Modern druids

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Under modern Druids (or "Modern Druids") refers to groups and individuals that focus on different ways to the historical druids and Druidesses the Celts relate. Some younger of these groups, especially the order of bards, ovates and druids and the Ár nDraíocht Féin are also understood as neo-pagan groups and referred to as "neo-druids" or "neo- pagan druids". Other older groups, influenced by Christianity and Freemasonry , such as the Ancient Order of Druids and the resulting International Grand Lodge of Druidism are sometimes referred to as “ romantic ” or “meso-pagan” Druids.

Modern druids
A neo-pagan druid from Germany playing the harp.

Myth of origin of the modern druids

The modern druids have a complicated system of origin myths. A frequent topic is the origin of the druids from Atlantis or the mythical Hyperboreans , with reference to legendary figures such as Abaris or Zalmoxis , who were already speculatively associated with the Celts and the Druids by ancient authors such as Hippolytus of Rome and Strabo . According to Edward Williams , the founder of Druidism was Hu Gadarn , who is said to have led the first colonization of Britain from the "summer land of Atlantia". Modern Druidism is said to have its origins in "Mount Haemus Grove", a meeting of Bardic and Druidic emissaries in 1245, at which the last remnants of Celtic Druidism in the middle of a phase of the Renaissance of Neoplatonic and Pythagorean thoughts on a common doctrine and one Agreement to continue the order. The existence of the Ancient Order of Druids in Oxford is said to be directly attributable to this meeting . Some modern druids such as Ross Nichols and Edward Williams claimed to have been members of secret orders whose existence dates back longer than the first two historically recorded Druid Orders, the Mount Haemus Grove of 1694 and the Ancient Druid Order of 1717. Other important roles play the mythical "founding figures" of Druidism such as Merlin and Taliesin .

history

Imagined druid from Aylett Sammes' Britannia Antiqua Illustrata , 1676

The roots of modern Druidism lie in the age of romanticism . The main origins were the movement of the Unitarians and universalism , which combined Christian and “natural religious” convictions and thus formed the basis for a positive discussion of pagan ideas. The “Druid Movement” was triggered by the work of the archaeologist John Aubrey (1626–1697), who brought Stonehenge into connection with the Druids, and later the Ossian poem by James Macpherson .

In 1717, John Toland (1670–1722), a friend of Aubrey and enthusiastic about his writings, had a meeting of delegates “Druidic and Bardic circles from all over Great Britain, Ireland and Brittany” held in Covent Garden and founded the “mother grove” there Ancient Druid Order or Universal Druid Bond , whereupon he is said to have been named Arch Druid in a ceremony at the autumn equinox . Another enthusiastic follower of John Aubrey was the doctor and pastor William Stukeley (1687–1765), who (with reference to John Aubrey) established a connection between stone circles ( e.g. Stonehenge ) and the Celtic religion (which is historically and archaeologically refuted today) and founded an organization called Mount Haemus Grove , which according to other sources was founded by Aubrey himself in 1694. He gave himself the name Chyndonax (after an alleged druid who was mentioned on a bronze plaque from Dijon found in 1623 ) and referred to himself as an archdruid and his contemporary and follower Princess Augusta as "Veleda, archdruid of Kew".

In 1781 Henry Hurle founded another order under Stukeley's influence, the Ancient Order of Druids , which was heavily influenced by Masons. In 1791 the Welsh stonemason, poet and antiquarian Edward Williams , who gave himself the bard name Iolo Morganwg and claimed to be descended from an old Cymric druid family, the Gorsedd of Bards , a "Celtic hill cult", whose ritual even goes into the official poetry award of the Welsh Eisteddfod was included. Morganwg published several poems and books, including forgeries based on spurious writings by Llewelyn Sion , which he passed off as Barddas , as authentic bard traditions, and claimed that the work ascribed to the Welsh poet Taliesin contained a complete "Druidic system" .

In 1833, the United Ancient Order of Druids (UAOD) split off from the Ancient Order of Druids , which no longer wanted to be a secret society, but a charity similar to the Odd Fellows . In 1820 the British eccentric William Danby built a Stonehenge modeled on "Druidic Temple"; other notable contemporaries who identified themselves as druids were the poets William Wordsworth (1770–1850), William Blake (1757–1827) and Thomas Gray (1716–1771), the surgeon William Price (1800–1921), who as Archdruid of Wales appeared and introduced the "Celtic custom" of cremation in Great Britain , the Unitarian preacher Richard Lloyd-Jones and the Welsh bards Owen Morgan and Myfyr Morganwg (the latter also claiming the office of "Archdruid" for himself) .

An order called The Universal Bond , a remnant of the ADO, existed until 1963, when Ross Nichols (1902-1975) founded the Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids with most of the remaining members . In the same year in the USA at Carlton College, Minnesota, students founded the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA), from which in 1984 the Ar nDraoicht Fein (ADF) emerged, which today is the numerically largest neo-Druid organization in America .

In addition to numerous other smaller religious orders, which are mostly based on the framework of the order of the OBOD, there are also cross-group umbrella organizations, such as the British Druids Society or the Druid Network, which is also active on the Internet .

In the United Kingdom, the Druid Network was officially recognized as a religion in September 2010 . According to the British Charity Commission , which is responsible for the recognition of non-profit organizations, the worship of gods of nature can be seen as a "religious activity". According to the BBC , around 10,000 people in Britain would call themselves druids.

Content

The early Druid orders were strongly influenced by the content of the Enlightenment . Influenced by the thoughts of the Unitarians and universalism , they combined Christian, Masonic and Celtic ideas into a kind of pantheistic natural religion . Iolo Morganwg taught the existence of a primordial substance Manred and the journey through three circles of being, Abred ("evolution"), Gwynfyd ("purity") and Ceugant ("infinity"), whereby the origin of Manred is said to be in Annwn . This resulted in a form of reincarnation teaching based on traditional knowledge of the Druids and Pythagorean philosophy. Occasionally, ideas from Hinduism and Buddhism also flowed into modern Druidism (as with the French Fabre d'Olivet and Edouard Schuré, according to whom a druid named Ram is said to have founded Hinduism in India). According to the philosophy developed by Owen Morgan , or Morien , the Druids worshiped a god Celi (The Hidden One ) and a goddess Ced (Help) ; Celi symbolizes the sun and wanders through the universe in various emanations as Hu Gadarn, Artus and Taliesin, among others . Celi is also identified with Gwion Bach and Ced with Ceridwen . According to Morien, the firmament is a wheel, in the middle of which stands the throne of the sun god Hu Gadarn, the son of Celi.

Both Iolo Morganwg and later Ross Nichols and his successor Philip Carr-Gomm created natural rituals on a hermetic- Masonic foundation, which are not tied to a fixed denomination and can be practiced by Christians or Buddhists as well as by neo-pagans. In more recent publications by Carr-Gomm, however, teachings of the worship of a male-female “primordial divine” can be found, which are closely related to the Wicca religion and from him “Druidcraft”, a synthesis of Neodruidism and Wicca (“Witchcraft”) , to be named. In contrast to Morganwg and Morien, the American Ár nDraíocht Féin reconstructs the old Celtic polytheistic beliefs and is strongly oriented towards theories of the Indo-European religion .

Although Celtic gods and heroes appear and are sometimes revered in modern Druidism , these are considered part of nature or the cosmos, as symbolized natural forces. From the beginning of the 1980s, the core shamanism of Michael Harner , which was developed into "Celtic shamanism" by the married couple John and Caitlin Matthews, who belong to the OBOD, had a great influence from the beginning of the 1980s . In addition to this shamanic element, many groups also work with elements from the Arthurian legend ; the search for the holy grail is considered by most to be an important spiritual work. The American druid Douglas Monroe makes particular reference to the Atlantis myth . In addition, the OBOD operates a pronounced tree cult , which has led to the planting of many modern sacred groves , so that there are also certain overlaps between neo-Druids and the environmental movement . The druids celebrate the festivals of the Celtic annual cycle , practice astrology , tree horoscopes and mantics , naturopathy , sometimes alchemy and magic with the help of coelbres , runes and ogham . A Celtic tree calendar , a Druid tarot , "Celtic" Reiki and even a Druid yoga called "Wyda" are known.

Modern Druidism has a system of degrees that officially refers to the degrees of the Irish Filidh, but historically stems from the three degrees of Freemasonry:

° 1 Ovate
° 2 Bard
° 3 Druid

However, some orders also name the ° 1 Bard and the ° 2 Ovate. The respective arch-druid is usually the head of the order above the three degrees. In addition, individual groups also have different names and sometimes know different high grades .

Known "Druids"

Surname Period description
William Blake 1757-1827 English poet, painter and nature mystic, identified with the Druids
Isaac Bonewits 1949-2010 American singer-songwriter and esoteric author, arch-druid of the RDNA grove of Berkley and founder of the ADF
Philip Carr-Gomm * 1952 British-New Zealand esoteric author and psychotherapist, chosen Chief of OBOD
Winston Churchill 1874-1965 British politician, twice Prime Minister, came in 1908 in the Albion Lodge of the AOD a
Evan Davies 1801-1888 also known as Myfyr Morganwg , Arch Druid of Wales and successor to Edward Williams, introduced elements of Middle Eastern philosophies into Druidism
Queen Elizabeth II * 1926 Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Head of State of the Commonwealth, Honorary Druid of the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards
Charles James Fox 1749-1806 English statesman and orator, multiple Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. Proposed the abolition of slavery in 1787 and advocated the French Revolution. Member of the Ancient Order of Druids since 1783 .
Robert Graves 1895-1985 British writer and poet, never referred to himself as a druid, but was influenced by the work of Edward Williams and exerted a strong influence on British druidism , especially with his work The White Goddess . For this reason, some modern druids such as Philip Carr-Gomm count him among the druids, although it cannot be proven that Graves himself ever belonged to an order.
Neven Henaff 1908-1983 Breton chemist and nationalist, collaborator and SS-Untersturmführer in World War II, published studies on the Coligny calendar and founded a druid society in Brittany
Henry Hurle   British Freemason and carpenter, founded the Ancient Order of Druids (AOD) in 1781 .
Robert Lee "Skip" Ellison   American esoteric author, arch-druid of the ADF
Gerald Gardner 1884-1964 British civil servant, hobby anthropologist and esoteric author, is considered the founder of the Wicca religion and was a druid of the ADO or Universal Bond.
Thomas Gray 1716-1771 English poet and professor of modern history at Cambridge, author of The Bard .
John and Caitlin Matthews   English historians and esoteric authors, druids of OBOD
Douglas Monroe   American esoteric author and founder of the "New Forest Center for Magical Studies".
Owen Morgan 1858-1920 Welsh poet and author, writer of the Short History of Wales . Called himself Morien and developed the theology around the gods Celi and Ced.
Charles Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince of Wales * 1948 British heir to the throne and politician, studied anthropologist and archaeologist, honorary druid of the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards
Ross Nichols 1902-1975 English private lecturer, historian, poet and dean of the Celtic Orthodox Church , member of the ADO or Universal Bonds, later founder and arch-druid of OBOD, gave himself the druid name Nuinn
Gwydion Pendderwen 1946-1982 American psychedelic folk musician.
Arthur Uther Pendragon   British ex-angelic angel, soldier, politician, construction worker and eccentric, declares the reincarnation to be King Arthur and claims the British royal dignity. His media-effective staged actions include a public lawsuit against the demolition of Camelot and the holding of illegal assemblies in the area of ​​Stonehenge, Arch-Druid of the Secular Order of Druids and the Loyal Arthurian Warband
William Price 1800-1893 Welsh surgeon, politician and eccentric, who introduced cremation to Great Britain through the illegal cremation of his late son, was Arch-Druid of Wales
GW MacGregor Reid 1909-1946 British occultist, co-founder of Nuada and arch-druid of Universal Bond
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha 1719-1772 British noblewoman, was entitled "Veleda, Arch-Druid of Kew". The title was probably purely formal, there is no evidence that she ever officially took part in Druidic ceremonies.
Philip Shallcrass   British esoteric author and arch-druid of the British Druid Order
William Stukeley 1687-1765 British cleric, painter and writer, is mentioned as a co-founder of the Universal Bonds and was Arch-Druid of Wales, gave himself the Druid name Chyndonax
John Toland 1670-1722 Irish philosopher and writer, is named as the founder of the ADO
Rafig Tullou 1909-1990 Breton sculptor and set designer, Breton nationalist, who co-founded the neo-druidic organization Kredenn Geltiek Hollvede was
Edward Williams 1747-1826 Welsh stonemason, poet and antiquarian, founded the Gorsedd of Wales and brought among others the work Barddas out
Rowan Williams * 1950 British theologian and Archbishop of Canterbury, Arch-Druid of the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards
Taliesin Williams 1787-1847 Welsh stonemason and school teacher, son of Edward Williams and editor and commentator of his works
William Wordsworth 1770-1850 British romantic poet

Organizations

  • Ancient Druid Order (ADO) - also known as the Most ancient Order of Druids . Founded by John Toland, supposedly in London in 1717, later became the Universal Druid Bond or Druid Circle of the Universal Bond . The existence of the order can only be proven later in the 18th century, so that some scholars like Peter Berresford-Ellis see the ADO merely as a later split from the Ancient Order of Druids founded in 1781 and the ADO founding year as a myth.
  • Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) - also known as A Druid Fellowship , was founded in 1984 by RDNA member Isaac Bonewits and sees itself as a neo-pagan group.
  • Archaeological Order of Druids (AAOD) - founded by Wentworth Little in 1874 and later renamed the Ancient Masonic Order of Druids (AMOD) . It is a Rosicrucian-Masonic organization in which only master degrees were admitted. In 1912 the first American lodge was established, which later became known as The Order of Druids in America (AODA) .
  • International Grand Lodge of Druidism (IGLD) - founded in Munich in 1908 as the international umbrella organization of most of theassociations that emergedfrom the Ancient Order of Druids . Humanistic and enlightenment goals with a large detachment from the romanticizing druid myth.
  • British Druid Order (BDO) - was founded in 1979 by Philip Shallcrass and teaches "druid shamanism".
  • Druid Hermeticists - a hermetic group that performed rituals in Stonehenge between 1901 and 1914.
  • The Druid Order - a spin-off of the Ancient Druid Order or Universal Bonds, which continued to exist after 1964 independently of the OBOD, not to be confused with the UADO, which is also known colloquially as "The Druid Order".
  • The Druid Society - a deist Masonic society that went back to a Masonic Lodge founded in Newburgh in 1788 and existed until 1806, not to be confused with the British umbrella organization of the same name.
  • Gorsedd of Bards - a community of poets and writers founded by Iolo Morganwg in 1792 who practiced a Celtic-influenced "hill cult". It still exists today as part of the Welsh Eisteddfod and influenced, among other things, the rituals of the Universal Bonds and OBOD.
  • Mount Haemus Grove - allegedly founded in 1694 by either John Aubrey or William Stukeley in Oxford. Only verifiable as the later grove of the Ancient Order of Druids in Oxford, also the name of the mythical primeval grove of Druidism, which is said to have been founded in Oxford in the 13th century.
  • Nuada - a druidic spin-off from the Golden Dawn , founded in London in 1916 by McGregor Reid, who was also Archdruid of Universal Bonds at the same time.
  • The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) - was created by Ross Nichols in 1964 from the Ancient Druid Order or Universal Bond after the death of the AOD archdruid Robert Reid.
  • Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) - was formed in 1964 as a student group at Carlton College, America . The RDNA exist to this day and deal with Druidism in many ways in the form of humorous writings.
  • The Universal Bond - also known as the Church of the Universal Bond , founded in 1918 out of the ADO by Mac Gregor Reid. Members included Wicca founder Gerald Gardner and later OBOD founder Ross Nichols . The order existed until the death of his archdruid Robert Reid, Mac Gregor Reid's son in 1963.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Druidism  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Druidism  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isaac Bonewits, 1979.
  2. ^ I. Barddas, p. 221.
  3. ^ A b Bonewits: A Very Brief History of Mesopagan Druidism .
  4. ↑ a b c d Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 147.
  5. ↑ Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 143.
  6. ↑ Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 153.
  7. ↑ Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 148
  8. ↑ a b Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 152.
  9. ↑ Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 156.
  10. ↑ a b Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 170.
  11. ↑ Druidism recognized as a religion. Frankfurter Rundschau from October 3, 2010
  12. ↑ Druidry to be classed as religion by Charity Commission. BBC News, October 2, 2010, accessed October 2, 2010 at 3:50 p.m.
  13. ↑ I. Barddas: p. 235 ff.
  14. ↑ Markale: The Druids, p. 55.
  15. ↑ a b Lewis Spence, Chapter 10, The writings of Morien.
  16. ↑ Carr-Gomm: The Wisdom of the Druids, p. 64.
  17. ↑ Carr-Gomm: The Wisdom of the Druids, p. 199 ff.
  18. ↑ Isaac Bonewits: Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism. Kensington Publishing Group, New York 2006, Chapter 9, Solitary Druids and Celtic Reconstructionists, pp. 128-140.
  19. ↑ Miranda J. Green: The Druids, p. 175.
  20. ↑ Berresford Ellis: The Druids, p. 308.