Druidcraft

The Destruction of Wisdom in Europe

&    The Move to America

_{By the middle of the Piscean Age, the Wise Men were scattered over Europe and enjoyed} 

_{an enviable place in society.  They were well respected.  Every little village had its} 

_{wise Man or Woman.  They lived on the edges of the villages where they could raise} 

_{their own herbs, and from there they acted as veterinarians, county agents,} 

_{herbal doctors, as well as priests, for all the villagers.}  

_{They were organized into little groups.  All the villages in a certain area were organized} 

_{into a group of from five to twelve doctors.  An older doctor took care of answering} 

_{their questions for the advancement of their medicine when they met monthly.}  

_{These older doctors were generally called Elders among the English speaking countries.} 

 _{They, too, were in a group under a very Wise Man, who was known as a Maji.}

_{About this time, guilds of skilled workers arose in the medieval society.  There were} 

_{guilds of carpenters, metal workers, stone masons, and others, and there arose a} 

_{distinction between workers of the arts and the Crafts which demanded manual skills.}

_{The practicing doctors, many of them skilled surgeons of their day, considered their art} 

_{of healing, a manual skill, and chose the name "Craft of the Wise."  They also added the} 

_{name "Druidic" in front of it to show their unbroken descent from the priest-doctors} 

_{of the Celtic peoples which first settled Europe.  Today the organization which is the} 

_{lineal descendant of those same priest-doctors of the Celts is still called the} 

_{"Druidic Craft of the Wise."}

_{In these latter days of invention, there have arisen many fraternal orders and fringe}

 _{organizations which have chosen names similar to that of the Druidic Craft of the Wise.}  

_{Some of these are "Ancient Orders of Druids"; "American Restored Order of Druids,"; and} 

_{so on, as well as the many "Crafts of the Wise," each with its own prefix, such as Celtic,}

 _{Welsh, Italian, and so on.  None of them, however much of an exact "restoration" they may}

 _{be, can truthfully claim to be a lineal descendant of the Old Wisdom Religion.}

_{Religion among the common people of the medieval age, who followed the teachings of} 

_{the Wise, was generally a matter of festivals, as is Buddhism today.  The idea of weekly} 

_{propaganda meetings had not arisen.  They had four large festivals each year to attend.} 

 _{These were February 2nd, Imbolc / Candlemas; April 30th, May Eve / Beltain; July 31st,}

 _{Lammas / Mid-Summer; and  Samhein / Halloween, on October 31st.}  

_{The whole Craft of the Wise was organized under a grand master of each state, with one}

 _{Supreme Grand Master over the British Isles, Ireland, and Scotland, and one over the}

_{entire continent.  In many cases, these high ranking people of the Craft were also high}

 _{ranking people in the Christian Church at the time.  There were Abbots and Priests among} 

_{them.   Many times there were Wise Men among the Kings, Princes and other Rulers.  In fact,}

 _{in some  countries, the Craft was protected by the King himself as the Grand Master.}  

_{In England, the Grand Master of the Craft was usually the Duke of Warwick.}

_{At one time, the Craft was so popular that there was an organization formed}

 _{which was named "The Knights of the Star and Garter."  These were advisors and}

_{courtiers to the  Kings' court.  Their very name was an open admission of their}

 _{connection with the Craft.   The Star was the Pentacle, whose five points alludes to} 

_{the five parts of the Old Wisdom  Religion, and the Garter was an article worn} 

_{in those days to indicate rank among members of the Craft.  The knights of the} 

_{Star and Garter were all high ranking Craft members.}

_{But something happened at this time which changed everything.  It so happened that} 

_{in 1492 Columbus visited the new world.  His followers brought back a disease which}

 _{was not  formerly found on the continent of Europe.  Syphilis swept the continent} 

_{in spite of the best efforts of the natural medicine doctors.  Almost every family} 

_{felt the scourges of this dreaded killer.}  

_{Therein lies the weakness of natural medicine.}  

_{Our knowledge of natural medicaments is that which has been passed down} 

_{through the ages.  We know that there is natural treatment  which will cure every}

 _{disease.  But when a new disease appears, what is the treatment?}

_{It just so happened at this time that there was a chemist working in} 

_{the mines of the Tyrol,  who by name was called Theophratus von Hohemhein.}  

_{He was somewhat of what we could  call an "occultist" in modern language.}  

_{He reasoned that since the God, Mercury, was the God of medicine - the patron} 

_{saint of medicine - the metal which was sacred to Mercury should cure everything.}  

_{He was familiar  with mercury, having used it in his work as a chemist  in the mines.}  

_{He started  giving the  sick people huge doses of mercury salts, and if they}

_{lived, sometimes they became well.  Many times they died.  But it just so happens} 

_{that the only treatment as late as the mid-1930's which would check the first} 

_{stages of syphilis was Salvarsan, a salt of mercury.  So, by accident,} 

_{he stumbled upon the one thing which seemed  to} 

_{stop the ravages of syphilis.}  

_{He soon attracted a following of young doctors, and his fame  spread.}  

_{It must be noted, that the Hippocratic oath, followed by all doctors prior to this,} 

_{is a natural medicine oath and prohibits the giving of poisons as medicine.}  

_{No doctor had previously given a poison as a medicine.}  

_{Mercuric salts are violently poisonous.}  

_{Thus Theophratus von Hohemhein was the Father of modern medical practice which}

 _{administers poisons as medicines.  This was the beginning of modern medical practice.}

_{Theophratus moved into town and took the name "Paracelsus, The Great," meaning}

_{greater  than the ancient Roman doctor, Celsus, of the second century.}

_{There might have been the possibility of an amalgamation between the two branches}

 _{of medicine, the natural medicine doctors in the villages and Paracelsus' branch of}

 _{poisonous medicines, but one thing happened to prohibit this.  The Pope contracted}

 _{the dread disease.  He called for all the natural medicine doctors, but none could heal} 

_{him.   He heard of this man in Germany.  Paracelsus gave him a big dose of} 

_{mercury salts and when he recovered, the disease was checked.}

_{Now consider how it looked to this good man.  It appeared as if the scourge had been}

 _{inflicted upon the people because of their sins.  He had many times prayed that the} 

_{Lord lift the scourge from the church, and now a man comes with a new medicine,}

_{apparently revealed by God Himself, since it had no basis in natural medicine.}  

_{It seemed that this man was sent by the Lord to be the medical savior} 

_{of the people.  The Pope immediately granted his blessing on this new} 

_{type of medicine, announced it to be the type of medicine approved by God,} 

_{and ordered all herbal doctors to cease practice.  And when they did not, he} 

_{added their names to the list of heretics to be tried by the inquisition.}

_{The Inquisition was already well under way.  It had been established some} 

_{two or three hundred years before, and was to run another hundred years} 

_{before it burned itself out.   Already six or seven million people had died.}  

_{All the Pope did was to add a few more to the list.}

_{Since everyone in the villages knew them, there was no hiding for the Wise Men.} 

_{They had to leave.  They fled to America in great numbers.  When they arrived,} 

_{they soon realized that people had not left their prejudices behind.  For safety} 

_{they fled up into the mountains where they lived with the Indians.  They found}

 _{a kindred and sympathetic heart in the Indian Medicine Men, and here they} 

_{remained to practice their religion, their magic, and their way of life.}

_{And thus it was that almost the entire membership of the Druidic Craft of the Wise} 

_{came to the Americas.  In Spanish America and Mexico, they became the "Curanderos."}  

_{In the United States and Canada they have never been allowed to practice their arts} 

_{openly and hence have no legal name, but are known simply as "The American Rite."}

_{In the United States, the Craft has played an important part in the development of the} 

_{Republic.  Many of our greatest leaders were also leaders of the Craft.  The innumerable} 

_{usages of the five-pointed star in early American symbolism is also an indication.}  

_{Today, the Druidic Craft of the Wise numbers approximately 100,000 members} 

_{comprising the most successful men of all walks of life,} 

_{for being wise brings success over those who are not wise.}