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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Pre-Christian European & Mediterranean religions > Ancient Celtic religion
In this beautifully-written guide, Chief Druid Philip Carr-Gomm shows how the way of Druids can be followed today. He explains-- The ancient history and inspiring beliefs of the ancient Druids-- Druidic wild wisdom and their tree-, animal- and herb-lore-- The mysteries of the Druids' seasonal celebrations-- The Druids' use of magic and how their spirituality relates to paths such as Wicca. This guide will show how the wild wisdom of the Druids can help us to connect with our spirituality, our innate creativity, the natural world and our sense of ancestry. The life-enhancing beliefs and practices of this spiritual path have much to offer our 21st-century world.
This is an inspiring, magical and beautifully packaged collection
of Celtic poetry compiled by a leading authority on Celtic
tradition. Arranged into five thematic chapters, this anthology
reflects the uniquely Celtic love of nature, history, love, myth,
magic and spirituality. From the earliest times, the
language-loving Celts revered their bards: they established a
poetic tradition beginning in the 6th century with the intricate
magical verse of Taliesin. It continued in the rich medieval works
of Dafydd ap Gwilym and Rhys Goch and stayed strong in the 19th and
20th centuries with Gerald Manley Hopkins, and writers such as R.J.
Stewart, Robin Williamson and Catherine Fisher. Matthews has chosen
the finest works by the most diverse range of poets and translated
many of the oldest for this volume. His selection will offer
readers a window on to the world of the ancient Celtic peoples,
celebrating their culture and the great masterpieces of lyricism
and brilliance that have survived the ages.
In the ancient realm of the Celts, the seer was a person who opened
a window to reveal a complete view of the cosmos, in which the
otherworld and the everyday world interconnect. This was the
essence of true perception and wisdom, known as glefiosa, or
'bright knowledge'. For the seer, the babbling of the stream, the
swaying of treetops in the wind, the hunting and foraging of
animals are all brimful of deeper meaning. The Art of Celtic
Seership shows how to connect with this visionary wisdom, nurture
it in ourselves and harness it to live in harmony with each other
and with the earth, and to bring profound insight and understanding
to our day-to-day existence. It describes the tools and techniques
of the druids, bards and seers of old, and explains how we too can
draw inspiration from the natural world and open ourselves to
developing our prophetic and visionary powers. Practical exercises
include calling upon your ancestors, working with your dreams,
cultivating a connection with the faery folk, experimenting with
trance states, entering into the consciousness of the stones, trees
and other natural features around you, asking a question of the
universe and listening to the reply and reading omens and signs in
the symbols you encounter through the day.
Tanis Helliwell 's newest book Pilgrimage with the Leprechauns: a
true story of a mystical tour of Ireland is a romp to the sacred
sites of Ireland accompanied by a leprechaun who is helping her and
her thirty fellow pilgrims face their blind spots. They have a
topsy-turvy encounter with the mischievous, wise humour that the
Irish call "The Craic." In addition to being an amusing story,
Helliwell's book is chock fun of information about nature spirits
or elementals, as they like to call themselves. The trolls, elves,
goblins, and brownies are as real for the reader as the various
humans whom they partner. For anyone planning a trip to the sacred
sites of Ireland, or to Ireland itself for that matter, this book
abounds in nuggets as precious as the pot of gold that the
Leprechaun holds at the end of the rainbow.
Environmental arts therapy and the Tree of life guides us through
the Celtic calendar to explore the relationship between the feeling
experience of the human heart and the turning year. Practical,
poetic, innovative and magical, it invites us to make environmental
art and ritual a vital and healing part of our lives once again and
teaches us how to take the personal issues that bind and oppress us
out into Nature where they can be met, confronted and transformed.
We change and develop 'the past' with narrative, and we create 'the
future' by re-mixing the stored elements in order to continue it
onwards. All the verbal tenses cluster around the same mighty
place, the same source of narrative and mythic significance. The
people had a name for this place: the Well of Urdhr, Anglo-Saxon
wyrd, one of three Norns of fate, Urdhr, Verdhandi and Skuld, who
cluster around the Well. These Norns are mighty beings, beyond and
above the gods, in the sense that they are eternal and know the
fates, the rise and fall of the gods themselves. They are watchers
of the Well and helpers to the Tree. The Tree, which contains all
the worlds in present time, all the branches of the Now, is
nourished at its roots by the Well's waters. 'Bright From the Well'
consists of five stories plus five essays and a rune-poem. The
stories revolve around themes from Norse myth - the marriage of
Frey and Gerd, the story of how Gullveig-Heidh reveals her powers
to the gods, a modern take on the social-origins myth Rig's Tale,
Loki attending a pagan pub moot and the Ragnarok seen through the
eyes of an ancient shaman. The essays include examination of the
Norse creation or origins story, of the magician in or against the
world and a chaoist's magical experiences looked at from the
standpoint of Northern magic.' Dave Lee coaches breathwork, writes
fiction and non-fiction, blends incenses and oils, creates music
and collage.
From the birch to the willow, Sharlyn Hidalgo invites you to
walk in the footsteps of the druids and enrich your life with the
sacred power of trees. This wise and inspiring book will introduce
you to all fifteen revered trees of the Celtic Tree Calendar and
their unique gifts of healing, guidance, and higher
consciousness.
Progress through the calendar in sequence or choose a particular
month to cultivate a relationship with these majestic spirits of
nature. Perform guided meditations and go on journeys to discover
the totems, guides, and deities corresponding to each species.
Travel through the Wheel of the Year and learn about each tree's
astrology, ruling planets, rune symbol, and ogham--its letter of
the Celtic tree alphabet.
The Healing Power of Trees is your guide to living the
principles of the Celtic tradition--tuning in to the rhythms of
nature, respecting the land, and fulfilling your role as a steward
of the earth.
Includes information on all 25 ogham letters, Celtic holidays,
and how to conduct a tree-honoring ceremony
The primary aim of New Directions in Celtic Studies is to focus on
contemporary issues and to promote interdisciplinary approaches
within the subject. Written by international scholars and
practitioners in fields such as folklore, ethnomusicology, art
history, religious studies, tourism and education, the book brings
together in one volume a wide range of perspectives. It responds to
the recent questioning of the viability of the notion of
'Celticity' and the idea of Celtic Studies as a discipline and
points to a renewed vitality in the subject. New Directions in
Celtic Studies is divided into four sections: popular culture and
representation; commodities and Celtic lifestyles; contemporary
Celtic identity and the Celtic diaspora; Celtic praxis.
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