Druidic Teaching Principles

History, as recorded by the Romans, dictates that Druids were the writers, the scribes, and further dictates that the Druids were stingy with their information, arts, and learning. This is not surprising; the Romans did not work very hard to learn things outside of their own cultural mindset, believing that their own knowledge and beliefs were "the best", and to take the time to indulge in Druid ancestral lore would have kept the Romans from their important wars and conquests.

The Romans were in a hurry to cement their power, and as imperialists, it was necessary that they devote the majority of their attention to looking for the weaknesses of other cultures instead of learning by example and indoctrinating "viable" customs into their own culture.

The Romans were smart, as beasts are smart, but they tended to exercise pure, cold and deductive logic at the cost of wisdom, inductive reasoning, and the open-door policy of allowing "possibility" - an essential component to creative magic as exercised by the Whole, rather than the One. Romans attempted to shift the Creative Realm into a motor driven by the Individual, and while that worked to some extent, it has delayed the progress and harmony of Humanity for at least a thousand years.

Before the advent of Romanized Christianity, Druids had been rather free and easy in their educational approach. Anyone who wanted to learn could do so, simply by asking questions, and by being expected to observe their environment. The Ancient and Elder Druids believed less in "teaching" than they did in simply allowing students to learn, believing that Group Consciousness would contribute to the overall vantage point of the tribe and the culture as a whole.

It is true that Druids knew how to write, and to inscribe runes, but by no means was every Druid automatically a master poet, nor was he undisputed as a Sage. The solitary Druids were the ones who traveled to many lands, and would often pick up pointers here and there in others' language. This did not make the Druid a "master" of languages, but simply reflected his ability to absorb and remember his impressions from other cultures.

There were other Druids who traveled who never did get the hang of written language - but might have been good at repeating the bird calls he heard in one land or another. There was nothing secretive about this knowledge, and there was no particular store set to talents or ability to remember trivia. Other Druids who traveled might have been lousy at both writing or rendering sounds, but might be very good at verbally describing rocks he had seen in faraway places, or the animals he had seen who moved like "this" or hunted like "that", and his fellow Druids would listen and marvel at the wonderful tales of other lands.

The Druids tried very hard not to draw conclusions, but simply allowed their minds and hearts to be receptive to new impressions. Since Druids believed there was no such thing as a "Master" among men, every man was considered a Master of his own Expression. Some Druids were a little better at this than others, but no man was considered a failure. There was no measurement of success of failure, since failure or success depended entirely upon what the individual wanted to accomplish, and was measured only by his own appraisal as to how close he was to his "intent" and the actual "creation" of that intent.

There were no "drawing boards" for Druids to go back to. It is more likely they went back to the "sketching rock", and attempted to reconfigure their own projects of interest.

A Druid was never considered "educated". At best, a Druid was considered "informed". What happened to the Druid from that point was in large point the responsibility of the Druid, but also accounted for Chance, and not the least the opportunities and choices available to the Druid, and who could say what was right for one Druid over another?

Nearly all Druids were taught at least the basics - Naturalism, Runery, and Relationship. What this meant was that all children Druids were taught the basics of what was known about animals, trees, birds, harvests, seasons, and the sun, sky and moon. The little Druids were also taught how to read and write Runes of various faiths, and to learn to divinate to some extent, and to write Wyrd, also known as the forwards and backwards of Destiny. Lastly, the Druid was taught to understand not just an object or a life-form, but its apparent relationship with other life-forms. Little Druids were taught that the Sun, the Sky, and the Moon, were reflections of Life, and that all three commanded the great realms of the Earth, and that all things upon the Earth could be seen or associated with any one of the three creative Realms of the Universe and Spirit.

In short, the little Druids were educated upon their environment, and given a philosophic foundation upon which to relate with that environment. By this point the little Druid had a functional vocabulary, and could begin to equate and work things out for himself, and this is exactly what all boy and girl Druids were allowed to do. An elder Druid considered his only job was to answer every question put to him as informedly and honestly as he knew how, and to correct bad patterns of logic or assumption by pointing out the possibilities that might have conflicted with the little Wizard's posit or hypothesis.

Little Druids were taught that all Life is sacred and has function within the Wheel of Life; they were taught that they as individuals had Creative Choice and Responsibility within the three Realms; and they were taught to enjoy What Is, and to conceive What Might Be. They were not allowed to "serve" as full Druids until they had truly learned the meaning of Service, that which entailed a commitment to the Divine Plan, and to work only with the positive energy created by their fellow humans and co-Creators.

Love, Galadriel
6/08/2004
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