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by Briar
December 2009 revision of the orginal 2007 article.
Comment.
Introduction.
Brighid’s Path
Comment.
In 2009 the Three Mysteries, The Art, The Truth, and the Kinship, became part of Tuatha De Brighid Tradition.
The following article, written prior to this decision, discusses some of the ideas that coalesced into this step, and goes to some length to explain how and why it came about from the theological perspective.
Some terminology has evolved since this article was written. For instance, “Artus” has become “The Art”, and while the article discusses pathways, in our Tradition we had chosen to call them Mysteries, with all the associated nuances of that meaning – though the latter change is a natural one, since Mysteries, are, in fine, pathways.
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Introduction.
It has often been said that, since we in Tuatha De Brighid call ourselves after Brighid, and name her our Matron, it behooves us to turn to Her for the inspiration for our theology.
The purpose of this article is to suggest that to Create, to Learn, and to Love may be viewed as three among reasons and purposes for a Druidic life, and that these three are inspired by Brighid’s guidance.
There are two questions I would like to address:
1. What makes Brighid a uniquely suitable Matron for a modern Druid order?
2. What specific focus can we glean from looking to Brighid for inspiration?
I do not mean to even attempt to answer these questions exhaustively. And, while I do my best to provide reasonable references and notes, it is not my intent to pretend to academic credentials. Most of the information contained here is well-known, and I invite anyone who wishes to study these elements further to take advantage of the references and count them only as the merest beginning.
What I do attempt here is to present a moderately coherent spectrum of ideas that should be useful for the development of Tuatha De Brighid theology. Most of these are neither radical nor new – they are simply a synthesis within a new context.
As with most things dealing with the Divine, a complete set of answers to anything is not possible, and I would not presume to indulge in such hubris besides.
This article is born of the impulse to share some thoughts that I have lived with for a while, and out of sheer love for TDB, and the ideals of TDB’s path.
Above all else, I have faith in that path. I have sensed the Spirit of Druidry, wearing the form of Brighid, walk among us. I have felt Her presence – and this, while it may sound presumptuous, is indeed said in all humility, because I know with all my heart that She is indeed present in each and every one of you who gives of yourself in Her name, who grows in wisdom, creates, and loves, in Her name.
We are Seekers of Truth. Let us, then, seek Truth in Her name.
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Brighid’s Path
“Brighid, that is a female poet, daughter of the Dagda. This Brighid is a poetess, or a woman of poetry; that is Brighid a Goddess whom poets worshipped, for very great and very noble was her superintendence. Therefore they call her Goddess of poets by this name. Whose sisters were Brighid, woman of healing, Brighid, woman of smith-work, that is Goddesses, from whose name with all Irishmen Brighid was called a Goddess. Brighid, then, that is breo-saigit, a fiery arrow.”[1]
- Cormac’s Glossary
1. The Once and Future Goddess of Druidry
Why Brighid? In the context of TDB’s history it is easy to overlook the broader significance of the choice.
When we started, we didn’t set out to be a Brighidine order, but a Druid order – implying that Brighid was not only a fitting Matron for those who wished to transcend the differences between Paganism and Christianity, or focused devotees of Brighid Herself, but was indeed a Goddess with a more-or-less universal Druid appeal, as much as anything can be called “universal” in modern Druid landscape.
There are two themes that come to mind as to why this is so: Brighid’s transcendence, and Brighid’s role as a Deity of creation.
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Brighid transcends categories.
Many moderns believe that Brighid was a pan-Celtic Goddess, worshipped in many places by many tribes under different, if similar, names[3], such as: Brigantia, Brigindo, Brigid, Brighid, Bricta, Bríg, Bride, Brigandu, Brigan, Brigantis[4].
This, however, is far from being an uncontested claim. There is simply not enough hard evidence one way or another. The similarity of names does not necessarily guarantee the identity of the name bearer. Reading the entry from Cormac’s Glossary, for example, one can easily get the impression that Brighid was a title which the Irish used for all of their Goddesses[5].
In truth, we do not know if the Celts thought in terms of a single Goddess that went by different local names, or if they worshipped different Goddesses, Whose names were similar, because the functions They fulfilled in the tribe were similar.
If anything, the latter interpretation is more likely, not the least because the names we know are descriptive – they may very well be an honorific rather than a “proper” name. Indeed, there is a theory that in some cultures it was taboo to speak the Deity’s proper name, and therefore Gods and Goddesses were addressed by descriptive glosses.[6]
Brighid’s name-root, “brig”, incorporates a spectrum of meanings: It implies height, loftiness, and that can be taken quite literally as referring to high places – hills, mountains, forts, uplands, as indeed some place-names indicate. Yet, as in English, it also implies “elevated” states of being and consciousness – high intelligence, high wisdom, high poetry, high skill. It also includes a sense of active power, force and flame, the latter perhaps both literally, and in the same context as we would use the word “inflamed”.
The name-root appears relatively frequently among the Celtic Deities. Here are a few examples:
Brigantia was the tutelary Goddess of the Brigantes, a powerful association of Celtic tribes in the north of England and in Gaul. We see Her in the statues of the Roman era compared to Victoria and Minerva, concerned with protection and fertility, wisdom and poetry. Rivers and wells bore Her name. She was a figure of power and majesty, and still is, reborn as Brittannia, the symbol of England.
Brigindo was the Goddess of Eastern Gaul, whose iconography suggests her association with healing, crafts, and fertility.
Bricta was the Consort of Luxovius, a God of the Healing Sanctuary in Eastern France, where a hot spring was a part of a healing complex, and as many as three other goddesses of similar functions were evident in the iconography.
Brig was the Irish Goddess, the most famous, and the most mysterious of all, known to us from tales of the Christian Saint, lore of places, folk legends, stories and prayers, yet almost no archeological evidence. Cormac’s Glossary names Her a Triple Goddess, Matron of Poetry, Healing, and Smithcraft, daughter of the Dagda, the Good God and a Patron of Druids. Her mythology is such a mix of Pagan and Christian that oftentimes it is impossible to separate. Yet, in the end, She is known as a protector of women and the hearth, a healer and a bringer of spring and new growth. According to legend, Hers is the eternal flame at Kildare – The Church of the Oak.
The question whether Brighid was one or many in ancient times cannot be answered with certainty – the only thing we can be relatively sure of is that in modern times She is worshipped as One, which leads to a typically Celtic ambiguity[7].
Indeed, while on the surface of it this seems strange to a practical and categorizing mind, in truth, if we take a careful look at the traditional Pagan Deities, we might notice that their nature, characteristics and functions can never be pinned down absolutely – they are fluid, and change in place and time. In well-documented religions, such as Roman or Greek, one cannot help but observe that there were great regional variations on how certain Deities were worshipped, in their lore and customs, even in such basic characteristics as gender or demographics of devotees.[8]
In addition to the uncertainty of whether there was one, or many, tribal Brighids, there is the more blatant ambiguity of Her triple nature.[9] She is referred to as “three sisters named Brighid” in the Glossary, for instance. There, again, it is not clear whether the “three sisters named Brighid” is an allegory referring to the three aspects of the same Goddess, or whether what is being described is a process by which different Deities with different responsibilities acquire the same name/title.
This, then, is the first aspect of how Brighid transcends categories: She is One, and She is Many, and neither state is exclusive of the other. At the same time, She transcends tribal boundaries.
Brighid shows us that we can see beyond our rational, familial and cultural limitations - without losing the value of our heritage.
Then there is this:
Over the years, many attempts have been made to categorize Deities, and Indo-European ideology in general, according to “function”. For instance, Dumezil devised a scheme with three general functions: Magico-Religious, Warrior, and Producer. Other writers, such as the Reeses[10], expanded this to a four-function scheme - the first three plus the king, or the five-function scheme - the first three, plus the king, plus the Outsiders, etc[11].
Another way folks tend to categorize Deities is via “spheres of influence” – that is, by looking at what aspects of life a particular Deity influences the most.
While these schemes are useful, and most European Pagan Deities do fall into one of these functional categories to some extent[12], interestingly, female Deities do so less often than male Deities, and Celtic female Deities less so than most.[13]
In that sense, Brighid is iconic.
A Deity might be responsible for warfare, or fertility of the land, or a particular craft, etc. Brighid, on the other hand, is what folks who study such things call “transfunctional”: many diverse areas of human activity fall into her sphere of influence. She is the Goddess of Healing and Warcraft, Smithing and Cattle, Art and Tradition, She is a Goddess of Spring and Birth, women and magic, divination, and the Land itself.
And this is another aspect of transcendence: In caring for so many areas of existence, Brighid transcends the boundaries of specialization. She shows us that “high-mindedness”, which lifts skill to the level of spirituality does not exist – cannot exist - in vacuum, but must be an expression of a whole being, whole life, whole Universe.
Finally, of course, there is the matter of transcending religious convention.
Most Pagan Deities were put aside, or, worse, their names were blackened into evil and darkness with the onset of Christianity, because it was perceived that They were antithetical to Christian religion. Often this was a prolonged process, but a process with a predictable outcome. If Their veneration survived at all, which did happen rather more frequently than many would like to admit, it was under a different name associated with a Saint, or, occasionally, a neutral and diminished Spirit of Nature. Clearly, many of these transformations can be traced by calendar holidays and particular modes and areas of veneration.[14]
Brighid, on the other hand, survived as whole, and Herself, with Her name unblemished.
How and why this happened is long story for another day, but one thing I would like to point out: Scholars discuss historical motivations and pathways, but we are not historians here, and our concern is, primarily, spiritual. From spiritual perspective, Brighid’s ability to remain whole after Christianization is, dare I say, miraculous – it is a testament to Her power, Her love, and the need for Her among the folk. It is not an accident of history, nor again a result of pragmatic circumstances and political motivations as some historians assume – it is the result of the Spirit of Druidry moving through the ages in Her form.
And this last transcendence, while perhaps the most obvious and well-known, is arguably the most important.
How many times do we run across hot arguments between Pagans and Christians? How many fundamentalists on both sides pour verbal abuse upon each other? For that matter, internal arguments among NeoPagans themselves can be as belligerent nowadays as any past arguments with other religions.
And while often it is thought that Christianity is at it’s heart an intolerant religion, all too often it is modern Pagans who indulge in an almost obligatory “Christian-bashing” at almost every gathering – in private conversation, to be sure, but the tendency is sadly very much present. In one sense it is understandable, as it is understandable for any minority to assert itself, sometimes forcefully, or be swallowed by the majority, but however understandable it might be – it is not a good thing, and in the context of this article, what is most important is that it is not Brighid’s way.
Brighid shows us the path that transcends not only religious controversies, but also, by the very act of surviving and thriving, and calling to followers as strongly now as She ever had in the past, she transcends the most powerful force of all: time itself.
In conclusion to this section, I’ll return again to the meaning of Her name:
She is “The High One”, “The Sublime One”, “The Exalted One”.
She transcends our ordinary categories as a high-flying eagle transcends the hills and valleys of the land below. Does not Druidry itself call us to transcend in the same way?
Because She is One, and She is Many, she transcends the realm of ordinary consciousness, calling us to the essentially panentheistic understanding of Many-in-One as the ultimate spiritual reality, where boundaries between an individual, the Universe, and the Divine are a matter of state and perception, rather than a matter of fundamental reality.
Because so many aspects of human life come under Her care, she transcends the boundaries between traditional classes and functions, calling us to a holistic vision and a beauty of being in all things.
Because She remained loved and honored across two warring religions, She transcends the boundaries between very different spiritual paradigms, calling us to let go of prejudices, and live with an understanding that there are many true paths, and moreover, that this is the way it is meant to be.
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Both fire and water are sacred to Brighid.
Her very name implies fire and fire’s brightness and strength. Belisama – Fiery One – may have been one of Her titles.[15] In Carmina Gadelica she is called Golden Sparkling Flame. Though the name-derivation of Cormac’s Glossary – Fiery Arrow – is now considered fanciful by many scholars, it may nevertheless reflect the folk wisdom of tradition, because it is fitting, both for it’s fire connotations, and for the directness and piercing power of Her presence.[16] The eternal flame at Kildare was Hers in her incarnation as a Saint, and that, likely, was an outgrowth of a Pagan sanctuary devoted to Her.[17] She is called the Triple Flame: poetic inspiration – the Fire in the Head, Smithfire – the fire of magic and transformation, Hearthfire - the fire of comfort and healing, are all three in Her province.
In human history, fire has many vitally important symbolic associations.
Arguably, fire, or, rather, the use of fire, defines the human race, because it is a large part of what allowed us to survive and succeed. It has primal, almost visceral, meaning to us, as anyone who has ever been mesmerized by the sight of a flame can attest. Fire gives physical and emotional comfort by keeping away the darkness, the cold, and the danger.
In many ways fire has central spiritual connotations to us.
Fire transforms – it destroys what it burns, and yet creates something else: light, warmth, beauty. It has the power to make metal into useful objects, make clay hard as stone, make food palatable. It boils and purifies water, chasing away disease. It is looked upon as a means – and a Deity[18] – of offering. It sanctifies. It may stand as a symbol of Truth. It may also stand as a symbol of Spirit. In this latter sense, to “inflame” is the same as to “inspire” – that is, to imbue with spirit, with the fire as spirit.
Fire is alive, and is, therefore, one of the most important symbols of life – and this is the main reason why fire is associated with spirit, for spirit is what defines life.
At the same time, the Waters are also Hers. It is likely that rivers, such as Braint in Anglesey, and Brent in Middlesex, as well as possibly Bregenz in Austria and Brechin in Scotland, bear Her name. In this She is not alone – many European Goddesses were associated with flowing water. Indeed, in many ways Brighid has been compared with the Indian Goddess Sarasvati.[19] Similarly, Danu, the ancient Mother of Tuatha de Danaan, left Her name upon some of the greatest rivers in Europe. Wells, and the associated custom of well-dressing, particularly in Ireland, are also traditionally associated with Brighid.
Aside from the separate associations with these two primeval elements, which are many and fruitful, the meaning of the two combined in the province of one Goddess is especially interesting.
We might note, for example, that hot springs, which blend the energies of fire and water, were – and still are – considered especially effective for healing, and indeed there were many healing sanctuaries that featured hot springs, some, as previously mentioned, dedicated to Brighid’s cognates.
The why of this lies at the heart of a very ancient paradigm.
It is common to think that ancient Pagan religions – and especially Celtic religion – are not dualistic, since they involve so many triplicities with different layers of meaning. But the simple truth is that they are, indeed, dualistic – among other things. It is not the all-pervasive dualism of good and evil, though good and evil may be a part of it in some cultures – rather, it is the deeper dualism of simple opposites: light and dark, order and chaos, male and female, lucky and unlucky, helpful and un-helpful[20]. If good and evil are involved, it is not moral good and evil, but rather good and evil in the sense of desirable and undesirable, friendly to humankind and unfriendly to humankind.
One of the more interesting examples of these pairs of opposites is the Coligny Calendar, so often cited in Celtic archeolog. Apparently the ancient Celtic year was divided into winter and summer – the dark half, and the light half. The months, also, had similar division, as did the days. One gets the impression that the entire structure of the universe, from macrocosm to microcosm, was viewed in terms of fundamental duality.
Upon further thought, it seems clear that not only there is a division into opposites, but also that each thing contains within itself the seed of it’s opposite.
In the example of the calendar, a month might belong to the “light” half of the year, and yet it contains within itself “dark” days, and every day has a night, etc.
Metaphysically, it is precisely these fundamental recursions that give rise to life: if each thing contains within itself the seed of it’s opposite, then nothing is ever static. Even if there is a balance, it is a dynamic balance. Things develop and, therefore, live. Some think that this is precisely the concept at the root of triadic thinking.
There is a prevalent motif in Indo-European mythology that the Cosmos as we know it, and life, were created by two primal opposites coming together.
This especially applies to the duality of fire and water, or, rather, fire in water. The best known example of this is comes from Norse mythology, where the world is created from the interaction of Fire and Ice (the Norse equivalent of water). However, there are hints and similar examples from other cultures. Slavic creation legends have similar dynamics: for instance, there are prevalent legends of Waters of Death and Life, where the Water of Death – natural water, as it were – cleanses and purifies, while the Water of Life – water touched with fire – actually gives life back to fallen heroes. Echoes of these are seen in Iranian, Indian, and Roman mythology, and in the Celtic legend of Boann.[21]
Another aspect of this Fire-in-the-Water association is that it is often connected with wisdom and inspiration.
In the lore, the Waters, be it a sacred well, or lake, or spring, are somehow infused with a fiery essence – sometimes an actual Deity, and sometimes an abstract power, which gives the Waters magical abilities. This magical Water may then bestow poetic gifts and knowledge, as in Norse and Celtic legends, or ecstasy and elevated states, as in Indian legends, or, even, life itself, as in Slavic legends.
The imagery is prevalent enough that Fire-in-Water is often identified with the sacramental Waters of Life in NeoPaganism.[22]
Indeed, Fire-in-the-Water might be considered one of the primal ideas of Indo-European religions, and, therefore, Druidry. For that matter, one may even extend this principle to all human religions and argue that this imagery of creative impulse is a universal human concept, quite irrespective of any particular religious tradition.
Brighid, then, as the Goddess associated with both Fire and Water, is the Mistress of this primordial Mystery. She is complete in and of Herself, combining the opposites within, and therefore embodying the Whole. She is the microcosm of Creation, and, more, She is a source of Creation and Transformation within the Cosmos. She embodies the magic and awe of the original mystical interaction that brings forth all new things, and especially life, just as hot springs, containing within them the essence of Fire-in-Water, imbue those who partake of them with life force.
It seems to me that it is not at all incidental that Brighid’s High Day, Imbolc, is entirely iconic of this principle: Imbolc is often thought of as a Spring festival, and yet it takes place in the coldest, usually most dismal part of winter. Most of us nowadays are not farmers, and the lactation of ewes holds little meaning for us, yet, perhaps, for the ancients it was the first sign, the time of turning towards spring, if not spring itself. It is to be understood as the seed: the seed of fire in the midst of ice, the seed of life in the midst of death, the seed of action in the midst of contemplation – the Seed of Light in the midst of Darkness, the presence of which makes all life possible.
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2. Guideposts and Paving Stones.
Now we come to the second question: What specific focus for our path can we glean from looking to Brighid?
Before turning to that question, however, I’d like to take a look at the related question, namely: How does Brighid – or any Deity, for that matter – influence our lives, and the world in general? What is the mechanism of this influence?
It is necessary here to point out several implicit assumptions we make just by asking these questions:
We assume that the Divine exists, in whatever form. This assumption defines us as more than materialists, and our path as more than a philosophy – in effect, it states that we are a religious path.[23]
We assume that the Divine interacts with us (and by extension, the physical World) in an active and meaningful manner. This is far from an obvious assumption, because it defines our path as at least partly a path of worship, a path that is focused on effective interaction with both the material and the spiritual world.[24]
Additionally. we implicitly assume that Brighid is a “real” person. Her path is defined by Her individuality. This is an essential pluralistic assumption that is key in TDB context[25]. By making it, we accept two things: Firstly, that there is a multitude of possible paths; secondly, that the difference in paths is defined not merely by limitations of human perception, but by a genuine variety of Divine impulse. In other words, as we had said in our Vision, the Divine manifests in many ways and many forms, and, we might add, with many personalities. This is not necessarily a statement of ontological polytheism - we are not, after all, assuming that the Deities are, fundamentally, many and separate[26]. We are assuming, however, that the Divine chooses to have many personal faces to present to the World, whatever the “ultimate” fundamental reality might be.[27]
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With that slight digression out of the way, I’d like to approach the question of how the Divine – in this case Brighid – influences our lives from the direction of panentheistic understanding.
Panentheism, essentially, states that all things are a part of Godde[28], and yet Godde is greater than the sum of all things.[29]
All things in the Universe, then, electrons and Galaxies, amoebas and trees, pebbles and mountains, fishes and birds, animals and humans, even thoughts, emotions and experiences – all are, in pattern and essence, of the Divine.
A leaf cannot grow without a tree, and a pattern of a leaf, if we examine it, does indeed repeat the pattern of the tree itself. And yet there is no law that dictates when each leaf with break out of it’s bud, how, exactly, it will move in the wind, at what precise moment it will start showing it’s fall color.
Each leaf is it’s own, free entity within the limitations imposed by it’s nature. One might say that each leaf co-creates it’s own beauty and it’s own experience within those limitations.
This principle expresses itself in all ways. A member of a species follows a pattern set for that species, and yet each member is still an individual. Each of us has a pattern of ridges on our fingertips, for example, yet each fingerprint is unique.
This applies to our entire being, not just the physical aspect of it. We all think and feel in certain ways, but each thought, each emotion, each mental and physical experience is utterly new.
In effect, one might say that all things in the Universe have some freedom of choice. All of us, even the smallest parts and elements of Being, influence our own destiny within the greater patterns.
Rather than dictate, Godde gives a pattern – many patterns, in fact - to all Being – and to a human being in particular. These patterns inform and provide impulse to our evolution, but the evolution itself is achieved by all of us interacting, experiencing, and living - together.
Thus the greater informs the smaller, and the smaller becomes the microcosm of the greater.
In the language of Brighid, we have a name for this giving of patterns – it is called Inspiration. As Her people, we are meant to look at ourselves as free, choosing, inspired beings – and to look at everyone else in the same way.
This especially makes sense for us, as above all else Brighid is known as the Goddess of Inspiration, and in Her language and image, the essence of interaction between Divine and human is Inspiration[30].
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How, then, do we think of the context and the content of this Inspiration? How does Brighid illuminate the path and pattern of a human being? What is our source, our virtue, our goal?
It is clear from the outset that no-one can answer these questions entirely for anyone else. I would venture to say that we cannot even come close. We may, however, look at some basic directions, and use these as the focus of our path or paths.
I will ask for your indulgence for a moment, and talk about why it is important to discern these directions.
The word “theology” has come to denote many things over the centuries. For a time it was appropriated by the monolithic, authoritarian religions, and became synonymous with reciting dogma. However, in it’s original sense[31], it denotes no more and no less than a conversation. The term is compounded from two Greek words, theos (god) and logos (rational utterance), and can be translated as “reasoned discourse about the Divine”.
Far from being a unilateral declaration, a reasoned conversation about the nature of spiritual life is a growing, organic thing, and it’s function is to encourage the search for truth among peers, both individually, and as a group.
In order to hold a discourse, however, we need to have a common language – a system of symbols that we all understand. And, for a discourse to be reasoned, we need to be able to use rudimentary rules of logic – we need to start from common assumptions, or common general principles, and, sometimes, at least, apply rational mechanics of thought.
This is precisely the role that theology is meant to play in a non-dogmatic religion. It gives us a common framework for conversation, and a system of symbols by which to communicate.
We need this system not only to function productively as a group, but also to communicate with the Divine and even within ourselves, because our thoughts and our words are interdependent.
I should point out that the lack of common religious language is precisely the problem with much of inter-religious dialogue – it is not that people do not necessarily want to understand each other, it is just that they do not take the trouble to learn each other’s system of symbols and assumptions. Most arguments are really about terms rather than substance.
What does this “system”, this language, consist of? As any rational system is requires certain principles as a point of departure and certain pathways by which it operates. Beyond that, the only thing needful is the willingness to take the tools and run with them as one chooses.
What people almost always miss is that theological systems and terms are, in some ways, very relative. It is not that the choice of terms is irrelevant, because it usually reflects the particular mind-set of the chooser, it is, rather, that it is not definitive – it does not define the reality of Godde. The best it can do is take on some of that reality and partially describe it. Our theology, whichever theology we choose, can only describe the Divine from the perspective of our principles (assumptions) and chosen pathways.
To understand this, and to choose our own terms is particularly important for us, both because we are Druids, and because we are Brighid’s Druids.
What distinguishes Druidry from most other Nature-oriented religions is that it strives to be, among other things, an intellectual journey.
Ancient Druids were the intellectual strata of their society, and as their inheritors, most modern Druids view Druidry as a “religion with a homework”. Most Druids aim to combine their spiritual pursuit with their intellectual pursuit, and, characteristically, most Druids consider intellectual pursuit an important part of their spirituality. As Druids, we are encouraged to think, in other words, to use our intellectual aspects in addition to all other aspects of our being.
And so, while it is important for any religious group to have a common language – theology – for discourse, for us it is vitally important that this theology be reasonable and reasoning, questionable and questioned, tested and discussed. It is vitally important that logic, as well as emotion and instinctive insight, be our motivation and criterion, and that the two faculties, intellect and intuition, be in balance.
Additionally, because we are Brighid’s Druids, it is particularly important for us to understand and accept that whatever theology we may use – whatever our initial assumptions may be – we need to remember, always, that these assumptions are to be used to facilitate our common spiritual journey, but they are never, ever to be used as dogma or unquestionable truth. As Brighid Herself transcends religious differences, so we must transcend any temptations towards absolutism and always remember that ours is only one path among many possible paths.
It is only in this context and with this understanding that we can devise a theological system that is both meaningful, defining of a religious path, and yet not confining to an individual.
That said, there are two choices that are to be made: one is the choice of a point (or points) of origin – our initial assumptions or general principles, and the other the choice of guiding direction – the fundamental pathways –in terms of which we may develop our religious language.
At least one choice has already been made a long time ago – clearly Brighid is one of our points of origin. She is our Matron, and, thus, whatever theology we may develop, it should Hers first and foremost.
Parenthetically, another point of origin for us is panentheism, which is present both in our initial Vision statement, as well as in most, if not all of our historical discussions. There are others, both explicit and implicit, that can be found in the Vision, but that is beyond the scope of this article, for here the focus is on the pathways themselves.
For Tuatha De Brighid, the choice of these fundamental pathways should be informed – inspired – by Brighid, but even that does not make our task here necessarily easier, because Brighid is a Lady of many aspects.
Since the choice of particular pathways is fundamental, there is no way to prove conclusively which are best for our purpose. We may, however, look at beauty, elegance, emotional impact, as well as how well the pathways considered reflect Brighid’s inspiration.
What follows, then, is a proposal for a fundamental set of pathways for our theology.
To begin with, there are, of course, reasons to use specifically three main pathways, as opposed to, say, one, or fifteen...
One reason is that Brighid is a Triple Goddess. The pathways proposed do, in a way, reflect that.
Another reason is that I do not think that choosing only one pathway would be appropriate for a tradition that is fundamentally pluralistic, and should afford freedom of choice and expression for personal theologies. Yet, choosing too many pathways would dilute focus unnecessarily and can become confusing both emotionally, intellectually, and ritually.
Somewhat arbitrarily, three is a traditional Druid sacred number, and has many metaphysical connotations that can be explored.
Finally, the choice had to do with the place of theology itself in the grand scheme of things.
Consider this: From panentheistic perspective all thing are in Godde. Yet, in our physical life, we are individuated beings. In effect, that can mean that while our origin and destination is a mystical complete Oneness with Godde, while we are physically alive, there exists a perception of separateness – this is what is often called the Veil. We may part the Veil in ritual or meditation, but we can only move beyond it when we move beyond individuated, physical existence. When we are One with Godde, we have no need of theology, since, presumably, at that point our identity with Godde moves us beyond any need for reasoned discourse about Her nature. Thus, it is only while we are immersed in the physical existence, and the entire nature of Godde is unknowable to us, that we have need of it. Since our physicality, as characterized by our perception, is rooted in a three-dimensional physical space[32], it seemed to me an elegant solution to keep to three fundamental pathways, which, in effect, define our spiritual space within the physical Universe in exactly the same way as height, depth and width define our position in space.
These pathways, as proposed here are: Creativity, Wisdom, and Love[33].
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We have already touched upon the first of these pathways – creativity.
Creativity may be thought of as that quality which makes it possible to bring forth new and unique things.
Creation is one of Godde’s functions, and therefore creativity is a universal principle.
Subjective experience is so complex, and furthermore, so impossible to judge or measure objectively, as to defy any possibility of comprehensive prediction. Even if we stick to strictly materialistic approach, each subjective experience is composed of both sensory input and thought, and, since science cannot even define what thought is, it cannot predict personal experience from a set of antecedents.
Furthermore, since in this context we are not limited to materialism, if we believe that there is a spiritual component to our experience, and that spiritual component, being “supernatural”, cannot be measured by physical, scientific methods, we are forced to conclude that each experience is as unique as each individuated being, and more than the simple sum of it’s parts.
Thus, every experience is a creative experience: give two individuals the same set of conditions, and each of them will co-create a different new experience.
By the same logic, each individual is also an inherently creative being, because each is more than the sum of his parts, and each is unique.
What’s more, this seems to be an aspect of a great universal Pattern, because, as had been mentioned previously, Godde is also more than the sum of Her parts.
Not only that, but creativity, in the sense of bringing into being an original and unique newness from the ocean of possibilities, is also the very mechanism of life.
Take a look at evolution, for instance. An animal is possessed of a certain collection of genes that provide a pattern for it’s form and function. Suddenly, something quite random and accidental (at least from the scientific perspective) happens – a gene is damaged by radiation, say – and some aspect of that form and function is changed accordingly. For instance, rather than growing scales, a dinosaur, some million years ago, starts growing feathers. Due to some quirk in the new mutant’s environment, he survives, even thrives, a long process of natural selection takes place, and a new species comes into being – birds. This is creativity at it’s finest: a combination of random, free events, patterns of (genetic in this case) inspiration and a working process gives birth to something far greater than a sum of it’s parts. This is not at all different from an artist taking a brush to canvas, or a composer bringing a symphony out of a collection of scaled notes.
Charles Hartshorne, who had been called the “Einstein of philosophy”, said that “...it is impossible to exist at all in absolutely uncreative fashion. From atoms to deity, all things in their degree and kind act creatively. I believe that we have in this rather new type of philosophy an intellectual basis for religion far superior to any other.”[34]
Granted, Hartshorne was not speaking of Druidry specifically, but this applies to us perhaps more than to any other religion, and especially because our Druidic path is inspired by Brighid, for as the Goddess of both the Fili and the smiths, Brighid may be thought of as an archetypal Goddess of Creativity.
Creativity, then, can be the first pathway.
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The next pathway I’d like to consider is Wisdom.
Wisdom is an elusive concept. Most philosophies and religions will readily agree that it has something to do with knowledge, and something to do with experience, but all will agree that it is more than that, that there is some elusive quality to it that defies definition in terms of anything other than itself, and it’s results.
The results of wisdom are usually thought of as choices “appropriate” to the particular situation and particular individual/s, be these choices of things, or emotions, or thoughts, or, using the language previously established here, of patterns.
What is “appropriate”, however? What does it mean to be “appropriate”?
To answer this question, I would like to introduce the concept of Artus[35]. “Artus”[36] is a term which denotes the living pattern of the Universe.
The word is compounded of two parts: “-ar”, a root which means “to join together pleasingly and well” (words such as “art” and “arm” come from the same root), and the ending “-tu-“, which refers to something that is in process and also the result of that process.
Artus, then, is a pattern of patterns. It is a root from which all patterns are born. It is a living thing, always growing and changing, because all living things interact and create, and yet ever unchanging because it is an eternal guiding principle.
Artus is a concept in inherent in religions thinking of Indo-Europeans in general, and Druids in particular. It is connected with such ideas as Virtue, the Web of Life and Fate, the nature of Deities, and many others.
Each thing has it’s own Artus, and each thing, in it’s functioning, nature, and purpose, is a part of Artus.
When I say “appropriate” in the context of wisdom, as above, what I mean is something like “in harmony with Artus”.
If creativity is that quality which brings forth newness, wisdom is that quality which chooses newness in harmony with the living pattern of Artus.
Another interesting view of wisdom, provided by personality theory of Erik Erikson[37] is that wisdom is that quality which preserves our integrity (in the sense of wholeness, non-fragmentation) in the face of death. It is, thus, the desirable outcome of all human experience, and, for us, by extension, of all Divine experience.
In religious context, though, true wisdom is not possible without connection with the Divine. To quote a Celtic Triad: “Three things not loved without each one it's companion: day without night, idleness without hunger, and wisdom without reverence.”
Indeed, in most religions, wisdom is an aspect of Divinity[38], and a human being obtains wisdom through communion with the Divine.
From the panentheistic perspective, this is, of course, natural – as we are part of Godde, so do we partake of the attributes of Godde[39].
It is fitting here to point out that in Interpretatio Romana[40], Brighid is a cognate of Minerva – the Roman version of Athene, the Greek Goddess of both creativity and wisdom.
It is probably safe to say, even without resorting to Roman habit of equating local Deities with their own, that Brighid may be thought of as a Goddess of Wisdom. For one thing, Her association with Waters is telling, because water and wisdom are traditional correspondents. For another, She is the Goddess of the Fili[41], and the Fili were the guardians and keepers of wisdom. Also, She is associated with Magic (Smithing was considered a magical occupation) and prophecy, both of which are connected with wisdom.
The second pathway, then, can be Wisdom.
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The third, and final, pathway I would like to consider is that of Love.
Love is understood in many different ways in many different contexts: traditions, philosophies, religions all have their views on love and it’s aspects.
There is sexual love and a-sexual love, selfless love and selfish love, filial love, brotherly love, sisterly love, the love of a child for his mother and the love of a citizen for her country – all sorts of love have all sorts of names.
While it is not possible – nor, perhaps, desirable – to define love exhaustively, we may see it’s effects easily enough: love is that which brings and holds us together. It provides both the motivation, and the means, by which we transcend individuation.
Defined in this way, love is the connective tissue of all things. It is our defense – our only defense - against universal entropy and dissolution that is programmed into Nature as a self-limitation of mortality. Love is what ultimately makes us immortal, because it is only through love – through realizing our connectedness with all things, and with Godde - that we transcend limitations, just as by eventually reuniting with Godde, we transcend individuation. The two processes are one and the same: mortal love is a sacred image of our participatory nature.
In a sense, love is a paradox, and it is fitting that it be so, for it is the last part of our triad of pathways – and these pathways are, in a very real sense, Mysteries.
Love brings us as close to each other as we can be without losing our individual selves – it seems that ideal love is the state of one-ness, and yet ultimate one-ness defeats the very need for love – for at first look love demands an object, and therefore a differentiation.
Yet, most mystical traditions teach us that love is the essence and reality of Godde, and that Godde is the ultimate One-ness.
From panentheistic perspective, this makes perfect sense, however. Godde is One, and Godde is Many. This is a Mystery that can only be comprehended within a meditation upon the paradox itself – in fact many sages of a variety of traditions teach that the only way to comprehend a Mystery is by considering a paradox.
Divine love is that which holds divine one-ness as an active reality. If we think of the Universe as a Web of all events that were, are, or ever will be – that which is often called the Web of Life and Fate - then Love is the strands of the Web that hold it together, it is Godde manifested in the most immediate and active way in the material existence.
In our physical, individuated life, love is a living testament of our divine origin. Love, literally, makes a coherent Universe possible. Having inherited love as part of our nature, we hold within us the one thing that proves to us that we are more than simple physical individuals – we are also a part of a mystical union of all things in one divine Whole.
When a child and a parent love each other, when friends love each other, when a man and a woman come together in a loving union, they are, together, re-creating a microcosm of Godde. Nothing can be more holy or more profound.
One could almost say that to love and be loved is to co-create Godde - and to destroy love, is to destroy a part of Godde.
It is said that to love and be loved is the highest happiness attainable in this life – and I think this is probably true, because love takes us to a place of our ultimate origin, and our ultimate destination, a true and profound home that, without love, we could never experience while the Veil is in place.
May we assume that Brighid is a Goddess of Love? Of course we may. Brighid has been called the Goddess of Healing – and what is more healing, what makes one more whole, than love?[42]
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The three-fold path can be defined by a triad of pathways: Creativity, Wisdom, and Love.
One of the ways to interpret this triad is to say that creativity affirms our individuality, love affirms our interconnectedness, and wisdom affirms the balance between the two.
We can, if we wish, view these pathways as fundamental to Godde’s nature – and to Brighid, who is our window and inspiration upon the entirety of Godde.
At the same time, these pathways are also fundamental to our nature as humans.
Consider this: What makes us human? Or, perhaps, the question should be put thusly: what attributes of our nature made us successful as a species?
Adaptability and flexibility is one. Unlike many other species, humans proved themselves able to adapt to a variety of environments and thus survived climate changes, geological changes, diaspora and diet changes. Is this not an aspect of Wisdom?
Ability and willingness to engage in innovation is another. It is not just that we make tools – other animals have been observed using tools as well. It is our focus, almost obsessive to the point of destructiveness, on improving things and making new ones, that allows us to modify our environment to suit our survival needs. Is this not an aspect of Creativity?
And, finally, our ability to work together is a very large contributor to our survival as a species. We, small, physically rather weak beings, become powerful when we cooperate. To cooperate, we need to be compassionate – is this not an aspect of Love?
It is not at all surprising to see that the virtues of our species are also the aspects of Divine nature that draw our attention the most.
In a sense, this calls for a certain amount of humility. Who knows which principles inherent in the Divine are appropriate to a leopard, for example? A leopard lives and thrives alone, unless rearing young; she is a specialized hunter, and not given to general compassion, because for her it would impede survival. What virtues would a leopard glean in the Divine? Strength? Stealth? Self-reliance?
We, however, are not leopards, and we can only look at Godde from the position of our own life experience – at least in this life. We do need to remember, however, that there is more to the Universe than humans, and there is more to Godde than our human understanding of Her.
For us, though, the pathways we may glean – the ones proposed above, for instance, and, likely, more for each of us as we develop our individual understanding - are aspects of Godde’s nature, the basis of our ethical being, and the goals of our spiritual journey.
In his “What Do Druids Believe”, Philip Carr-Gomm says this: “Druids seek above all the cultivation of wisdom, creativity, and love.”[43]
Carr-Gomm is, of course, speaking of modern Druids, and while he is a tad too general, it is nevertheless heartening to think that these three principles do indeed have a standing in the modern Druid community – a surprisingly wide standing, in fact, because from the other side of the Druid spectrum, there is an interesting quote from Ian Corrigan, one of the leaders of ADF: “The inherent message to humans is, in many of the tales, that wisdom, love, and power, properly applied, will make you wise, loving, and powerful in your own right.”[44]
Whether we interpret “power” as the power to create and therefore akin to what we named “creativity”, the second quote is telling, because it underlines the point that not only are these three principles part of Divinity, but that they are also the means and the goals of humans realizing Divinity within themselves.
While this is not exactly a statement of panentheism, and Ian himself is a rather convinced polytheist, it does underline a particular aspect of both ancient and modern Druid ideology, namely that there is no essential difference between the human and the Divine, that the difference that exists is a difference in, for the lack of a better word, “degree” and “amount”, rather than essence.
Panentheistic view is entirely in harmony with this.
Godde is ultimately and completely creative, wise and loving (and many possible other things besides), and individual Deities we honor possess the same qualities, because They are a part of Godde, and we, as humans, also possess them, being a part of Godde as well.
In traditional Pagan paradigm, we honor the Deities because, being wiser, more loving, and more creative then us, They are able to help us – by guidance, by inspiration – towards becoming the best “us” we can be.
But it is we, all of us, Deities and Spirits, humans and leopards, pebbles and mountains – the mystical community of individuated beings that are a part of Godde – that contain within us the seeds that with nourishment and care grow into the wonder, the beauty, the infinite variety and awesome majesty which is the Universe.
This is the heart of the meaning and significance of the Three Pathways – they exist as a connection that informs being. They can serve as the three “dimensions” in terms of which we can discuss and develop our Druidic path.
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3. Summary.
To summarize this admittedly long and rambling piece:
Brighid is a Goddess that transcends boundaries and limitations. By Her very character and associations, She is also a Goddess that represents Creation. She is whole and complete, and thus She is a perfect window unto the entirety of the Divine. This makes Her more than our personal Matron, but a personification of the Spirit of Druidry itself.
Her way shows us that the Divine informs our being and helps us upon our path by Inspiration. Godde, and Gods, are, in the language of Brighid, Inspirers.
She also shows us that three pathways: Creativity, Wisdom, and Love, permeate all aspects or our Being. They are characteristic of Divine nature, they are Virtues – excellences – of human nature, and they are goals of our Druidic journey. They are a part of our True Song.
To Create, to Learn, and to Love may be viewed as reasons and purposes for a Druidic life.
As a final note, I am compelled to point out that I do not call them the purposes, nor the pathways, nor do I call what I termed the Three-Fold Path the path. It is a path. There may be many more pathways and many more virtues and goals. The ones presented here, though, will work well as the foundational concepts in TDB theology.
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4. General References.
These are in no particular order of importance, and contain far more information, generally, than was used in this article.
Bethu Brigte – author unknown - compiled by Elisabeth Janney; A collection of lore about Saint Brighid. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201002/index.html
Jones’ Celtic Encyclopedia - http://www.maryjones.us/jce/jce_index.html For references on Brighid see these articles specifically:
http://www.maryjones.us/jce/belisama.html
http://www.maryjones.us/jce/brigit.html
http://www.maryjones.us/jce/brigantia.html
http://www.maryjones.us/jce/imbolc.html
Brighid: What Do We Really Know? - By Francine Nicholson; http://www.applewarrior.com/celticwell/ejournal/imbolc/brighid.htm
Wikipedia Article on Brigit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighid
Brigit the Goddess – by Hilaire Wood - http://www.brigitsforge.co.uk/brigitgoddess.html
Brigit the Saint - by Hilaire Wood - http://www.brigitsforge.co.uk/brigitsaint1.html
Brigit, Sarasvati and Sacred Sound - by Hilaire Wood - http://www.brigitsforge.co.uk/sarasvati1.htm
Milk Symbolism in the 'Bethu Brigte' - by Thomas Torma - http://www.heroicage.org/issues/7/torma.html
Brighid Behind the Veil – by Fox - http://www.adf.org/articles/gods-and-spirits/celtic/brigit-behind-the-veil.html
Brighid: The Survival of a Goddess by Winter Cymres - http://www.druidry.org/obod/deities/brigid.html
St. Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess by Lisa M. Bitel - http://monasticmatrix.usc.edu/commentaria/article.php?textId=6#_ftn8
On the Life of St. Brigit (Leabhar Breac) - http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201010/index.html
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Mysteries of Druidry by Brendan Cathbad Myers
The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual by Alexei Kondratiev
What Do Druids Believe? (What Do We Believe?) by Philip Carr-Gomm
A Brief History of the Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis
The World of the Druids by Miranda J. Green
Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art by Miranda Green
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson
Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe by Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson
Celtic Heritage by Alwyn & Brinley Rees
In Search of the Indo-Europeans by J. P. Mallory
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton
The Druid Source Book
Indo-European Language and Culture by Benjamin W. Fortson
Shinto: The Way Home by Thomas P. Kasulis
She Who Changes: Re-imagining the Divine in the World by C. P. Christ
Hartshorne: A New World View by Herbert, F. Vetter
History of Religious Ideas Vol 1 & 2 by Mircea Eliade
Comparative Mythology by Jaan Puhvel
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
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[1] Three Irish glossaries : Cormac's glossary, codex A, (from a manuscript in the library of the Royal Irish Academy), O'Davoren's glossary (from a manuscript in the library of the British Museum) and A glossary to the calendar of Oengus the Culdec (from a manuscript in the library of Triity College, Dublin) (1862) http://www.archive.org/details/threeirishglossa00cormuoft
[2] For full text, see http://pagesperso-orange.fr/sejh/keltia/colloquy.html
[3] In fact, this is a default belief of most NeoPagan folk regarding Brighid, there is hardly need to give specific references here, since just about any Internet reference on Brighid will yield this.
[4] See http://www.maryjones.us/jce/brigit.html specifically, but also I must point out that the information here and elsewhere on Brighid’s history and especially the etymology of Her name is drawn from a variety of references, all listed in the General References section at the end of this paper.
[5] The entry (given at the beginning of this article) can be understood either as a statement that because Brighid was so great she was called a Goddess, or as a statement that because Brighid was so great a Goddess, every Goddess of the Irish was called Brighid.
[6] The idea of a Deity-name being taboo among the Indo-Europeans specifically is one of those things that “everyone knows”, but is fiendishly hard to track down. I’ve seen it mentioned by such respected and diverse authors as Eliade, Puhvell, Kondratiev, the Reeses, Rybakov and Toporov, to name just a few, and, considering how many different “kennings” we have for Deities, it is certainly a logically likely explanation, and, personally, I believe it, but I won’t pretend at this point that I can prove it, so it remains strictly a reasonable conjecture. There is, however, an interesting example that may illustrate this sort of dynamic from the Roman pantheon. Apparently, the Romans had a Goddess named Angeronia, whose function it was (aside from other things) to keep secrets. The most important secret She kept was the true name of Rome. To divulge that name was to make Rome vulnerable to her enemies.
[7] That ambiguity is part and parcel of Celtic mythological mindset becomes clear as one dives into the lore and iconography. There seems to be no clear delineation between some Deities, or even between human and divine. The traditional art is intricate, mesmerizing, and neither realistic, nor again completely abstract; the poetry is full of symbolic imagery that can be interpreted in many ways, and one gets the impression that it is meant to be that way. Even the music is ambiguous – sad melody may accompany happy words and the happiest-sounding song may in fact speak of the most tragic events. One of the things that is particularly attracts modern Pagans to Celtic tradition, as compared to other IE traditions, is that ambiguity speaks of mystery. I think that the moderns, in reaction to our overly categorized life style, seek mystery in religion.
[8] One of the more glaring examples is that of Artemis. Artemis was worshipped as a virgin huntress and the Goddess of wild animals in Athens, a many-breasted Mother in Ephesus, as the Lady of the javelin in Sparta, and seems to have assimilated the worship of Hekate in the later classical period.
[9] There is a good discussion on Triple Goddesses in The World of the Druids by Miranda J. Green. It should be pointed out though that triple Goddesses were well known among other IE religions – consider the Norns, for instance. In addition, among the Celts there were also male triplicities. For a fascinating excursion into this, check out the entry in Jone’s Celtic Encyclopedia: http://www.maryjones.us/jce/triplegoddess.html
[10] “See Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales” by Alwyn Rees and, Brinley Rees
[11] See, for example, http://www.briargrove.us/indo-european_caste_systems_and_cosmologies.htm for a description of the Dumezilian scheme.
[12]The caveat here is that none of these boundaries are impermeable – ultimately the functioning of a Deity is as fluid as His or Her nature and the needs of folk. This becomes very clear in the context of comparative mythology, and the study of how Pagan religions developed in time.
[13] Several writers, Kondratiev and Myers among them, have observed that the role of a Celtic Goddess seems to be that of conferring energy and power, rather than necessarily formulating how that power will be used, which might explain why Goddesses are often more fluid in their roles than Gods. There is a possible analogy here to the Hindu concept of Shakti.
[14] This is a very well known phenomenon, and not at all limited to Indo-European Paganism, or, rather, I should say ,transition from Paganism to Christianity. Probably the most glaring example can be found in Russia, where the conversion was comparatively late, and the life of country folk continued unchanged into modern times. Russian Pagan Deities seemed to have disappeared at first glance, but in fact all of the important ones fairly smoothly transitioned into Sainthood, with rituals and observances often intact. It is almost humorous to observe that the Saints Russian country dweller venerated in daily life – and, for that matter, in church – bore very little resemblance indeed to Christian martyrs and Old Testament Prophets they were supposed to have been, but rather looked very much like Pagan Gods. The ancient Thunderer Perun became Elija, Veles, the Lord of the Underworld, Riches and Cattle, became St. Vlas, and Mokosh, the Goddess of Fate, Weaving and Womenfolk, became St. Paraskeva, whose lore and rituals had nothing at all to do with Christian doctrine, no matter how liberally interpreted. Europe in general abounds with such examples, and in fact, much of what we know about old Pagan way we learn from studying the development of Christianity.
[15] See http://www.maryjones.us/jce/belisama.html for more information.
[16] This last is strictly personal intuition.
[17] This is a conjecture rather than fact, but it is an idea shared by most scholars. There are too many aspects of the Cult at Kildare that resemble other Pagan cults for it to be accidental: the eternal flame, the virgin female attendants, the ban on men, etc.
[18] Agni, a Hindu God whose name literally means “Fire”, is called “The Sacrifice and the Sacrificer” in the Vedas, and no offering could be made without invoking Him.
[19] Sarasvati is one of the three great Hindu Goddesses. She is associated with wisdom, creativity, language, purification, and many other things, including helping Indra defeat the water-hoarding demonic serpent. In Rg Veda She is associated with a Sacred River by the same name. The parallels with Brighid are fairly obvious, and many folks in fact do make the comparison.
[20] In fact, this type of fundamental duality goes so deep into the IE ideology that some scholars have expressed it in terms of dipolar concept of sacrality itself. The idea is that some things maybe “charged with the Sacred”, and therefore positively and benevolently disposed towards men, and others may be “negatively Sacred”, and therefore held in awe, feared, and frequently subject of taboos of various kinds (such as not entering certain places, not killing certain animals, not saying certain things, etc.). Though most Deities would at one time or another fill both categories, some are closer to one pole than another. Clearly Brighid, under this scheme, would be considered “positive” most of the time, at least as we see Her now, and, considering Cormac’s comment, likely in more recent past.
[21] See the “Fire in the Water” chapter in “Comparative Mythology” by Jaan Puhvel
[22] While people often find it humorous that Whiskey is called the Water of Life, the name actually reflects the imagery discussed here – Whiskey is, indeed, Fiery Water. In Slavic legends, on the other hand, there were two Waters: Waters of Death, and Waters of Life. Waters of Death were simple, pure water, which had the power to cleanse, to take things away. Waters of Life was a water that had a special blessing, or power, within it, sometimes associated with Sun-type imagery, and Waters of Life could bring someone back to life. To heal someone with a mortal wound, for example, you needed both Waters, first to mend the wound, and then to infuse the body with life. The alternative names were Dead Water, and Living Water. The implication is clear: the difference between death and life is the presence of Spirit, and Spirit is usually represented by Fire.
[23] Not all Druid organizations see themselves as a religion. OBOD, for instance, defines Druidry as a philosophy, and, at least theoretically, accommodates folks who may be materialists or atheists.
[24] It seems counter-intuitive to think otherwise – after all, why believe in the Divine at all if there can be no effective of meaningful interaction? However, there were, and are, indeed, traditions that think Gods either ineffective or irrelevant, without being entirely atheistic. Epicureanism touches on that, for instance. For more on Epicureans, see Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/
[25] It is also key to traditional Pagan ideology. We can state confidently, as a fact, that European Paganism was ritually polytheistic – that is, the Deities/Spirits were addressed in ritual as if they were many. On the other hand, there were many monistic interpretations in latter days, such as Platonism, Neo-Platonism, Stoicism, and many others, including the development of historic Hinduism.
[26] It is an open and unprovable question as to whether the ancient Druids were fundamentally polytheist or not, though we are quite sure that they were ritually, at least, polytheistic. They worshipped polytheistically, though we may never know what they actually believed, as far as the mystical side of their religion is concerned. It is entirely possible, since ancient Paganism was oriented more towards common practice than common theology, that different traditions of belief may have existed among the Celts, as they did among other, related, peoples. Certainly many different philosophies and cults, borrowed and native, existed among the Greeks, the Romans, and the Hindus. It is quite possible that the intellectual strata of the Celts developed their own spectrum of belief-related traditions, and/or borrowed some elements from other cultures.
[27] In TDB, this is concept is known as the “Principle of Divine Personhood”.
[28] In this context, the name “Godde” denotes the entirety of the Divine. It is, admittedly, an ambiguous term – Godde may be looked upon as primordial One containing All, or the Godhead – that is all the Deities together (including, or not including a great variety of Spirits of Nature, for instance, we may choose to honor – take your pick), or there may be other interpretations. Let this not be a source of confusion, but rather a healthy “open door” to personal interpretation. One of the challenges of developing this version of TdB theology is combining traditional polytheistic Druid ideology with traditionally monotheistic origins of panentheism.
[29] This statement, indeed, defines Godde as fundamentally creative, which flows into the discussion below.
[30] In the language of Process Theology, Godde’s power is a power of persuasion rather than coercion. See the Wikipedia articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_theology.
[31] The term was, in fact, coined by Plato in “The Republic”.
[32] Physics, in fact, does deal in more than three spatial coordinates, but this is in the context of theories that are not in any way part and parcel of our organic physical perception. String theory, for instance, postulates either 10 or 11 space-time dimensions, but one should keep in mind that these “extra” dimensions are also postulated to be so small as to be unobservable by conventional means – as individuals existing in a “macro” world, we neither observe them, nor are influenced by them.
[33] There has been discussion regarding whether this should be compassion or love. I am not at this point attempting to choose. It is a complicated issue in and of itself, and probably best left for later. For now, let’s just assume it’s one or the other.
[34] “RELIGION AND CREATIVE EXPERIENCE” by Charles Hartshorne. You can read the entire article here: http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/Hartshorne/3religioncreativeexperienc.html
[35] To the best of my knowledge, the concept was introduced in the context of Proto-Indo-European religion by Ceisiwr Serith. (http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/ritual/theory/ritualessays.htm) He actually calls it *Xartus, where the * denotes that it is a reconstructed PIE word, and “X” is pronounced as either “h” or “ch”, or somewhere in-between. PIE is a postulated language at the root of all IE language family. It probably existed before IE diaspora. Study of PIE people and language is useful to a Druid because it bridges the gap between various cultures related to the Celts, and provides us with a generally applicable ideology and even root-language. In this case, I drop the “X” because it disappeared from English, and anything approaching “proper” pronunciation will sound somewhat funky to a modern speaker. Additionally, some dictionaries do give the root a “-ar” as opposed to “-xar”.
[36] The term “Artus” was ultimately renamed “Art” in the context of TDB theology and became one of our Three Mysteries.
[37] Erik Homburger Erikson (June 15, 1902 – May 12, 1994) was a Jewish German developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings, and for coining the phrase identity crisis. – Wikipedia.
[38] Consider Sophia as an aspect of Judeo-Christian God, for instance, or, a little closer to our IE spectrum, consider Athena, who is born from the head of Zeus.
[39] There is an interesting Islamic quote that goes like this: “Allah gives life to the hearts with the light of wisdom as Allah gives life to the dead earth with the abundant rain of the sky.” While we, as Druids, hardly think of the Earth as “dead”, it is nevertheless interesting to consider the implications of life being defined in terms of Wisdom.
[40] Interpretatio romana is a Latin term for the common tendency of ancient Romans to equate foreign divinities to members of their own pantheon. Ancient Greeks had the same habit.
[41] For more on the Fili, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fili. Alternatively, Mary Jones’ site is a good resource, and Ellis talks about them in “The Druids”.
[42] It would be interesting to consider the implications and connections between healing and the concept of love promoting integrity of all sorts both within an individual and within a group. Classical process theology considers reality to be a matrix of interrelated experiences – those experiences being instants of complex, creative events, including both mental constructs that result from sensory input and thought processing in thinking individuals, physical aspects of events, and all possible characteristics in general. Each human being contains a microcosm of the Universe in the sense that we are all composed of the experiences of our constituent parts. From a certain point of view, to heal is to strengthen and balance the bonds between these experiences, so that the whole functions as it is meant to function.
[43] “What Do Druids Believe?” by Philip Carr-Gomm, p. 39
[44] Ian Corrigan “Discussing Pagan Theology”
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