The Druid Alliance Of North America

These are some of the Misconceptions that accrue within the Druid understanding.

The Druid Astrology

In the 20th century and later on, all astrological systems designated as “Celtic” were invented. The idea of a “Celtic tree calendar” was the invention of Robert Graves, a poet, classical scholar, and writer of the twentieth century. A variety of famous authors have built upon the notion. In the Celtic tradition, it has no foundation. The Druids, however, were said to have monitored the movements of the stars, and a calendar that appears to have periods marked as favorable and unfavorable was measured and drawn up by some competent individuals among the Celtic-speaking Gauls. Medieval Irish hagiography portrays astrologers as Druids. Therefore, they undoubtedly had astrological schemes, but they were lost.

Stonehenge

Among Ancient Celtic, the Druids were leaders of the ritual. Thousands of years before Celtic-speaking cultures settled in Atlantic Europe, Stonehenge and other megalithic structures were set up. It is possible that Ancient Celtics did not even use Stonehenge, let alone construct it. There is nothing to suggest Druids used Stonehenge.

Human sacrifice

Classical texts and archaeological evidence show that the druids supervised sacrifices made by The Ancient Celtic. They routinely killed animals and sometimes humans as well. It should be recalled, however, that execution for crimes was a religious reparation ritual for the deity offended by the crime, and many of those “sacrificed” might well have been offenders. Others were prisoners of battle, such as those who were said to have been offered in Anatolia by the Gauls after victorious combat (all captured enemies were killed, but the “best” were singled out and killed ritually). These methods were characteristic of the times, and to some degree, many, maybe even most, ancient civilizations performed animal and/or human sacrifice. In certain cases, even the Romans, who frequently criticized the Gauls for their “barbarous” actions, were known to order human sacrifice, and the gods were regularly invoked as part of the killing that took place in the “games.” of the Coliseum.

Modern Druidry

Druidry movements are typically influenced by the speculative writings of antiquarians of the 18th and 19th centuries, occultists of the 20th century, and the New Age movement of the late 20th century. While they often place themselves as the heirs of ancient cultures, Celtic culture, and language can de-emphasized by these neo-pagan “Druidry” groups and function within Anglo-centric linguistic and cultural contexts. Sometimes, but not always, their theories mimic Wiccan approaches and philosophies that themselves come from occultists of the twentieth century, not ancient practices.

Druids come from Atlantis or Eygpt

Atlantis, Egypt, Isis, or other Egyptian gods had nothing to do with the Druids.

The Shamans were the Druids

Modern anthropologists have identified similarities between the two. The term “shamanism” comes from the word Shaman, which is recognized by ritual practitioners in some Siberian cultures. Shamanic practitioners’ methods and experiences appear close to those of visionaries of other cultures or systems of belief. It does not adequately value aboriginal peoples’ special qualities to call the Celtic seers shamanic, nor does it accurately characterize the Celtic practices we have. Shamanism’s anthropological description states the commonalities in the perspectives of a large variety of cultures. For anthropologists, this scientific focus on common features can be useful. We could find striking parallels between them and the practitioners of shamanic cultures if we knew more about what the Celtic seers did. However, the evidence available shows that the Celtic rituals and concepts differed from the Siberian shaman’s. Most specifics of Celtic methods have been lost. Still, Celtic seers and ritual leaders may have used tactics that included belief in spirits, contact with an Otherworld, and an association with Otherworldly forces or spirits, including those of aboriginal shamans. Shamans are Shamans not Druids. Druids are Druids. If a Druid and a Shaman meant deep in the woods, I’m sure they would have many things to talk about.

A little more info on Shamanism.

This is a term used by academics that has made its way into the greater pagan communities, it has taken from the culture it is connected to and appropriated its meaning, please use a term like Healer, Seer, Spiritworker, or any term connected to your tradition.

To enlighten oneself on the word shaman please read.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thewanderingwitch/2019/03/6-reasons-you-should-stop-using-the-word-shaman/

https://sewayoleme.wordpress.com/shamanism-101/

https://www.nativeamericanembassy.net/Shamanism/

http://jaimedina.com/?page_id=293

https://www.sharedwisdom.com/cultural-appropriation/

Ogham is an Ancient form of Divination

Ogham is the writing device used for inscribing stones for use as markers on the landscape by the medieval Irish and some other communities. To mark wood or other items for use as charms, poets probably used ogham. The techniques did not survive if they used Ogham for divination. During the twentieth century, every Ogham divination scheme you read about today was invented.