By Michael S Barth
I found this course very fascinating. I learned a lot about Druidism. Druidism is so spiritual and earth-base which I did not know before. The alphabet was really interesting to see for I did not know Druidism had an alphabet or a calendar of its own.
The fact that Druidism is so spiritual and centered around the Earth is what stands out the most for me. Also, I did not realize that the Druids had spread into Europe and into what is now the Middle East. I had previously thought that the Druids were only localized in Ireland and England. The different levels (e.g. bards, ovate, druid) were unknown to me before taking this class. I did not realize that someone passed through these levels and that a druid would have to study for as long as 20 years in order to obtain the level of druid.
I also learned that each tribe was autonomous. Previously, I had thought that the Druids were more organized like the Catholic Church. Also, I did not realize that they punished people by shaving their heads. This really caught my attention but it makes sense to me. By shaving the persons head, other tribes then knew that this person had been punished for doing something.
I like the lesson on ethics. Beforehand, I knew that the Druids revered the Earth but did not realize that they honored all things. This would be comparable to Jesus saying "Love thy neighbor as thy self." The Druids also had many different gods that they honored. Most of the gods I never knew about before taking this class.
Some of the holidays that they celebrate I had learned from the Master of Paganism class. While I am not Pagan or Druid, these holidays did strike close to home for me. These holidays are important because they symbolize different times of the year such as the equinoxes, solstices, and the in between points. Celebrating nature is something that I do since we still have a lot to learn from nature.
I found it fascinating that the Druids passed everything down orally. When I learned this, I wondered how then we knew so much about them. That's when I learned that a lot of what we know now came from other people such as the Romans. The lesson on magic was very informative. When I think of magic, I think of David Copperfield making things disappear and reappearing but the Druids did magic in order to heal and for self-development.
This class was very well written and worthwhile taking. I learned a lot about Druidism and I am very fascinated by it. This course has prompted me to learn more about Druidism and about nature too. I would recommend this course to other people.
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As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.
