lunes, 27 de octubre de 2014
Lost Treasures Of The Ancient World - The Celts 2
This is the second part of the Documentary about "The Celts" as I promess before I hope you enjoy it!!!
¿WHY DRUIDRY WAS IMPORTANT TO CELTIC PEOPLE?
After reading a couple of things about history I discovered that CELTS believed in “Druidry” which was a mystic type of “religion” and it represented a big part of society durinf that time. It was really interesting and I hope you can enjoy it as much I did.
From:http://www.brendanmyers.net/wickedrabbit/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article&id=9
Druidry is a spiritual tradition which emphasizes the sacredness of our social relations, philosophical knowledge, artistic creativity, and especially the Earth and all of its wonders. Emerging from the culture of the Celtic people from the Heroic age, and from various Celtic revival movements in the eighteenth and twentieth century, modern Druidry honours the old Celtic gods, and finds spiritual merit in Celtic folk traditions, music, poetry, and environmentalism. Its moral teachings promote a "heroic" way of life based on the virtues of courage, honour, generosity, friendship, and truth.
Historical origins
Similarly, as very few written records survive from this period, there is nothing like an ancient Druidic sacred text. Yet much of the history and social values of the Celts were recorded by Greek and Roman observers, and Celtic mythology was generously recorded for posterity by early Celtic Christian monks. In this early literature we find the most important stories of the gods, heroes, and predecessors which contemporary Druids honour as teachers and role-models. Although these texts are not treated as sources of absolute dogmatic authority, they certainly are treated as sources of important spiritual and culturalinspiration.
Between the sixth and tenth centuries, most Celtic people converted to Christianity, and the "old ways" dwindled into folklore. Yet Druidry has been revived several times and in various ways over the last three hundred years. The first major revival began in eighteenth century Britain, when certain English antiquarians, Protestant clergymen, and a few Freemasons began to study the stone circles and artificial hills and other ancient monuments of the British landscape. They believed that those monuments were built by Celts as temples for the Druidic religion. They also believed that the builders knew something about God, and were expressing that knowledge in the alignments, proportions, and architectural designs of their monuments. We now know that they were built by a Neolithic people, who pre-dated the Celts by many centuries. However, this first revival introduced ideas which remain influential in modern Druidry, such as the spiritual significance of history, folklore, landscapes, and the natural world. Druids today continue to be inspired by these monuments, and often use them for ceremony and other religious purposes. Indeed such monuments, and the landscapes that surround them, are often treated by today's Druids as the "text" in which one may "read" the presence of the divine.
Druidic Ideas
Some of the major teachings of modern Druidry include:
The Fire in the Head. This is the name that contemporary Druids use for the experience of being magically "inspired". Someone who experiences this fire may become very artistically productive, or strongly motivated to do something of great worth and merit.
From:http://www.brendanmyers.net/wickedrabbit/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article&id=9
Druidry is a spiritual tradition which emphasizes the sacredness of our social relations, philosophical knowledge, artistic creativity, and especially the Earth and all of its wonders. Emerging from the culture of the Celtic people from the Heroic age, and from various Celtic revival movements in the eighteenth and twentieth century, modern Druidry honours the old Celtic gods, and finds spiritual merit in Celtic folk traditions, music, poetry, and environmentalism. Its moral teachings promote a "heroic" way of life based on the virtues of courage, honour, generosity, friendship, and truth.
Druidry begins with the history of the Irish, Scots, Welsh, the Gauls, and other Celtic people of the Heroic Age (from the beginning of the Bronze Age until the end of the Iron Age). Theirs was a warrior culture, politically divided into hundreds of independant tribes, but with broadly similar languages, religious customs, and social organizations. The Druid was a member of the religious and intellectual caste of the Celtic people, responsible for education, justice, law, and various religious rituals.
Drombeg
stone circle
Thus there is no single person who modern Druids look to as the founder
of the tradition.
Similarly, as very few written records survive from this period, there is nothing like an ancient Druidic sacred text. Yet much of the history and social values of the Celts were recorded by Greek and Roman observers, and Celtic mythology was generously recorded for posterity by early Celtic Christian monks. In this early literature we find the most important stories of the gods, heroes, and predecessors which contemporary Druids honour as teachers and role-models. Although these texts are not treated as sources of absolute dogmatic authority, they certainly are treated as sources of important spiritual and culturalinspiration.
Between the sixth and tenth centuries, most Celtic people converted to Christianity, and the "old ways" dwindled into folklore. Yet Druidry has been revived several times and in various ways over the last three hundred years. The first major revival began in eighteenth century Britain, when certain English antiquarians, Protestant clergymen, and a few Freemasons began to study the stone circles and artificial hills and other ancient monuments of the British landscape. They believed that those monuments were built by Celts as temples for the Druidic religion. They also believed that the builders knew something about God, and were expressing that knowledge in the alignments, proportions, and architectural designs of their monuments. We now know that they were built by a Neolithic people, who pre-dated the Celts by many centuries. However, this first revival introduced ideas which remain influential in modern Druidry, such as the spiritual significance of history, folklore, landscapes, and the natural world. Druids today continue to be inspired by these monuments, and often use them for ceremony and other religious purposes. Indeed such monuments, and the landscapes that surround them, are often treated by today's Druids as the "text" in which one may "read" the presence of the divine.
Druidic Ideas
Some of the major teachings of modern Druidry include:
The Fire in the Head. This is the name that contemporary Druids use for the experience of being magically "inspired". Someone who experiences this fire may become very artistically productive, or strongly motivated to do something of great worth and merit.
The Immortality of the Soul. Historians from Greece and Rome observed that the Iron-age Celts believed that their souls are immortal, and survive death. Some accounts suggested that the soul passes into the Otherworld, and lives out another life; other accounts suggest that the Druidic teaching was similar to that of the Pythagoreans, who held that the soul changes into other forms of life. In any case, it is clear that the Druids encouraged this belief, as it made the warriors fearless in battle.
The Otherword. As many of the legends and mythologies attest, ancient Celts believed that there is another world beyond the mortal realm in which we presently dwell, which is home to the souls of the dead, and to the most powerful and important of the gods. Mythology places the "location" of the Otherworld in the sky, beneath the surface of the earth but accessible in passage mounds and wells, and also on a chain of islands in the Atlantic. Some parts of the Otherworld have their own names, such as "Tir na nog", (Land of Youth), or "Caer Arianrhod" (the Castle of Arianrhod).
The Wheel of the Year. Contemporary Druidry's calendar has eight annual festivals: the summer and winter solstice, the spring and fall equinox, and four "cross quarter" days associated with farming and agriculture. The festival "wheel" begins at Samhain (1st November), and each festival is roughly six weeks apart.
The Sacred Truth. This principle, derived from the Wisdom Teachings of Ireland and other literary sources, is the name Druids use for the spiritual dimension of certain social principles, especially justice. The Sacred Truth is like a force at work in the world, such that the person who lives in accord with it finds that her life goes well, and the person who lives contrary to it finds her life difficult and frustrating.
Environmentalism. The old Celtic gods were said to dwell within landscapes, "beneath the hollow hills", under the surface of lakes and rivers, and in the sun and moon. Indeed certain kinds of weather, especially fog and mist, were said to hide the movements of the gods and also grant a seeker passage into their otherworldly realm. It is also known that the ancient Druids located their most important sacred places in remote places, especially forest groves. Because of these associations, the modern-day revival of Druidry is also strongly related to certain cultural movements of the twentieth century, especially including the care and protection of the environment.
The Otherword. As many of the legends and mythologies attest, ancient Celts believed that there is another world beyond the mortal realm in which we presently dwell, which is home to the souls of the dead, and to the most powerful and important of the gods. Mythology places the "location" of the Otherworld in the sky, beneath the surface of the earth but accessible in passage mounds and wells, and also on a chain of islands in the Atlantic. Some parts of the Otherworld have their own names, such as "Tir na nog", (Land of Youth), or "Caer Arianrhod" (the Castle of Arianrhod).
The Wheel of the Year. Contemporary Druidry's calendar has eight annual festivals: the summer and winter solstice, the spring and fall equinox, and four "cross quarter" days associated with farming and agriculture. The festival "wheel" begins at Samhain (1st November), and each festival is roughly six weeks apart.
The Sacred Truth. This principle, derived from the Wisdom Teachings of Ireland and other literary sources, is the name Druids use for the spiritual dimension of certain social principles, especially justice. The Sacred Truth is like a force at work in the world, such that the person who lives in accord with it finds that her life goes well, and the person who lives contrary to it finds her life difficult and frustrating.
Environmentalism. The old Celtic gods were said to dwell within landscapes, "beneath the hollow hills", under the surface of lakes and rivers, and in the sun and moon. Indeed certain kinds of weather, especially fog and mist, were said to hide the movements of the gods and also grant a seeker passage into their otherworldly realm. It is also known that the ancient Druids located their most important sacred places in remote places, especially forest groves. Because of these associations, the modern-day revival of Druidry is also strongly related to certain cultural movements of the twentieth century, especially including the care and protection of the environment.
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