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Article AN ACCOUNT OF DRUIDISM. ← Page 3 of 8 →
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An Account Of Druidism.
times of worship . The numerous roufid monuments in DannTonium were formed for the purpose of this mysterious rite . In several of the Scottish Isles , at this day , the vulgar never approach " the fire- hallowing karne , " without walking three times found it from east to west , according to the course of the sun . The Druids probably turned sunways , in order to bless and worship their gods ; and the contrary way , when they intended to curse and deftroy their enemies . The first
kind of turning has been called the- deisol ; the second the tuaphol . Tacitus alludes to the latter in a very remarkable passage : Druid / sque circum preces diras , sublatis ad caelum manibus , fundentes , novitate affectum perculere milites . The Roman soldiers , we see , were terrified b y the novelty of this rite—a plain proof that it was unknown in those countries which bad been subjected to the Roman yoke . The hol y
fires of the Druids may also deserve our notice ; we have , at this day , traces of the fire-worship of the Druids in several customs , both of the Devonians and the Cornish : but , in Ireland , we may still see the holy fires in all their solemnity . The Irish call the month of May , bel-tiue , or fire of Belus ; and the first of May , la-hel-tine , or the day of Belus ' s fire . In an old Irish Glossary , it is mentioned , that the Druids of Ireland used to light two solemn fires every year ; through which all four-footed beasts were driven , as a preservative against contagious distempers . The Irish have . this custom at the present moment ; they
kindle the fire in the milking-yards—men , women and children pass through or leap over it ; and their cattle are driven through the flames of the burning straw , on the first of May : and , in the month of November , they have also their fire feasts ; when , recording to the custorrj of the Danmonian as well as the . Irish Druids , the hills were enveloped in flame . Previously to this solemnity ( on the eve of November ) - the fire in every private house was extinguished ; hitherthenthe
, , people were obliged to resort , in order to rekindle it . The ancient Persians named the month of November , Adur , or fire . Adur , according to Richardson , was the angel presiding over that clement ; in consequence of which , on the ninth , his name-day , the country blazed all round with flaming piles , whilst " the magi , b y the injunction of Zoroaster , visited , with great solemnity , all the temples of fire
throughout the empire ; which , on this occasion , were adorned and illuminated in a most splendid manner . Hence our Britiih illuminations in November hacl probably their origin . It was at this season that Baal Samham called the souls to judgment , which , according to their deserts , were assigned to re-enter the bodies of men or brutes , and to be happy or miserable during their next abode on the earth . But the
punishment of the wicked , the Druids taught , might be obliterated by sacrifices to Baal . The sacrifices of the black sheep , therefore , was offered up for the souls of the departed , g . n . 1 varicus species of charms *
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Account Of Druidism.
times of worship . The numerous roufid monuments in DannTonium were formed for the purpose of this mysterious rite . In several of the Scottish Isles , at this day , the vulgar never approach " the fire- hallowing karne , " without walking three times found it from east to west , according to the course of the sun . The Druids probably turned sunways , in order to bless and worship their gods ; and the contrary way , when they intended to curse and deftroy their enemies . The first
kind of turning has been called the- deisol ; the second the tuaphol . Tacitus alludes to the latter in a very remarkable passage : Druid / sque circum preces diras , sublatis ad caelum manibus , fundentes , novitate affectum perculere milites . The Roman soldiers , we see , were terrified b y the novelty of this rite—a plain proof that it was unknown in those countries which bad been subjected to the Roman yoke . The hol y
fires of the Druids may also deserve our notice ; we have , at this day , traces of the fire-worship of the Druids in several customs , both of the Devonians and the Cornish : but , in Ireland , we may still see the holy fires in all their solemnity . The Irish call the month of May , bel-tiue , or fire of Belus ; and the first of May , la-hel-tine , or the day of Belus ' s fire . In an old Irish Glossary , it is mentioned , that the Druids of Ireland used to light two solemn fires every year ; through which all four-footed beasts were driven , as a preservative against contagious distempers . The Irish have . this custom at the present moment ; they
kindle the fire in the milking-yards—men , women and children pass through or leap over it ; and their cattle are driven through the flames of the burning straw , on the first of May : and , in the month of November , they have also their fire feasts ; when , recording to the custorrj of the Danmonian as well as the . Irish Druids , the hills were enveloped in flame . Previously to this solemnity ( on the eve of November ) - the fire in every private house was extinguished ; hitherthenthe
, , people were obliged to resort , in order to rekindle it . The ancient Persians named the month of November , Adur , or fire . Adur , according to Richardson , was the angel presiding over that clement ; in consequence of which , on the ninth , his name-day , the country blazed all round with flaming piles , whilst " the magi , b y the injunction of Zoroaster , visited , with great solemnity , all the temples of fire
throughout the empire ; which , on this occasion , were adorned and illuminated in a most splendid manner . Hence our Britiih illuminations in November hacl probably their origin . It was at this season that Baal Samham called the souls to judgment , which , according to their deserts , were assigned to re-enter the bodies of men or brutes , and to be happy or miserable during their next abode on the earth . But the
punishment of the wicked , the Druids taught , might be obliterated by sacrifices to Baal . The sacrifices of the black sheep , therefore , was offered up for the souls of the departed , g . n . 1 varicus species of charms *