The druids covers everything concerning the celtic religious domain, intellectual speculations, cultural or magical practices, various beliefs, and the socalled profane sciences that have come down from the celtic priesthood. Most of what we know about the ancient celtic people in history, come from observances of classical greek and roman writers, as well as from archaeological evidences such as from the possessions of dead in burial sites and from shrines found throughout central and western europe, as well as from the british isles. Druidism was the religion of the celtic people that was administered by priests and priestesses called druids. The emphasis put on the philosophical nature of druidic disciplina, as cae sar. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. From that, the image of druids as magi among the celtic tribes was created. Druids were concerned with the natural world and its powers, and considered trees sacred, particularly the oak. Druid celtic culture britannica encyclopedia britannica. Druidism, druid, definition, religion, myths, rituals and gods. It was nice to read about the very sacred tara site in ireland. They seem to have frequented oak forests and acted as priests, teachers, and. They have existed in britain over 2000 years ago and they try to find out how to use nature force for their own benefits and rituals. Celtic culture appears to have originally developed in the alps of central europe and then spread acros.
They studied ancient verse, natural philosophy, astronomy, and the lore of the. They seem to have frequented oak forests and acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The druids are a religious group that bask in the glory of nature. This study will be of particular interest to scholars of irish culture, celtic culture, and comparative religion. Celtic priests of nature a very interesting and enlightening book, well worth study and reading. Witches, druids, goddessworshippers, and other pagans in america the druids. Or, an attempt to shew, that the druids were the priests of oriental colonies who emigrated from india. Celtic wicca celtic wicca focuses mainly on celtic and druidic gods and goddesses along with a few other anglosaxon pantheon. Celtic priests of nature must be read several times to grasp all that it says.
Jan 01, 1994 markale puts the druids in their specific time, place and people, and maintains that they could only be part of that. The druidic order was apparently tripartite in nature. The celts had priests called gutuatri attached to certain temples, their name perhaps meaning the speakers, those who spoke to the gods. A druid was a member of the highranking class in ancient celtic cultures. This is not in any way because the book is poorly written on the contrary it is very well written, and contains so much information that it must be read several times just to begin to grasp the depth of its content. Celtic priests of nature from the worlds largest community of readers. Although since christian times druids have been identified as wizards and soothsayers, in prechristian celtic society they formed an intellectual class comprising philosophers, judges, educators, historians, doctors, seers, astronomers, and. Christianity began to make inroads into france and the british isles in the first century a. The romans killed many druids and destroyed many of their books.
The celts, as they were called, were a tribal people who spread throughout gaul, britain, ireland, and other parts of europe, asia minor, and the balkans. Irish druids and old irish religions by james bonwick. The druids were a priestly caste existing among the celtic people. Irish druids and old irish religions celtic earth spirit. Thousands of years later a classical writer claimed that druids met in caves, and today the symbolism of caves and of animals acts as an inspiration for the modern druid movement, which reveres mother nature, and understands caves as symbolic of the womb, and of the potential for rebirth. Knowing or finding the oak tree, member of the learned class. The druids, not only in ireland, but in britain and in europe, are associated with the celts. This is not in any way because the book is poorly written on the contrary it is very well written, and contains so much information that it must be read several times just to begin to grasp.
Divitiacus supposedly knew much about the natural world and performed divination through augury. This view was largely supported by another archaeologist, anne ross, author of pagan celtic britain 1967 and the life and death of a druid prince 1989, although she believed that they were essentially tribal priests, having more in common with the shamans of tribal societies than with the classical philosophers. The sun initiation of the druid priests and their moon science. The history and mystery of the ancient celtic priests an exposition of the mysteries. Trutis wasan ancientbritish name for thedeity, and the. Like many other alternative spiritual groups in american society, aodawhich was originally founded in 1912developed connections with a variety of other. A very short introduction the mythology and rites of the. Yes, the author certainly does seem to know his stuff.
It remains possible that druids were involved with executions of criminals or prisoners of war, but again this is pure speculation and even if it wasnt, wouldnt indicate any other rituals of human sacrifices. The earliest known records of the druids come from the 3rd century bce. Sources the druids, celtic priests of nature by jean markale. Druids are a group of sects who demand to conserve natural life. The author identifies the functions of the ancient priests, providing an inventory of their duties and services. Celtic druids are not the typical rpg forestfriend type of priests, yet have sacred plants and animals. Druids are also defined in terms of their connections with other branches of eurasian mysticism. The theory of the non celtic origin of the druids assumes that the celts had no priests, or that these were effaced by the druids. The celtic language group includes influences on all major european languages as well. Jul, 2015 the druids and druidesses formed the professional class in celtic society. The druids covers everything concerning the celtic religious domain, intellectual speculations, cultural or magical practices, various beliefs, and the socalled profane sciences that have come down from the celtic. Divine word incarnate, such was our druidic high priest.
Their religion was a mixture of canaanite and hebrew beliefs and. Druidic magick first things first, druidism is a way of life, not a magickal practice, nor a religion. The order was not to enforce hierarchy but to make sure that only the pure had access to sacred knowledge. You cannot separate the philosophy from the spirituality from the magick without invalidating the way of the druids. In early celtic culture there were many great women warriors and queens, and in tribal gatherings they had an equal vote. Gender issues in dr uidry the author puts special emphasis on the supernatural powers held by these priestesses of an unnamed, mysterious gallic deity. They performed the functions of modern day priests, teachers, ambassadors, astronomers, genealogists, philosophers, musicians, theologians, scientists, poets and judges. Celtic priests of nature by jean markale goodreads. The druids were the priests magicians of the celtic. The rituals are formed after gardnerian traditions with a stronger emphasis on nature. Arising from the 18th century romanticist movement in britain, which glorified the ancient celtic peoples of the iron age, the early neo druids aimed to imitate the iron age priests who were also known as druids. The origin of the word druid is unclear, but the most popular view is that it comes from doire, an irishgaelic word for oak tree often a symbol of knowledge, also meaning wisdom.
The druids were the perfected ones, the elite who presided over all. Celtic priests of nature by jean markale at indigo. Druidism was one of the greatest and most exalting adventures of the human spirit, attempting to reconcile the unreconcilable, the individual and the collective, creator and created, good and evil, day and night, past and future, and life and death. May 17, 2016 it is difficult to confirm which of the noble celtic women were really druids, but it is believed that most of the well educated women whose graves contained luxury goods were the elite of their tribes and quite possibly druids. The gnostic celtic church gcc is an independent sacramental church of nature spirituality affiliated with the ancient order of druids in america aoda, a contemporary druid order. The druids were polytheistic and revered the sun, the moon, and the stars, looking to them for signs and seasons. We have found that though there are a lot of writers and books written about them, not many in reality there no authentic references on druids. Druids were people in ancient britain and france who served a wide variety of roles philosophers, teachers, judges, the repository of communal wisdoms about the natural world and the. At the time, little accurate information was known about these ancient priests, and the modern druidic movement has no direct.
May 20, 2014 druids were people in ancient britain and france who served a wide variety of roles philosophers, teachers, judges, the repository of communal wisdoms about the natural world and the. Seasonal cycles of the ancient celts the druids ancient peoples and places series the druids. Mar 10, 2010 the druids were the priests magicians of the celtic people. Witches, druids, goddessworshippers, and other pagans in america today compass druids. The word ovate or vate comes from the gaelic word faidh. Druidry was to observe nature, human behavior and events, observing life. Female druids, the forgotten priestesses of the celts. Our modern understanding of irish and celtic druids is derived from four major periods of. Celtic wicca also puts much emphasis image of celtic pagan for fans of comparative religion. This work is licensed under a creative commons licence. I know that almost every religion out there claims this, but druidism is this. A comprehensive and revealing look at the druids and their fundamental ro.