The Druidic Sylvankind Community of Da'Kaleena
-- by the Druidic Cleric Ruach Rouan
Sylvankind Druids
The community of Da'Kaleena located in the foothills of the Dragonspine Mountains has since the beginning of understanding been Druidic. I will attempt to explain our beliefs and to a degree our customs.
Da'Kaleena is our community and within this community are many villages, the principal village being La'Sharra. The outlying village of La'Sheera was completely destroyed by an army of Orcs. As far as is known only my brother, Aerandar Falatharian and myself were the only survivors. We had a sister village Ha'Sheera which is located in the forest grove south of where our village stood and to the west of La'Sharra. There are scattered hermitages and small clusters of dwellings throughout the community.Druidry
Druidry encourages us to love. And this love is not a passing love but a deep committed love toward:
The Land, The Earth, the Wild and Reverence for Nature.
Love of Peace. Druids are traditionally peace makers. Each ceremony is entered by declaring Peace to the Quarters followed by a Peace Prayer. Druids plant Peace Groves.
Love of Beauty. Druids respect and promote bardic and artistic expressions.
Love of Justice. Druids become hierophants, judges and promote restoration justice over punitive justice.
Love of Story and Myth. Druids recognize the power of story and myths.
Love of History & Reverence for the Ancestors. Druids recognize the past as the forming of the present and the present with the past as the forming of the future.
Love of Trees. Druids study treelore and plant trees and groves.
Love of Stones. Druids build stone circles and study and use crystals.
Love of Truth and Wisdom. Druids are constantly searching, studying and following the path of truth and the quest for wisdom.Love of Animals. Druids view animals as sacred and as such many Sylvankind Druids maintain great honor for Imaera as creator not only of the Sylvankind but also as the creator of all natural animals.
Love of the Body. Druids see the body of the Sylvankind as sacred. Marriage and marital union is considered a holy act.
Love of the Sun, Moon, Stars and Sky. Through Starlore and the Stone Circles the Druid expresses love and harmony with the Universe.
Love of Each Other. This is manifest in the devotion Sylvankind show in their respect of honor of each member of their race.
Love of Life. Druids constantly celebrate life. To seek escape from life is contrary to the Druidic spirituality.Bards, Ovates and Druids
Among the Sylvankind peoples, generally speaking, there are three sets of people who are held in exceptional honour: the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids. The Bards are singers and poets; the Vates, diviners and natural philosophers; while the Druids, in addition to natural philosophy, study also moral philosophy.
Bards
The Bards are the keepers of tradition, of the memory of the Sylvankind - they were the custodians of the sacredness of the Word. Although they represented the first level of training for an apprentice Druid, we should not make the mistake of thinking that a Bard was somehow in a lowly or inferior position.
The training of a Bard was intense and lasted for many years. During this time of training they had to learn the basics of the bardic arts: grammar, stories and the tree-alphabet. Next they learned philosophy and many various poems culminating with composition. At the completion of studies they became Master or Mistress of over 350 stories.O Hear the voice of the Bard
Who present, past and future sees
Whose ears have heard the holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees...
-William Blake, first Song of ExperienceOvates
"To you alone it is given to know the truth about the gods and
deities of the sky.....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 lands;
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 long life."
Lucan PharsaliaThe Ovate as master or mistress of prophecy and divination needs a reorientation in relation to Time. The cardinal doctrine which they seek to teach is that souls do not die, but after death pass from one to another; and this belief, as the fear of death is thereby cast aside. Druids hold that "the souls of the Sylvankind are immortal, and that after a definite number of years they live a second life when the soul passes to another body.
They teach that the realm of the Ancestors does exist, and that it can provide succor and guidance. It is the Ovates particular connection with the Other World, with death, which makes him the officiant on 31st of Jastatos at the feast - The Eve of the Reunion
In working with the processes of death and regeneration, the Ovates particular study is - fittingly - tree-lore, herbalism and healing. The plant world is a great teacher of the laws of death and rebirth, of sacrifice and transmutation, and the tree is the supreme teacher of the mysteries of time, with its roots for the most part invisible in the past and the subconscious, and its fruit and leaves likewise mostly hidden from us in the heights of the super conscious - holding the potential of the future in the seeds that will in due time fall.
The art of healing concerns the application of natural law to the human body. If the heart, mind or body is out of tune with nature we suffer. The application of natural remedies - with plants, with the four elements, with solar, lunar and stellar power are studied by the Ovate. Knowing that it is only through death to one state that we achieve a wider life.Druids
Often when the combatants are ranged face to face,
and swords are drawn and spears bristling, these men
come between the armies and stay the battle, just as
wild beasts are sometimes held spellbound. Thus even
among the most savage barbarians and anger yields to wisdom.It takes nineteen years to train as a Druid, this being based on the druidic lunar cycle.
If the Bard was the poet and musician, the preserver of lore, the inspirer and entertainer, and the Ovate was the doctor, detective, diviner and seer, what was the Druid? His functions, simply stated, were to act as advisor to kings and rulers, as judge, as teacher, and as an authority in matters of worship and ceremony. The picture this paints is of mature wisdom, of official position and privilege, and of roles which involved decision-making, direction and the imparting of knowledge.Druids were not considered as priests as such but presided at ceremonies. Druidry is a natural, earth or solar religion as opposed to a revealed religion, such as is exhibited among followers of the Lords and Ladies of Liabo or Lornon. They act not as mediators between God and man, but as directors of ritual, as shamans, guiding and containing the rites.
Druids as Philosophers
In examining the roles of the Druid as teacher and judge, king and advisor to kings, scientist and inventor, we must remember that behind each of these functions the Druid was at heart a philosopher. His or her concern was with the meaning and purpose of life on earth. The Druids, in addition to natural philosophy, study also moral philosophy.
To divide their roles in the way we have done here, is for the sake of convenience only, for in reality the roles merged and combined. Druids have many discussions as touching the stars and their movement, the size of the universe and of the earth, the order of nature, the strength and the powers of the immortal gods, and hand down their lore to the young men and women. Here we see them as scientists - as astronomers and mathematicians, as philosophers discussing the powers of the gods, and as teachers passing on their wisdom.
THE SACRED GROVE OF
THE ORDER OF BARDS, OVATES & DRUIDSThe grove is the centre of the druid religion.
Since ancient times, Sacred Groves were places of sanctuary and worship for the Druids. Like a temple or chapel set within the natural world, they were places of spiritual refuge: places to calm the mind, refresh the spirit, and give comfort in times of distress. Druids continue this tradition of seeking tranquil clearings in woods and forests, in which to meditate and hold ceremonies.
Peace Groves
Druids are known as peacemakers. Druids often pacify warring factions. Druids establish Peace Groves, with the planting of Peace Groves in traditional war areas.
CEREMONY FOR PLANTING A GROVE
A group of at least four people, one at each of the four quarters. Further participants can complete the circle, with one person at each place where a tree is to be planted, for example. The saplings, ready for planting, are placed in the centre of the circle. The holes should already have been dug, and the earth piled beside each hole, ready for refilling. The person placed in the East is in overall charge of the rite.
E. We are gathered at this place of Light and have left outside all disturbing thoughts.
W. Let us begin by giving Peace to the quarters, for without Peace can no work be.
N. (turning outwards): Peace to the North.
S,W,E similarly.
All then turn inwards and say: May there be peace throughout the whole world.
E. In this blessed circle of land we ask that we may plant a sacred grove, as did our forefathers and mothers at the dawning of our age.
N. In token of our homage to this place, we swear to tend and care for this Sacred Grove, that it might provide refuge and solace for Sylvankind and animals, plants and nature-spirits.
E. May both the circle and the saplings be purified by water.
W. (Placing hands over water) I ask that this water might be blessed and consecrated for the purposes of this ritual. (Walks clockwise around circle, sprinkling circle and trees).
E. May the circle and the saplings be consecrated with fire.
S. (Lighting incense in censer). I ask that this incense might be blessed and consecrated for the purposes of this ritual. (Censes circle and trees clockwise).
E. Let us now plant the trees, in the hope that each one of them will grow roots deep into the soil and branches high into the air, creating a Grove of majesty and beauty for all to see. (Planting is then carried out, as previously arranged. A small heap of earth and a watering jar is left in the centre of the circle.
When the planting is completed:
N. We ask that this earth might be blessed, and that it might feed and nourish these saplings well. (Each participant then takes a handful of earth and sprinkles it about the base of each tree.)
W. We ask that this water might be blessed, that it may sustain and refresh these young saplings well. (Takes watering can and gives water to each tree).
N. In earth and water will you grow.
S. In the air will your leaves speak as you reach towards the fire of the sun.
E. We ask for the blessing of the Nature-Spirits that this Grove might become a truly holy and sanctified place.
W. We ask for the blessing of the Inner Guardians of the Order and of our Druid forebears that this Grove might become a truly holy and sanctified place.
E. We respect and honour and admire you, O trees, for you represent both Peace and Power - though you are mighty you hurt no creature. Though you sustain us with your breath, you will give up your life to house, warm and teach us. We give thanks for your blessing upon our lives and upon our lands. May you fare well in this chosen place. So Be It.
All intone: So Be It. (Intone, "So Be It" three times.)
CEREMONY FOR PLANTING A SINGLE TREE
Begin with the tree, the hole already dug, a pile of earth beside the hole, and a bowl or watering can of water.
Stand facing East, and say:
"In recognition of the Earth my mother and of the sky my father, and of my true source beyond all things, I ask that I may plant this tree, to bring clear air to the blue sky, and rich soil to the dark earth. May it grow tall and strong - its roots reaching deep into its home, its leaves reaching ever higher towards the sun."
Hold your hands over the pile of earth and say: "I ask that this earth might be blessed, and that it might feed and nourish this young sapling well."
Pick up the tree and as you plant it, talk to the tree, either out loud or silently, saying: " May you grow fine and tall" etc.
When it is planted, hold your hands over the water and say: "May this water be blessed, may it refresh and sustain this young sapling well."
Pour the water around the base of the tree, and then holding both arms out towards the tree, say:"In earth and water will you grow. In the air will your leaves speak as you reach towards the fire of the sun. We respect and honour and admire you, O tree, and all trees, for you represent both Peace and Power - though you are mighty you hurt no creature. Though you sustain us with your breath, you will give up your life to house and warm and teach us. We give thanks for your blessing upon our lives and upon our lands. May you fare well in this chosen place. So Be It." (Intone, "So Be It" three times.)
Typical Sylvankind Druidic Professions
Many Sylvankind not only in Da'Kaleena, but throughout Elanthia still practice Druidry. Most follow the chosen professions of druids; clerics, rangers, bards, and empaths. However you might find druids in most all professions except that of warrior or the practice of sorcery.