Trinities and Allies: Working Druidry Thoughts

[chronarchy]

Over the past few years, I have noticed that even though my path is one of Druidry and nature worship, I tend to talk mostly about the Deities and the Ancestors; often, I speak less specifically and with less honor to the Spirits of Nature than I do to the other two Kindreds

Comments

[athenamsb]

Ashley, this is exactly how I view them. I almost exclusively use the term "Noble Ones" in private ritual, because the idea of deifying the natural spirits around us is like deifying the humans. It just doesn't feel right to me. Yes, I agree that there is a lot to be gained from attuning oneself to the natural world around us, but I do not worship such things any more than I worship humans. In order for me to "pay due" to the spirits of the natural world, the "gods of animism" as you say, I have created (in my head, of course) a capitalized version of the beings of the Middle Realm. For example, there are cranes all over the world, but Crane is the Noble Spirit that embodies them. There are spiders and owls and wolves, but the Noble Ones behind their energies and instincts are Spider and Owl and Wolf. Plus, there are many more ethereal creatures that I just don't understand, The Sidhe, the Faeiries, etc. :P

It's been interesting for me to think of them in this way. Just as we are the children of the Mother, so are all spiders children of the Spider and etc. I have met whom I refer to as Wolf in a journey, though others have said he is my spirit guide. I have also met Crane. Either way, it is a very real and rewarding way to look at the spirits of the Middle Realm!'

Heh, thanks for reading that brain dump...

[prophet_maid]

That's pretty similar to how I view them. Glad I'm not the only one :)

After all the reading I've been doing, I've concluded that the IE Gods are ultimately Gods of order, society, and civilization. While there is the occasional naturalistic God (Usas comes immediately to mind) most of them are Gods of human structure. Even Gods that i learned back in the day were "sun gods" turn out to be Gods of some human endeavor, like Apollo or Artemis.

Between that and my general love of Daniel Quinn (who advocates for animism, amongst other things), I make offerings to the Noble ones as benevolent beings beyond our order. Where Outdwellers are opposed to what we do, the Noble ones were here first and oversee the non-human world.

[chronarchy]

Ah, but Usas is a goddess of order :) Her appearance at the appointed place at the appointed time is what ensures that Surya will track through the heavens, and she also robs us of our life, even as she grants us a new day.

Ian has been calling the Noble Ones "The Never-Born," which is a term I am loving at the moment. It's excellent at capturing their character, I tend to think.

The arrangement of these beings into "courts" has also been a major topic of discussion. I am interested in how their organization and human organization mirror one another, with the Nature Spirits modeling "idealized" human organization in general.

Man, I'm really enjoying these thoughts :)

[prophet_maid]

Ah, I didn't know that about Usas. I'm relatively unfamiliar with the Vedic Gods, and thought Usas = Dawn, period.