The Rudolf Steiner Archive

6. The Mysteries of the Druids and Drotten

[ 1 ] Our medieval tales—Parzival, The Round Table, Hartmann von Aue—all reveal to us, although they are usually understood only in their literal sense, esoteric representations of mystical truths. Where should we look for their origin? We must seek their origin before the spread of Christianity. What was lived in Ireland, Scotland [and Scandinavia] grew organically into Christianity. We are led to a specific center from which this spiritual life originated. The spiritual life [of Europe] emanated from a central lodge in Scandinavia, the Drotten Lodge, the Druid Lodge. “Druid” means “oak.” That is why it is commonly said that the ancient Germans received their teachings under oak trees.

[ 2 ] The Drotten, or Druids, were ancient Germanic initiates. In England, [the Druid lodges] existed until the time of Queen Elizabeth. Everything we read in the Edda and find in the ancient Germanic mythological tradition can be traced back to the temples of the Drotten, or Druids. The poet [of these legends] is always a Druid priest. The legends do not merely represent some symbol or allegory—they do that, but they are also something else.

[ 3 ] Let’s take an example: We are familiar with the legend of Baldur; we know that Baldur is the hope of the gods, and that he is killed by the god Loki with a mistletoe branch—the god of light is slain. This entire narrative has a profound mystical meaning that everyone who was initiated not only learned about but also had to experience.

[ 4 ] During the initiation into the mysteries of the Druids and Drotten, the first act was called “Seeking the Corpse of Baldur.” It was believed that Baldur is always alive. This seeking consisted of a complete enlightenment regarding the nature of humanity; Baldur was humanity as it had once been. Once upon a time, it was not the human of today who lived, but another—one who was not differentiated, not weighed down to the point of experiencing passions, [who still] lived in a finer, more ethereal matter—Baldur, the radiant human. With true understanding, the things that appear to us as symbols must be taken in a higher sense. This human, who has not sunk into what we today call matter, is Baldur. He dwells within each of us. The Druid priest had to seek this higher human within himself. It was made clear to him what this differentiation consists of—from the higher to the lower [stages of humanity]. The secret of all initiation is to give birth to the higher human within oneself. What the priest undergoes more quickly, [ordinary] human beings will undergo over a long course of development. In order for these druids to be guides to the rest of humanity, they had to receive this initiation. The human being who has descended to a lower state must now overcome matter and attain that higher state once again. This birth of the higher human being proceeds in all mysteries in a specific, uniform manner. The human being who had been lost in matter had to be revived; one had to go through a series of experiences—real experiences that cannot be like any sensory experience on this plane [here].

[ 5 ] The stages [of initiation]: The first [stage] was being led before the so-called Throne of Necessity. One stood before the abyss; one truly experienced firsthand what it is like to live in the lower kingdoms of nature. Human beings are minerals and plants, but modern people cannot experience this today; they cannot experience what the elemental substances experience, and yet the ironclad, compelling nature of the world stems from the fact that we, too, are minerals and plants.

[ 6 ] The next stage brought humanity face to face with all that lives in the animal kingdom. Everything that lives through passions and desires had to be seen churning and swirling. Humanity had to observe this, because the purpose of initiation is to look behind the scenes of worldly existence. Humanity does not realize that its physical shell merely conceals what swirls through astral space. The veil of Maya is a real covering, and whoever is initiated must see beyond it—the veils will fall, and the person will see clearly. This is a special moment: the priest became aware that they [the veils] had contained instincts that, if unleashed, would be terrible.

[ 7 ] The third stage led to a contemplation of the grandeur of nature. This is a stage that people find very difficult to comprehend without preparation. The fact that immense occult powers lie dormant there and that the passions of the world are expressed through these natural forces is something that makes people aware that there are forces they do not even experience in the same way as their own suffering.

[ 8 ] The next test is called the “handing over of the serpent” by the hierophant. The effects that result from this are explained to us by the legend of Tantalus. The privilege of sitting [like Tantalus] in the council of the gods can be abused. It represents a reality that certainly elevates a person above themselves, but is bound to dangers that are not exaggerated in the curse of Tantalus. As a rule, people say they can do nothing against the laws of nature. These are [creative] thoughts. One can do nothing with a thought that is merely a shadowy mental concept; with the creative thought—the productive, fruitful one that builds and constructs the things of the world—we have, instead of the passive, one that is imbued with spiritual, mental power. A caterpillar, when blown out, is [merely] the shell of the caterpillar; imbued with the [productive] thought, it is the living caterpillar. Active, creative power is poured into the shell-thoughts, so that the priest is able not only to observe the world but, as a magician, to act within it. The danger lies in committing abuse. At this stage, the occultist acquires a certain power through which he is even capable of deceiving higher beings. He must not merely parrot truths, but experience them; he must decide whether something is true or false. This signifies: the handing over of the serpent by the Hierophant.

[ 9 ] In the spiritual realm, there is also a backbone [just as in the physical realm], where it is determined whether one will receive a spiritual brain. A person undergoes this process at the [third] stage of initiation, [the “Journey into the Labyrinth”]. They are lifted out of Kama and endowed with the spiritual backbone in order to be raised into the coils of the spiritual brain. The twists and turns of the labyrinth on the spiritual plane are the same as the coils of the brain [on the physical plane]. The human being gains entry into the labyrinth, into the coils within the higher planes.

[ 10 ] Then he had to swear an oath of secrecy; a gleaming sword lay before him, and he had to take the strongest oath. This meant that from then on, he would remain silent about his experiences to anyone who was not initiated like him. These true mysteries cannot possibly be revealed without further ado. He, [the initiate], however, had the ability to shape the legends in such a way that they became an expression of the Eternal. If one could express oneself in this manner, one naturally wielded great power over one’s fellow human beings. Whoever shapes such a legend imprints something on the human spirit. What one [usually] says is soon forgotten, and only the very least of it survives death. Eternal truths outlast death the longest. Very little of the lower, scientific knowledge outlasts death. The eternal, yes, [that outlasts], and it reappears in a new incarnation. The Druid priest spoke from a higher plane. If his stories were the expression of higher truths—even if simple—they penetrated deeply into the souls. He had simple people before him, but the truths penetrated their souls, and they had internalized something that is reborn in new incarnations. In those days, people experienced truths through fairy tales. Thus, today we have a prepared spiritual body, and if we comprehend higher truths today, it is because we have been prepared. Thus, this era, which came to an end in the year 61, prepared the spiritual life of Europe and laid the groundwork upon which Christianity could be built. The teachings [of the Druids] have been preserved, and those who seek will still find access to what was taught in these lodges.

[ 11 ] After he [the Druid priest] had taken his oath on the sword, he had to drink a certain beverage—from a human skull. This signified that the human being had transcended the human condition. The Druid priest had to feel this way toward the lower body. He had to view what lived within the body so objectively, so dispassionately, that he regarded it merely as a vessel. Then he was initiated into the higher mysteries, and as he ascended once more into the higher worlds, [he encountered the living] Baldur. He was led into a gigantic palace covered with sparkling swords. A man stepped forward to meet him, throwing seven flowers into the air—[the seven planets]. [The initiate beheld three seats; enthroned upon them were]: the Celestial Realm, the Cherubim, and the Demiurge. Thus he became a true Sun Priest.

[ 12 ] Many people read the Edda without realizing that it is an account of what actually took place in the ancient Drotten mysteries. An immense power lay in the hands of the ancient Drotten priests—a power over life and death. It is true that everything becomes corrupted over time. Druidism was once the highest, the holiest. In the days when Christianity was spreading, much had degenerated, and there were many black magicians, so that Christianity was like a salvation.

[ 13 ] The study of these ancient truths alone almost fully illustrates the entire field of occultism. In the Druid temple, no stone was laid upon another as it is today, but rather precisely according to astronomical measurements; doors were built according to celestial measurements. The Druid priests were the builders of humanity. A faint reflection of this has been preserved in the beliefs of the Freemasons. If one learns to see through astral matter, one sees the sun at midnight: 1st Initiation.

[ 14 ] The Handing Over of the Serpent: The Second Inauguration.

[ 15 ] Entering the Labyrinth: 3. Initiation.