beltane

History: It was a celebration of the fertility of the land and their animals. The main traditional element which was common to all Beltane festivals was the fire which gave it its name. All the fires of the community would be extinguished and a new, sacred ‘Need Fire’ was lit. (ref: beltane.org)

Emma Restall Orr (1998), a modern day Druid, speaks of the 'fertility of our personal creativity'. She is referring to the need for active and creative lives. We need fertile minds for our work, our families and our interests. Fire is still the most important element of most Beltane celebrations and there are many traditions associated with it. It is seen to have purifying qualities which cleanse and revitalise. People leap over the Beltane fire to bring good fortune, fertility (of mind, body and spirit) and happiness through the coming year.

Real Spirits?

"The difference between a real spirit and a spirit which we imagine at an idle moment or while reading a horror story is that the former connects with realms of energy and consciousness and the power of the deep mind, while the latter is more or less constructed by the ego and connects with very little. Its shape is like an emplty shell. The real spirt will have a mind of its own and enough power to upset the ego if needed, while the constructed spirit will simply reflect our wishful thinking, and this is a vast difference, no matter that thier bodies are equally imaginary."
(Fries, 2006)

The Druid Philosophy

According to Restall-Orr (2008), "...Druidy is unambiguoulsy polythestic: it accepts that there are not one but countless gods. As far as archaeologists and historians can access and understand the clues left by time, Druidry always has been polytheistic and contiunues to be so."

How does that apply to me:

Who is right? Which philosophy has the answers? I know which ones are more acceptable to mainstream society. I know which ones are deemed to be nothing more than romantic links to a bygone day. I also know what my experience is and how it relates to the theories and practices I have read so far. Restall-Orr's words make sense: "...if we get stuck in the sticky details of other's visions and experience, we can quickly find ourselves tying to accept or believe in something that doesn't settle naturally within us."

Ancestor Knowledge

I am very interested in how we know what we know. I don't mean the knowledge, facts, stats etc we get out of books, or that we learn from the TV, radio or from talking to others. I mean the knowledge and information that is stored deep within our own souls and our minds, the intimate knowledge unique to each person.

The runes
The rune Othala relates to community, kin, family and ancestors and inheritance. Gundarsson (1990/3) writes that, "...this inheritance may include not only genetic material inherited from one's physical ancestors, but the spiritual legacy of one's previous lives." Paxson (2005) suggests that "...rather than physical inheritance, Othala may indicate connection with an ethnic group-soul."

The Druid Concept
IN her book (2004), Emma Restall Orr comments that, "...at any time, an ancestral soul may touch the cells that ignite the moment of conception. Created by the spark of the spirit, the soul establishes its link to the zygote, guiding its development from there. Thus our ancestors become our descendants... " She goes on to say that, "Listening to our ancestral songs, finding the notes of our genes, our history, blood and bones, the wash of continuity through evolution is exquisite, sometimes painful but always poignant."

Collective Unconscious
This is the one I struggle with. I am least able to understand psycho-babble....... Carl Jung coined the term "collective unconscious" to explain the idea that each of us share knowledge and experiences common to all humanity. Jensen et al (1997) comment that the collective unconscious is, "a reservoir of the experience of our species." This collective unconscious is separate to the personal subconscious, which is particular to each human being.