Suggestions as to the purpose of the successive rebirths of Druids can be found if we review the goals that play a central role in this modern religious and spiritual movement.
We can be said to seek above all else the cultivation of creativity, love, and wisdom, and the amount of times we reincarnate gives us the chance to most fully develop these qualities within ourselves.
Creativity
Bards have long been viewed as active participants in the practice of Druidry thanks to their transmitting our lore in song and story since the earliest days.
Celtic cultures display reverence for art and music and frequently depict a sensuously beautiful world in which artists and craftsmen are honoured in the extreme.
These days, many are drawn to the practice of Druidry because they sense it is the kind of spirituality that calls on them to develop their own creativity. Instead of emphasising the idea that the physical world is a temporary one and demanding that we focus on the afterlife, Druidism’s message is that we should participate wholly in our earthly lives and fully express our individual visions.
Love
The Druidic reverence for the natural world encourages us to love the land we live on as well as inspires us to create peace wherever we go. And this path’s reverence for beauty in all its forms inspires the cultivation of the Bard within, helping us manifest creativity in our everyday lives.
Your work as a bank teller, enjoyment of occasional action has to offer, and taking pleasure at sipping good wine with close friends and family could all be examples of the pursuit of Love.
Druidism aims to develop the love of justice, as mentioned in the Druid’s Prayer, the deep affection of story and myth, the fondness of history and our ancestors, and a tenderness for trees. Then there is the intimacy that it is possible to feel with stones, expressed in our work in building stone circles and working with crystals, and the attachment we have to truth. The goal can be achieved in how we endear ourselves to animals, our devotion to our bodies, and our regard for its needs and requirements.
We encourage practitioners to form bonds with one another and so develop their sense of relationship and community and, perhaps above all, to foster a profound appreciation for life and living by committing fully to it in all its vagaries.
Wisdom
Two ancient Teaching Stories tell us more about the goal of achieving wisdom. The first is the tale of Ireland’s Fionn Mac Cumhail and the other is Wales’ legend of Taliesin.
In both these stories, insight is being sought by an older person and in each, a younger one ends up achieving it. These chronicles do not simply instruct us on the virtues of helpfulness and innocence, they contain clear directives for achieving a deeper understanding of the world and our place within it.
