The Three Sacred Hallows: A Druid's Gateways

          One of the most important ideas in any magical tradition is the use of Gateways. In most modern Pagan traditions people use the the Gateways that derive from Christian and Jewish mystical systems. They call upon the four corners; the for elements, the four angels, the four points, the four Watch Towers, etc. But these are not seen as traditional to our ancestors, especially among Druid traditions.

          With that in mind I want to take this post to talk about the Three Sacred Hallows, as envisioned by ADF and through my personal understanding of them.

          The Three Sacred Hallows are the Fire, Tree, and Well. These are iconic ideas that can be seen through most of the Indo-European nations of the past. I have talked about these in another section but I want to talk about them now in their magical aspects, as Gateways of power.

          As a Gateway of power each Hallow has its own association. The Well is connected to the Underworld which is seen as the powers of death and rebirth. It is the power of cleansing. But this is also were the Waters of Life are. The Waters of Life hold all the knowledge of the past, of every incarnation, of every life ever lives. It is the power of the unconscious mind. It is also the power of transitional cycles of the soul.

          The Tree is connected to the Middleworld, our world. It is the power of stability, of life, of growing things. It is the power of our Earth Mother, of regeneration. It is the power of protection. But is is also a slowly changing force, subtler energies, those of grounding. The Tree is the power of transition through the worlds. It is a connecting power.

          The Fire is connected to the Upperworld, that of the gods and the heavens. It is the power that drives creation, It is the power of the gods. It is the provider of energy for all life that grows on the Earth Mother. It is a power of purification and transformation. But it is also the power of light. It is the power which turns away the darkness.

          For me, using the Sacred Hallows in this way has become much more powerful than the use of the so called 'traditional' elements. Give it a try... see how it works for you, especially if you are a practicing Druid.