First, let us state the Great Law: There is only One Being in existence, and that is the Boundless, and you are THAT. This Truth is the foundation upon which all of our teachings of the Gyddoniad-Druids is based. From this law all other laws and principles of our teachings are drawn. One of the self-evident principles that derives from this is The Three Modes of Reality of the Boundless. These are: the Manifested, the Unmanifested, and the Ground of Being. It is obvious, upon contemplative analysis, that not one of these modes is more, or less, of the Boundless than either of the others.
There are three other major religions that teach the foundation truth of The Great Law. These are: Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Anciently, this truth was also known and practiced by the Gnostics. However, though The Great Law has been known by each of these religions for thousands of years, they stumble over an error know as "Duality". The error in this is that these teachings espouse the concept that Manifested Reality is an illusion, and therefore a state from which we must free ourselves. Hinduism and Buddhism call this concept Karma. They believe* that sentient beings are entrapped in the endless cycle of reincarnation. Thus, the emphasis of their teachings are directed towards freeing themselves from this perceived entrapment. Since they believe that the Manifested is the source of this entrapment, they make a supreme effort to perceive only the other two aspects. Consequently, they deny the existence of the Manifested, for they "believe" that to acknowledge its existence is to be caught in the heresy of Duality. This, indeed, is truly a source of entrapment: Duality does not exist!
To demonstrate this point, we must return to the teaching of The Three Modes of Reality of the Boundless. Let's use a word-picture here: visualize "water", "vapor", and "ice" - three forms of H2O, each distinctly different from either of the other two forms of H2O. These can be equated to the Three Modes of Reality of the Boundless. Though each of the forms of H2O is distinctly different from either of the other two forms of H2O, they are the same substance. This analogy holds true in application for the Three Modes of Reality of the Boundless. Any one of the three modes is truly as much THAT as any one of the other two. It becomes obvious to the discerning mind that the teaching that the Manifested Mode of Reality is an illusion, is pure folly. This, then, points directly back to The Great Law: The Three Modes of Reality are equally THAT. The Folly of Duality is merely a mis-perspective of the true nature of the Boundless in all of its infinite aspects.
In closing this article, remember: Ye Are Seekers Forever! If one truly wishes to understand the Boundless and all of its aspects, let us then turn to the contemplation of another analogy: that of the coin. One side is you, the other is the Boundless, and there is no thickness between the two sides. THOU ART THAT!!!
*Remember, as Gwyddons, never believe anything. You either know something or you don't, and the only way to know something is through personal experience.
Newfox, College of ANU, Campbellsville, KY
Gwyddons celebrate many sacred days. The Lunar cycle of High Days are revered through the twelve and occasionally thirteen Full Moons. Called Noxen Brixtia "the magical night" in Gaulish, each is associated with one of the Ogham Trees of the Ancient Alphabet of our people, the gift of Ogma. The sun's progress is seen through the eight High Days of the Sun and are associated with the nine elements of Cosmology or aspects of Kerridwen the Great and her Consorts Eightfold pattern.
In addition are the days of the Five Seasons of the Goddess. At the beginning of each, the ruling Goddess is revered and these are followed by the inter-calendrical five Days of Sorrow which are sacred to those who seek the wisdom of the Crone or the Otherworld. Like the thirteen full moons, these ten festival days also have a letter of the Ogham associated with them.
New moons are a good time to begin new patterns, get members of Colleges and Tuatha together and are of especial significance to those studying women's mysteries as Gwyddon means the "Hag" or "wise woman" and also exceptionally good for the practice of Herbology. One exceptional New Moon is that of the New Blood Moon and is the commemoration of the Death of Tarvos. It is also associated with the Ogham alphabet - in this case with the "hard" Ss - Straif the Blackthorne and was the time of the ancient feast of the Tarbofest, the sacrifice of the Divine Bull whose flesh fed the Tuatha, Touta or Tudd. They in this manner took on the aspects of their own tribal totem. The particular animal sacrificed varied according to tribe, as did the name of this festival.
There were also bi-annual festivals that were dedicated to the Tribal Mother or Queen wherein She bestows sovereignty upon the tribal chieftain or Rix by their symbolic mating. One of the most common names for this is the Festival of Epona, also called Epomednos or Caterra Epona, which is held on the waxing gibbous or first quarter moon (called the "Druid's moon") just before the summer solstice (and sometimes also the winter solstice). The name of this festival could vary according to the Tribal Mother of an individual Tuatha and language. The one thing they all have in common is their common association as the titles for Ana the apple, and the last letter of the Ogham alphabet not already associated with a festival. Q - Quert the Apple is the symbol with these festivals.
| Group college meetings are held at least on the High Days of Sun and Moon. Additional festivals are determined by the practice of the individual College or Tudd/Tuatha.
When calculating years throughout Gwyddon astronomy, astrology and calendric purposes, we begin our year at Yule (Gregorian calendar Dec. 23 of the "previous" year). In the old Gwyddon calendar there is a 1900 year difference in the year dating (IE: Gwyddoniad Year 3890 is Christian Era Year 1990) and is said to date from the placement of the Saracen Stones in the Caer de Manon, which was ritual commemoration of the Battle of Morytura, or the ascendancy of he Age of the gods. In our calendric systems the usage of the Old Gwyddon Year is quite appropriate, although the Wren advocates a new dating system such that GY 3897 (1997 CE) becomes Year 1 of the New Gwyddoniad Era. Alternately, a dual notation has been suggested by the Fox - 3897/1. Any of the above are valid, but only time will tell what our posterity will choose. |  |
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