Druids-A History

Druids
In the harsh environment of Northwestern Europe came a different type of
Wizard from the Middle Eastern biblical mages of antiquity. Desiring to tame or
At least temper the ferocity of their environment, these wizards became students
Of nature; ritualists of flora and fauna. These wizards, known as Druids among
The Celts, Picts, and Gauls, and Spae-workers and Vitki among the Norse and
Teutons, wielded ritual magic geared toward the taming of the elemental forces
Of nature to ensure the continuation of their race. Many of them were master
Healers, skilled in the knowledge of herbalism and of magical healing ritual.
Unlike the biblical wizards such as Aaron, Samuel, Solomon, and Jesus, whose
Purpose was to lead masses of people, the druids and their ilk shied away from
Leadership roles, performing a more supportive or "staff" role in the
Organization of their tribal culture. Also unlike the great biblical wizards,
Quite often druids and spae-workers were female instead of male. Indeed, druidic
Magic relied heavily upon the feminine energies of the Earth and Nature, rather
Than the masculine energies of pure Spirit employed by Elisha and Solomon.

Bards, (known as Skaldr among the Norse and Teutons) were wizards skilled in the
Use of magic through music and poetic form. As entertainers, they were superb;
As wizards, they employed the magic of the spoken word, rhyme, tempo, cadence,
And melody to weave their powerful spells. A bard had to know three things:
How to make people laugh, how to make people cry, and how to put them to sleep
(often to escape from persecution).

Among the Norse, spae-workers were classified by the gender of the magic
Involved. Galdr-workers invoked the masculine, outward, proactive energies,
Symbolized by the runes, and most often were men, although there were female
Runic vitkis as well. Seith (Seidhr)-workers invoked the feminine, receptive
Energies of nature, and was involved in shamanic travel (astral projection),
Shape-shifting, and soothsaying. Females were most likely to be seith-workers,
Although a few males also practiced the art. It is rumored that Odhinn taught
Freyja the arts of Galdr, and she taught him the arts of Seith. In order to do
This, each one had to ritually "become" the other gender for a period of time to
Be able to grasp the mysteries. For the uninitiated and unenlightened, this was
Considered to be a point of derision, against nature, and thus spae-workers were
Often shunned and feared, or made jest of.

Druidic magic was very ritualistic and heavily steeped in ceremony. Rituals
Were performed at specific ceremonies, especially those having to do with the
Lunar and solar cycles. The changing of the seasons was an especially important
Ritual period for the druids, as was the middle point of each season. For a
Society heavily based on agriculture and hunting, their magic was geared towards
The planting, harvest, and hunting cycles, seen in the festivals of Imbolc
(Disting), Lammas (Loaf-Fest), Yule (Jul), Eostre (Ostara), Samhain
(Winternights), Beltane (Walpurgis), Mabon, and Midsummer (Litha). Minor
Rituals were held at the new and full moons, and at important events during the
Year (birthing and death rituals, etc.) The new and full moon rituals occurred
Roughly every 14 days. The new moon ritual was considered the "inbreath" cycle
Of nature, when the energies flowed back into the Earth. The full moon ritual
Worked with the "outbreath" cycle, when the energies flowed from the earth back
To the spirit. The two-week period of time involved for each cycle was called a
"fortnight," (14 nights), and to this day, this is still a time reference used
By the British.

Believing (correctly) that the Earth had meridians of power on its surface
Called "ley lines" or dragon currents, the Druids used massive standing stones
Known as dolmans (flat table rocks) and menhirs (vertical stones) embedded in
The earth as points of energy concentration. This is not unlike the process of
Acupuncture used for ridding the human body of disease and ailment.

Druids were also schooled in practical magic. They employed magical herbalism
On a regular basis, as well as work with magical symbols such as runes and
Oghams (pronounced OY-ams), carved on wood or stone. The oghams and runes
Functioned as alphabets as well, because the druids believed that the true
Essence of magic was carried by the word; the essence of thought transmitted
Through language. Each one of the oghams represented a tree energy, which could
Be tapped upon by the druid by the use of focussed concentration.

A mistaken belief is that the druids regularly practiced human sacrifice,
Preying upon the weak, women, and children. This unfortunate fable was spread
During the Christianization of Europe when the missionaries sought to demonize
any existing religions so that their own, Christianity, would have no rivals.
During this process, the sacred dolmans and menhirs were defiled, mutilated, and
often destroyed, the ancient gods turned into demons of horrific countenance and
deed, and the druids and bards were killed as emissaries of Satan, often
employing the Roman method of crucifixion. The following is an excerpt from
William Butler Yeats' tragic and horrifying recounting of the crucifixion of one
of these wizards: "The Crucifixion of the Outcast (1898)." The "outcast," a
bardic wizard, is being crucified for having dared to complain about the
conditions of the guest quarters at the local monastery to the abbot.

... A half-mile on the way he asked them to stop and see him juggle for them;
for he knew, he said, all the tricks of Aengus and Subtlehearted. The old monks
were for pressing on, but the young monks would see him: so he did many wonders
for them, even to the drawing of live frogs out of his ears. But after awhile
they turned on him, and said his tricks were dull and a little unholy, and set
the cross on his shoulders again. Another half-mile on the way, and he asked
them to stop and hear him jest for them, for he knew, he said, all the jests of
Conan the Bald, upon whose back a sheep's wool grew. And the young monks, when
they had heard his merry tales, again bade him to take up his cross, for it ill
became them to listen to such follies. Another half-mile on the way, he asked
them to stop and hear him sing the story of white-breasted Dierdre, and how she
endured many sorrows and how the sons of Usna died to serve her. And the young
monks were mad to hear him, but when he ended they grew angry, and beat him for
waking forgotten longings in their hearts. So they set the cross on his back,
and hurried him up the hill . . .

. . . So then they went away, but the beggars stayed on, sitting round the
cross. But when the sun was sinking, they also got up to go, for the air was
getting chilly. And as soon as they had gone a little way, the wolves, who had
been showing themselves on the edge of a neighboring coppice, came nearer, and
the birds wheeled closer and closer. "Stay, outcasts, yet a little while," the
crucified one called in a weak voice to the beggars, "and keep the birds and
beasts from me." But the beggars were angry that he had called them outcasts,
so they threw stones and mud at him, and one that had a child held it up before
his eyes and said that he was its father, and cursed him, and thereupon they
left him. Then the wolves gathered at the foot of the cross, and the birds flew
lower and lower. And presently the birds lighted all at once upon his head and
arms and shoulders and began to peck at him, and the wolves began to eat his
feet. "Outcasts," he moaned, "have you all turned against the outcast?" The
Celtic and Pictish warriors often sacrificed their captured enemies to their
gods in gratitude of the victory. The warrior's heads would be preserved and
mounted on pikes, since the Celts believed that the head was the seat of
wisdom. Sacrifice was also done as a mercy to the warriors; the Celts reckoned
that it was far worse to serve in slavery than to die quickly and go to the Gods
to be reborn again. However, the only time the druids (wizards) ever employed
human blood ritual was during the ritual of the sacrifice of the Sacred King.
During this time, the tribal ruler or a representative of his house was
sacrificed and the blood was allowed to flow onto the earth to rejuvenate it or
give life back to it. Not only practiced among the Celts and Britons, but also
among the Norse and Teutonic tribes, this sacrifice was held when A) the head of
the ruling house was deemed to be ineffective, sterile, or having "lost his luck
(haminjia), or B) when the land was in peril of destruction or defeat from
outside parties. Many believe that such a ritual sacrifice took place during
the Battle for Britain during World War II, and that the successful rendering of
the sacrifice turned Hitler away from the invasion of Britain. The wizard
Jesus, thought among esoteric circles to be of the Celtic lineage as well as
Judaic, underwent this sacrificial ritual for the whole of humanity during his
crucifixion. After his death, it is believed that his uncle, Joseph of
Arimathea, took the grail hallows (the cup, the spear, the stone, and the sword)
to Britain and entombed them at Glastonbury, one of the ancient wisdom centers.
Many British esotericists believe that the Grail cup still remains in Chalice
Well at Glastonbury Abbey, where the reddish tint of the high-ferrous content of
the waters there is both reminiscent and causative of Christ's blood.

Even in ancient times the Celtic druids knew of the coming of Yesu (Jesus). A
reading from the ancient Celtic Triads is:

The Lord our God is one.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be
ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the
King of Glory shall come in.
Who is the King of Glory? The Lord Yesu;
He is the King of Glory.
How the Druidic wizards knew the consecrated name so long beforehand (predating
Jesus' appearance on earth by more than 500 years) is indeed a mystery in
itself. The name "Yesu" was incorporated in the Druidic Trinity as the
Godhead. In Britain the name Jesus never assumed its Greek or Latin form. It
was always the pure Celtic "Yesu;" it never changed.

With the Christianization of Northern Europe, gradually the druidic tradition
died out as an exoteric religious force. Eventually realizing that violent
action was not enough to overcome the ancient traditions in England, Ireland,
and mainland Germany and Scandinavia, Christianity resorted to incorporating
many of the druidic rites and festivals into its own frame of references. Thus
the Druidic fertility ritual of Eostre became the Christian ritual of rebirth
and renewal of Easter, and the rebirth of the God at the Winter solstice became
the Christian celebration of Jesus' birth. Imbolc became Candlemas, Samhain
became All Hallows (and thusly Hallowe'en), and Midsummer and Lammas were all
but forgotten. Esotericists and wizards didn't forget the old ways, though, and
they were kept alive through their secret studies and traditions, quietly
passing them down from father to son, mother to daughter, grandparent to
grandchild, becoming as much a part of their reality as the new structure that
had been forcibly superimposed on them.

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