The Rites of Brigid: Goddess & Saint [Paperback]

Sean O Duinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2005

The worshiping traditions of Brigid, both the Irish Saint and the Celtic goddess, and their relationship

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean O Duinn OSB is a monk of Glenstal and author of Where Three Streams Meet (The Columba Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Columba Press (August 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856074838
• ISBN-13: 978-1856074834
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,465 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

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good overall -- a few missed beats., January 10, 2008

By 

Erynn Laurie "Professional Madwoman" (Everett, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rites of Brigid: Goddess & Saint (Paperback)

Let me get my objections to the book out of the way first, for there are a couple of them. Ó Duinn conceptualizes Brigid as a fourfold year-Goddess going through stages of life very reminiscent of the Wiccan Maiden/Mother/Crone (adding an infant phase) and talks a lot about The Great Mother in this book. He also cites Janet and Stewart Farrar (Alexandrian Wiccans) and Marija Gimbutas as sources, and I don't feel they're necessarily very reliable. He touches on the classical four elements (even though he acknowledges in other places that the "elements" were different than this), which really seems to come more from the Farrars than the native tradition.

Those things said, this is a far more useful book for people looking for ritual ideas and the development of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism than Séamas Ó Catháin's "The Festival of Brigit." There is a lot more folklore, including material in both Irish and Scots Gaelic, translated in almost all cases. There are no illustrations, which would improve some of its value for reference, but he does talk about where to find pictures of things in some cases. He describes the regional differences in rituals very well, and talks about the roles taken by men, women, and by children in different places.

There's a great deal here about the other festivals throughout the year, and how he feels they're connected to Brigid as a fertility/harvest Goddess of sorts. I do question some of his conclusions about the material, but he does such a fantastic job of describing folk ritual, including what the people say in many cases, that I'm willing to overlook quite a bit of differences in opinion. He draws some very interesting connections between Brigid and other deities, and his descriptions of the place of males in Brigid's rituals definitely lends credence to what some Pagan Brigid orders are doing in allowing men to tend the flame. Not only are there cross-dressing men involved in ritual and processionals, but masked men as well. Sometimes it's solely the duty of the men to play particular parts in ritual.

Ó Duinn also talks about the patterns at the holy wells, and talks about what he feels are the distinguishing features between Christian clerical themes and pre-Christian survivals in the rituals that take place there. He discusses pilgrimages, offerings, and other things that reconstructionists will want to know, and his tone is entirely non-judgmental.

Despite my slight misgivings, I'd give this book four and a half holy wells of five. It's a much more useful source for reconstructionists than the Ó Catháin, he's far better at showing how he gets from one point to another in his arguments, and his style is far more accessible. You'll want both books if you're a devotee of Brighid, but this is the one you'll go to for ritual ideas, trust me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bridid, Celtic goddess and Saint, January 24, 2011

By 

Emily Damron-Cox (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rites of Brigid: Goddess & Saint (Paperback)

The Rites of Brigid: Goddess & Saint While researching the Christian holiday of Candlemas, I read sections of this book at the New York Public Library. What prompted me to buy it was the enjoyable writing style combined with solid scholarly research. A number of websites reference Brigid, the Celtic goddess & Saint, but this book goes much further in its detailed and cross-referenced research. I recommend it to those interested in the intersection of Celtic paganism and Christianity.

12 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The genuine tradition of Celtic Spirituality, October 24, 2007

By 

John W. Hurley (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rites of Brigid: Goddess & Saint (Paperback)

This is not your typical Neo-pagan, Anglo-american, "magikal" book. Instead it documents the true reality of native Irish belief and how this has evolved after the pagan Irish willingly, happily embraced Christianity. So many books today give a slanted, anti-Christian history, whereas this book is written by the modern equivalent of an Irish Druid - an Irish Roman Catholic priest, for whom "Christ is my Druid." Any book by Father O'Duinn or indeed by Columba Press or Veritas Press will teach you the facts about the genuine, living traditions of Celtic spirituality, and not spoon feed you the anti-Catholic hogwash so popular these days among books targeted to make money off the Neo-pagan market.