THE HOLY ONES

 

The most common modern error is to associate Holy Ones in the same context or meaning as Saint. Saint comes from the same root as Sanctus and Sacred meaning "set apart." Holy means both heal and make whole from the same root heli  as in Old Saxon. Likewise, it is connected to the word's hell, hall and hole but the concept of "hell" is a later and false import. It was more along the lines of referring to a burial place such as a tomb or cave and generally the word for a cemetery as the Holy Lands and Holy Places of the Holy Ones. That's all.

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Recognition of Holy Ones

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There are very few specific standards as to what qualifies one to receive such recognition and as such one who was considered a holy one in the past might not be recognized as a holy one in the future since it tends to be a factor of contingency upon the wider views of a particular tradition, culture and society as a whole. The main qualifiers presented here tend to be consistent and are very basic at that with the main factor that they have to be or have been actual known and real people and not simply a character of fiction embodying such concepts. Nor do they have to have always been such types of people from the start of their lives but changed toward the middle and end of those lives to embody the following basic list.

 

1. Renowned for kindness and patience.

2. Renowned for their honesty and reliability.

3. Renowned for selfless compassion and charity.

4. Renowned for a deep regard of the worth of the lives of others.

5. Renowned for their healing skills of other minds, emotions and bodies.

6. Renowned for their selfless bravery and their protection of the lives of others.

7. Renowned for their efforts to bring about peace and ending conflicts among people.

 

The last of these tend to be far more difficult historically, however, it isn’t something that necessarily involves such as conflicts between nations. It can be as basic as reconciliation among friends, families, neighbors, villages, towns and even cities which can reach the level of a whole nation though obviously this is rare in retrospect, just not impossible. It is also to ensure that such holy ones and their life stories and their contributions are not forgotten and that their stories of struggle and achievement may also serve as motivation for others to also overcome similar challenges and gain a sense of hope for striving to achieve their dreams while authentically emulating the seven examples previously provided. We can further express how such may become elevated by the people to the honor of holy ones and something the people determine called Folk Will and not the authority of clergy which is also a distinct factor of Druwayu.

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The Will of the People determine Holy Ones

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1. Those who have gained a deep respect and bond with people are regarded as holy ones, especially if they have some sort of association with mental, emotional and even physical healing, either while alive or from beyond the grave, sometimes referred to as a miracle.

2. It’s the people who choose who to honor in such a manner and the general view is that the souls of the dead, having once been human like the rest of us know our needs and can intercede on our behalf, though this is retracted by the limitations of the Drikeyu.

3. The bonds forged between the living and the dead occurs in life while they are also still in the here and now, not here and after. They may be sought to help especially if there is a presence of a hostile entity somewhere and so said ancestors are called to move them on if a solution to their hostility cannot be otherwise resolved.

4. Those that gain a reputation among the living as demonstrating strong levels of influence tend to become popular which will often result in many becoming devotees to the service of such holy ones, and offerings to them tend to be based on what their known likes and interests were while they were alive including food and music. The basic principle is you take care of them so they can continue to take care of you, which is in accordance with the Wyrda (older Wyrdan taking on the modern spelling of weird) on the reciprocation aspect of things.

5. It is also regarded as that such holy one or ancestors in general have the potential to gain more direct channels for communication with the One and Three being of a different quality and nature and so may be asked from time to time to either help or pray for us.

6. While some may prefer that a Warlock or Witch is present to preside over various things or preside over a funeral, for the most part, when it comes to honoring the dead or recognition of Holy Ones, it is based on the will of the people, not the clergy or any ruling authorities. The only expectation is such Holy Ones were real people, not icons or mascots of fictional characters that never actually lived or who never actually existed. Otherwise, it’s a matter of family and friends of the departed to tend to such things.

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Memorials and Shrines

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Such memorials including grave and grave markers as well as icons and plaques with what they are being memorialized for, and their recorded stories therein are both to honor those that have received such recognition and to serve as inspiration for others to potentially emulate such ways. People might leave votive offerings such as flowers or whatever at such memorials which then serve as shrines for the community of those who feel a special bond or connection with particular recognized Holy Ones even if it’s only locally or more regionally.

 

People may even pray to some of them seeking their guidance or help with something though it’s also understood that as with all things, what they can or will do will be limited by but the factors of the Drikeyu which in turn equates to being limited to what the One and Three will or will not allow so as to maintain the overall harmonies of all realms and realities. 

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The most common tendency for such shrines to one’s ancestors are they will usually be reserved for a single individual or a family photo with a table under it. On either side are candles representing the equality of the physical and the spiritual more or less are present. A type of some sort of fragrant incense is usually placed at the center and has the double meaning of representing the prayers of the individual and the presence of the ancestor. A ted tablecloth usually represents both the blood of life and protection.

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It’s not always required, though some of the other elements that may be applied to such personal shrines as part of customs of honoring the dead in this way, especially in the sense of recently departed family members that were truly cherished, is on either side of the table there may also be present two bowls of fruit such as one with apples representing good health, and good luck. Eating one is considered a form of communion with said ancestor.

 

Other items may also be present including but not limited to some object as property that once belonged to the departed so represented such as a ring, necklace, or some other such personal item. The key factor to something like this is the person who creates one had some kind of connection and good relationship with the person represented while they were still alive. The other view is those messing with such shrines or stealing items from it can evoke the anger and retaliation of said ancestors until they return the stolen property. This tends to be more of a superstition, though the wiser one avoids putting some things to foolish tests. Plus, its just rude and disrespectful.

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Trilithons as Sacred Gates

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A trilithon is a structure consisting of two large vertical stones (posts) supporting a third stone set horizontally across the top (lintel). There are many forms of these throughout the ancient world and tended to mark boundaries form the outside surrounding area and sacred reserved space, such as at a shrine. One place where the custom of such symbolic gates has been preserved is Japan.

 

This should not be too shocking to find similar descriptions of the Wights to be similarly described as the Kami, and that such gates as these also marked burial ground entry ways and represented an entrance to a shrine location a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to travel through.

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Many such shrines also have upright carved memorial stones with all the same basic context as those found on such things often called Rune Stones (Rune actually comes from the same source as Rowan being mutually rooted in ronn, raun, rúna, and rune with the base meaning of redden.

 

This is because such letter forms were often painted in red with such as red ochre, iron ochre, or ocher in American English, or etched onto stone surfaces using hematite as a base which when scratched along another stone surface leaves a reddish-brown mark.

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​Some will note the links visually as is done here for additional frames of reference as it is known contact between the ancient east and west on a regular basis was far more common than once previously claimed, or accepted, though is still denied by those pushing rather ridiculous puritanical rhetoric. Even the various forms of swastikas prove that much.

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WANT TO HONOR THE ANCESTORS?

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Many feel a need to honor those who have passed, and it's good to forge those bonds while people are here and now, not wait till the here and after. The reason one honors those who died is to honor life itself, not death itself, which is what most get wrong.  None of us actually knows what a hereafter state will actually be like or have any certainty or insurance there is any continuation of self. Its fine to not know.  Dwelling on it too much, however, robs oneself of living and it is extremely selfish of others to demand you must mourn excessively and stop living yourself because someone else has passed. 

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The old concept was when a loved one passes away, they begin their journey to the underworld, which is known as Hell. While it may share a name with the Christian realm of eternal torture, it is actually named after one of the three Goddesses bearing that name from Hel in her aspect as those who rules over this realm of the dead. What all the actual specifics were is lost, however, there are more than enough old echoes that instead of a domain of eternal suffering and pain alone, it is also a place of rest, healing and renewal which is reflected in the fact Hel is part of the word Heal, and as Heli where we get Holy and both mean to make whole.

 

What lore it all has as came about after the 1200s CE clearly burrowed heavily from Greek and Roman concepts of the "underworld" and its diverse locations. Ultimately its linked with the grave and burial mounds and old cavernous tombs where the dead are reunited with those loved ones who preceded them in death. It is a world much like our own, but without suffering, illness, or aging. There was also the custom of giving the dead new clothes and new shoes and gear for the to defend themselves and also to provide for themselves in the afterlife.

 

One of those reference is Helskór 'Hell Shoes' and were placed on the dead so that they could walk to Valhall(a) which properly means Hall of the Fallen/Dead, from the combination of Val 'fall' and höll (another form of the word of hall). To put it in a proper sense, Hel-shoes were to be had for those who were not supplied with them yet still deserved them as itself a gesture of compassion regardless of one's rank or social status. Many have also forgotten that there was also the concept that "in death, all one's debts in this world are paid." At least that is how it once was considered from a more realistic and logical sense. There is also the concept of "once born, always to be," even if it's not always spoken of using this phrasing. 

 

1. There was also a custom of tossing such into fires even for the unknown dead based on the concept that during the soul's travel in the hereafter they will see an immensely large and beautiful linden-tree hanging full of shoes, which were handed down to such dead travelers as had exercised mercy during their lives.

2. When the dead had passed this tree where they would be able to find their shoes, they had to cross a heath two miles wide, thickly grown with thorns, and then they came to a river full of irons with sharp edges.

3. The unjust had to wade through this river and suffered immensely. They were cut and mangled in every limb; but when they reached the other strand, their bodies were the same as they had been when they began crossing the river.

4. The just are able to cross the river by putting their feet on boards a foot wide and fourteen feet long, which floated on the water. This is the first day's journey. On the second day they come to a point where the road forked into three ways - one to heaven (in the sky), one to hell (the world below), and one between these realms (an unknown destination in most cases and potentially a way back to be reborn depending on the source or a parallel world to and like this one).

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When we speak of our ancestors, we are generally speaking of those to whom we are related directly to and descended from, but this is not to be taken as something 'racist' and shouldn't be coupled with such nonsense. In other contexts, we also refer to such in regard to those who were important to and influential in our lives; even those of fame from our own younger years. This can also be a teacher who inspired us to take our lives in a new direction, or a friend close enough to be considered actual family. So, biology is only one part of it in regard to immediate relatives, not "race or ethnicity" which is a distortion of the idiotic and insane, but mostly it's the emotional and mental connection that matters. It's not all that uncommon to any particular culture and regardless of belief or lack of belief in any particular kinds of deities that the dead remain important, and we are still connected to them in many ways. If all that is left of them is only a memory and a burial place with a tomb stone, the memory of them is still honored and their lore is recounted.

 

1. For some, it is believed they may continue to exert influence over the world of the living, watch over the loved ones they left behind, and even offer their guidance and wisdom to us.

2. Some might simply come back to have some fun being more mischievous because they can be, and more so than even when they had life in this state.

3. Others still believe that our ancestors may even return to this world to act as guardians for their descendants or show up just long enough to prevent or try to prevent one from dying as they did.

4. Some might return to seek vengeance or to be avenged for having lost their lives due to the negligence or intentional deeds resulting in their demise.

5. Most, however, are believed to prefer to leave the world of the living for the living and only communicate with people ad greet them when their time finally comes.

6. With all the diverse views, for us, it's not a justification for invalidation but rather a recognition that there is no one way of things and everyone are worthy of remembrance to some degree.

7. The other part of this is it is necessary to recall and recount such lives regardless whether such were good or bad or considered good or bad in their time because their lives are our lessons so both the good and the bad gifts us with knowledge and our lore as history that shapes us all and regardless of what we did, do or will believe. 

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This not only strengthens our relationship with one another while here and now and one another thereafter, it also shows that we continue to love and think about them and demonstrate our sense of truly deep value and appreciation for our loved ones while they are still here and do not honor them out of obligation or it isn't authentic honoring or respect. It's merely acting and reenactment that is spiritually empty and dead unto itself rendering such actions useless and pointless.

 

In addition, the living as well as the dead, if there are any that survive the move between the here and now to the hereafter, will know it also. However, never trust one who claims to know anything about such matters with complete certainty. Also, the takeaway is the here and now always matters the most first because whatever awaits us, if anything, in the hereafter, is always in one form or another presented as determined by what we do here and now. This does not mean we should neglect burial sites either because even those, when we include it as part of our culture, make regular visits to such sites to honor the memories of the departed, it is also an opportunity to inform our heirs where they come from and is also a vital part in preserving something of our collective histories. 

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All this comes down to a common concept that when we die, we remain close to Earth, close to loved ones and it is the responsibility of those still living to care for the dead. We elevate our ancestors (regardless of where we come from or what we look like) through prayers and other votive offerings. Many also believe that the more we help the dead, the faster they shake off their worldly concerns and spiritual baggage and rise closer to a divine status more or less. Because everything is considered reciprocal, they in turn be able or empowered to bless us with health, better guidance and good fortune in this life, though the basic principle is you can call on them for any reason at all.

 

They also will retain the same personalities they had in this life, so that is another reason why one should have had some clear and solid bonds formed with them here and now and not in the hereafter, and likewise, just because you call on them, it doesn't mean they will respond, and are still people with their own wills and should not be treated as "at your beckoning call." That is also why it is considered necessary to maintain regular offerings in their honor as elders, while on the other hand only calling on them for aid when you have exhausted every other means to try and accomplish something yourself.  

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Ethnocentric Views on such matters

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Druwayu is not "ethnocentric" and honoring ghosts of the dead and ancestors in general, contrary to the more militant claims of others, is nonsensical. Druans come from many diverse ancestries and backgrounds and as such many will adopt or bring with them traditional ways of honoring the departed based on the history and countries they come from. This means that we do not "appropriate" anything as some sort of cultural hijacking. That would be the same thing as claiming only "one culture" in all of the history of human existence ever actually honored the dead with various means such as reciting their life stories, playing their favorite music, making offerings of food and drink and so forth, which would be complete bullshit. 

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Thought Forms (Not What is claimed)

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Basically, a thought form is another term for a type of wight as an entity created by a combination of concentrated intense thoughts and emotions, sometimes by intent or by accident, and the concept basically claims various entities are merely a collection of perceptions conditioned by the collective beliefs of people who believe in them, but unless given regular attention, they eventually fade and cease to exist. 

 

Some, according to this view, that develop a strong enough independent will are prone to use any means necessary to keep their existence sustained, often turning to drawing off of the malevolent thoughts and darker emotions of people, including fear and anger as the two easiest to evoke emotions to release the energy such entities seek to feed on. Thus, the basic ingredient for creating an entity or object purely through intense thought into materialized physical existence or semi-physical existence and its "form" is based on the strength of one's visualizations (imagination).

 

It’s the basis of terms we get in passing without realizing this concept when one says “things don’t happen because you didn’t believe it in enough” and seeking to remove all barriers to such things being able to be actually accomplished as projected focused thoughts by stripping away all disbelief through a process of de-conditioning and de-construction, which is in a sense reconditioning and re-construction.

 

This in turn has been based on such concepts seeking to achieve things through personal undirected, unrestricted and blind experimentation based on an idea or hypothesis, and more or less testing it constantly in different ways and keeping personal notes or journals as a sort of “psychic scientist” seeking to sort out how to make such things work, what did or didn’t work, how it worked and what to expect, and then seeking to improve, refine and simplify what worked so it can be repeated and have the same results if others attempt the same things.

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In any case, the basic sense is anything imagined and given enough ’energy’ as an intense mental and emotional charged concept and even symbol or object, will develop into a sort of mentally and emotionally charged battery of said power pooled up and programmed to cause a specific desired influence or fulfill as a created “psychic robot” a specific goal and purpose as semi aware to potentially fully aware being that can if not properly produced becomes potentially dangerous and malevolent rather than protective and benevolent, but will fade in time when forgotten.

 

With this concept often being the basis of various other ideas, it’s often claimed as a potential explanation of why some apparent haunting by seemingly intelligent “ghosts” seem to conform to stories associated with a particular location that simply do not line up with the actual history as claimed yet still exhibits such like haunting. However, this tends to draw more off the claimed belief that the deities of such as the Greeks and Romans required constant adoration and services, or they would weaken and eventually fade into oblivion for lack of worshipers.

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It’s also claimed to be the essence being some places having a more sinister or bad feel about them as a pool of negative “dark” energy shaped and fused to an area with a long and known violent history and such presence seeks to continue to exist by influencing and tapping into such dark thoughts, emotions and urges of people and seeks to compel them to repeat the same kind of bad history and violence so that it can continue to exist.

 

Having an awareness it comes to realize it cannot continue to exist without a constant injection of such things from the minds, emotions and urges of people unfortunate or foolish enough to enter into such locations and having a particular preference for youth who are more easily lured by their curiosity and urge to challenge things for fun, and then flip it on them by completely terrorizing them to get the feeding it was seeking.  

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Many still perpetuate this view but also often present it in various other ways such as the claims that various deities being built up over time began to demand more intense worship of themselves having been such entities of imagination that came to simply been believed into existence and then died off with lack of believers. This is applied to literally every such spiritual concept despite it being known some were simply deified people like dead rulers.

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However, this is also often considered an ancient explanation also of Schizophrenia as is a chronic brain disorder which has such symptoms as various paranoid delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking and lack of motivation, or generalized often in a more vague term of Psychosis which means a person's thoughts and perceptions are disrupted and they have difficulty recognizing what is real and what is not which can be temporary or permanent. Even then, these kinds of entities are subject to the One and Three and not typically considered truly immortal, and because of how they come into existence are considered soulless. 

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Higher or Lower Self Nonsense

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One of the most commonly employed deceptions of various movements seeking the elevation of the self with the higher self and avoid descent into the lower self.  Basically, is a bunch of silly nonsense. This is often called theurgy. What does it really mean? Theurgy is a combination of theo in reference to deity and urgy means works. Literally the actual meaning is divine works or the work of a deity but pushed as a work towards becoming a deity as in Apotheosis, literally meaning change to or become a deity from apo ‘change to/make’ + theo ‘a deity/divine.’ It stems from Greek apotheoun. Some will take this to extremes to demand being worshiped while alive.

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Sometimes the term apotheosis is applied in the sense of self deification or self-elevation into a divine state as part of this nonsensical ideology about perfectionism and utopian delusions, though what apotheosis actually means is ‘from deity or from a divine being’ which can mean anything from a claim of being the offspring of a divine being to a claimed gift given from a deity. So even that is and has been distorted in too many ways to count. In either case its nonsense. This is one of the major problems also with occultism because it draws from those ideologies and then embellishes them beyond sanity or logic or objective reality.

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Such is then tied to the concept of so-called thaumaturgy literally meaning “miracle working” and implies the ability to perform superhuman and supernatural things such as often attributed to various deities, saints, and so forth. It is sometimes expressed also in the sense of “wonder working” and more or less has the context of supernatural powers which is itself tied into the very concepts of so called theurgy and apotheosis. The insanity of it is such actually think they have such abilities but when actually put on the spot, they fail to demonstrate such abilities much less any qualities that might be considered to be in any way particularly “divine.’

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So, what did these actually mean and express without the Occult rhetoric and deceptions? The context of theurgy was instead making one’s will submit to that of the will and guidance of God, allowing God to work through you and guide you by direction that allowed thaumaturgy or miracle works to be expressed through you but not from you personally but from God directly, and apotheosis was more of a recognition of such things coming from God working through a devoted individual as God allowed and willed it through his spirit, or included a gift of some kind as an award for such dedication and “selflessness” rather than selfishness, and could be as simple as a gift of contentment and peace, healing or whatever.

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Again, that is the major problem with all forms of occultism. It proclaims you to be more than you are, inspires you to proclaim yourself to be superior to others when you are not, promises abilities that are not yours to achieve, tries to short cut everything and place things under your will including the will of others, and creates the delusion that the entire power and energy of the universe for which we are all composed of is yours to do with as you see fit without any consequence because it also holds the fallacy and blatant deception that when you “achieve” such self-elevation to divine status, you are free from all consequences and mortal limits.

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Ghost Hunting: 

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The practice of "ghost hunting" is considered extremely disrespectful. It is one thing to investigate a haunting to try and sort out if it's actually a haunting or a hoax, however, it's another thing when people go out of their way to try and "provoke" a ghost, especially at locations such as Cemetaries and memorials to the dead. Many are too preoccupied with the urge to try and "capture one on recording" and a host of other such things or using such like some sort of thrill-seeking adrenaline rush. It's no different than going into a hospital with sick and terminally ill people and firing off a bunch of questions at them and then trying to provoke them if they don't or cannot respond or too tired to deal with your nonsense. This is where our general rule is "if they are not bothering you, don't bother them."

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While many are also simply "giving it a go" to try and prove or disprove some sort of "life after life," the other factor to also take into consideration is everything shown and all the various "tech tools" to "capture evidence" is all nonsense. The reason it is nonsense comes down to a few factors that is often overlooked constantly which will demonstrate why such things are nonsense; and while it is a valid goal of scientific inquiry as to the reality of such things, there are some points of consistency in all ghost lore aside from modern embellishments.   

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1. They can make themselves known when and if they want.

2. The actual old lore states they are felt more as a sudden movement of air rather than temperature changes.  

3. Sometimes it's a mass of glowing fog or more of a shadow, or smoke like mass. 

4. They can move some things around and can create sound-based illusions as well as visible ones. 

5. They can, though its rare, create sensations of touch, most of it feeling like a bug or spider web on the skin. 

6. Touching is rarely inappropriate even less common harmful (like bites, scratches, pinches, and so on). 

7. They rarely actually assume visible forms that can be seen by everyone. 

8. If they do take on forms, they are usually in the last appearance they remember while still alive. 

9. Any images are what they project that tend to be dressed in the time period and cultural styles of their age.

10. Most encounters with them in their past embodied forms are through dreams of those who know them.

11. They do not make themselves known or manifest anything on command.

 

Most haunting occurrences are rare. When they do happen it's not often on purpose on the part of the ghost. Most mind their own business. Some are just curious to see new things like new technology. It's also nonsense all ghosts are bound to any particular location. They choose to be present at different places, and just like living people, when they are not at one place, they are somewhere else for whatever personal reason that may be. This is not to say there are not some more aggressive ones that are territorial. Living people can be that way also. That's the point. Ghosts should therefore be treated more or less the same way you treat the still living in this state of being.