Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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).

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.

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.

I felt that she presented the gods and godesses as objects to use for personal gain (as they are often used, but they are more than just that). Not that I don't ask for help or things that I want from them, but it was just not presented very...spiritually. Just sort of a cut-and-dry this is the name, this is what they were known for, this is the best way to use them. Nothing about they're characters or using them as primary Gods/Godesses, only who to use when you want this, and who to use when you want that. The list of names was very, very good, and it does have many ritual examples and step-by-step instructions on how to do certain kinds of rituals/spells (evocation, invocation, pathworking) and info about the Celtic year and holidays, etc. It just doesn't go in-depth about how to do things yourself, the way you want to do them (no one does the same things in a spell for the same outcome, although her tips are helpful for beginners). Also, there's some info on how to construct rituals and spells, though not much, as well as Celtic songs and recipes. Lots of info, just not the mindframe I was looking for.

BTW, for those who want info on how to create spells/rituals/Book of Shadows, I HIGHLY recommend "Your Book of Shadows: How to Write Your Own Magickal Spells" by Patricia Telesco. My bf bought it for me and its absolutely fantastic (almost TOO MUCH info!)!

Like most books claiming to tell about "Celtic religion" and Celtic "magic" and most books by this author on the subject, this book is full of inaccurate views, fantasy disguised as historical truth, and items that have been proven time and again to be completely false.

I'll admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for this book because it is the first book about paganism I ever read. I will give it stars because it made me consider paganism as a rewarding way of life. Later on I purchased the book, partly for nostalgia, partly for the dictionary of dieties. I think it does a nice job of presenting a thorough reference, many times I have needed to look up or cross reference a diety and found this book helpful.
My main problem with McCoy is that she tends to read way too much into the myths. Yes, perhaps a mythical figure may have been a sun goddess because she had blonde hair, but more likely, she was just a blonde woman from Scandanavia. She also incorporates blatantly non-celtic elements like the ankh and the Hebrew alphabet! As a Reconstructionist pagan, I have big problems with this. There are other inaccuracies in the book; I mainly reccomend it for its dictonary. Even if you are not into Celtic myths, it is good to have on hand, given that Celtic cultures have such a huge influence on the Neo-pagan religions. Just get a copy of the Mabinogion or Charles Squire's Celtic Myths and Legends for a less revisionist telling of the Celtic myths.

A quick read with some information that could be useful. Even somewhat amusing at times. Unfortunately, it provides the reader with an account of Celtic times and traditions that while pleasing to the author are often inaccurate if not blatantly incorrect. It misses some of the basic concepts of Celtic culture and adds many things that were not at all a part of those cultures. She also claims that traditions and customs with documented Norse origins have Celtic origins (not assimilation) at a much later date. While the author has some talent as a writer her efforts as a scholar are just shy of deplorable.

Her claims that there are no dangers in such workings are misleading if not untrue. Claiming that none of the beings one may encounter in such workings will bring any ill is laughable. Has anyone heard of a myth system in which none of the figures will harm anyone, whether through direct action or misdirection? A respect for entities one may encounter and an understanding that they, like all beings, may or may not wish one harm is an important part of preparation for all workings. Why else have so many protective devices for all workings?

In researching the Celtic Pantheon for others to work with McCoy has also been sadly amiss in failing to include indications of which gods and goddesses do and do not play well together. Few people would like to suddenly find themselves between two feuding divinities. Such a list is a necessity for beginners and useful to more experienced practitioners. Which brings up another point. Too broad a scope. The author took on more than she could handle in attempting to create the book for individuals of such varying abilities/experience. The author would do well to take a basic Philosophy class as well as a class in logic before trying again. Or if she chooses not to write such a book again perhaps working within the fantasy or science fiction genres would be along the right lines. I did find a short paragraph suggesting a self exploration activity of some sort in one of the first chapters that might be useful. I appreciate the recipes and the music.

A final note on editing. Grammar check. Simple typographical and grammatical errors (such as repetition of a word or phrase) are all too common. Not acceptable in Jr. High. Not acceptable in a professional.

It is very telling that the 4/5 * reviews all come from our American cousins who unfortunatly do see all us 'celts' as lumped together. As I come from an Irish/Welsh background I am well versed in the history and mythology of both nations and find this work an insult. Has the author ever even visited any of the 'celtic' countries?????

Unfortunately McCoy is not a celtic scholar and tends to jumble all Celtic deities into one "directory". She uses mis-information, deity names which are misspelled, or even worse gets the gender of some of the deities wrong! She misguides the reader with her lack of knowledge in Celtic paganism. Some of the gods wouldn't even be able to recognize themselves if they were to read their entries into this volume of misinformation. Her Welsh is deplorable and the spelling and pronunciation guide is awful. This is one of the worst books I've read on "things Celtic". These things don't matter to some readers, but I bet they matter to the gods!

I have been a Wiccan High Priest since 1994, and I have honored the Celtic Gods for longer than that, and this book makes me sick to my stomach. Like all of Edain's books, it is filled with a mish-mash of fluffy nonsense, badly written tripe, and bogus scholarship.

If you want to honor the Celtic deities, you can use Edain McCoy's books to start a bonfire, and instead purchase books by John and Caitlin Matthews, Alexei Kondratiev, and Steve Blamires.