Druidic Craft of the Wise - The American Rite | Legends

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Legends 10
The Destruction of Wisdom in Europe & The Move to America

By the middle of the Piscean Age, the Wise Men were scattered over Europe and enjoyed
an enviable place in society. They were well respected. Every little village had its
wise Man or Woman. They lived on the edges of the villages where they could raise
their own herbs, and from there they acted as veterinarians, county agents,
herbal doctors, as well as priests, for all the villagers.

They were organized into little groups. All the villages in a certain area were organized
into a group of from five to twelve doctors. An older doctor took care of answering
their questions for the advancement of their medicine when they met monthly.

These older doctors were generally called Elders among the English speaking countries.
They, too, were in a group under a very Wise Man, who was known as a Maji.

About this time, guilds of skilled workers arose in the medieval society. There were
guilds of carpenters, metal workers, stone masons, and others, and there arose a
distinction between workers of the arts and the Crafts which demanded manual skills.

The practicing doctors, many of them skilled surgeons of their day, considered their art
of healing, a manual skill, and chose the name "Craft of the Wise." They also added the
name "Druidic" in front of it to show their unbroken descent from the priest-doctors
of the Celtic peoples which first settled Europe. Today the organization which is the
lineal descendant of those same priest-doctors of the Celts is still called the
"Druidic Craft of the Wise."

In these latter days of invention, there have arisen many fraternal orders and fringe
organizations which have chosen names similar to that of the Druidic Craft of the Wise.
Some of these are "Ancient Orders of Druids"; "American Restored Order of Druids,"; and
so on, as well as the many "Crafts of the Wise," each with its own prefix, such as Celtic,
Welsh, Italian, and so on. None of them, however much of an exact "restoration" they may
be, can truthfully claim to be a lineal descendant of the Old Wisdom Religion.

Religion among the common people of the medieval age, who followed the teachings of
the Wise, was generally a matter of festivals, as is Buddhism today. The idea of weekly
propaganda meetings had not arisen. They had four large festivals each year to attend.
These were February 2nd, Imbolc / Candlemas; April 30th, May Eve / Beltain; July 31st,
Lammas / Mid-Summer; and Samhein / Halloween, on October 31st.

The whole Craft of the Wise was organized under a grand master of each state, with one
Supreme Grand Master over the British Isles, Ireland, and Scotland, and one over the
entire continent. In many cases, these high ranking people of the Craft were also high
ranking people in the Christian Church at the time. There were Abbots and Priests among
them. Many times there were Wise Men among the Kings, Princes and other Rulers. In fact,
in some countries, the Craft was protected by the King himself as the Grand Master.
In England, the Grand Master of the Craft was usually the Duke of Warwick.

At one time, the Craft was so popular that there was an organization formed
which was named "The Knights of the Star and Garter." These were advisors and
courtiers to the Kings' court. Their very name was an open admission of their
connection with the Craft. The Star was the Pentacle, whose five points alludes to
the five parts of the Old Wisdom Religion, and the Garter was an article worn
in those days to indicate rank among members of the Craft. The knights of the
Star and Garter were all high ranking Craft members.

But something happened at this time which changed everything.  It so happened that
in 1492 Columbus visited the new world.  His followers brought back a disease which
was not formerly found on the continent of Europe. Syphilis swept the continent
in spite of the best efforts of the natural medicine doctors. Almost every family
felt the scourges of this dreaded killer.

Therein lies the weakness of natural medicine.
Our knowledge of natural medicaments is that which has been passed down
through the ages. We know that there is natural treatment which will cure every
disease. But when a new disease appears, what is the treatment?

It just so happened at this time that there was a chemist working in
the mines of the Tyrol,  who by name was called Theophratus von Hohemhein.
He was somewhat of what we could call an "occultist" in modern language.
He reasoned that since the God, Mercury, was the God of medicine - the patron
saint of medicine - the metal which was sacred to Mercury should cure everything.
He was familiar with mercury, having used it in his work as a chemist in the mines.
He started giving the sick people huge doses of mercury salts, and if they
lived, sometimes they became well. Many times they died.  But it just so happens
that the only treatment as late as the mid-1930's which would check the first
stages of syphilis was Salvarsan, a salt of mercury. So, by accident,
he stumbled upon the one thing which seemed to
stop the ravages of syphilis.

He soon attracted a following of young doctors, and his fame spread.
It must be noted, that the Hippocratic oath, followed by all doctors prior to this,
is a natural medicine oath and prohibits the giving of poisons as medicine.
No doctor had previously given a poison as a medicine.
Mercuric salts are violently poisonous.

Thus Theophratus von Hohemhein was the Father of modern medical practice which
administers poisons as medicines. This was the beginning of modern medical practice.

Theophratus moved into town and took the name "Paracelsus, The Great," meaning
greater than the ancient Roman doctor, Celsus, of the second century.

There might have been the possibility of an amalgamation between the two branches
of medicine, the natural medicine doctors in the villages and Paracelsus' branch of
poisonous medicines, but one thing happened to prohibit this. The Pope contracted
the dread disease. He called for all the natural medicine doctors, but none could heal
him. He heard of this man in Germany. Paracelsus gave him a big dose of
mercury salts and when he recovered, the disease was checked.

Now consider how it looked to this good man. It appeared as if the scourge had been
inflicted upon the people because of their sins.  He had many times prayed that the
Lord lift the scourge from the church, and now a man comes with a new medicine,
apparently revealed by God Himself, since it had no basis in natural medicine.
It seemed that this man was sent by the Lord to be the medical savior
of the people. The Pope immediately granted his blessing on this new
type of medicine, announced it to be the type of medicine approved by God,
and ordered all herbal doctors to cease practice.  And when they did not, he
added their names to the list of heretics to be tried by the inquisition.

The Inquisition was already well under way. It had been established some
two or three hundred years before, and was to run another hundred years
before it burned itself out. Already six or seven million people had died.
All the Pope did was to add a few more to the list.

Since everyone in the villages knew them, there was no hiding for the Wise Men.
They had to leave. They fled to America in great numbers. When they arrived,
they soon realized that people had not left their prejudices behind. For safety
they fled up into the mountains where they lived with the Indians. They found
a kindred and sympathetic heart in the Indian Medicine Men, and here they
remained to practice their religion, their magic, and their way of life.

And thus it was that almost the entire membership of the Druidic Craft of the Wise
came to the Americas. In Spanish America and Mexico, they became the "Curanderos."
In the United States and Canada they have never been allowed to practice their arts
openly and hence have no legal name, but are known simply as "The American Rite."

In the United States, the Craft has played an important part in the development of the
Republic. Many of our greatest leaders were also leaders of the Craft. The innumerable
usages of the five-pointed star in early American symbolism is also an indication.

Today, the Druidic Craft of the Wise numbers approximately 100,000 members
comprising the most successful men of all walks of life,
for being wise brings success over those who are not wise.

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