Celtic Wisdom Book

Almost all of us are to some extent aware of the great Celtic heritage of these isles; there's Stonehenge, one of Britain's most famous landmarks, and then there's Maypole dancing, druids, the Green Man and the legend of Arthur and Guinevere. A lot people are also aware that many of the dates and traditions of our most important festivals have more to do with this ancient culture than, say, a genuine historical date for the birth or death of Christ. But beyond this almost subconscious smattering of collective memory most of us probably know little about a culture that once flourished throughout Europe, spanning as far and wide as Germany in the north right down to the Iberian peninsula in the south and Ireland in the west, with modern day Turkey marking what appears to have been the easternmost point (although, interestingly, archaeological information recently released by China suggests the strong possibility of contact between ancient Celtic and Chinese cultures). Over the centuries Celtic culture has suffered many setbacks, first at the hands of the mighty Roman Empire, then invading Germanic hordes, and more recently powerful states like England, France and Spain, which, having brought the Celtic areas of "their" territories to heel, set about suppressing the culture through the insidious practice of forcing them to speak the language and worship the god of the government's choice. For what was largely an oral tradition this could easily have proven fatal. But it is a testimony to the strength of the culture that it has survived and has even been undergoing a renaissance of late. With Celtic Wisdom Vivianne Crowley, a Pagan priestess in the Wiccan tradition, brings us a useful compendium of ancient Celtic beliefs and rituals in a beautifully presented book which is crammed full of pictures, diagrams, poetry and even some recipes to add plenty of colour and background to the text. She provides an insight into the whole culture by discussing the eight main Celtic festivals, Samhain, Midwinter, Imbolc, Alban Eiler or the Spring Equinox, Beltane, Alban Arthuan or Midsummer, Lughnasadh and Alban Elued or the Autumn Equinox, exploring their origins and relating them to present-day practices. It seems that much of that Celtic wisdom, with its great reverence for nature, strikes a chord with an increasing amount of people in an age and culture where we have slowly but surely lost touch with the rhythms of nature. Perhaps we still have a great deal to learn from our ancient brethren.--Alisdair BowlesRead More