Legend of sorcery has been long lost in current day and age. Some opinionate it never existed, that it was forged purely for reasons of entertainment. However, many believe that this ancient power coursed through past civilizations. Druids were thought to be capable of this power, they were shamans, high ranking religious figures in a society. They were said to have the ability to see into the future, the power to heal, the power to destroy, and the power to communicate with animals and spirits not from this world. Druids lived in forests of tall oak trees, where under these magnificent oaks they laid homage. The oak tree was very sacred to these people, therefore they worshiped in sacred groves that were under the trees themselves. The precise meaning of the word, druid, is unclear to many historians. There are ancient Celtic words that are similar which mean “knowledge” and “oak”, they can be interpreted as “knowledge of the oak” or “great oak”. Due to their “so-called”rare abilities, druids were looked down upon and persecuted by Romans and Christians. As they didn’t want their scriptures to fall into unkindly hands, they were opposed to writing down these sacred matters. They were rumored to also perform human sacrifice with unlawful prisoners and convicts. Druids were thought to be barbaric savages but undoubtedly were creatures of advanced intellectual ability.
The meaning of the word druid is not clarified throughout historic text. Interpretations of the word consist of “knowledge of the oak” or “profound knowledge” (Green 9). The word “…deru- implies being firm or steadfast and is related to the Celtic words for “oak.” This root is linked to the root wid-, “to know” (Cunliffe 190). Little can actually be confirmed about d...
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...them. They were feared by these people because they were thought to be barbaric creatures who did nothing but worship trees and perform human sacrifices. Though they did perform human sacrifice the druids were a group of people who worshiped the beauty of nature, wisdom, love, creativity, and intuition. Those traits of which have been long lost in the “civilized” societies they lived in.
Works Cited
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Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.
Green, Miranda. The World of Druids. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc, 1997. Print.
Jestice, Phyllis. “Druids.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2013.Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
‘Shamanism.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. Sept. 2013.
“A Pilgrim’s Visit to The Five Terraces Mountains”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 108-110. Print.
...e druncne' means 'having drunk blood.' To translate druncne as 'drunk, inebriated' is logically impossible in the Andreas passage and inappropriate in Beowulf 480.(27)” (Gould) He then said, “Robinson's point about 'the ritual of the oath cup' is well taken; there is every evidence that in Germanic society - or at least, in Germanic heroic literature - formal vows were often made while drinking, and oaths uttered under such circumstances were considered binding we find Beowulf, for example, making his beot or vow to kill Grendel after having been formally presented with a cup of mead by Wealhtheow” (Gould). The tone of the poem Beowulf is falsified by the incorrect usage of the word “druncen”.
Since the beginning of the society, the forest has been portrayed as a place filled with darkness, and inhabited by the devil and other unworldly creatures. The rumors that were formed about what could be lurking in the forest were created to fill the void of knowledge of what was in the woods and to give them something to believe in. In reality, what lurked in the forest was still unknown to most people. The mystery of the forest was what people were so scared of.
In history the pagans have been viewed as godless infidels. Many who practice paganism live in fear related to the judgment of others that hold differing views on religion. Much of the persecution of the Pagan has been related to their practice of magic. What is amazing is that much of the magic once practiced by pagans was similar to that of modern medicine (Some Basic Pagan, n.d.). Despite their apprehension and fear of persecution, it has been reported that Paganism has been described as one of the most rapidly growing religious movements in the world today (Eilers, p.
5. Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. From the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. N.p.: Longman, 1992. Print.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
The wooden lintels, writing, and the unique calendar reveal clues about life in a society that thrived for over 1000 years. Many massive building are visible today, those built to pay tribute to kings and to please the deities. The M...
Wicca, commonly known as the “Craft” or “Old Ways” is an expression used to describe various traditions of contemporary Paganism, an earth-centered religion that shows a substantial amount of respect for nature; celebrating the changes in the season and lunar cycles (Mankiller, Wicca); As stated by Morrison Wicca celebrates, “the beauty of the moon, the stars, and the sun (5)”; and the worshipping of the deities (Morrison, 2001). Those who follow the path of Wicca are usually referred to as “Witches” or “Wiccans” derived from the Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which can be translated as “Sorceress” or “Wise One” (Morrison, 2001), they are nothing like the witches seen in modern media (Mankiller, Wicca). Throughout History Wicca has been depicted as a Satanist related religion, leading to mass persecution of those who adhere to its principles (as seen in the Salem Witch Trials); few truly fathom the Wiccan faith. The real truth about Wicca is that, it is a religion centered on the theology of the deities in form of the Patron Goddess and God, it is a matriarchal religion, with varying traditions and religious branches, that doesn’t believe in predestination, and has basic tenets that must be followed.
In Salem, during the witch trials, people feared the unknown and nowadays people fear the unknown in the same ways. For example communities in Europe charged outsiders with witchcraft in an effort to control them (Hines). Also, in the old country, you did not wander from place to place. The people who did were linked to the occults (Hines). In Puritan tim...
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
Witchcraft is the use of these forces for negative ends, to extort evil, and magic asks for positive ends. Witchcraft has been found to exist in all corners of the globe at some point. It is no coincidence that during the Enlightenment, witch hunts in Europe and North America became common. The aim was to rid society of these people regarded as unreasonable and dangerous. By contrast self-proclaimed witches still have a function in some societies today, mainly in the developing world. Magic however is often a word used to describe certai...
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
Porter, Barbara Nevling. "Sacred Trees, Date Palms, and the Royal Persona of Ashurnasirpal II." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, no. 2 (1993): 129-39.
Nevertheless , the arts of the evil continue to cast a shadow in the folk traditions and folklores , making many of us to wonder, if this is just a rabble of silly tricks and illusions or whether it is infinitely more sinister than we want to admit.