The legendary ‘Merlin’ was the forerunner of all the wizards of fiction, from Gandalf to Harry Potter. The historical Merlin seems to have been something very different but equally mysterious: a ‘Druid’.

The Roman occupation of Britain lasted from 43AD to around 400. Before the Romans invaded, the Druid priesthood was the undisputed  power in the land. For the previous two or three centuries the druids had been a dominant force throughout what was then the Celtic world, which included France, the Netherlands and parts of Scandinavia as well as Britain (predominantly, Wales)!!

History is written by the victors. This can make it hard to get a clear picture of the people on the losing side. When the Romans conquered the Celts and Ancient Britons, they gave unflattering descriptions of the druids. Some sources describe the druids as bloodthirsty barbarians who were addicted to human sacrifice. Others maintain that they were gentle and peaceful, and that they derived their authority from being in touch with nature. If, the truth is to be told, the Romans were actually scared of the fearful sight and sound, of the raging peoples of Britain (especially, when they came across the Druids of Anglesey – the Druid ‘H.Q’, - so to speak)!!! (My father’s mother, was born not very far from Anglesey – in Llanaehain, Caernarvon). I think,  it was the Roman historian Tacitus, who wrote that the Romans army had been ‘un-nerved’, at the sight of the outraged Druids! (lol)!!!

The Druids:

Held ceremonies in Oak groves; saw Mistletoe as a sacred plant with healing powers, practised divination and believed that they could foretell the future. (I love, talking to trees)!!

Their powers of divination underpinned the Druids' authority. Their ability to foretell the future made the druids a vital source of information, equally able to advise the community on when to start the harvesting and the king on when to go to war. Like Arthur's adviser, Merlin, the Druids wielded a power based on their superior insight into the workings of the universe.

The Druids' political authority was severely limited under Roman rule. However, Druidical practices and Roman religion seem to have coexisted. In particular, the Druidical arts of divination appear to have survived into the Roman era: one Romano-British burial site in Colchester has been found to contain equipment for a divining ritual. As the Roman Empire crumbled in the 5th century AD, it is not hard to see how men such as Merlin could have revived druidical practices.

Wizardry as we know it is deeply marked by Druidical practices. But the druids themselves had roots in a truly ancient and mysterious form of magic: Shamanism.........

HAPPY  HALLOWE’EN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!