Need some advice please

[Kcnorwood]

I've called myself a Pagan for the last 10 years but I've really never had a path so to speak. I've always had a fondness for the Green man & what he stands for.

The past year I've been studying druidism right now I'm reading a book called The Soltiary Druid by Robert Ellison so far so good. The problem I have so there are questions that the books I've read can't anwser. I would like to find someone here that could help anwser some of my questions & let me pick his or her brain. :bow:

 

[Mike182]

i'm sadly very much lacking in knowledge of Druidism, i think MaddLlama and Druidus are the ones to ask, and Druidus doesn't stop by all that often...

 

[Kcnorwood]

So I've noticed it would be nice if there was a place for them too.

 

[wizanda]

Stonehenge was once upon a time....13 months in the moons divided by sun....
Yet then Romans (12 months) also fetched elder flowers here, as healing and alcoholic properties... which causes oaks to rot it looks like; noticed in the woods, whilst cleaning to make space for the Oak to be more (Oops, hurt ankle thinking more special) special.....
Think as a Druid we should always care for nature, as the spirit is in all; as all religions state!!!.....Nature in Hebrew is the number of God!!!!
So why the Oria Linda asked us all to not loose traditions, part of which is sacred ceremony concerning Oaks.....reason being is the inherent healing properties....cleans blood flow in arties...:angel2:..
Why Druid means Oak Knowledge....

 

[Isabella Lecour]

What harm could come from letting everyone know what your questions are? I might not know much but maybe someone will eventaully come along to answer.

I don't mind compareing ideas or even bounceing a few around.

 

[Kcnorwood]

I'll just post one at a time for now, my first question is with so little that is known about the druids how can one seprate fact from fiction?

 

[MaddLlama]

I'll just post one at a time for now, my first question is with so little that is known about the druids how can one seprate fact from fiction?

Research, and experience. There's a great community of Celtic Recons and ADF druids who know their stuff, but really it comes down to the research. Anything you read on the subject of Celtic history, mythology, Druids etc, learn not to just trust what it says is true, and check the books in the reference/bibliography and see if it checks out. And, it's also very good to remember that we simlply don't have many sources of information, so much of modern Druidism is speculation rather than actual reconstruction.

It's also really helpful to know a fair bit about the Druid Revival, since most of what "surfaced" then was more fantasy than fact, and knowing how to separate Revivalist material from historical/archaeological material is half the battle.

Most CR's and recon-minded Druids (at least ones working with Celtic cultures) realize that with so little information, a completely accurate reconstruction is impossible, so most of us just read what we can and extrapolate to the best of our abilities. But, if something isn't a verifiable historical practice, it's not treated as being so.

I guess the simplest way to answer your question is "very carefully".

I apologize if that isn't very helpful. I do happen to have a copy of Skip's book if you want to reference something specific.

 

[MaddLlama]

Stonehenge was once upon a time....13 months in the moons divided by sun....
Yet then Romans (12 months) also fetched elder flowers here, as healing and alcoholic properties... which causes oaks to rot it looks like; noticed in the woods, whilst cleaning to make space for the Oak to be more (Oops, hurt ankle thinking more special) special.....
Think as a Druid we should always care for nature, as the spirit is in all; as all religions state!!!.....Nature in Hebrew is the number of God!!!!
So why the Oria Linda asked us all to not loose traditions, part of which is sacred ceremony concerning Oaks.....reason being is the inherent healing properties....cleans blood flow in arties...:angel2:..
Why Druid means Oak Knowledge....

Except the Druid's didn't build Stonehenge.

 

[Kcnorwood]

I apologize if that isn't very helpful. I do happen to have a copy of Skip's book if you want to reference something specific.

That would be very helpful thank you! :bow:

 

[wizanda]

Practising druid, Oak leaves are much better then tea...:angel2:

I happen to be a Druid do not remove my post again!!!

1) that is a fact of eating Oak leaves regular for my circulation....
2) The word Druid means Oak knowledge, so it was an attempt to be clever, as to practice Druidism the Oak is key....
3) The tannin in Oak leaves is higher then Tea, so stopping varicose veins.

 

[MaddLlama]

2) The word Druid means Oak knowledge, so it was an attempt to be clever, as to practice Druidism the Oak is key....

No it doesn't. In Gaelic (where the word actually comes from) it means "magician", or something similar. The word has nothing to do with trees of any kind. There is also scant evidence that the Irish and Scotts Celts placed a very high importance on the worship and/or meaning of trees.

And, personally the way I see it, one cannot be an actual Druid and a Christian at the same time.

 

[Kcnorwood]

the meaning of the word Druid comes from a contraction of two Indo-European, i.e. two Sanskrit words. The two Sanskrit words Druid is said to derive from are deru meaning oak, and vid meaning wisdom.


What Does It Mean to be a Druid?


All the biiks I got so far have different meanings, this website is also different from what I've read too...... So now I'm lost again.. lol Iguess it depends in what language it's in.

 

[MaddLlama]

the meaning of the word Druid comes from a contraction of two Indo-European, i.e. two Sanskrit words. The two Sanskrit words Druid is said to derive from are deru meaning oak, and vid meaning wisdom.


What Does It Mean to be a Druid?


All the biiks I got so far have different meanings, this website is also different from what I've read too...... So now I'm lost again.. lol Iguess it depends in what language it's in.

Just read a little further in your link:

It should be pointed out, however, that it was the ancient-Greek word for both tree and oak which was dru. This was not the word for oak in the languages of the Gaels, the Gauls, the Galicians, or the Galatians. Considering this, Pliny’s explanation seems convenient, and a little near-sighted. Pliny the Elder, as a learned Roman, would have been very familiar with the Greek language. Dru was the word for tree and oak to the Greeks, but not to the Celts. Perhaps Pliny was misinformed, and guessing to some extent, about Druids.

The Indo-european and Vedic influences on the religious beliefs of the Gaels came after the term "Druid" was already in use.