The Mysteries of the Wise Druids

Standing in the wood, with herbs in your hand and cloak keeping the cold from touching your bare skin. Whispers flutter from the trees as groups of people, shoeless and graceful they proceed to the top of a mountain past the wood. Silver wholeness rides high in the sky as they come about a grassy, untouched center point of calm. Stones laid in a circle, these people gather in a lower rhythmic hum that vibrates with the Earth’s energy. An onlooker passes and whispers to their fellow companion, “The Druids are gathered in an unwelcoming ceremony, look away”.  

Emerging out of the ancient world of Wales, these people came from Celtic descent. Spirals, triquetras and triskelions embroidered on cloaks and magic fills the air when one thinks of a Druid. They were the priests of the early Celtic religion and were multifaceted. Just like the monks of Ireland, they were doctors, judges, and even scholars. 

According to certain accounts, the Druids were seen as barbaric in their practices which involved human sacrifices and Triple Death. Triple Death was a process that stoned, drowned, and impaled the victim. Even though there was no evidence of these Human Sacrifices, there were just accounts made by Julius Caesar. They would even cover altars with blood and consult gods through the entrails. Around 54 AD Romans had massacred Druids and destroyed their sacred grove. The reason in which the Romans had done this is because they posed a threat to the Roman Empire since they engaged in sacred private and public rituals. 

A famous known Stone Circle in Britain was called the Temple of Druids which was used for the spiritual focal point of energy. Even though the Druids had been globally known, no artifacts have been found which evokes a sense of mystery and magic. It is thought that the Druids Temple was built in 1820 by William Danby, Supposedly he has paid workers who were affected by depression to build the temple.

Holding so much knowledge, to become fully skilled would take almost 20 years of your life. Having such deep devotion with time and energy,they were seen as wise elders. One impressive teaching that occurred with becoming a Druid is the fact that had to memorize everything and was not allowed to write things down. Being an oral based religion, it falls in line with many banned pagan earth based religions such as Santeria and Voodoo. 

Some Symbols of the Druids are :

• Triskelion = the motion of action, cycles, progress, revolution and competition.

• Spiral = represent migration or perpetual movement. 

• Double Spiral = transference of energy from the body to the soul or the body to the Earth.

• Tree of Life = represent the connection to the other world, that being the heavens represented by the branches and the Earthly world represented by the trunks. 

• Awen = seen to help creativity flow, this symbol had many meanings such as land, sea, and sky or the levels of druidry that one can accomplish. 

• Triquetra =known as bringing three separate entities together as one such as Earth, Sea, and Sky.

Druids were in tune with the natural world the powers it held, specifically worshiping trees. Through medicines and the spirit world, they would try to contact spirit. Also they induced sanity as well as were known for accurate fortune telling. The essential concept behind connecting with the natural world was to connect to gods. As a group and individuals they had been respected and able to banish people. In regards to the hierarchy amongst genders, both men and women had been equal in the eyes of druids, opening up the ability to have priests and priestesses. 

Among their social ladder, the eldest had to wear gold to represent they were the most wise. Ordinary druids would wear white just as they do in Santeria. Those that were being sacrificed would wear red and would fight of course. Blue bards were the artistic ones ampong the Duid community. New recruits though would wear black and brown considering their lesser esteem. Those in this Celtic religion had observed the lunar,solar, and seasonal cycles and worshipped on 8 main holy days. 

Common among many other religions, Halloween was seen as the New Year for them since it was a day full of spirituality and the final harvest. Being a day that connected to the spiritual realm much more than any other day of the year, they used this to use as a source of the beginning of a new year with abundance. The winter solstice they had celebrated as yule which as we scientifically know is the darkest day of the year.

Allow your curiosities to jump into the beauty if the nature based religion of Druidism. Reach out to a Druid,I sure you can find one wherever you go. Learn about the forces of nature, learn about the deep secrets often Celtic people who talked to trees and saw gods.

Work Cited

Angharad. “Learn About Ancient Celtic Druid Symbols And Meanings.” Angharad Reese Celtic Astrology Online, 17 Feb. 2020, www.areesecelticastrology.com/druid-symbols-with-meanings/. 

“Celtic Triskele.” Blarney Woollen Mills, Blarney Woollen Mills, www.blarney.com/triskele-_-triple-spiral-_-tri/. 

One Tribe Apparel. “Meaning of Tree of Life.” One Tribe Apparel, www.onetribeapparel.com/blogs/pai/meaning-of-tree-of-life. 

“The Spiral – Thought to Represent the Sun.” Ireland Calling, 24 Sept. 2020, ireland-calling.com/celtic-symbol-spiral/.