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Druids
Members of the ancient pre-Christian
Celtic priestcraft of
Britain
and
Gaul, a secret order about which almost nothing is known. The term 'druid' means
'knowing the oak tree' in
Gaelic; the oak tree was sacred to the
Celts.
The Romans
tell us that the Druids were magicians, but the nature of their
magic is unknown. The Romans
also
tell us that they believed in the transmigration of souls (which may have been
reincarnation). They are said to have conducted their cult practices in sacred
oak groves, where one of their chief rites was harvesting mistletoe using a
golden sickle. They are also thought to have offered human sacrifices. It is
probable that they were the representatives of the ancient Nordic and Christian
Mysteries.
The theory that the Druids built Stonehenge or Avebury,
advanced by some antiquarians in the 17th and 18th centuries, has been proved
by modern archaeological techniques to be false.
Many of the ancient magical spells used among the
Druids survived until a comparatively late
period — the names of saints being substituted for those of Celtic
deities. In
pronouncing incantations, the usual method employed was to stand upon one leg
and point with the forefinger to the person or object on which the spell was to
be laid, at the same time closing an eye, as if to concentrate the force of the
entire personality upon that which was to be placed under the spell.
All magic rites were accompanied by spells, and
Druids often accompanied an army to assist by their
magic
in confounding the enemy.
Various Druid groups flourish in
Britain and the United States, but claim no connection with ancient Druids. They celebrate
eight pagan festivals in outdoor henges and groves, the most important being
the summer solstice. Since 1985 modern Druids have been prevented from gathering
at Stonehenge for the solstice, due to vandalism by spectators. American druids
use a replica of Stonehenge in
Washington State.
See
Celts,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Shepard, Leslie (editor),
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology,
Thomson Gale; (2)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing; (3) Steiger, Brad and Sherry Hansen,
The Gale Encyclopedia of
the Unusual and Unexplained,
Thomson Gale.
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