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Celtic mythology: Druidism
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As we examined previously, there do seem to be underpinnings of Druidism associated with certain traditions, practiced with entirely different methods and motives of course, in what has evolved into the Halloween holiday. Since the season is to so many about having "fun," just for fun, let us now look at little more closely at a few aspects of this ancient religion.
While there is some disparity in the historical record, it appears as though the genesis of Druidism dates as far back as 4,000 years ago, and was advanced relatively by the migratory habits of its devotees. In the epoch which predates Christianity, Celtic Druids are believed to have been members of the elite "professional class," e.g. judges, doctors, advisors, mystics, and religious scholars. Some maintain they were the “philosophers, scientists, theologians, and intellectuals of their culture and the holders of the sum of knowledge for their age.”
Greco-Roman author Diogenes Laertius associated the Druids with the ancient world's most sagacious philosophers, the Persian Magi, the Chaldeans (priesthood of Babylon), etc. However, their teachings on ethics comes to us piecemeal and in proverbs, which Diogenes called “riddles and dark sayings.” Another scholar named Fergus Kelly wrote that a Druid was “priest, prophet, astrologer, and teacher of the sons of nobles.”
Others suggest Druidism had (and has) a very dark cultic side to it. One source cites Druids as being "witches of sorts... in the century preceding the birth of Christ, Caesar conquered the Britains and records the account of the Druid priests ...'All Gallic nations are much given to superstition... they either offer up men as victims to the gods, or make a vow to sacrifice themselves. The ministers in these 
offerings are the Druids, and they hold that the wrath of the immortal gods can only be appeased, and man's life redeemed, by offering up human sacrifice, and it is a part of their national institutions to hold fixed solemnities (ceremonies) for this purpose.'"
Supposedly Druids assembled in groves of trees, usually oaks, or in a circle of stone on pagan holidays to conduct such rituals. Stonehenge in England is alleged to be the most famous of these "stone circles." The festival of Samhain, observed on October 31st, was key for this purpose. The evidence strongly indicates, from the numerous burial mounds in the area about Stonehenge and based upon the conditions of excavated remains, that human sacrifice was most likely a common practice there.
Alexander Hislop in the book, “The Two Babylons,” writes, "The god whom the Druids worshipped was Baal... (supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites). We know that they offered human sacrifices to their bloody gods. Further... "the priests of... Baal were necessarily required to eat of the human sacrifices; and thus it has come to pass that `Cahna-Bal', (Cahna is the emphatic form of Cahn which means `a priest') meaning the priest of Baal, is the established word in our tongue for a devourer of human flesh." (“The Two Babylons,” pg. 232). Although the name of the Druid god(s) changed, Hislop believed Druid practices were fixed in Baal worship, which is strongly forbade by the Christian Bible.
Until next time...
Please do share your views on the subject freely. Submit them under comments or send them to delawarewimer@hotmail.com
More on Druids/Druidism:
http://www.wildideas.net/cathbad/pagan/dr-guide1.html#3
http://logosresourcepages.org/Holidays/halloween.htm#The History of Halloween
http://druidnetwork.org/beliefs/articles/sacrifice/megli
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