Arthurian Druidism

The Arthurian legends are unique due to their taking place during a delicate
transition period between Druidism and Christianity. Christianity was well
entrenched as the religion of the nobility, yet Druidism remained in the form
of folk-practices. Arthurian mythology contains many distinctly ancient
Celtic concepts but is a new and unique mythology as well. Misty islands and
otherworldly hunting expeditions, which comprise much of Arthurian legend,
clearly originate from the older Celtic mythologies where such encounters are
common ways to enter the Otherworld. The Irish Druid Uath Mac Immoman
challenged a warrior to a mutual beheading in much the same way The Green
Knight (who can be interpreted as Cernunnos The Green Man) challenged Sir
Gawain. The Perilous Bridge that Lancelot has to cross is similar to the
bridge at Scatha's School for Heroes that Cu/Chullain must cross. And perhaps
all those "wise hermits", that the Knights are always running into, are
Druids in hiding. Merlin himself is now thought to have been a Druid by some
modern fiction authors, since he too was an advisor to a king, a prophet, and
made his home in the wilderness. To stretch it a bit, perhaps the Grail
legends follow those magical cauldrons like the one possessed by Dagda, which
could feed armies and raise the dead, and by Cerridwen, which was a font of
wisdom.
It is worth noting that the sword called Excaliber may have come from legends
surrounding a real sword. The Celts were ironworkers, ahead of most other
contemporary cultures. Iron-age technology helped the Celts defeat the
Dannans (who worked bronze). Around Arthurian times, it was discovered that
nickel-iron from meteorites could be used to create stainless steel, and
swords layered with this metal would never bend, scratch, break, nor rust.
Weapons like that would have been seen as magical, and would have developed
names and reputations independently.

An important concept in Arthurian Druidism is the concept of the sacred king.
Arthur is a sacred king because he was chosen by God to rule, by virtue of
his birth and the wisdom he developed. The story of the Fischer King is
another that demonstrates the connection between kings and God, who is the
Earth Mother, for he is suffering from the unhealable wound while at the same
time his territory is barren and infertile, as if wounded just like him. The
Grail is a symbol of divinity, of feminine divinity in particular, and though
it is said to be the cup of Christ most Arthurian druids agree that it is the
Earth Goddess, which is why its wine can be drunk by only those who are
connected to her, like the sacred king, and the chaste knight who reserves
his love only for her. Perhaps these concepts are a remnant of the old ritual
of the marriage of kings to the land.

Romantic Druidism

Romantic Druidism developed in the early eighteenth century. Mostly sought
after by fraternal-order members, such as Freemasons, to develop an
indigenous British mystical order. It is heavily influenced by
fraternal-order occult groups such as Freemasons, ceremonial magicians, the
Golden Dawn, and other similar groups, even to the extent of using
Cabbalistic ritual tools like the Enochian Key! Most of its claim to Celtic
origin comes from the Arthurian myths, and the concepts of the Sacred King,
the Grail Quest, and the Ordained Knight. It is characterized by a number of
features that make it distinct from historical Druidism, although many
Romantic Druids assert that theirs is the historically authentic Druidism. In
some of their rituals they call upon the four classical elements, archangels,
dragons, and non-celtic gods in ritual methods that resemble wizardly
conjurations rather than otherworldly journeys. They often speak of the need
for "shielding", as if all of nature's powers are malevolent and threatening,
and it is the Druid's duty to subdue them, but these are somewhat exaggerated
extremes. None the less, it is much different than the Traditional Druidism
mostly followed today.