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.

Sharon Paice MacLeod is a Harvard-trained Celticist, grant-funded researcher, historical consultant and professional musician. She has taught Celtic literature, mythology and folklore at the university level and lives in New England.

Sharon Paice MacLeod
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 244
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6476-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8703-5
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Introduction: Journeying to the Well of Wisdom      5

Part One: Celtic Religion and Mythology

1. The Sacred Elements of the Tradition      9

2. Sources of Knowledge      18

3. Druids, Seers, Poets and Priestesses      25

4. The Celtic Otherworld      34

5. The Gods of Britain and Gaul      39

6. Irish Gods and Goddesses      48

7. The Ritual Year      58

Part Two: Celtic Shamanism and Wisdom Traditions

8. Elements of Celtic Shamanism      65

9. The Feathered Cloak      73

10. The Song of the Shaman      81

11. Celtic Cosmology      89

12. Celtic Wisdom Traditions      100

13. The Knowledge of Trees      107

14. Symbolism of Animals and Birds      115

Part Three: Celtic Legends and Folklore

15. The Wisdom of the Ancestors      123

16. The Legend of Arthur      132

17. The Mabinogi      141

18. Fairies, Healers and Seers      148

19. Folklore of Spring and Summer      159

20. Folklore of Autumn and Winter      169

21. The Path of the Old Ways      180

Appendix A: The Rights of Women in Early Celtic Culture      185

Appendix B: The Celtic Folksong Tradition      194

Appendix C: Suggested Reading and Further Study      204

Chapter Notes      207

Bibliography      221

Index      231

“This well-organized, readable book unites a widely scattered body of primary information on the myths, ritual practices, songs, cosmology, poetry, folklore, and symbolism created within and shared among the Celtic cultures of western Europe…a good general volume on Celtic myth and religion. Recommended”—Choice; “excellent”—Witches and Pagans; “well researched and richly diverse scholarly study”—Story Circle Book Reviews.