Celtic Spirituality

by Sarah Owen

The Earth-centred philosophy and rituals of ancient Celtic spirituality have special relevance today as we strive to balance our relationship with the planet. This guide offers a comprehensive introduction to the rich religious tradition of the Celts. Contents include: - Historical and mythological roots of Celtic spirituality - Important Celtic holy days and their rituals - The powers of Celtic Goddesses and Gods - Easy guidelines for setting up a Celtic altar - Instructions for creating and using Celtic divination tools such as Runes and Ogham Sticks

Genres: Spirituality, Witchcraft, Occult, Nonfiction, Paganism

110 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2015

About the author

Sarah Owen has been a health journalist for UK newspapers and glossy magazines, such as Psychologies and Cosmopolitan, for fourteen years.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible - please don't take this seriously!

I have lived this path for over 30 years, and I'm shocked by this book. Druids need not use tarot. Morrigu is used to denote the plural or triad of Multiple 'great queens', not a sea goddess, female druids didn't have titles like dryad, Lugh is not an underworld deity, the isle of Donn, is nothing to do with Dani. I could go on and on, the errors are everywhere, every page and presented as fact. You can't dress modern Wicca up with a few Celtic God names and present it as ancient Celtic ritual. No disrespect to modern Wicca intended. Please don't use this book for serious study of Celtic spirituality.

[Julie (Bookshelf Adventures) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dry and somewhat difficult to read. This read like a textbook to me. While it did have some good information, it is not a book I would probably read again.

I found a lot of information very redundant, having studied a bit of the Celtic way before, and other parts I found to be suspect in its accuracy.

It does give the bare bones for a beginner, I suppose, but I’m not sure I would really recommend it.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for beginners, if you are more practiced in Celtic spirituality the info will likely be redundent to you.

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even worth Kindle Unlimited.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise history

I liked that this book is to the point while giving clear history of Celtic mythological and spiritual beliefs. It is informative without fluff.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful information

Different from what I've read before, which is nice. Nice history. Ritual suggestions. Alternative full moon names and Sabbats. Highly recommend.

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book because my main focus is Irish paganism and more generally Celtic paganism. I was excited to see something new on the market which aimed to introduce beginners to the topic, but was quickly disappointed by the book and it's contents. The spiritual system is only very loosely based on anything Celtic, as interpreted through a very modern lens, but that in itself isn't a huge problem. Although I might quibble that it isn't particularly Celtic I'm sure it has value for people. The reason I gave it one star, however, is that it is absolutely riddled with factual errors. She claims the ancient name of Britain - Albion - is from a Greek titan when it is actually from a word for "white". She treats the invasion myths of Ireland as actual history, and relates each wave of mythic invaders to actual human groups, something that was trendy a hundred years ago but is generally understood as unrealistic now. She denies that the Druids sacrifice animals or people even though there is a great deal of evidence that they did indeed do so (as did most cultures at that time). The author refers to Britain and Ireland as interchangeable when they are not. She says that the Welsh goddess Cerridwen is a member of the Irish Tuatha De Danann, when she isn't. She says that Medb could outrun horses when that was Macha, and she claims the Morrigan, goddess of war and battle, is a sea goddess with a gentle nature associated with whales and sand dollars something I can honestly say I have never sen anywhere else (that's not a good thing). She says that the Wiccan phrase "perfect love and perfect peace" is Celtic - it isn't - and in fact filters a great deal of the book's theology through the very modern, not Celtic, idea of "the God" and "the Goddess", and triple goddess, even though the maiden-mother-crone triple goddess doesn't date back further than the mid-1940's and doesn't suit the Celtic goddesses well; generally Celtic triple goddesses were age equals, usually sisters. Her holidays, altar set up and circle casting are all standard Wiccan, but often with a strange twist thrown in. For example she claims Yule is a Welsh Druidic holiday celebrated by the renewal of a god named Tarvos represented by a live evergreen tree that is ceremonially lit by three woman representing the maiden, mother, and crone. Tarvos is a Gaulish god not a Welsh one, and the maiden, mother, crone paradigm is modern and not Welsh. Also Yule itself and the word yule are Norse. She claims people let their fires die out on Imbolc and re-lit them from a temple fire, but this practice didn't exist in any Celtic culture. I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea. They aren't terrible ideas for modern practices, but they are not in any way historic or traditionally Celtic, from any Celtic culture, and the author often gets the mythology references wrong. Lughnasadh isn't Lugh's wedding, nor does the word nassadh mean wedding at all - it means funeral games and later assembly, and Lughnasadh means funeral games or assembly of Lugh, with the funeral referencing his foster mother Tailtiu. Her mythology is generally a mess and not very accurate, and what she describes as "Celtic spirituality" as if it were the core of all Celtic spirituality in general simply isn't. At best this book is one person's very unique take on a modern Celtic practice inspired by imagination rather than history.

[Lynsey rose dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this

Just a great book as a beginners insight into Celtic spirituality, covers the basic but gives you food for thought. Quick reaf but well worth the read