Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld

Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld

Author: Sharon Paice MacLeod

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2018-05-31

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1476669074

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The early medieval manuscripts of Ireland and Britain contain tantalizing clues about the cosmology, religion and mythology of native Celtic cultures, despite censorship and revision by Christian redactors. Focusing on the latest research and translations, the author provides fresh insight into the beliefs and practices of the Iron Age inhabitants of Ireland, Britain and Gaul. Chapters cover creation and cosmogony, the deities of the Gaels, feminine power in narrative sources, druidic belief, priestesses and magical rites.


Celtic Myth and Religion

Celtic Myth and Religion

Author: Sharon Paice MacLeod

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2011-11-08

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0786487038

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This book provides a comprehensive overview of Celtic mythology and religion, encompassing numerous aspects of ritual and belief. Topics include the presence of the Celtic Otherworld and its inhabitants, cosmology and sacred cycles, wisdom texts, mythological symbolism, folklore and legends, and an appreciation of the natural world. Evidence is drawn from the archaeology of sacred sites, ethnographic accounts of the ancient Celts and their beliefs, medieval manuscripts, poetic and visionary literature, and early modern accounts of folk healers and seers. New translations of poems, prayers, inscriptions and songs from the early period (Gaulish, Old Irish and Middle Welsh) as well as the folklore tradition (Modern Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Manx) complement the text. Information of this kind has never before been collected as a compendium of the indigenous wisdom of the Celtic-speaking peoples, whose traditions have endured in various forms for almost three thousand years.


Celtic Cosmology

Celtic Cosmology

Author: Ann Dooley

Publisher: PIMS

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780888448262

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The essays in this collection, many originally presented at a 2008 colloquium on Celtic Cosmology and the Power of Words, aim to examine the worldviews held by the Celtic peoples, particularly the Gaelic (Irish and Scottish) perspectives. Texts and inscriptions, some of them pre-Christian, in Celtic languages and in Celtic Latin provide the sources for the worldviews under study. This area of research is also linked to that of the power of words, which refers to human belief in powerful speech acts. Naming and story-telling processes convey knowledge of the cosmos; this knowledge is connected to the landscape and its roads, rivers, mountains and hills. Cosmology is a description of the order and structure of the world as perceived by human beings, and its study is a study of layers – in the earth, in the language and in the tales.


Magic of the Celtic Otherworld

Magic of the Celtic Otherworld

Author: Stephen Blamires

Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780738706573

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First published in 1995 under the title: Glamoury: magic of the Celtic green world.


Tales of the Celtic Otherworld

Tales of the Celtic Otherworld

Author: John Matthews

Publisher: Blandford Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 9780713726565

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Infinite possibilities, marvelous beings, and objects of extraordinary beauty: welcome to the Celtic other-world, a place not misty and insubstantial, but almost as real as our earth. An entire genre, known as Immrama ("Journeys"), presents this alternative universe, with its dazzling crystal doors and windows, plentiful food and drink, absence of sickness, and abundant nobility. Sometimes, it lies underwater, at other times, it's an island, and time passes almost unnoticed there. Through some of the most celebrated stories in Celtic literature, travel to this magic, splendid realm. In "The Voyage of Bran", the sweet singing and enticing verses of an unknown woman lead a young King away from the life he had always known. Plunderers, monstrous ants, demon horse races, a burning river, and much more greet Maildun during his sag Other tales relate the adventures of such well-known heroes as Cu Chulainn, Connla the Fair, Cormac, Nera, and 10 others. Throughout, original watercolors succeed in capturing all the magic of the Otherworld.


Celtic Myth in the 21st Century

Celtic Myth in the 21st Century

Author: Emily Lyle

Publisher: University of Wales Press

Published: 2018-02-07

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1786832062

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This wide-ranging book contains twelve chapters by scholars who explore aspects of the fascinating field of Celtic mythology – from myth and the medieval to comparative mythology, and the new cosmological approach. Examples of the innovative research represented here lead the reader into an exploration of the possible use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Celtic Ireland, to mental mapping in the interpretation of the Irish legend Táin Bó Cuailgne, and to the integration of established perspectives with broader findings now emerging at the Indo-European level and its potential to open up the whole field of mythology in a new way.


Queen of the Night

Queen of the Night

Author: Sharynne MacLeod NicMhacha

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9781578632848

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Queen of the Night helps readers understand the role and power of the moon in the ancient religions, folklore, and mythology of Ireland and the British isles and then discover how to tap that power in their daily lives. Queen of the Night is a journey into the world of Celtic cosmology, shamanism, and sacred animals, as well as Celtic language, art, and culture, to discover the power and centrality of the moon. Since the earliest times, from stone circles and passage graves to the rites and customs of Druids, the moon has been the symbol of the Goddess and has played a crucial role in worship and celebration. In 13 chapters representing the moon's monthly and annual cycles, NicMhacha tells the story of Celtic moon mythology, as well as touching upon Greek, Hindu, and Norse traditions. Each chapter sets forth the role of the moon in Celtic tradition and culture and includes poetry, quotes, or prayers honoring the moon. At the end of each chapter, she offers meditations, ceremonies, and exercises to help readers connect with the moon and apply its power to their lives. From the world of fairies to bards, seekers, and shamans; from the moon's role in the secret meetings of women spinners to the role of sacred animals and mythic beings, Queen of the Night is a lively, informative, and transformative book for anyone who wants to understand and experience the power of the moon.


The Celtic Breeze

The Celtic Breeze

Author: Heather McNeil

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2001-10-15

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0313009686

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Delve into a world of kelpies, mermaids, selkies, ghosts, warlords, and fairies. This collection gives you Celtic tales, previously unrecorded or only found in obscure compilations. Mostly collected by the author on her ancestral home of the Isle of Barra in the Hebrides, these lesser-known tales from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are supported by a brief history of the Celts, a glossary of the Gaelic integrated in the stories, an appendix of superstitions about fairy protection, and bibliographies that reflect the author's extensive research. Seventeen ballads collected almost one hundred years ago and excerpts from the author's journal of travels in Scotland make this book a unique and valuable resource for anyone who tells stories.


Celtic Sacred Landscapes

Celtic Sacred Landscapes

Author: Nigel Pennick

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780500282014

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This book aims to 'show us the holy sites of Britain Ireland and mainland Europe through Celtic eyes', which means that it inevitably takes a somewhat spiritual 'mind body and spirit' tone. That said it offers a fascinating introduction to oral traditions of celtic religion and its ties to the landscape.


Archaeology and Celtic Myth

Archaeology and Celtic Myth

Author: John Waddell

Publisher: Four Courts Press

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781846824944

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Many people are familiar with the Irish archaeological landscapes of Newgrange and the Boyne Valley, and the royal sites of Rathcroghan in Co. Roscommon, Navan in Co. Armagh and Tara in Co. Meath. In this book, John Waddell focuses on aspects of the mythology associated with these places, demonstrating that elements of pre-Christian Celtic myth preserved in medieval Irish literature shed light on older traditions and beliefs, not just in Ireland but elsewhere in Europe as well. Their mythological associations permit the exploration of the archaeological implications of several mythic themes, namely sacral kingship, a sovereignty goddess, solar cosmology and the perception of an Otherworld.