Pagan Portals Artio and Artaois: A Journey Towards the Celtic Bear Gods

by Andrew Anderson

'Andrew Anderson leads us on a pilgrimage into the wild forests of our Ancestors in search of the ancient Bear Gods of the Celts. With some fascinating historical and cultural references, plus useful modern resources and tips for ceremony, this fabulous little book is a wonderful introduction and guide to working with Artio and Artaois.' Philip Carr-Gomm, author of 'Druid Mysteries'
Out of the Forest of Time come two Gods for the Twenty-First Century. Join Andrew Anderson as he makes a pilgrimage to discover more about the ancient Celtic Bear Gods. Weaving together archaeology, folklore and spiritual practice, this book pieces together the evidence to create a clearer picture of who Artio and Artaois were and how they can be honoured today. The journey will take the reader from the medieval city of Bern to the depths of an English forest, from the Rothar Mountains in Germany to the Highlands of Scotland, from the slopes of Glastonbury Tor to the rocky headland of Tintagel. With voices from an array of practitioners and experts, this is a journey back to the very beginning of human belief.

120 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2021

Reviews

[hawk]

i loved this book 😍😃😁😊

i didn't have any particular expectations of it, knowing the author was writing from personal experience with lesser known gods from a Celtic, and wider European, pantheon, and also wrt the Pagan Portals series varying quite abit in content and quality of writing, etc.
but i was really drawn to the cover art, and had a good feeling about it, and was interested to at least find out more 🙂


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the author writes from a very personal perspective, really simply, openly and honestly, and i found it and him very engaging. the way he wrote, and structured the book, kinda takes you on his journey with him. and the journey has a sense of pilgrimage, meditation, and open and optimistic exploration 🙂 i enjoyed travelling with him thru his words, and how he shared what he found - both the information he came across, and the conversations he had with others.

i read eagerly, tho also relatively slowly - stopping to look things up that he mentioned, and where/when possible print copies of some things - pictures of statues and old jet bear amulets, work by a couple of artists he came across who picture and work with the spirit of Bear, images of constellations and drawings and paintings related to goddess and god stories linked (directly or tangentially) to Artio and Artaois, and more. my paperback copy of the book is now probably twice as thick, with the images slipped between the pages.


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i liked the way he structured the book - i felt it was simple but perfect.

after an introduction, the book starts with a pilgrimage to Bern in Switzerland to see the statue of Artio in a museum there, and explore the Bear presence in and around the city.
and then looks at/for the Bear gods in Europe more generally.


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the next chapter explores bears and Artio and Artaois in Britain. looking at archaeology, history, mythology, folklore, and more.

i enjoyed how much it touched things i already had a reference point for, making it easy to connect, and at the same time broadened my knowledge 🙂

i was especially interested when his search took him to Assynt in Scotland - i remember passing thru and stopping in the geopark there, and reading about the animals bones in local caves 😃 it was interesting to hear about a Priestess of Avalon who relocated there to work, and re-engage, with Bear spiritually (and perhaps one day practically) in that landscape.


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he then opens up the search and exploration more widely, looking for perhaps the/a primeval first Bear deity... and looking at bear traditions from around the world, and what they might share with Artio and Artaois, and/or lend to our understanding of them. i liked the breadth of his explorations here, and how all traditions were respected for what they were, and at the same time the potential parallels he was able to draw. the idea of diverse Bear traditions, while different, possibly having a shared ancestor... and just how long bears and humans have existed in some kind of relationship (often with human cultures honouring the Bear).

amongst the many threads, i found it especially interesting to learn about the stories around Artemis and Callisto, and how they related to the Bear constellations ✨


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the penultimate chapter about the Bear gods in a contemporary context was interesting, including in the varied places he looks and finds. it looked at bears in contemporary literature, film and video game, and how they bear aspects of Artio and Artaois - the Bear gods having resonance in these stories and characters, whether explicit or not.

i enjoyed the gentle and personal exploration of the 'bear' in gay male culture 🙂🐾🏳‍🌈 and his meeting other Druids (LGBTQI and not) who acknowledge and work with Artio. including the establishment of a couple of festivals specific to Artio - dates that mark Artio Retiring and Artio Rising - and how they fit with existing pagan calendars (awa the natural cycles of bears around hibernation and procreation) 🙂
i was also interested to learn about the building of a contemporary Bear Tribe, and the reenactment of Bear Feasts, as part of connecting with, and showing gratitude and respect for, our natural world 😃

i liked how the author connects later chapters with earlier ones, and is very good at articulating his thoughts and the links he makes. the final paragraph(s) often form a nice summary of what we've just explored, with a kinda cumulative summary aspect where/when relevant 😁😊


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the final chapter was about working with, and/or honouring, the Bear, Artio and Artaois, et al.
and it was a really nice little chapter too, and finishes the book well 😃😊 it's also followed by a brief, and heartfelt awa humorous, afterword 😁😊

it was interesting to read the authors suggestions of ways to work with and honour Artio and Artaois. i especially liked the kinda 'indirect' things he thought about and suggested to keep in mind, practical things one could do alongside/as well as any spiritual practices, eg donating to or volunteering at a foodbank, as part of distributing Artio's abundance 🌻🌾🍅🍏🌰🍞

and despite its short length, this final chapter manages to draw in many threads from previous ones, creating a satisfying sense of 'conclusion' to the book...

...even tho it's not a conclusion to the story of Artio and Artaois 😊😍


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the main body of the book is followed by a section of Endnotes, with articles etc referenced in the text, listed chapter by chapter.
and a good Bibliography.

after the books section of the bibliography, there are some online resources - this is probably the aspect of the book that won't age so well. tho before looking at this part of the book, i had been able to look up and find quite alot of information online - images of things he references, and/or the tangents that branch out as one thing leads to another 🙂 so alot is still out there and currently available.


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in my opinion, a great little book, that covers alot in its short length, does so coherently and consistently, and provides alot of starting points for your own explorations around both the material presented, and beyond it 😊


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possibly no coincidence, but between reading this book and writing this review, I've come across, and been enjoying watching, a live stream of some Alaskan bears. which has felt like a nice continuation of Bear presences in my life 😊😍

I'm not sure what goodreads does with links but if this displays/works correctly, you should be able to view it here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/J7ZrIDvq...


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accessed as a paperback book, published (in 2021) by Moon Books.

[Spinneretta]

This is the path as followed by the author, into a greater understanding of the relatively obscure Celtic bear deities, Artio and Artaios.
It’s not meant as a guide for worship, but rather as a tour along the path the author followed on his own journey.

It begins by explaining the author’s pilgrimage into a greater understanding of the Celtic bear myths, and the various forms bear myths have taken.
Most of it is speculation, as there is very little evidence of the bear deities out there, but since the book was conceived primarily as a documentation of the author’s own journey, it doesn’t read as though he is reaching for meaning, beyond seeing what appeals to himself. Instead, we are provided with an interesting path, observing as the author makes his own observations and connections.

On an unusual and therefore particularly interesting note, the author makes a link between some modern representations and these old gods. Perceiving them in modern media, and relating how he found meaning in it, was a fascinating thought, the idea of finding deeper meaning in such modern tales was actually quite inspiring.
I was also amused by the relating of them to the modern gay ‘bear culture’… not because it was funny or silly, but because he honestly wondered if there was an unconscious link. It was absolutely something I would never have picked up on, and found all the more intriguing because of it.

The focus on European bear stories was a refreshing change, though mention of First Nation bear stories was made, it was mostly when related to the author’s queries to other bear followers.

Finally we come to the author’s thoughts on how you can honour the bear gods in your own life, and how he saw that working in the context of the wheel of the year.
He mentions a few other options, entirely up the individual of course, and leaves off on a particularly amusing note.

An enjoyable, and thought provoking book.

[Julia Ann]

This is a sweet little book. Not a big read but a quick bit of bear lore and logic that I did truly enjoy exploring.

Of course I wanted more and that is somewhat the premise of the whole book, there is little to find about these two Celtic bear gods. The author, Andrew Anderson, makes a fine effort in sharing what he has come across, journeyed towards and puzzled together.

Much of it is speculative and repetitive. For some that may be a downfall to the book and why I gave it 4 stars. I almost gave it 3 but I also found the speculations interesting and Andrew did mention throughout that he was doing so and that much of this was his personal journey and exploration. The repetitive part began to feel like 'word fillers' to fluff out enough to make a book, however I started to find it helpful since this was a reference book and not a fairy tale about bears. The repetitive nature whilst still bothersome sometimes did help to drive home the archetypes and key concepts and ultimately that was helpful to me.

As a practicing Bard within OBOD, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Celtic bear gods, espeically Artio - She Bear goddess. I have been physically and emotional touched by bears since I was 5. Part of my animal council and main protector - this book spoke to me - called to me really when I first heard about it on Druidcast podcast. If Bears are part of your magic, I encourage you to ignore the short and repetitive nature of the book and gleam from it the powerful bits and utilize that information.

The book has sent me off to research deeper, connect with some of the cool references and people who are diving deeper and even continue to explore my own art/music and chants to my sweet Mama Bear.

[Mark]

A charming story of one man's hunt for bear deity. I enjoyed the syncretic, poetic and pragmatic approach of the author, who gathers a variety of bear myths, images and symbols together in a way that speaks to him. I thought the inclusion of gay bear culture was an important part of the book, and I want to hear more about the shamanic-like resonances gay men find in non-human animals like bears, wolves and otters. The book would have been further enriched by the author sharing more of the role bear deity plays in his own spiritual life. There's a moment where Anderson mentions a bear statue on his altar that has a particularly special meaning to him, and it's a shame the reader isn't told the story behind this object. In the final chapter, Anderson gives some hints at putting together a ritual, but some prayers, invocations, rituals or poems created by the author would have been very welcome. This little book feels like a 'part 1' compiling Anderson's research notes. The book needs a part 2 where he shares in more detail how he puts it all together and lives it out. Nevertheless, a quick and fun read.

[Kelly]

This is such a beautifully written book, with so much attention to details and so many sources. It’s definitely going to be one of my go to books, and includes ideas for the wheel of the year with Artio and Artaois. It’s just brilliant. I only wish it was longer, but hopefully they’ll release a follow up.

[Autumn]

A big thank you to Moon Books for gifting a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a Pagan Portals, so a short look at a specific topic. The Pagan Portals line of books are meant to be shorter introductory volumes to relatively specific topics to give readers a foundational jumping point.

This book is about the gods Artia and Artaois, of which there is very little material about. This is a highlight of the book - yay, more material and personal anecdotal material! - but also its downfall. Because there is so little material for the author to work with, this is instead more of a personal narrative journey.
The author is trying to take the very sparse pins and tie them all together with his red thread of personal journey and pilgrimage, it's very interesting, but if you're not emotionally attached to the material it can fall a little flat and be, well, boring.

While it's fascinating to read about the author's experiences and read about his exploration of what historic material we do have, this won't be helpful for those who are looking to work with the Deities, as this is definitely note a definitive guidebook. In fact, it often reads more like a dissertation or essay, and not a book.

This will be a treat for those who like reading about other people's personal experiences with the Divine and how they came to work with those powers with bits of history sprinkled throughout.

[Alex Dove]

I know this is a book about modern pagan beliefs and I may not be the most targeted audience, but I wanted to read it because of my A) love of bears and B) my love of mythology. Unfortunately I feel this book is lacking on both accounts. There are few descriptions of bears and/or their behavior other than what the author chooses to focus on for religious reasons. There is also just a surface level mention of mythology. We learn what these two particulary bear dieties mean to the author, but otherwise it is mostly loose ties to historical mythology with huge leaps in connecting them to the story the author wants to tell. If there was perhaps more detail on the other myths and beliefs (good, solid description and backgroud) then maybe this would work, but it really comes across as "and this culuture worshiped bears and it fits with my ideas like this" regardless of the historical context of these different beliefs and religions.
If you are into new-age/ modern pagan writings, this may be interesting for you following the author's journey into building his own belief system. If you are looking for something more historical, mythological, or biological then you might just skip this book as there are numerous others that cover these topics better.

[Ulvhud]

Forse l'unico libro che tratta interamente della Dea Artio, sicuramente il solo a trattare in chiave pagana di Artaois.
Per chi si interessa di religioni celtiche, o galliche, sa che trovare testi a riguardo è veramente un'impresa. Per non parlare delle fonti.
Per questa ragione non mi sento di essere eccessivamente severa con il testo in sé, che si presenta scarno di documentazione storica (in realtà, ha proposto tutto ciò di cui siamo in possesso, che è veramente poca roba). Per tale ragione, l'autore si è trovato nella scomoda situazione di doversi basare quasi esclusivamente sul suo parere e sulla sua esperienza, cosa che, tuttavia, sottolinea sempre. È un testo essenziale ma utile per chi volesse approfondire lo studio della divinità orsa gallica.

[Heather Brooks]

No shade on the author, I just felt like the pop culture references were a bit too much. I wish him well on his spiritual journey. I was excited to see a book on the topic, but sadly once again was suckered into one of Moon Books latest offerings. Unfortunately, most of their newer releases have been nearly unreadable. I just can’t take them serious as spiritual books. They tend to be a bit silly, this one certainly was.

[Patricia Woodruff]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Andrew Anderson put together a delightful journey of exploration into the Bear God and Goddess. I have to give it four stars though because such a huge component of the Bear deities is missing from the Slavic and Basque lands, although in the author’s defense it *is* newly discovered material!