by Jan Graham-McMillen
After all the decades of the development of the diverse Neo-Pagan, Earth
based
religions, I am sad to say that even within contemporary Druidism it seems
we have
not gotten over our need to manufacture lineages from ancient traditions
that simply do
not exist and establish credentials to prove authenticity of attainment that
range from the dubious to the outright fraudulent. Even in circles frequented
by of the most experienced Old-Timers, most of whom have developed well grounded
reality-checking skills in decades of experience with the pagan community,
you will find folks that cannot function comfortably within their faith without
frequent personal reference to their own authenticity. Each personal introduction
must include frequent reference to their bona fides because, presumably,
if these titles, honorifics, degrees and stations are stated often enough,
all will be convinced of their outstanding personal credibility and standing
within their faith.
Without doubt, there are men and women within the Druid community who have
practiced, studied and served with great dedication and deserve all the respect
and honor their communities give them. What makes their appellations legitimate
is that they have been given their honors in recognition for their deeds.
Their honors
have been conferred by those they have served, and are not merely self-conferred.
Some of the followers of the Druid Path that I admire most use no titles
at all, in
public or among their colleagues and peers, but many have given years of
service.
The public resurgence of interest in the Earth-based religions has been
going on long enough that we have seen modern Pagans die of old age after
life times of
dedication to their faiths, and be replaced with new generations within disciplines.
We even hear of the children of modern pagan families beginning to teach
the
faith that their parents taught them to their own children or rebelling against
the faith
of their parents and seeking out mainstream monotheism! We have this in common
with our monotheistic neighbors whose children are no easier to raise than
our
own. But what we do not have that our mainstream contemporaries do is a faith
that
is fully accepted within the society that we live in. A Baptist and a Catholic
and a Jew may not
agree on essential religious philosophies but they are usually, at least
publicly, in agreement that they each belong to a legitimate faith. A Wiccan
or Druid does not often receive the same
acknowledgement. Interfaith organizations are improving this situation, but
Paganism
is not yet accepted in the same way within our culture.
So we are, I believe, all a little insecure. Not in our faith, but in our
comfort levels
about the acceptance of our faith within our own society. Perhaps an effort
to integrate ourselves into the broader world is the reason that we often
see the appellation of Reverend awkwardly used in front of the name of members
of pagan clergy. At least, it seems awkward to me to use a title commonly
used by various Christian sects in these cases, and a little desperate. In
an effort to achieve some parity of respect and validity with clergy from
the mainstream in the eyes of the public and our peers, we attempt to force
recognition of our legitimacy with the use of titles that are used by the
majority religions that dominate our culture. In the end, it does nothing
to enhance our credibility as pagans, nor does it make us any more respected
or acceptable to the mainstream, because to the world at large the titles
belong to other, sometimes antithetical religious philosophies.
We also see Internet credentials such as the on-line ordinations that are
available instantly
through any number of sites. It seems as though the ordination is usually
free, but the laminated identification card and dashboard "Member of
Clergy" parking signs are available for
nominal fees. This custom has been the practice within the pagan community
for a long
time now as a useful and necessary legal tool, allowing pagan clergy to perform
legal ceremonies. But more and more often I see the acquisition of instant
ordination
presented as a verification of some sort of spiritual attainment and is again
essentially self-conferred.
Much worse than that ethically, and more damaging to our general credibility
is the
acquisition of on-line academic degrees without the years of study spent
to attain them
legitimately through accredited institutions. This is not only a problem
in the pagan
community. These instant degrees are showing up on resumes in all walks of
life, showing
that pagans are not the only members of our culture that are sometimes seduced
by
the availability of "instant" credentials. Truth is often subjective,
but this practice is too far a stretch of Truth to be anything but fraudulent.
One of the sad facts about even legitimate academic credentials is that they
only give a partial picture of attainment or expertise, and are of limited
value especially within the subjective realm of religion. Illegitimate credentials
say nothing more of the individual claiming them than they may be pathetically
insecure in their own self-esteem at best and guilty of dishonor and dishonesty
at worst.
The above are the most blatant and obvious ruses that we often see in use
among our
fellow pagans, but there is a more insidious sort of charlatanism that we
as pagans
fall prey to all too infrequently. Most of the forms of Druidism recognize
that there are
no unbroken, unchanged or undiluted lineages that date from the era of the
ancient Druids
who shaped the Celtic Bronze age cultures. Revivalists can legitimately point
back some
three hundred years to the various resurgences of interest in the preservation
of Celtic
culture, but they are also clear that in even those cases there are historical
interruptions,
starts and stops within the continuity of their Druidism. Most Celtic Reconstruction
oriented followers of the Druid Path prefer to find what historical evidences
exist
and use them to define current theory about the practices of the ancients.
That
information is then used in various ways to create contemporary Druidic theologies
and rites suitable to modern use. But we still see those within Druidism
those who continue
to make vague references to lineages of teaching that are purely fabricated
at worst
and at best are drawn from "granny-stories" of fragmentary folk
traditions that so many of
us have from tales passed down through our immigrant families. While these
stories of
remaining folk practices indicate that not all has been completely lost,
they do not
provide evidence of Druidic lineage. Since it is difficult to prove or disprove
the veracity
of lineage tales, we often see exaggeration and embellishment applied to
them and
soon there are many more "sow ears" of imaginary traditions masquerading
as the yearned for but improbable "silk purses" of long established
traditions, even within contemporary Druidism. The gullible are then impressed
with what is claimed but cannot easily be disproved, and the ideals of Truth
as a tenet of Druidism at large is compromised. This is never defensible,
but few pagans are willing to be confrontive enough to go to bat for the
reality of the situation, knowing full well that to do so is to confront
someone who may well be delusional.
Most active Druids who choose to build contacts within their community spend
time
making contacts through the Internet, and it has been a communications boon
that has
allowed people who would never have met otherwise to connect. Druidism
has grown and benefited from this gift, but there are still those who conduct
their
whole spiritual lives in the Cyber-Realms. Often, this is the only contact
some folks
have with like-minded individuals, and the medium provides a valuable service.
Whole
organizations with impressive numbers in their membership exist only on-line
and can
produce well thought-out correspondence that enhances the spiritual lives
of many in
very positive ways.
But along with the blessing of increased contact comes the problem of the Internet
Charlatan. Entire careers within the discipline of Druidism can and are fabricated
on-line,
and the most successful and long-lasting e-lists maintain the best of what they
have
to offer by maintaining an atmosphere of polite neutrality when these dubious
claims
are made, maintaining an ethic of taking people at their word. The assumption
is that
all Druids live by similar standards in defining Truth, and there is little choice
but to
accept with civility what cannot be proved or disproved for the sake of maintaining
the
existence of the list. Or is there?
This kind of role-playing on the Internet is particularly dangerous because we
have
none of the usual subtle cues such as body language, mannerisms, etc. to allow
the kind
of intuitive or lightly conscious personal assessments that we ordinarily use
in face-to-face
interaction. The Internet provides a distance and a shielding from ordinary scrutiny
so
that it becomes difficult to present a more genuine persona without giving lie
to the fabricated
personality. The deceptions or half-truths or embellishments become impossible
to jettison without risking loss of face in the community for the role-player.
The danger is not only to a credulous community but to the one who does the fabrication.
It becomes impossible to be genuine.
One of the delightful aspects of Paganism at its best is the acceptance of a
wide
range of personal belief systems. Reconstructionist Druidism is somewhat set
apart
from other forms of Paganism by a distinct, admitted elitism that works in favor
of many of the goals of the discipline, but sometimes tempts insecure individuals
to fabricate or embellish their credentials in order to gain acceptance within
the community. The ancients we so admire belonged to a culture where strong class
distinctions were present and understood by
everyone, yet we operate as modern Druids in a society where the lines of class
are
blurred and are much more mutable, with a higher degree of individualism throughout.
The
role of the Druid in the modern world can never be the same as it was in the
ancient world. One of the great challenges of Druidism is to find productive
ways to reconcile these
differences and still maintain a Celtic spiritual perspective, and as yet there
is little
agreement on how that should be accomplished.
The creation of great Druidic seminaries is often put on the table as part of
the possible
future of modern Druidism, but most orders, organizations and more casual groups
still
face the challenge of how to equitably divide up the cost of the communal mead
without
bickering. Any number of the larger, often international Druidic organizations
offer distance
learning courses in their own disciplines, but as valuable as they are, they
rarely measure
achievement with stringent standards and operate on the honor system in determining
whether the student has actually done all the work required. The honor system
is the rule rather than the exception within all the Druidic disciplines that
I know, and there is merit to operating in that trusting mode in matters of faith.
However, there is a point where our willingness to trust the honor and truth
of the claims of some of our colleagues is so stretched that we become the victims
of our own desire to be accommodating.
So unless we launch inquisitions and constantly demand proofs and verifications,
possibilities
that would quite correctly be met with resounding rejection from the Druid community
across
the board, how are we to address these concerns? If it appears that, as contemporary
Druids, we honor Credential alone above the genuine attainment that is sometimes
supported by formal titles or degrees, but sometimes not, then perhaps we should
attend to that perception
Our whole culture is in an era of "spin". We listen to our national
leaders speak in
fact-free hyperbole, and defend lies and half-truths with more hyperbole. Thankfully,
there is beginning to be some public recognition of these tactics, and there
is hope
that we may become less accepting as a society of anything less than integrity
from
our elected officials. Does the path that we have chosen to define our spiritual
lives
deserve any less discernment or insistence on integrity? .
When we thoughtfully consider Truth as a prime virtue of our faith, we must understand
its myriad subjective elements. That should not take us so far as to personally
accept the small or large embellishments and exaggerations that have become so
much a part of pagan culture, whether they are used to enhance our own self-image,
or if we see them in the claims of others. I cannot think of a Druid order or
organization that does not honor Truth as a major
tenet of faith. As Druids we are not only honor bound to strive toward an understanding
of the nature of Truth, but higher standards of self-examination in our daily
application of Truth as we apply it to our own lives. Many of us understand that
some of the greatest Truths are difficult to define, that Truth is often subjective
and open to debate, but while facts can be stretched, they cannot be twisted
and spun to the breaking point and remain Truth.
We should strive always to be aware of the difference between seeing ourselves
in an affirmative and positive light, and the current habit so prevalent in the
pagan community of twisting, stretching or embellishing the truth of our own
experience to the point it becomes a lie. If a follower of the Druid path cannot
distinguish where that line is drawn, then we merely have someone lacking in
wisdom, but if he or she will not acknowledge that line, then we have a dishonest
Druid. The very essence of the life of the individual Druid, and the way that
we define ourselves should be bound by our deepest understandings of Truth if
we are to claim it as a prime tenet of our faith. If we are wise, we do not try
to lie to our Gods, and should
apply that wisdom to all aspects of our own self-presentation within our faith.
Since we have no Commission of Druidic Ethical Behavior, or Druid Credential
Committees,
then we will each have to define for ourselves how far we are willing to tolerate
exaggeration in exchange for accuracy, fantasy in exchange for reality, and accept
preposterous credentials instead of authentic attainment as the measure of a
Druid. If we individually remember to
fairly and ethically apply the determination of Truth within ourselves, then
perhaps our understanding and application will spread to our groves and organizations
and have an ultimate positive effect in the larger Druid community.
One of the Triads of Ireland teaches:
"Three candles that illumine every darkness - truth, nature, knowledge."
Let us light those candles within ourselves first, and illuminate our
own willingness to accept who we truly are as Druids. We must be truthful
in
our own self-evaluation, understand the real nature of our personal Truths,
and
understand that the application of Truth to self-knowledge is a continuing
and
never ending part of our faith as Druids. Perhaps that will ultimately lead
us each
to the spiritual accomplishment and fulfillment we so long to attain in the
end.
