Magic of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses: A Guide to Their Spiritual Power, Healing Energies, and Mystical Joy

by Carl McColman, Kathryn Hinds

Celtic gods and goddesses are among the most popular of deities revered by today's Neo-Pagans, Witches, Wiccans, and Druids. Figures like Brigid, Cernunnos, Rhiannon, and CuChulainn are honored for their magic, their bravery, and their mythical deeds. Among Pagans, the gods and goddesses of Gaul, Ireland, Wales, and the other Celtic lands rank with the Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian pantheons as the most popular and influential deities in the Neo-Pagan movement. Magic of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses is the first resource available to help Pagans, Witches, and Druids to connect specifically with the Celtic Gods and Goddesses in a truly deep, powerful, and spiritual way. This book will help

Genres: Mythology, Paganism, Spirituality, Magic, Witchcraft, Religion, Nonfiction

203 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Carl McColman writes about the spiritual life, covering topics like mysticism (The Big Book of Christian Mysticism), contemplative prayer (Answering the Contemplative Call), monastic spirituality (Befriending Silence), Celtic traditions (An Invitation to Celtic Wisdom), Paganism (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism), and Wicca (When Someone You Love is Wiccan).

He is also a blogger (www.patheos.com/blogs/carlmccolman) and podcaster(www.encounteringsilence.com) .

Why did Carl McColman, a Catholic author, write books about Paganism? Read the answer here: www.patheos.com/blogs/carlmccolman/20...

Reviews

[Ulvhud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno dei pochi libri sull'argomento che parte con un'introduzione storica buona. Sottolinea l'importanza del regionalismo di determinate divinità e soprattutto, non pretende di avere la verità in mano.
Un titolo che sento di consigliare a chi è nuovo e vorrebbe approfondire la conoscenza delle divinità celtiche.
Interessante che vengano inclusi anche gli eroi. Purtroppo, non è completissimo e non si tratta di un saggio con molte pagine. Per una prima infarinatura, però, penso sia ottimo.

[Christy J-Furem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read. The authors make Celtic mythology more accessible and give some great insights into following a Celtic path especially for beginners. They also supply a thorough list of recommended reading. I will definitely be looking for more of their work.

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very informative, but from a Wiccan point of view. Which I am not. But fascinating all the same.

[Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate very much the approach taken in this book. It was informative and provides many additional resources if you want to dive back into source materials yourself.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice UPG, excellent ideas and some good research in there. For a full review of the book please see my website: Magic of the Celtic Gods

[Angie Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a great book for beginners wanting to know more about Celtic gods and goddesses. It very broad but does provide good general information.

[Libby Talley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting book to learn the history of the Celts.

[Ganesh Ubuntu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather surface level introductory book that could serve as a good icebreaker into the world of the Celtic spirituality. It would work well for someone who knows next to nothing about it, someone who haven't heard more than one or two names of the Celtic deities, and even then not quite having any idea of what those names relate to. The book lightly covers some of the more well known myths and legends related to the Celtic spirituality and to my feel it is skewed somewhat towards the Irish deities and heroes most likely because they tend to be more popular. To me the information laid out in the book about these beings feels rather patchy, disjointed, and in the few cases I am familiar with, also rather arbitrary. I wouldn't give this book more than 2 stars if that was the only information provided.

What saved this book somewhat for me was that, other than the coverage of the Gods and other mythical figures, it goes into some details on how they can be included into an individual spiritual practice. The authors are doing a good job to stay away from prescribing one narrow approach and instead talk about the many different forms a work with a deity or a hero can take, mentioning how and why it can be useful for anyone. When giving examples on how to honour a particular divine being, they stress that these are just ideas on how to start relating to someone bigger-than-me - ultimately once the relationship is there, it will unfold in its own unique way. These ideas are good not only for Celtic gods but for any spiritual approach that incorporates working with the "unseen" beings.