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index6
| NEMETON |
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ANCIENT HERITAGE |
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IRISH LITTERATURE |
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| THE DRUIDS: In Celtic society Druids formed an intellectual class comprising philosophers, judges, educators, historians, doctors, seers, astronomers, and astrologers. |
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Fionn MacCumhall's advice to a younger hero
From: Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory
If you have a mind to be a champion, be quiet in a great man's house; be surely in the narrow pass. Do not beat your hound without cause; do not bring a charge against your wife without having knowledge of her guilt; do not hurt a fool in fighting, for he is without his wits. Do not find fault with high-up persons; do not stand up to take part in a quarrel; have no dealings with a bad man or a foolish man. Let two-thirds of your gentleness be shown to women, and to little children that are creeping on the floor, and to men of learning that make the poems, and do not be rough with the common people. Do not give your reverence to all; do not be ready to have one bed with your companions. Do not threaten or speak big words, for it is a shameful thing to speak stiffly unless you can carry it out afterwards. Do not forsake your lord so long as you live; do not give up any man that puts himself under your protection for all the treasures of the world. Do not speak against others to their lord, that is not work for a good man. Do not be a bearer of lying stories, or a tale-bearer that is always chattering. Do not be talking too much; do not find fault hastily; however brave you may be do not rise factions against you. Do not be going into drinking-houses, or finding fault with old men; do not meddle with low people; this is right conduct I am telling you. Do not refuse to share your meat; do not have a niggard [i.e. a fool] for a friend; do not force yourself on a great man or give him occasion to speak against you. Hold fast to your arms till the last fight is well ended. Do not give up your opportunety, but with that follow after gentleness. |
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Be not too wise, be not too foolish;
Be not too conceited, be not too diffident;
Be not too haughty, be not too humble;
Be not too talkative, be not too silent;
Be not too harsh, be not too feeble.
If you are too wise, then people will expect too much of you;
If you are too foolish, you will be deceived;
If you are too conceited, you will be thought vexatious;
If you are too humble, you will be without honor;
If you are too talkative, then you will be unheeded;
If you are too silent, you will not be regarded;
If you are too harsh, then you will be broken;
If you are too feeble, then you will be crushed.
Fionn MacCumhall's advice to a younger hero
From: Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory
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BardsBards were musicians, historians, and brehons. Brehons were experts in the Celtic law, while musicians composed songs to become the living memory of their tribes. As bards passed down their songs and poems to the younger generations of Celts, they passed on the past lessons and knowledge gained by their ancestors. To be a bard in our time is not however, to be a monument to history. Books have long replaced the role of memorization to keep the history of man, but there still is an appreciation for what they did, and lessons to be learned. It has been said that music hath charms to soothe a savage beast.
As a bard, you realize there is much more that poetry and art and music can accomplish. |
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OvateThe Ovate grade occurs after completion of the Bardic gwersu (lessons) One is not required to move on to the Ovate grade, and many choose to remain a Bard, and further enhance their bardic skills.
The realm of the Ovate includes healing and divination. The Ovate is still a position of mystery , and many Ovates learn to use divination techniques such as the Ogham, or tree-alphabet.
The modern Ovate is reminded that the spiritual world is tied up with the physical, and seeks to achieve duality in both areas. The Ovate legacy is one of a mediator between the tangible physical world and the intangible world of the spirits.
The Ovate grade includes the study of herbs and plants for healing. Perhaps the most known piece of herbal lore is that of the mistletoe, which the Druids used to heal internal tumors. Mistletoe is still under study by modern pharmacists. Much of the lore used by the Celts has been lost and is only now being rediscovered. |
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Druids Being a Druid combines the specialized knowledge of the Bard and Ovate,and temper it with experience and wisdom.
To become a Druid should never be the ultimate goal of a person, as that implies that once the point has been reached no further effort is necessary. On the contrary, a Druid perhaps has the greatest challenge of all, to lie the written word aside and experience all that life has to teach to the observant.
The Druid's path is one of teaching and wisdom. A Bard learns how to listen for the sacred in all life, the Ovate learns to apply it to his world, and the Druid learns the of it all.With every step forward a world of light and love and understanding becomes clearer.
It is the Journey that becomes most important, not the destination. |
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