Druidry: The Bard Today

The Bard is the first of three Druid grades, the other two being Ovate and Druid. Traditionally, Bards were poets and singers, Ovates were healers and prophets, and Druids were philosophers and teachers. In the Bardic grade, the order of Bards, Ovates and Druids focuses on the development of one's self-understanding, personal growth, and creativity.

The Bard's creativity may involve any of the arts - painting, drawing, sculpture, wood-carving, needlework, origami, dance, theater, mime, film, fiction and non-fiction writing, poetry, storytelling, singing, playing of musical instruments. The Bard's creativity also involves all aspects of life. It involves the way one does one's work, exercising creativity in teaching, law, medicine, business, plumbing, computer programming, tourism, transportation, farming, fishing. It involves the way one lives one's personal life, exercising creativity in one's family, home, meals, hospitality, recreational pursuits.

I would say that today's Bard has three important functions.

To approach life as an Artist. Anyone who practices an art form is exercising a Bardic role. So is anyone who works creatively in any field and anyone who lives creatively.

I think of my friend Marsha, who takes a creative, entrepreneurial approach to work and finances. Marsha operates a successful landscaping and plant nursery business, runs a smaller side-business in essential oils, teaches community organizing and leadership skills at a community college, offers her mountain-side home as a retreat or seminar center, and rents out her basement apartment. Marsha directly incorporates art into her landscaping work: she prepares a beautiful water-color painting of the landscaping that she has worked out in consultation with each client as a kind of blue-print.

I have brought the Artist into my life in writing, drawing, and throwing parties. At various times in my life, I have done quite a bit of writing, including an unfinished memoir. I also have a folder full of drawings of my inner life, called Karen's Healing Art. And I enjoy throwing parties, often organized around interesting themes.

To encourage the Artist in others. This is essential. It is so important for people to understand that every one of us is creative. Art is not just for people who are "specially gifted." It is for everyone. This especially needs to be encouraged in children. A Bard encourages the artist in others. To perfect an art form, "special gifting" is not required. What is required is discipline and perseverance.

I think of Paulette, who taught me to draw at age forty-five in an adult education course called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Paulette's philosophy was that anyone can be taught to draw. She was right. With proper instruction, I went from childish stick figures to amazingly sophisticated adult art in eight weeks.

I try to exemplify this in my writing classes with the attitude that everyone can write and everyone has something important to say. This is one reason that I have my writing students choose their own writing topics. Writing is not to fulfill a boring assignment but to express something one is passionate about.

To preserve the stories. A Bard preserves the stories - of his or her family, neighborhood, city or town, religious group, workplace, club, state, region, nation, world. In oral cultures, the Bard was extremely important because the Bard passed down the history and self-understanding of the tribe, none of which was written.

Today, those who write memoirs are Bards. Often, a memoirist gives voice, not only to his or her own story, but to the stories of others like him or her. For example, Nancy Venable Raine, in her memoir, After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back, gives voice not only to her own story but also to all women who have been raped. Frank McCourt, in his memoir Angela's Ashes, gives voice not only to his own story but also to all those who have lived in dire poverty in the lanes of Limerick, Ireland.

Historians are Bards - I would say, especially those who tell the story from the point of view of the common person. For example, those who have collected oral histories of Hurricane Katrina from the ordinary people who lived through it and have then published these in written form are Bards. I also think of Barry A. Lemoine, who had his 2001 high school class collect oral histories of people who had survived Hurricane Betsy in the New Orleans area in 1965 and then had the class present the oral histories as a play titled "An Evening with Betsy: Voices from the Storm."

On a very small scale, I have sometimes held Story Circles at my home, where a group of friends and I each tell a memory from our lives. In doing this, we recall our stories and tell them to ourselves and each other.

Druidry: Four Time Periods

Druidry has gone through four time periods, described by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids as I will lay out below. I will use BCE to indicate Before the Common Era,and CE to indicate the Common Era. The Common Era is the era that began with Jesus Christ.

PROTO-DRUIDRY (25,000 BCE to 600 BCE). Since much of this time period was pre-historical, it is hard to know much about Proto-Druidry, except that ancient people developed an understanding of deity and a reverence for nature. During this time period, the great stone monuments, such as Stonehenge, were constructed, probably between 4200 BCE and 1400 BCE.

CLASSICAL DRUIDRY (600 BCE to 600 CE). Druidry flowered during this time. A well-developed body of teachings and practices came into being, with schools where one could undertake a nineteen-year training to become a Druid.

UNDERGROUND DRUIDRY (600 CE to 1600 CE). With the arrival of Christianity, Druidry went underground. Druid teaching survived in folklore; in Bardic schools that continued to function, often secretly, in Ireland and Scotland; in tales and practices adopted and adapted by the Christian Church; in manuscripts of ancient tales and sayings recorded by Christian scribes; and in physical monuments, such as sacred wells and stone circles.

REVIVAL DRUIDRY (1600 CE to Present). The Renaissance got Europeans interested in ancient teachings, which were spread by the printing press. The Romantic movement sparked an enthusiasm for folk culture, and in Britain, people became interested in their Celtic ancestors. This led to a revival of interest in Druidry and the formation of Druid groups. Today there are well-established and recognized Druid orders in Britain and elsewhere in the world, practicing and teaching Druidry.

Some people question the authenticity of today's Druids, wondering how today's Druids can call themselves Druids when we lack solid, factual, written information on ancient Druid teachings and practices. This comes from a linear-time mindset in which, as we move further and further into the future, we move further and further away from Classical Druidry, which recedes further and further into the past and becomes lost in the mists of ancient time.

There is, however, another way to look at this. We might see time as circular, with God in the center of the circle. As we move closer and closer toward God, we come closer and closer to the spirit of Druidry. Authentic Druidry depends on closeness to God, not on proximity to a particular time period. We might note, for instance, that indigenous religions from around the world have an amazing similarity of teachings and practices - honoring of animals, reverence for the four directions, use of sacred music and dance, to name a few. The people practicing these indigenous religions are widely separated on the globe, yet the practices are very similar. This can be attributed to closeness - not to each other - but to God.

Time does not separate us from distant or ancient spiritual people. They and we are united in God.

It is also worth noting that any religion will evolve over time, especially if one is attuned to God. The Spirit of God is creative and active, not stagnant, and understandings of deity and religious practices that developed during one time period may not fit another time period. Therefore, even if we knew exactly what ancient Druids taught and practiced, it would make little sense for us today to adopt these ancient teachings and practices wholesale. We might think, for example, of the ancient Hebrew practice of animal sacrifice. This worked for the ancient Hebrews but is hardly appropriate for Jewish people today.

Druidry: The Energy Body

Druids work with energy, starting with one's own energy body, that is to say, the field of energy that surrounds one's physical body.

You can learn to feel your body energy by rubbing your palms together briskly, then holding your hands, palms facing, just a few inches apart. You will feel a tangible energy field between your palms. You can continue to feel this energy as you move your hands farther and farther apart. Having practiced this, I can now feel the energy field no matter how far apart I place my hands, even without the initial brisk rubbing of palms.

You can also become aware of your full energy body by focusing on each part of the body in turn, starting with the feet and moving the energy, bit by bit, up to the head. With practice, once the energy moves from feet to head, you can enjoy the feeling of your whole body pulsing with energy. The sensation is a spacious one, as though your body extends outward into an energy field, or as though you are composed not only of your ordinary body but also of an energy body surrounding it.

The idea in Druidry is that this energy body is very real. Working with the energy body simply by becoming aware of it and experiencing it in this way is healing. It is also a good way to open and develop the chakra energy centers at a natural pace.

Druidry: The Myth of Taliesin

The story of Taliesin seems to be the main myth that one works with in the Bardic Grade of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. It is well to keep in mind that a myth is a story that may not have happened in the way things ordinarily happen in space and time, but it is nonetheless true.

Here is an outline of the Myth of Taliesin.

• The Goddess Ceridwen, who lived by Lake Bala, had two children - a lovely daughter named Crerwy and a misshapen son named Afagddu.
• Ceridwen determined that, if her son, Afagddu, could not be handsome, at least he would have the gift of inspiration.
• Ceridwen traveled to the wise Pheryllt in the mountain city of Dinas Affaraon to obtain a spell that would insure the gift of inspiration for Afaggdu.
• Upon returning home, Ceridwen gathered the ingredients for the spell and found the young boy Gwion Bach and the old man Morda to tend the cauldron in which the spell ingredients were to brew for a year and a day, cautioning Gwion and Morda never to taste of the brew, for the first one to taste it would receive the gift of inspiration - and this was reserved for Afagddu.
• Just before the hour when Adagddu was to taste of the brew, the cauldron began to boil over, and three drops of the brew fell on young Gwion's thumb, scalding it, so that Gwion quickly put his burned thumb in his mouth - thus becoming the first to taste the brew that should have gone to Afagddu.
• Ceridwen, enraged, chased after Gwion, and both went through a series of shape-shifts: Gwion became a hare, Ceridwen a hound, Gwion a salmon, Ceridwen an otter, Gwion a bird, Ceridwen a hawk, Gwion a grain of wheat in a huge wheat pile, Ceridwen a hen who picked out and swallowed that very grain.
• Gwion grew within the womb of the Goddess Ceridwen and was eventually born to the Goddess, who placed the baby Gwion in a leather bag and cast it into the sea.
• The wood-dweller Elfin found the leather bag and the child inside, and took the child - renamed Taliesin - home to raise with his wife.
• At age thirteen, Taliesin saved his foster father, Elfin, from the prison of King Maelgwn by out-performing all the Bards in King Maelgwn's court.
• Taliesin became known as the finest and wisest Bard of all.

This myth is an oral tale, passed down verbally for centuries, before finally being written. As with any piece of oral literature, the Myth of Taliesin comes in various versions. Each teller of the myth told and embellished the tale in his or her own way. In oral literature, there is never "the one true original version." I like this. I can become a teller of this myth myself and make it my own - as can anyone.

Druidry: The Home Blessing

It is a beautiful thing to bless one's home. It is good to bless your home upon moving in and then perhaps once a year. These are some benefits of a home blessing.

• It encourages you to think of your home as a sacred place.
• It reminds you that God is present in your home.
• It reminds you that the activities that go on in each room of your home are sacred.
• It reminds you to be grateful for your home.
• It reminds you to share your home with others through hospitality.
• It can unite family and friends in celebration.
• It helps you to feel at home in your home.

It seems that Christians could benefit from a home blessing as well as Druids. It would be wonderful if this were offered regularly to people moving into new homes.

Druidry: The Grove

Trees are very important to Druids - all trees and especially the oak. Druids love trees. Here are some neat things I know about trees.

• Trees purify the air.
• Trees give us shade.
• Trees provide a home for birds and squirrels.
• Trees let us climb them.
• Trees are simply beautiful.
• Trees can be incredibly old.
• Trees are alive and full of energy. If you sit with your back against the trunk of a tree, you can feel the energy of the tree.
• Trees heal.

Druids love to be outdoors and to hold rituals in groves. They encourage the planting of trees. Druidry is full of tree lore, but I don't know much tree lore myself.

Besides spending time with actual trees, Druids also encourage the creation of one's own inner sacred grove. This is a grove built in one's imagination, to which one can retreat at any time. The inner sacred grove of the imagination is a real grove. It's not physical, but it is real.

Druidry: An Introduction

I became interested in Druidry several years ago and have found it to be a wonderful complement to Christianity. The Druidry materials I have worked with come from the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. This is their website:

http://druidry.org

Druidry as taught by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) can be practiced as one's sole or primary spiritual path, or it can be combined with another spiritual path or belief system, such as Christianity or Buddhism.

Below I will discuss what I find beneficial in Druidry, based on OBOD's introductory materials. All of these points are compatible with, and some even parallel, Christian teachings.

RE-CONNECTING. Druidry is a way of re-establishing lost connections in three areas. In each area, we first re-establish a connection, then we spend time inter-relating, and finally we enter and enjoy a deeper communion.

• With Nature. Druidry focuses on the rhythms of the seasons, on spending time outdoors, on the four directions, on knowledge and love of animals and plants, especially trees. The preferred place for a Druid ritual is a grove. This is an important antidote to the personal tendency to spend time in sedentary indoor pursuits at work and at home (certainly true of me) and to the wider tendency to pollute our world to the extent where it may well become unlivable.
• With the Divine Source. Druidry honors the Divine Source - God - and offers rituals and practices that make God's presence real for us. I would say that Druidry does not ask us to believe in God but to experience God. For me, this experience is not spectacular but very quiet and subtle. Druidry also leaves open how we envision God. Most Druid rituals honor God as both male and female, though an individual Druid is welcome to honor God as exclusively male, as exclusively female, as a being who is neither, as multiple deities, or as an impersonal force. For me, envisioning God as female as well as male is extremely important.
• With one's own Soul. I very much resonate to the concept of a Superficial Self who can be blown about by external events and inner emotions and of a Deep Self, or Soul, who carries my wisdom and who simply is. At any given moment, I can act from my Superficial Self or from my Deep Self. But I can only act from my Deep Self if I am connected with my Soul. Druidry offers ways to make and strengthen that connection and strongly emphasizes personal responsibility for choices.

SEVEN GIFTS. Druidry offers seven gifts.

• Philosophy. Druidry is a philosophy that sees our world as sacred and all reality as one. The spiritual and the physical are not separate, but form one whole. Our physical bodies are sacred, as is life in all its forms. (Druids leave it up to the individual whether or not to eat meat, though a Druid would oppose the inhumane practices of factory-farms. Most Druids also would not hesitate to swat a mosquito.)
• Nature. Druid rituals and celebrations revolve around the cycles of Nature and are most often held outdoors.
• Healing. Druidry emphasizes healthy living practices, which lead to healing. I have recently changed my eating habits to center around lots of fruits and vegetables, along with some whole grains and such proteins as lean meat, fish, lowfat cheese, lowfat yogurt, and nuts - and I certainly feel much better.
• Life Journey. Oh, I find this so important. Druidry offers rituals to celebrate important life passages, even the ones our society often ignores, such as entrance into puberty.
• Other Realities. Other realities are other ways of seeing, beyond our ordinary everyday mentality. Our ordinary everyday reality and these other realities actually form one overall reality, but since we don't usually function in these other ways, they seem to us to be other realities. Druidry honors these other ways of seeing as well as our ordinary everyday way. A simple example from another reality is auras. Most of us don't see people's auras, but some individuals do see them. I myself don't see auras, but I have a few friends who do.
• Creativity. Druidry celebrates the arts and encourages creativity in all areas of life and work.
• Magic. I am not yet sure what this means within Druidry, as I haven't seen anything specifically about magic in the materials I've read thus far. I do know that magic is often misunderstood by people of mainstream religious faiths. As I understand it, magic is directing natural but little understood energies to manifest a desired result. I think that people can tap into those energies unawares when they desire something deeply, turn their own energy whole-heartedly toward fulfilling that desire, and find that circumstance after circumstance starts lining up in their life in fulfillment of what they desire. Those who practice magic have developed very conscious and specific ways to do this.

I will also mention that OBOD recognizes three grades: Bard, Ovate, and Druid. Traditionally, Bards are singers and poets, Ovates are healers and prophets, and Druids are philosophers and teachers. The OBOD materials I have worked with are for the Bardic Grade, where the focus is on self-knowledge, personal growth, and creativity.