The Four Pillars
Multiple worlds,
Multiple lifetimes,
Spirit in all things,
Reverence for ancestors.
Multiple worlds
In spite of what the city scholars would have you believe, there are actually three worlds and not just one. The first and foremost is the Faerie Realm, where new souls are created. Once new souls are ready and prepared, they are born into our world -- the Realm of Flesh and Blood. Once a soul passes from this world, they move on to Sidhe (pronounced Shee), where they remain until they're ready to pass on to the Faerie Realm once again. Sidhe is a very interesting place -- it is chaotic and forever changing, and time there is non-linear. This means that where once a mountain may be, tomorrow it could be a lake instead. Likewise, time can move forward or backward at random speeds whereas it is constant in the Realm of Flesh and Blood, and non-existent in the Faerie Realm. While uncommon, it's possible for a soul to become trapped in Sidhe. Thus, Sidhe has a small population of residents that have -- for whatever reason -- refused to move on to the Faerie Realm. These souls are harmless, as ~nothing~ can damage the bare soul as it passes through Sidhe and into the Faerie Realm.
Multiple Lifetimes
When a soul passes from the Realm of Flesh and Blood, it moves on to Sidhe where it is broken down and prepared for rebirth into the Faerie Realm. Once in the Faerie Realm, the soul is rebuilt and prepared for rebirth into the Realm of Flesh and Blood. Thus, the energy that makes up our souls isn't ours alone, and actually belonged to someone else before us. In spite of infrequent belief, memories from past lives do not carry over. However, it ~is~ possible that accumulated wisdom can be passed from one life unto the next. A soul's age could be counted by the number of times it's been reborn into our world; however, since no one has the collective memory to count such a variable, it can be fairly obvious which souls are older than others. For example, a very wise man could possess a soul that has been reborn many times, whereas a fool could possess a soul that has only been reborn a few times. This, however, is only a theory and has yet to be proven by any means.
Spirit in All Things
Humans are not the only things that have claim to spirits. Animals, plants, and even rocks and streams have spirits of their own. If one will listen, their stories can be heard just as clearly as wind blowing through the trees. Weather, wars, and just about any other event from the past are remembered not only by humans but by ~everything~ there to witness. Trees are especially sacred spirits that are highly revered by those who practice Druidry. They are ancient beyond all concept of the word, and have claim to vast wisdom. They are the bringers of life, and the creators of the air we breathe to live. A Druid should never harm a tree, lest he forsake everything Nature has to offer.
Reverence for Ancestors
As is explained by the pillar Multiple Lifetimes, our spirits are reborn anew in the Realm of Flesh and Blood time and again. However, we're not always reborn as what we once were. Many believe that after numerous cycles of life and death a spirit is reborn as a Tree, where it is revered by all who respect Nature. Those who practice Druidry always respect those that came before them, and often offer a boon to them in important ceremonies. Offering Reverence for Ancestors is a very important part of ritual, and through reverence one can find guidance not only in daily life but in the ritual as well. Rituals are very fragile things, and even the slightest mistake can have devastating effects. It is important that we respect those spirits that came before us, so they might bless us with their wisdom.
The Druid Rhallis
The Elementalist~
Nature's Wrath~
Druids and the Afterlife
The Druids believe that the souls of men are immortal, and that after a number of years they live a second life when the soul passes into another body. "Men's souls and the universe are indestructible, although at times fire and water may prevail". Souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another.
Nature herself teaches us much about reincarnation. Watch the cycles of the seasons sometime and you will clearly see it. First we have springtime in which the earth replenishes itself and gives birth to new life forms. The trees give birth to new leaves, flowers bloom, and new plants spring up all around us. In summer and fall, the crops are harvested. In winter the earth rests, and everything dies or lies dormant, only to be reborn come spring. New plants arise from old seedlings, new leaves sprout on old trees.
Reincarnation can be compared to cosmic recycling. For instance, ice melts, changing into water. Water can then be heated and turned into steam which goes up into the air to be recycled as rain. Like ice and water, we die and our (spirit) energy leaves our bodies, returning to the Cosmos and then we are re-cycled or re-born into a new form or body.
There is a new personality with each incarnation, but our individuality is immortal. In other words, the lessons that we learned in our past lives stay with us, residing somewhere deep within our subconscious. In each incarnation, we learn new lessons if the soul is willing. Only then can we move on to a higher plane of existence.
Where we go in between, while we await rebirth is to the Summerland or Otherworld. The Summerland is not a heaven or a hell but a sort of not-here place from which souls come and go. We think of it as a place of peace and beauty, a place where we are reunited with our loved ones and in full possession of all the wisdom we have accumulated in our lifetimes. It is but a brief time of communion before going onward in our journey. The dead are transported to the Otherworld by the God Bell.
Life continues in this location much as it had before death. After the person died in the Otherworld, or moved on from the Summerland, their soul lives again in another human body. Some also believe that spirits can inhabit the bodies of people, animals, plants, trees and even places, and that the spirit is reincarnated in the form that is an expression of one's soul at the moment of death.
~Shyloh