The first roots of Romanticism, a sweet longing for a better but long gone, a golden time… The intentional revival of obviously anachronistic, but desirable traditions that were thought to be worth impersonating had a tradition back to ancient Greece. For the druids It was but with the emergence of Eclecticism and Classicism, and later the Art Nouveau to again be present in the consciousness of the public mind. The times of the druids holocaust by means of a fiendish roman catholic church, stake and pyre – their long “Fimbulwinter” and the following “Weltenbrand“, the violent and utter destruction of anything druid were almost over. But the children, the seedlings, capsules of words, beliefs and thoughts, shrouded in highest magic had remained intact, had resisted the demonic fire of the roman imperial blackfrocks and their demonic zealots.
First it began in England where one could follow his spleens relatively undisturbed. It was not only the subsequent wave of neoclassicist would-be Neo-Greeks who aspired to a lifestyle of the “good, pure and true”, that inspired and fired up a revival of the ancient cultures in the whole of Europe. There were as well those who pondered on their very own roots, the fragments of their shattered and literally burnt out tradition.
At a first glance, there was not much left. And there was still need for discretion as not to become (again) a target of hypocrite zealots of the ecclesiarchy. Therefore although in lack of ancient knowledge, without further ado, made-up “Secret Societies” mushroomed all around Europe. Quickly “ancient” songs, rites, whole cults were made up, strongly reflecting not only the available sources of the ancients but of course the tastes of the then neoclassic spirit. Different orders formed, commonly accepted practices and rites. The deeper meaning behind the self-invented rites was discovered but partially. Mostly it eluded the romantic enthusiasts because they lacked the ancient obvious but well encoded keys. I am not only speaking of hiding, encryption and semantic code, but a code of deeper philosophy. A code that can and will only open to the follower of a certain way of life. – The hidden way of the ancients. This was unsatisfying for the cause of the druids but necessary not to become purely comical carnival-druids…
So today in the final days of the “Age of the Moloch” as foretold, information literally can and shall literally be found at our fingertips. (briefly eyeball your keyboard) Thanks to the internet and an almost neither censored nor restricted global trade of books everyone can make himself a real boffin about almost every aspect of “druidry”, “magic” (sometimes even misspelled as Magick by some of the darker wannabees). The inherent danger in this flood of information is to drift into a sense-emptied patchwork-philosophy or –religion instead of getting to the central roots of the druids wisdom. Not only does one need a highly developed media-competence of filtering irrelevant, weighting the measure of reliability of new information and admitting dissonant information all the same, but a very solid knowledge of classic history. Most important, alas rare is the ability to make loose ends amongst the needed vast knowledge meet correctly.
The underlying basic thought that is emerging is the one commandment, unimportant in which religion it has been expressed. In some religions it even has been shattered in anger (ole Moses) or lost in the green grass (ye ole meady Vikings). It remains the same: “Thou shall love thy next as thyself“. Pay razor-sharp attention: It’s not “let yourself be buggered by any arse” or “work yourself to the ground for others”. Carefully choose your next and even as carefully love yourself. – Hey it didn’t say “hedonize around like a doped march hare on viagra”. – It’s “love” not “consume”! Neither is it praying unctuous wisdom to others and not following them oneself: Unconditional love is an attitude not only an act.
Having said this, it’s always beautiful to see this mayor “flowerbomb” of the ancients sprouting and flowering again in love, unity and friendship in so many places all around the world. – All being things aspiring inexorably up into the pure white light of love, after their long and winding travels. Purged but happy they finally return to the house of the one, eternal father. – That even applies to the darkest of souls. – Pray for them because every being, sooner or later is going back home. The revived druids wisdom, in what form it may be, can open a possible gate to that way.
Unfortunately more often than not, this fundamental fact of loving unity amongst all beings in their multitude and diversity is unknown to would-be druids. This is the reason for schisms, wing-fights and building of fractions and so on. There where and are even those poor buggers who try to live up to a truly “black” druid lifestyle even though the golden key for harmony and balance had been known to them. – Silly dafts! Under all circumstances keep away from them and their made up puny “discoveries”. The Tarot for an example is so reduced to an insignificant number of possibilities that it’s to be used with highest prudence or not at all. As soon as money or subordination are being demanded its time to give a “one-finger salute” and run away from that impostor/ess the fastest possible way. The same applies for costly “druid-universities” and their mostly worthless titles. – The real druids university is the universe itself, not any building of stone or thought! Always remember: A real druid never is anyone’s master or subject.