The Celtic Book of the Dead: A Guide for Your Voyage to the Celtic Otherworld (Cards/Spread-Cloth) (Hardcover)

~ Caitlin Matthews (Author) "The swearing of an oath that calls upon the elements as witnesses is an act of courage and great trust..." (more)
Key Phrases: giant cattle, silver net, silver branch, Sea of Glass, Island of Joy, Island of the Cat (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Take a voyage in the company of Celtic heroes to find your life's direction. The Celtic Book of the Dead is your guide to the mystical realms of the Celtic Otherworld, where the fullness of personal potential becomes clear. This is not a morbid journey, but a voyage to islands with plenteous salmon, feasting halls, and pillars of silver rising from the sea. There are challenges too, but each has its lesson for our lives today.

This pack contains everything you need for your voyage:

-Deck of 42 beautifully illustrated cards
-Book explaining the background to the Celtic Otherworld and how to use the cards
-Celtic Cross spread-cloth

Product Details

• Hardcover: 126 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (April 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312072414
• ISBN-13: 978-0312072414
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,023,720 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing set!!, September 15, 1998

By	A. Mayo (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the most fulfilling books I own on Celtic spirituality and mythology. Add on top of that a very thoughtful and deep card set to be used for both divination and shamanic travel, and you have a set that you will cherish in your collection. I can't praise it highly enough!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Over the Waves and Under the Hill, February 1, 2002

By	Frank MacEowen (California-Georgia-Ireland) - See all my reviews

As always, Caitlin Matthews has managed to express in an outward and manifested object the deep strata of perennial truths of the Celtic soul. The premise upon which she approaches her subject is a fascinating one. . . that, indeed, like the Tibetans and Egyptians, that the Celtic tradition has its own particular expressions of a 'Book of the Dead': a compendium of stories or tales believed to be of Otherworld origin that speak to the soul of the living about the passage after death. The particular mythopoetic and shamanic root story that Caitlin approaches is that of Immram Curaig Maelduin Inso, or The Voyage of Maelduin's Boat.

Indeed, a fascinating account of a mystical voyage to thirty-three islands, each of which holds a particular adventure or lesson to the voyagers. Undoubtedly a strand of the many sea-faring tales of the Irish (such as St. Brendan the Navigator), the Immrama of Maelduin in THE CELTIC BOOK OF THE DEAD, proves to be an invaluable contribution to Celtic studies, visionary tradition, and the modern need to reincorporate the tools and sacred orientations of the psychopompic process (conscious death journey, or soul-leading). ...

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take a trip., April 5, 2002

By	spacedog1979 "spacedog1979" (England/UK) - See all my reviews

This isn't a how-to guide. This is, however, a book proposing a theory, legends and myths of the beyond according to Celtic traditions. It is fluent and very well put and I believe in can fit young readers and old as one. Although it is fairly leveled and can be used as more than just bedtime reading, it draws one into the wonderful, lost world of the Celts.

To those who practice witchcraft - it is a beautiful guide to the Celtic afterlife, and with it arrives an inspiring deck of Tarot cards, especially designed to read after-life journeys. The concept and the practice are a thing of beauty. I would recommend you practiced this specific reading thoroughly before applying it on others.

On the personal note - I bought this book shortly after a family member who was a dear friend had died. While pondering the meaning of death and what it suggests, I started a deep research on cultures and the way they have related to death, sorting out my beliefs in order to face fears and worries. This book was a lifesaver.