All things Pagan. A Druid's guide.

Originally posted by Druid42
reply to post by Noinden

 

I'll go with hard study. I didn't wake up one day, and say, POOF, I'm now a Druid. It took years of study, walking down many different paths, getting lost, but finding my way again. In my "Elder" age, I see the paths before I take them, knowing which ones are dead ends, and which ones take me to my destination. I avoid the mistakes of my youth, which was not seeing through life clearly.

I usually think before I speak. I listen before I act. I gather knowledge before I change. I listen to my heart.

And so, the path leads onwards.

I hear you, friend. I studied for a years and a day, then some more before I called myself a Wiccan. It is not as easy as going to church and praying, and bang, you are a Christian with a ticket to Heaven. We have to research and learn everything about our religion, something a Christian never does. Even Muslims memorize their Koran.

Merry Meet,

Thank you. There are many ideas which have been presented before us. My view of how our paleopagan ancestors lived in "harmony" with the earth is in the sense that they did not presume to own the land but that the land itself literally owned them. Take for instance the ancient Roman ideals of the Lars Familiaris and Lasa spirits which were propitiated to increase the storeroom. The fact that the family and the land, over the centuries were bonded in a mystical state.

No, I dont think that our predecessors were in any way more intelligent than us, nor would I say they were less intelligent, it is just that their understandings of the universe were not mechanistic but holistic in nature. There was a set of consequences to their actions and they were more true to themselves then man has become in our so-called "civilized" cultured. Just because not everyone had the knowledge does not mean that this knowledge did not exist. It was held in trust for the people by the few. Like the Kabbalists of the Jews. Not every Jew had access to such knowledge.

There is one thing that the teacher, Jesus, did say and has come to be true, and that is that we shall be a peculiar people, a holy priesthood, and a royal nation. We all have the opportunities to study the Ancient Mysteries if we so choose, to have personal sovereignty. It is all just a matter of world view, not whether one civilization is wiser than another.

reply to post by Druid42


I see where you are trying to go with the Tuatha dé Dannan. However that is a group I am very well aware of (being a Gaelo-centric neopagan spiritualist), you may not be aware of the etymology of the name, the “commonly accepted” meaning is “People (Tuatha) of the goddess (Dé)Danu (Dannan)”, however modern linguists find that it more likely translates to “ 'The People of Craftsmanship' or 'The Artistic People' “
Danu is a reconstructed name for the goddess anyhow; there is no direct mention of her, beyond a singular mention of her as a daughter of the Dagda (and with all Irish myths we rely on books written by Christian monks, centuries after deities were worshiped and myths told regularly) , the reconstruction is via Ana (who is attested) and used older linguistic techniques, that don’t always hold true. To be fair Danu should be *Danu as the * denotes a reconstructed name!
So even if we were to accept the “People of the Goddess *Danu” translation, *Danu can only be associated with (from the myths, not Victorian wishful thinking) rivers, and perhaps Crafts (though that is more likely another daughter of the Dagda, Brigid). She is not earth mother. When people try to tie her into the “mother of the Tuatha de Dannan” it is via the fact that at the time of the invasion of Ireland (which was occupied by the Fir Bolg at the time) the three kings of the Tuatha were all sons of *Danu (and these myths are somewhat questioned as to their providence) .
So let’s get back to your “question” of if I am familiar with the Tuatha? Why yes indeed I am I’m familiar with the myths, the legends and the various theories. I hold my own views, which I am expressing here. There is absolutely no evidence in the archaeological record of Ireland of a goddess worshiping pre Gaelic people. So while various artifacts and ruins have been attested to the “Tuatha dé Dannan” they in no way can be used to show how they worshiped (which is the crux I believe of your reply). One must be careful with source material, many Neopagans use the works of Yeats, and other poets as historical evidence, or “folk myths” from “an Irish pagan they know” as evidence. That is a bad precedent to set.
Now speaking of the “Burning times” it was not about pagans, it was about control, thus when a Pagan (a witch/wiccan in particular) quotes it as a war against witches, they are diminishing the loss of those who died (most of whom were of Abrahamic faiths) and also look like they are trying to horn in on the holocaust angst train.

reply to post by Noinden


I can accept you for being a Pagan, if you can do likewise.

That was some very insightful information, and you've gotten my point.

We need more people like you to explain the beliefs.

reply to post by Druid42



Kid I have not doubted your pagan label. It is the "elder" one I doubt.

reply to post by Noinden


You may doubt as much as you wish. Anything I say cannot change your opinion of me. True?

I do not fret about other people's opinions of me. I am myself. I know who I am. I'm good with that. I don't like titles, status, or basing definitions of people merely upon their age. I tend to not adhere to any group, and I'm fine with my place upon my own path. I learn new things every day. To me, that is the life of a Druid, to see the beauty in the world around us, to pause and reflect, and to not worry about what other people think. It's a solo journey, in which you enrich yourself, and share with others. The people in my "real" life know me, and come to me with questions, and I answer them. They don't say "Oh most Elder Druid, may I beseech you with this question?" Nope. They come up to me like I am a normal person, talk with me, and we have a conversation. I have no airs about me. I am real, and not pretentious in real life.

I call myself Druid. It's a simple statement. If you really want to know my age in this life, take my username, my join date, and twist it around the Cancer in an Astrology chart. If you are clever, you'll know how old I am.

I like you. You are tenacious and rigid. I look forward to conversing with you more. It would be interesting for you to share the way you are, the part beyond your teachings, and give us a glimpse of your soul.

I see character, not appearance or knowledge, when I define people. Think about it.

It doesn't really matter what you look like, or what you know, it's how you act. That's the pivotal defining point for an individual. It matters.

reply to post by Druid42


who comes to you and ask questions?

reply to post by Doublemint


You just did.

In all seriousness, it's friends, co-workers, and family. People who they know.

Strangers rarely talk to me.

reply to post by Druid42


So, the first time you talk about paganism and what not do you bring it up? and if you do how?

reply to post by Doublemint


That's an interesting question.

When religion comes up in a conversation, it's usually with a Christian person, who is usually stating a superstitious belief they have, which I logically talk about. Most of those kind usually wind up stomping off in a huff, resolved to be set in their beliefs, without being open-minded about what we are discussing.

Other times it's with an atheist or undecided person. They are very open-minded, and it's usually a good conversation, but you can tell when a person is "full", and it's best to divert to another topic, which they usually do.

The best way to talk about Paganism is not not bring up the word at all. Words like "naturalistic worldview" and "the olden ways" are a couple of good substitutes. Never try to "force" your definition on them. True pagans never try to convert, as they see their beliefs as a choice. Basically, we have the beliefs we were taught as children, and those that we learn.

If someone is trying to understand their own beliefs and spirituality, they will seek out new information. An individual who is unhappy with their religion will question it, and in doing so, will have taken the very first step in finding their own path. Once on their own path, they'll find that their paths will cross many times with others who are seeking as well.

Once you become more receptive to "seeing" what people believe, it's so much easier to have a conversation with them.

reply to post by Druid42


You are trying awfully hard to seem mysterious kid I've not questioned your calling yourself "Druid" Again you claim to be an "elder" yet you only give rather gauche and empty answers. A true teacher does not play those games OR try to make themselves seem big

Oh and astrology has nothing to do with Druidry or Druidism (do you know the difference between those words?). So how is the Druid scene in OH? I've plenty of friends in the Druid and neopagan scene there