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A nice stack of Celtic books to read

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  • A nice stack of Celtic books to read

    I have accumulated a nice stack of Celtic books and have been reading them at a leisurely pace. Earlier this summer, I finished "Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses," by R.J. Stewart and "Celtic Gods and Heroes" by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt. Next in the stack is "Celtic Myth and Magick," by Edain McCoy and "Fire in the Head," by Tom Cowan. I picked up a copy of the Mabinogian for three dollars (couldn't pass that up), and have a book that I had purchased over two decades ago, "Celtic Magic," by D.J. Conway.

    I also have a copy of Anam Cara: A book of Celtic Wisdom, and a number of Celtic books written from a Catholic perspective.

    Hoping to get through the stack by the end of the year.

    If anyone has any recommendations as to what I might add to the stack, they would be most welcome.
    Last edited by Celtic Tiger; 30 Jul 2012, 07:29.

  • #2
    Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

    I recommend Celtic Wicca by Jane Raeburn

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    • #3
      Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

      I will look for it. Thanks!

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      • #4
        Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

        Have you read them yet? I'd be very interested to know how you rate them. I haven't read any books specifically aimed at Celtic-inspired pagans. I'm not a fan of Edain McCoy. What I have read of hers has been full of really weird claims and 'facts' she surely plucked from thin air, but I'm willing to give her one more chance if you think there is some good info in there.
        夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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        • #5
          Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

          Originally posted by Jembru View Post
          Have you read them yet? I'd be very interested to know how you rate them. I haven't read any books specifically aimed at Celtic-inspired pagans. I'm not a fan of Edain McCoy. What I have read of hers has been full of really weird claims and 'facts' she surely plucked from thin air, but I'm willing to give her one more chance if you think there is some good info in there.
          I just started on the McCoy book and it is definitely Celtic flavored wicca rather than anything historically or authentically Celtic. Which is fine; I have no problem with that. She makes mention of things like this (page 67):

          "In fact, there was a belief among the Druids that in no magickal operation would any practitioner ever be given more of a challenge than they were capable of handling at any stage of their spiritual development."

          While the sentiment may have merit, there is so little known about what the druids actually did or believed that, without any citation (there is none), attributing it to druidic spirituality is a stretch.

          She also uses the term, "Pagan rede," which is the Wiccan rede, and so far as I know, not universal in a codified form to all pagan religions, though again, I have no issue with the sentiment.

          I have finished "Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses," by R.J. Stewart and "Celtic Gods and Heroes" by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, both of which are scholarly works. I found them interesting and worth reading, but as I said, they are scholarly works, not religious works, so they discuss what is known about Celtic beliefs rather than the beliefs themselves.

          After the McCoy book, I plan to start on either Anam Cara or Fire in the Head.

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          • #6
            Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

            Thanks! I'll definitely hunt down these and I'm willing to give McCoy a read. My practice could hardly be called historically accurate anyway! ^^
            夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

              Adding to the stack: By Oak, Ash, & Thorn: Modern Celtic Shamanism, by D.J. Conway. Started it last night and really like it!!

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              • #8
                Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                I'm interrested, did you finish the Conway book yet? What did you think, is it worth a read, and how detailed does it get?
                http://catcrowsnow.blogspot.com/

                But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness.... Which could obviously only be redeemed by passing through the fiery inferno of my digestive tract.
                ~Jim Butcher

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                • #9
                  Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                  Im interested in why youre reading notoriously trashy neopagan books. I collect them myself they are wonderfully cheesy but never as bad as people say they are. Like Edain McCoy while everyone hates her and the neopagan systems she writes about are modernity incarnate her stuff is some of the most culturally irish neopaganism Ive read in ages. The folk stuff is bang on, the vernacular language and the humour is defineably Irish. As insubstantial as her writing is I enjoy it. I know she knows some of the same people here as me I wouldnt be surprised if she spends a good amount of time over here.

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                  • #10
                    Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                    Which ones are notoriously trashy aside from the McCoy book?

                    To answer, some were recommended, others kind of jumped out at me at the book store. I had never heard of most of them prior to reading them or having them recommended.

                    I just finished Fire in the Head; Tom Cowan, and enjoyed it greatly. Lots of things that were beliefs I already had arrived at personally, so it was a rather validating read.

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                    • #11
                      Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                      Lady Augusta Gregory is my favorite, particularly Gods and Fighting Men and Cuchulain of Muirthemne. I'm on to Blood and Mistletoe next, I like more history, more folklore. I don't really like it when someone takes modern rituals and slaps a Druid or Celtic label on it and there is absolutely no historical link, no way to back it up. If you haven't read the materials from the Irish mythological cycles you owe it to yourself, I absolutely fell in love with my faith and the culture behind it, it was baptismal for me.

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                      • #12
                        Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                        Originally posted by Celtic Tiger View Post
                        Which ones are notoriously trashy aside from the McCoy book?
                        DJ Conway mega cheese. Her Celtic Magic and Norse Magic are identical books except for changes in the names from Irish to Norweigan. Anam Cara... holy jazuz its the only thing to do when listening to cheesy irish crooners. Its not so much cheesy fun as pg 13 priest run youth club table tennis fun



                        Ive never read fire in the head, is it cheesy?

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                        • #13
                          Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                          Originally posted by JamesByrne View Post
                          Ive never read fire in the head, is it cheesy?
                          No. More of an examination of shamanic beliefs/traits that are seen in Celtic society and which are paralleled in other societies. More of a scholarly work. No rituals or meditative exercises, but lots and lots of citations and references. He cites Mircea Eliade's work not infrequently. It comes across more like something written by an anthropologist. The title of the book is a Yeats reference. There were other books by Cowan at the bookstore and is work was in the shamanism section, not the Celtic section.

                          Believe it or not, the Conway book wasn't overly cheasy to read, though I haven't taken the time to compare it to other works that she has done. There were a few wiccan elements, though not nearly so much as McCoy's book, which really was more of a Celtic Wicca book than anything having any historical basis in Celtic spiritual practice. I enjoyed the Conway book quite a bit (that one was recommended by the bookstore owner) and found the McCoy book reasonably enjoyable to read as well (that one just kind of caught my attention).

                          - - - Updated - - -

                          Originally posted by ericjdev View Post
                          Lady Augusta Gregory is my favorite, particularly Gods and Fighting Men and Cuchulain of Muirthemne. I'm on to Blood and Mistletoe next, I like more history, more folklore.
                          I find those books to be the most rewarding, though my collection is rather small at this point.

                          Originally posted by ericjdev View Post
                          I don't really like it when someone takes modern rituals and slaps a Druid or Celtic label on it and there is absolutely no historical link, no way to back it up.
                          That was very noticable with McCoy's Celtic Myth & Magick and Conways Celtic Magic book. I don't care for it either, though I do confess to enjoying the books for what they were.

                          Originally posted by ericjdev View Post
                          If you haven't read the materials from the Irish mythological cycles you owe it to yourself, I absolutely fell in love with my faith and the culture behind it, it was baptismal for me.
                          Will do!

                          Many thanks!

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                          • #14
                            Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                            Originally posted by Celtic Tiger View Post
                            No. More of an examination of shamanic beliefs/traits that are seen in Celtic society and which are paralleled in other societies. More of a scholarly work. No rituals or meditative exercises, but lots and lots of citations and references. He cites Mircea Eliade's work not infrequently. It comes across more like something written by an anthropologist. The title of the book is a Yeats reference. There were other books by Cowan at the bookstore and is work was in the shamanism section, not the Celtic section.
                            Never heard of Mircea Eliades. It sounds like one for the collection Ill have to check it out thanks! .

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                            • #15
                              Re: A nice stack of Celtic books to read

                              He was a religion historian from Romania who was also a professor at the University of Chicago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mircea_Eliade

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