Druids


"Often when the combatants are ranged face to face,
and swords are drawn and spears bristling, these men
come between the armies and stay the battle, just as
wild beasts are sometimes held spellbound. Thus even
among the most savage barbarians anger yields to wisdom,
and Mars is shamed before the Muses."
Diodorus Siculus Histories c.8 BC

The reason we tend to visualise the Druid as an old man in our
imagination is partly due, perhaps, to a realisation that by the time
one has undertaken the training of Bard and Ovate one is bound to be
ancient! If it took a dozen years to be a Bard, how much longer must
it have taken to learn the skills of Ovate and Druid? We cannot be
sure of the exact time it took, but Caesar mentions that it took
twenty years to train as a Druid, although Stuart Piggott rightly
points out that this could have been a figure of speech to denote a
long duration of time, or that it might have actually been 19 years,
since the Druids almost certainly used the Meton Cycle, a method of
reckoning based on the nineteen year lunar cycle. It seems that
whatever the period was, it included the earlier stages of Bardic and
Ovate training.
If the Bard was the poet and musician, the preserver of lore, the
inspirer and entertainer, and the Ovate was the doctor, detective,
diviner and seer, what was the Druid? His functions, simply stated,
were to act as advisor to kings and rulers, as judge, as teacher, and
as an authority in matters of worship and ceremony. The picture this
paints is of mature wisdom, of official position and privilege, and
of roles which involved decision-making, direction and the imparting
of knowledge.
We tend to think of the Druid as a sort of priest - but this is not
borne out by the evidence. The classical texts never refer to them as
priests, but as philosophers. At first this appears confusing since
we know they presided at ceremonies, but if we understand that
Druidry was a natural, earth or solar religion as opposed to a
revealed religion, such as Christianity or Islam, we can see that
they acted not as mediators between God and man, but as directors of
ritual, as shamans guiding and containing the rites.

 

When we lose anything that we cherish, the sense of emptiness we are left behind with can be overwhelming. A space that was filled, whether in our lives or our hearts, is now a void, and the feelings of pain, loss, and separation can sometimes be difficult to bear. While it is always important to honor what we've lost, sometimes a loss can also represent a chance for a new beginning. When we are ready, the void left by a relationship, a job, or a dream can then be viewed as open space that can be filled with something new: new experiences, new knowledge, new job opportunities, new dreams, new people, and new ways to grow.

There are many ways to weave the threads of loss into a blessing. If you've lost a job or ended a relationship, your first thoughts may revolve around filling the void with a similar job or the same kind of relationship. Try not to rush into anything just to fill up the emptiness. The loss of a job can free you up to explore new opportunities, especially if you've outgrown the old one. Likewise, the loss of a relationship can give you a chance to rediscover your own interests, explore new passions, and meet different people.

If seeking the good in what seems like a bad situation makes you feel uncomfortable, then try to remember that you are not devaluing what you've lost or replacing it cold-heartedly. You are surrendering to the fact that, in life, we sometimes have to let go and allow for what is new to enter into the open spaces created by our losses. In doing so, you are honoring what has left you and welcoming the new into your life with open space, an open mind, and an open heart.