by Searles O'Dubhain

Two ancient teachers — one Greek-Egyptian, one Irish — describe the path of rebirth in strikingly similar terms. Hermes Trismegistus lists the twelve torments of matter that must be shed for a soul to be born again; Moran mac Main, the legendary Irish druid, advises a new king through a series of yieldings — darkness to light, sorrow to joy, falsehood to truth — that constitute the transformation of a true lord. In this August 2005 post to alt.religion.druid, Searles O'Dubhain juxtaposes these two texts and offers them together as a mirror for Druidic initiation. The pairing is characteristic of his synthetic approach: not arguing for historical connection, but recognizing a shared grammar of spiritual becoming.

Hermes Trismegistus taught these ideas about rebirth:

"No one can be saved,
until he is born again.
If you want to be reborn,
purify yourself
of the irrational torments of matter.
The first of these is ignorance.
The second is grief.
Third is lack of self-control.
Fourth is desire.
Fifth is injustice.
Sixth is greed.
Seventh is deceit.
Eighth is envy.
Ninth is treachery.
Tenth is anger.
Eleventh is rashness.
Twelfth is malice.

Under these twelve are many more,
which force the man who is bound
to the prison of the body
to suffer from the torments they inflict.
But by Atum's mercy,
they may all depart
and be replaced by understanding.
This is the nature of rebirth."

This teaching on rebirth mirrors perhaps the rebirth or initiation of a Druid. It seems to match the list provided by the Druid Moran mac Main in his advice to Neire:

"Arise, set forth,
O my Neire accustomed to proclaiming
To Feradach Find Fechtnach.
Announce to him the high points of my words —
Darkness yields to light
Sorrow yields to joy
An oaf yields to a sage
A fool yields to a wise man
A serf yields to a free man
Inhospitably yields to hospitality
Niggardliness yields to generosity
Meanness yields to liberality
Impetuosity yields to composure
Turbulence yields to submission
A usurper yields to a true lord
Conflict yields to peace
Falsehood yields to truth.

Tell him, let him be merciful, just, impartial, conscientious, firm, generous, hospitable, honorable, stable, beneficent, capable, honest, well-spoken, steady, true-judging. For there are ten things which extinguish the injustice of every ruler. Announce from me the ten: rule and worth, fame and victory, progeny and kindred, peace and long life, good fortune and tribes."

Colophon

Written by Searles O'Dubhain and posted to alt.religion.druid in August 2005. The Hermetic passage is from the Corpus Hermeticum, cited via Timothy Freke; the Irish text is from Audacht Morainn (The Testament of Morann), an early Irish wisdom text attributed to the legendary judge and druid Moran mac Main, preserved in Old Irish manuscripts. The juxtaposition reflects O'Dubhain's characteristic cross-traditional approach to Druidic theology.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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