by Bobcat
It is easy, both for those outside the tradition and for many within it,
to think of Druidry as a spiritual path defined by a specific culture, a pantheon,
a language, validated by a mythology, history and other apparent facts. We
think of all things Celtic, perhaps, of Iolo Morgawg or Stonehenge ... Yet
surely any tradition is far more accurately measured and understood by the
values and priorities held by those who walk its paths.
Surveying Druidry, therefore, and those who use the word
to describe their spiritual journey, what are the values and priorities we
see? What is revealed by the words used, and, more crucially, by actions?
Standing within the tradition, gazing at those who live their lives around
us, what do we hope to witness? What guides us in the way that we could or
should live, as we learn the Craft of Druidry? What influences our choices?
As a spiritual tradition based on reverence for and connection
with the powers of nature, more than anything else Druidry teaches us to honour
life.
The word honour is as magical and as hard to define
as the word love, yet still that phrase hums with meaning. Even if
we find it almost impossible to define just what honour is, as an ancient
word it seems somehow to exist in our genes, shimmering in the dark space
within every atom. Sometimes I feel as if the practice of Druidry, its lifelong
task, can be succinctly described as the task of learning just what honour
truly is.
In modern Christianity, the words of Jesus, love thy
neighbour, are fundamental; yet it is not an easy task to fulfil. With
the gentle acceptance of human nature that is at the heart of deep Paganism,
we do not dismiss Christian philosophy as a sham simply because every Christian
is unable to live those words with true integrity. In the same way, each individual
crafting their path within Druidry is also upon a road of learning, reaching
for that exquisitely complicated simplicity that is honouring life.
We trip and fail, day by day, as we stumble into the 21st
century, but still that goal leads us on.
Not unusually, people outside the tradition express incomprehension
about the source of Druid ethics. This is most common from individuals whose
spirituality is both monotheistic and hierarchical, where the laws of society
and interaction come direct from one god. Without that authority,
how can a Pagan Druid know what is right or wrong behaviour? The answer is
clearly that our ethics are sourced in relationship, and in particular from
our relationship with the divine: nature. In other words, because nature is
sacred to us, it is our relationship with nature that formulates our ethical
code.
In modern Pagan Wicca, the Rede (versions used and written
by Aleister Crowley, Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente and many since) is used
as a basis for all ethical decisions. It is commonly quoted as simply, An
it harm none, do what thou wilt. The first half is determined to be equally
important to the rejoinder: it is just as important to express oneself fully
as it is to ensure that no creature is hurt by our self expression. Yet, like
the semitic or Old Testament law, Thou shall not kill, the words
are wide open to personal interpretation; both Wiccans and Christians have
supported bloody wars and eaten meat.
For myself, and many I have worked with in Druidry, the Wiccan
Rede is not an adequate expression or description of Druid ethical tenets.
Honour life, in essence, holds my vision more clearly and
fully.
As a starting point, honour is about honesty and
respect. As we live, increasingly wakeful within our spiritual practice, our
ability to live honestly grows broader and deeper. We are increasingly willing
to sacrifice that most poignant of qualities, ignorance, both about ourselves
and about the world around us. So it is that, with greater awareness, our
ability to forge truthful, open and respectful relationships also grows. We
begin to acknowledge, to perceive and engage with the spirit of all around
us: we sense the essence of life. With this vision of life, in all the exquisite
beauty of the patterns of nature, it is hard to be thoughtless, selfish and
destructive.
To put it into the poetry of Druidic language, when we feel
the spirit of a creature, radiant and humming, its songful purpose flowing
upon the web of connectedness, it is not possible to cause harm without damaging
our own spirit. Our natural human empathy too strongly reflects the damage
upon our energy, shattering our integrity. Our care is woven naturally with
threads of wonder and respect.
Druid ethics are built, then, upon this release of ignorance
and the respectful creation of deep and sacred relationships. Humanity, each
one of us, reaches into nature around us, into every part of our environment,
within the ecology of home and the natural systems of our planet. We open
our heart and soul to touch and be touched.
So do we make our choices. Exploring, discovering, we learn
how best we can respond, accepting that it is up to each one of us to be responsible
(response-able) within every situation life leads us into. Conscious that,
as a part of the ecological web of life and spirit, we each make a difference
to the whole with every action we take, we know that every choice is crucial.
For if we are to honour life, as the power of life-energy,
as the force of life's purpose, and as the physicality of life's creativity,
our actions must express that honour. In truth, honestly expressed, we interact
through care and respect.
Ethics are important in every part of life. They guide our
every step, from how we love and laugh, to how we spend our resources. It
is the latter that we focus on in the Ethical or Green Living pages, for every
penny, every cent we spend, is a powerful vote within this western culture,
this democracy of capitalism. While every four years or so we may have elections
for politicians who then claim the power to go to war or raise taxes, those
politicians are in the thrall of a power beyond theirs: the power of money,
oil money, drugs money, weapons money and even food money. The true democracy
of our society is in the voting we do each day, in stores and supermarkets
and here on line.
When we buy a cheap loaf of non-organic bread, we are voting
for vast fields of wheat, land sprayed into submission, barren wastelands
fertilized with chemicals, devoid of wildlife; we are saying YES to pharmaceutical
companies like Monsanto. When we buy a L'Oreal shampoo, we are voting FOR
animal testing. When we buy Nescafe coffee, we are saying that human rites
are NOT important.
It is a lifelong task. But each journey is made a step at
a time, and each step is essential for another step to follow it. We each
make a difference. Let us each vote with eyes open and hearts clear and true.
Emma Restall Orr (bobcat) /|\
Head of the Druid Network
bobcat [at] druidnetwork [dot] org
