Ancient Druidism is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic people. However, because Druidism is a mostly oral tradition, there is little historical record to irrefutably pin down the origins of ancient Druidism.Druidism is considered a pagan religion, whose followers put their faith in many different gods and goddesses. Druids also strongly believe in reincarnation. Druidism is still practiced today, although beliefs and practices may vary from that of their ancestors.It is a common misconception that in the ancient tradition only men could become Druids. However, this is simply untrue. In ancient Druidism women most certainly could,and did become Druids or Druidesses.
It was not
until the Druid reformation in the 17th and 18th centuries and the
coming of Christianity that Druid orders were formed banning women from
In modern Druidism women are once again seen as
equals and commonly play important roles within the religion, including
the role of Druidess.
While ancient Druidism can
most certainly not be defined as a strictly patriarchal tradition, it
cannot truthfully be defined as matriarchal either. It seems to be that
in Druidism, men and women had a fairly equilateral relationship and
that it was just as acceptable for a woman to choose to study the Druid
path as it was for her male peers.
This makes sense if we
consider the societal status of Celtic women in comparison to other
European women at the time. If you were a womanin ancient times you
would have been lucky to be born a Celt. Celtic women had far more
rights and freedom than the women of any other culture at the time.
Celtic women could participate in warfare, own and inherit land and
property and were even allowed to divorce their husbands. Such things
were unheard of in other European societies at that time.
Female Druids or Druidesses
are mentioned by both Greek and Roman historians as well as in Celtic
myth. Female Druids, known as the Bandroai (Bandruidh), are thought to
have functioned as seers and prophets. Ancient stories refer to
Druidesses who could see the future and who helped their people to
victory in battle.
If you take a look at
Celtic mythology, you will find that many of the most powerful gods
were female. In contrast to many other ancient religions, Celtic gods
and goddesses did nots......
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