The Beginnings of a Druid's Education
Searles

Mon Jul 17 08:41:00 2000
The Beginnings of a Druid's Education*br*I'd recommend starting by developing a memory theater of the mind based on a real-life location where you know every tree, shrub, hill and river.  If this "memory theater" was as large as an entire country, then it would have the ability to store more data that the largest computer.  Such a use of memory theaters, coupled with mnemonic lists and unusual images has been the strong supporters of great memories for thousands of years.*p*If one were to look at the curriculum of the Filidh (one of the few groups that survived into modern times still practicing ancient Druidic techniques), the structural part of the memory theater would be the Ogham (which are much more than an alphabet or an ancient bar code).  Ogham are lists that are tailored for use in memorizing related sets of information.  The hundreds of different Ogham types were also tied to a study of hundreds of tales as well as a practical knowledge of music.  The Ogham were related to music and were probably used to score melodies for harps and pipes from the earliest use of such instruments.  Before that they were used to score the music of the voice in song and chant.*p*After establishing a correlation of the ancient knowledge (known in Ireland as the Coimgne) and a training of the mind to retain such information, a fledgling Filidh was taught lessons in philosophy.  This was most probably done through a discussion of moral values and object lessons as found within the tales (already committed to memory) and the Triads (both a mnemonic lists and a list of cultural values).*p*It was only after a student had studied the traditions in the tales (the Coimgne),  committed them to memory through a training of the mind (Ogham) and had grasped a deeper understanding of Philosophy and the Mind that they were taught the techniques of Imbas.  The three forms of Imbas (which is divination and prophecy, as well as divinely inspired wisdom or seership) are known among the Irish as Imbas Forosna, Dichetal Do Chennaibh and Teinm Laegda.  Each of these techniques attempts to place the mind and spirit of the Fili into an altered state of consciousness, allowing them to see beyond the physical world into Otherworlds of knowledge, inspiration and wisdom.*p*After mastering the three forms of Imbas through control of the energy centers known as Coire Goriath, Coire Earnmae and Coire Soi/s, the student was then taught a secret language.  After learning this secret language and practicing techniques of Imbas, the advanced students learned to construct complex poems, invocations, satires, blessings and maledictions.  In modern speech, we call these spells, which is particularly apt since their structure and power relationships were related and maintained through Ogham.*p*If I were to start up a Druidic pathway and attempt to educate myself in their knowledge, I'd first attempt to learn as they learned, using their techniques and their mindsets regarding matters of the Self and the Three Worlds of Land, Sea and Sky as well as An t-Saoil Uile (or Annwfn). *p*For raw materials in this education, I'd study the ancient Celtic tales (as recorded in Medieval Times) and I'd pay particular attention to the Ogham tract to be found within _The Book of Ballymote_ and in the translation know as _Auraceipt na E'ces_ that was compiled by George Calder.  I'd also attempt to find the "Cauldron of Poesy" materials as originally translated by Anne Powers and later translated by Caitlin Matthews and Erynn Laurie.  For an idea of how to control the breath, I'd try to read a few authentic books on Yoga.  For an idea of what Celtic verse and incantation was like, I'd read _Carmina Gadelica_ compiled and edited by Alexander Carmichael.  For an idea into the value system of the Druids and the ancient Celts, I'd study _Audacht Morainn_ as translated and edited by Fergus Kelly ( who also has an excellent treatise on Brehon law, __Ancient Irish Law_).  For an inkling into matters of the spirit and the self, I'd recommend _Anamchara_ by John O'Donohue (though it has a Christian orientation, at least it's validly Celtic Christian).  After a study and a melding of the concepts, the Ogham, the tales, the techniques and the languages, one will find that Druidic experience ceases to be an elusive quarry, becoming more a seeker of oneself.*p**p**p*