SECTION VII - THE CAULDRON
Dedicated to Cerridwen - BirdLady
Public Paganism - by De-Anna Alba
What Does It Mean to Be a Druid? - by ladytoad
PUBLIC
PAGANISM
by De-Anna Alba
If you subscribe to practically any of the Pagan press today,
you've probably read reports on the Wiccan/Pagan presence at the
Parliament of World Religions held in Chicago a few years ago. If
not, here is a synopsis of the event:
Witchcraft and Paganism were well represented at the Parliament
by several of the national Pagan organizations operating in the
US today, as well as the Fellowship of Isis from Ireland. Our
attendance at the parliament was well received by the majority of
other religions present--the lone exception being the Greek
Orthodox church which staged a walk-out because of our inclusion
in the proceedings. Whereupon a Roman Catholic priest got up and
defended our participation to the entire assemblage!
Not only were we let in to the event, representatives of our
religions presented informational workshops, participated in
panel discussions, led one of the morning meditation sessions,
performed Pagan music and dance for a large and appreciative
audience, and facilitated a ritual in a Chicago park attended by
600 or so members of other religions, who not only participated
in the ritual fully, but enjoyed it and found it meaningful. Two
of our representatives also added their signatures to the
Declaration of Global Ethic on behalf of Paganism as a whole.
Now for a little background: The Parliament of World Religions is
held every 100 years and representatives of the world's religions
are invited to attend. The last time the Parliament was held (in
1893), members of the various eastern religions were invited to
attend for the first time, largely due to the influence of Madam Blavatsky, whose own Theosophical Society contained many eastern
elements. At any rate, as a result of their attendance at the
1893 World Parliament of Religions, the variety of eastern
religions represented (Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, etc.) was given a
large measure of validity in this country, and hence a foothold
for the building of their temples, centers and missions in the
United States. The 1993 World Parliament could mean the same
thing for Paganism and Witchcraft in America.
Our participation in the World Parliament, and our general
acceptance by it, gives us the opportunity to begin establishing
Pagan Temples and temple communities in major cities and even
rural areas that could peacefully co-exist with the already
established religions of America. How does that idea strike you?
Do it scare you? Fill you with hope? What? How could it be done
wisely and well? What would it mean to you as a solitary to have
access to a public temple where you could participate as you saw
fit, when you saw fit? What would it need to be or have in order
to encourage your participation? What would having a temple do to
fulfill the need for Pagan community we all seem to want?
What other good works could we generate through such a public
Pagan presence? Our clergyfolk on call at local hospitals for
Pagan patients? Alternative healing centers under the auspices of
the local temple? Homeless shelters? Schools? Day care centers?
Pagan burial grounds and holy ground? Pagan old age homes? What?
What steps do we take first? How do we decide who's in charge?
What administrative/group models do we want to use? What
educational background and types and levels of experience do we
expect Priestesses and Priests who serve in such a public way to
have?
There are lots of questions here for your consideration, and I'm
sure there are lots more that you can think of to address. Please
do so. Let's work toward the establishment of open Pagan
religious practice in this country.
<Editors note: Visit Lady De-Anna Alba and many other Wiccan
authors at Pagans Online; http://www.pagansonline.com/. Now is a
good time to register for a 30-day free trial membership in the
Pagans OnLine! conferences, too. You can speak to many of the
authors in person.>
What
Does It Mean to Be a Druid?
by ladytoad
The word "Druid" is a satisfying and mysterious one. It
conjures up for us mental pictures of cloaks, ritual, ceremony,
power, secrecy. Druids have appeared in movies, fantasy novels,
comic books, role-playing games. No wonder so many newcomers to
paganism want to be a Druid with everything the name implies.
So what does it mean today to be a Druid? Just what IS the Druid
path? How does one get there? What does it entail? And just how
difficult is it to maintain?
There is very little accurate Druid history. Anyone who tells you
that the Druids "went underground" and that he is part
of an unbroken tradition of Druidism has been dreaming or
imbibing a bit too much. What exists now is what we call
"reconstructed" Druidism. We Druids KNOW that,
recognize that, and have no need to draw on some falsely created
path. We are drawing from history to create a path for the
present.
There are also very few books to work from. Go to any bookstore,
and you can find shelves of "how to's" on witchcraft,
but Druids? Afraid not. Most Druids are too busy following their
paths to worry about writing how-to manuals. What you WILL find
are some excellent research books and histories that will help
you to begin to understand the place of the Druids in Celtic
history and in the religion of the Celts.
The other place to find information on Druids is on some
excellent web sites. There are a number of solid Druid
organizations now who are reconstructing with fervor and an eye
to excellence. These are perfect places for the person who needs
the comfort and society of others to learn and worship. There are
also a number of solitary sites with wonderful information.
So...given all that? What IS a Druid?
Let me begin by saying what a Druid is NOT. A Druid is NOT the
male priest of the Wiccans. I cannot tell you how many people
have tried to tell me that I cannot be a Druid because I am a
female and am thus a Wiccan. Hogwash!
The Druids counted females among them, though not, admittedly, in
as many numbers as males.
Secondly,Druids are NOT witches. Their basic philosophy of the
world is very different from that of the witches.
Witches worship an earth mother and view the godhead as male and
female, a triple-aspected goddess (maiden, mother, and crone) and
her consort, the horned god.
Druids see the world as earth/sea/sky -- the triple realm. They
are polytheistic and worship many gods. Some, like me, believe
that there is a single divine force that is a culmination of all
creation which I refer to as the godhead. That force is neither
male nor female, contains no anthropomorphic form and is grander
and more powerful than all the energy in the universe and beyond.
Others argue that there is only the pantheon. I see the pantheon
as part of the "Old Ones," super-human beings that have
existed since the beginning of time and stand apart from man, but
that is my personal opinion only. In Druidic pantheons, goddesses
with three aspects are not maid, mother, crone, but sisters.
Witches work with four elements which are invoked during ritual.
Druids work with earth, air, and water with fire as the
transformational force affecting all. They call on guardians and
a gatekeeper during ritual and honor nature spirits, the Sidhe,
and the ancestors.
Witches gather in covens and worship in small circles. Druids
gather in groves and are largely tribal groups that perform
public rituals.
Witches follow a rede. Druids follow tribal laws.
Witches "draw down the moon and speak as the deity."
Druids do not.
Though both practice magick, witchcraft concentrates on spellwork; Druids do not. A witch's knowledge is in her Book of
Shadows. A Druid's knowledge is encyclopedic and often memorized.
Druids are scholars above all.
(This Is To Be Continued)
<Editor's Note: More information, and more facts will be in
our next issue. Please check back for more of this wonderful and
informative narrative.>
