The ancient Celtic people populated Gaul and the British Isles from 900 B.C. to 700 A.D. (About Druids). These were a people of nature. At the height of their society at around 300 B.C. there were hundreds of independent Celtic tribes. Each tribe had fixed borders but held the forest and agricultural land as common ground. Some of the land was worked in common for the sick and the poor (Myers). The social structure was based on democratic idealism. Every person had his or her place in the tribe and officials were elected yearly. The majority of tribal business was conducted at annual assemblies where land disputes were decided, petty criminals were tried and officials were elected (Myers).

The common link between all the tribes was the Druid priesthood. The Druid priests had authority over every tribal chief and could move wherever they wanted (Priest). They were the arbitrators between the tribes. Their purpose was to preserve the common culture, religi

Druid magic is the result of an in-depth awareness of nature, and the spirits and gods who live in nature. A Druid must be able to understand the language of nature and absorb its ever-flowing wisdom. All other wisdom follows from that. The main principle behind their magic was to appeal to the gods for a particular service in return for an offering. The Druids believed in a spiritual other world that paralleled our world. This other world is made up of many gods, spirits and powers. They believed in continuity between life and death. Death was viewed as a transition phase in the course of a long, even eternal, life. There is no true division between this world and the other world. The gods that live in the other world are neither good nor evil (Witcombe). Reincarnation was believed to occur in one form or another after death. The advanced Druids would be reborn in the other world, while the common people would most likely be reborn in this world (Druids Introduction). There was the practice of holding one’s debts off until payment in the afterlife. It said that because the Celts believed so strongly in the immortal soul they would fight in war without any fear of death (MacCrossan). This caused many problems for the Romans as they tried to invade the British Isles.

Fire was believed to be one the most powerful substances in the Druid religion. There were four annual fire festivals every year. Fire was considered a spiritual force unto itself possessing the magical properties of both destructiveness and cleansing. It is the force behind the creation of civilization, and therefore it is sacred. Fire was used in almost all of the Druid rituals. It was used in healing and communicating with the gods (Cowan).

The Druids had eight main festivals throughout the Celtic year. They included four major holidays, Shamain, Imbolc, Beltain and Lughnasad. Along with these four, they celebrated the equinoxes and the solstices. Samhain was held around November and was the beginning of the new year. On this day the boundaries between this world and the other were closest, making it the day of the dead. Imbolic was celebrated around the first of February. It celebrated the rebirth of spring. Beltain was celebrated around the first of May and was called the day of life. Lughnasad was celebrated around the first of August to thank the earth for the bounties of the year (About Druids). During these festivals, two fires would be lit on top of a hill. People would then herd sh

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