Articles
The following articles are intended to give a taste of the tradition. They will be changed, replaced or added to over time, so do visit the site regularly for updates.
Article 0 - The Céile Dé
Two thousand years ago, these islands were awash with an awareness of the Divine Child. In the Brythonic tongue he was called Mabon ap Modron – “Son, son of Mother”. In Gaelic he was Oenghus - “The Chosen One”. Beings of Light and Unconditional Love, these divinities were the earliest native mythic depictions of what we now call the Christ Consciousness. Legends carrying the possibility of this level of attainment for human beings abound in all parts of the world. It is both stirring and significant that Druidism was moving over the brink of its own Mythic exploration of the Christ Consciousness at the same period in history as Middle-Eastern scriptures and the mystery traditions of the Mediterranean were finding their fulfilment…
Article 1 - Interview by Emma Restall Orr for the Druid network
"I am aware that you are now bringing the Druid/Culdee Order within which you work into the open. Can I then lay, firstly, the word Druid before us and ask you to speak of the meaning it holds for you? And perhaps you would tell us a little about the Order - and could you elaborate a little on what you feel to be the main differences between Druid and Culdee?"
"…We talk a lot in our tradition about the Oak Door of Mannanan - a mythic entrance between this world and the Otherworld. In some people that door is locked... in others it is opening... in a few it is wide open. For me, a Druid (connected as we know to the celtic words for oak) is someone who is familiar with crossing the threshold of that Oak door - in both directions…"
"…For the Céile Dé, there comes a time when we feel that, if we want to continue to grow spiritually, we have to begin to dissolve..."
Article 2 - A Map to Bridge The Gap
I heard an interesting idea recently.. In fact it has come up two or three times for me, in different places within the last year....
I have heard Jacob Needleman and Eckhart Tolle both espouse this theory...
My sense is that what is being suggested also points directly to one of the great strengths of the Ceile De tradition - and indeed part of what it has to offer people today....
The theory is that the Teachings of Christ - as they are currently transmitted to us through the usual sources - are too advanced for almost all Christians - or indeed any unawake human beings - to actually be capable of following or embodying.
This is a challenging idea and requires consideration of the evidence before we either embrace or dismiss it. So, let's ask a few questions…
Article 3 - An open letter to a New Céile Dé Group
...Think about committing to deep-memory the chants and the few traditional words you are given. It is another way of sinking the tradition into the deeper levels of your lives. I say deep memory very deliberately. .....
..... The ancients knew that there was a mysterious relationship between memory and the expansion of our souls… It is one of the things that the Céili Dé have not forgotten. What you deliberately take into your psyche affects the hue and nuance of who you are in this life.
So how do you commit sacred words to deep-memory? ...For a start, don't cram them into your head just a few days before you plan to use them... Live them, breathe them… Take them for walks in the hills… speak them to the trees and the rivers. They will listen... they may even join in… they do in Scotland. Perhaps because they’ve heard them before...
Article 4 - Rule Of our Order
Many people have shown much interest in our Order. Some have even asked us about how one might join the order and about our Rule.
We decided that we would like to share it with you, so here it is. You will find a useful glossary of Gaelic and ancient Gaelic terms at the very end of the Rule.
On our FAQs page, you will also find details of the various levels of commitment to our Tradition.
Article 5 - A Little Gesture goes a Long Way
When we incorporate symbolic language and gesture into our spirituality, we are no longer speaking our habitual language – that of World (matter; thought; emotions)… neither are we speaking the “language” of Spirit (which cannot be done, it can only Be). We are, however, speaking the subtle, paradoxical language of soul. The Tradition calls this part of ourselves Anam… The “siddhi” or “charism” it gives us is called Coinneach in the Céile Dé tradition. We define it as the ability to let go and effortlessly do or know something that seems to just flow through us from a “Place Beyond and Within”.
Article 6 - Fonn(d) Memories
I am writing because I want to share some of my heart with you. If you don’t like heart things, best not to read on. There will be no cerebral profit to be made here today.
Article 7 - Notes on The Festival of Bridget
In myth, the greening of the world at Spring-time is called Bridget’s mantle. In legend, Bridget wrapped her green mantle around the world while it was being created by the Gods.
Later myth says that, when the Christ was born into the world, Bridget midwifed that birth. Then she wrapped her Blue mantle around the Light of the World.
On Bridget’s day, Wisdom, infused with the Christ Light, offers Herself to us…
Article 9 - Easter Towards Pentecost - The Name of the Rose
The mystery of the outpouring from Good Friday to Pentecost cannot be netted in words.
We are witnessing a Rose called Kairos opening slowly before our eyes…
Even before Easter Tide, and for all of our lives, we have been preparing for the coming of the Rose. We have purified our deepest ground, re-channelling our energy towards our highest aspiration...
...The Rose.
Article 10 - Notes on the Festival of Beltane
Beltane is one of the times in the Celtic Calendar when the veil between the worlds is said to be particularly thin. There is much interchange between the worlds at this time. In this respect, the union that occurs is between the Sidhe (the children of the Goddess) and Humanity (the children of the God).
With later development, as Druidism gradually evolves into the Céile Dé tradition, we see a new level of Beltane added to the existing mythos…
Article 11 - Notes on the Festival of Lughnassadh
Lughnassadh ( pron loonassah ) means the “funeral games of Lugh”. But it is not his funeral that is observed at this time; rather it is the funeral of Tailltu She is honoured as the deity who, in Gaelic myth, single handedly laboured to clear away wilderness and virgin forest, making fields for the first time, so that crops could be grown. She did this for the good of Her people – and died as a result of Her efforts. Perhaps it is for this reason that Lughnassadh is also called Brón Trógain (the sorrows of Autumn) in Irish myth...
In the Céile Dé tradition, Lugh represents the part of us that, when we are able to dialogue with it, helps us to grow… to learn. In some ways, we could call him the God of higher (esoteric) knowledge. He is that part within us that sees all things with razor sharp perception. He is the Way toward Ultimate Truth… “Firinn” in Gaeilic. His bird, the eagle (fìr-eun – the “true Bird”), soars to the sun… He is the Inner Witness, who precedes and serves the Higher Self (High King). Like the corn that grows, warmed by the all-seeing light of the sun, he is the “first fruit” of our spiritual harvest….
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