Christo-Druidic Reflections on Cosmology & Communion
- © Rt Revd Alistair Bate M.A.Div. (2016)
Over the last three hundred years or thereabouts many people have tried to make sense of their attraction to the Druids on the one hand and their commitment to their Christian faith on the other and though there is a common strand of faith discernible in all those writing from a Christo-Druidic perspective there are also significant theological differences, informed by the background and times of the writer. Thus, this little reflection is simply the fruit of my own Christo-Druidic experience, a few personal thoughts that may make little sense to anyone who approaches the subject purely out of academic interest. In conclusion, it will become apparent that my Liberal Catholic perspective, whilst drawing on the great Druidic founders of the 17th to the 20th centuries, brings its own particular insights, but first of all I wish to review some of the Christo-Druidic insights of those who have gone before.
In the Revd William Stukeley, for example, a Church of England clergyman and self-identified Druid, we find a Latitudinarian (“broad church”) kind of faith grounded in mainstream Protestantism, devoid of evangelical enthusiasm on the one hand and of Catholic mysticism on the other. Small wonder that he looked to the the romantic image of the Druid as a point of access to the deeper mysteries! Stukely, as the father of the neo-Druidic revival, viewed Druidism, from the limited archaeological and historical perspective of his day, as a religion in the style of the Hebrew Patriarchs, what one might call our “Native Old Testament”. For example, he drew attention to the fact that in Genesis, Abraham’s altar of sacrifice was beside the sacred “Oak of Moreh”:
“6 Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh’khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena‘ani were then in the land. 7 Adonai appeared to Avram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to Adonai, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12: 6 - 7, Complete Jewish Bible)
He also appealed to the witness of the prophet Hosea who wrote:
“They sacrifice on the mountain peaks and offer incense on the hills
under oaks …” (Hosea 4: 13, Complete Jewish Bible)
In the same antiquarian tradition as Revd Stukely, the Revd Canon Samuel Lyons in his 19th century work “Our British Ancestors” again went so far as to proclaim that, "The religion of the Britons appears to have been very much the same as the Patriachal religion” (p. 58) and this was actually taken as fact by the majority of British people at least until the archaeological advances of the 20th century. However even down to our own time some - such as the Revd Dr Gordon Strachan (in “Jesus the Master Builder: Drudic Mysteries and the Dawn of Christianity”) - have argued in favour of a particular connection between the Judao/Christian tradition and Druidism. Whether empirically true or, more likely not, these speculations form part of our Christo-Druidic heritage and so in a sense I remain comfortable with the idea of Druidism as a “Native Old Testament”. This is especially true if one views Christianity not as merely superseding ancient Druidism but rather in bringing it to fulfillment, for we believe in a Christ who did not appear at a point in history and then disappear, so much as a Christ who appeared as a point in history and whose influence radically transforms time itself. Like a stone thrown into a pond the ripples continue to circle outwards, both back and forth. This tradition is best understood in the story of the “harrowing of hell”, when on Holy Saturday Christ descended to Hades (actually more like Annwn than Hell) and redeemed the Hebrew patriarchs who had anticipated His coming. … Which leads me nicely to the immense contribution of Iolo Morganwg, some of whose ideas shed further enlightenment on this subject.
Undoubtedly, Iolo’s druidic cosmology reasonates with what we might now call a shamanic worldview and even though a Unitarian, a denomination not always renowned for mystical depth, he appears to have been a true mystic, maybe even someone who “tapped into” a source of spiritual inspiration coming from the dim Druidic past. His diagram of the Three Circles of Existence is particularly worthy of consideration. Coming from a world in which belief in a three tier universe was normative (this world, with hell below and heaven above), how, we may ask, did Iolo arrive at his much more flexible and holistic circular model?
Perhaps he was aware (possibly via Voltaire) of the alleged teaching of Hermes Trismegistus, “God is an infinite sphere, the center of which is everywhere, the circumference nowhere” (Book of the 24 Philosophers), an idea echoed by several Christian mystics and reformers through the centuries. It is also quite possible that he may have been influenced by the masonic teaching concerning the working tools of the 3rd degree which allude to the same Hermetic doctrine, for although not a freemason himself, he was a stonemason by trade and had several freemasonic contacts.
“6 Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh’khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena‘ani were then in the land. 7 Adonai appeared to Avram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to Adonai, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12: 6 - 7, Complete Jewish Bible)
He also appealed to the witness of the prophet Hosea who wrote:
“They sacrifice on the mountain peaks and offer incense on the hills
under oaks …” (Hosea 4: 13, Complete Jewish Bible)
In the same antiquarian tradition as Revd Stukely, the Revd Canon Samuel Lyons in his 19th century work “Our British Ancestors” again went so far as to proclaim that, "The religion of the Britons appears to have been very much the same as the Patriachal religion” (p. 58) and this was actually taken as fact by the majority of British people at least until the archaeological advances of the 20th century. However even down to our own time some - such as the Revd Dr Gordon Strachan (in “Jesus the Master Builder: Drudic Mysteries and the Dawn of Christianity”) - have argued in favour of a particular connection between the Judao/Christian tradition and Druidism. Whether empirically true or, more likely not, these speculations form part of our Christo-Druidic heritage and so in a sense I remain comfortable with the idea of Druidism as a “Native Old Testament”. This is especially true if one views Christianity not as merely superseding ancient Druidism but rather in bringing it to fulfillment, for we believe in a Christ who did not appear at a point in history and then disappear, so much as a Christ who appeared as a point in history and whose influence radically transforms time itself. Like a stone thrown into a pond the ripples continue to circle outwards, both back and forth. This tradition is best understood in the story of the “harrowing of hell”, when on Holy Saturday Christ descended to Hades (actually more like Annwn than Hell) and redeemed the Hebrew patriarchs who had anticipated His coming. … Which leads me nicely to the immense contribution of Iolo Morganwg, some of whose ideas shed further enlightenment on this subject.
Undoubtedly, Iolo’s druidic cosmology reasonates with what we might now call a shamanic worldview and even though a Unitarian, a denomination not always renowned for mystical depth, he appears to have been a true mystic, maybe even someone who “tapped into” a source of spiritual inspiration coming from the dim Druidic past. His diagram of the Three Circles of Existence is particularly worthy of consideration. Coming from a world in which belief in a three tier universe was normative (this world, with hell below and heaven above), how, we may ask, did Iolo arrive at his much more flexible and holistic circular model?
Perhaps he was aware (possibly via Voltaire) of the alleged teaching of Hermes Trismegistus, “God is an infinite sphere, the center of which is everywhere, the circumference nowhere” (Book of the 24 Philosophers), an idea echoed by several Christian mystics and reformers through the centuries. It is also quite possible that he may have been influenced by the masonic teaching concerning the working tools of the 3rd degree which allude to the same Hermetic doctrine, for although not a freemason himself, he was a stonemason by trade and had several freemasonic contacts.
The most wonderful thing about Iolo’s diagram of the Circles is that the Source - Ceugant (God) envelops the other worlds, so nothing can exist outside the source. The second circle is Gwynfyd (the “White Life” or heaven) and the inner circle is Abred (this apparent world). Naturally the doctrine of panentheism is at least implicit in this illustration and it is panentheism that, in my opinion, forms the real link between Christianity and Druidism - the idea that all is holy because all exists within God who is holy. As St Luke says - and the experience has been proved by thousands of Christian mystics since then - God is he “in whom we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). There is a definite thread of panentheism - the idea that the universe exists in God, though God is not confined to it - that runs through Christianity and the same is discernible in some other world religions but most especially in animism, the mother of all religions. Drudism is of course a species of animism, as it is well known that our ancient brethren venerated trees, rocks and springs, as well as, earth, sea and sky, as particular dwelling places of Spirit.
Therefore, it is apparent from Iolo’s diagram that both heaven and this world are enveloped by God, but where one might ask does Annwn, the underworld, fit into Iolo’s scheme of things? Unfortunately, Annwn does not appear in the diagram in “The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg” (page 223) but there is only one place to put it and that is at the centre, within (or beneath) Abred. This abyss, chaos, nothingness and place of the dead, exists deep within us all and is the dark and fertile mystery that gives birth to vision and empowerment in due season.
With a little versatility we may also turn Iolo’s diagram of the three worlds inside out, for by applying the Christian doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit we may rightly say that “the Highest God and the Innermost God are One God”. Thus if we reassign Ceugant to the centre we find that heaven flows from within; our Abred in this apparent world is transformed and the whole is enveloped within the great mystery of nothingness. Annwn becomes for us a black hole giving entry to the world of apophatic mysticism or non-being, for as the great 9th century theologian John Scotus Erigena affirmed, "We do not know what God is. God Himself does not know what He is because He is not anything [i.e. "not any created thing"]. Literally God is not, because He transcends being.”
With a little versatility we may also turn Iolo’s diagram of the three worlds inside out, for by applying the Christian doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit we may rightly say that “the Highest God and the Innermost God are One God”. Thus if we reassign Ceugant to the centre we find that heaven flows from within; our Abred in this apparent world is transformed and the whole is enveloped within the great mystery of nothingness. Annwn becomes for us a black hole giving entry to the world of apophatic mysticism or non-being, for as the great 9th century theologian John Scotus Erigena affirmed, "We do not know what God is. God Himself does not know what He is because He is not anything [i.e. "not any created thing"]. Literally God is not, because He transcends being.”
Both Annwn and Ceugant can be apprehended as theological constructs and states of soul and naturally both can be experienced, just like Abred, this apparent world in which we live. We may, for instance, experience Ceugant in pure contemplation and Annwn through occult pathworking and shamanic journeying. In the Celtic Christian tradition it is even said that the great St Columba journeyed to the Underworld on one occasion for the express purpose of consulting with a Spirit there. We may also journey to Gwynfyd, the “White Life”, or the higher/upper world of Spirit, using occult techniques, and indeed Iolo’s three druidic grades - like the three degrees of craft freemasonry - also offer a path of initiation to the “ White Life”. The white robes of the Druid grade may be seen as anticipation of the glory still to come.
In addition to the above esoteric techniques, in our Liberal Catholic tradition we also have other very specific and potent means of journeying between these worlds, the sacraments, and particularly the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
There are two aspects of the Eucharist that are relevant to our discussion, sacrifice and communion. Both are essential facets of the sacrament, a sacrament being essentially a bridge connecting us with the divine in a special and explicit way, “an outward and visible sign of an inward invisible grace”.
Firstly, it is well known that the Druids of old communed with their Gods through animal sacrifice - and possibly even human sacrifice. Blood sacrifice was common to ancient people, the ancient Hebrews included, but for Christians God himself poured his own life blood into the world in the person of Jesus and as mentioned before, the effects of that sacrifice, through the incarnation as well as the atonement, ripple out backward and forward in time, making any other sacrifice completely unnecessary. In Christ all is redeemed, gathered up, transformed, sacrificed and sanctified once and for all. Our only task is to realise it! This outpouring of love is re-presented by the priest in every Mass, thereby giving us as individuals a chance to particpate personally in the great drama of salvation.
In addition to the above esoteric techniques, in our Liberal Catholic tradition we also have other very specific and potent means of journeying between these worlds, the sacraments, and particularly the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
There are two aspects of the Eucharist that are relevant to our discussion, sacrifice and communion. Both are essential facets of the sacrament, a sacrament being essentially a bridge connecting us with the divine in a special and explicit way, “an outward and visible sign of an inward invisible grace”.
Firstly, it is well known that the Druids of old communed with their Gods through animal sacrifice - and possibly even human sacrifice. Blood sacrifice was common to ancient people, the ancient Hebrews included, but for Christians God himself poured his own life blood into the world in the person of Jesus and as mentioned before, the effects of that sacrifice, through the incarnation as well as the atonement, ripple out backward and forward in time, making any other sacrifice completely unnecessary. In Christ all is redeemed, gathered up, transformed, sacrificed and sanctified once and for all. Our only task is to realise it! This outpouring of love is re-presented by the priest in every Mass, thereby giving us as individuals a chance to particpate personally in the great drama of salvation.
Secondly, the sacrament is not only a re-presentation the sacifice, but we are also invited to consume the flesh - the life essence - of the sacrifical victim, in a completely un-bloody way, through the reception of communion.
Additionally, the reception of communion may be a great moment of grace enabling a sense of connection with heaven and God the Source of All, but this moment may also be prolonged through Eucharistic Adoration. For not only does God give himself to be consumed he also allows himself to remain as a portal of communion between worlds.
As Fr Brendan O’Malley wrote not so long ago in his book “A Celtic Primer”, the Eucharist is a concentration of God’s Presence in the world”. So, from the perspective of the three Circles of Existence, God is at once Ceugant at the centre of the circle, and Ceugant at the circumference. Truly all that is, is in God, and in some sense is God, but in the Eucharist we have a very special focus of God’s Presence, a veritable portal of entry linking us through the “White Life” Gwynfyd to Ceugant itself. It is no accident that traditionally the host is white and is often displayed for our adoration at the centre of a blazing sun!
Additionally, the reception of communion may be a great moment of grace enabling a sense of connection with heaven and God the Source of All, but this moment may also be prolonged through Eucharistic Adoration. For not only does God give himself to be consumed he also allows himself to remain as a portal of communion between worlds.
As Fr Brendan O’Malley wrote not so long ago in his book “A Celtic Primer”, the Eucharist is a concentration of God’s Presence in the world”. So, from the perspective of the three Circles of Existence, God is at once Ceugant at the centre of the circle, and Ceugant at the circumference. Truly all that is, is in God, and in some sense is God, but in the Eucharist we have a very special focus of God’s Presence, a veritable portal of entry linking us through the “White Life” Gwynfyd to Ceugant itself. It is no accident that traditionally the host is white and is often displayed for our adoration at the centre of a blazing sun!