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WOODS- western Order of Druids

Historical and symbolic aspects of Iron

by DM (based upon correpondence)

F


or me personally (I cannot speak for anyone else) the way I understand 'faerie' comes from many different teachings, from many different cultures. I understand faerie or fey to be connected to those times, spoken about in the myths and legends of most all traditions, before what has been termed as the 'fall from paradise' (I have used a Biblical term here as it is the holy book I am most familiar with). Other spiritual stories call it different things, but as far as I can see they all refer to a time of complete connection to all things and all peoples. The Chinese have their myth as so do South American Indians, Australian aboriginals and African tribes.

The ancient bards of India describe the First age, the Krita Yuga in terms similar to those used by the Greek poet Hesiod in his story of a golden race.

The Hindus remember four yugas or ages. Krita Yuga, the Treta, the Dvapara and the Kali. Like the Greeks, the Indians believed that the sequence of the ages follows a process of moral degeneration. We are now living in the last, most decadent and materialistic yuga.

According to Hesiod, The Golden Age was followed by the Ages of Silver, Brass, heroes, and iron, of which the last is the present most decadent age. Since his writings are some of the earilest surviving sources of Greek mythology, it can't be known whether he invented the story of the ages of man or whether he was writing about an already ancient belief. In either case the idea of the original 'blessedness' of human beings and then their 'fall' into de-generation seems to have been generally acepted as historical fact by most Greeks and Romans.

Western philosophy has been greatly influenced by Plato. Hes works are all about this wonderful world in the begining times and he says that ' we must do all we can to imitate the life which is said to have existed in the days of Cronus; in as far as the immortal element dwells within us, to that we must hearken, both in private and public life.'

So, for me, to be able to 'connect' to that world, the world of fey, Calling for the elements to come to our aid as they did naturally in the First Age,then carrying iron, a symbol of this Age of decadence into a circle calling for peace in our time just doesn't make any sense. For me.

Ovid speaks of peaceful amity of Nature herself, before the de-generation of human-kind:

The First Age was Golden. In it faith and righteousness were cherished by men of their own free will without judges and laws. Penalties and fears there were none, nor were threatening words inscribed on unchanging bronze; nor did the suppliant crowd fear the words of its judge, but they were safe without protectors. Not yet did the pine cut from its mountain tops descend into the flowing waters to visit foreign lands, nor did deep trenches gird the town, nor were there straight trumpets, nor horns of twisted brass, nor helmets, nor swords. Without the use of soldiers the peoples in safety enjoyed their sweet repose. Earth herself, unburdened anduntouched by the hoe and unwounded by the ploughshare, gave all things freely...Spring was eternal..untrilled the earth bore her fruits and the unploughed field grew hoary with heavy ears of wheat..

That ancient age, he writes,

...to which we have given the name golden, was blessed with the fruit of trees and the herbs which the soil brings forth, and it did not pollute its mouth with gore. Then birds in safety winged their way through the air and the hare fearlessly wandered through the fields, nor was the fish caught through its witlessness. There were no snares, and none feared treachery, but all was full of peace.



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