The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth
by Robert Graves $15.00$12.00 from Amazon.com
This is also not a new book. It has also garnered both favorable and less than complimentary reviews. Critics fuss because of the romantic feyness of the writing, insisting that because the subtitle of the book has the word "historical" in it, it should be presented more logically. They point to a lack of scholarship and reference. Neo-pagan purists complain that Graves’ inventions of a triple goddess, and a Celtic tree calendar have added to the public’s error-filled conception of modern Nature Religions.I regard this book as almost an autobiography of Graves, who was a remarkable poet, mythologist and bard. If you are using it as a reference source for a school paper, you might want to include some other reading in your repertoire. If you are using it to discover how to write inspired prose and poetry, to explore the soul and spirit of creative genius, you will be very pleased.
A Druid’s Herbal For The Sacred Earth Year
by Ellen Evert HopmanISBN 0892815019
$12.95
$10.36 from amazon.com
‘ "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exod.22:18) is the Biblical injunction most often used to condemn those who practice the ancient Earth religions. Biblical scholars, however, will attest that before the King James Version of the Bible, scripture would have read "thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live." ’
The above quote is the opening paragraph of A Druid’s Herbal. The book is much more than a manual of herbalism, although the author is a respected master herbalist, psychotherapist and lay homeopath. Here’s an example: (from page 72)
Mugwort, Artemisa vulgaris
Parts used: Leaf and stem.
"… for premenstrual symptoms, used in tea and the bath. Use a standard infusion of two teaspoons per cup of water steeped for twenty minutes, take one-fourth cup four times a day." "…Homeopaths use Artemisia vulgaris for …somnambulism, profuse perspiration that smells like garlic, and dizziness caused by colored lights…" "Mugwort is said to protect travelers from fatigue, sunstroke, wild animals and evil spirits… a tea or a pillow of it brings vivid prophetic dreams and helps one to connect with the astral realm."
It also cleanses the liver, is helpful in epilepsy, palsy and hysteria. Use it for fevers and to repel moths. That part made me smile. When I harvest my mugwort in about a month, I’ll use it in the packing for Steve’s kilt. At the last Highland Games we attended, the odor of mothballs was overwhelming!
A Druid’s Herbal goes well beyond the how-to’s of choosing, preparing and using herbs for both medicine and magic. The author also addresses the sacred aspect of herbalism, incorporating suggestions for healing, ceremony and magic. Using an easy to understand approach, Hopman presents the art of herbalism, the practices of Druidry, and their relationships to the process of life in a matter-of-fact style that neither apologizes nor evangelizes. folklore (always a lure for me!) and fact based historical references into her treatise.
This is a book all gardeners will enjoy, whether they are practical or mystical.
The Apple Branch a path to Celtic Ritual
by Alexei KondratievISBN 189825642X
$21.00
$16.80 from amazon.com
This book was difficult for me to categorize. It combines history with mysticism and practical living suggestions. I decided to list it under Reference because the publisher has it labeled Celtic Studies/Spirituality.
The first two chapters present the history and psychic attitude of the Celtic peoples and extend an invitation to the reader to explore Celtic based spirituality. I found the writing style to be challenging, the material presented was informative, and the tone of the book, prescribing the practice of Celtic spirituality as a possible antidote to the deterioration of Western culture, optimistic.
In a time when inaccurate and unfounded books on Celtic magic seem to propagate like March hares, Kondratiev’s excellent research and guidelines on establishing and maintaining Celtic ritual provide us with both meat and music.
A textbook and a workbook all in one, The Apple Branch is the best of the modern ritual how-to books. Fluff dancers and preenies probably will toss it aside as being heavy. True dedicants will embrace it.
Women In Celtic Myth by Moyra Caldecott
ISBN 0892813571
$12.95
A few years ago I became a guest speaker for some local groups who were interested in learning about strong feminine archetypes and how to integrate these images into everyday life. This is one of the books on the recommended reading list I give out to such sisterhoods. The author has chosen eleven tales of extraordinary women. The myths step out of the category of childhood stories because they are multi-layered, like the lives of women. At the end of each tale is an indepth commentary, dissecting the metaphysical meaning of the symbols used in the storytelling.
The one that most speaks to me is the story of the Three Etains. It is an echo of the triple goddess theme that runs throughout Celtic myth. In this case, the Etains (grandmother, mother and daughter) are inextricably woven into the birth of Taliesin, the extraordinary seer and poet. The story is also the story of the earth and the ages it has gone through. Finally, it is also the tale of the evolution of the soul and its eternal quest.
You will come away from these stories with a feeling that "it" is completely permissible for women to be beautiful and ugly, fey and rational, useful and decorative, amazonian and spiritual, destroyer and nurturer. Each aspect is useful in the correct time and place. All goddesses are one goddess, they tell us.
And all women are the Goddess.
Celtic Fairy Tales Collected by Joseph Jacobs
Publisher: Dover
ISBN: 0-486-21826-0
$6.95 USA
My youngest daughter gave me this book as a Winter Solstice gift several years ago when I began collecting fairy stories and folk tales. This edition was first published in 1968, and is an unabridged replication of a work originally published in 1892 by David Nutt.It contains many folk-tales that were collected while the practice of storytelling still flourished in Celtia. Jacobs has not retold the stories, he has recorded them, keeping certain Celtic turns of speech and words that (in his own words) add color and effectiveness to a narrative. The result is a valuable addition to your folklore and fairy tales library, another definite "must have."
The Ancient Monuments of Orkney by Anna Ritchie and Graham Ritchie
An Historic Scotland book
$ 8.95 US
When I began writing my fifth novel, Skara Brae, I didn’t have the time or resources for a personal trip to Orkney. Instead I scoured libraries, websites and the collections of personal friends. On a suggestion from an archaeologist, I ordered this reference book from Amazon.com and they had to put a special search on it. They found it within about four weeks. The photography of the monuments is stunning, and the accompanying text gives a concise sketch of Orkney’s impressive prehistoric inhabitants.
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