Okay, Where Did I Leave Off...?
TopazOwl

Thu Aug  3 09:49:48 2000
     Oh, here it is. :-)*p*     Continuing on with our little exercise...*p*: <Explain some aspects of Celtic belief that you emulate *br*: in your modern practices. *br*:*br*: We know very little about the specific religious practices *br*: of the Celtic peoples. We have adopted the use of many *br*: Celtic Dieties that we know about through the study of *br*: mythology.>*br*:*br*: "This much is apparent. Although I am hard pressed to *br*: understand why your group has such limited knowledge with *br*: such a wealth of archeological, anthropological, *br*: genealogical and folklore *br*: out there to seek answers from. And why does it appear that *br*: you know so little about these deities that you have *br*: adopted? I mean really now, Brighid at midwinter? You know *br*: full well our people did not celebrate Yule, that is *br*: GERMANIC in origin."*p*     I find the accusation that we know little about our Deities to be quite offensive, in spite of the fact that Tay has insisted she isn't trying to be offensive.*p*     The celebration of Yule (as Yule) was indeed Germanic. However, I feel that we can be fairly certain that Druids marked the solstices and equinoxes of the sun. The sunlight entering the chamber at Newgrange is an example of such observances. What Tay doesn't understand about Keltrian ritual here is that at Midwinter, Brighid begins to *grow* in power as the sun just begins its return, but is not at her full power yet. (She has just entered the cycle.) She comes into full power at Imbolc, which is as it should be. Surely we won't argue that Brighid is the goddess to be honored at Imbolc?*p*     The solstices and equinoxes are marked by Keltrian Druids but do not have the same spiritual importance of the Fire Feasts. As Alexei Kondratiev explains in his book _The Apple Branch_, the solstice and equinox celebrations can be considered preliminary to the Fire Festivals, each preceeding one being a preparation for the major event that follows, and so having similar but not quite as powerful energies.*p**br*: <Our rituals celebrate the cycles of life and the year. *br*: With the changing of the seasons, we choose different Gods *br*: that best represent the things we associate with that *br*: season.>*br*:*br*: "So are you saying it's a personal choice on the part *br*: of the group? *p*     Yep. We aren't trying to reconstruct an ancient religion, after all; we are trying to live a *living* one, guided by the system of the past.*p**br*: <We have also adapted many Celtic symbols to our *br*: religion. We believe that these symbols helped trigger the *br*: connection the Celts felt between themselves and the Gods, *br*: and that it can do the same for us. For example, the Celts *br*: placed great importance in the number three. We have *br*: developed many associations of threes. We worship and revere *br*: the Gods, Ancestors and Nature Spirits.>*br*:*br*: "The Gods are the Ancestors. Don't you understand that? *br*: Do the genealogy. You can trace the clans directly back to *br*: the gods themselves. For instance, I am MacLaren, the clan *br*: traces back to *br*: Eochaidh himself! (Dagda)."*p*     That is certainly true. That is one of the Celtic mysteries. But there are other ancestors who are not Gods, like perhaps so-and-so's great great granny or whozit's great-uncle, and we honor them as the Ancestors. I think that's pretty simple and easy to understand.*p*: <We associate them with the realms of Sky, Water and *br*: Earth. We also associate them with the three aspects of our *br*: being: Spirit, Mind and Body.>*br*:*br*: "That's sensible enough. Now think on a deeper *br*: cosmological level. go into the blood. Reach into the mother *br*: herself and understand. Anu Mother of the Land, Danu Mother *br*: of the Gaels (yet one in the same). You are almost there and *br*: yet, this is not quite far enough."*p*     What makes you think we are "not quite" there? Are you an Initiate of the path? What right have you to judge from an introductory FAQ created for people who have no idea what we do?*p*     Deeper understandings come with time and deeper work.*p*: <Another example: The only detailed account of Druidic *br*: ritual was written by the Roman Author Pliny the Elder. He *br*: described the gathering of mistletoe which was found growing *br*: on an oak tree. A Druid,dressed in white, cut the mistletoe *br*: using a sickle and allowed it to fall on to a white piece of *br*: cloth. This ritual took place on the 6th night after the new *br*: moon. From this account, we *br*: see that the Druids held some importance to the color white, *br*: and used a sickle.>*br*:*br*: "From this account, we see that Pliny wasn't so smart *br*: after all because in his original account it said , *br*: "golden sickle", We all know that Gold will not *br*: cut the harsh bark of mistletoe as *br*: it is far too soft of a material to do so. *p*     Yes. Most people have come to the conclusion that it was really a bronze sickle.*p*: As for the *br*: account of white robes, this was a healer that Pliny was *br*: observing, knowing that white was easily judged more *br*: sanitary because one could view the cloth and tell whether *br*: or not it was stained with some foreign material. Mistletoe *br*: is a healing herb, or should I say healing parasite, so what *br*: was witnessed, was someone of the medical*br*: arts, gathering part of some ancient type, herbal cure. As *br*: for the dress code of the Draoi of the period, it would have *br*: been tribal dress geared to their particular clan. It has *br*: been mentioned that they wore six colors which would make *br*: greater sense, as the nobles all wore tartans of six colors, *br*: land lords and such wore five, landowners 4, warriors 3, *br*: peasants two and slaves one."*p*     That is also true. Outside of ritual, the Druids certainly would have worn everyday dress. This particular ritual, however, called for white robes. It could very well be for the reason you suggest. It also could be for a different reason. The rest of Pliny's account goes on to say that two white bulls are sacrificed. Did they choose *white* bulls at random? I think not. It is an Otherworldly color, white, just as red and black are. That is well-supported in the lore.*p*: <We prefer white robes for our clergy in ritual and have *br*: adopted the sickle for use. We also set aside the 6th night *br*: of the moon for our Mistletoe Rite.>*br*:*br*: "Ok, seems silly, but it's your choice. Again that's a *br*: personal choice, much like one calling themselves Druid. *br*: Which is a bad choice, tasteless to be exact, but again, *br*: personal."*p*     Another personal insult, even though it certainly *is* our choice.*p*: <What is the Keltrian view of Deity? *br*:*br*: We see Deity in many different aspects, both male and *br*: female. These different aspects of Deity each represent *br*: different aspects of life, nature and the seasons. We use *br*: appropriate aspects of Deity in rituals and in our lives to *br*: help us maintain contact. The idea that these aspects of *br*: Deity are separate from each other is called polytheism *br*: (many Gods). The idea that these aspects are part of a *br*: larger whole (often called the unmanifest and sometimes God) *br*: is called pan-polytheism. In Keltrian Druidism, we see both *br*: polytheism and pan-polytheism as valid views of Deity.>*br*:*br*: "Ok, I can go along with that."*p*     Like we care what you'll "go along with." We've already seen how far out in left field you are. :-)*p*: <We believe that Deity exists in all living things. We *br*: see each human, animal and plant as a unique expression of *br*: the Divine. Some Druids extend this view to what are *br*: normally considered inanimate objects such as wells, rivers, *br*: and mountains.>*br*:*br*: "This would be because they are all part and parcel of *br*: the Mother. The well of knowledge, the rivers, oceans and *br*: streams are her blood, the hills are the mounds of her *br*: breasts and so forth."*p*     Thank you for adding the reason. I don't believe that was important to include in a basic FAQ, though. BTW, we prefer to refer to her as the Goddess Sovereignty. Each tribe of course has it's own name for her, and that is according to ancient Celtic custom.*p*     The next part is going to take a lot of time, so we'll stop here and pick up later. :-)*p*Leigh*p*
Druids Awaken! A Call to Arms :-)
TopazOwl
633
Wed Aug  2 12:52:39 2000