Re: The Five Marks of a Druid Searles Sat Apr 1 10:15:17 2000 Shadow Hawk wrote,*br*: Hello Brother, and thanks for coming to the wedding! Now, *br*: on to business! *br*:*br*: >>: I see we are pretty much in agreement though I *br*: think that *br*: : the third point needs some clarity and additional *br*: : discussion. In many ways, The Dagda was the God of Druids. <<*br*:*br*: That be true of the Druids that lived in Ireland, but what *br*: about the Druids that resided in England and on the *br*: mainland?*p*The Druids of other places called the many skilled god of excellences and crafts by other names. Perhaps the British Druids called him Math or Gwydion? Maybe that called him by the name that means "The Good God" in their own tribal language?*p*:*br*: >>: He was said to be so in the traditions (both oral *br*: and written). He said that he was able to master every *br*: skill and to handle every *br*: power. Indeed, he was known as "The Good God" *br*: because he was good at everything he attempted. He was the *br*: father of the gods and also their leader. Since these gods *br*: were also masters of Drai/ocht, this means that he was a *br*: master of the masters. This makes him the God of Druids in *br*: many ways.<<*br*:*br*: Yet your question was not "in many ways" but *br*: rather was there a "God of the Druids". Either *br*: one is, or one isn't and is therefore regionalized. *br*:*p*It's not regionalized. I stated he was the God of Druids "in many ways" to show redundancy, not to show that he only fulfilled this role marginally.*p**br*<snip>*p*:*br*: >>: To me, this means that there is a little bit (or a *br*: lot) of *br*: : The Dagda in each of us, as there is also a little bit (or a *br*: : lot) of him in many aspects of deity, such as the Stag God *br*: : or the God of Life and Death. He is an Earth deity and a Sky *br*: : Deity and in many respects Samilda/nach (many skilled) just *br*: : as Lugh is. Perhaps Lugh is the Young God of Druids?<<*br*:*br*: Just out of curiosity, do you view the Gods as seperate *br*: incarnate beings or more archtypal? It would make a *br*: difference in how you define the Dagda and deity and our *br*: relationship to them, so I'll hold off on responding to this *br*: part until we clarify the terms between us.*br*:*p*I view the deities in the same way that I view human beings, animals and plants. I view them as individual creations who have a separated existence but the potential to merge into an aggregate being through choice and disposition (or beings). In a sense, we form such aggregate beings when we perform rituals in Sacred Space. Gods are individuals and members of families just like people are (or even trees). They can be unique or corporate. Are the streams completely separate from the rivers? Do the rivers flow away from the sea? Does the water remain in the sea or land after it has fallen from the sky? Is rain separated from water to the point where it is no longer water? Deity and spirit are this way entirely. They do not lose their nature due to the shape of the container that carries them. They do become temporarily changed when mixed and flavored by other things when they are apart from all other spirit however.:-) *p*Searles Re: The Five Marks of a Druid Shadow Hawk 589 Sun Mar 26 20:22:47 2000