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About Druids : FAQ’s

Who were the Druids?
In Celtic society Druids were the priests, but that position went well beyond what we think of as priestly duties. They were the religious leaders, judges, healers, educators, astronomers and story tellers.

How did you become a Druid?
Druidic education involved 20 years rote memorization. It was noted by all of the ancient writers who visited Gaul (Poseidonius, Julius Caesar, Tacitus and Germanicus)how extensive was the Druids knowledge of mathematics, physics and astronomy.

Was there a main Druidic centre?
All evidence points in Britain to Anglesey, where the Romans massacred the druids and defiled the Druid's sacred grove. However, there was a pan-Gaul annual meeting of the Druids at Carnute, while Tara in Ireland may have been a Druidic stronghold.

 

Were there female Druids?

Yes. Mostly these were seers and healers yet as with Celtic society, it is believed that the Druidess could hold equal rank to that of any Druid. It should be especially noted the presence of women and men side by side in the defiant last stand at the Druid Isle of Mona.

 

Did the Druids practice human sacrifice?

There is no archaeological evidence for Druids practicing human sacrifice although there have been bodies found that appear to have been ritually killed it is difficult from archaeology alone to establish if this was a manner of death reserved for criminals or was performed randomly to appease some fearful gods. Caesar suggests that some tribes of Gaul would sacrifice criminals or war captives and might employ the services of a Druid to oversee this. Today in some states of America criminals can be put to death in a very stylised way, electric chair, lethal injection or poisonous gas. A priest might employed to oversee this process too. It would not be fair to say that the priest present is practising human sacrifice. The ancient Brehon law of Ireland makes clear that the Druid acting as a judge had no right to impose a death sentence.

 

What did the Druids look like?

Physically the Druids were just like any other north west Europeans of their time, due to diet they were probably smaller than those of today but otherwise identical to us. Their clothing was of un dyed wool or linen and in some regions we know that they fashioned their hair differently from ordinary people. In Gaul they wore a tonsure across their heads between their ears which is something of a fashion I’m very glad to say that modern Druids do not feel obliged to copy!

 

Did the Druids build Stonehenge?

In most books written today you will be told that the Druids did not build Stonehenge. The truth is that we do not know. The Druids were written about in classical times, the period of the Celts (Late Bronze - Iron Age) and since Stonehenge has been dated earlier than this by 1500 years the answer is always given as no. But the question of where the Druids came from and when has not yet been answered, they were established already across northern Europe in classical times and could have been the Celtic expression of a much older indigenous tradition. It is curious that the Celts and Druids had celebrated specific times of year that we now realise that their ancient neolithic ancestors also celebrated, and that they had advanced knowledge of the heavens. The answer should be ‘possibly’.

 

Were the Druids illiterate?

The Druids believed that knowledge should be memorised and understood before it could be transformed into wisdom. They did not write down their rites or their knowledge sadly for us yet they had the means of doing so. For many centuries the northern tribes had trading contact with Greece and later with Rome and there are many examples of the Celtic elite being well educated and able to write in Greek letters. Considering the example of many herbs with the ability to heal which may also, if misused kill, it was perhaps wise of the Druids to only pass such powerful knowledge on in person to people they could trust. Today, via the written word and the Internet, anyone may look up how to explode their neighbours or poison them to death, the authors of such knowledge have no control over who may use it or the ethics applied.

 

What is the Druid legacy?

As stated above, the Druids did not leave a written record of their beliefs so today we must piece together an understanding of them from a combination of classical writings, archaeology, Celtic folk lore and beliefs, the Brehon legal system, anthropology, and history of the effect that they had on others. It might suite some commentators to portray the Druids as bloodthirsty pagan priests of a primitive and barbaric society, especially if they have a vested interest in promoting another faith or version of history. That is pretty much how most writers have treated them until recently. Now, however, a story is emerging of a truly ancient religion embedded within the social fabric of a beautiful, brave and spiritual people which not only was very advanced for the ancient world but which inspired many early Christians and possibly even Jesus Christ himself so shaping the modern western world. The idea of a spiritual framework in which the creator and all creation are sacred, all religions must be respected, men and women have equal opportunity, the balance of nature must be preserved, we are responsible for our actions and the learning from our mistakes; this is an ideal model for today yet belongs to the ancient Druids.

 

The ancient Druids:-