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Put simply, this is the pursuit of creation using the medium of art. Music, song, poetry, painting, dance, performance, these are all Bardic Arts and all relevant from a creative viewpoint. Allowing others to do our acts of creation, takes away from us important methods of learning about ourselves from our abilities and of impacting on others through our own interpretation of internal imaginings and inspiration. Druids have a word for this force of inspiration. We call it Awen, its symbol can seen in the picture above. It is a Welsh word and is also known as Imbas in Irish. This is an energy force which flows through our world and can, we believe be encouraged to bring gifts out in us, the gifts are wisdom, inspiration and creativity. Some see this as an act of birthing creativity through the use of this energetic force of nature. Awen can be meditated upon and used in chanting, the way any mantra would be used, in order to draw and focus the energy. The Awen energy force is different from the energy force which connects everything, this is known to Druids as Nwyfre, another Welsh word. This is the life force of the universe and known by all of the indigenous peoples of the world, but called many names. Chi, Qi in China and in India it is termed Prana. By making use of both of these energies a Druid is able to perform a type of alchemy, utilising the natural forces in positive ways both internal as well as external. The old stories of the alchemists turning base metal into gold, were in reality looking to change the base mundane human into a reflection of the divine.
Being of the world
Druids are very much a part of the world and are very different from the hermits some people consider them to be. Druidry is about being aware of a connected universe, understanding that we might appear to be different, but that in reality everything is connected by a web of life and of creation. The Native American‘s have a saying ‘We are all related’. People often assume that this means all races of people, but this is not what this means. The ‘we’ does not only mean people, but the ‘all’ of creation, so people, animals, fish, birds, plants, trees, rocks, spirits, everything. So when for example if we take the Lakota prayer Mitakuye Oyasin, which translates as ‘To all my relations’ we are seeing an address to all of those I have mentioned together with mother earth, Father sky, the winds and divinity in the form of a Great spirit, or great mystery. In Druidry it is important to be in the world; to live a life well lived. Being a Druid is about living in balance and not about having a title and sitting back snoozing in a chair. A Druid will study, but knows that the real university is nature and so they will develop a reverence for the living breathing world around them, both seen and unseen. Another belief is that of ‘The Law of Harvest’ which basically refers to reaping what you have sown. Most people are familiar with this because of the Jesus parable. However it is first mention in connection with the Egyptian God Thoth in the Egyptian book of the dead. In the east this known as the law of Karma. Wiccan witches term this ‘The Threefold Return’ whatever is given out, returns to them three times the strength, whether good or bad. A belief in ‘The Law of harvest’ makes it a personal imperative to work a good and positive will upon the world and to always strive to leave any place, person or thing, the better for having known us.
