Druids, Mating, and Lifestyle

Druids, for many centuries, have had to labor and survive against the tides of superstition, misconceptions, cant, malicious rumors, and occasional outright lies. Much of the misinformation concerning latter-day Druid "lore" pertains to fertility rites and virgin sacrifices.

Druids never participated in human sacrifices of any sort, though other outlaw pagan groups did. Druids also never used virgins in their rites. There was no "mystical importance" attached to virginity, and no magic was practiced in association with virginity. Virgins were no more or less important than any other member of the clan, and no "premium" was placed upon either Age or Youth.

Thus, virginity was not the "commodity" that outlaw pagans and other homogenized societies like to believe. There is a certain amount of "raw power" associated with virginity, simply by virtue of chemical and hormonal relationship within an individual body, but as the virgin was generally a youth who had barely been initiated into any significant rank of Magic or Mastery, the virgin held no social rank other than novice or initiation candidate - for which age was not even a factor.

To the Druids, virginity was simply a biological reflection of a circumstance, and carried no particular weight in matters of Magic or expression. One who lost their virginity, through marriage or individual choice, did not "suddenly" become elevated to rank of Initiate, Master, or Magician. Druids who gave up their virginity were not suddenly inducted into scholarly pursuit; they were not suddenly given the "keys" to various aspects or Realms of Esoteric Thought, nor were they suddenly allowed to fraternize or speak freely with other Druids - because they had already been free to do all these things throughout their entire lives.

Druids did not segregate within their societies. There were no distinctions or separations between the Young or the Old; there was no separation between the Males or the Females, and there was no separation between the Seasoned, or Learned, and those who were Students. Virginity, or lack thereof, simply had no relevance, and did not affect whether or not a Student might learn the "secret password", simply because there was no secret password. In the Druid culture, if a person had a question, that person would go find the person he/she thought most likely to know the answer, and would ask the question. If that person, the fellow Druid, knew the answer, he or she simply answered the question to the best of their knowledge.

The Druids did not judge or claim to know who was worthy to know an answer, or to master a body of knowledge or Wisdom.

In the Druidic Mind, if a person is capable of forming the question, then he is capable of knowing the answer. Druids were always receptive and eager to work with young ones, because children (of any age) not indoctrinated into dogma or traditionalist thinking are often inspired to ask unique or startling questions, or present new possibilities through their inquiries and perceptions.

Seasoned Druids often enjoyed the challenge of refreshing their own perspective by hearing from a youngster with a creative perspective on a pre-existing belief that sometimes differed from the accepted Wisdom held by the clan for some time. Children often stimulated the Elders to revamp or reassimilate that which the Elders thought was known to be Truth; this excited the Druids, for the pursuit of the Truth was the very foundation upon which their societies were bonded.

Druids did not arrange marriages within the clan, nor did they bargain for power or force alliances by using their children as pawns in relations with other clans, groups, or tribes. Such offers, when they occurred, were politely refused. Druids believed in their children, and they believed in the power and Divinity of a Soul to know its own mate, and the clan in general would accept the choice of the two who wished to be betrothed.

As there was no stigma associated with single female Druids, and there was no political pressure for Druids to marry to populate the species in order to support a church or government, women were allowed to make their own choices and could accept proposals entirely in accordance with their own set of standards or preferences. There were no tribal insecurities regarding perpetuation of the clan, as Druids were very strong believers of What Ought, Will.

Druids had, by today's social standards, an incredible amount of trust and tolerance, both of their own instincts and that of the individual members of the clan. Since all Druids were raised, educated, and trained to understand the fundamentals of Wisdom and Magic, Druids were confident that the application of said Wisdom and Magic would be effective and correctly aligned, and did not feel a burning necessity to baby-sit, guard, or monitor the efforts of other individuals within their clans.

This trust was demonstrated in every occasion of group ceremonial magic, including fertility rites, when the entire clan would come together to act or to witness group endeavors of Magic. This was done so that every member of the clan could contribute his Consciousness, his own Seat of Wisdom, to the efforts of the group as a whole. Nearly all rites were based upon patterns regarding solar and lunar conditions, and were considered to be relevant to various cycles of harvest, and thus are associated as fertility rites.

The fertility rites of Union did not occur with the changing of any season, but rather were conducted during the lunar eclipses. It was believed by the Druids that the Sun was well-established, and was in fact the primary consciousness which supported the physical Earth, but Druids also believed that Humanity was waiting for the proper alignment, the "mating" between the Sun and the Moon, that would create Harmony and Light within the essence of Humanity and all beings who reside on Earth.

For those occasions, Druids would prepare for a ritual mating between a Seasoned Man and Woman; it was believed that the harmonics and alignment generated by the two beings would create a circuit of Divine Alignment between themselves, yet would also create the proper balance of magnetic attraction and polar balance between the Masculine and Feminine energies that would create a vertical, as well as horizontal, integration of Matter and Spirit.

Virgins, male or female, simply would not have been appropriate for such ceremonies, as they would not have the accumulated Wisdom, or experience, to be able to apply the principles of esoteric magic in relation to the group harmonic. The two participants of the Fertility Rite may or may not have been "in love", but they were voluntary, and they would have had to have love between them to be compatible to perform such a ceremony correctly.

The mating between the two was conducted as a "group" effort; the clan of Druids would participate in the facilitation of energies, as marriages today are public to allow the community to witness and to support, and even to affirm the union, and also to lend their energies to the perpetuation of the cycle of energy that is created between the couple at the time of marriage.

Outside of these lunar fertility rites, Druids did engage and were committed in marriage to the partner of their choice. Marriages were conducted by an Elder of the group, and was selected by the betrothed. The Ceremonial Guardian, so named for his relationship to the marriage, was chosen for his effectiveness and compatibility with the two betrothed. This person was known as the Guardian of the Marriage, much like godfathers and godmothers today, for being the Overshadowing Presence which unites two souls. The Guardian was believed to be the third person in the triadic ceremony, and it was believed that his or her energy was actually incorporated into the marriage itself.

Virginity, for the male or female, was not considered a "prize", but a biological condition.

Druids were monogamous, in general. As Druids were not forced to marry, either for procreation or for sex, it was a pretty safe bet that Druids married people they felt truly compatible with, so "wandering eye" syndrome was not a usual experience. Generally those that had wandering eyes were allowed to mate, without marriage, with those that were willing, and these unions were blessed by the community, but carried no particular stature - but they also carried no stigma, and were not perceived as a negative influence upon the clan.

In those rare cases when two Druids married but eventually felt they were not compatible, they were allowed to divorce. This was done with a simple ceremony, by the same Ceremonial Guardian (if possible), and the "formality" of the event was only to allow the bound energies to be correctly released. There was no stigma in divorce, though, again, it was not a common occurrence, as Druids were not pressured to marry in the first place. Those who did divorce tended to remain friends, and above all, harmonious in their relationship with the clan.

It could and did happen, from time to time, that a man or a woman of a marriage might be selected to participate in the lunar fertility rites. It was accepted by the marriage partners, and was not considered a violation of the marriage sacrament. It was also accepted if the candidates declined the honor; other Seasoned Druids would then be considered as candidates for those rituals.

All choices were honored.

A married couple who remained happy were, to some extent, perceived as "good luck" totems to other Druids, simply by virtue of their ability to find happiness for themselves, and to contribute that, as a whole energy, back to the group. The married couple was appreciated as a representative of "fused" energy balance between the Sun and the Moon - yet this gave them no particular weight in group decisions. The "power" of marriage was not relayed to community relationship, and did not carry any particular level of class consciousness.

Single Druids were just as honored as married ones, for they had unique and special challenges, and often performed Services, such as traveling and exploring, that married couples were content to set aside, and allow others to take on the responsibilities of extending and revitalizing the Druid Way of Life.

Old, young, single, married, male, or female, the Druids respected each other, worked and shared with each other, and above all, attempted to maintain the ideal and mutable perfection of the Clan as a whole.