The Lesson of Balance
A Druid recognizes both the need for balance and the need for imbalance in life. A Druid lives between worlds. He lives between balance and imbalance, light and dark, order and chaos, gods and goddesses, yin and yang, good and evil, masculine and feminine, solar and lunar, science and magic, spiritual and material, work and play, optimisim and cynicism, helping others and looking out for himself, life and death, and the list goes on. A Druid acts as a fulcrum balancing and moderating these forces wisely to achieve his goals.
Each of the concepts above point out a duality in the universe between apparent extremes. There are several lessons to be learned by acknowledging these distinct energies and their respective polarities.
The first of these lessons is the lesson of the forces of balance and imbalance, of order and chaos. Both are necessary in life, and neither should be seen as necessarily "good" or "bad". Balance and order are the states that most of us would claim to strive for in our lives. Most of us would probably consider imbalance or chaos in our lives to be negative and undesirable. The thing is imbalance often promotes learning and growth, and if our lives were perfectly balanced life would become dull and stale. Men often need challenges to overcome. Some scientists even argue that men are hardwired for competition. Challenges can stimulate new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things. Overcoming a challenge can bring a sense of accomplishment. Chaotic forces and imbalance can make way for better and more constructive pursuits, and constructive pursuits can sometimes be destructive. Lack of challenges can lead to apathy. Destruction and evil can come in the form of either Light or Darkness. Fanatics and zealots follow both paths.
A Druid recognizes both the Light and Dark, and the Masculine and Feminine, as two equal energies, each a balance of the other. We do not judge Light as "good" or Dark as "bad"; we see the dance of Light and Darkness as the driving force of life. This is represented by the light and dark seasons in the Wheel of the Year. Darkness has within it its own light. The Light has within it its own dark. Without the dark, there would be no Shadow to add depth to what we see and know. The Light symbolizes the Masculine principle which takes action on what the Feminine has received.
The psychologist, Carl Jung, introduced the concept of the "Shadow" as a very powerful part of our psyches. The shadow usually encompasses negative aspects of ourselves that we refuse, often unconsciously, to accept as being a part of ourselves. He has written that if we ignore or deny our Shadow, it will show up at the most inopportune times, and sabotage our best efforts. Without initiation the individual remains trapped in the dualistic mindset of his religion of birth and misinterprets this light-dark polarity in terms of good and evil. Dark is not the same as evil. Reclaiming the dark, hidden, and sometimes scary parts within is to accept and integrate our shadow into ourselves as a whole person. Doing so makes us stronger and more powerful people.
Another lesson in balance has to do with group energies. When working with group energies and polarities, we can look to modern physics to envision how our energies interact. It is a proven scientific principle that opposite polarities attract, and when they come together they cancel each other out. In physics, two poles of a magnet attract each other, but when they come together they cancel out their respective magnetic fields. Two batteries connected together at the poles drain each other's power. If you put two batteries together where their poles are working together, you increase the power output. This can be extended to human behavior and magical energies as well. Equal and opposite forces cancel each other out. When working for anything constructive, it is best to work with people with similar goals and energy. Doing so increases the energy field, and therefore increases the chance of success. Magically, the power of a solitary practitioner is weak compared to the power of a group using it's collective energy for the same goal. This concept can be applied to masculine and femine energies as well. Masculine-feminine energies cancel each other out. Masculine energies are considered solar, or sun based. Feminine energies are lunar, or based on the moon's cycles. Men and women are socialized differently and often have different ideas about the world around them.
Scientists even point out differences between men's and women's brains and body chemistry. This is in no way meant to imply that one sex is superior or inferior to the other, or any less deserving of respect. Working in mixed gender groups is to mix differing energies and different expectations. Even though Celtic society was matriarchal, the Druids themselves were men and women. The term "druid" literally means "oak men" or "men of the oak." While we believe that it is possible, even desired, for women to practice Celtic lore and magic.
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