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Celtic Goddesses: Warriors, Virgins and Mothers

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Celts are big right now. Seems like everyone and their dog is claiming Scottish/Irish/whateverish ancestry, which neo-pagans and goths alike sport knotwork jewelry and call themselves things like Rhiannon and Cerridwen and so forth. And there are a lot of books out there, many of which are so sure in their assertions of things that happened millenia ago that you wonder where their bibliographies are.

Miranda Green has, in contrast, skillfully charted a path through myth, legend, history, and archeology to present us with a fairly brief, but overall comprehensive portrait of the divine feminine in the Celtic world. Drawing on sources as diverse as Welsh lore and ancient shrines buried beneath modern-day cathedrals, she illustrates the influence of goddesses in this ancient world, how their power was transmuted to that of saints with the dominance of Christianity, and how the pedestals on which they stood compare with the role of women in their society.

Green is also willing to leave certain questions open, to point out that current historical inquiry does have its limitations, and that there are many things about the Celtic world that we will likely never know. But from such well-known deities as Rhiannon, the Morrigan, and Blodduwedd, to lesser-known guardians of springs and hills, Greeen takes us on a guided tour of the Goddess as She was revered in this particular pre-Christian world