I’m going to use this group as a place to put my notes while I’m researching Druids. I am sure someone might find them interesting! I’m currently reading “Galic Antiquities consisting of a History of the Druids particularly those of Caledonia” by John Smith published in 1780. This was a book written for the Galic Society in London.
First he says that the early Druids were sun worshipers with no deities and laughed at the idea that the Supreme Being could be found in a building.
Second point of interest is that the Druids were extremely serious about their religion compared to the Romans and Greeks who made fun of their own in literature and plays. No one made fun of the Druid religion!
Third, in November everyone put out their fires and were given sacred fire to light and take home. Anyone that was not legally in the right was not given fire and could not heat their homes. It was a great crime to give them fire unlawfully.
Fourth, they seemed unafraid of dying [the Celts in general] compared to those they fought against. Their belief in the afterlife was so strong.
Fifth, their two great Holy Days were Beltaine and Samhain which was when the veil between worlds is the thinnest.
Sixth, they celebrated the full moons and six days after the full moon which is when the activity in the astral planes moves from the Magickal planes into the Spiritual planes.
I’ve just started reading this book and will post more as I have things to share. I choose to go to source material because there might be something in these ancient texts that means something to me that might have been missed by others.
I’m currently reading “Galic Antiquities consisting of a History of the Druids particularly those of Caledonia” by John Smith published in 1780. This was a book written for the Galic Society in London. This book is a gold mine! The author not only draws from past written works but a study of the Scottish customs and a study of the gaelic language. I will probably be posting a lot of notes. I just finished chapter 3 and have a little to say yet on chapter 2.
Regarding sacrifices they seem to have been of the nature of flour, milk, eggs and some herbs such as selago and verbena. Stating that the language itself doesn’t have terms that support the idea of other types of sacrifice.
Most ceremonies were probably performed by going three times around the circle, cairn or altar at which they were performed.
They had solid reputations as prophets and had the gift of second sight.
Chapter 3 moves on to the Druids as law givers, magistrates and judges. Every cause of importance came before them and there was no appeal. If someone did not agree with their judgement they were shunned and outcast from society. Any sentence of the Druids was to follow a person in death as well and the afterlife.
They held that hospitality was sacred-to all strangers every house was open, and every table free. At the departure the host was to ask what they had need of and how they could serve him. Any failure in the law of hospitality brought shame upon the person by his neighbors and harsh legal punishment. They punished the murder of a stranger with death and the murder of one of their own more lightly, as with banishment or a heavy fine. They were forbidden to ask the name of the guest or the country from which they came until the time of departure.
Enemies were always invited to a feast before open hostilities. This was to see if there was any chance at avoiding a conflict. They never fought until their first offers of peace were refused. They never engaged an enemy with a superiority of numbers. So they fought to the death neither giving nor receiving quarter.
Their code of life was apparently very simple: reverence the sole deity; abstain from all evil; behave valiantly.
Their judgements were considered judgement from heaven and taken as such. Extremely difficult cases ended up with the accused having his feet anointed with some type of oil and then being made to walk in a bed of hot coals. If he was injured he was guilty.
At this point I am reminded of a NLP trainer who told me about his graduation from training where the entire group walked barefoot through a bed of glowing coals. Out of about twenty people only one failed the test and ended up in the emergency room at the hospital.
Criminals sentenced to death were executed by Druids at special occasions and with religious ceremony giving the appearance of human sacrifice. The method of execution was burning. So there is no mention of a knife, an altar or of blood. Instead they are cast alive into the fire.
Most of the time this took place upon cairns of stone. Cairns of stone were raised to honor great heroes as well. So there appear to be two distinct kinds of cairns, one of outlaws and one of memorials. Putting a stone on a cairn was a way of immortalizing and validating what it stood for.
At the death of a person a tribunal was formed that passed judgement upon the deceased and determined what type of funeral rites they were to have. They also determined where the soul was going to go after death. This had a very powerful effect upon those close to the deceased. Those who were judged extra favorably were added to the songs to be sung by the bards.
Favorable judgements were the cause of celebrations and possibly the root of the wake.
In the poems of Ossian we find heroes eager to obtain their funeral song even though the tribunal had long since passed away and their ghosts haunted the places where they died.
The souls of the victorious dead were said to be accompanied by some sign from nature as they made their way to paradise.
Lastly, it was said that the world will either end by fire or in a deluge.
I’m currently reading “Galic Antiquities consisting of a History of the Druids particularly those of Caledonia” by John Smith published in 1780. This was a book written for the Galic Society in London.
Notes on chapter 4
This chapter is on philosophy. None but those of genius were admitted, they had to study hard and it took twenty years.
I find this interesting because I spent twenty-two years studying the weekly monographs of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC. AMORC is a mystical and philosophical organization. But in that twenty two years it is expected that one will achieve Cosmic Consciousness or The Crossing of the Great Abyss. It took me about fourteen years but I prayed, studied and meditated every day. Not necessarily Rosicrucian as I was often side tracked into other areas of study. Perhaps this length of time was not to study the material but to ensure Cosmic Consciousness and the merger with Source happened?
Yearly they had a big get together where all members could be updated on important matters.
Early commerce with the Phoenicians provided opportunities of outside learning. Like the Phoenicians and the Egyptians the symbol of an egg coming out of the mouth of a serpent was important.
They studied astronomy and the course of the stars; used molten glass as telescopes to see the moon better. So they knew the manufacture of glass and even some dwellings in the highlands were vitrified ruins. It might be possible that they discovered the making of glass and not the Phoenicians. This because there is a gaelic word for glass which indicates it is native to the language.
They used astronomical knowledge in the building of their places of worship, those that were built of stone.
It is certain that they were skilled with letters, reading and writing, even though they did not put their religion in writing. Indeed, their very law against putting their religion in writing is proof that writing was in use among them.
This alphabet consists exactly of the sixteen letters which Cadmus brought from Phoenicia around 1400 BC with only the addition of the letter F. The author suggests that the Druid letters came from the same source as the Cadmus letters but not from them directly.
The Druids of Britain probably learned the Greek language before the time of Caesar because of trade. The philosopher Abaris seems to have been a British or Hebridian Druid. Abaris was a student of Pythagoras.
They had rocking stones, spherical stones of great size that were so delicately balanced that a little push would make them go one way or the other. These were used to amaze the people as proof of magick. At a touch of the Druid they would shift a bit and vibrate. Later they could be reset. They were called judgement stones.
The author suggests they may have made early use of gunpowder because they were known for their ability to produce artificial thunder and lightning. They made use of this to make people fear their magick.
Most of the Celtic tribes held the study of letters in contempt because they believed that it weakened the warrior. The Druids encouraged this because they sought to keep the masses uneducated and dependent upon them.
I’m currently reading “Galic Antiquities consisting of a History of the Druids particularly those of Caledonia” by John Smith published in 1780. This was a book written for the Galic Society in London.
Notes on chapter 5. This is the final chapter leaving only poems and such that I will need to work through as time allows. I hope that some of the information I have shared has been found interesting.
This last portion is about the medical profession as the druids were healers as well. As well as knowledge of the common herbs, mistletoe was held in great regard as a cure-all. The author suggests that this might have to do with bringing religion into the healing process as mistletoe was a sacred herb. This would imply that the healing had God’s blessing. A strong faith would assist the cure.
They often prescribed bathing in certain springs or waters that might be some distance away, making the sick person get up and be active in walking to the cure spot which they were required to visit three different times. It seems that the number 3 is quite important to the Druids.
But they also seemed intent upon prevention even more than the cure as this little bit of wisdom suggests:
The chief recipe for health, cheerfulness, temperance, and exercise or early rising.
In summary it appears the Druids took great effort to have a monopoly on everything of authority and be active in both civil and religious power. Some of which was done through suggestion and keeping the general population ignorant.
It also seems that their downfall lay in the interactions with other cultures who brought competing beliefs and values. But it should not be forgotten that the Druids created a solid social system that lasted several thousand years and that they acquired their power through real merit and maintained it. Even the Roman empire could not destroy it.
Just a few notes as I begin two mammoth books, “The Barddas” by Iolo Morganwg; and “The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids” by Edward Davies. These two books are both over 600 pages each and it will take some time to sort through them.
But I’m given to understand that most of what we can know about the Druids comes to us from the triads, short verses about particular subjects. Of interest is that Kevin Trudeau’s Mega Memory seminar speaks of how one can improve memory by deliberately making three different associations to the same bit of information! So it seems the triads are using a memory technique that was known to the druids!
Next comes some impressions that I get as a student of the western mystery traditions. In general there are two sources of cosmic power which can be tapped into, the Spiritual Light as Source and Gaia or The Cosmic Womb. We see these as the mystic path and the magickal path. There are only a few mystery school traditions that cover both and they are all magickal, with a focus on channeling and ceremonial magick. The Rosicrucians for example are a mystical path and not a magickal path.
The Druids are definitely not simply shamanic because they are way too philosophical for that! They work with both the higher and lower levels.
Also they seem to have a distinct and definite access to the underworld, Summerland or etheric planes that is not theoretical but functional. This is worth considering in my opinion.
From all we know about the druids and their connection to Gaia they seem to be both mystical and magickal at the same time. The Gaia connection is definitely there as oaks and groves are sacred. Also the inclusion of women and the ability to do magick.
But the mystical connection also seems to be there and especially because druidry seems to have been so easily absorbed into Christianity which is not necessarily magickal and lacking a Gaia connection. Christianity is very much of the 3rd eye center. So Druidry seems to be a variant of the Order of Melchizedek, which is the only Order of Antiquity that does both. This is also the most ancient of Orders.
The very simple instructions of Druidry also seem akin to that of ancient Zoroastrianism, to do what is right, reverence the Divine Being, and simply lead a good life. This places it solidly in the camp of those traditions I choose to call Organic Gnosticism.
The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids by Edward Davies 1809. My first notes deal with page 53 but first a little information that I find interesting. It seems there is a bit of a conflict between Edward Davies and a group called the Bards of Glamorgan. It seems the Bards of Glamorgan discovered a source of previously unknown manuscripts and their authenticity has been questioned. So the author will not use any of that new material and will rely upon manuscripts that have been known to exist for a long time and have been authenticated.
That means this book should be a nice balance to “The Barddas” which we know to have been compromised.
“If the poem called Canu y byd mawr, “The great song of the world”, contains anything of Druidism, we must acknowledge at least, that it is mixed with a large proportion of foreign matter.
The subject is man and the universe. – The soul is said to be seated in the head of man, who is composed of seven elements, fire, earth, water, air, vapor, blossom,( the fructifying principal), and the wind of purposes (q. whether the soul or the passions?) He is endowed with seven senses, appetite and aversion being admitted into the number. – Hence perhaps the vulgar phrase, of being frightened out of one’s 7 senses. There are seven skies or spheres over the head of the diviner.
There are three divisions of the sea, answering to the like number of shores.
Thus far, for aught I know, the Bard may have drawn from the source of druidism: but he proceeds to reckon up the seven planets, by names which are borrowed or corrupted from the Latin – Sola, Luna, Marka, Marcarucia, Venus, Severus, Saturnus.”
Previous to this the author was writing about Julius Caesar so this may date from that time but I am uncertain. What stands out to me is the seven elements and seven spheres over the head of the diviner. This tells me that this bard at least was familiar with the seven astral bodies and had names for the seven elements they were made up of.
This is just an update on some of the frustrations of Druid research that I’ve come across. I’m currently at about page 95 in the book by Edward Davies and he has pretty well blasted the Bards of Glamorgan proving that they were projecting ideals from the French Revolution onto the druids that didn’t exist. Ideals such as concepts of equality and peace loving at all costs.
Among other points he cites that of the Arch-Druid who according to Caesar was the absolute authority in the druid society and after he died the various factions voted and if no clear winner appeared the position was to be determined by combat between the two top contenders. Which hardly seems peace loving or showing a love of equality. He gives much more but that is enough to get the idea. The Bards of Glamorgan are obviously projecting values that were not there and quite likely values from the French revolution.
He also makes the point that the writings of the bards were quite different than what was known of the ancient druid triads. So just about all of the existent literature is contaminated.
For example, true ancient triads had two lines that gave imagery that would be familiar to the common person and then the third came in with a totally unrelated punch line that carried the real point. For example:
“Snow of the mountain! The bird is ravenous for food-
Keen whistles the blast on the headland-In distress, the
friend is most valuable!”
The later writings of the bards altered this basic structure turning it into a different kind of triad and injected values from Christianity as well. So you can tell the truly ancient ones from the newer ones by the way they are written.
He also shares the basic weakness of these manuscripts. How can the bards draw from the same source as the druids when they were only beginners in their studies? Or said bluntly, how can a kindergartner write a college thesis?
But the author has his own bias and openly states his intention of showing that the superstition of the druids is exactly the same as that of the Greeks and Romans.
It would have been nice if an occultist had been able to place an occult perspective on some of this and I guess that is what I’m trying to do.
I’m currently at around page 145 in Edward Davies book and need to put a few notes down because my head is swirling with thoughts. In this portion of the book he seeks stories of the great flood within the ancient druidic writings. He comes to the conclusion that there were stories of the deluge and that Noah, the great patriarch was deified as a sun god.
But before I go down that rabbit hole I would like to share a little scientific research that applies to this issue:
The November 14, 2018 journal of Science Advances tells of a giant meteor strike discovery beneath the Hiawatha glacier in Greenland. It is 19 miles across making it in the top 25 known meteor strikes. It was made of iron and they estimate it weighed 11 to 12 billion tons! It is fairly recent, perhaps as young as 12,000 or 15,000 years ago. That was when Atlantis was destroyed in a great flood and cataclysm that completely destroyed the ancient world and kicked off an extinction event during what is called the younger Dreyus period.
So there was a great flood and this is a viable way of research. First he discovers that mountains and lakes are considered sacred and he suspects ritual enactments of the great deluge are at the root of this. In one instance he points out that there are not really any mountains in Britain like the legends talk about and he suggests the mythos came from the island of Samothrace which had a sacred mountain of the gods and which was a major center of worship at one time. So people migrated from that area into Britain bringing their stories with them. I might mention that mount Arrat, the mountain upon which Noah’s Ark supposedly came to rest was never considered a center of sacred activity.
He also mentions that the bull and serpent are both important symbols in the druidic stories and that Noah was considered the first husbandman who invented agriculture and developed wine from grapes. As the inventor of husbandry or agriculture he was often depicted as a bull. There were many stories of a team of oxen pulling something out of a sacred lake that had flooded the entire world.
This might be true but I have a problem in understanding this because my understanding of the ancient Celts was that husbandry didn’t figure into their culture which was entirely devoted to herding and hunting. Was the author referencing druidic manuscripts from the mainland as well? Are bulls and cows an important part of Celtic society? I thought it was more about pigs? I really don’t know much about this area.
But anyway the bull and the oxen are important symbols of strength throughout antiquity and the bull is worshiped all over the place. And I’m reminded of the Egyptian bark that carries Horus through the sky. Is that Noah’s ark as well? And the chariot that carries Apollo, is it drawn by oxen? Is there really an abundance of symbolism telling one great story? And is Poseidon just another name for Noah?
Apparently there is also a story of eight people surviving the deluge in the Ark and are known as the Oagdad? Or the eight who were deified. Ancient Egyptain mysteries mention a sacred eight divinities who created our world? Scratches head.
No answers, but I needed to put these notes down so I don’t forget.
I’m at around page 167 of Edward Davies book and need to regroup and take a few notes. Truly I never dreamed the road that this research would lead me down. We’ve already established the reality of a great flood or deluge and it makes sense that stories of it would abound in all cultures that were affected by it. I tried to find some good information of the mysteries of Samothrace and found there was hardly anything out there. I did find a book that looked promising and ordered it. Samothrace was pre-Hellenic Greece and could very well be a common origin point of both the Greek and Druid Cultures. The little I found out about it was that it was heavily goddess oriented and influenced the Minoan and Phoenician cultures. The Phoenicians of course being the first to trade with the Druid culture.
In any case the book goes on to suggest that the many sacred islands, mountains and rivers may have been the result of dramatic reenactments of the story of the deluge and the story of Noah and the ark. There are stories of floating islands and moving islands which might be symbolic of the ark itself as a raft with both people and animals upon it. And of course the sacred landing spot at which the ark finally came to rest. These events could very well have been reenacted symbolically as the story of the deluge, Noah and the ark finally reaching the sacred island of the gods at Samothrace?
Over time these places of reenactment became sacred in their own right. This was certainly a concept that I had never considered and I can’t help but think of all the stories and legends of secret islands, hidden islands, holy islands and sacred mountaintops. I certainly need to think a bit more about this as it is simply stunning to me.
I’m at around page 238 of The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids by Edward Davies. Unfortunately an entire section of the text is unreadable with one page being readable and to facing page unreadable! So it is impossible to get a sustained conception of what the author is trying to say.
Regardless, I find myself unconvinced of some of the arguments the author brings forward in this section. But first what this section is about. He continues in the beginning with the story of the deluge but now takes on the role the feminine principle or goddess plays in the druidic stories. Then he moves on to the story of Taliesin and tries to find corresponding links with other cultures and not doing a convincing job of it in my opinion.
But because of that seed thought linking the druids to Samothrace I leap to my own instinct that is worth sharing. After all, I’m reading this to stimulate my own understanding and not parrot someone else’s. The question is whether I can adequately put my feeling into words.
Ceridwin is the goddess and in the story of the deluge the goddess is both the storrn, the tempest and the sure passage through it! The safe landing of the ark and Noah on sacred ground is due to the guiding light and power of the goddess herself and is blessed, but at the same time she is the mighty ocean and the terrible storm. The safe passage is like giving birth to a new life.
I think this same cycle continues at another level in the story of Taliesin who as one of the furies or a witch she has a different type of cauldron or vessel and she is both the force that seeks to destroy him and the force that grants him safe passage into a rebirth!
This to me truly smacks of goddess worship and not old testament stuff!
At page 283 of Edward Davies book I find that I need to write down some notes or lose them entirely. The ruined pages continue so that I can only glean a little here and there but that is enough!
The clue lies with the notion of the goddess that I had in the last post, that of the raging storm and the safe passage through it. Taliesin was said to have been born three times and the last time was when Ceridwin wrapped him up and placed him in a small coracle and sent him down the river where he was caught and brought to safety.
Apparently the final initiation to become a Druid was to be placed in a small coracle presumably bound and helpless, with the coracle sealed up and then pushed into a dangerous and raging rapids to wash up further downstream. If he or she survived they would never again in their lives doubt the ability of the goddess to grant safe passage through any danger. I would suppose that other Druids would assist in protecting the coracle through etheric projection.
The end result of such an initiation would be an iron clad will and belief in the power of the goddess and an attitude similar to that of: if it doesn’t kill you it will make you stronger! Which seems appropriate for the Druids.
Another interesting link to both the Goddess and story of the deluge is that of Arianrod, the goddess of the silver wheel who poured forth the stream of the rainbow which made certain that the world would never again be destroyed by flood. So it is the Goddess and not God who shines the rainbow as a sacred promise.
The author believes that the similarities of the Christian Bible and the story of Noah and the deluge were what allowed them to accept Christianity so readily.
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