The story of the Fischer King is another that demonstrates the connection between kings and God, who is the Earth Mother, for he is suffering from the unhealable wound while at the same time his territory is barren and infertile, as if wounded just like him. The Grail is a symbol of divinity, of feminine divinity in particular, and though it is said to be the cup of Christ most Arthurian druids agree that it is the Earth Goddess, which is why its wine can be drunk by only those who are connected to her, like the sacred king, and the chaste knight who reserves his love only for her. Perhaps these concepts are a remnant of the old ritual of the marriage of kings to the land.
20. How does Wicca and Druidism differ?
Wicca in it's present form is less than a century old, all though it follows a tradition of wisdom that is as old as Druidism. Wicca is not Celtic by any historical or academical means unlike its sister religion of Druidism. Wicca does, however, often use the Celtic pantheons for rites and rituals. Wicca emphasizes the Earth, and the Earth-Mother, where Druidism gives equal emphasis on the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Otherwise known as the Three Realms. Wicca has two deities, The Triple Goddess, "maiden-mother-crone", and the Horned God. Druidism has many gods, that are often seen as not being aligned in polarity but existing independently. Druids give reverence to the Triple Godesses as well, however, they are not linked by matrilineal line, but by generation, as sisters: A good example is Morrigu, Macha, and Babd who together make up the Triple Goddess of war. Banba, Fodla, and Erin are another example of Druidic Triple Goddess of land, and earth. Druids are not bound by the Wiccan Rede, but the Druid morality, virtues, and ethics take it's place. Druids practice the studies of holistics, herbalism, astrology, astronomy, and ritual. Where as in Wicca, ritual and magick are held in a higher respect.
21. How does Asatru and Druidism differ?
Asatru comes from Northern Europe and is the ancient religion of the Norse. It is rooted as deeply in European antiquity as Druidism. Asatru is a religion with little theology and does not recognize a priest or clergy class. This is very unlike Druidism in this aspect. It has been said that Asatru is a common derivation of the ancient Celtic religions without the guidelines of priests as in Druidism. The name of the religion is derived from As, which means God, and tru which means troth or loyalty. The origin of Asatru is lost in antiquity just as Druidism. At its peak, it covered all of Northern Europe. Iceland became the second to last Norse culture to convert to Christianity in 1000 CE. This being almost 900 years after Druidism fell to Rome under early Christianity. Asatru is also a polytheistic religion, but the Gods are all regarded as living beings who are involved in human life. This is different than that of Druidism where the Gods no longer dwell on earth and partake in the individual human life. Different than most Druidic beliefs, the Asatru hold all of the Gods in equal regard, none above the other. Very much like Druidism, Asatru follows a system of values and virtues. Asatru groups today have religious communities very much like that of Druidism and their clergy are called, Gothi (male), and Gythia (female).
22. How does Shamanism and Druidism differ?
The Druids evolved from the Indo-European culture which had shaman as their link between the tribes and the Gods. Shamanism and Druidism are very much alike in concept and theology. The magicks that were suppose to have been performed by the Ancient Druids and Shaman are very similar in nature. The Celts had very specific words for their religious clergy and Shaman was not one of them. The term Shaman is most commonly related to those of religious function who were among the lower social class of peoples. Druids were a firm part of the noble social order and ruling class, rather than being at the fringes of society. Druids were a part of the political and judicial structure and Shamans were mainly healers and visionaries. Druids conducted formal training for many years in a well structured scholastic system. Shamanism is most commonly taught under a single master with very few students. Many Celtic "otherworld" journies are told about people who have gone there unwillingly and without any control over the experience. Shaman are masters of controlling their trips into the "otherworld" and always decide when and where they will go. My final words on the subject are, were Druids Shaman? In a sense of the word, yes. However, Druids are much more involved in literacy, physics, mathematics, and astrology than that of their more primitive brothers, the Shaman.
23. Were there gay societies among the Celts?
Classical writers mention homosexual practices among the Continental Gaesatae (meaning 'spearmen'), a large group of elite mercenaries and warriors who lived outside the tribe/clan structure. Diodorus Siculus writes that the men are much keener on their own sex; they lie around on animal skins and enjoy themselves, with a lover on each side. (...) Furthermore, this isn't looked down on, or regarded as in any way disgraceful; on the contrary, if one of them is rejected by another to whom he has offered himself, he takes offence." Brehon Law did not penalize homosexuality, but one code states that a married man must not spend so much time with another man that he forgets his husbandly duties.
24. What was a Celtic marriage about?
According to early Irish law, marriage could be either monogamous or polygamous, depending on the social status of the couple. It could also be a temporary or a permanent contract, but in either case both parties remained responsible for their children. Virginity was no issue but adultery was, even in temporary marriages. Divorce was permitted if the terms of the marriage contract were violated by either party, if the husband struck his wife and his blow caused a scar/blemish, if one of the spouses was impotent, etc.
25. Did the Celts practice polygamy?
Multi-partner relationships were apparently accepted in some Celtic tribes. A nobleman could take as many concubines as he could afford and as his initial wife could put up with.
26. Did the Druids bear arms?
Just because they were exempted from military service, doesn't mean they didn't use their swords. The Druids of the Isle of Mona (Anglesey) fought against the Romans and Amergin himself, Chief Druid of the Milesians, defeated Mac Greine (one of the three kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann and Eriu's husband) in battle.
Partials of this F.A.Q. belong to: www.fatheroak.com, www.druidry.org, www.druidsgrove.com and www.dandeliondreams.net.
