Three Branches of the Druid Tree

Druids have always been a contentious lot. Go to any musty sourcebook and you will find an abundance of literature and lore to suggest that debate and argument have long been honored forms of discourse between individual Druids and Orders. Naturally. Druid Colleges may be architectural wonders or gatherings of transient mentors crouching beneath the spiny boughs of Hedgerows, and the same masters at both! Such "schools" issue no certificates or diplomas; worth and attainments are measured peer to peer through trials, tests, and competitions.  Such challenges are typically riddled with obscure allusions, and attainment is measured both by recognition and the subtlety and eloquence of one's response. The exchanges are sharp, but in the main good-natured; for few who have not earned their titles have stomach for sparring with those who have.

Today's sparring continues along even more absolute lines. Whereas the ancestors intended to reveal one's knowledge and skill, today's matches are more concerned with one's sources. If you have the "right" source you are esteemed learned, if not, you are labeled a "fool." The problem with this sort of absolute thinking is that it assumes a basis in absolute, unchanging "fact," and somehow this erroneous concept of "fact" has gotten tangled up with the ancient idea of "Truth." But is this modern correlation valid? And is it really Druidical?

First let us consider some definitions of terms:

The knowledge that "fact" changes with changing conditions and levels of wisdom has done little to dim its popular image as fixed, absolute and unchanging. This notion has created a false expectation of finding "one, immutable right answer" for everything. Very clean, very simple, as theories go... but not very true. In modern society, science has usually tackled the cold, hard facts, leaving the humanities to ruminate over the nature of truth. This has led to a devaluation of truth as somehow 'nonfactual' or unscientific; a situation made worse by the fact that both of these schools of thought are regulated by government-approved institutions that are vulnerable to censoring whenever the information they produce proves inconvenient.

As Druids, we were once the scholars and lore-keepers (historians) of our people, and it has proved difficult to give up our ancient authority and titles; but society teaches us that to be recognized as modern "authorities" we must have the approval of modern institutions (collegiate scholars). Thus, many neo-Druids have courted academic favour in hopes of gaining public acceptance and recognition. In the process, some Druids seem to have confused "Truth" with the modern expectation of unchanging historical "fact," making the argument that Druid "Truth" is somehow defined by modern scholarship. Full authority is often yielded to official histories, which ridicule the traditional and hereditary claims because they often cannot be fully substantiated in the official records of the dominant culture.  But is it reasonable to expect officialdom to validate such claims when to do so means incriminating, even condemning itself ? Many acknowledged truths are not to be found in "official" histories; yet this question remains at the center of the current debate.

Beneath the surface of "fact" lies a deeper Truth that is expressed through Universal Laws known to us as the Laws of Physics and Metaphysics (or Arcane Laws). The study of Druidry, in time long past, was concerned with understanding these Laws and their patterns of  manifestation in the world. Its practice explored the ends to which this wisdom might be applied. "History" was the story of a people's "becoming" and defined their identity... It was their dream of the far ancestors and who they had become, held in trust by those whose minds had been trained to faithfully remember and relate its essential truth to future generations. To break such a trust was unthinkable, its punishment swift and terrible. Unassailable, the verity of the spoken word and a poor cousin the written word; for anyone could write a tome, style himself "Archdruid" and supplant Mystery with blasphemy once a written record was circulated... And indeed, they have. Our bookstores are crowded with writings, and many their titles and claims; but how are the unschooled to know their real merit? For this, the Druids long forbade (or kept in private circulation) the writing of their beliefs. Yet who has ridden the ninth wave, answered the voice in stone, and returned again to say "there is no wisdom but in books of men"? Apparently, many have.

Thus we are confronted with a paradox: as Druids, our ways derive from an ancient oral (spoken) tradition discredited in modern society. It is in struggling to resolve this contradiction that we have become divided. Many Druids question the relevance of the ancestral path in our time; yet where the Dream is held, however faintly, it is a lifeline to identity. Thus each Druid practitioner and group is faced with a defining choice as regards their myth of origins:


Adherents to these disparate philosophies often defend them with a fanatical zeal reminiscent of the warring Celtic Clans, whose passion for fighting each other fatally blinded them to a common enemy. Each seems to believe itself possessed of the "one Truth" or "one right answer", while apparently ignoring the inherent un-Druidity of such a concept. For example, there are as many myths of making in Druidism as their are practicing Druids. (ADO teaches that the ancients held Creation to be an ever-continuing collective "act of making" in which each of us continually takes part.) In our view, the idea of "one right answer" arrived with the concept of "one right God" and a fixed, unchanging Creation. It is quite new, and not at all pertinent to Druidism -- ancient or modern.

Which Are the Real Druids?

Modern Druid (indeed, Pagan) debate seems to centre on this question, as if it contained the answers to all of life's greater questions. In our view, this constant tug-of-war over "who will 'win' and define us all" is nothing more than a battle of egos whose methods and ends could not be further from the goals of self-empowerment (the central concern of Avalonians), Sovereignty, resolving "the Matter of Britain" (the central issue on which nearly all Celtic Druids profess to focus), or stewardship (which is dear to both). It is vital that we not allow this self-defeating cycle to divert us from those duties we are vowed to uphold. If we each maintain trust in the Way we have been taught, our legacies will spring from our own efforts, discoveries, successes and failures, and it is to these we encourage our members to look. For to be a Druid is to be many things, but to be a Druid of Avalon is to be oath-sworn to one thing only: the healing of the Wasteland (wherever we may find it) after the manner prescribed by our spiritual ancestors. As we do that which is given to our hands to do, so we expect others to do the same.

It is a sorrow to the world that her Druids (and other pagan folk) employ themselves in battles of ego when the Earth labors under the blows being dealt her. Even sadder that those of Avalon should so indulge themselves; but it is so. We see no profit in it. It is not needful that all believe as we do; in the course of our journeys we all encounter those whose views diverge from our own. But neither should we be compelled to conform. The ideal is not uniformity, but tolerance. Tolerance is not condescending to allow others to claim a place in the circle; it is respectfully acknowledging their right to do so, even when their beliefs and practices are not our own. The question of who should have power to validate others as Druids is irrelevant. In our view, the real debate is how the world's Druids may act together (or support one another) in service to the highest good (a question we would also put to those of Avalon). Then let this battle of egos sift the wheat from the chaff, that we may sooner find those who are ready and able to collaborate for the highest good.

Rooting Avalon in the Modern World

One of the best ways to promote tolerance is through educational outreach. The more diverse the society, the greater the need to bridge the cultural, economic, and spiritual gaps. As Druids, we are charged with stewardship of this planet. Her nurture, care, and protection are in our keeping. It is for us to learn and follow a sustainable lifestyle, that others may learn by observing us a harmonious mode of existence. This knowledge has been sorely lacking. Until we educate and discipline ourselves to practice, we will be hard pressed to find an audience for our concerns. The world is full of threats: what is one more? Who will listen to long sermons on how the air, water, and food have been poisoned without any hope of a solution? We teach first by example, and next by showing others how we managed it. This alone is a monumental achievement!

We all speak of the need for change; what we need is to stop waiting for someone else to save us and start making change happen ourselves -- not "somewhere" or "someday", but here, in this moment. Modern society is not our friend in this. Disasters unfold like pageants on "Headline News" as if there  could be no solutions. We are no longer taught (or ever really made) to think deductively about what we observe and learn, or to recognize the forms and uses of rhetoric. We sit in our cars, at our desks, and in front of projected images that tell us what to think and feel about world events so we needn't trouble with actual experience. We are assured that our somnambulance is a sign of our success, and encouraged in the belief that the more "successful" we become, the more "convenient" everything will be and the freer we will be to be good consumers... The idea of stewardship, of having a duty to care for the planet, is never even introduced, so often we've no idea where to begin. Yet a beginning is already within our grasp.

There are many paths to good stewardship and most are already within our grasp, whatever our place in society: Recycling; using compostable toilets, solar and wind power; switching to free-range, organic, GMO-free foods; going "green" with necessary purchases; pushing legislators to hold corporate and world leaders accountable -- these powerful choices are understood across cultures and faiths. They don't require us to impose our own beliefs on others, but they do improve our quality of life. By making these kinds of choices we provide a living example of Avalonian Druid values taking root in the modern world.

Magic and Avalon's Druid Path
An Exploration of Ethics, Intentions & Methods

Ethics in Avalon

INTENTION AND MOTIVE

One of the first things that we learn in Avalon is that in magic, intention is everything. Intention is the purpose with which we set out to do a ritual or working. It defines the end goal that we hope to achieve. Implicit in our intention is motive, the conscious and subconscious elements that drive our choices and behavior. It is these two factors together that define an action as "ethical" or "unethical." Ethical acts are those whose intention and motive is to help (or at least not to harm or hinder); while unethical acts are meant to do quite the opposite.

THOUGHT & ACTION

In mundane life, "thought" is the idea we form in our minds; "action" occurs when we bring thought into physical manifestation in some way. In Avalon, we recognize many kinds of "action." We know that thought shapes reality, thus a thought given direction and sent with energy and purpose has the potential to manifest; thus it is also an action, whether it is sent deliberately or without our conscious intention. In fact, anything that we think, feel, or do that is done with the intent to affect change should be considered an action. Even a daydream, when dwelt upon obsessively, can become action simply by being charged with focused energy sufficient to manifest it. We are all responsible for the consequences of our actions, even when those actions are the result of a lack of knowledge or discipline. Thus, one of the first tasks of a Novice Druid is to become intimately acquainted with our subconscious motivations (Shadow) and to discipline our minds against such accidents.

DISCERNMENT

In Avalon, actions performed with the intent to do harm are considered unethical, regardless of what provoked them or how we may justify them. (The sole exception to this rule is when our lives are actually threatened and we act in self-defense.) Intention is easy to identify, because it is the purpose of our ritual or working which we consciously state when beginning; but what about motive? We have all heard of "ulterior (hidden) motives." The "helpful" neighbor whose aid is a passkey for intrusion and the friend who loans money as a means of coercion are scenarios familiar in life and lore -- but how do they apply in magic?

Let us take "spellcraft" as our example. The object of casting a spell is nearly always to influence someone or something to do what they would not otherwise; thus it is manipulative. Interfering with free will is considered unethical in Avalonian Druidry. Who among us would knowingly perform manipulative magics? Yet the temptation to see ourselves as helping others who are in pain can be great. The truth is, a "love" spell is not about "love" at all, but about control. Though we may tell ourselves that the intent is "to bring lovers together" (ignoring the fact that the lovers are usually separated as a result of free will), the inner motive is to compel one of the pair to specific action by exerting an outside influence over them. The outward "intent" (to help someone in pain) seems benign, but the inner "motive" (to force someone else to act against their own will) is not. Does this mean if you're an Avalonian Druid that there is no way to help someone through heartbreak? Not at all! Aside from the obvious (compassionate listening and cheering visits), there are some "small magics" that might be of help -- if we are willing not to interfere with free will and to accept destiny.

Magic versus "Spellwork"

We do magic every day, though mostly it goes unrecognized. "Magic" is the manifest result of our focused intention, but we recognize it from the feeling of limitless possibility and connection with the Universe that it evokes. In Avalon, "small magics" are worked in order to achieve this effect, usually through the agency of an object. They are "small" because they are really just reminders to each of us of our inherent connections to Spirit. "Small magics" are usually intended to cleanse, clear, ground, rebalance, attract, repel, heal, and protect. Their purpose is to restore or defend, rather than to force or manipulate. Amongst the tools used in such magics are amulets and charms. An amulet is a protective object carried or worn on one's person, which uses as its device the symbols and sigils of planetary or spirit powers. (Example: in The Mists of Avalon, the symbol-covered scabbard that Morgaine fashions for the sword of the Druid regalia protects the wearer from bleeding to death.) A charm is an object charged with a specific energy, that is used to attract or repel specific influences.
(Example: Morgaine gives Gwenhyfar a charm for fertility that draws her together with both Arthur and Lancelet.) Amulets and charms do not always act as one expects and both can be used unethically, for what has the power to help can also hinder or harm. How, then, shall we employ them? For answer, let us return to the example of the "love spell"...

Avalonian ethics tell us that, except in life or death struggles, we must do nothing to harm or hinder well-being or free will. It is vitally important then, that whomever we help ask and accept our assistance of their own free will. For this reason, it is always preferable to wait for the invitation, rather than to offer magical assistance. Vulnerable and suggestible people  may have difficulty making clear choices. If your friend is struggling to decide or if they begin to seem dependent upon magic to solve their problems, it is best to withdraw, for then our "help" can be only a hindrance.

[Traditionally, we may charge for materials and time used, but not for the magic itself. Magic is a gift to us from Creation. It is in everything and is freely available to everyone; we do not provide it. The lore tells us not to charge for that which is given us freely, lest the gift itself be withdrawn -- and we have seen the truth of it; therefore take care to charge only for what is truly yours to give.]

Once you agree to proceed, consent must be obtained from all those who will be directly affected. This means explaining your intentions and the general philosophy behind our methods, so that others may choose whether to accept our help. We must also be willing to abide by their decisions. Do not reveal the exact method of your magic even to its recipient. Once given, amulets and charms may not be touched by anyone but the recipient. If a charm, it must remain sealed or its power may be lost. Remind your friend that you are not a genie in a bottle; your work is not a guarantee of getting what they want, but merely smoothes the way if it is meant to be. If they distrust your instruction (or cannot take it seriously) reconsider the wisdom of providing them such help, or you may find yourself and your work the subject of unfair accusations and/or undesired scrutiny.

"Small magics", then, help to cleanse, clear, ground, and keep us free of "cling-ons" (unwanted energies that attach themselves to people and/or places) that might otherwise disturb the natural flow of being. The line between them and conventional spellcraft can be quite subtle, and we must each of us exercise ruthless self-honesty and proceed with caution if we are to avoid crossing it.

Magics of Avalon Past

Small magics should not comprise the main body of Avalonian spiritual work, but they are a living reminder of times past, before hospitals, lawyer's offices, and telephone "psychics" displaced us in the hearts of our Tribes; a time when the authority of Avalon was still a beacon in the world and our folk still sought us for healing, wisdom, and counsel. Such little works represent only a fraction of what once was known; for like all things, magical systems spring from present needs. When the needs fade, so too the magics that served them...

In the far past, our people lived and moved through the world in relative peace. We had no need of warriors in those days, for none required of us our customs, our Dreams, or our freedoms. What need had we of defensive magics? The small things were sufficient for basic energetic hygiene. For long we ignored the pall drawn over the world until conflict came, turning the hunter's spear to other uses. Great ships disgorged raiders onto our shores, and with them need of stronger magics and wards. Thus our far ancestors learned the art of raising sea and storm, of bringing down the lightning, of kindling flame and walking fire unharmed. Each wonder held sway some little while before stronger methods were demanded. Those of Avalon saw their work perverted and knew the time of withdrawal was at hand.

Now Avalon re-emerges in answer to the Mother's terrible need. In a time dominated by fear, hate, and  greed, we are asked to remain rooted in Love; great work indeed. How tempting to use Avalon's power to enforce our will on others in the name of the common good. How often throughout history has fear made evil deeds seem heroic, only to bring a doom on all who follow them! Like Tolkien's "ring, though the power lies in our grasp we may not use it: There is no help in the magics of the past...

Magics of Avalon Present

And so we face the Wasteland, of which all our literature and lore forewarns. The world learned of it in childhood on our mother's knees. As Druids we study its making and unmaking year in... year out... delving deep into its secrets, its hidden messages. Yet the Nameless Land stretches before us, a barren, lifeless waste: How did we come here?...

By small steps and great enchantments, spanning the long years; of our own wills we came. With denial and desire we paved its road, a long black gash in our sacred landscape that grew with use. It was made in the heart, forged of our inner fears, and greed, and hatreds; and only there can it be unmade. All the magics in all our books cannot approach the enormity of this one task: to heal the Wasteland and restore the sacred Land to harmony and abundance. All that we here do, all that we are or desire to be, serves this one, single, central magical purpose... It is a return to our spiritual roots, to the wellspring, the origins of Avalon and her original purpose in the world. It is a remembering and honoring of our far ancestors, who lend their energies also to this work. It is a return to the Heart... with all that that entails.

Contemplating the Future

This need is known to many. It has different names in different places, but the work of healing it is always the same. It is a magic, an enchantment greater than any other. It is personal, it is private. It is public, it is collective. It is born by each of us alone, yet others share it. It lives or dies in every thought, choice, and action. You have come here seeking magic... Magic is power: but it is not power "over" anything but ourselves. That is the key that is hidden in plain view, that most refuse to see and more to use. In our time, we do not "read" the myths; we live by them. The myths have power to teach us because they reflect certain archetypes that actively influence our lives. The patterns of these archetypal stories has been repeated throughout human history in many different lands and cultures; by learning to recognise the pattern and understanding how it works, we hope to break out of repeating harmful cycles.

Ours is not the magic of turning princes into frogs, but the enchantment of bringing the dead to life. It is not the skill of the matchmaker, but the mastery of the enchanter. It is the wisdom of the Wood, of Gwyddon and Derwydd, Bardd, Awenydd and Gweledydd of which we speak. It is the fulfilling of oaths ancient beyond recalling... What does your heart tell you? Will it answer this need?... It will not be glamorous. The world will not remember our names, though if we prevail our deeds may be sung again around the hearthfire. Many will oppose us and our only solace may be in thankless service. We need no tools or garb, but only our willing hearts, and hands committed to the task... Our magic is not "witchcraft." Nor in its widest scope is Druidism specific to any one faith; it is a philosophical system centred on the nature and laws of Spirit in all its manifestations. In this place, we honor that philosophy as do all Druids, and contemplate Spirit through our particular bond with a Land whose energies spring from Avalon. Let all who seek our magics, draw from that healing spring.

Avalon & The Matrix
An Avalonian Perspective on Modern Life

The Crossroads

Between the two extremes of pure science, which denies inherent plan or meaning, and pure Mystery, which denies patterns and proofs, lies a crossroads: a place where intuition is understood as the subtle illumination of the workings of natural laws, where reason and instinct are two faces of one faculty, and where all information is subject challenge by verification through lucid, rational analysis and systematic investigation within both intuitive and rational contexts. This juncture is exemplified by the phenomenon known as 'synchronicity' (“the dramatic coincidence of meaning between an inner state and a simultaneous external event”).

Carl Jung saw archetypes as providing the foundation of each synchronistic event by creating a point of connection between inner and outer realities; a point in which one might experience the world as ensouled. Recognizing synchronicity requires us to open ourselves to the power of metaphor and mystery (though this can easily be trivialized by those who see every small example as evidence of their own staggering importance). In Jungian philosophy, the significance of synchronistic events lies in the presence of an archetype embedded within the relationship between inner and outer perceived realities. This inherent parallelism between inner and outer realities suggests that synchronicity is more than a subjective psychological projection. Thus, we experience synchronicity as revealing a meaningful pattern reflected in our experience; a pattern that defines a reality not understood in any modern sense. Synchronicity seems to carry the numinous with it.

The Hunt or Quest

In the Primal Worldview it is not mankind that is the source of all meaning and purpose; all life is ensouled and invested with deep significance and inherent value, and humanity is an integral part of this interconnected whole. Modern people often feel somehow separate from Nature; thus they imagine that to project meaning onto the nonhuman world, to seek deep communion with or to read the sacred landscape, is mere fantasy or delusion. Making meaning the exclusive attribute of humanity reflects the idea of being created in the image of a completely transcendent God who wields ultimate power over an objectified Creation; he/we are thus in absolute control, and not subject to greater forces that we do not understand. The Scientific Revolution validated this objectification and separation from Nature, which the so-called Age of Enlightenment then reinforced by redefining 'dominion' and establishing it as a 'fact' articulated in totally secular ('scientific') terms. Yet these beliefs ignore the report of direct observation and experience upon which empirical science or "scientific method" is founded. It is a contradiction that was largely been ignored by academics until the advent of the new Physics, whose theories are forcing scientists to look at many ancient beliefs in a new light.

In the course of this re-examination, we are confronted with the fact that ultimately our two thousand year love affair with the image of ourselves as Lords of the Universe has left us unsatisfied. Faced with society's complete failure to produce a viable cosmology and plagued by a craving for some sense of reintegration with Creation, it is not surprising that many people are looking to the past for answers. The problem is that most people are taking their modern worldviews with them; views that preclude any real understanding of the primal paradise they seek. The very nature of the modern concept of reality leaves any profound attempt to reclaim a state of spiritual Oneness perpetually vulnerable to intellectual negation. Empty mechanism and materialism cannot answer the great questions nor help us to live the moment with satisfaction. It is a room without windows or doors from which the only escape is to exit completely. This exit comes in the form of a story about sleepers living in a dream, and those who awaken them to a terrible reality in hopes of reclaiming a sanctified world based not on illusion or empty promises, but on Truth. This Truth is the object of our Hunt or Quest; for we are the sleepers who must awaken, and only truth can release us from the nightmare we have created.

The Power of Worldview

In Avalon, we speak often of the importance of 'worldview', but seldom do we present a clear analogy for what we mean. More often an understanding of 'worldview' is something that must be developed through experience over long periods of time. The reason for this is that worldview is the network of assumptions that underlies the shared definition of 'reality' in mainstream culture and society. It is imbibed from cradle to grave, consciously and subconsciously, through familial and societal conditioning, conventional education, and subliminal cues, and encompasses all of a people's 'right answers' to virtually everything. Worldview is what we all agree to accept as 'unassailable fact', but which is actually theory developed in support of presiding authorities and powers. When these governing influences change, worldview (and thus 'unassailable fact') changes with them. All of this we know; what we seldom fully appreciate is the actual impact worldview has on our most basic assumptions and responses to the world, and it is this which is most important to understand as regards any spiritual or magical system.

The modern dichotomy between reason and intuition, logic and emotion, waking and sleeping, real and unreal is a relatively recent phenomenon, the result of the widespread adoption of a once enlightened (but now corrupted) and mainly foreign doctrine. This false reality that has been forced upon us for over two thousand years. Fortunately for us, all lies are perishable. Only Truth endures. However, even a temporary loss of Truth can be devastating and the result of mainstream adherence to this false doctrine is the self-fulfilling prophecy of "The Fall". "The Fall" results directly from the idea that humanity is somehow 'separate from and above' Nature. Because we are conditioned to see ourselves as exempt from any natural consequences for its actions, exploiting the environment is not seen as a real threat. On nearly every level Avalonian belief contradicts this worldview. We are awake to the ruse, and will explore this 'slight of hand' here through the metaphor of "The Matrix."

Discovering the Way

“Widespread or even universal conviction at any given moment has never been a reliable indication of the truth or falsity of an idea.”
Tarnas

Since the story of the Matrix is deeply concerned with truth as a basis for personal freedom and justice, and since the events of this story are well-known, let us use it to illustrate and summarize some basic Avalonian Druid perspectives on common concepts:


In the world of the Matrix, perceived reality turns out to be nothing but a computer-induced illusion, within which peoples' roles are merely a distraction intended to prevent them from recognizing the truth. Even being 'unplugged' (going off-grid) cannot deliver one from enslavement to the Matrix; the only salvation is through embracing and acting upon one's inner (intuitive) knowledge of Truth. The protagonist's journey of enlightenment follows the pattern typified in all Mystery Traditions:


The protagonist, Neo, is already awakening at the opening of this story. He already feels alienated from 'waking reality' when the message appears on his computer saying, "The Matrix has you, Neo." The epiphany comes in stages as the overlap between the two realities becomes more apparent. Struggle begins as the System becomes aware that Neo is awakening and sends 'agents' to arrest and interrogate him. It continues as he confronts the real parameters of the reality he thought he had always known and tests his new-found understanding and skills in life-or-death situations. He gains knowledge after meeting the Oracle and choosing to go into the Matrix to save his mentor. Grace comes when he realizes that the Matrix is part of reality (and thus bound by the same laws), and that he is integral to both -- an insight which allows him to use the rules inherent in the System programme to overcome the limitations it formerly imposed upon him. Even from this brief summary we may begin to see parallels between Avalonian Druid views of reality and the Matrix story themes.

The Road Less Traveled

Why is this story so compelling to modern people? Because it places us within the context of an ancient, archetypal reality (that of the sacred, ancestral Hunt or Quest remembered in our bones) set  within a modern context that feels familiar and thus accessible to us all. It is familiar because we, like Neo, are all sleepers on the brink of awakening, waiting to encounter someone who can help us to 'unplug' from our enslavement to the illusion and embrace the underlying reality -- whatever that reality might be. If it were not so, you would not now be here reading this.

It is easy to read these words, to recognize their truth, and yet still be lulled by a lifetime's conditioning into thinking that grasping the ideas is enough. It is not enough. We must bring our knowledge into action, allow it to inform and direct every word, thought, and deed before we may begin to free ourselves from being mentally enslaved to illusion. "But how can one do this and still live within the System?" you may ask. There is no simple answer. For as long as the majority of people insist that the illusion is reality, you must live within the System; yet you cannot be as you were before, because now you know the Truth. In this sense, we will always be 'between worlds'; to keep our balance there we must each become somewhat subversive, like the rebels on Morpheus' ship. When we re-enter "the Matrix" we must look like other people, yet not be like them. The light we radiate by remaining true to who and what we really are will invariably help to awaken others. Eventually others will begin to perceive that we are not what we appear, that we are somehow 'different'. We must each decide how to meet this moment, whether to face down the 'agents' or 'unplug' and move on. It will be different for each of us, according to how far we have come in our journeys.

Ultimately, as all the great Mystery Traditions attest, the greatest act of subversion is simply to be who we really are, speak what is really true, and do what we know in our hearts to be right.

The Druids: "Truth" versus Fiction
ADO's Place in the Modern Debate
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This Hearthfire was last kindled: 7 March, 2010

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