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A little over two hundred years ago, members of the orginal Five Noble Families, who are now known as Gwyddons, and were still preserving pieces of the ancient metaphysics and religious system, left the British Isles to emigrate to the Colonies -- which included, of course, America. Many of these individuals and groups had only fragments of the traditions and lore to work from, and to make matters worse, the climate of intolerance and poverty predicating their emigrations didn't end with their arrival in the "New World."
Gwyddoniaid families, who remained in Britian as a rule, stayed very close and insular. The pieces of information and tradition stayed fairly consistent and unchanged, although there was a tendency to loss through error or omission. In very recent years however, these closed groups have begun to open, communicating with each other and accepting non-familial members. In 1792, the oldest of our Cordemanons whose name is noted, (and then only by anagram) MEM, charged her successor with the task of carrying our particular practice to the then newly-formed United States of America. A Cordemanon is a title unique to certain Gwyddons and is a person charged by Cordemanon Peers with the purity and preservation of our teachings in an untainted manner. For any priest of the Gwyddoniaid it is a grave responsibility, but one which those chosen bear with joy. MEM(formed from her initials), was of aristocratic birth, of one of the Five Noble Families of the Gwyddoniaid, was very old and living in London in 1792. Although it is not confirmed, she was likely to have been a part of the living debates among freethinkers and Druid reformists of the time. 1792 was a very active year for the Gwyddoniaid families, as well as Druidic traditions throughtout Britain. Another Welsh school of thought, led by Iola Morganwg, a Welshman with the birth name of Edward Williams (March 11, 1747 to December 18, 1826), reinstituted the Eisteddfod as a way of revitalizing growth of their path. Its purpose was to recreate a form of the old College system of Druidic practice in a manner palatable to British society. The method he used was to meld Druid and Christian mythos and theology as a way of demonstrating commonality in human experience, therefore verifying the Concept of the Boundlessness. Time has shown us, however, that the various metaphysical languages can create the same confusion that results from indiscriminately speaking English and Japanese simultaneously. In short order, no one understands a word being said. This, sadly, is just the result of Morganwg's Eisteddfod. Though this works well for others, to a Cordemanon, such an eclectic approach is unacceptable. So MEM decided to try a different method. While maintaining a closed group to remain in London, she also decided that the Americas might offer a place where the Order could grow in a more open and natural manner than it could in Britian. To this end, the Cordemanon Corvin was to travel to Salem, Massachusetts to continue his study and teaching work. In this, he was succeeded by Lughkin who took the Order to the large Welsh communities of Baltimore, Maryland where Anna Ravenwood became Cordemanon in 1899. The Gwyddoniaid came to the West Coast during the period after World War II, arriving in San Francisco, California in 1947. It was in that very free and open atmosphere she found there, that the Order as we know it, was born. The Gwyddoniaid-Druids is what we call our lineage. The Greater Book of the Art and Craft, as we call our sacred book of Teachings and Rituals, is in English, as are all of our rituals and practice. And, while many of our priests are enviously fascinated by persons who speak native Celtic languages, very few are able to hold even a rudimental discussion in one. The last of us, fluent in Gaelic and Welsh was a Raven Messenger, the Cordemanon Anna Ravenwood, who died in the 1970's and was most active up to the mid 1950's. Anna Ravenwood modernized our sacred book, which is over 200 years old, to American English from its earlier, archaic Welsh, and this is the version that was passed on to us. This is not to say that we have any less an understanding of the teachings of our elders. Quite the contrary, this modernization has allowed us the freedom to absorb the doctrine and inspirational messages at a vastly accelerated rate than would be possible if a student were required to learn Welsh first. We are also enabled to relate it to daily life, integrate it into personal experience, and transmit it to others in this culture more readily. Gwyddons are an ever-practical people. We respect, support, and honor the culture of our elders, but do not hold the growth of the esoteric hostage to it. In this way, we share a common path with the Buddhists (D'zogchen in particular), who hold that nothing exoteric (that which is based on outer trappings or ritual) should interfere with the esoteric (that which allows for the inner growth of the individual practitioner) knowledge that all things are but one boundless being of which we are all an aspect. We, like they, are taught that anything that in fact does interfere with out clarity of understanding this CONCEPT OF THE BOUNDLESSNESS needs to be discarded without hesitation, regardless of its sacredness or antiquity. This is the path of the Gwyddon, who is relentless in the pursuit of wisdom and understanding, while mindful of the traps of SELF-IMPORTANCE, the ultimate foil to the preception of the Boundlessness. "Gwyddon" is a welsh word that translates in a few ways, but the most common rendering is "wizard." This usually refers to practitioners from North Western Wales, however, "Gwyddon" is a term used in the more southerly areas as well. The root word of Gqyddon is shared with the Welsh words for science, the alphabet, knowledge, trees, and a word that meant "the Irish." As the development of words from a common root can give a clue to their social origin, these source words of Cymraeg (Welsh) give a valuable clue to the origins of the Gwyddoniaid teachings. Most historical references ascribe the Great Colleges, who acted to teach the Druidic, the Vatic, and the Bardic classes in Celtic society, to locations, centralized in the islands of Angelsy and Mann. In addition, Ireland had long functioned as the hotbed of Celtic Culture, spreading its influence back into the areas populated by the Cymru, Prytani, and Britons. From this, it is easy to see reference to the Irish in relation to the educated class. If not from Ireland itself, the direction from and to which religious and cultural trends traveled, was certainly defined by the position of the Colleges in the direction of Ireland. The connection of knowledge, trees, and the alphabet also identifies the linguistic source of the educated class. The alphabet is Ogham, the Celtic Tree Alphabet. The fixation of the Celtic culture on trees is shown on many levels, including the shared rood word of the Priest Administrator (Druid), the Oak (druis), and the Wren - also called the Queen of the Forest (druii), all symbols of the intellect. Last, but not least, science is distinctly connected to what it is to be a Gwyddon. The study of metaphysics is concerned with ultimate causes and the underlying nature of things. Just as the physical sciences have matured to seek out knowledge beyond that experienced by the physical senses, the advances of science, that have included quantum mechanics, theories regarding hyperspace, and the existence of parallel dimensions, have only brought that which the Priest-Scientist or Gwyddon has known all along. Magick is no more than science ahead of its time. As science allows itself to become more magickal, more full of wonder, in its expression, Gwyddons can allow themselves to revel in their scientific curiosity. We are at a time of human development again, as were the Ancients, wherein the forces of inspiration seated in the spiritual and religious aspects of humanity are in a position to give purpose and drive to enrich scientific exploration to its greatest potential. And for the Gwyddon, science has now matured to the point of fulfilling its need of verification of that which we allow ourselves to envision. Like two wings of the same bird, when science and magick are able to work together freely, each fly forward into a bright future. The wealth of our history and cultural background has defined who and what we are in many ways, but not all. The act of becoming native to another part of this planet than where our Mythos originated has had some interesting consequences. Particularly in America, the broad range of contact with other cultures, often native to yet other parts of the planet, has served to spotlight their similarities more than their differences. This is true whether they are Celt, Hindu, Chinese, African, Australian Aborigine, Japanese, or Native American. Having shared the same earth space with the Native American over the last 200 years has allowed us a particular vantage into understanding and recognizing our commonality. Having "walked a mile in our brother's moccasins," it has been almost shocking how the native cultures of peoples separated by an ocean, could have developed along such similar paths. |