Re: the Druid counting out for sacrifice... I think Nerd is right -- that it's part of the "Make everything Celtic" phenomenon.

Though there is a longish entry on counting out rhymes in the Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend and there is a suggestion that the rhyme:

O-U-T spells
Out Goes He
Right in the middle
Of the deep blue sea!

refers to the Biblical story of Jonah being chosen for sacrifice by his fellow shipmates through the drawing of lots.

I think T, He, & Sea make good rhymes... after all, drawing straws (or marked stones) is not the same as counting out...