Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit [Paperback]

Tom Cowan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 1993

In 'The Song of Wandering Aengus' William Butler Yeats refers to the ‘fire in the head’ that characterises the visionary experience. Tom Cowan has pursued this theme in a lyrical cross-cultural exploration of shamanism and the Celtic imagin

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A remarkable exploration of shamanism [using] cross-cultural myths to explain the history and roots of the Celtic spirit." -- -- Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self

"An important and fascinating work on Celtic shamanism. Highly recommended." -- -- Serge Kahili King, author of Urban Shaman

About the Author

Tom Cowan is the author of How to Tap Into Your Own Genius and the coauthor of Power of the Witch and Love Magic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1st edition (May 14, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062501747
• ISBN-13: 978-0062501745
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars After 10 years, still the BEST Intro to the Celtic animism, January 6, 2002

By 

Frank MacEowen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit (Paperback)

It has been nearly ten years now since Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit was released. Ten years. That is a very long time for readers to encounter a number of other books on Celtic traditions, shamanism, and Celtic spirituality in general. However, if we track back to 1993 when this book was first released we will quickly see that at that time there really had not been any sort of exhaustive study of the shamanic archetype within the Celtic traditions--which Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit clearly is.

Others who have reviewed this book and offered a less than gleaming assessment of the book are undoubtedly people who are seeking either more of a hands-on, experiential, or practical book on shamanic techniques (see Cowan's Shamanism As A Spiritual Practice for Daily Life), or something with a more classical scholarly 'feel' to it (see F. Marian McNeill's, The Silver Bough, W.Y.Evans-Wentz' The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, or Celtic Heritage by the Rees'). However, for an overall introduction to the numinous power and energy of the shamanic archetype within the primal Celtic traditions Fire in the Head, even after ten years, is still the best introduction. It is a wide-sweeping flight into the themes and topics, devoid of the particularities of personal cosmology one sees in so many other Celtic books. Cowan gets out of the way so that readers can have their own experience and make their own assumptions. Certainly, once a person has read this it is time to read such works as Jean Markele's The Druids, Caitlin and John Matthews' The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom, etc., but, again, for an introduction to the core elements of primal Irish, Welsh, and Scottish animisitic spirituality this is still the best.

Regarding the exploration of witchcraft within Fire in the Head: All too often people assume that witchcraft and Wicca are synonymous. They are not. Wicca, largely, was invented in the 1950's. However, witchcraft (both black and white)is well documented as having been practiced in different parts of the Celtic world, as well as the Anglo-Saxon world. I think Tom's exploration of witchcraft is in keeping with the premise of the book--to peel back the layers of European animism in general and see where the shamanic energies may exist.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Metaphor in the Humanity, March 31, 2005

By 

S. K. Harrell (NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit (Paperback)

On my shelf of shamanist titles, this one sits prominently figured. Cowan presents the traditional fantastic experiences of the shaman in an amazingly receivable framework. His experience of archetypes in well-known myths and legends opens one to the ability to read all things symbolically, thus, as the dynamic spiritual presences that they are. To that end I regard Cowan as a shapeshifter of symbols, not an interpreter of them. His telling of olde tales connects their spirit with a modern audience.

In this book his love and connection to the Celtic path is evident, though it is not necessarily rooted in what we know of Celtic history, itself. I feel it is important to make that distinction, as Cowan is cultivating the opening of the shamanic experience of metaphor in a Celtic context. He is not a Reconstructionist, thus this work offers, rather, an experiential opportunity in a Celtic framework.

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed Research, but Interesting, December 31, 1998

By 

Jennifer Gibbons (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit (Paperback)

A very enjoyable and readable book on modern, Celt-inspired shamanism. It's not, however, a reliable guide to Pagan Celtic beliefs. The research quality is extremely erratic. Much of it is okay/good, though Cowan has a tendency to re-write the myths and present his re-workings as original texts. However parts of the book are abysmal. The chapter on the "shamanic" aspects of witchcraft, for instance, is completely inaccurate, showing a near total ignorance of historical witchcraft. So if you're looking for history, look elsewhere. However if you want a "Celtic" brand of Neo-Paganism, this is a very beautiful, evocative vision.