The Druids were the Celtic Priesthood with an Arch Druid at their head. In the beginning, the Celts had similar organizations of women. The Arch Druid's counterpart was the High Priestess of the Grove. These Druids and Priestesses were the healers, judges, astronomers, teachers, oracles and religious leaders of the clans. The Druids had three divisions within their order: the Bards (poets), the Ovates (prophets, philosophers) and the Druid priests. The older Priestesses were highly revered. Priestesses sang the dying to sleep, did enchantments, prophesies, charms, birthing and healing. They knew the power of words, stones and herbs. A magick cauldron, bowl or pool was one of the central features of their Groves. It was considered the Cauldron of Regeneration, and represented reincarnation within the womb of the Goddess. Nature itself was their house of worship, certain hills, lakes, caves, springs, wells, monoliths, clearings within groves and ancient stone circles were their Sacred Places. The Druids preferred oak groves and forests.
The Celts understood that all existence has a cyclic nature, and that there is a direct continuity between the material world and the otherworld. Druidic teachings that have come down to us from the Welsh tradition recognised that there is an unseen world that interpenetrates the visible world. Things are just not what they seem. Everything exists on simultaneous levels. Seership was a highly developed and an important function of the Druids.
Most celebrations were held at night as the Celtic day began at midnight and their calendar based on the moon cycle had 13 months. Religious holidays centered on the Solstices, Equinoxes, and Moon phases. During the waxing moon, they did positive magick, during the waning moon, dark magick. They also observed Imbolc in February, Beltane in May, Lughnassadh in August and Samhain at the end of October. Oak and mistletoe were sacred, as were wrens, which were considered prophetic.
Jai Mata Di
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