Song of Amergin

The Song of Amergin is thought to be the oldest recorded poem in Ireland. Written at the time of the Melisian invasion, Amergin’s words reflect how Druids are one with the world around them.

The Milesians came to Ireland from Spain, about 1530 B.C.E. and displaced the Tuatha de Danaan who had control of the island at that time. Three druids, Uar, Eithear, and Amergin, led the Milesians to Ireland. Amergin was among the most influential of the Druids and is referred to as the first Druid of the Gaels in the Book of Invasions.

The Milesians landed at Kerry and proceeded to Tara where they met the Kings of the Tuatha de Danaan who objected to the arrival of the Milesians. Amergin agreed that he and his companions would leave the island. The De Danaan took advantage of this and had their Druids raise a fierce storm that scattered the Milesian fleet. Amergin used his druidic skills to calm the storm and the Milesians landed again. This time, Amergin's first words upon landing were the poem known today as the Song of Amergin. The Milesians landed in Ireland on Beltaine and defeated the Tuatha de Danaan three days later.

Song of Amergin

I am a wind of the sea,

I am a wave of the sea,

I am a sound of the sea,

I am an ox of seven fights,

I am a stag of seven tines,

I am a wild flood on a plain,

I am a wind on deep waters.

I am a shining tears of the sun,

I am a wonder among flowers,

I am a lure from paradise,

I am a hawk on a cliff,

I am a salmon in a pool,

I am a hill where poets walk,

I am the one who forms smoke from sacred fire,

I am the one who sets a fire in the head.

I am a boar ruthless and red,

I am a spear that roars for blood,

I am a tide that drags to the death,

I am a breaker threatening doom,

I am an ancient rock atop standing stones.

I am a babe birthing through an unhewn arch.

I am the womb of every holt,

I am the blaze on every hill,

I am the queen of every hive,

I am the shield for every head,

I am the tomb of every hope.

Yarrow

I will pluck the yarrow fair
That more brave shall be my hand

That more warm shall be my lips

That more swift shall be my foot

May I an island be at sea

May I a rock be on land

That I can afflict any man

No man can afflict me.


-Yarrow from The Carmina Gadelica

Def: Druid

Druid comes to English from Latin druides (pronounced /dru'i.des/), which is associated in folk etymology with drus meaning “oak tree” and -ides meaning “the son of”.

The word Druid denotes the priestly class in ancient Celtic societies, which existed through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles until they were displaced by the Romans and, later Christianity. Druidic practices were part of the culture of all Celtic and Gaulish tribes. Druids were priest, scholar and magistrate.

The ancient Druids were polytheists, but also revered solar and celestial patterns of the sun, moon, and stars and observed them for signs and cues to the changing of seasons. Streams, lakes hills and plants, especially oak, holly and mistletoe were held in sacred regard. Fire was associated with the sun and several deities and believed to have cleansing properties.

The four main Druid holidays are Imbolc which heralds the first signs of spring, Beltane for the surge of life after spring, Lughnasadh in celebration of the ripening of the first fruits and the deity Lugh, and Samhain to celebrate the end of harvest and the lowering of the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead.The timing for these four festivals was determined by the presence of a full moon roughly between each solstice and equinox.

In modern times, Imbolc has been transformed into Groundhog Day, bits of Beltane have been added into Easter, and Samhain has become Halloween (or All Hallows' Eve and All Saint's Day).

Sympathy For 'The Devil'

When I tell people that I'm a Druid, it's mostly to test the waters and get reactions. Wow, everything from ‘that’s nice’ to ‘Oh my god, you’re a devil worshiper!’ I never thought I’d take such offense to that or that I’d be repulsed more and more by Christian ideology. My oldest has been walking around singing songs she learned at vacation Bible school and going on about God and how the devil can make you do bad things. It’s making me crazy. Not so much what she’s singing or saying but the gross one-sidedness of it. Bible school? Seems more like scare ‘em early and beat it into their head camp. She’s only 4! I don’t recall getting burdened with the ‘be good or burn’ stuff until I was at least 7 or 8.

I know the church is never going to say anything like “some people don’t believe this stuff and you should still be nice to them”. We all know they usually play the “you’re with us or you’re an a**hole” game and it’s sad to see a little kid starting to play it so early. I know I could just say no – she can’t go to church with my parents. I don’t want to do that. It took me all these years to make up my own mind. I don’t want to force anything on the kids. I’d rather let them read and talk and ask questions about whatever they want to without worry they’ll burn just for asking. I leave you with some excerpts from a dissertation I found online.

There is no scriptural source designating Lucifer as Satan, nonetheless the Church taught he was an angel cast out of heaven because he wanted to take over the throne of Jahova. However it would be religious popular fiction which would cement Lucifer as another face of Satan, the 'Divine Comedy' by Alighieri Dante [1265-1321] and 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton [1608-1675]. It was at this period Mephistopheles entered the lexicon of Hell's overlord, the name a play on Lucifer, meaning 'not loving the light'. It has no scriptural basis, it's a medieval literary creation in the Faust novella which became an accepted part of Christian mythology in the same way Dante's view of Hell or Milton's view of Satan came to define the church position

The word Devil is a popular blanket term for the Judeo-Christian Satan, however it has no theological foundation, it's derived from the ancient Greek 'Diabolos' meaning "adversary or prosecutor" with no particular religious connotation, introduced into Christology in the medieval period which was a time of great theological inventiveness. The widely believed home of these pseudo evil entities is Hell, the original concept of an abode of the dammed has Persian origins, but was a place where disobedient wives were dispatched. In the Judeo-Christian context Hell means different things to both groups, the ancient Hebrews adopted the concept from the ancient Greeks 'Hades' which means 'the unseen place' and 'underworld' where the spirits of the dead repose without any moral judgment. The Hebrews translated 'Hades' as 'Sheol', like the Greeks the Hebrews referred to Sheol as simply an abode of the dead, a place of waiting for final judgment. The popular image of Hell as being a place of horrendous eternal torment is a product of Christian mythology, the works of authors such as Dante and Milton whose imagery has no scriptural basis but is widely embraced nonetheless.

Celtic Rebirth

"And you, O Druids, now that the clash of battle is stilled, once more have you returned to your barbarous ceremonies and to the savage usage of your holy rites. To you alone it is given to know the truth about the gods and deities of the sky, or else you alone are ignorant of this truth. The innermost groves of far-off forests are your abodes. And it is you who say that the shades of the dead seek not the silent land of Erebus and the pale halls of Pluto; rather, you tell us that the same spirit has a body again elsewhere, and that death, if what you sing is true, is but the mid-point of a long life." (Lucan Pharsalia I.450-8)

It is known that the wheel was a Celtic symbol of rebirth. The wheel appears on sword-sheaths and countless pieces of art. Celtic men were willing to have their throats cut so they could follow their prince into death, and then into a new life. An explanation for this might be the Celts compared men to sacrificial vessels in which human life was offered up in exchange for another existence. The Celts did not fear death because they were reckless but because of generations of Druid teachings – that the soul lives on and returns.

Many seasonal assemblies were held at burial sites, including the enigmatic passage graves of dolmens and megaliths that stud Ireland. From these assemblies and rituals came the blending of the spiritual and physical worlds until the two were one. It is this blending and balancing of the spiritual / physical that is the foundation of Druidry.

The Druids were said to be the keepers of traditional wisdom that was concerned with moral philosophy, natural phenomena and theology. They were skilled in the reading of omens, the interpretation of dreams, the conducting of sacrifices, the construction of a calendar, herbal medicine, astronomy and the composition of poetry. They also practiced sexual magic as fertility was of high importance be it human, crop or livestock. No greater love existed than between two men and homosexuality was far from forbidden. By ancient Druidic law a man was permitted to have two wives and one male lover.

Druid / Celtic Astrology

Much has been written about Celtic / Druid astrology. Classical writers - including Strabo, Caesar, Diodorus Siculus, Cicero and Pliny - comment on Druidic knowledge of astronomy and astrology. There is also evidence that the Druids understood the tides and that they cut mistletoe and other plants at particular phases of the moon. It is also worth mentioning the survival of astronomical terms such as dubaraith, meaning eclipse, into modern Irish.

The earliest known Celtic calendar is the Coligny calendar, now in the Palais des Arts, Lyon. It is estimated to be from the 1st century BC, and is made up of bronze fragments that were once a single huge plate. The Coligny calendar achieves a complex synchronization of the solar and lunar months. It begins each month with the full moon, and covers a 30-year cycle comprising five cycles of 62 lunar months, and one of 61. It divides each month into fortnights rather than weeks, with days designated as ‘good’ or ‘not good’. Each year is divided into thirteen months.

There are several ways to apply the Druidic sense of cycles in our daily lives. First, we can try to be more aware of the truth of constant change. Nothing stays the same; what goes around comes around. There are ‘good’ days and ‘not good’ days. We shouldn’t cling to good times or dwell on bad times. One way to develop an awareness of this is to keep a small diary and jot down our mood or the general tone for that day. Reading it back later will reveal a pattern and rhythm. Keeping a diary can also be tied in with observing the phases of the moon. Many people who keep a diary find a patterns in their lives, and in their moods, corresponding to the lunar phases. This can help you develop your sense of natural rhythm.

On the larger scale, by observing the festivals we can tune our lives to seasonal changes. Some may find that Samhain is a good time to become more introspective and plan new projects over the winter. Beltain, conversely, is a time to begin those planned projects.