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  DRUIDCRAFT

  The Magic of

  Wicca & Druidry

  Thorsons

  An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

  77--85 Fulham Palace Road

  Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

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  and Thorsons

  are trademarks of

  HarperCollinsPublishers Limited

  Published by Thorsons 2002

  3579108642

  10 Philip Carr-Gomm 2002

  Philip Carr-Gomm asserts the moral right to be

  identified as the author of this work

  A catalogue record for this book

  is available from the British Library

  ISBN 0 00 713388 X

  Illustrations by Chris Down

  Printed and bound in Great Britain by

  Creative Print and Design, Wales (Ebbw Vale)

  All rights reserved. No part of this 'publication may be

  reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,

  in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

  photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

  permission of the publishers.

  To Stephanie, my muse and my love, who has offered the inspiration

  for so many of the ideas given here and in my other books

  Contents

  Acknowledgements ix

  Foreword xi

  CHAPTER ONE 1

  A Hidden Valley The Worlds of the Witch & Druid

  CHAPTER TWO 17

  The Secret of the Returning Tide The Ways of Blessing

  CHAPTER THREE 42

  The Cave of Dreams ~ The Ways of Love

  CHAPTER FOUR 67

  The Grove of the Summer Stars - The 'Ways of the Earth and Her Seasons

  CHAPTER FIVE 90

  The Garden of Herbs and Healing - The Ways of Health and Rejuvenation

  CHAPTER SIX 116

  The Circle of Stones The Ways of Magic and Spellcraft

  CHAPTER SEVEN 149

  The Waters of the Well - Druidry, Wicca and Druidcraft as Ways of Freedom

  Resources 156

  Bibliography 1 65

  Acknowledgements

  For years I have wanted to write this book - the subject of the relationship between Wicca and Druidry has intrigued me from the moment I began to study Druidry over 30 years ago with my teacher, Ross Nichols. I would like to thank Ross for all the encouragement he gave his young student - I had no idea at the time how important his encouragement would be, and how much it would mean to me today.

  My wife Stephanie's constant encouragement and her perceptive insights throughout the writing of this book have also proved invaluable and are deeply appreciated.

  I would also like to thank Susan Henssler, who commented in detail on the draft manuscript, and whose inspired wording I have used for much of the ritual passages. My deep gratitude also goes to Ronald Hutton who, with great attention and characteristic enthusiasm, commented in depth on the manuscript. His eye for detail and his considerable knowledge of the history of Witchcraft and Wicca gave me the confidence to tread in this barely charted territory. My thanks go to Ellen Evert Hopman who inspired me

  with her account of a candle-boat ceremony, and who helped me track down elusive information, and also to Carole Nielsen for her herbal wisdom, and to Erynn Laurie for her elucidation of the Irish versions of the term 'Druidcraft'. My thanks also go to Cairisthea

  Worthington for inspiring me with her vision of the four faces of the Goddess, and to Vivianne Crowley for her contribution to this book and for the inspiration I have gained from her writing. And a big thank you to Matthew Cory, editor of this book, for his sensitivity and persistence in dealing with such a stubborn author.

  Finally, I would like to acknowledge the inspiration I have gained from the camps held by The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids in the vale of the White Horse over the last eight years. There we have explored the practice of a new kind of 'Wild Druidry' - a

  'Druidcraft' that is earthy and spirited in a way that allows us to go beyond the labels of 'Druid', 'Wiccan' or 'Pagan', bringing us closer to the Way which is Nameless, the Old Way which is ever new and ever-changing.

  Foreword

  Philip's beautiful and eloquent book is a new but ancient vision that will be a source of inspiration to Druids, Wiccans and all those drawn to nature spirituality and magic. In Druidcraft we see Druidry restoring its persecuted and suppressed tradition of magic and seership and moving closer to Wicca. The gap is increasingly small, as both traditions seek to reawaken contemporary culture to what we might call 'natural religion', our instinctive reaching out to venerate the planet that is our home, to celebrate the Divine within one another and within all creation, and to honour the ever-changing seasons and

  cycles of nature and human life.

  Druidry and Wicca share a love and veneration for the natural world and have an important role to play in restoring aspects of spiritual tradition too long neglected, to our own cost. This includes the vision of the Divine as immanent and present all around us in the glorious wonder of the natural world of our own planet and that of the cosmos. It includes too the vision of the Divine not as God, but as Goddess and God. These images of the Divine interconnect in mutual harmony to create an interchange of energies that gives birth to new life; for the sum of the whole is truly greater than that of the parts. Druidcraft reflects this synthesis, integrating in a refreshingly new and unique way nature spirituality and magical vision, veneration for the Divine as Goddess and God, and the integration of body and spirit – engagement with and joy in this world, as well as the journey to unification with Ultimate Reality that is at the heart of human existence.

  My own path is Wicca, but Druidry also had a strong attraction. I visited Ross Nichols, Philip's predecessor as Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, thirty years ago. A wise and kindly man, he took time in his busy schedule to explain Druidry to a teenage spiritual seeker trying to find the right path. Druidry offered much, but the Goddess orientation, greater female leadership, and the focus on the development of those powers of the human psyche that we call magic in Wicca proved the stronger pull. Since then, much has changed. Druidry has developed greater interest in the traditional

  magical skills and gifts of its Druid ancestors, and the role of women in Druidry now equals that of men. Wicca has grown closer to Druidry in its provision for family participation and openness as a path for the many rather than the few. Both traditions have evolved to see themselves as part of a growing contemporary spirituality that is concerned with social engagement, planetary responsibility, and providing meaningful philosophy and ethics by which people may live in our increasingly complex multi-cultural world.

  Druidcraft reflects a growing trend in contemporary Paganism, a strengthening of each of the Pagan traditions as they learn from one another, and the cross-fertilization that is the fruit of those who have explored both traditions to draw them together in their own unique

  synthesis.

  Vivianne Crowley

  CHAPTER ONE 1

  A Hidden Valley The Worlds of the Witch & Druid

  Earth and Her stones, shining stars of the night sky,

  tumbling rivers, cauldrons, magic, ancient wisdom, strange

  hidden beauty, inner knowing, seeing beyond the veil of

  Time, knowing that I will return again to Earth after death.

  loving my fellow humans, my body and all animals, flying

  Like a bird to the sun, like a bat to the moon, kissing the

  standing stone, drinking from the grail.

  Oh that l could see to the Other Realm -

  that I
could learn the magic of the Ancients.

  Oh that the secrets of the Druids and the Witches

  could be whispered in my ears

  that l might know their beauty and their power -

  that I might love again this land

  and hear the voices of the Goddess and the God

  in the trees and in the rivers.

  If you ever travel to Avalon in the south-west of England, you will find, tucked between the crouching beast that is Glastonbury Tor and the rounded breast that is Chalice Hill, a magical garden surrounding a well steeped in legend. Here, between the two hills ~ one so strongly 'masculine' and the other so clearly 'feminine' - the well and its garden exude an extraordinary sense of peace and deep resonant power. If you were to enter that garden now you would pass lawns and flower beds, low hedgerows and gnarled yew trees until, following the path that slopes gently upward, you would arrive at the wellhead. And there you would find the well itself, protected by a finely wrought iron cover depicting an ancient symbol the vesica piscis.

  In this symbol, two circles overlap and in doing so create an image which for some depicts Christ, for others the philosopher's stone, and for yet others the Holy Grail or the sacred vulva of the Goddess. The symbol depicts the union of two principles, two beings, two powers. Each circle remains intact, complete and whole, but where they meet something different and unique is created from their union.

  This book takes two worlds which are complete and whole in themselves, and brings them together. It is at the point where they meet that we can, if we wish, find a path of great depth and power.

  The worlds that are brought together in this book are those of Witchcraft and Druidry, and I have called the path that they create together Druidcraft, from the Irish word Druidecht, and from the inspiration of the Irish poet W.B. Yeats who uses this term in his

  poetry.

  Many people now practise either Druidry (also known as Druidism) or Wicca (as Witchcraft is often called today) and find within their paths all that they need. Each tradition is complete in itself, and l am not suggesting that either way is incomplete or inadequate. However, over the years I have noticed that many Wiccans have become interested in Druidry, just as many Druids have become interested in Wicca. The fact is that the two circles of Druidry and Wicca now overlap, as many people start to combine their knowledge and experience of each path to fashion their own 'craft' - their own spiritual way. For these people the synthesis explored in this book is already happening.

  Some time ago there was a real difference between the concerns of Wiccans and Druids. Wiccans were interested in magic and spells, while Druids were more interested in history, the old Celtic myths and a 'spiritual' rather than 'magical' approach to life. But in the last few years this has changed. Many Wiccans have become interested in the history of the Druids, in Celtic myths, and in Druid animal and tree lore. At the same time, many Druids have become interested in the more intuitive and magical approaches to life that are found in Wicca. If you talk to people who are interested in Wicca or Druidry you will find that most of them are drawn to these spiritual paths for the same reasons.

  In the past, subjects and disciplines were kept within defined boundaries. Today, we understand the value of synthesis, synergy and interdisciplinary studies. This is the spirit in which this book is written - to contribute to the field, not to detract from the uniqueness of each approach. I respect both paths deeply and I believe that each is complete in itself, but this does not mean that their relationship and connections cannot be explored, and we may even discover that Wicca and Druidry have gifts to offer that we can combine in creative and beneficial ways.

  Most people think that Druidry and Wicca, as they are practised today, represent two streams of pagan tradition that have evolved separately over centuries, or even millennia. In reality, the modern versions of these traditions were originally developed by two friends, Ross Nichols and Gerald Gardner, only 50 years ago. Because of their exchange of ideas and knowledge, the two paths share many similarities and points of connection and, to a great extent, the differences between them are related to the differences between their characters, even though over the last half-century both paths have evolved considerably, creating many different varieties and styles of both Wiccan and Druidic practice.

  Druidry and Wicca are now strong and vibrant spiritualities, and if either of them provides you with all that you need, no further exploration is necessary. But if, like me, you can't resist the urge to explore a hidden valley where two lands meet, then however great the risks, you might well choose to put on your hiking boots, throw a pack on your back and set off!

  Loaded Words and Dangerous Cults

  The words Witch and Druid evoke a longing in many of us for the wisdom of the past and of the ancestors. They evoke images of mystery and magic, of ancient knowledge of the Earth and her seasons, of star-lore and herb-lore, of primal wisdom and inner knowing. But they are words that can also evoke anxiety. Some people believe that Witches and Druids are members of dangerous cults, and even though we may know that this is nonsense, there is no point in pretending that the words 'Witch' and 'Druid' are not loaded. Some people think at once of sorcery and Satanism - they see the Witches of Shakespeare's Macbeth tossing bats' wings into bubbling cauldrons, and Druid priests raising gleaming blades above the bodies of virgins sprawled across the 'Slaughter Stone' at Stonehenge.

  These negative images of Witchcraft and Druidry come mostly from the scaremongering of fundamentalist Christian groups and from the tacky products of the movie and publishing industries. The genre of the horror movie needs constant feeding, and Shakespeare, together with later writers about 'spooky Witchcraft', have provided them with ample material.

  It is true that Roman writers talked of Druids being present at human sacrifices, but we need to put this in context: Christian priests are present at executions today, and in ancient times human sacrifice was a feature of many societies. The Romans themselves sacrificed people until the first century BC. After that, they secularized the activity, built the Colosseum, and turned death into public entertainment.

  It is also true that during the witch-hunts of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, people confessed to being Witches, cursing others and having sexual intercourse with the Devil. But only the most obtuse people fail to see a connection between these confessions and the fact that they were extracted by torture.

  Every religion or spiritual path has its share of insane and unpleasant people, and there are likely to have been some malevolent Druids and Witches, just as there have been malevolent Christians. But with the Inquisition and the Crusades, a body count would undoubtedly stack up unfavourably towards the latter.

  Another misconception is that Druids and Witches practise Satanism. To do this you must believe in a being called Satan, and to practise it involves performing a reverse Christian ritual known as a Black Mass. Druids and Witches do not believe in an entity called Satan, or one who acts in the way he is supposed to act. They certainly do not perform reverse Christian ceremonies of any kind. In fact, some Druids are Christian and for several years I have attended conferences on Druidry and Christianity held at an abbey in Gloucestershire, England. There have also been conferences where Witches, Christians and Druids have shared their ideas in a spirit of tolerance and understanding. The two seminal thinkers who developed Druidry and Witchcraft in the modern era, Nichols and Gardner, were both ordained Christians. So, if you want to be spooked, you need to look elsewhere!

  The World of the Wise Folk

  Wiccans call their tradition 'The Craft of the Wise', and the historic figures with whom many people identify most strongly are those in a community who were called upon to offer cures, help deliver babies and assist those dying, find people or objects with psychic sight, and to help in times of individual or communal difficulty. Your spouse is sleeping with another person; there has been no rain on your land for months; your cattle are dying from a mysterious
disease; your best knife has been stolen; your baby's cough will not go away; you know you are dying and are frightened - all these are problems that needed to be faced in the past, just as they need to be faced today. Nowadays we turn to scientists, counsellors, doctors, vets, police officers and priests. In the old days, we went to those men and women who knew about the mysteries of life, who were called to heal and to help. Through their own experience, through communion with spirits and teachers from the Otherworld, and through training from those who had been drawn to the Ways before them, they would each come to be known and respected as the local wise woman or man of their community. In parts of Britain they were known as Cunning Men and Women, from the root word 'con' or 'ken', which means 'to know'. They were the wise ones, the people with 'Knowledge'.