Druids Essay -- essays research papers fc

THE DRUIDS     During the Anglo-Saxon period, magic was often practiced among several different classes of good deal in their own ways. It was considered sinful but its power was ceaselessly believed in. Their knowledge of magic was first sought out from the biblical story, The Three Wise Men. According to one legend, the men who visited baby Jesus were astrologers who located him by magic use of the stars. The Bible has many ferences to magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. Since religion was valued during the Anglo-Saxon period, the Bible held the laws to their lives. Church authorities tried to ban witchcraft but people in many parts of the world continued to practice witchcraft as a religion. From the Anglo-Saxon period, the most well known of these people were the Druids.      The Druids were the priests or ministers of religion among the ancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain, and Germany. They combined the functions of the priest, the magi strate, the scholar, and the physician. Druidism is a reconstruction of the beliefs and practices of the ancient Celtic priesthood-professional class. They underwent lengthy training about twenty years. Druids led wholly public rituals, which were normally held within fenced groves of sacred trees. They didnt use any images to represent the object of worship. A circle of stones enclosing an atomic number 18a from twenty to thirty yards in diameter, constituted their sacred topographic point. The most sacred of this is the Stonehenge. When privacy was called for, these rituals took place in sacred grooves and clearings hidden deep in the forests. They believed in only one god, to whom they gave the holler "Beal". In modern english this translates to "the life of every thing," or "the source of all beings". It has a connection with the Phoenician Baal. The Druids identified this with the Sun. Fire was referenced as a symbol of the eternal life. In record, m ost of the leaders were males. It wasnt known whether female Druids were considered of equal part. Two festivals were of great importance to the Druids. The first festival took place in the beginning of May and was called Beltane or "Fire of God". A large fire was heated on an elevated spot, in honor of the sun, whose move beneficence they then welcomed after the winter time. The second festiva... ... Druidism itself was destroyed or continued deeply underground throughout most of the Celtic lands.      Though Druidism is non a common practiced religion today, it still does exist even here in the United States. The spirit of the Druids will never die collect to the ancient "Druid" altars, beds, rings, stones, stone circles, and temples they have left behind. Other present day religious leaders have followed and adopted the same beliefs as the Druids. Though we are not as familiar with these magicians, their legends and remnants still haunt the European lands.                    Works CitedBOOKDersin,Denise. What Life Was Like Among Druids And High Kings. Richmond, Virginia Time Life Inc., 1998.EncyclopediaWallis, Wilson D. "Druid." The cosmea Book Encyclopedia. 1970 Edition.INTERNET SOURCESCeltic Druidism. http//www.religioustolerance.org/druid.htmDruids. http//celt.net/Celtic/History/d_overview.htmlThe Druids. http//witchcraft.simplenet.com/druid.html