Customer Reviews

Journey of the Bard: Celtic Initiatory Magic

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Here is a book that, founded on demonstrable research with ample pictures to prove it, pulls together a wild and wide body of folk tale and metaphor and provides the reader with a useful life tool they can use the moment they crack the cover. A stylistically direct writer, Owens leaps to her subject with a sense of delivering unadulterated and important information. The book is primarily about the journey of the soul along the time-honoured hero's quest, but it is much more than that: it is an examination of one's own conscious body and body consciousness; it is a self-directed journey toward personal creativity; and (best of all) it is a fairy story. Like all folklore, the information Owens presents is ancient and universal. What is unique here is Owens' ability to sew together myth, archaeology, symbol, and archetype to show forgotten ceremonial and shamanic relationships. Journey of the Bard is in the tradition of Maria Gimbutas and Clarissa Pinkola Estés: an effective revelation of what we always knew about our human spirit, but seldom perceived due to patriarchal cultural overlay. The structure of the book is based on a chapter-a-month programme that takes the reader through the chakra system and the Celtic realms of the earth/garden, underworld, and heavens. Each segment contains an analytical essay on the symbology of that stage of the journey (i.e. chakra) as well as the actual story text. The bard (an Everyperson creative type) makes her/her way through the Celtic fabled landscape, encountering myth, monster, and guide. The reader, in turn, is meant to be on their own parallel inward journey through their own interior landscape. Like every good heroic archetype, the protagonist has to pass through the pits of darkness and dance among the stars to fully aquire the magic potential of their beings. At the end, the reader/bard is returned to the earthly garden in full possession of their creative powers. Included in this volume are original poems, paintings and drawings by Miles Lowry. His clear, precise illustrations of ancient motifs and artifacts are an essential component of the book, but most notable are his errie illustrations of the bard's journey, which add a fey beauty much associated with things Celtic. Appropriately enough, Owens describes herself as a "cultural theorist" - a useful catch-all term for this kind of sociological research and assembly project. Besides a wealth of art criticism and cultural essays, her past publications include The Cup of Mari Anu, a coming-of-age legend for young women, beautifully illustrated by Kevan Lane Miller, and The Witches' Book of Days, co-authored with Jessica North and Jean Kozacari. She is also known as the past editor of Hecate's Loom Magazine which, under her regime, became an internationally-respected alternative arts and philosophy publication. She also has a bourgeoning career as a Celtic/early music recording artist, with her second CD, The Moor and the Dowry, scheduled for release in 1998. The Journey of the Bard is the cornerstone of Bardic Journeys Tours, which will combine imaginative journeying with more literal travel to explore ancient civilizations. The first of these tours will be to Crete in 1998 and will not only showcase Owens' storytelling talents, but will also include musicians and historians in a very full and entertaining package.

For those who have an interest in shamanic and process-oriented work but would like to proceed at their own pace, "Journey of the Bard" offers an experiential voyage into the Shamanic realm through the bardic tradition. Adopting the framework of the ancient Celtic worldview, Yvonne Owens weaves the reader into the fabric of the Story, juxtaposing the initiatory process with extensive multi-cultural references. Miles Lowry's artwork and poetry add another magical dimension to the work. In the tradition of pathworking, the reader becomes transformed through participation while exploring the archetypal Tree of Life/Tree of Knowledge. The result is the awakening and activation of the profound heart of the Artist who dwells within each one of us awaiting realization. A shift in consciousness is enabled as we travel with (or as) the Bard from the Garden to the Realm Beyond the Stars and back again, arriving with fresh new perspectives on the here-and-now, our perceived everyday lives. The author recommends that the journey through the process be allowed to proceed over the course of a year, in the manner of initation, so as to allow for the awakening of subtle influences within the reader's inner consciousness, intuition and creative self. During this time, the outer life will synchronistically mirror the inner processes. Although I read the book somewhat more quickly, over the course of three months, I can attest to the effects firsthand. I have encountered and crossed a number of thresholds since I first began reading. According to tradition, it is the calling of the Bard ot entertain, educate and elighten through storytelling. To follow the course of this Story certinaly results in the entertainnment, education and elightenment of the reader. The beautiful circular poetry and dream-like illustrations of Milses Lowry provide a wonderful complement to the astute scholarship and story-weaving abilities of Yvonne Owens. To add to my personal pleasure, there is also a well-selected bibliography.

i absolutly loved this book and just wanted to say that i had created a discussion group for it on yahoo