The story you just read came from my own imbas (poetic imagination) and is not based on historical characters; however, Innis nan Druidneach is a real place in the Hebrides of Scotland that was once a sacred island of the Druids. The shores of Northern Ireland are but a short sail away from its southern beach.

I am grateful to members of the Findhorn Community for telling me of the power spots inherent in the island’s landscape. I spent an entire week searching them out for myself in the summer of 1983.

In the very early medieval period, the fili of Ireland made a peaceful and seamless transition to the Celtic Christian church, becoming clergy in the new faith, whose early beliefs were a mixture of the ancient Celtic reverence for nature and biblical philosophy. The character of the native Celtic church was changed dramatically when it eventually came under the dominance of Rome and its link with ancient Celtic beliefs and practices was officially severed.

The Celtic Christian church is currently enjoying a revival in Ireland and Britain, where the reverence for holy wells, fire, water, and trees was never completely lost, while Druidism and Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism are part of the current Pagan revival, one of the fastest- growing religious movements in the world today.

As the old saying goes, “Scratch the surface of a good Irish Catholic, and underneath you will find a Pagan.”