The Druids were peoples of Indo-European origin who inhabited extensive areas of pre-Roman Europe, were priests of the legendary Celtic people. Today it is one of the strands of paganism, druidism. Druidry is a pagan spiritual path, every druid is a pagan. The term pagan originates from the Latin word paganus, which was used to designate someone who is born in the pagan (the countryside, Nature).
In spiritual terms, therefore, a pagan is one who believes in the sacredness of Nature and all forms of life. Any form of paganism has its various deities in its pantheons associated with Nature, with gods and goddesses who personify the great natural forces of the world in which we live. Since each god or goddess worshiped is just an allegorical representation to bring the essence of nature and feeling to be realized.
The Druids were priests of the ancient Celtic people, nature and matters of respect for life above all thing is the ideal of a Druid, being healers whose role was to heal themselves, the community and the nature. As the greatest sages and beings endowed with special gifts, the Druids were advisers to kings and priests of the tribes. Virtually everything that is known about the Druids has been reported by Greek and Roman historians who had contact with the Celts in the centuries before Christianity. They described how powerful priests of the Celtic peoples, sages and jurists, poets, tellers of myths and legends, mystics and advisers.
We know little about these people who are so influential in myths and across Europe, because they didn't use the written to transmit their wisdom, practicing oral tradition as a means of preserving their knowledge. And so, over the centuries, true Druidism was lost. However, Druidry's essence, beliefs and main concepts remain stable to this day. The art of contemporary Druidry can be very different from historical Druids, in that we live in other times, with other needs. Unlike religions that are based on dogmatic sacred texts, Druidry is not limited to scriptures or laws. And over the centuries, today it is more than a religion, it is a way of life where the ability to satisfy the longings of those who follow this path, whose nature is based on inspiration, is significant.
A Druid follows the seasons, and the cycle of Nature. A Druid does not follow rules like any religion, as everything is based on naturalness and the love that perfect nature created, its rituals should not be written, but felt deep in our souls and connected to the universe with the inspiration that is termed as Magic. The mystery of a Druid is the soul's connection to Nature, another person, the world he lives in, his work, his food, his deepest desires.
Everything emanates energy and our soul is energy. All energy is sacred and must be respected and honored. Just like all life forms without exception. Druidry is the form of love and contact with the true creation of human beings: Nature. The name Druid means one who has the wisdom of the oak. Their temples were the clearings in the sacred groves and their inspiration was the beauty of the universe.
Today, the biggest role of a Druid is to transform and interact with the world so that it is a more balanced, purer and respected place like any ancient oak sage would take care of their world, their home in nature, and their connection to knowledge and healing for a planet weary of to suffer.
By Letícia de Castro
Columnist Brazil School
Mythology - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/mitologia/o-que-um-druida.htm