Llys Don
Web site: http://www.thecrookedheath.com/marbec/ld.htm LLYS DON is a small but devoted group of people who are working to reconstruct the old Druidic beliefs, and the spirituality and mystical practices of the pre-Christian Celtic pagan world.
The old Druidic faith taught that Nature was the presence of a sacred
and eternal reality, and that an element of Holy force or "Inspiration"
existed within all things. We are devoted to achieving this lasting experience of Wisdom and Inspiration, as well as to reconstructing and sharing the means by which it is attained: means which include the myths and stories of the living Gods, as well as devotion to those same Gods, and devotion to the spiritual force of the Ancestors who dwell Within the Land and in the Blessed Isles Furthest West. The secrets by which these things are given expression and life are to be found in the ancient techniques of trance, poetry, and Illumination. We at Llys Don are proud to be reviving portions of the ancestral faith of the Celtic peoples; we believe that their ancient religion and aspects of their traditional culture are positive forces for the world today, and should be celebrated and protected. We believe that the Druids, who were the guardians and of this ancient religion and culture, should be venerated, emulated, and their philosophy and practices revived. We believe that such a thing is possible because the inspiration that blossomed in the souls of the old Druids is the same that blossoms in ours; we believe that this path is open to all people of Celtic ancestry, as well as any other humans who choose to accept the Indo-European Celts as their spiritual ancestors. The Land itself has a memory; the Old Ways cannot be lost, and were not lost- they lived on in the hills and valleys, and in the blood of those born of the Earth. They live still in all of us. We believe that the Gods are the parents and helpers of all humanity; we think that the Ancestors all came from the same source- the Womb of the Ancient Mother that we all share in common. We see the return of Pagan spirituality as a return to personal exploration and reason; a return to trust and intuition; and a return to spiritual wholeness and partnership with Nature. * * * The Druids never imagined that Celtic culture or their Druidic Art would ever be destroyed or lost. Such a thing was not possible. In their view of reality, if something lost power on one level, it would gather strength on another, and continue. This was exactly what came to be; the spiritual impulses and otherworldly power of the Old Ways may have been diminished on the outer level, but they gathered strength on many inner levels, until the time when they would re-emerge again. Llys Don represents one small part of that re-emergence. Llys Don is different from many of the other types of revivals of the old pagan faiths in that we strive to be as true to the spirit and form of old Celtic and Druidic mysticism as possible, relying on the historical and mythological evidence, but still allowing room for inspiration and personal intuition to bring intimate meaning to our reconstruction, for every member. We think that this is directly in line with what the ancient Druids themselves believed: that the quest for personal inspiration and insight was necessary for anything to be living, dynamic, meaningful, or relevant. Llys Don is not about creating a body of dogma or rituals; it is about experiencing Imbas or Awen, which translates into “Inspiration”, which to us is the ultimate ‘mystical’ experience possible to the individual: an experience in which the individual experiences the deepest nature of reality and gains direct awareness of their true relationship to Nature and to all beings and forms within it. This experience shows the resolution of all things and conflicts, and it obliterates fear and replaces it with wisdom and understanding. Llys Don is about respect and trust for the Ancestors, who have merged with the Land and who still exist as otherworldly powers, and who still affect us through their stories, through the blood and life they passed down to us, and through their wisdom, which is encapsulated in their mythology and in the stories we tell today. As it is said, “The Songs of our Ancestors are the Songs of our children.” Llys Don is also about respect for all cultural variety, and respect for those who respect others. Llys Don exists to bring about a renewed appreciation and respect for the heart and soul values of Celtic culture, including respect for the Land, and the values of Hospitality, Courage, Truth, Loyalty, and Personal Responsibility. Llys Don is also devoted to the idea of respect for women, as equals to men, and as carriers of the direct power of the Otherworld- the power to generate and create new life, and the power to have wisdom and insights that are unique to women only. The dynamic interplay and relationship of men to women and women to men is an important Mystery in and of itself - where the male may be dominant in this outer world, the female is dominant in the inner world - and where a man may physically fertilize a woman, it is women who emotionally and spiritually make men fertile and alive. Llys Don’s Druidism is about experiencing the great Force and internal Meaning of the Myths and Gods of our pre-Christian Celtic ancestors through the vehicle of personal thought, experience, and contemplation. We strive to understand and re-actualize the concepts of animism, polytheism, and totemism, and to use them to create a mental space, a paradigm by which we can make these concepts relevant in our modern life, and come to know their power. From Ruis Mac Duibhne [hazeldeep@yahoo.com]. Used with permission. |
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