70-22 (I) Drüthuruth (Druid) Speaks

(Gated) The origin of the word ‘Druid’’ is unclear, but the most popular view is that it comes from ‘doire’, an Irish-Gaelic word for oak tree (often a symbol of knowledge), also meaning ‘wisdom’. Druids were concerned with the natural world and its powers, and considered trees sacred, particularly the oak.Druidism can be described as a shamanic religion, as it relied on a combination of contact with the spirit world and holistic medicines to treat illnesses. Some of their knowledge of the earth and space may have come from megalithic times.There is a lot of mystery shrouding the actual history of the Druids, as our knowledge is based on limited records. Druidism is thought to have been a part of Celtic and Gaulish culture in Europe, with the first classical reference to them in the 2nd century BC. Their role was also varied and wide-ranging, acting as teachers, scientists, judges and philosophers. They were incredibly powerful and respected, able to banish people from society for breaking the sacred laws, and even able to come between two opposing armies and prevent warfare! Druids were polytheistic and had female gods and sacred figures, rather like the Greeks and Romans, but their nomadic, less civilized Druidic society gave the others a sense of superiority. Within the Druid class, it is believed that there were subsections, all with colour-coded robes. The eldest Druid, or one deemed to be the wisest, was the Arch-druid, and would wear gold robes.