Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses (Llewellyn's World Religion and Magic Series) [Paperback]

Edain McCoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2002

Tap into the mythic power of the Celtic goddesses, gods, heroes, and heroines to aid your spiritual quests and magickal goals.

Human and divine energies complement each other; when joined, they become a potent catalyst for true magick and change. Celtic Myth & Magick describes the energies of over 300 cross-referenced Celtic deities and heroic figures so you can quickly determine which one can best help you in attaining specific goals through magick—such as greater prosperity (Cernunnos), glowing health (Airmid), or a soul partner (Aengus MacOg).

This guidebook explains how to use creative Pagan ritual and pathworking to align yourself with the energy of these powerful archetypes. Undertake three magickal quests to the inner plane—where you’ll join forces with Cuchulain, Queen Maeve, and Merlin the Magician to bring their energies directly into your life. This inspiring, well-researched book is written especially for solitary Pagans who seek to expand the boundaries of their practice to form working partnerships with the divine. 

 

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Have you ever noticed how some of the most useful things in the world are also the most common? You can get hammers and screwdrivers at convenience stores, yet they make taking care of your home easier and more efficient. You would think that such valuable devices would become expensive and rare, but just the opposite is true.

The same is true for dictionaries. They have become inexpensive and you can even get them in formats that are small enough to keep in a purse or pocket.

Perhaps we should have called Edain McCoy's Celtic Myth & Magick a dictionary. After all, it does list over 700 Celtic deities, heroes, and heroines in alphabetical order, sharing their myths, correspondences, and uses in magick. This is of incredible value to anyone using the Celtic pantheon of deities in his or her spiritual system.

Or perhaps we should have called it a complete guide. Besides the dictionary, it includes an introduction to Celtic tradition and lore, information about rituals, rites, festivals, ceremonies, and spells you can do. You'll also learn Celtic pathworking; invocation and evocation; and information on almost fifty popular Pagan traditions that draw upon the Celts as a source. The book also shares data on resources for supplies and even includes Celtic music and Celtic dress.

But there is no reason for Edain to brag in the title. The book speaks for itself. And what it says is that it is simply the most complete book on Celtic traditions ever published. For even more details you can check out the large bibliography of sources.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Paganism, Witchcraft, or the ancient Celts. If you really want to learn about the ancient Celts and how you can put their traditions, knowledge, and wisdom to use in your spiritual practices, get this book.

About the Author

Edain became a self-initiated Witch in 1981 and has been an active part of the Pagan community since her formal initiation into a large San Antonio coven in 1983.  Edain has researched alternative spiritualities since her teens, when she was first introduced to Kaballah, or Jewish mysticism.  Since that time, she has studied a variety of magickal paths including Celtic, Appalachian folk magick, and Curanderismo, a Mexican-American folk tradition.  Today, Edain is part of the Wittan Irish Pagan tradition, where she is a priestess of Brighid and an elder.  

An alumnus of the University of Texas with a BA in history, she is affiliated with several professional writer's organizations and occasionally presents workshops on magickal topics or works individually with students who wish to study Witchcraft.

This former woodwind player for the Lynchburg (VA) Symphony claims both the infamous feuding McCoy family of Kentucky and Sir Roger Williams, the seventeeth-century religious dissenter, as branches on her ethnically diverse family tree.  In her "real life," Edain works as a licensed stockbroker.

Edain is the author of fifteen books, including Bewitchments; Enchantments; and her most recent release, Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 1st edition (September 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567186610
• ISBN-13: 978-1567186611
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Druidism
  • #45 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Celtic

More About the Author

Edain McCoy has written more than twenty books on metaphysical and occult topics since she was first published in 1993. Her popular titles include Celtic Women's Spirituality, Astral Projection For Beginners, How to Do Automatic Writing, Karmic & Past Life Tarot, The Sabbats, Advanced Witchcraft, If You Want to Be a Witch (Llewellyn Worldwide), and The Healing Power of Faery (Adams Media).

An alumnus of the University of Texas with a B.A. in history, she is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Butler University. She is affiliated with several professional organizations including the Authors Guild and the American Translators Association. She is listed in the reference guides Contemporary Authors, Who's Who Among American Women, and Who's Who In America, and her articles have appeared in Fate, Circle, Enlightenments, and similar periodicals.

Edain held positions related to education including handscoring standardized testing, substitute teaching, music education, and private tutoring. She spent many years as a licensed stockbroker and financial advisor for several international investment firms before making the leap of faith into her first love--writing full time. In 2006 she was granted a Certificate in Paranormal Investigation from Flamel College, an online institute devoted to training leaders and scientists who study various aspects of the occult. This training assisted her and her expatriate friends in Argentina (visit them at www.TangoWithJudy.com) to investigate haunted sites that have been, and continue to be, denied to other investigators. In December 2008 she completed her studies to become a Reiki Master of the Usui-Rand linage, an intuitive healing art that is still opening new doors to both spirit and spirituality.

She often gives workshops on metaphysical and New Age topics, and has taught the art of guided mediation to many students eager to use this technique for spiritual exploration. Pagan festivals energize her spiritually because she says she learns something wonderful from every person she meets. To view her speaking schedule, learn more about her books, or to find her e-mail address, visit her website at www.EdainMcCoy.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More Wicca than Celtic... and questionable in places..., January 9, 2004

By 

blackrose "rosendubh" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses (Llewellyn's World Religion and Magic Series) (Paperback)

When I first bought this book several years ago I was very excited. I had only been a practicing neo-pagan for a couple of years, and was very interested with expanding the Wicca 101 stuff with particular cultural interests - especially the elusive "Celtic" being that my Irish father raised me with such inclinations.

When I first read the book I thought it was accurate enough. It was pretty much the only source of its kind that I found, and it looked authentic and detailed enough. However, as the years I have passed I've found myself reconsidering this opinion greatly - especially as I've compared it to other source material.

I think the first glaring red flag went up when I re-read it and, in the opening pages, declared that 'Celtic culture' was really pantheistic and not polytheistic. It then proceeds to treat the gods and goddesses as synonomous and interchangeable - ignoring the cultural differences which make them unique, and being horribly disrespectful to the "contributing cultures" to boot.

Besides my opinions regarding pantheism used in such ways, it bothered me that the gods and goddesses were treated, as many neo-pagan books do, as spell components rather than viable entities. I know others don't share my opinion that this book is guilty of this - but then, this is just my opinion.

I was also bothered by the fact that it seemed more Wicca and New Age than Celtic - and this little fact even stood out in my first reading, when the only resource materials I really had were of the Wicca 101 variety.

Now while I'll say that it's not the worst resource material out there, it's far from the best... and those truly interested in a deep exploration and understanding of the Celtic cultures and their gods, they'd do better looking elsewhere (Peter Bellesford Ellis and 'Gods and Heroes of the Celts' by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt are good for a start).

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars For real Irish or Welsh religion, look elsewhere, April 27, 2000

By 

Francine Nicholson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses (Llewellyn's World Religion and Magic Series) (Paperback)

Sometimes people hear an Irish or Welsh tale or a Scots Gaelic song and become interested in the mythology and beliefs that gave birth to the cultures. The figures of the myths and the ways that they were venerated are fascinating--but you won't learn about them from this book. To the ancients, the deities were powerful figures with whom one could create alliances based on respect. To McCoy, they are forces to be manipulated. Her methods have almost nothing to do with ancient religious practices and her descriptions of the deities are superficial and sometimes inaccurate. McCoy seems to have little if any appreciation for the connection between the religious figures and the cultures. If this is a subject that interests you, consider the various books by Miranda Green and folklore collections such as the Carmina Gadelica, or commentary/collections such as Noragh Jones's _Power of Raven, Wisdom of Serpent_, or _The Apple Branch_ by Alexei Kondratiev.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey, it's good!, November 19, 2000

By 

Kashmir White (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses (Llewellyn's World Religion and Magic Series) (Paperback)

I am writing this review to defend Edain McCoy from some of the mean reviews I've read about her book in this section. First off, let me just state that I am an initiated Gardnerian with a college degree, and that I have extensively studied Celtic history and language, ancient languages and civilizations, and world religions, etc. I am saying this not to boast but because I believe that my background should lend credence to my review. Anyway, I bought this book merely for the god/goddess dictionary, because I thought it would be another of those Llewellyn stinkpots -- you know, the usual unethical mix of fact and fantasy all put together so the author can make a quick buck. Believe me, I HATE those kinds of books. But this one really surprised me, and I think McCoy did an excellent job. Celtic history and the Celtic pantheons are very complicated and difficult to simplify into a workable and understandable whole. I think McCoy did a good job of both attempting to do that as well as explaining how difficult it is. I think she was quite honest about her limitations, which I think are limitations almost anyone would have (my one complaint is that she doesn't cite her souces). As for her spelling and pronunciation of the words, I found them to be pretty much the same as I have seen in my non-Craft related Celtic books. I found them very helpful. And yes, at first some of her entries on the gods seemed to be erroneous, but sure enough when I looked them up in other books I would find she wasn't wrong. Let's face it, there are so many forms of Celtic myth, and as I said it's a complex system; there are many different versions of the stories and the most popular versions certainly aren't the only ones. I am not a relativist, but there are some things that are in constant flux, some "truths" that are always shifting, and it seems to me that myth is an ever-evolving entity. In short, I loved this book. If you want a book that teaches you Celtic Wicca or Wicca, read books by Buckland, Cunningham, and especially Janet and Stewart Farrar. But if you are already working in or learning a tradtion and want to add some Celtic flavor, this book is a treasure. I've read so many Pagan books, it's a JOY to read one and learn things in a place you least expected. I highly recommend it.