Sort of like Indian mysticism, the Druid recognized that spirituality isn’t a single path. They acknowledged three.
The Druid as we know the word, who was the keeper of observances and the village Sage. The Ovate who was more like the Native American Shaman, seeker of spirits and signs, and psychopomp or spirit guide to the departed, and the Bard who was more of an educator and social conscience.
Druidism had no dogma really, so in a way you can’t be an expert on Druidism. Like Gnosis, your learning was valid, and members of the Druid orders came up with new wisdom regularly. Bards writing new poems which were both art and memory devices for passing down the collective wisdom.
The Google of the early years? Exactly. This is part of why when the Romans started dealing with them. They respected them so highly. Bards were basically the media, but they were aware of the impact of their art, and did it on purpose. If a Bard was smearing a local chieftain in his poems or stories, there was a reason. The Druids were in a sense the “law“, but more arbitrators than actual enforcement. The people would go to them, because they were the students of morality, and they got their moral insights from nature. Not like the modern morality, which is really just a body of collective prejudice for the most part.
Druids were astrologers, scholars, scientists, and philosophers. Basically Sages, and they weren’t really “priests” as we understand it today. They kept rituals to honour the Gods, but in a way they were more for the Druids themselves than for the general populace. To keep the Druids aware of nature and in touch, so they could guide effectively.
Did they travel for new ideas, or just local? Oh, they were big travelers. If as a young person you were initiated into a Druid order, you would often take a new name. Merlin is actually one such name, and it was seen that you were born of nature and no tribe. The Druids were their own tribe.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~