Druid Priesthood

The Druidic Priesthood is one of the oldest still-functioning Chapters on planet Earth. With a long history stretching back into the mists of pre-history, the Druids are heirs to centuries of wisdom, learning and Magick. 
The teachings of Druidism have changed little despite the passage of millennia. They believe primarily in the interconnectedness of all things, the importance of being in harmony with nature, the reality of what they call the Otherworld (ie, the Omniverse), the existence of supernatural beings, and especially in reincarnation. 
The emphasis that Druids place on reincarnation and the cyclical-nature of existence is so strong that many Druids are famed for having a complete lack of fear even in the face of certain death. 
AKA: The Druids, the Oak-Keepers, the Priests of the Wood. 
== Facts: ==
-The Druids exist to research, safeguard and pass on knowledge of the great mysteries of nature. This includes knowledge over life and death, awareness of Gaia, and the ability to reach out to The Creator. 
-The Druids are master wielders of Magick and their knowledge of natural resources, herbal remedies, supernatural allies, and wilderness warfare makes them feared even by enemies with modern weaponry. 
-The Druid Priesthood is located primarily in Europe where the Chapter was started, thousands of years ago, presumably among the ancient Celtic peoples. The Chapter has since spread to other parts of the world, but the oldest Strongholds of the Druids are deep within Europe. 
-The Druid Priesthood is thoroughly Pagan in origin. It has changed, subtly, to accommodate new religions and culture, but at its core, Druidism remains fundamentally a primitive religion based simply on the awe and awareness of the great mystery of nature and existence. 
-The Druidic Priesthood has no single text or set of dogma. The Druids exist to experience and study the mystery of existence itself, and to accumulate and pass on acquired wisdom. This means that multiple Tribes can be found in the Chapter, but these tend to be nature-based religions or ones whose principle theology can be related back to nature. 
-Most regions where a sizable amount of Druids are present will have a High Druid, someone whose seniority makes them the natural leader and tie-breaker among their kind. There can only be one High Druid at a time and they essentially are the grand master for their respective region. While they do not wield absolute authority, their rank and position affords them great influence among their peers. 
-With such a strong emphasis on nature and harmony with the natural cycles of things, it should come as little surprise that the one Order most closely associated with the Druidic Priesthood is the Order of Naturalists. 
-Other Orders have great representation within the Druids, especially the Remnant, Creationists, Pagans, Witches, and Theists. But the Gaians are clearly the flagship of the Chapter. 
-Druids prefer to make their Strongholds only in natural places, often far out in the wilderness they are in their element. 
-Sacred Groves, places of Gaian energy, are sought out by the Druids for protection. The greatest Strongholds of the Druids are always built around Sacred Groves. 
-One of the concurrent religious themes within Druidism is the belief in Reincarnation. The modern Druid Priesthood still believes that a soul must pass through several incarnations on Earth before attaining some kind of salvation or ascendancy. 
-Among modern Druids, there are said to be three 'Druid Virtues,' which are Wisdom, Creativity and Love. 
-Megaliths, or large stones moved into patterned formations, are closely associated with the Druids. Sacred Groves frequently include some form of Megalithic formations. 
-The Druid Priesthood emerged in ancient Celtic culture. They will be favored by the Celtic Pantheon of Pagan Gods because of this. 
== Heirs of Europa: ==
Before the rise of the steely Empire of Rome, the Druids ruled Celtic Europe from the Black Sea to Ireland and beyond. This was a time of myth and magick, of mighty heroes and colossal monsters. The gods walked the Earth daily, unlike today when they are so often hidden and foreign. This was a time when Sacred Groves were plentiful and civilization dispersed. 
Back then, the Druids walked the paths of the deepest woods alongside ancient beasts and communed with now forgotten entities. They studied at the feet of Gaia herself, and performed vast magickal Rituals the likes of which are largely unknown today. 
The Druids suffered terribly with the advance of Rome. Roman culture, as well as its armies, conquered the Druids by leading the people out of the forests and into the over-crowded cities teeming with vice and unhealthy wisdom. 
This same process was repeated, but at an accelerated rate, by the emergence of Christianity, which the Druids recognized as a second Roman invasion. This time, the Druids were cut to the heart. Christianity led the people away from nature and into the embrace of what they saw as a cold and lifeless religion, but one which brought social acceptance and advancement. 
The Druids suffered terribly, but they did not die. They refused to give up their ways, and here and there the Old Religion managed to survive within communities who still lived close to nature, as well as among true believers who managed to live within Roman-dominated society but secretly kept their practices alive. 
Tales of 'Cunning Folk' and hedge witches during the Dark Ages have their origins in surviving communities of practitioners of Druidism. 
== Open Theology: ==
The Druidic Priesthood may or may not be a 'religion' depending on exactly how that word is defined. Druidism does not entail a specific set of dogmatic principle like so many modern religions do. There is no Druid 'creed' or 'Bible,' nor is there a set corpus of works like the Hermetic Corpus among the Alchemists. 
Druidism is really an ancient tradition, complete with certain aesthetic elements and accumulated wisdom, which revolves around the simple existential awe of existence itself. Druids were born when man first glimpsed his world with an eye of wonder and his spirit soared with possibilities. 
More specific forms of religion can be found within Druidism - some Druids hold strictly to a kind of Animism, others embrace Polytheism, Monotheism, Pantheism, etc. However, they are all equally Druids, since they all hold to the ancient customs and awe of nature. 
== Web of Life: ==
The ancient Druids saw the world as a complex system of life, an inter-weaving web of connections and life-forms which formed together to make up existence. The Source, known in some Celtic traditions as The Dagda, was first in this mythology. 
Gaia was second since she was regarded as the first creation. Gaia has always been given the place of most importance in Druidic tradition because she is held to be the sum total of all things, with The Source being more of a Prime-Mover rather than a strict Supreme Being. To the Druid mind, the awe of existence and awe of nature were one and the same, so really all forms of Druidism contain at their core the basic idea of nature-worship. 
Next came the mighty Pagan Gods, the Fey, the Dracon, and spirits galore... The Druidic Preisthood has always welcomed Adepts of all the Orders, even the Fallen. 
== Druidic Orders: ==
The Druid Priesthood in ancient times was divided into three castes, known colloquially as the Druidic Orders. Each of these orders had a set of duties which it was in charge of, duties which sustained society and helped keep the people organized. 
Modern Druidism still awards these orders in the form of Titles to its members. 
-Bards = Bards were the channels of nature's creativity. They were the major keepers of Druidic Lore, but also served as social functionaries, heralds, news announcers, entertainers, etc. The pinnacle of a Bard's life was using their art to give respect to Gaia herself and the gods. 
-Ovates = These were healers who knew much of Herbalism and basic anatomy. They were skilled in the use of healing magick as well. 
-Seers = These Druids concerned themselves with Fate and were practitioners of strong Divination Magick. They often acted as advisors to kings and other important leaders. 
== Druidic Lore / Oral Tradition: ==
In times past, Druids were bound by ancient practice never to commit their vast Lore and wisdom to pen and paper. This law is not quite as strictly enforced as it once was, many Druids today are perfectly okay with writing down their accumulated knowledge. However, the deeper stuff, the actual magickal Lore that is Druidic Lore, is reserved for oral memory alone among many within the priesthood. 
Druidic Lore should be treated as a Craft of Magick and the more Druidic Lore a character has, the more kinds of magick they will be capable of. 
It needs to be stressed that Druidic Lore is not easy to learn. In the time of Ceasar and the Roman Empire, it was said that full Druid training would often take up to twenty years! Druidic Lore is potent stuff and can only be understood through deep mystical and spiritual learning, to say nothing of Herbalism Craft Magick, Astrology, etc. 
== Children of the Land: ==
Druids are sacred to Gaia and the landscape itself favors them. Druids are beings of healing and creation, their presence in an ecosystem is beneficial. Druids strive to keep society in touch with Gaia and the land itself will help protect them. 
Should an enemy attempt to track down and attack a Druid in their home, they can expect to be thwarted often by small but very inconvenient mishaps. The weather will turn harsh, mosquitoes may begin to swarm around the attackers, mud will cake their shoes and slow them down, and the wind will always seem cold and in their face. They may even suffer animals or elemental attacks (ie, lightning strikes, hail, etc.). 
This feature of Druidism will not hold true everywhere. Druids usually choose to associate with one locale over all others and it is here that this effect will guard them. Because Druids like to set down roots and stay, they are often known by the environment in which they live, so you'll have Desert Druids, Safari Druids, Forest Druids, Ocean Druids, etc. 
== Animal Skins: ==
An ancient practice among Druids is the Craft of Shapeshifting via the donning of animal skins. This kind of potent magic is only capable through the accumulation of much Druidic Lore. Those Druids who learn to do it can change forms into various animals, often with minor supernatural abilities to boot. 
Druids will choose a particular species of animal as their favored form (wolf, boar, stag, etc.). This will endear the Druid in question to the Totem spirit of that species, giving the Druid a potent ally. 
== Ancient Druids: ==
Some Druids accumulate so much Lore and spiritual might that the land itself will not allow them to die. These few Druids have attained such a strong link to Gaia that, should they die, their bodies will not decay but instead be recycled by the land itself. 
As long as the Druid's body is returned to the Earth, the land will restore the Druid to life, who will then promptly emerge from the soil restored of all wounds. This state of being, essentially, means the Druid has achieved immortality. 
Needless to say, with centuries of accumulated Druidic Lore, such members of the Druid Priesthood will be powerful beings indeed! 
== Feral Druids: ==
Sadly, some Druids may have spent just a little too much time alone out in the wilderness. Some Druids lose themselves to the ways of the animals and plants, so much so that they have lost their humanity and begin to behave like beasts themselves.
Accounts of Feral Druids are rare in modern times, mostly because the Druid Priesthood isn't nearly as large as it used to be, but Feral Druids may occasionally become a problem. 
Feral Druids, if left to continue in their madness, will lose any semblance of human thought. They will zealously guard their territory from all invaders, even going so far as to attack and drive off other Druids! 
== Modern Druids: ==
Playing a modern-day Druid would entail many possibilities. Druids of today would dress and behave like secular people do, but they would incorporate the ancient Druid way of life in subtle and important ways. They may forego sneakers and boots for sandals, or they may wear only clothes with earthen-colors. Veganism, hiking, animal-care, Environmentalism and Conservation are all things near and dear to the hearts of modern Druids. 
== References: ==
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid
-https://www.druidry.org/druid-way/druid-beliefs
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIESbPEpEyE
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW6KGhg5s4Q&t=728s
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkvoKrCBJao
Category:Druid
Category:Gaia
Category:Chapter