Druidic Religion

9 Pages 2263 Words

This research paper is, to begin, not a historical review, not a theological discussion of the character of the Gods, not a mystical talk about ley lines and earth energy. In short, it is going to get very un-mythical. Having said what it is not, I can go on to what it is: a philosophical inquiry, a logical puzzle, into what the moral principles of the ancient Celts might have been and how these principles affect contemporary Druid philosophy. The reconstruction of Druidism has, to a certain extent, been cut off from this tradition of learning, though for good reasons, those philosophies are today, being re-examined and reinterpreted.
What I want to establish in this paper is the first moral principle of Druidism, as the ancients may have had it, but more importantly, as we in the twentieth century see it. It is important to begin with an understanding of the logical form that this first moral principle, (FMP), must look like. Given any set of principles, such as “you should always keep promises”, or “you should always save lives”, it is easy to make quick decisions as the need to make them arises. However, there may come a time when two principles conflict: with the example above, you could be driving to an appointment and pass an accident on the way. You must decide whether to stop and help and so miss your appointment, or drive on to your appointment leaving any and all victims to die. Either way, you must break one of your principles. Obviously there must be some way of deciding which principle is more important than the other, that is, which one has priority; that criteria will be the FMP. The FMP will be universal, having no exceptions or conditions, phrased in general language for it is aimed not at specific situations but at universal guidance for any situation, and will direct what other, lesser principles will be adopted, and what to do when they conflict.
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