There is No Separation – an article by Damh the Bard
Druidry reveals the illusion of separation that humans have built between themselves and the natural world – an illusion that is silk-thin, yet sometimes seems impenetrable, a wall between us. We can see the trees, the hills, caves, rocks, ocean waves, animals and birds, but somehow cannot reach them through the concrete, noise of television, cars, and general hustle and bustle of our modern lives. But take the hand of the Druid, and step through, and the air becomes clear, the noise fades away into the distance, and you can not only hear your footsteps on the fallen leaves, you can feel them under your feet. You begin to understand the relationship between the oak, ash, hazel, and the animals of the woodlands. And through that understanding you begin to rediscover your own relationship with them; a relationship that reveals how the earth sustains us, and after she has spoken to you, and revealed herself, you see that it is the concrete, television, and security of modern life that is the illusion after all. You begin to truly become a ‘native’.
This observation of the surface relationship draws us deeper in. And soon we are yearning to spend more time in the wilder places. Rain and wind are no longer seen as enemies to our comfort, for our comfort-zones move, and they become friends, brothers and sisters. Mud, no longer an inconvenience, is understood to be the flesh of the past, decaying to feed the seeds of the future, everything has its place, its part to play. The moss-covered stump becomes a living being again, not just a relic of a past tree, but a home to hundreds of creatures, and food for even more. We find the best wood from which to make fire, rediscover the natural food that exists around us. We sit under the canopy of leaves, beside a sacred fire, drinking tea made from gathered pine needles. Listening to the calls of birds, the bark of the vixen, the scurrying sounds of life within the woods.
And this relationship with the real world draws us deeper in. Seeing the movement of animals from the edges of our sight begins to show us other movement, quick flashes of movement that, when we look directly at its source, the source is not there. Another world begins to reveal itself, a world of Nature Spirits, Gods, and Heroes. For not only did the world of concrete show us an illusion of separation with the natural world, it also laughed and denied the existence of magic. But now, as a true ‘native’, we can see that magic is as natural as the fox, the ancient yew, the stream, and we can begin to build our relationship with it, for there is no separation between nature and magic, between nature and the unseen world. The owl tells us of Blodeuwedd, the deer speaks of Oisin, and the crescent moon sings to us of the Lady Ceridwen, the soaring raven shows us the great God Bran, and the fleeting sight of antlers leads us to Herne, and his Mysteries. The Awen symbol with its three rays is complete, as the natural world feeds our mind with stories and poetry, our bodies with natural food, shelter, fire and water, and our spirit with our relationship with the Spirit of the Land. The ‘native’ becomes the Druid.