Druid Circle
About
The belief system of the druid circle of the Emerald Enclave originates from the current archdruids' ancestors, a keeper of the moon clan known as the Crowclaw. However, the term druid isn’t unique to the Crowclaw. The word can be seen in different cultures throughout Hydaelyn and may or may not have different meanings depending on the cultural context.
In ancient times, the Crowclaw Clan had individuals called druids who were conjurers who served nature-aligned spirits or gods. They were considered a sacred priesthood whose duty was to balance and protect nature along with helping the clan leave peacefully with the elementals within the Twelveswood.
In current times, the remaining descendants of the Crowclan Clan, Archdruid Aife Dolabnha and her mother Ailbe Dolabnha, have returned to their sacred homeland, a grove buried deep in the East Shroud, to form an enclave whose mission is to protect and preserve the balance of Black Shroud and the elementals.
Spiritual Beliefs
The druids of the enclave practice druidism, a spiritual movement that reveres nature, including Nophica, the elementals, and other spirits of nature. They are concerned with the delicate balance that sustains the Black Shroud. The druids recognise the cycle of life, death, and rebirth as an inherent part of nature as is light and darkness, and all this works into a balance that must be maintained, not only in nature but in life in general.
Like most Eorzeans, the druids of the enclave are polytheist, paying homage to all the twelve but with special emphasis on those connected with nature and the changing seasons along with the cycle of light and dark seen in the "wheel of the year". Among all the twelve, Nophica is revered the most highly and is considered the patron goddess of the enclave. Menphina, Azeyma, Nald’thal, and Althyk are also revered by the circle, and sabbats are held in honour of them throughout the turn. To learn more about the sabbats and other celebrations please refer to sabbats and celebrations.
Azeyma, the mother of Nophica, is the sun and bringer of sunlight that helps her daughter’s creations grow. Menphina is the moon, the bringer of the night, so all life can rest and of love, an important part of creating life and life itself. Althyk is the god of time- he turns the wheel of time throughout the year, changing the seasons and balancing the light and dark, the day and night, with the help of his daughters, Menphina and Azeyma. It is with his help he made the bole grow with his granddaughter Nophica. Nophica is the tender of soils and harvests, and goddess of abundance and guardian of the Twelveswood. She is also considered by the druids as the mother of all life and is strongly associated with fertility in all its forms. The druids also welcome the belief that she is the Goddess of the hunt, a belief practiced by some Keepers of the Moon clan.
The elementals are also highly revered by the druids of the enclave, believing the elementals are shards of Nophica and that is why the Twelveswood are so bountiful. By protecting the shroud and maintaining the balance of nature, they honour the goddess with their work.
Sabbats and Celebrations
The druids celebrate eight sabbats through the turn. The gods attached to these celebrations are not always aligned with the Eorzean calendar which celebrates one god or goddess per moon. Instead, the druids celebrate the gods they see aligning with the cycle of the seasons and light and dark times of the turn. For example, instead of Azeyma being celebrated in the Fifth Astral Moon during the fall, she is celebrated during the height of summer, during the longest day of the year in a celebration known as Midsummer. Other gods that do not cohere with the seasons like Menphina are celebrated during the normal Eorzean moon that is dedicated to her in the calendar. Generally, only one night or day is celebrated a moon for the gods that the druids revere with the exception of Nophica due to her status as the patron goddess of the Emerald Circle.
| Celebration | About |
|---|---|
| Oíche Leannáin | Oíche Leannáin or the Lover's Night is hosted on the night of the first full moon of Menphina’s month. It is a moot of lovers and friends in the name of the goddess of love, Menphina. The night is considered a celebration of love of all types and commonly friends, allies, and lovers are brought together to celebrate under the light of the full moon. It is also considered an opportune time for potential lovers to be approached under the watchful gaze of the Goddess of love. |
| Earrach | Earrach or the Spring Sabbat is traditionally celebrated at the beginning of spring, the purpose of the Spring Sabbat is to give thanks to Nophica for gifting the land with new life again and to pray for a fertile and bountiful rest of the turn, whether it be for bountiful crops, a new child or good hunting. It is also generally considered a time of rebirth and to begin anew. |
| Midsummer | Like its name, midsummer is celebrated in the middle of summer on the day when the sun shines longest. Azeyma is given thanks for bringing her light to the land. From this point onwards, the days will start to grow shorter as the time of dark comes. |
| Lammas | Lammas is the first Harvest Festival of the turn. It celebrates the harvest of grain, corn, and berries in the Shroud and is an opportunity to give thanks to Nophica for her abundance and to the elementals for letting the land be sown. It is also an opportunity to pray for her to continue to be bountiful in future harvests and hunts. |
| Mabon | Mabon is the second harvest festival. It celebrates the harvest of autumn crops such as apples, grapes, and pumpkins. |
| Samhain | Samhain is celebrated on the last night of Thal's moon when winter and the darker half of the turn are about to begin. This auspicious date is considered the time when Thal lets those who have passed on to return to visit the living. Thanks are given to Thal for guiding the dead into the afterlife and returning them to the living for an evening. |
| Fómhar | Fómhar or harvest time is a time to give thanks to Nophica for a successful harvest over the last turn. As the last harvest of the turn takes place, food is set aside to feed people and animals through the cold dark days that lie ahead. |
| Midwinter | Midwinter is celebrated as a time to gather together in the darkest time of the turn. The celebration falls on the shortest day of the year when time is the most fleeting. It is believed that only Althyk, keeper of time and space, can continue on the turn of time and bring back the balance between the light and dark. It is only by coming together on the darkest day of the year and celebrating the time that has passed and what people have gained that it will help inspire Althyk to continue to the turn of time and help rebalance the light and the dark. |
The druids of the circle also offer bonding ceremonies, funerals, and sainings.
Sainings
A saining is usually given within a moon of a baby being born. It is a ceremony intended to celebrate the birth of the new baby, introduce the baby to the community and ask for blessings from the forest. The placenta of the child or children is taken and either buried under a tree or buried under a sapling so that the child will always return to the forest it comes from. It is also a way of giving thanks to Nophica for providing a new life to the mother by returning the rich, nutrient placenta to the earth. Next, the druid will lift up the child, presenting it to the forest and asking for Nophica and the spirits of the forest to watch over it and accept it as part of the forest. It is believed this ceremony will help the new child be less likely to get woodsin. Lastly, friends and family will gather around the tree and pass the baby between them, offering a wish for the baby’s life (i.e I wish for you to always find the path home or I wish for you to be as fast as wind). Lastly, gifts are offered to the new mother and child in congratulations to the new child.
Bonding
Druids take the swearing of oaths very seriously and bonding is no different. Bonding, or handfasting, as it is known, usually takes place during the full moon under the light of Menphina, Goddess of Love. Individual, unique vows are usually encouraged to be written by the pair and they can be discussed beforehand by the druid for approval. The vows are usually about being bonded for life and if so wish, in their next lives after they return from the lifestream. As the vows are recited, the couple’s hands are fastened with a soft, silver cord. With their free hands, they will exchange rings before kissing to end the ceremony. Afterward, the new couple jump over a broom to represent their departure from their old lives and into a new life they will share together. Usually, a large feast is held afterward to celebrate the couple's new marriage.
Funerals
After someone passes, the body is taken by a druid to be prepared for the spirit's journey into the afterlife. It is washed and wrapped in white linen and then laid out for three days so people can say goodbye, offer gifts for their journey into the afterlife where they will spend their time temporarily or permanently, and otherwise mourn over the individual.
After the three days, a hole in the ground is prepared to bury the dead, and earth or stone is placed over the body along with their offerings to take into the afterlife. For particularly important individuals, a burial mound may be made or a large marker. The druid will ask Thal to guide the departed spirit into the afterlife and lean down to whisper to the body to look for Thal and that they can depart now, knowing they will be missed and celebrated. Others are also welcome to say words, cry, or otherwise continue to mourn the dead. Afterward, a feast is held where friends and family of the departed celebrate their life with stories while eating and drinking.
Druids believe that after someone dies, their spirits enter the heaven or hell of a certain god before eventually returning to the lifestream. These heavens and hell align with the current beliefs of everyday Eorzeans.
Training
Druid training usually takes place over half a turn to a full turn depending on the skill and ability of the initiate druid. Basic training in conjury is a must for anyone wishing to undertake the training to become a druid. Likewise, conjury can be undertaken with their druid training if needed. Any race is welcome to undertake training to become a druid. Abilities such as hearing the elementals or being able to talk to spirits are highly prized but not essential to become a druid.
Lessons on a number of topics about druidism are given to initiate druids to help educate them and prepare for their duties as fully fledged druids.
Additionally, druids are expected to undergo three trials during their training.
Preserve Life: The druid in training is required to find a life in need and successfully preserve its life. Several methods can be used to fulfill this requirement, whether it be stopping a poacher, or helping heal a human or animal back to full health. No killing must happen during this trial otherwise it will be considered a failure.
Restore Balance: Initiate druids are sent out to the black shroud to help restore balance to it somehow, whether it be by calming a disgruntled elemental, culling an overpopulation of animals that may affect the balance of the shroud, or stopping an excess of hunting of a particular creature in a certain area that is showing signs of affecting the balance of nature.
Accepting death: Considered the most harrowing of the three trials, this trial requires that an initiate druid take a mysterious psychoactive concoction prepared by a senior druid and balance on the precipice of life and death. It is only through willpower and perhaps the help of a friendly spirit, that the druid can restore themselves to life. Many druids find after this trial, they no longer fear death and welcome it as a natural part of nature.
Upon completion of all three trials, the fully initiated druid is considered a more balanced individual, having experience, life, death, and rebirth in the ancient and sacred way of life and nature. They are rewarded with a tattoo of the ancient symbol of a triskele which represents the cycle of life, death, and rebirth to the circle.
