Druidcraft

by Gary Colcombe

white milk of nurturing. The fire of spirit shines through

  your eyes. I greet you and bid you welcome, and l ask that

  you bless me with your waters of healing and renewal.

  Listen to her response; she may wish to tell you something or ask a question. Allow yourself to feel the blessing of her presence. Allow yourself to feel healed and renewed.

  Dip your fingers in the water, touch your forehead, saying:

  Lady, you bless my thoughts.

  Then your lips, saying:

  Lady, you bless my speech.

  Then your heart, saying:

  Lady, you bless my feelings.

  Then your genitals, saying:

  Lady, you bless my desires.

  Then the ground, saying:

  Lady, you bless my life.

  Repeat and/or expand these words and actions as you feel.

  Listen for any further message the Lady may have for you. When you are ready, give your thanks and say your farewells. Extinguish the candles in the bowl, and return to the centre of your circle carrying the central candle, still alight. Stand, facing the Gateway, and say:

  I thank you Lady for your blessings on my life. Though I

  now close this gateway (gesture to close the gate) I know

  that your radiance continues to flow through me.

  Now extinguish the central candle and say:

  As the radiance of this ceremony fades, let it remain as a

  light in my heart. May my memory hold what the eye

  and ear have gained.

  Then give thanks for the ceremony, saying in these or your own words:

  O God and Goddess l give thanks for your blessings and

  inspiration. This ceremony is ended in the Apparent

  World. May its inspiration continue within my being.

  If you began your ceremony with circle casting now it is time to uncast the circle.

  Celebrating the eight festivals has become the cornerstone of modern pagan practice. Witches, Wiccans and Druids all celebrate these times of the year. Although we can find traces and records of ancient practices and folklore associated with these special times, we cannot be sure that any particular community in ancient times celebrated all eight. In the modern era, it was only in the middle of the last century that Ross Nichols and Gerald Gardner introduced the celebration of the complete eightfold cycle - a practice that has now become widespread. Both men were members of the Ancient Druid Order, but found that their fellow Druids only celebrated the Summer Solstice and the two equinoxes. When Nichols founded the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in 1964 he introduced a celebration of the Winter Solstice and the four Celtic fire festivals. Since then, most Druids observe all eight special times. Gardner's coven began celebrating the eightfold cycle in

  the mid-1950s, combining the four Celtic Fire Festivals, or Sabbats as they are called in Wicca, with solstice and equinox rites.

  Both men were discussing the importance and value of celebrating these times from the 1930s onwards. Gardner wrote about them in his book, The Meaning of Witchcraft:

  The Witches and the Druids certainly share a number of beliefs: a belief in a future life and in reincarnation; in the efficacy of the magic circle; in forms of prophecy (or; as we would call it, clairvoyance); in the sacredness of Stonehenge and other stone circles, which in later times became the traditional meeting-places of Witches; and in an acute dislike of committing their teachings to writing. But perhaps the most striking link between the Druids and the Witches is that of the four great ritual occasions the Witches call 'Sabbats'.

  In practice, those four occasions became eight when Gardner decided to include the solstice and equinox celebrations in the Witches' calendar.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Garden of Herbs and Healing,

  The Ways of Health and Rehuvenation

  The island stretched smooth to the eye, sweetly sound; in its

  midst was a Iake, and many sheep within a paling. From the

  sea swept a great eagle of fierce flight; branch in its talons, it

  landed by the lake verge. Other fine birds stripped the

  wondrous tree, its branches imparting the virtue of redness

  to the waters.

  Joyfully they greeted the wondrous eagle, the noblest of birds,

  valiantly come to that place. The bird dived into the

  lake, its years unburdening: it rose again in youth's vigour,

  stronger than ever before. Diuran the Bard also dived in;

  no rash leap this, his body remains in finest fettle without

  loss of hair or teeth.

  from The Voyage of Maelduin. (8th-century Irish),

  tran. Caitlin Matthews

  In ancient times, Witches and Druids undoubtedly developed many ways in which to preserve health and long life. Some would have worked, and others not, but today we have a unique opportunity. If we are open-minded enough we can draw on the methods of the ancients and on the knowledge of modern science. In doing so, we can develop ways of health and healing that are not grounded on the superstition of the past, or the misguided worship of modern scientific reductionism, but instead on ways that understand the workings of Nature - ways that work with Her, rather than battle against Her.

  AIRMID'S CLOAK

  The story I will tell you comes from the land of Ireland. Imagine you are in. the Mead Hall of Tara. You can see the King and Queen sitting at the High Table. And there, seated to the right of the King, you notice his Chief Druid - tall, with flowing beard and wise face. He is deep in counsel with the King. The bard shakes his golden stick, covered with bells, which jangle merrily. A hush descends upon the company, and the bard begins playing his harp.

  After a while, the bard stops playing, and begins his tale: 'I am going to tell you,' he says, 'why we are not immortal and why sometimes the doctors cannot cure us. It all happened long ago, when the gods walked with us in these lands. The God of Healing was known as Diancecht and he was a strong and powerful man with dark brown eyes, long hair and a great beard that grew to his waist. Such a healer was he that his hands could seal wounds simply with a touch, and his voice could cure the ills of the soul simply with a song. But he was a man in great demand, and he was a man with a temper.

  'One day he heard someone remark that his son Miach was a better healer than himself. He shrugged off this comment. He had trained the boy himself, and knew that no one was better at the healing arts than the great Diancecht. But over the coming weeks and months he started to hear more and more rumours and reports that his son had indeed surpassed him - that Miach rather than he should now be known as the God of Healing. In a fit of fury, and without thinking, Diancecht found his son and struck at his head with a sword. Miach instantly healed the sword wound on his neck. So Diancecht struck him again, harder, cutting him to the very bone. Again, Miach healed himself in an instant.

  'A third time the great God of Healing picked up his sword and this time he struck at the top of his son's head, breaking through his skull and cutting into his brain. But once again Miach was able to heal the wound. Finally, Diancecht raised his sword for the fourth time and striking Miach's head he cleaved his son's skull and brain in two. Even the greatest healer could not have cured himself, let alone another. So Miach died there and then, in his father's arms. Diancecht's tears of sorrow and regret at his foolish pride and jealousy mingled with the blood of his own child whose soul had already departed for the Summerlands.

  'Still weeping, Diancecht dug a grave and placed his son's body in it, covering it with earth as he said a prayer for his son's soul on its journey to the Otherworld.

  'The following Spring, a miracle occurred. Where Miach had been buried, there grew a herb garden - no ordinary garden this, but a garden in the shape of Miach's body. And from this shape there sprang three hundred and sixty-five different plants, each one a cure for the illnesses of the three hundred and sixty-five nerves of the human body.

  'Miach's sister, Airmi
d, discovered the miracle whilst visiting her brother's grave. She realized that Miach had found a way to convey his healing knowledge to the world. She decided at once to preserve this knowledge for all time by gathering the herbs and laying them out on her cloak, which she spread beside the grave. As she picked each plant, she placed it carefully in the right position upon her cloak, until at last she had the form of her brother, laid out in flowers and leaves beneath her feet. She then planned to let the herbs dry, whilst she catalogued each one, relating it to the part of the body upon which it lay, until at last she would possess a complete apothecary that could cure every known ailment. But this was not to be. Although her father Diancecht sorely regretted killing his own son, he was still a jealous god who could countenance no rivalry. He discovered Airmid beside the grave, just as she laid the last herb upon her cloak. At once, he understood her plan and, in a fit of jealous rage, he grabbed hold of the cloak, lifted it up, and shook it furiously, scattering the herbs to the four winds.

  'And that', said the Bard, beginning to play again upon his harp, 'is the reason why our healers - however skilled they might be - may sometimes be unable to cure you of your ills. And that is why, in the end, each of us must die, since the knowledge of the herbs of healing and rejuvenation has been lost with the death of Miach.'

  PART 1

  It is time to learn about Health and Healing. You meet Elidir outside the roundhouse of the Hedge School and with your fellow pupils you take a narrow path that leads away from the gardens around the school, towards a part of the land where members of the community attached to the school live. Amongst the trees and hedgerows you start to see a number of small wooden houses, each with its own garden, and each looking very different. Some are painted in bright colours, others in earthy pastel shades, while others are finished simply in stained or varnished wood.

  Elidir stops and gestures toward the houses, 'You see you cannot separate the way you live from the whole subject of healing. People think that they can live in concrete boxes, isolated from Nature, eating food that was harvested months before and mummified with preservatives, and still be healthy. Here we believe that to be really healthy you need to live close to the earth. That is why none of the houses here are more than two storeys high. The earth gives off energy that feeds our energy-bodies. And food contains this life force too, but not if it has been tampered with, added to or stored for too long. So the first things we do to ensure our health and to live longer are to have our homes close to the earth, ideally with no concrete beneath us, and wherever possible to eat food that we grow ourselves.

  'Look at the houses - notice how many windows they have. We believe in the energizing power of the four elements - earth, air, fire and water so we want our homes to have as much air and sunlight as possible, as well as earth-vibrations. And we get our water energy from the rain and the stream that runs through the land here.'

  Elidir then walks on and, as the group follows her, you notice that the houses have big windows, with decks that run straight from them to the garden outside, where there is always a pool. Some of the gardens are lucky enough to have the stream that she has mentioned running through them. Each house also has solar panels on its roof, and a small wind generator.

  Eventually, you turn a corner and there ahead of you is the herb garden. In the centre is a large bed of herbs laid out in the form of a pentagram. Elidir invites you all to be seated, and summons Brendan forward to engage in the Colloquy.

  'No doubt you know about this symbol?' she asks him.

  'Only a little,' he replies.

  'It is the perfect symbol to have in a healing garden, because it is a symbol of the human being. Lie down here on the grass,' Elidir says to Brendan, who at once lies down.

  'Spread your arms and legs out. Spread-eagle yourself,' says Elidir firmly, as she begins gathering pebbles from the path. She then places one under each of Brendan's feet, one by each of his hands, and one above the top of his head. 'Now get up!' she tells him.

  As you look at the five stones that remain on the grass, Elidir takes a stick and slowly traces a line from one stone to the other, until you can see that indeed she has created a pentagram - a five-pointed star.

  'In addition to this figure symbolizing the human being,' Elidir begins, 'it also symbolizes the five magical elements we are made of – earth, water, air, fire and spirit.'

  'And it symbolizes the five senses too, doesn't it?' asks Brendan.

  'It does indeed. All in all a finely drawn pentagram is just the right symbol for the healthy, balanced human being, which is why so many of us wear pentacles.' After a pause, Elidir continues, 'Now I'd like to talk to you about the Bard's tale you have just heard. In symbolic form, it is really the story of the origin of our craft, for we believe we are slowly reclaiming the lost knowledge of Miach. Like Airmid, we are gradually piecing together a puzzle, and, of course, all the herbalists in the world have also been doing this.

  'And here,' she says, gesturing around her, 'is the result of our work. Over there is meadowsweet, used to soothe fevers and as a natural painkiller. And there is vervain, the most important herb for Druids. It lowers fever, eases headaches, cleanses the liver and kidneys, and can work wonders for eczema, rheumatism and ear infections. To know how to use these herbs requires skill and knowledge that you can obtain by studying in our College of Healing. Nevertheless, you can begin right away to work with herbs if you would like to.

  'The first thing you must know is that unlike conventional medical science, our healing work is rooted in a spiritual, magical understanding of the world. We believe that as humans we are in essence Divine, and that true healing comes from this Divine centre within us. In other words, it comes from the God or Goddess. So, when you pick a herb, make a remedy or administer it, say a prayer to the Divine - to God, Goddess or both of them.

  'Here is a prayer that comes from a twelfth-century English Herbal. You can see that even at that time the old herbalists and healers were praying to the Goddess for their cures. Listen to it, and imagine you have just prepared an elixir of herbs for your patient, and that you are praying to the Goddess for it to work.'

  Earth, divine goddess, Mother Nature, who dost generate all

  things and bringest forth ever anew the sun which thou hast given

  to the nations, Guardian of sky and sea and of all Gods and powers;

  through they influence all nature is hushed and sinks in sleep.

  Again, when it pleases thee, thou sendest forth the glad daylight

  and nurturest life with thine eternal surety; and when the spirit of

  man passes, to thee it returns. Thou indeed art rightly named

  Great Mother of the Gods; Victory is in thy divine name. Thou art

  the source of the strength of peoples and gods, without thee

  nothing can either be born or made perfect; thou art mighty,

  Queen of the Gods. Goddess, I adore thee as divine, I invoke thy

  name; vouchsafe to grant that which I ask of thee, so shall I return

  thanks to thy godhead, with the faith that is thy due.

  Now also I make intercession to you, all ye powers and herbs, and

  to your majesty; I beseech you, whom Earth the universal parent

  hath borne and given as a medicine of health to all peoples and

  hath put majesty upon, be now of the most benefit to humankind.

  This I pray and beseech you; be present here with your virtues, for

  she who created you hath herself undertaken that I may call you

  with the good will of him on whom the art of medicine was

  bestowed; therefore grant for health's sake good medicine by grace

  of these powers aforesaid.

  'You can use such a prayer, or you can say the same thing in your own words, conveying the essential meaning, which is:

  Dear Goddess. please bless this plant, fill it with your