Keeping the Hearth Fire: Chapter 1 Assignment:
Why is Druidry relevant today?
In our modern, & often harsh, society, it can be difficult to see how Spirituality and Belief can be as relevant to us now as it was to our Ancestors.
Science has answered a lot of our one time philosophical questions, and the more formalised and organised religions have caused more than their fair share of damage to the ideas of Belief and Deity with enforced dogma, oppression & scare mongering.
And yet, Nature Spiritualities and belief systems are growing in their strength and numbers.
More people are turning to Paganism, to Buddhism and to other Pantheistic Nature-based paths.
Druidry is becoming one of the world's fastest growing spiritualities, which indicates that it [i]must[/i] have some relevance for us in today's society.
To our Ancient Ancestors the Druid was a wise man or woman who travelled between tribes, sharing stories and the lineage of the people. They settled disputes, led Rituals and celebrations in the name of the local Gods, and advised Tribe leaders in the decisions of warfare and diplomacy.
They were in a caste of their own, with three different stages of what we now call Bard, Ovate and Druid.
They were welcome everywhere they went, and were respected and revered amongst the tribes.
To train to be a Druid was a long and arduous experience.
Now for us today, this is not something that we can easily recognise. Religious leaders now are only really respected in their own churches and temples.
We no longer have the 'need' for storytellers and sages, advisers or impartial judges.
There are jobs within society that fill these roles. We have legal courts, actors, performers, ambassadors, politicians etc who do the jobs that once belonged to the Druids.
The Internet and the age of communication has meant that everyone in western society has the ability to garner pretty much any information that they seek- within minutes!
And yet... our Souls still call for something that cannot be fulfilled so easily.
We all have a Natural and inherent need to be close to some form of the Divine. We all feel that there is more to life than work, money and material gain.
As our knowledge has excelled within science, we have grown to know more about Nature. And in our modern world, Eco-matters and our bond with Mother Earth has become something which has equally grown in importance to us. The need to eat Organic foods, to recycle and to protect animals from becoming endangered... these are all things which show us again that we do have an inherent connection to Nature. We are part of it of course!
The fact that modern Druidry asks us to re-establish these connections as individuals, to connect to the land in which we live, the ideals with which our Ancestors lived, and to become more understanding of the world as a whole, has led to it's growth in popularity and in relevance to our modern lives.
Our Ancestors lived very different lives, but also faced very similar trials and tribulations.
We are currently going through an economic crisis (in most western countries anyway). Money is tight. Many are struggling to feed their families. In some countries, thousands are starving to death. We are finding it hard to find work, we are struggling to pay the bills...
Our Ancestors lived a life which threatened starvation on a regular basis. If the harvest failed, if the winter was too harsh, if the War was too brutal... they perished.
Their rituals, their cycles, their ways of Honouring the deities of the land in which they lived were their ways of coping.
And so in our modern age, with our modern phases of adversity, we too can find strength and comfort, power and vigour, connection and enlightenment through modern Druid Practice.
Yes, to be a Druid now is not the same as it was then. But by trying to live our lives as close to them as we can, we really can find that Druidry is just as relevant today as it was in our Ancestor's time.
Druidry is relevant today because there is something about this belief system that is timeless.
Things that are happening now, have been before, and will be again, and we are the not the first to experience it.
I truly believe that we are all connected to one another, and also to our Ancestors, and therefore what mattered to them will always be relevant to us also.
I am proud to try and live my life as close to the Ancestors, and to the Gods as possible... however modern and futuristic this world of ours becomes!
The one constant we all have is the Earth, and though even She is ever changing, our Connection to Her remains the same. She is our Mother, our Home and our Sustenance... whatever makes our bond closer to her will always be relevant and important to us in our lives- regardless of the time period.
I hope that this essay has made sense to you all!
Brightest Blessings,
Breaca
