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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Pre-Christian European & Mediterranean religions > Ancient Celtic religion
Druidry and Wicca are the two great streams of Western Pagan
tradition. Both traditions are experiencing a renaissance all over
the world, as more and more people seek a spirituality rooted in a
love of nature and the land. Increasingly, readers are combining
the ideas of both traditions to craft their own spiritual practice.
In this down-to-earth, inspiring guide, Philip Carr-Gomm offers a
name for this Path that draws on the common beliefs and practices
of Wicca and Druidry: DruidCraft. DruidCraft draws on the
traditions of scholarship, storytelling, magical craft and seasonal
celebration of both the Craft and Druidry to offer inspiration,
teachings, rituals, and magical techniques that can help you access
your innate powers of creativity, intuition and healing.
Celtic spirituality is the "forgotten faith" of the West. It is
essentially joyful and holistic and holds together the two human
faculties of reason and intuition, taking joy in the beauty of the
created world. The Celtic saints were intuitives whose feet were
very firmly planted on the ground. It is their equilibrium as human
beings that gives much of their appeal, and in this, as in the
holiness their lives display, they are Christlike. This book by
Anglican cleric Anthony Duncan examines the lives of the Celtic
saints in the context of their time, along with the sacred places
in the landscape that have become associated with them.
The GCC has chosen to establish what was once called a regular
clergy, as distinct from a secular clergy-that is to say, something
much closer to monks than to ministers. This was the core model for
clergy in the old Celtic Church in Ireland, Wales, Brittany, and
other Celtic nations, in the days before the Roman papacy imposed
its rule on the lands of Europe's far west. Members of the Celtic
clergy were monks first and foremost, living lives focused on
service to the Divine rather than the needs of a congregation, and
those who functioned as priests for local communities did so as a
small portion of a monastic lifestyle that embraced many other
dimensions. In all Gnostic traditions, personal religious
experience is the goal that is set before each aspirant and the
sole basis on which questions of a religious nature can be
answered-certain teachings have been embraced as the core values
from which the Gnostic Celtic Church as an organization derives its
broad approach to spiritual issues. Those core teachings may be
summarized in the words "Gnostic, Universalist, and Pelagian" which
are described in this book.
Ritual Journeys with Great British Goddesses answers the question,
who is the great British goddess? It provides thirteen rituals for
development and growth, one for each of the thirteen different
great British goddesses who were worshipped by our British
ancestors. The goddesses are described in both historical and
mythological terms, with rituals, meditations, and poems to help
readers form a relationship with the goddess. The rituals are
linked to the modern months of the year and the Celtic fire
festivals, solstices, and equinoxes. The rituals can be followed
word for word or used as the starting point for personal creative
rituals. Suggestions for creating unique rituals and how to do so
with focus and in a safe environment are given. Enjoy a year of
discovery with the great British goddess and explore the Celtic
heritage of the British Isles. Susie Fox writes poetry, songs, and
music in the British folk tradition; teaches music, Reiki, and
Seichem; and is involved in two local pagan groups. She follows a
Celtic-British path of paganism, focusing on healing.
Known to his contemporaries as the 'Myriad-Mind Man', George
William Russell (1867-1935) was an artist, a journalist, a poet, a
playwright, a mystic, a seer, and much else besides. A friend and
rival of W B Yeats, Russell - or 'AE' as he liked to be known -
played an important part in the 'Celtic Revival' of the early
twentieth century, wielding an influence which today is largely
forgotten. In 'The Candle of Vision' Russell attempts to describe
the revelations and visions that came to him with increasing
frequency from his early twenties, messages and intuitions that
convinced him that "the Golden Age was all about me, and it was we
who had been blind to it, but that it had never passed away from
the world." The author treats of clairvoyance, astral travel, of
the Language of the Gods, of Celtic Nature Visions and meetings
with what, in today's world view, we would regard as UFOs. This is
a must-read book for all those fascinated by Nature mysticism and
Celtic lore.
The Irish Celtic Magical Tradition explores the wealth of spiritual
philosophy locked into Celtic legend in The Battle of Moytura (Cath
Maige Tuired), a historical-mythological account of the conflict,
both physical and Otherworldly, between the Fomoire and the Tuatha
de Danann. This legend contains within it the essence of the Celtic
spiritual and magical system, from Creation Myth to practical
instruction and information. Alongside a translation of The Battle
of Moytura, Steve Blamires provides a series of keys to facilitate
understanding of the legend and sets out an effective magical
system based upon it, including interpretations of the symbolism,
meditation exercises and suggestions for its practical use. The
book offers a powerful and illuminating method of working with
ancient Celtic legendary material in the context of modern magic.
This is a book about High Elven Magic. Not the magic of chants and
spells and ceremonies, of which we've already written quite a bit,
but of the Quest to become like those kindred of ours who we, and
others, call the Shining Ones, and which most folks think of when
they fantasize about what elves are-even when they deny that we are
elven or that elves exist at all. The Shinning Ones are the evolved
beings who guide the elven people upon their spiritual Path. If you
would enter Faerie, or Elfin as we often call it, this is a book
about the Path that leads there.
Human heads have an enduring fascination. Believed to be Celtic,
the carved Hexham Heads have cast a spell over all who have come
into contact with them. Others have made examples in their image
and those held by the author on this book cover are two such. On
the left a replica created by the man who claimed to have made them
in the 1950s. The other being made just ahead of a boy and his
brother unearthing the subjects of this book. Since learning of the
Hexham Heads and acquiring these 'archaic' facsimiles, Paul
Screeton has spent forty years following what has been a QUEST FOR
THE HEXHAM HEADS
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The Celts
(Hardcover)
Thames & Hudson; Edited by Robert Adkinson
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R118
Discovery Miles 1 180
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Ships in 12 - 19 working days
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"Sacred Symbols" is a series of volumes that introduce the ancient,
universal wisdoms of humankind. Symbol and ritual go to the heart
of human experience. Throughout history humans have developed
elaborate symbolic systems to help allay their fear of the unknown
and to tap the deep well-springs of spirituality. Today, people are
discovering the relevance of these belief systems to life in the
1990s. This volume covers the symbols of the Celts. The last
significant tribal culture in Europe, the Celts are today
associated with a particularly rich body of symbolism and mystery.
Rituals, omens and signs were central to their religious beliefs,
and these were expressed in a variety of beautiful designs and
symbols found in Celtic stonework, metalwork and manuscripts.
Relevant to contemporary New Age cults, the major symbols of the
Celts are explained in this book.
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the
original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as
marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe
this work is culturally important, we have made it available as
part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting
the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions
that are true to the original work.
THIS 34 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Signs and Symbols
of Primordial Man, by Albert Churchward. To purchase the entire
book, please order ISBN 1564591050.
Author Tak Paris (Chris Kasparis) chronicles the next chapter of
his extra-ordinary life in search for self-realisation and a deeper
understanding of the ancient origins of Romano-Celtic Britain. This
book is a sequel to The Burning Ground, his first autobiographical
novel, detailing his probationary spiritual path, which smelted him
into a spiritual warrior for Light, Love and Power. Chris's epic
journey now entices him into a mystic chess game re-enactment which
was initially played out in the treacherous Dark Ages. He is
unwittingly pitted against reincarnated Dark Saxon Druid souls in
the blood-soaked' killing fields' of Celtic, South Wales the
dynastic home-lands of the real historic King Arthur. Armed with
only his purity of purpose and an overshadowing of his Daemon, he
is thrust into spiritual warfare, where he battles fallen angels,
shape-shifting demons and satanic attacks for the salvation of
human souls. His divine purpose is propelled forward with the
mystic knowledge of a past life in King Arthur's epoch and his role
'holding the light' in those Dark Ages. This novel is based on real
life events, with some experiences and persons being fictional. It
is historic, mythic and esoteric, tracing the earliest origins of
King Arthur's Romano-British heritage, coupled with the author's
Herculian challenges, as he unfolds his destiny on his Arthurian
spiritual quest.
It was the Celtic bards who laid down the foundation of inner
wisdom that has come down to us as Arthurian legend, passing their
traditions to the Arthurian romancers of the 12th and 13th
centuries. Thus the Celts provide an immediate bridge that leads to
a very ancient world. Focusing on the Brythonic Celtic material and
the "Taliesin" cult whose lineage preserved the mysteries through
the Mabinogion and other texts, Awen: the Quest of the Celtic
Mysteries reveals the sources of the British sacred tradition right
back to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, and, as some believe,
further back still to even more ancient sources. Awen is a Welsh
word often translated as "inspiration". However, in its fullness it
has a much deeper meaning, an irradiation of the soul from
paradisal origins. In the context of the Celtic folk-soul it casts
the paradisal pattern by which the people and the land were
harmonised. Through the aligned symbolism of the goddess, the
sacred king and the stars, a compelling picture is built of a
thriving mystery tradition which marries the constellations to the
landscape, exploring as an example the interwoven five-fold and
seven-fold stellar geometry of Moel ty Uchaf stone circle in North
Wales, and the stellar alignments on the landscape of Cadair Idris.
Get to know the Good God of Ireland through mythology, history, and
modern worship. The Dagda is one of the most well-known of the
Irish Gods, a king of the Tuatha De Danann and mediator between the
Gods and mortals after the Gaels came to Ireland. A popular God
among Irish and Celtic pagans, the Dagda is a powerful figure who
reaches out to us from myth and memory. For those seeking to honor
him today finding information can be difficult or confusing. Pagan
Portals - the Dagda offers a place to begin untangling the complex
history of this deity.
Why do they still come? Fourteen hundred years after a handful of
Celtic monks withdrew to tiny islands in the sea, and almost a
thousand years after the last of them disappeared, a steady streams
of modern men and women make the difficult trek to these isolated
places. Why? What did the ancient monks know that we have
forgotten, or remember only dimly? What are we looking for when we
journey to such sacred places? We are looking, among other things,
for wisdom-for clues about how to live in a frantic, materialistic,
care-worn world that is, in many ways, hostile to life. And we
sense that those who lived here so long ago, though they have left
very little behind, have something to teach us. In Search of Sacred
Places: Looking for Wisdom on Celtic Holy Islands is the story of a
reluctant pilgrimage, taken by a man with no great faith in sacred
places. He is a man filled with modern questions and suspicions,
who nonetheless returns home from these thin places with a better
understanding of how to live. This book interweaves spiritual
quest, travel, memoir, history, theological reflection, cultural
analysis, and personal introspection-all conveyed in an engaging,
probing, and honest voice. It is a book for those on the hunt for
meaning who share the hope that God has sown it throughout this
world-perhaps more thickly in certain sacred places.
PLUS: This publication of strategies and tips is a unique,
easy-to-read guide. It contains 50 inspirational, rewarding, and
life-changing praises. PLUS: It is sized to fit just right into
your purse or pocket ...yet is powerful enough to bring your life
...to a place where you can see, to encourage you to ...be the best
you can be, and to help you turn ...key in your life, and unlock
your innermost strength.
This book is a magical journey into the realms of the Sidhe, the
graceful "People of Peace" who are the overlords of the Faery
Kingdoms. With beautiful full-colored illustrations by Jeremy Berg
and text by David Spangler, author of Apprenticed to Spirit and
Subtle Worlds, this is a journey not only into a mystical realm but
also into the potentials of the human spirit and the possibilities
of a new consciousness within humanity. "This joyous and powerful
story sits well amongst other tales of faery and brings its own
enchantment. I really found myself carried off as I read, and
emerged at the end with a feeling of having been a lot further than
I thought. I'd put this right alongside Goethe's 'Tale of the Green
Snake and the Beautiful Lily' as of a kind that can only be written
by a true initiate. And the pictures which accompany it carry their
own power - drawing deep on the wells of lore and truth." - John
Matthews, author of The Western Way and How To See Faeries.
Using story, scripture, reflection, and prayer, this book offers
readers a taste of the living water that refreshed the ancient
Celts. The author invites readers to imitate the Celtic saints who
were aware of God as a living presence in everybody and everything.
This ancient perspective gives radical new alternatives to modern
faith practices, ones that are both challenging and constructively
positive. This is a Christianity big enough to embrace the entire
world.
In the midst of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, a handful of
British intellectuals turned their backs on the social and cultural
trends of their time and set out to reinvent the spirituality of
the ancient Druids. The movement that rose out of this effort
played a central role in struggles for cultural identity in most of
the Celtic nations of Europe, provided inspiration to such
world-class creative talents as William Blake and Frank Lloyd
Wright, and inspired an innovative tradition of Western nature
spirituality that remains active to this day. The Druid Revival
Reader provides the first collection of original writings from that
movement. Its selections, beginning with William Stukeley's survey
of Druid theology from 1743 and ending with Ross Nichols' 1947
essay "An Examination of Creative Myth," cover two centuries in the
life of an evolving tradition. Edited and introduced by
contemporary Druid John Michael Greer, The Druid Revival Reader is
essential for understanding the sources of modern Druid and Pagan
traditions, and offers a wealth of insights relevant to the
ecological and spiritual crises of our own time.
In early Irish society there existed an honoured group of people
called the "Filid." They preserved the native stories and they were
learned in the magical arts. It is within this ancient tradition
that Ella Young (1867-1956) lived her unique and creative life. In
the late 1800s Ella began to gather the old tales that had been
handed down from family to family for centuries. She lived among
the rural folk in the West of Ireland and in the hills south of
Dublin. As part of her devotion to Irish culture she learned Gaelic
and, as a major contributor to the Celtic Revival, she taught
classes in the language and the myths. Ella's spirituality reached
deep into the land and into the heart of ancient Ireland. Others
have called her a seeress, a druidess, or a witch - the magical
name she gave herself was "Airmid" - the goddess of healing who
drew her powers from the fertile green earth. She knew first-hand
about the faery folk of Ireland - she heard their music and
listened to their stories. Ella was truly blessed - for her life
flowed in harmony with her beliefs, her nationalism, and her career
as an author and lecturer. This new collection of her writings,
edited and introduced by John Matthews and Denise Sallee, is a
deeply magical and evocative tribute to Ella's many gifts,
featuring some of the best of her poetry and mythical storytelling.
Since its origins in the early eighteenth century, Druidry-a modern
movement of nature spirituality drawing much of its inspiration
from Celtic tradition-has evolved a rich body of ceremonial and
collective practice. Celebrated privately within groves this body
of lore provides a ritual framework for the celebration of the
seasonal cycle and the spiritual development of the individual.To
this wealth of tradition, The Druid Grove Handbook is one of the
few publicly available sources. Compiled from the records of the
Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA), and edited by the AODA's
current Grand Archdruid, widely read author and environmental
blogger John Michael Greer, it provides a detailed survey of the
evolution of AODA's ceremonial traditions, and the complete rituals
for opening and closing a Druid grove, initiating candidates for
membership, and celebrating the solstices and equinoxes, the four
primary holy days of the traditional Druid year.
An astonishing true story about one woman's journey to Ireland
where she lived in a cottage with leprechauns. These seldom-seen
beings taught her about the evolution of elementals-the race to
which leprechauns, faeries, elves, trolls belong. They explained
the importance of humans and elementals working together for the
betterment of both of their races and the Earth. "Tanis Helliwell
is a spiritual evocateur and deep seer who opens us up to other
voice...other realms..." Jean Houston, author Search for the
Beloved "This delightful book is not only great fun to read, but
makes most interesting and intelligent suggestions about the
reality and work of this particular branch of the nature world. It
can help us open our minds to fascinating dimensions that do exist
on the planet." Dorothy MacLean, co-founder of Findhorn and author
of To Hear the Angels Sing "Opening this book opens a door in the
imagination. Whether you take it as fact or fiction, this book
carries a message of planetary priorities." Julia Cameron, An
Artist's Way Tanis Helliwell, M.Ed., is the founder of The
International Institute for Transformation (IIT). She has
experienced and later worked with elementals, angels, and master
teachers on other planes since childhood. Living on the sea coast
north of Vancouver, Canada, she is the author of Pilgrimage with
the Leprechauns, Take Your Soul to Work, Embraced by Love, and
Decoding Your Destiny: Keys to Humanity's Spiritual Evolution.
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