La Historia de Mis Comienzos [ES]

Becoming a Druid

“Ah! I have delayed too long to realize that the land cannot be bridged only with teaching, at least not in the current context. I spent most of my life learning from Nature and it’s time to give back… to work actively to preserve the balance. Perhaps the most difficult task to undertake, and the last.”

I thought deeply on what this elderly man was saying about what it meant to be a druid. I was still curious about the man himself, though. “By the way, what kind of name is Giledgel?”

“It’s not my name,” said the old man, taking his time to answer. “It’s the name a friend gave me a long time ago. They are Elvish words, you know?” he laughed before continuing, “Anyway, I do not remember the meaning.”

After talking more about the balance of the world with him, I made what would be the most important decision in my life. “I want to be like you; I want to protect nature by any means necessary. I no longer want to return to my village. I want to be your apprentice; I want to be a druid!”

Giledgel did not accept me at first, but I insisted, and he saw in me the deep desire to be a druid and eventually ended up accepting me with the condition that I never reveal the real name of my teacher, though I never knew why.

So it was that he taught me techniques and rituals–which I will not reveal–to develop strong mental power through rigorous discipline, meditating for hours, day after day, over several years, surrounded by the forest. I loved living there, and I grew to be a full apprentice druid, devoted to my objective to serve and protect nature.
“Becoming a druid–or apprentice druid–was not a quick or easy process”… I was very young when I started and now, years later, I cannot remember everything I did along the way. But I will tell you a little more about some of the tasks:

First – I accompanied the old man in his tasks, listening to stories about his life.

Second – I began to understand the symbols and language used by the Elder Druid to perform the simplest rituals and to understand the druidic clairvoyance and the signs of nature.

Third – I came to know elemental forces, principles, and beings that inhabit the forest and how to use them to my advantage.
Of course, there was also much more…