Exploring Celtic Spirituality

The Celtic Way of Seeing posits a direct link between the eye and the heart, a link that connects seekers to forces, energies, and knowledge that exist beyond the corporeal world. This book explores this concept through retelling the traditional story “The Settling of the Manor of Tara,” which describes the spiritual divisions of Ireland and the four directions — north, south, east, and west. The orientations to the four directions and the center become the focal point of a series of simple meditations that guide readers to “see” the directions, making the Irish Spirit Wheel come alive in their daily lives.

Unleash your inner warrior and embrace a timeless vision of the divine: strong, courageous, feminine. Craft your own spiritual practice centered firmly in the Celtic mystical tradition. In this book you'll discover how any woman can awaken the Goddess spirit and release the wisdom and magick that is her birthright.

In Celtic Spirituality, acclaimed translator and scholar Philip Freeman allows the voices of the Celts to speak once more. Though the Celtic civilization has long disappeared, lingering traces of their spirituality haunt Ireland and the surrounding land. Tantalizing snippets of faded manuscript pages, ancient stone carvings, and spells from the mystery-shrouded Druids have sparked the imagination of generations of modern seekers. Translated from their original languages—Gaulish, Latin, Irish, and Welsh—the passages and stories in Celtic Spirituality are true artifacts of the Celts' vibrant and varied religion from both the pre-Christian and early Christian period. From a ritual of magical inspiration to stories of the ancient gods and adventures of long-forgotten heroes, Freeman has unearthed a stunning collection of Celtic work. The translation is accessible to the modern reader, but maintains the beauty and vibrancy of the original. Celtic Spirituality includes material that has never been translated before, offering a new glimpse into the wisdom and wild magic of the Celts.

In The Mist-Filled Path, Frank MacEowen shows how embracing the indigenous wisdom of Scotland and Ireland can lead to healing and transcendence. Using his own travels and teachings along with Celtic stories and myths, he explores ancient traditions, ecopsychology, the ancient mother, altars and hearths, Oran Mor (the Great Song), contemplation, and mysticism. The book tells how to draw on ancestral roots to find a personal spirituality that also works for the greater good.

The world of the long-ago Celts appeals to many of us in the twenty-first century. Whether we are looking to find our cultural heritage or are seeking an alternative to worn and restrictive religious forms, the earth-centered, woman-friendly, inclusive faith of the Christian Celts offers us a deep-rooted alternative approach to traditional Christianity. The Celts experienced "thin places," where they sensed the supernatural world; they honored their poets, singers, and artists; and they passionately followed the Christ of the Gospels. Theirs was a church without walls, which lived naturally and comfortably within the community. Ray Simpson has spend most of his life walking in the footsteps of the Christian Celts, and now he allows us to experience for ourselves their dynamic spirituality.

This fascinating book introduces the mysterious and extraordinary world of Celtic Christianity. Timothy Joyce, a Benedictine monk of Irish descent, evokes the distinctive spirituality that drew on pre-Christian beliefs and culture. He shows how this style of Christianity changed, was subordinated, and gave way to the larger Roman church, and yet how elements endured. Finally, he explores what Celtic spirituality has to offer today to the church as well as spiritual seekers. Celtic spirituality is holistic -- a joyful, mystically-inclined spirituality that affirms the goodness of creation, urges respect for women's gifts, and finds expression in poetry, myth, and song. Joyce recounts the heroic stories of such saints as Patrick, Bridget, Columcille, and Columba. But he goes beyond other treatments to explore how this tradition was gradually subsumed by a more rigid style of "Irish Catholicism, " and he reflects on the centuries of suffering that have left an indelible mark on the Irish consciousness and spirit. Yet ultimately Joyce shows how the recovery of this ancient tradition of Christianity might rejuvenate the church and contribute to spiritual renewal today.

The Celtic Christians beheld the world around them and perceived the divine life of God as upholding every aspect of the material universe. Their prayers and poems, their liturgies and theological interpretations give Christians a sense of faith that is confident in a merciful and infinitely creative, healing God.