Druidism

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America

Popular demand for this clear-sighted compendium of information about the rebirth of Pagan religions hasn't waned since its initial publication in 1979. Distinguished by the journalism of National Public Radio columnist Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon explains this diverse and burgeoning religion's philosophies and activities while dispelling stereotypes that have long been associated with it. Most people don't realize that pagan simply refers to pre-Christian polytheistic nature religions, such as the various Native American creeds, Japanese Shinto, Celtic Druid, and Western European Wicca. Originally, the word pagan meant "country dweller" and was a derogatory term in Rome in the third century A.D., not unlike calling someone a hick today. If you find yourself feeling queasy when you hear the words witch or pagan, a healthy dose of reeducation via Drawing Down the Moon could be the cure. --P. Randall Cohan

Now fully revised—the classic study of Neo-Paganism

Almost thirty years since its original publication, Drawing Down the Moon continues to be the only detailed history of the burgeoning but still widely misunderstood Neo-Pagan subculture. Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this new edition featuring an updated resource guide of newsletters, journals, books, groups, and festivals, Margot Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern AmericaÂ’s Pagan groups.

A Druid's Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine

An in-depth look at the history, herbal uses, and spiritual aspects of the sacred trees in the ancient Celtic Ogham Tree Alphabet

• Details the 20 trees of the ogham alphabet and their therapeutic and magical virtues

• Examines the Forest Druid practices associated with each tree as well as the traditional uses in Native American medicine

• Describes the Celtic Fire Festivals and how each tree is featured in these holy days

• By the author of A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year

The Druids used the ancient Ogham Tree Alphabet to work magic and honor the dead, surrounding each letter with medicinal and spiritual lore. Poets and bards created a secret sign language to describe the letters, each of which is named for a tree or a plant. For centuries this language was transmitted only orally in order to protect its secrets.

Combining her extensive herbal knowledge and keen poetic insight, Ellen Evert Hopman delves deeply into the historic allusions and associations of each of the 20 letters of the Ogham Tree Alphabet. She also examines Native American healing methods for possible clues to the way ancient Europeans may have used these trees as healing agents. Druidic spiritual practices, herbal healing remedies, and plant lore are included for each tree in the alphabet as well as how each is used in traditional rituals such as the Celtic Fire Festivals and other celebrations. Hopman also includes a pronunciation guide for the oghams and information on the divinatory meanings associated with each tree.

The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth

A living tradition of nature spirituality rooted in Celtic antiquity and revived to meet the challenges of contemporary life, Druidry offers people a path of harmony through reconnection with the green Earth. The Druidry Handbook is the first hands-on manual of traditional British Druid practice that explores the Sun Path of seasonal celebration, the Moon Path of meditation, and the Earth Path of living in harmony with nature as tools for crafting an earth-honoring life here and now. From ritual and meditation to nature awareness and ecological action, John Michael Greer opens the door to a spirituality rooted in the living Earth.

Featuring a mix of philosophy, rituals, spiritual practice, and lifestyle issues, The Druidry Handbook is one-stop shopping for those seriously interested in practicing a traditional form of Druidry. It offers equal value to eclectics and solitary practitioners eager to incorporate more earth-spirituality into their own belief system; it also appeals to the merely curious

Druid Animal Oracle

Bring the Power of Ancient Druid Wisdom into Your Life

You are holding a source of great power and influence -- the wisdom of the animal world drawn from the wellspring of ancient Celtic tradition. The Druids, like the Native Americans, revered animals as sacred guides, guardians and protectors. Today, the book and beautiful card set of The Druid Animal Oracle can bring healing and will help you draw strength from its intuitive knowledge. From the interpretations of the card spreads and the animal lore given, you will gain powerful insights into your life-situation and receive positive guidance for the future. Authors Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, who live in England, are Chief and Scribe of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, one of the largest international Druid groups.

Druid Animal Oracle Deck

The Druids revered animals as sacred guides, guardians, and protectors. This beautifully illustrated deck and accompanying booklet draws from the wellspring of ancient Celtic tradition, bringing healing and offering intuitive knowledge. From the interpretations of the card spreads and the lore given, one will gain powerful insights and receive positive guidance for the future.

The cards have been drawn using the principles of sacred geometry, a science of great importance to the megalith-building, pre-Celtic Druids, who employed it extensively in the building of stone circles. Each image incorporates the same use of a pentagram, circle and square. The border of the animal cards conveys a message in Ogham—the tree language of the Druids. The animals are presented in a sequence starting with the Blackbird, who stands at the Gateway, the Place of Beginnings, calling us to adventure and change. Journeying to the four other Oldest Animals of Stag, Owl, Eagle, and Salmon, we come to know animals that lead us deeper into the Otherworld, through a cycle of personal change that leads to turning to the outer world again, the empowerment of the four dragons and the concluding card of the Seal—the card of love and the necessity for choice in a world that is both joyous and challenging. The text presents a summary of the Druid, Celtic and native teachings, concerning twenty-nine animals and four dragons. In addition, there are three blank cards that can be used to draw animals that are personal to the reader.

Use the cards as totems or turn to the oracle system provided by the authors. In either case, these Druid animals can provide positive guidance and insights into the inner dynamics behind events in our lives.

The Druid Magic Handbook: Ritual Magic Rooted in the Living Earth

The first and only Druidic book of spells, rituals, and practice.

The Druid Magic Handbook is the first manual of magical practice in Druidry, one of the fastest growing branches of the Pagan movement. The book breaks new ground, teaching Druids how to practice ritual magic for practical and spiritual goals within their own tradition. What sets The Druid Magic Handbook apart is that it does not require the reader to use a particular pantheon or set of symbols. Although it presents one drawn from Welsh Druid tradition, it also shows the reader how to adapt rites and other practices to fit the deities and symbols most meaningful to them. This cutting edge system of ritual magic can be used by Druids, Pagans, Christians, and Thelemites alike!

* The first manual of Druidic magical practice ever, replete with spell work and rituals.
* John Michael Greer is a highly respected authority on all aspects of Paganism.

The Solitary Druid: A Practitioner's Guide

The Druids: Celtic Priests of Nature

A comprehensive and revealing look at the druids and their fundamental role in Celtic society that dispels many of the misconceptions about these important religious figures and their doctrine

• Written by the world's leading authority on Celtic culture

Druidism was one of the greatest and most exalting adventures of the human spirit, attempting to reconcile the unreconcilable, the individual and the collective, creator and created, good and evil, day and night, past and future, and life and death. Because of the oral nature of Celtic civilization our understanding of its spiritual truths and rituals is necessarily incomplete. Yet evidence exists that can provide the modern reader with a better understanding of the doctrine that took druidic apprentices 20 years to learn in the remote forests of the British Isles and Gaul.

Using the descriptions of the druids and their beliefs provided by the historians and chroniclers of classic antiquity--as well as those recorded by the insular Celts themselves when compelled, under Christianity's influence, to utilize writing to preserve their ancestral traditions--Jean Markale painstakingly pieces together all that is known for certain about them. The druids were more than simply the priests of the Celtic people; their influence extended to all aspects of Celtic life. The Druids covers everything concerning the Celtic religious domain, intellectual speculations, cultural or magical practices, various beliefs, and the so-called profane sciences that have come down from the Celtic priesthood.

Cathedral of the Black Madonna: The Druids and the Mysteries of Chartres

Explores the connection between ancient druidic worship of a virgin at Chartres and the veneration of the Black Madonna

• Examines the Virgin Mary’s origins in the pagan worship of the Mother Goddess

• Identifies Mary with the dominant solar goddess of matriarchal societies

The great cathedral of Chartres is renowned the world over as a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture and for its remarkable stained glass, considered alchemical glass, and its mystical labyrinth. But the sacred foundations of this sanctuary go back to a time long before Christianity when this site was a clearing where druids worshiped a Virgo Paritura: a virgin about to give birth. This ancient meeting place, where all the druids in Gaul gathered once a year, now houses the magnificent Chartres cathedral dedicated both to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and to one of the most venerated Black Madonnas in Europe: Our Lady of the Pillar. Coincidence? Hardly, says Jean Markale, whose exhaustive examination of the site traces Chartres’ roots back to prehistoric times and the appeal of the Black Madonna back to the ancient widespread worship of Mother Goddesses such as Cybele and Isis.

Markale contends that the mother and child depicted by the Black Madonna are descended from the image worshipped by the druids of the Virgin forever giving birth. This image is not merely a representation of maternal love--albeit of a spiritual nature. It is a theological notion of great refinement: the Virgin gives birth ceaselessly to a world, a God, and a humanity in perpetual becoming.

Ogam: The Celtic Oracle of the Trees: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Druidic Alphabet

A comprehensive and practical guide to the ancient oracle based on the alphabet of the Druids.

• Describes the symbolism and mythology of the 20 "tree letters" and their magical correspondences.

• Includes instructions on how to make your own Ogam divination sticks, cast the oracle, and perceive omens.

• Provides historical background and bibliographic references to the Druidic mythology ruling this 1,500-year-old oracle.

The ancient Ogam alphabet is a magical and mysterious script, the Celtic equivalent of the runes that can teach us about our fate and future. Named after woodland trees, Ogam's 20 "tree letters" all have unique wisdom to impart that is linked to figures and themes from Celtic mythology.

The author addresses three major areas in this book: Ogamlore, the history of this 1500-year-old oracle of the Celtic Druids; Ogamfews, the meaning of the individual tree letters, their magic, characteristics, folklore, and related stories; and Ogamcasting, the practical art of Ogam divination, which includes spreads, castings, and how to create your own Ogam set. With these tools of ancient Celtic wisdom, readers will receive insights and guidance on how to maneuver through life's questions and challenges.