The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom: A Celtic Shaman's Sourcebook

by Caitlín Matthews, John Matthews

. 1994, bright clean copy, no markings, Professional booksellers since 1981

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Paganism, Spirituality, Philosophy

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Caitlín Matthews is a writer, singer and teacher whose ground-breaking work has introduced many to the riches of our western spiritual heritage.

She is acknowledged as a world authority on Celtic Wisdom, the Western Mysteries and the ancestral traditions of Britain and Europe. She is the author of over 50 books including Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom, a study of Divine Feminine in Gnostic, Jewish and Christian thought and King Arthur’s Raid on the Underworld, a new translation and study of the Welsh poet Taliesin’s extraordinary poem, itself a major cross-roads of British mythology.

Caitlín was trained in the esoteric mystery traditions through the schools founded by Dion Fortune, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and Gareth Knight. Her shamanic vocation emerged early in her ability to sing between the worlds and to embody spirits. She has worked in many of the western traditions with companions upon the path including R.J.Stewart. Like him, she teaches the many strands of the ancestral European traditions. She specializes in teaching traditional European spirit-consultation oracles where the diviner draws directly upon the spirits of nature for answers and in the use of the voice to sound the unseen. Caitlín has been instrumental in revealing the ancestral heritage of the Western traditions through practical exploration of the mysteries as well as through scholarly research. Her teachings are couched in a firm historical and linguistic framework, with respect to the original context of the teachings, but never loses sight of the living traditions of these teachings which can be explored through direct application to their spiritual sources.

Trained as an actress, Caitlín is in demand as a storyteller and singer. She appears frequently on international radio and television, and was the song-writer and Pictish language originator for the Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur. With John Matthews, her partner, who was historical consultant on the film, she shared in the 2004 BAFTA award given to Film Education for the best educational CD Rom: this project introduced school-children to the life and times of King Arthur. She and John are both concerned with the oral nature of storytelling and its ability to communicate the myth at a much deeper level than of the commercial booktrade. This is apparent in their forthcoming project, The Story Box. For Caitlín, her books are merely the tip of a much bigger oral iceberg which is her teaching.

With her partner, John Matthews, and with Felicity Wombwell , she is co-founder of The Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies, which is dedicated to the sacred arts that are not written down. Their FíOS shamanic training programme teaches students the healing arts as well as hosting masterclasses with exemplars of living sacred traditions. Caitlín has a shamanic practice in Oxford dedicated to addressing soul sickness and ancestral fragmentation, as well as helping clients find vocational and spiritual direction. Her soul-singing and embodiment uniquely bring the ancient healing traditions to everyday life.

Caitlín’s other books include Singing the Soul Back Home, Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain, The Psychic Protection Handbook, and Celtic Devotional. She is co-author, with John Matthews, of the Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom and Encyclopaedia of Celtic Myth and Legend. Her books have been translated into more than nineteen languages from Brazil to Japan.

The author lives in Oxford with her husband and son in a kind of book-cave or library, whichever you will. They share their home with a white cat and a black cat.

Reviews

[Jess Bae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was medicine! So many stories came to me right when I needed them: the night before a protest where we were preparing for potential violence, a poem for the protection of warriors. On Father's Day, a tale of two great poets who create a father-son dynamic based on kinship of spirit. Etc. It was a high-synchonicity book for me.

[Jace Makara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is honestly one of the most rubbish books I have ever read.
It is full of misinformation that a simple Google Search will answer correctly for you.
Especially in the story "The Seige Of Knocklong". Everything in this story is lied about.
I will never recommend this book to anyone and I will instead suggest burning it.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was some great info in this book (I've read at least three maybe four? of Caitlin's books), but I found some of it more interesting than other parts. I wasn't so keen on the stilted translations of old Celtic tales personally (would have preferred more poetic translations that might be less technically accurate), but I realise that was part of the idea of the book.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book best read in bits and chunks. I've used it primarily as a reference tool and idea book for rituals I've written. It is also a great reference for more reading material if you are one studying either Celtic Lore and Mythology or if you are working in shamanic studies for comparative religions. As others have said, it's rather dry (though not quite as bad as John Matthews "Druidic Handbook")

There are parts I've read over and over again as I've listened to another author, Joseph Campbell.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this book! I am reading it on a "I feel like it" basis, but it has also come up several times this school year as I am teaching British Literature. There are so many references to Celtic Wisdom--mythology, shamanic memory, poetry and the always mysterious and intriguing druids.

If you're interested in spirituality and myth as it relates to our lives today or if you're exploring, as I am, your Celtic roots, this is a great reference to have on the shelf.

[Liaken · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has an amazing amount of source material from times gone by, all of it translated carefully. I mostly flipped through and read snatches of pieces that interested me, and I was impressed by the thought that went into this book. So, why three stars? It's not very usable. For such a thick book full of so much information, they really could have used a design editor to make the book an easier reference.

[Rhonda Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first books I read at the beginning of my ancestral journey. There are four regions where the Celtic language is still spoken; Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Breton. There has been a debate for years on my fathers side of the family among siblings of where we originated from. This book helped point me in the right direction to finally settle the debate once and for all.

[Gianetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, a bit dry and professorial in tone. Yet, the images one can envision based upon the information can be terrific fodder for writers/artists trying to capture the Celtic mood in a particular creation, as has been the case with me.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, professorial in tone and bit dry and. Yet, the images you can envision based upon the information can be terrific material for writers/artists trying to capture the Celtic mood in a particular creation, as has been the case with me.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished this book. Huzzah! A good collection of Celtic stories and essays that investigate possible shamanic practices of the Ancient Celts. Organized well and with a lot of useful information. Definitely feel like I understand more about Celtic beliefs.

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great book of Celtic stories. I got a lot of inspiration from it for my own writing.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Mario Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference material.

[Indigo Crow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book aged pretty well, but it's still not all that fun to read. I had to peck at it to get through it.

The information given is very good. The authors clearly have extensive knowledge about Celtic beliefs and traditions as well as folklore. But the way it was presented made it feel really dry.

I expect other books by these authors to be better, as they'll be more focused. This was an attempt to mash a bunch of info and stories all together in one book where their other books will be less of a scattershot, I'm sure.

Still, if this is of interest to you and you happen to find this book, I think you should go ahead and read it.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to make it through this but it’s not adapted enough to be clear in English and the definitions and pronunciations of the Gaelic terms aren’t covered. It kept throwing me off. I never made it past Chapter 2.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was not encyclopedia, at least not the traditional sense. Not entirely sure of the idea of shamanism in this context.

[Leonore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informational.

[Sandy Dahmoos]

"Shamanic vision cannot be pursued without purpose. Celtic seers and poets were connected with a specific database of wisdom; they were not mediums arbitrarily drawing upon unconnected or irrelevant data. The kindling of vision for both poet and deer derived from the inspiration of the otherworld and was fueled by human need- these are the basic constituents of the quest for all people. In our time, where direct sources of inspiration are mocked and marginalized, such a fundamental trust seems misplaced. Yet all artists learn to trust the imagination as the seed-bed for inspiration, training it to receive eternal truth and the deep knowledge of the otherworld.....
All societies need their gifted ones, their artists and mystics; without them the land becomes weary and disenchanted....What is enchantment? Like imagination and other terms, it has lost it's currency. To enchant is to literally "to en-chant", "to infuse with song." - Encyclopedia of Celtic wisdom, Caitlin & Jon Matthew