A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO DRUIDRY LEVEL ONE

good morning my name is Liz Williams and I'm standing here in the woods in Berkeley in darkest Somerset and we're going to be talking about Jerry this morning an introduction through the program that we're making what do you think of when you hear the term Druidry for many people the word druid will mean old men with long beard in long white robes or maybe Merlin's from the TV series but modern surgery is much more than in this program we're going to be dispelling some of the myths that surround modern Druidry it's not just about those old men in long robe worshipping at sunrise it's about much more than [Music] [Music] we're going to be talking about modern surgery and how it came about going into a little bit of the history of the Druids and what it means to be addressed how people become attracted to this particular spirituality and we're going to be looking at some of the joys of homes you [Music] [Music] modern drudgery is all about balance balance between male and female therefore we have male and female jurors today it's about balance between the Sun and the moon and balance between the elements earth fire air and water and it's one of the fastest-growing spiritualities in the world today it's truly a global religion popular not just in its ancient heartland of Britain England Ireland Scotland and Wales but also throughout Europe throughout America and in the southern hemisphere too in Australia and New Zealand modern rotary is divided into three grades but ovate and druids themselves the bards are the artists they express themselves through art and music and therefore they're the songwriters the musicians and the artists of the clan if you become an ovate you're involved in healing and these are the people who help who cancel and who heal the clan of the tribe following the structure of the druids of old and then finally the druids themselves are observers to the community they're the people who go out and do tree planting program charitable work and who act as a support to the community of which they are a part and within some druid tradition we also have the Arch Druid someone who is recognized by their peers as having reached a certain level of knowledge and understanding so if you want to be a druid what sort of things are you going to learn we'll see in this program that druids study trees and herbs but also modern techniques of healing we'll see that they're interested in standing stones and the legends and lore that surrounds them and in the gods and goddesses yet modern druids also study many other aspects of life if you're interested in the ancestors for example you might want to study genealogy looking at who your own ancestors really are and where they come from if you have an interest in poetry you might choose to explore some of the many Celtic poems and legends or start writing your own verses perhaps a modern fantasy novel you might decide to learn a new musical instrument as part of what is known as your Bartok offering the piece of creativity you undertake at the end of your first year to mark your initiation as a bard when it comes to the Ovid grade we've seen that the Ovitz were the healers but those who enter this grade often also choose to study things like divination they might learn the runes or how to read and interpret tarot cards the Tarot itself is not originally a druidic system of divination but times move on and many modern druids incorporate newer ideas and concepts into this ancient spirituality those in the ovate grades may also learn meditational techniques to the work of the bard on the obaid is not just theoretical it's highly practical when it comes to the druid grade itself druids might decide to take on the role of teacher running training courses in various aspects of drudgery or again in more practical matters such as wood craft or survival courses some druids become trained mediators and negotiators once again fulfilling the ancient role of the druid as peacemaker but in the more modern perhaps even a corporate context and as we can see that your jury isn't just play-acting it's not just an attempt to reenact old practices it's about bringing those ancient techniques and ideas into modern life where they can be most useful and you don't have to spend 21 years studying to be a druid remember studies of the ancient druids including many of the kind of subjects that we learn in school today most of what people seem to understand about druids contre our own ancient history but most of this comes from Roman writers such as the historian Tacitus because the Celts themselves did not write anything down theirs was an oral tradition with law passed down through the generations by word of mouth the result of this is that we don't know a great deal of facts about what they actually believed but we do know a little about them we first encounter the Druids in the works of Roman writers they appear as the priesthood of the Celtic tribes who caused such trouble for the legions in Britain the Romans portrayed them as ferocious and bloodthirsty a people who practice blood sacrifice in many modern historical fantasies however they are wise nature-loving priests and priestesses freedom fighters against the Roman invaders the truth is probably somewhere in between the Romans entered Britain because they were invited to do so by the tribe of the de booney local to the region around Bristol this tribe asked them in because they saw a trading advantage with the Romans and in any case hated the Celtic tribes who were their neighbors in all probability they were advised to enter into an agreement with the Romans by their own druids now we know that the ancient druid died out in Britain the Romans saw them as a threat and eventually so the stories tell us they were massacred on the island of Anglesey and we don't hear very much more about this intriguing indigenous priests cast until much later on in British history the idea of the druid started becoming popular again in the 17th century when men like the antiquarian Williams weekly had the time and leisure to start pondering about some of the mysteries in the land around them spookley walked across Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire contemplating Stonehenge and Avebury and publicizing his theories to a wider audience his views had an effect others were inspired by his ideas on the ancient Britons and became interested in the concept of the druid that nature worshipping aspects of our ancestors may have appealed to architects like the father-and-son team John woods both of the same name who took an interest in Stickley's ideas and incorporated them into their own architectural designs most notably in the new buildings in Georgie and bars so we can see that the idea of the druid that nature worship why's priesthood has endured throughout British history we know for example that they venerated oak trees and mistletoe we know that the Druids were the priests and the philosophers of the tribe first in herb craft medicine astronomy politics and many other subjects they would have been the respected elders of their local community and also crucially the teachers we also know that the British Isles was supposed to have been the hub of druidic learning many was supposed to come from the European mainland to study druidic thought for over 20 years before they could return home as a druid so there was a lot to learn one of the most famous druids in british legend is shirley merlin the advisor to King Arthur who appeared throughout the arterian stories working magic giving counsel and generally fulfilling the role of the wise priest here we see Merlin's cave into intention and the legend tells us that Merlin rescued the baby Arthur and took him down to the cave beneath the castle before spiriting him safely away to fosterage the castle we see today is of course much later than a dark ages period when Arthur was supposed to have lived but we are dealing with myths here and this part of the Cornish coast still possesses a magic today it's said of Merlin that he flew Stonehenge to Salisbury Plain from Ireland the ancient stones of Stonehenge now closely associated with drudgery many of whom now gather here at the solstices at the winter solstice when the day's begin to grow longer and the summer solstice when we come together to celebrate the height of summer and the death of the Sun the origins of Stonehenge are lost in mystery and the henge itself was probably not built by the Druids themselves but nowadays these stones are forever linked to the practices of today's druids and many of the legends associated I should with them as well as a philosophy modern Druidry attracts people from all walks and all religions it's so that they can feel the spirit and land within themselves so they can touch the earth and know they're part of it attracted range in places but these standing stones here were also attracted to modern works where they can communicate on the computer people were looking for a different spirituality a different philosophy and Druidry is attracting everybody from the bank manager to the shop girl the 21st century people think for themselves superstition is passing intellectualism is taking over but people are still looking for something they're still looking for a spiritual or intellectually emotional path to follow they're still searching for something modern jory modern pagan spirituality following the seasons reconnecting with the earth is giving them something in the 21st century that they can connect with 21st century Drury is not some old religion spiritual philosophy that is hidebound and dying it is growing and it is moving forward I found the organized religion and spirituality and being told what to do was not for me I live in a Celtic landscape I live somewhere where the stones still resonate with life and I follow a path that enables me to connect with the landscape and connect with the path that our ancestors did within this landscape not something that's written down in some old dusty tomb but something that will actually make you feel that you are part of history and part of the future can we define modern Druidry or the practices that are classed as dreary it's very very difficult because so many people follow so many paths there are the people though men in their long white robes that go to Stonehenge and places like that that celebrate arcane ceremonies and there are small groups that celebrate the seasons celebrate all the various things they want to do but don't dress up in long white clothes it's basically something for your own path what you want you will find within the druid movement but to define it as one separate thing would be very very difficult because there are so many separate paths there are big organizations like the organisation bars ovation droids and then there are small groups that just run to their own time and their own clock and their own movement for myself my spirituality is driven by the genius loci the spirit of the land by living this fairly wild primitive landscape close to the sea close to the walls and close to these ancient places it drives my spirituality I see the season's pass I live in the country I can feel the seasons change and I react with the seasons people that follow modern paganism are driven by the need to connect driven by the need to accept the land around them and so this is my church this is my Cathedral the Moors the sea the Sun the clouds and occasionally the rain but my spirituality is driven by where I live as it is with so many people and people that live in towns also need to reconnect so they come to these lonely places I come to these ancient temples or Moors and they feel alive again and they understand that nature is not only around them it's part of there are so many paths to modern earth and spirituality surgery is one of those paths paganism as part of to agree or paganism on its own is another one but if you are seeking something in your life and you haven't found it sometimes these various paths help you come to places like this you commune with nature and you get something back that you might have lost along the way the 20th first century is not just an electronic age it's time that people should look around them reconnect with the land reconnect with the modern versions of ancient spirituality I learn about themselves and grow today's druids however follow a more modern spiritual path Druidry is a nature-based spiritual pathway and we celebrate what is known as the wheel of the year these are the festivals and rituals that mark the change of the seasons and the fertility of the year the juridical year begins at sowing more commonly known as Halloween which some people believe was the beginning of the ancient Celtic new year there's little evidence of this but customs change over time and many pagans today like to begin their year on a 31st of October soin is a festival of the dead when we celebrate our ancestors and give some thought to those whom we have lost throughout the year at the winter solstice December the 21st we celebrate the return of the Sun and the growing light the winter solstice itself is a shortest day and the longest night so many druids gather together at dawn to celebrate the sun's return and like Christmas it's also a time in Welsh legend when the arrival of a miraculous child is celebrated the month on the child of the goddess herself

Channel: EARTH MYTHS & LEGENDS

Views: 150,458

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Id: LW6KGhg5s4Q

Length: 20min 7sec (1207 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 08 2017