Written by: Ellen Evert Hopman
Submitted By: Ellen Evert Hopman
Once again, Ellen Evert Hopman has created a book full of good information
and excellent writing. This may well be her best book yet. Druid Isle is
the second in a series of three books about life in the third century, set
on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. It is a time when the power
of Druidry is waning and those few who are still practitioners of healing
and other ancient arts that the Drui were experts in, are struggling to
steer clear of the Christian authorities and priesthood that is trying to
destroy the ancient Drui way of life. It was a not uncommon practice for
the Catholic priests to kidnap children and train them for a life spent in a
Catholic monastery as devout Christians.
This book is second in a series of three books, the first one being
Priestess of the Forest. As much as I liked that book, this one is even
better. The third and last of the series has already been written and is
due out in early 2012.
At times, it is difficult to read some of the passages in the book, knowing
that some of the horrible events that befell the Drui really did happen,
such as the aforementioned kidnapping of children by Catholic priests. But
it is an aspect of Pagan history that does need to be told and that
neo-Pagans should know. The book is full of herbal lore and healing
knowledge as well. (Having been an herbalist and healer myself for 30
years, I can attest to the accuracy and correctness of the knowledge
presented in the book on these two topics - not that Ellen's work needs any
corroboration!)
The story is set on a real island in the Hebrides. Besides doing
traditional research in libraries, etc. Ellen travelled to Scotland and
Ireland, and to Findhorn, the famous community in the very north of
Scotland, where she heard about how Druid initiation was accomplished in the
first centuries of the first millennia. She also visited the area and
"felt" the stones to extract the history. This is a practice that Native
Americans use and it is why they think of rocks as the history keepers. I,
too, have used this method many times when travelling and have established
its accuracy for myself, as subsequent research revealed. As well, she also
talked to the people of the area to find out what she could about the
ancient Drui. Ellen, being a Druid herself for many decades, has drawn upon
her own experiences and knowledge in putting together all that she learned
in the course of gathering information for the writing of her book. She
herself has been through the initiations described in the book, including
lengthy fasting.
The story concerns a young woman who is being trained by the Drui to be a
priestess. Along the way she falls in love with a young man who was trained
as a Catholic priest. The characters have depth and complexity and are
wonderfully fleshed out. I read the book in one sitting basically, which is
to say that I couldn't put it down. I could not find one criticism of this
book and I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who are on the
Druid path. It is endorsed by such luminaries as Isaac Bonewits, Philip
Carr-Gomm, Susun Weed and John Michael Greer, not to mention a number of
other Druids and Druid organizations.
Last but not least, the book inspires the reader to learn more about
Druidism, its beliefs, practices and traditions. Fortunately Ms. Hopman has
provided further resources for learning in the back of the book.
-Ariel Monserrat (www.greeneggzine.com )
