The Druid's Prayer I: Start Here...

[leaf]

(at least) Two things:

Mike,
thank you, your reworking is an inspiration to me and will bring me back to this prayer.  Indeed Inspiration is Awen, is it not...so a great thanks to you

and

Brianna,
I am very curious -- what is your source for the Kabbalistic connections?  I am intrigued.  The correspondences given between the sphiras and their meanings are rather different than what i was taught.  I was trained in Kabbalah at a Chassidic 'College' which belongs to a sect that has been teaching Chassidus and Kabbalah for more than 200 years, and whose teachers are from a lineage that goes very, very far back.  (Unfortunately Chassidic Judaism does not open its schools to everyone, one must be of demonstrable Jewish Ancestry and be recommended by a Rabbinical authority to attend!)  I would love to learn more of these sources you found. Thank you

[Brianna]

Sure leaf

I had the Quabla as a special subject in my Wiccan training, so what I know has a strong tinge of Wicca

UNFORTUNATELY when I moved to Scotland I couldn't bring all of my books and my Quabala books had to remain behind, that's why the correspondences I give are not very coherent, because they come only from my memory, and my memory is - alas - not the best one.

But I have read the following books on the subject, sorted by my own liking, best first:
The Witches Kabala by Ellen cannon Reed
The Mystical Quabbalah by Dion Fortune
and all the invaluable books on the Quabalah and on the Paths between the Sephiroth by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki

If I would have them here, I could have proven my point much better *sigh* But I'm unfortunately not one of those lucky human beings who reads something and it's in his brains thereafter.

[ideagirl]

When I think of "Great Spirit" I think of the Abwoon that Rabbi Yeshua (Jesus) adressed in his famous prayer:
Abwoon d'bwashamaya, translated (rather poorly actually) as:  Our Father in Heaven
  abwoon--Source of all Material and Spiritual Exisistence
  d'bwashamay--which is Divine Resonance (or Vibration)

Wow!!! Is that really the translation from the Aramaic?! Where'd you find that? It's cool!

[Donata]

Hi Leaf,

I'd love to see your complete translation of the Lord's Prayer, if you have it.

Donata

[rmchugh]

I am somewhat new to Druidry and have been working with the gwersi for only a few weeks. This prayer is one of the (many) reasons I have chosen to study the gwersi. The first line intrigues me because protection feels important to me, to allow myself to open up to the spiritual, the divine, I need to feel safe. I have had some disturbing experiences in the past both in meditation and working with the Tarot during which I felt the strong need for protection that I did not feel was there. As if the spirit of my being was vulnerable, and without some sort of protection.

We all have “filters” or “doors” between ourselves and the world around us. Some people have bamboo doors that give a little; some people have glass doors that they can see out of, but let only some things in; some people have heavy steel doors, behind which they feel impervious to the emotions of others. Many years ago, I came to the realization that I have a screen door , it doesn’t seem to “filter” much. I cannot count the times I’ve called friends who’ve said “I was just thinking of you!” There are several other examples, but in short, I simply seem to be a rather empathetic person who sometimes “hears” or “feels” strong emotions projected from those around me. As a teenager, it was the source of enough stress that a dear friend helped me learn to tune it out, as if changing a radio station. That helped some, but only in some situations.

I am posting today because of a recent (druid) chat room comment that left me reeling at the time, and has put the whole idea of protection into question for me. I was in chat because I was excited and happy with my experiences with a particular Gwers and simply wanted to share with a flesh-and-blood human being. I mentioned that I felt strongly the protection of the exercise. The responses were “ummm...why would you need protection? what from?” and “spirit means no harm”. It is only after much thought, inspired by those comments, that I am able to express (in a small way) why protection is so important to me, and why feeling it so strongly brought me such joy.

Personally, I find the first line of this prayer to be a gateway, by feeling protected and safe, I do find strength. From a place of protection and safety, I find the strength to give myself permission to open myself to more than the physical, intellectual, and scientific. And from that strength, the fortitude and courage to explore new places for understanding, that I may acquire knowledge. Understanding and Knowledge are in related threads…

Much of this thread concentrates on the terminology for the divine, so I toss the same question out to the community here…why does the first line of this prayer ask for protection?

Renee

[Donata]

Welcome rmchugh! I agree with you that protection is important. Spirit may not mean any harm, but that doesn't cover all beings, entities, situations, etc. we encounter in our lives. Protection aids us with draining situations and people, even if not actually dangerous. Protection provides our own sacred space about us.

Most of us lock our doors at night. Do we really feel someone will break in if we don't? Probably not. It's a precaution, and it gives us peace of mind. It will be a deterrent if needed.

That's how I feel about the daily protection of a light shield I place around myself each day.

My first teacher told me it's necessary to shield because when we do this work we light up on the astral, and can attract needy entities who want our energy and light. There's no need to be paranoid about this, anymore than locking the door at night.

BB
Donata

[Cinaed]

This is interesting! I came from a fairly well-known group that uses the Anglo version of the covenant name of Judah's god ("Watchtower," anyone?) I moved to a conservative Protestant, then a Pentecostal, "Spirit-filled" bunch. Of course, the Watchtower people always prefaced prayer with an invocation to "Jehovah." The others, to "God," "Father God," or simply, "Lord." As a result, I was in somewhat of a quandary when preparing for my OBOD initiation ritual.
After getting the site set up, I found myself simply calling upon "you Gods and Goddesses of my ancestral line from long ago." (My ancestors were Scot on both sides of the family.) I felt very comfortable, then.

[Serpentia]

Druid’s Vow

In the realms of nature,
and the community of humankind,
may I always seek knowledge;
the knowledge that brings understanding;
the understanding that brings strength;
the strength that brings justice;
the justice that bears love;
the love that protects all existences;
the existences of the realms of nature,
and the community of humankind.

It's from Crwydrwr.

I fell in love with this one when I read it. I came here looking for some answers to yet unformed questions that have come up in response to my current Gwers - and I found this and know that it fits me much better than any prayer.

Crwydrwr, I would like to adopt this one and translate it into German, if you don't mind, to share with others on the German board, as well. It is a very nice non-theistic statement to be used in place of a prayer.

Thank you - vielen Dank!

[feithline]

Druid’s Vow

In the realms of nature,
and the community of humankind,
may I always seek knowledge;
the knowledge that brings understanding;
the understanding that brings strength;
the strength that brings justice;
the justice that bears love;
the love that protects all existences;
the existences of the realms of nature,
and the community of humankind.

It's from Crwydrwr.

This is a beautiful rendering of the prayer into an oath that I would feel very comfortable in taking. So beautiful! Thank you!

[Serpentia]

Der Schwur der Druiden

Im Reich der Natur
Und in der Gemeinschaft der Menschen,
Möge ich immer nach Wissen streben:
dem Wissen, das Verstehen bringt,
dem Verstehen, das Kraft bringt,
der Kraft, die Gerechtigkeit bringt,
der Gerechtigkeit, die Liebe bringt,
der Liebe, die alles Leben beschützt,
das Leben im Reich der Natur
Und in der Gemeinschaft der Menschen.

Well, Crwydrwr, see how easy it can be to achieve international fame?

It worked beautifully in the translation, with no revisions. Very powerful. Thank you.

MoonDancer

[Blind Owl]

I am new here and to this path, but this is the thread I clicked on at random (?) and the incantation/prayer churned the waters so I thought I would wiseacre a little.

I wrote this reply before reading the rest of the thread to try and capture my pure response. So apologies if I bring nothing new. It has been interesting to then read through this thread and see the points of departure and crossover that all have brought to this tapestry. Thank you for your thoughts and inspirations.

Grant O God thy protection

IMO it is a statement of humility. As has been mentioned it reads as an affirmation and has that precious balance between a demand and a supplication. It is giving credit where due.

To know the protection of God is to know that nothing is not part of a journey towards the source.

To a degree we are always protected as there is a part of us which is indestructible. On one level I see this line as asking to be granted the awareness of Gods protection not as an abstract but a direct experience and from that knowledge arises the strength which manifests in the second line.

Life can bring its hardships and difficulties. Some challenges seem unfair or insurmountable and indeed from the bottom of the mountain maybe they are. However the soul has its journey, its lessons and its missions. Often we cannot know what the harvest of our particular toil will be and so we must labour in good faith. Knowing that we are always within the play of our destiny, and that no challenge is truly beyond what we can take out of it can give us the humour and good grace to always be moving forward.


Our shadow always accompanies us while we walk in the light, we can twist and turn wisdom to suit ends very much based on either selfishness or self denial. We can very easily kid ourselves as to our motivations and actions, our strengths and our flaws. So, on another level, I see its similarities to the line ‘lead me not into temptation’ or ‘May I walk in the Torah/Tao’. Keep me honest, objective and brave knowing that I may walk into the realms of my shadow self and like the sun return to the light.

Also ‘Protection/Security’ is very much a feature of the lower chakras. So it is a statement of grounding and roots allowing for working on higher frequencies without losing ourselves. After all a Druid’s work is not to escape the world for some ethereal bliss, but to help its tangible manifestation here on earth.

‘Grant O God thy protection’ is the beginning that naturally unfolds into ‘The love of God and all Goodness.’

[DJ Droood]

In our grove as well as in my own personal devotionals, I've been using "Powers" because I believe there are so many out there and our group it made up of widely varying paths so it help prevents someone's belief being left out or insulted.

But that's just me....

Blessings, Aigeann

"Powers" is very good...it is a strong word, yet all encompassing...

A version over on the Naturalist Druids website uses "Truth", and I think it also works very well...

An alternative version of the Gorsedd Prayer
suggested by White Horse

Grant through Truth our Protection
And in Protection, Strength
And In Strength, Understanding
And in Understanding, Knowledge
And In Knowledge, the Knowledge of Justice
And in the Knowledge of Justice, the Love of it
And in the Love of it, the Love of all existences
And in the Love of all existences,
The Love of Truth, of Peace and All Goodness

[reilz81]

dj i like that one the best i dont even like the word prayer from my forced idoctrination into christianity i still know the lords prayer 3 versions off by heart the word prayer gives me a feeling of submission and servitude which is why i wont use it in ritual

[elementalheart]

Sorry I know I am really late to this and a newcomer to OBOD but I am interested in the power of words and why particular phrases are picked to represent a belief or philosophy and this first line has raised two questions for me. I mean no disrespect to the tradition, about which I know relatively little yet - I'm just exploring the landscape and asking questions from a place of unfamiliarity and curiosity.

First, the format does seem very similar to a Christian prayer, Grant o God is such a classic start that it offers a huge trigger to people from that tradition who choose to look outwith their upbringing. Would it have been a conscious inclusion to make the majority Christian background folk at the time of writing feel more comfortable in their step away from the church, and be less useful now that the majority are no longer former practising churchgoers? A sense of "how praying is done" inherited from our cultural history in the UK?

Second, the issue of protection seems to rear its head across so many belief systems and I've lost count of the various methods that I've been told about to "make myself safe" whether from bad vibes, negative entities, psychic attack or just the low emotional states of clients/passing members of the public. I'm not sure whether it is an appropriate first point for all that follows in the Prayer. I know Maslow etc support such a belief that you start from ensuring safety before moving on to higher levels of needs, but surely reaching for protection (whether you believe it is already a given or something you are asking for) is a sign of its lack - ie of faith, of power, of self esteem, of love? I would assume a place of disbelief or at least uncertainty (having something to prove in the way of faith - to the divine or to self)if praying for what is already supposed to be there..?

One of my shamanic teachers tells a story that includes something like the following (apologies if I've misquoted).. Does a candle seek or require protection from the darkness? No, it burns bright as is its nature, and the light shines. Seeking to shine brighter is our nature, why then fear the dark is trying to stop our glowing? Its nature is not ours but it is not negative, shamans have always worked in the darkness? Or to paraphrase, why use energy and effort seeking to create or bring to us a protective boundary which we do not need, and which only blocks our radiance with our fear or need to be assured that (the divine) really is present and watching out for us, and diverts energy we could be using in service. There is no dark energy or, as I've heard it said, the only devils are the ones who live in our minds. In praying for or claiming protection, are we not buying into the illusion that there is "bad stuff" out there and thus giving power to said "badness" which is what creates it in our mind? Taking our attention from our work and our growth and putting it on our sense of weakness and vulnerability to some enemy somewhere, however we draw that monster in our child minds. And in sharing the fear with others, we spread it. Sooner or later won't we manifest what we focus attention on? And feel attacked, weak, scared. What use is that to our shining of light?

I do like the version May I seek.. I will look at that a few times and maybe adopt something similar so thanks for the idea. The magic of words to create our reality makes it so important to find the right words to manifest our intention - I may even remove the May and just say I seek or I follow a path of or something. I also love the reverse, taking it from the most important outcome we seek and working out how we get there or what follows from having achieved that place..

Thanks and I hope nobody minds my musings.

[Pan]

hmmm.... as druids we all realize that words must be fluid to accomplish their objective. a prayer must be custom tailored to the individuals beliefs. especially when in a tradition where beliefs in religion vary so greatly, christian, jew, buddist, pagan, ect... there must be fluidity. for i believe even though we all have a common tradition and goal we are still different in many ways as so will be our prayers wordings. i believe it is the meaning and goal that is important and not the exact wording. one cannot function in a fluid world while remaining ridged. like the old saying a tree that dosen't bend in the wind will break. a druid that wont flex and remains ridged will fail. i believe one must remain fluid in all aspects of ones life, bending, moving and changing as needed to improvise, overcome and adapt. so yes i have changed words in the druid prayer, great spirit for god. it must be changed for the words would leave a bad taste in the mouth of a druid who spoke words that were contrary to their beliefs. again these are just my thoughts and i'm not always right. with many blessings to all

[Walking Alone]

I am not so new to the path however I make my own way along it and tend not to interact with others.
This is what I have used for some time and I post it just so others may see it or use it if it calls to them as it dose me. I reworked it a bit ago and for me it's just what calls strongest to me. I hope at least one other finds it as helpful as I have. If so I hope it brings you the peace and strength it has me.


O Ancient Ones, Grant Thy Protection;
And in protection, strength;
And in strength, understanding;
And in understanding, knowledge;
And in knowledge, the knowledge of justice;
And in the knowledge of justice, the truth of it;
And in that truth, the love of all existences;
And in the love of all existences, The trust of one's self and others.
And in that trust, bring peace and harmony within.


I offer my blessings to you all. Walk your path as I do mine and know even if ours never cross, I hold each one of you in my heart!

[Ouroboros]

Old Topic but certainly a lively one.

My daughter and I have been working with The Druids Prayer and this is what we landed on as comfortable.

Grant O Father/Mother God and Spirits of this Place thy protection
And in protection, strength,
And in strength, understanding,
And in understanding, knowledge,
And in knowledge, the knowledge of justice,
And in the knowledge of justice, the love of it
And in the love of it, the love of all existences,
And in the love of all existences,
The love of You, O Father/Mother God...and all Goodness.

I have been trying to meditate on the Spirits of the Land on which we live and this method of prayer, I feel draws me closer into communion with them.



Ouroboros