IMG05

The image of Druids In Contemporary Paganlsm

on the faith of their ancestors and maybe unlntentlonally \ed to the sptead-ing of the Neo-Pagan movement. The power of flction in creating ov sep-porting religious movements is often underestimated, and \o the case of contemporary Paganism, the hterary Image of druids has a powerful impact on the beHevers (Ciifton, 2009). These works of flction often form \Nhat can be called "a missing tradltlon”; they f\W a gap that need to be f\Wed in order to create a religious movement. The ancient sources are obscure In the case of druidry (and they can be yet morę obscure In e.g. S\avic Paganism), so II one wishes to embrace the o\d faith, must often reYy on otber sources*. the later writings, flction and Imaglnatlon. Therefore, the Image of a druid fouud in literaturę, RPG and Computer games could influence the image of a druid that followers of contemporary druidry are bearing in their minds. V wouid like to emphasize, that this process is dynamie, and works both ways be-tween the cultural image of druids and the one formed by foiiowers of druidry. So the myth of druidry, which we are accustotned to by reading"Ks-terix", Marion Zimmer Bradley, or watching contemporary druids wbo ap-pear on TV news and shows, and which is transferred from one be\iever to another, is yet to change in the futurę.

Walklng the Old Ways

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