Power of Raven, Wisdom of Serpent: Celtic Women's Spirituality (Paperback)

~ Noragh Jones (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Noragh Jones reweaves the sacred mantle of blessing and song, placing it lovingly about the shoulders of our desacralized world.' -- Caitlin Matthews

Product Description

Through their oral culture, the communities of the highlands and islands handed down their traditions of life and spirituality from generation to generation. The womenfolk, in their many different roles, were the guardians of power and wisdom in 'seeing', healing, blessing and cursing. Noragh Jones describes the centuries-old rhythms of work, living and dying through the chants, rites and traditions kept by women. She concludes that the rifts and strains in modern society are not to be resolved by escaping to the fringes, but by our conscious efforts to recover the old and deep insights of these womenfolk in our own lives. Their qualities of hospitality and conviviality, together with their daily celebration of the ordinary, have much to teach us in our modern urban communities.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Floris Books (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863151868
• ISBN-13: 978-0863151866
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,835,396 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Woman's Work, October 29, 2001

By	Kelly L. (www.FantasyLiterature.com) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Power of Raven Wisdom of Serpent: Celtic Women's Spirituality (Paperback)

When we think of woman's role in society, we tend to think that there is a choice between private life and public, between the home and the business world. Choosing home, we believe, leads to isolation and boredom, and feeling trapped within the world of housekeeping. (think The Feminine Mystique). Choosing career means personal fulfillment but often loneliness. And most women, out of necessity, juggle both, a formidable workload. Noragh Jones presents us with a different worldview here, one where the community it so tight-knit that "hearth-keeping" is both a private and a public lifestyle, and in which domestic work is sacred rather than drudgery. In "Power of Raven, Wisdom of Serpent", Jones has picked out the chants and prayers from the Carmina Gadelica that are most closely related to women's lives, and shows how they enriched the farm women's daily routine with a numinous holiness. Here are prayers to be said for every task done, as well as love poems, healing lore, and rites of passage. I found the last to be the most interesting; there are folk christening rites that blend the pagan and Christian; wedding songs, prayers for the child leaving home, and funeral laments. I don't know if I could have handled the sheer amount of work these farming women did. They worked hard and endlessly, but every moment was filled with meaning. Jones brings to life the essence of Celtic Christianity--that God is not only "up there", but present in every ordinary moment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scottish Tradition: the Real Thing, not New Age Fluff, January 24, 2002

By	Francine Nicholson (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power of Raven Wisdom of Serpent: Celtic Women's Spirituality (Paperback)

There are many books available today claiming to present "real" Celtic tradition. Few of them actually do what they claim. In this volume, Noragh Jones actually presents authentic Scottish tradition, partially culled from the Carmina Gadelica, but supplemented by her own experiences of living in Scotland. Her focus is on rural women's lives and they way their spirituality flowed from a mindset that saw the spiritual in the everyday. Put this together with Mary Low's _Celtic Christianity and Nature_ and Mary Beith's _Healing Threads_ and you will have a very good idea of how women have lived and found meaning in their lives in rural Scotland.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work on Scottish women's lore., May 2, 1997

By A Customer

This book deatils the women's lore of Scotland, and gives insight into the merging of Pagan and Chrsitian traditions. Excerpts from the Carmina Gadelica help to highlight various points which are made throughout this work. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to study the folklore of Scotland