Product Description

The legendary world of the Celts continues to influence our art, music and poetry, and Celtic beliefs and myths are growing in popularity as more and more people delve into the roots of Britain and Ireland's rich and ancient culture. This book offers insights into the roots of Celtic Christianity, the pattern of the Celtic year, the Druids' role as seers and sayers and healers, the power of the Celtic poet, and gods, kings and heroes. The text is complemented by photographs of Celtic sites and landscapes, and drawings and paintings of Celtic characters, myths and legends. The author specializes in Celtic and related traditions, and her other books include "The Elements of the Celtic Tradition", "The Little Book of Celtic Blessings" and "The Elements of the Goddess".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2114498 in Books
• Published on: 1995-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent source of celtic and earth tradition and knowledge
This is the supreme introductory collection of ancient celtic knowledge and stories. I read many books along this subject line, but this one stands out as one of the best. Since it is divided into many short entries, it never bores you like many texts containing those obscure names and places from the past, but instead makes you want to read on to the next tale. This is one of the few books you can pick up and open to any page to begin reading, and still be satisfied. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in celtic ancestry, druidry, religion, nature, wicca, or religion in general.

A Great Book by a Great Author
I bought this book after having worked with the Arthurian Tarot for a while. I was intrigued at the links between Arthurian myth & celtic myth that the deck pointed at, so I bought this book to explore this idea.

I have since read lots of other books on the subject by varying authors, but still find this book a fascinating read. It is by no means an in depth exploration of the culture, but a consideration of the prime structures, and the way they realte to our modern world, including some exercises to bring them into our own lives.

It is in this book that I first encountered the Ogham, which eventually led me to adopt it as a divination technique. It is also through this book that a whole world of spirituality opened up to me.

The book covers an understanding of the view of the world, the Gods & Goddesses that inhabited it, the relation of the King to the land (which gives great insight into the nature of King Arthur, and also our relation to our land), the druids & their area of influence, the Otherworld & its inhabitants, the nature of heroes (again giving insight into our own attitudes), the turning of the year (which as a pagan is of prime importance to me), and finally the place of Celtci magic in the world of today.

This book can be seen as a springboard into an understanding of the Celtic world, and I feel it is one of the best introductory texts on the subject of Celtic tradition.

Understand the magical and mystical tradition of the Celts.
This book was a complete surprise to me.It is only 133 pages and that includes Index,a Bibliography of 104 books,a fairly good Discography and a group of Exercises.Several illustrations are also included.
The author has put together a simple and complete overview of the various aspects of what makes up Celtic culture.One can quite easily read this book in a couple of hours and be left with a feeling they have a fair understanding of what Celtic means but will also know that they have only taken a peek into the Celtic World.I have read many books about the Celts and their culture and think I will return to this one often as a brief reference.The only thing that would have improved the book would have been a greatly expanded index.There are enough names,places terms,etc.,in the book to expand the index many,many times.
Much of the Celtic world centered around Kings.Here is what Matthews had to say about them:
Discussing stories and legends--"They date from a time when the king was sacred:neither human nor divine,but sanctioned by the elements,the manifestations of the gods of the land,and by his relationship with the Goddess of the Land,or Sovereignty."
Matthews also does a great job of showing how the Celtic pagan religion and all of its beliefs were combined with Christianity and formed so much of our religions, ,customs,traditions,festivals,superstitions and virtually every aspect of our culture.The power of the earth, through the 4 elements,Earth,Water,Air and Fire is also seen in many other beliefs including those of the North American Indians.
If you have any interest in things Celtic,you'll find this little book a real gem and an excellent introduction to it all.