after sites like Stonehenge and Newgrange were constructed. But within the framework of the world-view of three centuries ago, such ideas were electrifying. Western society was moving out of the middle ages and into the modern world; nations were being formed and the soul of the modern, secular, scientific age was being born. In this epochal age, people sought their roots, and a vision of druids constructing or using the megalithic sites seemed as good an entry as any into the dreams of the past.
Are earlier notions of who the druids were mere folly and fantasy? Yes, perhaps. But if we learn one thing from the errors of the past, let it be this: we have no more of a lock on the “truth” about the druids today than the antiquarians of the seventeenth century had in their time. Perhaps our image of the shamanistic nature-loving priests will someday be just as quaint as the druids-as-stone-age-engineers.
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THE PATH OF THE DRUID
A legendary meeting of druids is said to have taken place at a London tavern in 1717, attended by delegates of druidic and bardic orders from throughout the Celtic world. Scholars today doubt that such a meeting ever really occurred, but it lives on as a myth in the traditions of several modern druid groups—and what a singularly appropriate myth, seeing the rebirth of druidry not in a stone circle or sacred grove, but at a pub! Some sixty-four years later, a secret society called the Ancient Order of Druids was founded, and this marks the reliable history of druidism reborn (and yes, this order’s organizational meeting took place in a pub). For almost two hundred years, druidism was a blend of fraternal organization and national identity (especially in Wales, where bardic competitions became popular beginning in the nineteenth century). Many of the stereotypes that dog druidism today arose from the fraternal druid orders, which consisted of English gentlemen, wearing white robes and performing ceremonies in London parks as well as more traditionally sacred sites like Glastonbury or Stonehenge. For these druids, the Celtic wisdom-keepers of old were revered not so much for their religious beliefs or intellectual function as for their symbolic value as the cultural forefathers of the land.
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THE PATH OF THE DRUID
Just as the eighteenth century druid revival began in a pub, another humorous chapter in the history of the druids dates to 1960s North America. At Carleton College in Minnesota, students were required to attend chapel regularly—unless they were participants in the regular religious ceremonies of a non-Christian religion. So in 1963 a group of clever students organized a “druid grove,” mainly so that they could skip chapel and hang out in the woods. The college, perhaps sensitive to the satirical nature of this assembly, dropped the chapel requirements shortly thereafter—but the druids found that their organization thrived, no longer as a form of ironic protest but as a genuine (if somewhat anarchic) spiritual movement. This organization, known as the Reformed Druids of North America, eventually inspired other, more earnest druid groups, such as the Henge of Keltria or Ár nDraíocht Féin. Meanwhile, across the ocean, British druids were undergoing a similar process of transformation from the secular fraternal groups of old, to younger, hipper, more pagan-identified communities that characterize the new face of druidry for tomorrow.
And so the druids continue their process of reinvention. What will the future hold?
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THE PATH OF THE DRUID
Neopagan (“new pagan”) druidry is a creative spiritual force, combining knowledge of myth and folklore with a body of ritual designed to honor the earth and celebrate community. Leaders of neopagan druids speculate on the spirituality of polytheism and pantheism for today, and consider the implications of deep, nature mysticism for today’s urbanized society. Of course, not everyone with an interest in Celtic matters will embrace the new druidism, if for no other reason than the ongoing vitality of the Christian faith, especially in Ireland and North America. In some ways, the druids of old really are lost—druidism has not been an independent and socially influential intellectual or philosophical movement for at least 1500 years. But the attempts at reviving druidism, even as a minority cultural or spiritual movement, speak to the ongoing need for Celtic wisdom—even if its influence is marginal rather than mainstream.
In thinking about druidism for today and tomorrow, bear in mind what the word druid probably means: “oak wisdom.” Whether you see druids as a long-lost priesthood, or a symbol for Celtic shamanism, or a doorway into a nature-based spirituality, keep wisdom in mind as the essential element for the druids. You don’t have to join a druid group, wear a white robe, or collect mistletoe in order to celebrate the spirit of the druids. All that is required is a commitment to wisdom.
Perhaps the single most attractive element of Celtic wisdom and spirituality is its link with nature. Celtic mysticism is the mysticism of the earth. This crosses religious lines—Christians embrace the Celtic love of nature as fully as do neopagans. From the windswept islands of the Hebrides, to the lush verdant fields in Ireland, to the panoramic coastlines of Cornwall, the Celtic world is brimming with the majesty of nature—and this has, from the beginning, shaped the Celtic soul.
The sense of nature as divine or holy is hardly unique to the Celts. Native American wisdom is clear in its respect for Mother Nature and insistence that a balanced life means walking in harmony with the environment. Similar themes may be found throughout primal and shamanistic cultures worldwide. For that matter, the Jewish tradition has a strong history of insisting that the earth be cared for—the commandment to remember the Sabbath is not just a religious directive, but also implies that society needs to refrain from over-working the land.
So the Celtic tradition of venerating nature is not alone. Which is another way of saying that the profound earth mysticism of the Celts is, ultimately, of universal importance.
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THE PATH OF NATURE
Why is Celtic nature mysticism so attractive? To begin with, the culture of the West—which traces its roots back to the Roman Empire and its reliance on centralized, urban government—seems to have lost its way regarding nature. The political and business climate throughout Europe, America, and increasingly the rest of the world, regards the environment as a resource, and efforts at conservation or environmental protection are chiefly designed to preserve those resources for long-term usage. Rarely is a sense of nature as divine, as sacred, as valuable in itself, seriously considered. And yet this is the heart of the Celtic understanding of nature. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the link between the goddess, the land, and sovereignty. A king does not assume the right to manage the land, or exploit, or utilize its resources. Rather he marries the land, in the persona of the sovereign goddess. Goddess and king are partners—what we know of pre-Roman Celtic law suggests that marriage was often seen as a joining of equals. What would our world look like today, if we could begin to see the environment as our partner, rather than our resource?
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THE PATH OF NATURE
The connection between humankind and nature was, to the ancient Celts, an essentially moral relationship. If a king ruled with wisdom and justice, the land responded with abundance and prosperity—cows gave plentiful milk, the land yielded bountiful harvests, and the trees were laden with fruit. But under a king whose reign was unjust or inhospitable, the land withdrew her blessings. Crop failure, drought, and meager harvests were linked not to the arbitrary whims of capricious nature, but rather to the failings of a king (and, by extension, to the people he governed). Mythically speaking, the remedy of such a problem was to find a new king—symbolic of establishing a new, and healthier, relationship with the sacred land. Simply put, when nature is encountered relationally, then nature has a claim on how she is treated. It matters what we do in regard to our environment. This is the heart of Celtic mysticism.