The traditions of Celtic-speaking communities in particular offer a highly effective method, expressed through mythology (as in the symbolic apple branch) and implemented through seasonal rituals.Alexi Kondratiev outlines rules for Celtic-circle membership and shows how to become conversant with Celtic culture and mythology, and at least one of the surviving Celtic languages. He also provides the actual formula of words given for each of the Celtic rituals and visualization sequences. These rituals are closely connected with the passage of time, especially the four seasons, as well as other feast days. In this book the ancient traditions of all six Celtic nations are brought to life. Alexi Kondratiev, who knows sixty-four languages well enough to teach them, conducts classes in a variety of Celtic subjects at the Irish Arts Center in New York City, and has been a contributor to a number of magazines and journals, including Keltoi, Carn, and Keltria.

    Hutton draws upon a wealth of new data to reveal some important rethinking about Christianization and the decline of paganism.

    This magnificent book is a collection of stories, anecdotes, and legends from all six of the regions where celtic ways have persisted in the modern world.

    Part One considers the distinguishing features of the various Cycle of tales and the personages who figure most prominently in them. Part Two reveals the cosmological framework within which the action of the tales takes place. Part Three consists of a discussion of the themes of certain classes of stories which tell of Conceptions and Births, Supernatural Adventures, Courtships and Marriages, Violent Deaths and Voyages to the Other World, and an attempt is made to understand their religious function and glimpse their transcendent meaning.

    Brigid of the spring, her festival Imbolc, oversees fertility of all kinds. Brigid is many things to many people. In this enticing book, Courtney Weber offers up a wide-ranging exposition and celebration of all things Brigid, who is arguably the most popular figure in Celtic mythology and religion. Meet Brigid in her various incarnations—Celtic Pagan Goddess, Christian Saint, and Voudon Loa . Each chapter ends with guided meditations and exercises that help readers tap into Brigid’s healing powers. Inside you’ll find Brigid-focused spells, blessings, recipes, and rituals for love, harmony, protection, and much more.

    They possessed a complicated array of concepts and rituals, a powerful priesthood - the Druids - and a pantheon which included the goddess-queen Medb and the Morrigan, a sinister war-goddess.

    Brimming with stories, activities, folklore, and recipes, this popular holiday gift book traces the history behind traditions of the season and provides practical suggestions for celebrating the Winter Solstice as a joyous, life-affirming festival.

    In Tending Brigid's Flame, Lunaea Weatherstone presents the beloved Celtic goddess as a true soul-friend for women today, exploring her legends and lore, attributes and allies, holidays, symbols, and sacred places. Filled with rituals, exercises, and meditations, Tending Brigid's Flame shows how to welcome Brigid into your home and make sacred all the activities of everyday life, from food magic to faery traditions, and from scrying to personal healing. Using the symbolism of fires that burn in hearth, temple, and forge, this breathtaking book sends you on a journey through the transformative power of one of the world's most revered goddesses. With illuminating reflections and real-world inspiration from nineteen wisewoman devotees of Brigid

    This is a book that belongs in the library of every modern Druid, regardless of their particular path or style of Druidism.

    Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this new edition featuring an updated resource guide of newsletters, journals, books, groups, and festivals, Margot Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America's Pagan groups.

    Mystics. Prophets and astrologers. The Celts were a dynamic and unique people who left not only a rich legacy of artifacts, archaeological treasures, and dramatic myths, but also a vast body of wisdom and mystical symbolism that reflect universal truths about life. "The Celtic Book of Living and Dying" is a masterfully adorned collection of this ancient Celtic wisdom, tracing life from birth through death and into the afterlife. Travel back in time to a world where druids and bards, saints and angels reign as guardians of the soul. Voyage between realms, the unexpected at every turn. With its mix of more than 40 Celtic-style full-color artworks, over 40 painterly landscape photographs, and a wealth of illuminating words, poetry, insights, and timeless tales of heroes and giants, unknown creatures and magical lands, "The Celtic Book of Living and Dying" is a window into a long-ago world that continues to shape the dreams, thoughts, and ideas of today.

    During his travels, Alexander Carmichael spent hours with peasants in their huts in front of peat fires listening as they "intoned in a low, recitative manner" these poems and prayers. This unique collection of living spirituality drawn from the depths of Celtic Christianity, represents a hidden oral tradition of great power and beauty, handed down through countless generations of Hebridean peasants.Previously available only as a bilingual text in six volumes, this edition in English contributes to a broader awareness of Celtic literature in general. John MacInnes' introduction puts the poems in the context of the life and folklore of the Gaelic community.

    This short introductory book touches on the basic beliefs and practices of Irish Polytheism as well as other important topics for people interested in practicing the religion using a Reconstructionist methodology or who would just like to know more about it. Explore the cosmology of the ancient Irish and learn how the old mythology and living culture show us the Gods and spirits of Ireland and how to connect to them. Ritual structure is explored, as well as daily practices and holidays, to create a path that brings the old beliefs forward into the modern world.

    Included are popular myths and legends from all six Celtic cultures of Western Europe-Irish, Scots, Manx, Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Here for the modern reader are the rediscovered tales of cattle raids, tribal invasions, druids, duels, and doomed love that have been incorporated into, and sometimes distorted by, European mythology and even Christian figures. For example, there is the story of Lugh of the Long Hand, one of the greatest gods in the Celtic pantheon, who was later transformed into the faerie craftsman Lugh-Chromain, and finally demoted to the lowly Leprechaun. Celtic Myths and Legends also retells the story of the classic tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult (probably of Cornish origin-there was a real King Mark and a real Tristan in Cornwall) and the original tale of King Arthur, a Welsh leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons. In the hands of Peter Berresford Ellis, the myths sung by long-dead Celtic bards come alive to enchant the modern reader. "The casual reader will be best entertained by ... the legends themselves ...colored with plenty of swordplay, ... quests, shape-shiftings, and druidic sorcery."-Publishers Weekly

    This superb sourcebook contains many new translations of seminal Celtic texts, including stories, poems, and prose pieces, some dating from as far back as the seventh century. Key ingredients in this rich cauldron of ancient lore include sections on: . Shamanic Memory, including chapters on: The Memory of the Earth--The Memory of the Trees--The Memory of Animals--and The Memory of Ancestors . Vision Poets, Druids, and Shamanic Guardians, including chapters on: Initiations--ShapeshiftingóDru . . . and Vision Poets . The Bright Knowledge, including chapters on: Prophecy and Divination--Healing and Soul Restoration-Dreams and Visions . Otherworldly Journeys, including chapters on: The Journey Quest--The House of the Sidhe. These ancient tales are accompanied by detailed commentaries, comprehensive background material, and practical shamanic insights. This wide-ranging sourcebook contains new translations of seminal texts, and is a must-have for any devotee of one the world's richest religious traditions.