Druid Blog

The New Order of Druids is a fact! The constitution is signed, and now needs to be put in at the official instances. That means we can get officially started!

A brief overview of how everything went…
It took place in the restaurant of “Celtic Ireland” in Antwerp, with the present people being the four founders, as well as Torc from the Netherlands and Karayana from the United Kingdom, and Ambiorix, one of our well trusted members from Antwerp.

Around 6pm the press arrived, such as ATV and various newspapers. After a few interviews, David Dom (Phoenix) held a speech, shortly explaining the Celtic history of Belgium, as well as about the New Order of Druids, and our future plans. Following, Karayana said a few words about the future plans to start a grove in England. Then Torc has done the “connection” and asked the Gods for their blessing. Then it was time to sign the constitution, followed by a few more interviews and photo sessions, and of course a glass of champagne!

You may have noticed that all this did not escape the attention of the local press. We were mentioned in the news of ATV (Antwerp Television) on sunday, May 28. On Monday, May 29, two live radio interviews took place: one on Radio 2 at 6.45am, and one on Radio 1 around 11.05am. Also this monday, we had an article in several newspapers.

Click on the images for a larger version.

This is the TV broadcast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaifoH0khdw

This is the interview of Radio Antwerpen 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NldXPYvxfZ8

This is the interview of Radio 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbiG6YsTrwA

Over the past few weeks, ever since I performed the Beltane ceremony three times at the Failte Celtic Festival on April 30, 2006, I have had recurring dreams about my Druid robes. Never two dreams were the same, but the same essence returned in each of them: I was searching for my robes, couldn?t find them, and felt naked without them. These dreams came to me on an almost daily basis for weeks, and often were twinned with talking in my sleep, asking where the robes are.

The height point came on the night after the visit to Canterbury on Saturday May 13, where I got up in the middle of the night and started looking for my robes. I even turned the big light of the bedroom on, and started searching again. I do remember all this vividly, and also that Jenni woke up and asked me what I was looking for. What I do not remember, but she does, is that my answer was ?robes?.

Why do I look for my robes? Why are they missing? Why do I feel naked?
To answer this, I had to answer the question about what relation I have toward my robes.

Going back a few weeks, I wore my new white Druid robe for the first time at the Elf Fantasy Fair on April 22 and 23, two full days in a row. I participated in Torc?s ceremony on both days while wearing those robes. The weekend after, on the Failte Celtic Festival on April 30, I performed my first big ceremony, also wearing those Druid robes the entire day.

Having been wearing those robes quite a lot in only a very short time, has made me go through some kind of ?transformation? which has enabled me to ?find my place? and take up my role as Druid. A new phase has begun, and this transformation was the end of the previous phase and the beginning of the new one. Wearing the robes has become ?natural? to me, as in a part of myself, and increased my energy. If I were to do a ceremony again, and I?d have to do it without my robes, I would most certainly feel ?naked? even if I wore 10 tons of other clothes!

There is a sceptical part of me, the part of me that doesn?t really believe anything. It was always there, and for the many years where I was an atheist (from about the age of 13 or 14, until around the year 2001) it dominated the way I was thinking and forming opinions. It was when I started learning from Myrrdin (Jean-Claude) that this part of me started to shift into balance.

The first God I prayed to in about ten years, was Odin. It was the first god to respond. Coming from being an atheist, I found signs and proof that I could not mistake or deny. It was there in front of me, and at that time it was quite a transformation for me. And today, I still pray to Odin. Yet, Odin is a Norse god, not a Celtic one?

Since I started on the Druid path and began to study Celtic history, I had in my mind three main ?enemies of the Celts?. Those were the Christians, Romans and Germanic tribes. I only looked at these three counterparts from the eyes of the defeated Celt, not from the other side.

My first confrontation was with Christianity. It was a time where I had to cope with a Christian surrounding, and I was reading the ?Mists of Avalon? by Marion Zimmer Bradley. By the time I finished this book, I received a series of insights that allowed me to give Christianity a place, for myself. Without prejudgement, without hatred. It came into balance for me.

The second confrontation was with the Romans. Still believing them to be the cause of all evil, I began to listen to what Hans had to say about them. And I began to see the Roman culture from another light. They too are part of the balance, and play their role in it. It doesn?t matter so much what Hans told me about Romans, it is about how I perceived it. I began to discover a newfound respect for Roman culture, and gave it a place, for myself. It came into balance for me.

Now that left only one ?counterpart? to cope with: the Germanic culture. Long have I felt hate for that ancient culture, because of what they once did to the Celts. But it seems that it?s their turn now?

When I was at the Elf Fantasy Fair, I met a most interesting man named John, or otherwise Aswulf. He is a follower of the Asatru (Germanic/Norse) traditions, and I listened carefully to what he had to say. During the Pagan Council at which both he and I took part, he said many things. It doesn?t matter so much what Aswulf said about Asatru, it is how about I perceived it. Also when I spoke to Aswulf personally, I was puzzled by this unexpected pull toward everything he told me, toward this tradition, this culture, this spirituality.

And I have been praying to Odin for about five years now. And it is Odin who answers. At the Elf Fantasy Fair, I toasted a horn of mead in Odin?s name for the first time. When I did and wanted to drink from it, the mead almost splashed in my face. Someone said (jokingly) to that: ?beware what you toast on?. But I realized that this was not ?coincidence?. This was a sign.

It would appear that the one meaning of my dreams about those robes, is being balanced by a second meaning: the one of transformation and re-initiation, redefining my identity into a new one. The discovery of my link and connection to the Germanic and Norse traditions seems to be the reason for that.

?Coincidentally?, my father gave me a video tape the other day with a documentary from National Geographic that he had recorded for me, about Vikings.

Whether I?m up to like it or not, Germanic culture is part of my ancestry. The land where I live has Germanic roots, and so does my bloodline ancestry. It is part of me. Until now, I have repressed these part of my roots, believing them to be evil, but it is time I accept them. They are part of me and I can?t keep repressing it.

I have also just realized that for a few months, one of the forums on NOD was still unmoderated. Nobody in the Council would really step up to moderate it initially. It is the ?Druidism & Asatru? forum. Why? I began to realize it was waiting; for me. I?m the one who is meant to moderate this, it only makes sense nobody would step up because it was not meant for them, it was meant for me. It was waiting for me.

So I have decided I shall also embrace my Germanic roots and its traditions. This will not divert me from the Druid path, for my resolution onto that is now stronger than ever, and as the other meaning of the dream also said, I am coming into the role that awaited me. I will, however, add the Germanic part as a part of myself. As a new addition.

The Germanic traditions are my past.
The Celtic traditions are my future.

And in the present, I shall incorporate both.