All things Pagan. A Druid's guide.

reply to post by DarkStormCrow And All who wish to know.


I wanted to point out that although the Celts did use Ogham, the Druids did not. It was forbidden for the Druid the write down his teachings, therefore there was no written language of the Druids. Druids find their origins within the story of Cad Goddeu(Battle of the Trees) which is where their records were kept. The Lessons/Rights/Rituals were passed down in two different ways. First, through the Bard and the use of Song Spell and Second, through the leaves of the trees. Each tree/bush/shrub began in its name a different letter and when strung together tells a story. We have modern words still in use today due to this practice. For instance, the word Hall, in reference to libraries comes from the long huts used to house these strings of knowledge. Another example is the term "Leaves of a book" referring to its pages.

Through out modern history alterations to Druidism have made it easier to obtain information due to the release of information but it has also caused misunderstandings of the original teachings and the conversion to English has altered it as well. An example of this is the Wiccan belief system. The word Wicca comes from an Anglo-Saxxon, not Gaelic, word meaning "Twisted Branch". Some like to associate to the curled branches of the Willow tree, from which wands are made, but in reality, it is the modern combining of Druidism and the Woman of Avalon. There were no Female Druids and as the name states there were no Male Women of Avalon.

Unfortunately, there has been many confusions caused by "Scott Cunningham" type authors and the truth behind the origins and teachings of both the Druids and Women of Avalon has been dirtied and lost to the general public. For instance, the Pentical. The Pentical is a 5 pointed star that represents the whole or the one. As seen in the OPs picture it represents the 4 elements and Spirit, but on a deeper level it shows the 5 gods and goddesses, Diana, Heceta, Saline, Pan and Kernonos, as One or the balance of Nature.

Many of the original teachings of the Bards by way of song spells are still with us today as well. Most of our childrens songs have adapted the "tunes" of these spells. For example, "Ring Around the Rosey", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and "Old McDonald" just to name a few. The problem is that not only have the words been changed but the true "tones" of each note, ie vibrational frequency, have been shifted as well in order to hide the true power of the "Song Spell".

If you truly wish to have a basic understanding of the Druids and the Women of Avalon read the "Cad Goddeu" (Battle of the Trees). A good translation can be found here... www.celtnet.org.uk... although the true "Song Spell" that goes with it is lost in the translation into English.

reply to post by Druid42


You can see that in the about me that I have on that link.

I have been some form of Pagan for about 12 years. yes, since I was 10. My grandmother is one of those very interesting Catholics who are very witchy and she taught me a lot about palmistry, chakras, tarot, runes, and things like that. So from a very early age, despite my mom being rather rigidly Christian, I was being raised in a Pagan manner.

So I eventually heard about Wicca and I tried that out but I was never very good at following the Rede and I certainly didn’t believe in the law of threes. Over the years I have been:

Discordian
Spiritual Satanist
Humanist Pagan
Atheist Pagan
Wiccan
Shaman

And probably a million other things. I read and learn constantly, and adopt what I like from many faiths into my own beliefs. So now, I just call myself an Eclectic Pagan. I’ve worshipped many deities, but I find I can’t commit to a God. So I am mostly a Goddess worshiper. I have mostly followed Lilith, Eris and currently, Hecate.

I'll be on this thread often to help you and any other Pagan who comes here to answer questions. If anyone has any questions for me, I am all ears.

I am a Pagan and I dedicate myself to channeling the Spiritual energy of my inner self to help and to heal others and myself.

I know that I am part of the Whole of nature. May I grow in understanding of the Unity of all Nature. May I always walk in balance.

May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as well as its Unity. May I always be tolerant of those whose race, appearance, culture and ways differ from my own.

May I use my psychic powers wisely and never use it for aggression or for malevolent purposes.

May I never use it to curtail the free will of others.

May I always remember that I create my own reality and that I have the power within me to create positivity in my life.

May I always take responsibility for my actions be they conscious or unconscious.

May I always act in honorable ways, being honest with myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have given it, fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments I have undertaken to the best of my abilities.

May I always remember that whatever is sent out returns magnified to the sender. The forces of Karma will move swiftly to remind me of my spiritual commitments when I have begun to falter from them. May I use this Karmic feedback to remain strong and committed to my Spiritual ideals in the face of adversity or negativity. May the force of my inner Spirit eliminate all malevolence directed my way and transform it into positive light. May my inner light shine so strongly that malevolence can not even enter my realm of existence.

May I continually grow in wisdom and understanding. May I see every problem that I face, as an opportunity to learn and grow and to develop spiritually.

May I act out of love for other beings on this planet -- to other human, plants, animals, mineral, elementals, spirits or other entities.

May I ever be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.

May I always channel love and light through my being. May my inner Spirit, rather than my Ego self, guide all my thoughts, feelings and actions.

reply to post by Agarta


Thanks for the information. It appears you are well read on this subject.

I have studied the Ogham, simply because I ran across it in my research. Definitely based on trees.

The Ogham:
(source)

However, I made my rune set following the Elder Futharck. I cast according to their definitions and meanings. It works much like a Tarot set, with runes taking on a different aspect according to their placement and position with other runes.

The Elder Futharck:
(source)

Much information has been lost. When the Christians "converted" most of Europe, a lot of the old ways were destroyed. That to me is a shame. It's like reading a history book, only to find several pages ripped out.

Thanks for the link. I love to read old stories, from previous eras, and see how they thought about the world around them.

reply to post by cetaphobic


Hmm, why didn't I think to click the ABOUT ME link? Usually they are blank and uninformative. Maybe I didn't have my coffee yet. Thanks for answering my Q.

It is great to know you are willing to help. I will have more questions for you, in a bit, getting into some more technical aspects of our beliefs, but I've only had 1 cup of coffee so far, and still a bit foggy.

reply to post by Druid42


Take your time, love, all I have to do today is work on my NaNoWriMo novel. It's about Paganism- not Hollywood magic or Hollywood witches. Real Paganism.

Originally posted by Druid42
reply to post by Ghost375

 

The Scrying mirror is simple plate glass, a rectangle, much like a modern LCD flatscreen for me. I painted it flat black. Four coats of paint. Any piece of glass, painted black on the back, will work.

A black container filled with water will work quite well too, and water has many magickal applications.

reply to post by Druid42


Yes the Ogham alphabet is associated with the trees as well, but that is an association that came later, in order to help the common man to read the "Threads". It is the same when stating Alpha is A from Greek to English.

I too have made rune stone using the same runes. In fact, my name "Agarta" is tattooed on my left shoulder in those runes. Most people see my name(Agarta) as associated with hollow Earth and it is an alternate spelling but I chose it for it Gaelic translation "Heaven Bound". Obviously "Heaven" is not an literal translation but it simplifies the understanding.

As for the conversion of the Druids, yes it has caused many issues and misunderstandings in the modern understandings. For example, in order to help conversions the 5 aspects of Nature(the 5 gods and goddesses) were canonized as Saints to make conversion easier. Kernonos(Earth, physical, lust) became St. Corniel and is the patron Saint of Earth. What is even more interesting is that Kernonos is represented as cloven hoved and antlered and was used as the representation of Satan as both are of the flesh, lust and war. So now you have a Druidic aspect of Earth a Saint and Satan all wrapped up in one.

Most of us know the basics of the holidays being converted to Christianity as well ie the Solstices and Equinoxes, however most people do not understand that this conversion is also responsible for the removal of the 13th astronomical sign Ophiuchus because the shift from Moon to Sun calendars.

reply to post by KhaliWitch


Greetings KhaliWitch, I have been reading you, and I am impressed at your strength and perseverance in the face of opposition. I am a Wiccan of many years, many Traditions incorporated into my Traditional Ways. I began in the Golden Dawn Hermetic Teachings, and incorporated Egyptian ways and practices, my Paternal Great, Great Grandmother was a Gypsy, from Egypt, and her line goes way back. I am also part Native American, so some of their ways came into vogue too. What came out is a distinct being with distinct ways and practices, and that is how it is supposed to be, to my mind. Any "group" that think alike, acts alike, dresses alike, talks alike, or believe the same is a cult. I do not believe in belonging to any Covens, Covens are for the weak. My family is my Coven.

reply to post by autowrench


This is true it can be substituted for the purpose of skrying when the original source is not available. Originally it was the fog that was used as it was believed that in the fog the veil between the worlds is the thinnest and it is here the gateway is found. You can see this in the "Gateway Right", the "Right of the 3 Rays", as well as the "Right of Ascension".

I see this thread has turned into a Merry Meet...I love it!

I'll be following the postings here with great interest. I too, am Pagan. Living in the deep South, it's not something I talk about with many folks here. It is the belt buckle of the bible belt, and my Witchy ways would be very much looked down upon. But, some of the folks up here don't seem to have a problem in requesting help with healing, when conventional Doctors haven't helped. I tend to keep a low profile, and let my everyday life speak for me. That old adage of live your beliefs, not spout them, keeps me in balance.

Bright Blessings,

Des

After twelve plus years of catholic indoctrination I denounced the church and faith I was unwillingly baptized in to and began searching on my own for what made the most sense to me in this world. Through searching back on the origins of various religions I consistently found myself faced with each faith’s pagan roots. I quickly began to adopt the very basic fundamentals of paganism as the frame work for my own beliefs. And through science, reasoning, and personal experiences I have been able to build upon that structure a fairly solid view of my spirituality and the world around me. I do not worship any person or thing, and I do not practice any ritual or prayer. And while I don’t necessarily believe in “magic”, I do have a healthy respect for it.

It is my opinion that we and all the world around us, throughout the entire cosmos, is comprised of energy which I prefer to simply call a life force. That life force can be positive, negative, or neutral, all to varying degrees. The more “organic” a person or thing is, the more powerful the energy. When we are conceived we are infused with the life force of our parents. When we eat, we consume those who came before us. And when we die, our energy is retuned to the Earth. We become it, we consume it, and we spend it, but if trained and focused, we can harness it and build it within ourselves and eventually, if strong enough, we can radiate it.

I have honestly yet to find a spiritual conundrum that I cannot rationalize with this belief, but then again, I guess that’s what faith is. In the end, I’ve been called lots of things despite my distaste for labels, including Atheist (despite a belief in a single source of energy), and even Satanist (by some Bible thumper, naturally), but I suppose if I had to have a name, I would prefer Animist, or Agnostic, or just plain Pagan.

reply to post by amaster


I could have written your post verbatim. Raised in a strict catholic family, and catholic private schools my whole life, also sent me on a quest to find a balanced ground to stand firmly on, in order to grow Spiritually. I knew, at a very early age I was a wee bit different. It only took a few beatings from my mother, to realize, not everyone could "hear" others' thoughts, and emotions. That telling people things they were thinking, was not a good thing to do for a 5 year old little girl.

.Thank You for sharing your experiences.

Des

reply to post by Destinyone


Being from the south myself I know that experiance all too well. Although I can't say my parents would spank me for my beliefs since I didn't verbalize it to them until after high school. Prior to that I just kept my mouth shut and stayed to myself. Luckly, New Orleans is kind of an island in the belt. Despite it's rich catholic traditions and history, it's people are seemingly more acceptant of others beliefs, just don't mention them at Sunday dinner.

yo why are we looking at pic of your nipples bruh?

Greetings fellow earth dwelling mystics.

It is a great pleasure to read your posts and to know that there others who follow a path of constant learning, tolerance and Earth love. I dream of someday actually living in a community of people such as yourselves, sharing, learning and strengthening our respective paths.

I believe doing that in the context of a school (old world version) would be fabulous...

a little about me:

I came to paganism later in life. After roughly 30 years of hardcore atheism (christianity just seemed silly) and during a particularly difficult period in my life, i discovered the Tarot. The investigation of which has led me places i never knew even existed, starting with a series of intense nightmares. i believe that the true Tarot contains within it all we (humanity) know about ourselves and how we fit into the larger mystical environment... and that it is mostly misunderstood. I hope that after a coupla more decades of observation, learning and thought, i might understand it with some confidence.

Did you know that Astrology first fell out of favor during the European Renaissance. At the time there was a powerful planetary conjunction in Pisces. Most of the resident 'astrologers' predicted massive floods: Pisces is a water sign, right? Well. no floods: obviously.... and so astrology fell. Looking back on that period from the vantage point of 500 years, we can see that the conjunction in Pisces spoke of a powerful creative upwelling (creativity is an aspect of the mystical "water" element). This upwelling expressed itself (among other ways) in the invention of perspective drawing and the creation (in western culture) of "zero" and "infinity" (which eventually led to the Calculus).

curious, no?

i am also a licensed mechanical engineer, inventor, artist and performer..and to people such as yourselves, i call myself a mystical scientist: sort of a modern day Alchemist. i believe that evidence of the mystical can be measured in the physical. Someday, i think i might be able to prove this, but much learning, still, i have to do. In the mean time, i am learning to trust my feelings and observe the world as openly as possible, keeping in mind that many ideas are incorrect, and that truth is always reflected in many places/ways.

Just this year (after 14 more years of life, study, growth and the development of a daily yoga/prayer practice - i call Gaia my God) i experienced something truly amazing and profound (to me).

Let me start by saying that i adhere to the idea that the path to personal growth lies along the avenues of fear.... that it is in the facing of one's fears that discovery and growth happen and true balance can be achieved. The old school Pagan teachings (in all their various colors and flavors) give us a context to place this balance within.

So, in January of this year i accidentally entered the flow of Gaia's mind, and that experience has changed me forever. i am still discovering the ways in which i have changed. I have not the space in this post to share that story completely, but will take the time if others express curiosity.

The short of it, is that for two weeks, i could tell what every human around me was feeling, could respond to their true meaning rather than simply the words spoken. For two weeks, the quality of my thinking was changed and i could understand and visualize amazing ideas. For two weeks i had the patience of a Jedi coupled with a readiness for action that amazed me.

i miss the patience the most.

Anyway, during that period, fell in love with Gaia...and i really have no idea where that will take me, but i follow that path gladly.

... sometime with a bit more confusion and doubt than is comfortable...

and it is increasingly difficult to participate in this fabricated cold mechanical logical world we have confined ourselves to.

seeing your words gives me hope

reply to post by galactix


Wonderful to meet you, Welcome.

Originally posted by cetaphobic
reply to post by Druid42

 

Take your time, love, all I have to do today is work on my NaNoWriMo novel. It's about Paganism- not Hollywood magic or Hollywood witches. Real Paganism.

Can we get a link/draft?

I was also wondering Moon rituals. Does the Moon hold any special significance for you? Ever study Astronomy before?

Curiously enough, I became Pagan first, then developed a profound interest in the stars. Many ancient civilizations were also keen astronomers. Astrology isn't my strong suit, but let me spend hours looking through my telescope and I am content. Cancerian sun, and Gemini moon, go figure.

Originally posted by Agarta
reply to post by Druid42

 

As for the conversion of the Druids, yes it has caused many issues and misunderstandings in the modern understandings. For example, in order to help conversions the 5 aspects of Nature(the 5 gods and goddesses) were canonized as Saints to make conversion easier. Kernonos(Earth, physical, lust) became St. Corniel and is the patron Saint of Earth. What is even more interesting is that Kernonos is represented as cloven hoved and antlered and was used as the representation of Satan as both are of the flesh, lust and war. So now you have a Druidic aspect of Earth a Saint and Satan all wrapped up in one.

Most of us know the basics of the holidays being converted to Christianity as well ie the Solstices and Equinoxes, however most people do not understand that this conversion is also responsible for the removal of the 13th astronomical sign Ophiuchus because the shift from Moon to Sun calendars.

I am quite familiar with the conversions that Christianity used to incorporate more people into their belief system. It wasn't a subtle change, nor a willing one. It was convert or die. Yikes.

The 13th sign? I have not done much research there yet. Perhaps you could post a bit more info. I do recall wondering how after hundreds of years how they could "add in" another sign. So many Astrology charts would become useless, and it seemed it'd uproot the whole of that particular field.

Originally posted by Druid42

Originally posted by cetaphobic
reply to post by Druid42

 

Take your time, love, all I have to do today is work on my NaNoWriMo novel. It's about Paganism- not Hollywood magic or Hollywood witches. Real Paganism.

Can we get a link/draft?

I was also wondering Moon rituals. Does the Moon hold any special significance for you? Ever study Astronomy before?

Curiously enough, I became Pagan first, then developed a profound interest in the stars. Many ancient civilizations were also keen astronomers. Astrology isn't my strong suit, but let me spend hours looking through my telescope and I am content. Cancerian sun, and Gemini moon, go figure.

It's only the first day! Once I get farther, I would be glad to share it.

My grandmother is into astrology. She taught me how to make charts. Astronomy is something I studied independently for a while. The moon is, of course, very important to me for a lot of reasons. I'm a goddess worshipper, and goddesses tend to be related to the moon. I am also very interested in psychology, and since our moon signs represent who we really are deep down, it's an interesting thing to look at. And as a woman, my body is tied to the moon and its phases.

I'm an Aries sun, Sagittarius moon.