Branch One - Introduction to Dryads

• What is a Druid?
• Celtic Mythology
• Dedication Ritual
• Dedication Ritual #2
• Recommended Reading

What is a Druid?
In order for you to understand the true history of a Druid I must take you back to the time of the Druid and before. Several millennia ago before the birth of Christ, there came from the heart of Europe a tribe of people. These people depended on the land in which they lived for sustenance, for healing, and for spiritual fulfillment.

There was one among the tribe who performed magick of a sort, made the salves, tinctures, and gave advice to those who would seek enlightenment. This one was called Shaman, or Druid, Mother of trees, plants and herbs, she was the mid-wife, the healer, the mystic, and she was revered for her abilities.

It was the Druid who kept the secrets of the tribe's wisdom and power safe within the sacred traditions of the unwritten word, choosing instead to pass the knowledge on through stories, myths, and legends. The Greek and Roman priests however, wished to document the tribe's existence and began putting the stories, in writing. During the Great Invasion of the Celtic Nation there was much confusion and many writings were altered, mainly to satisfy the male oriented religion of the Greek's and Roman's. The stories were then retold to the rulers and hierarchy of the church with male Druids in place of the women.

The Druids were the Celtic Priesthood. In the beginning, until the Romans and other patrilineal religions forced change, the Celts had similar organizations of women. There are some clues in historical writings to suggest that these women were called Dryads and lived in sacred groves. It is very probable that they were in existence before the Druids, being part of the very old goddess religions.
D.J. Conway, CELTIC MAGIC, 1990

The path of my spiritual journey has led me to the discovery of how the ancient Dryads combined magick with their everyday life. I have learned to revere the Lord and Lady as equals, I have learned of the sacred powers of the rivers, hills, animals, and groves. I am a Dryad who honors the power within myself, within all beings, and in the land itself. The original Dryads were the storytellers, the ritualists, teachers, judges, healers, and seers of the ancient Celts. I am a modern day Dryad, telling my stories, conducting my rituals, teaching as I can, healing as I can, and seeing the future be it good or bad.

Below are the ethics that I strive to live by. I feel it is important for anyone interested in Druidry of any sort to know these ethics and incorporate them into everything they do. These ethics will give a foundation on which to build your own spiritual path. They will give you aid in explaining to your friends and family what you believe and why. These ethics will help you acheive your spiritual goals. May you continue to learn and grow everyday. Greatest Blessing, Dragonfly.

9 Goals of a Dryad

1. Listen to yourself
2. Listen to the earth, trees, animals, and rivers
3. Learn
4. Apply the knowledge of the old ones to your everyday life
5. Remember the Law of Rebound
6. Treat others as equals
7. Acheive balance with yourself and with nature
8. Celebrate Life
9. Exercise the body, mind, and spirit

 

The Affirmation of Acknowledgement

1. I acknowledge the presence of other faiths on my planet, indeed, right here in my city/town/village. I acknowledge that the followers of these faiths feel as strongly, maybe more so, than I do about mine.
2. I forgive the other faiths and wipe clean the slate between us. I cannot hold a person responsible for the acts of their faith; I cannot hold a faith at fault for individual practitioners. It is not my place to convert, or otherwise alter a person's religion. I invite discussion of beliefs without judgment of those holding them.
3. I acknowledge that I may be wrong, and I have found comfort in the fact that I may be right.

Celtic Mythology

In Ireland the poet was held in particular esteem, possibly because there was a clear distinction between druid and poet in pre-Christian times. It seems that poets went on reciting the sagas long after St. Patrick converted the Irish and cleared the country of snakes; these tales were seen as entertainment and could be recorded without any fear of paganism. Irish folklore insists, however, that they kept something of their magick, since the Devil could never enter a house where the exploits of the heroes were being sung.

Irish myths nearly always include fighting, though the combat is undertaken more often by heroes than by gods. The fearless warrior Cuhulainn, the lone defender of Ulster during the invasion of forces raised by Queen Medb of Connacht, is very much the ideal. He was chosen as the Irish champion after a beheading contest with the water giant Uath. No other man had courage enough to receive the giant's return blow. Yet Cuchalainn, "the Hound of Culann", enjoyed but a brief life; his refusal to return the affections of Morrigan, the goddess of slaughter, sealed his fate. Not even the intervention of his father Lugh, the sun god, could save him.

The apparently endless conflict appears less terrible when it is recalled how the Celts believed in reincarnation. Their otherworld, unlike the Greek or Roman underworld, was not a dismal abode of the dead. Rather it was a paradise in which souls rested prior to their rebirth into the world. The warrior-poet Oisin, son of the Fenian leader Finn MacCool, spent three hundred years there before returning to Ireland. Oisin was warned that he would never be able to go back to the underworld if he dismounted from a magick steed. When the saddle slipped and he fell to the ground, Oisin was immediately changed from a handsome youth into a blind, grey-haired, old man.

In late Celtic mythology, especially the Arthurian myths, Christianity has become a central element. The quest for the Grail is the most obvious example. Although similar to a Celtic magick cauldron, this holy vessel was the cup used at the Last Supper. It was brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea, but was later lost and its quest preoccupied King Arthur's knights.

Whether or not Arthur was a historical figure is still uncertain. It is quite likely that he may have been a successful warlord in the confused and violent period following the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain around410 AD. The Celtic peoples were notorious for only rarely combining against an external, common foe, so deep-rooted were their own bitter quarrels. Thus British chivalry came to an end with King Arthur's disastrous battle against his nephew Modred near Salisbury. Hardly a knight survived and the King himself was badly wounded. His departure to Avalon, accompanied by three mysterious ladies, gave rise to the idea of his undeath. In an otherworld, it was believed, King Arthur lingered, awaiting reincarnation as a national saviour.

Dedication Ritual

As soon as I began to listen to the trees and plants, to the waters running in streams and the rocks that I collected from those streams I began to feel a comfortable spiritual tie to the land. I noticed that my senses were becoming more enhanced and I noticed that things I had before taken for granted were as if I was seeing, smelling, or hearing for the first time. It wasn't long after my dedication ritual that I realized I had finally found the spirituality that I had been seeking. I can't promise that you will have the experiences that I had because everyone is different. I can however, tell how I got the spiritual fulfillment that I was looking for. Below is the dedication rite that I conducted when I began studying as a Dryad, May you find peace and comfort of your own.

For this ritual will need to have created your own spirit pouch, which is a bag large enough for you to carry things that are important to you. My bag is about as big a large pocket in one of my coats, and inside that bag I have my athame, wand, a small chalice (a collapsible travel cup), my river stone, herbs, incense, a clean olive can (for burning my herbs and incense in), I also found it useful to carry a second bag inside the first, mostly because I tend to pick up little things when I take my walks.

With your spirit pouch go outside and find yourself a grove of trees, if you can't find a grove of trees you can substitute a tree in your own yard. Make sure you can walk all the way around your chosen tree giving yourself enough room to work on all sides.

Beginning in the east with your athame put the tip into the ground and draw a circle around yourself and your tree, ending the circle at the east, and pushing your athame into the ground at that point. Next, walk to the south of your circle and use your wand to draw another circle in the ground, on top of the one you made with your athame. End this circle by pushing your wand into the ground at the south point. Then, starting from the west with your chalice of water pour the water on the ground making another circle on top of the other two, ending this circle by putting your chalice upside down on the west point. Finally, with your stone draw a circle on the ground and end it by leaving the stone at the north point.

Sit with your back against the tree and listen to the sounds it makes breath in the smells of nature and take notice of everything around you. Light some incense, and maybe burn an herb mixture of your choice. And when you're ready say something like this:

Great tree grant me your protection,
With your protection grant me strength,
With your strength grant me understanding,
With understanding grant me knowledge,
With knowledge grant me peace,
With peace grant me love,
With love give me the strength, understanding,
knowledge and peace for all existence,
and for the Gods and Goddesses.

After you have said this or something like this take time to examine nature around you, find new color in the leaves of the trees, find new warmth in dirt, feel the calming motion of the wind and the relaxing movement of the stream. Put your hands on the trunk of the tree and close your eyes listen to tree. Feel the sap as it makes it way slowly through the branches. See the leave budding on the tallest branches and allow your spirit to sit on the highest branch and view what the tree has seen for centuries.

When you're ready open your circle by collecting your tools in the opposite order that you drew the circle. (Starting in the north pick up your stone, then your chalice, your wand, and the athame last). Thank the tree and Gods and Goddesses and go home. When you get home record your experience in a journal and either relax in a hot bath or take a nap.

Dedication Ritual #2

The following is another Dedication Ritual that I am fond of, I have done both, because I felt after a year and a day of practicing I needed to reaffirm my intentions. You don't need to do to both, of course it is up to you, but one will be sufficient.

You will need offerings of cornmeal, herbs, and oil, and a bowl of water. If you are working inside you will need an offering bowl that you can place the offerings in to leave outside.

Turn your attention to the earth beneath you and sprinkle an offering of cornmeal on the ground or into the offering bowl while saying:
Earth Mother, this offering is for you. I vow to you now that I have placed my feet upon the Path of Druidry and will walk this Path to the best of my ability. Earth Mother, guide my steps!

If working outdoors, kindle a fire near the center of the space you are working in. If you are working indoors, light a candle on your altar. While starting the fire, you can say:
Sacred Fire, once again I kindle you and vow to you that I am prepared to walk the Path of the Old Ones. May I pray with a good fire!

Place a bowl of water near the fire or candle, place your fingers in it and say:
Sacred Well, again I call to you and invite you to fill this bowl. In your presence, I vow that I am prepared to walk the Path of the Old Ones. Sacred Well, flow in me!

With your sacred center established, it is time to call upon the Mighty Kindreds so that they can hear your vow. Pour some of the cornmeal on the ground or into the offering bowl while saying:
Ancestors, I call you forth today to witness my oath. Standing here before you I vow that I am prepared to walk the Path of the Old Ones. Ancestors, hear my vow!

Next sprinkle some herbs on the ground or into the offering bowl while saying:
Spirits of Nature and of this Place, I call you forth today to witness my oath. Standing here before you I vow that I am prepared to walk the Path of the Old Ones. Spirits of Nature and of this Place, hear my vow!

Now give some oil to the fire or into the offering bowl while saying:
Shining Ones, I call you forth today to witness my oath. Standing here before you I vow that I am prepared to walk the Path of the Old Ones. Shining Ones, hear my vow!

Mighty Kindreds, you have heard my vow and now I ask for your aid. Guide my steps and give me the strength to follow this Path where it leads. When my steps falter, I ask that you push me in the necessary direction. Finally, I ask that you come to me during my meditations to show me what needs to be learned.

Sit for a while and meditate on what the Mighty Kindred want you to learn, then close the ritual by saying,
Mighty Ones, I have listened to you and thank you. This ritual is done!

The above Dedication Rite is adapted from The Solitary Druid by Robert Lee Ellison.

Book List

Amber Wolfe Druid Power Raymond Buckland Advanced Candle Magick Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison The Solitary Druid Douglas Monroe The Lost Books of Merlyn & The 21 Lessons of Merlyn Arthur Cotterell & Rachel Storm The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology Maya Magee Sutton, PH.D & Nicholas R. Mann Druid Magic Scott Cunningham Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs D.J. Conway Celtic Magic Margot Adler Drawing down the moon Amber K. Covencraft: Witchcraft for three or more & True Magick A beginner's Guide Lexa Rosean The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients Carl Neal The Magick Toolbox D.J. Conway Dancing with Dragons Starhawk Spiral dance Dorothy Morrison Magical Needlework & EveryDay Magic Edain McCoy Celtic Myth and Magic & Celtic Women's Spirituality Ray Malbrough Charms, Spells, and Formulas Sylvia Abraham How To Read Tarot Gerina Dunwich Wiccan Dictionary of Prophecy and Omens Denise Zimmermann & Katherine A. Gleason The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft Silver Raven Wolf The Ultimate Book of Shadows For the new generation Solitary Witch Moura Aoumiel Green WitchCraft I,II, and III

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Magazines and other Publications

Circle Magazine PO Box 219Mt. HorebWI 53572 USA ; (608) 924-2216 is a quarterly magazine published by Circle Sanctuary - one of America's oldest Neopagan resource centers. Their Web page is at: http://www.circlesanctuary.org. Email is: circle@mhtc.net Practical Pagan News 1001 Boniface Parkway #18K Anchorage, AK 99504 (907)-301-5092 is a quarterly news letter filled with practical information for pagans of every sect. You can view sample issues by joining their yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/practicalpagannews/