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The ancient Druids were the personification of Celtic spirituality. They have been described as philosophers, magicians, priests, judges, poets, seers, counselors, and repositories of the knowledge of their time.
Most early descriptions of Druids were made by their enemies and so are unreliable. Druids are mentioned in Irish texts at least until 500 C.E.
Although Druids appeared to die out (absorbed into the monastic life of the new religion, or going underground), their school of poetry survived into the seventeenth and eighteenth centrureis.
The modern Druid revival began in the 18th century with the first of what has become a number of Druid organizations with wide-ranging purposes. Druid organizations today may be spiritual, religious, political, ecological or social.
The Invisible Druid Order,
Or why yet another Druid group?
The Invisible Druid Order is Karl Schlotterbeck’s response to a call that began in Ireland. On his first trip to Ireland, he discovered not only his ancestral connection, but also the power of the land. He returned to Ireland to study Celtic Shamanism with Tom Cowan (author of Fire in the Head and other books).
A few months later, an American Indian pipe-carrier told him “The spirits have told me you have to go back to Ireland.” Karl arranged to return with Tom Cowan’s group on his next trip, with various detours from the itinerary of the group.
On that trip, Karl spent the night on Queen Maeve’s Cairn on the top of Knock na Rea mountain in county Sligo. He also visited the Hill of Uisneach, the ancient Druidic center where the Beltaine fires were renewed each year
Karl’s charge was to establish a set of Druidic disciplines in modern terms. This was for the development of individuals who, rooted in their core values, engaged in training of the mind, revered nature and her Source, and who expressed their deep values in social responsibility.
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