Druids:
Clergy at Large to the Pagan Community
"How
can you be a Druid?" they ask. "Where is the
Celtic community you serve?" And it is true that back
in the day of the Druids of old, they were, amongst other roles,
clergy for the Celtic community. But today there is no Celtic community,
at least not in the sense that there was in the historical past.
For one thing, there is not a single village in Wales, Ireland,
Scotland, the Isle of Mann, Cornwall, Brittany or Galicia, where
a majority of the populace are worshipping the old gods. There are
many that speak a Celtic tongue, and many that have preserved at
least some of the old ways, but few follow the old gods. If this
is certainly true in the Celtic homelands, than surely it is true
of the diaspora as well.
So
who do we modern Druids minister to?
First,
we minister to the Earth Mother. Now is the time for environmental
activism, and we Druids should be in the forefront of the healers
of Gaia. Now some will even deride us for this, and call us "Treehuggers."
So be it! I'm proud to be a Treehugger.
Second,
we minister to our families and to each other. We're also the builders
of communities of our fellow Druids.
Third,
we minister to those who have no minister. The Pagan community today
is largely a community of solitaires. These are a people of diverse
beliefs who have, for whatever reason, chosen to honor their gods
alone. The fact is very few people join covens or groves, or have
had the opportunity to do so. Many more have purposely avoided membership
in groups, and others have been members in the past, but are now
burned out and seek solitude. It is to these we Druids are "on
call," for when they need to be handfasted, or when they give
birth, when they need counseling or when their loved ones are called
upon to wish them well on their journey to the Summerlands, we Druids
are there.
For
when it comes right down to it, there is only one Nation, one Tribe,
one People, and we Druids are Mother Gaia's clergy, Her priests
and priestesses, caretakers and guardians.
Namaste,
and May the FOREST be with you.
Ellis
S. Arseneau /|\
Senior Archdruid of the Reformed Druids of Gaia
Patriarch and co-founder of the Order of the Mithril Star, RDNA/RDG
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