Draoi Croi Croga
(Druid Heart Spirit)
Cosmology of the Sacred Tree
The cosmology of the World Tree unfolds in all directions. Have you ever noticed when you are doing a tree meditation that the roots, the trunk and the branches follow in three parts, one following after the other from the roots up. Each of the three has it's own world. The roots is the past, the place where our ancestor spirits dwell, our past lives, the underworld, our first three chakras, the Welsh name for the underworld is Anwvyn. The middle kingdom is the trunk to the lower branches, this is the here and now, this is the realm of hearts desire, the place of all our Earth relations, the Earth's spirit. This is the heart chakra. This world is called Abred. The branches reach into the Otherworld, the realm of the spiritual being who is forever young and wise, also the place of Deity and Sidhe, this is the future land of Gwynvyd and your last three chakras the spiritual ones. These three worlds represent the Druid trinity and also parallels the chakras. Druid ritual mirrors the grove of the Sacred Tree.
Druid Ritual
Through Ritual we express our faith. We keep in time with the cycles of the earth. In Druid Ritual we
honor our ancestors ( personal, cultural, and spiritual ). We revere the nature spirits, the winged ones,
the four legged ones, tree spirits, and plant spirits. We worship Deitys as a whole through our Celtic
Gods and Goddesses. Finally we unite our vast selves and our sacred space of earth, sea and sky, while
becoming a bridge between masculine and feminine forces to bring back whole self integration and
awareness. A Grove is what Druids create when they come together in meditation, magic, and ritual. Each participant has a different role in our ceremony.The High Druid/ess usually does all the invocations and leads the ceremony. There are Grove Tenders who keep the candles lit, make sure that the alter gets set up, and shows the other practitioners where to sit and helps lead songs. Bard/s lead songs and bring intruments to play during meditation.The chosen clergy do the anointing during the Triad invocations. There is usually a fellowship feast afterwards.
The Grove has always been here.
Differences between Druids and Neo Pagans
Central to open circle ritual is the practice of remaining on the earthly plane. The Wiccans, along with a few well trained individuals often will do astral travel or journeying during ritual and sometimes transport their sacred space to another dimension or realm. Druids remain on the Middleworld or earthly plane during ritual. Sacred space is not transported to another location. Rather than transporting ourselves to Deitys, as many Neo Pagans do, Druids bring Deity to their Nemeton/sacred space by opening the veil to the Otherworlds and asking them to be with us in the here and now. Druids do not cast magic circles, although we do create sacred space, setting aside the ritual site as a holy place separate from mundane realities. The reason for invoking the Celtic Druid triad worlds instead of the circle and four directions is that the circle that most Neo Pagans cast at the beginning of ritual is for protective purposes from invading spirits so journeying is safe and possible. Our Nemeton/Sacred Space os surrounded by Oak and is not grounded in dualistic dimensions. All is seen as equal in Druid ritual and does not view negative energy or experiences from ones path as threatening but promoting growth and strengths giving. All of nature and the universe is sacred, we are not concerned with unfriendly spirits trying to take us over. Through the tree triad invocations, Druids bring participants into direct contact with the spirits. This system permeates every aspect of light and dark, masculine and feminine, life and death, all depend upon one another and walk hand in hand at all times. All is seen as valuable, welcome, and necessary to wholeness. The circle moves in both directions simultaneously, pro and con.
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