Skipping church and other thoughts . . .

Last week, we learned about Druidism and then we went to our own church, where two of us were signed up as altar servers that day. This week, we didn't make it to Mass, and we didn't have a chance to visit another church.

Do you feel as if you must go to church every week? Or do you feel as if it's no big deal if you don't go? For instance, we didn't go to church today but does this mean that we can't pray or reflect on our deeds? We don't go to church every single week. Sometimes we visit a different church. Here is a picture of a Catholic church we visited while we were on vacation in August:

Some weeks, somebody in the family doesn't feel well, or we just have a very busy weekend. We wonder how most people feel about going to a church of a different religion. Would you feel that this would not be loyal to your own beliefs, or that it "doesn't count?"

In this post, we'd also like to share more facts about Druidism. Last week, our hosts D and T gave us some background information about Druidry, for example, Druids originated in England, Scotland and Ireland, and Druids draw practices and traditions from Arthurian legends. We are familiar with the legends of King Arthur, and we knew that Merlin is a Druid from the stories. Our host told us about another famous Druid, the poet William Blake. We have read Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience. Druids also draw their practices on deities individual to their elements. These deities are associated with the four elements (air, fire, water and earth) and to the land surrounding the worship space. Our host called on the Great Bear of the North, the Fierce Hawk of the East, and the Swift Stag of the South, and the Snapping Turtle of the West.

Some Druids might not feel comfortable about sharing their religion. As our hosts told us last week, the word "pagan" has many negative connotations--therefore, many Druids face prejudice. This means that you might know a lot more Druids than you think! Mainstream religions such as Christianity and Judaism define themselves with symbols, such as crosses, or the star of David. Druids also have symbols that they might often recognize each other with.  Here is a photo of a pendant that our host T wears:

It is a good idea to be familiar with the symbols of various religions, because it can make you more aware of the many different ideas and beliefs in the world.


-Soklabi

"Live as you would and let people discover who you are and what you do"

Today, we were invited to visit the home of one of our mother’s colleagues who happens to be a practicing Druid.  She was willing to show us her worship space and some of the items used in her practice. As Druids generally worship outside, we were not surprised to see an outdoor circle raked in the leaves. We entered the circle from the west, facing the sunrise. Inside the circle, there was an altar and four mounds of stones in each of the four directions (north, south, east, and west). On the stones were objects symbolizing the four elements, one in each direction. There was earth for North, feathers for air for the East, fire for South, and water for West. She showed us her Grove opening ceremony. During the opening, she invoked a circle of protection to protect the circle and make it sacred. She said the Druid prayer of peace, purified the sacred circle, performed a chant and said another prayer. 

At that point, it was pretty cold outside, so we went inside her house. Inside her house, there were symbols of Druidism, such as an orange candle, which she explained stood for Fire and Air mixed together. She lights it when she wants to be inspired, since Fire and Air are elements she identifies with. She also explained and showed us that she had an Earth room, since the qualities of Earth were the ones she most lacked. Inside the Earth room, which was painted brown with trees, there was a small altar, a closet with some of her beautiful Druid robes, and many, many books. She invited us to take a look at the items.

We were soon joined by another member of her grove. We are going to identify them by initials—our host is D, her grove member is T. At that point, we were able to interview them both. They gave thoughtful and extended answers to our questions, and we really learned a lot from their responses.

Interview

Q. Do you believe in an after life?

A. Not all Druids believe in an after life but if they do, they see it in a different way then most people. Many Druids believe in reincarnation, and they also believe that not only humans have souls—trees and animals can all have spirits, so we can communicate with trees or animals.

Q. Do Druids have to make a pilgrimage?

A. Druids do not have to make a pilgrimage, but ruins are a source of inspiration and some Druids like to visit ruins, especially in the UK—Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor are some of the most popular places to visit.

Q. Do you have a celebration every week?

A. Not every week, but there are 8 main celebrations during the year that almost all Druids celebrate (see the drawing of the Druid calendar in our previous post).

Q. Why did you choose Druidism?

D: I was raised in a fundamental evangelical Christian faith. I always loved nature as a child and when I discovered Druidism I said, "That’s what I am.” I felt like I had come home when I discovered Druidism.

T: I grew up in a conservative Jewish home, but my father encouraged me to ask questions, and I did have a lot of questions as I was growing up. As an adult, I was introduced to Native American theology, which shares a lot of similarities with Druidism. My husband was studying Druidism, and had lots of books on the subject, so I first learned a lot about Druidism from all those books. Later on, I traveled to England, and stayed there for about a year, and explored Druidism there as ll.

We also asked them both questions about being open about practicing Druidism, and how people react when they learn that a person is practicing Druidism. We also wanted to know about children raised as Druids. These questions will be in the next post, and we will also be posting the rest of the interview from our Universal Unitarian friends.

As always, we would love to hear from people who practice the religions we are studying. If you would like to leave a comment that adds to our explorations, please do so!