Sunday, January 15, 2017

Suggested Celtic Reading List


1) Celtic Heritage by Alwynn & Brindley Rees  

2) The Apple Branch by Alexei Kondratiev: A path to celtic ritual

3. Pagan Portals - Irish Paganism: Reconstructing Irish Polytheism by Morgan Daimler

4. Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler 

~ Other great works by Mrs. Daimler: 

- Pagan Portals- The Morrigan: Meeting the Great Queens
- Pagan Portals- Brigid: Meeting The Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge and Healing Well
- By Land, Sea, and Sky
- Pagan Portals- Gods and Goddesses of Ireland: A Guide to Irish Deities
- The Treasure of the Tuatha De Danann: A Pocket Book of Irish Myth
- Selected Prayers from Volume 1 of the Carmina Gadelica
- Selected Charms from the Carmina Gadelica 
'and she has many more' 


5) The Sacred Isle: Pre-Christian Religions in Ireland  
by Dáithí O hOgain, Daithi O'Hogain

6) The Year in Ireland  by Kevin Danaher

7) Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief, with Newly Translated Prayers, Poems and songs. Sharon Paice Macleod (Author) 

8) Cattle Lords and Clansmen: The Social Structure of Early Ireland   
by Nerys T. Patterson (Paperback)

9) Dance of Oak and Wren: Rites of Draiocht  
by Robert Barton (Paperback)

10) Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom  
by Erynn Rowan Laurie (Paperback)

11) The Celtic Heroic Age (Celtic Studies Publications)  
by John T Koch (Paperback)

12) The Celts - a History
by Daithi O hOgain (Paperback)

13) Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives from Archaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature (Celtic Studies Publications)
by Barry Cunliffe, John T. Koch (Paperback)

Other amazing books by * Cunliffe, Barry
*---. The Ancient Celts.
* ---. The Celtic World.
* ---. Iron Age Britain.


14) The Celts: Peter Berresford Ellis
15) The Druids Peter Berresford Ellis
Other good works by - Peter Berresford Ellis: The Celtic Empire (goes well with #14) 

16) Celtic Mythology
by Proinsias MacCana 

17) The Brehon Laws: A Legal Handbook (Classic Reprint)
by Laurence Ginnell (Paperback)

18) A Guide to Early Irish Law (English and Irish Edition)
by Fergus Kelly (Hardcover)

19) Coire Sois, The Cauldron of Knowledge: A Companion to Early Irish Saga  
by Tomas O Cathasaigh, Matthieu Boyd 


20.) Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions   
by H. R. Ellis Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson (Paperback)


* Supplemental - The Lore of Ireland An Encyclopedia of Myth, Legend, and Romance by Dáithí ó hógáin (This is "that one book" every collection needs as a cross reference resource, its the go-to encyclopedia for things you will come across in various books, especially Myths and Legends) 



Further reading in no special order:

Teagasca: The Instructions of Cormac Mac Airt  
by C. Lee Vermeers (Paperback)

Deep Ancestors: Practicing the Religion of the Proto-Indo-Europeans- Ceisiwr Serith 

A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism  John Michael Greer


* Green, Miranda
  -    Celtic Goddesses: Warriors, Mothers, and Virgins.
* ---. The Concept of the Goddess:
* ---. Dictionary of Celtic Myth & Legend.
* ---. The Gods of the Celts.
* ---. The World of the Druids: Illustrated and easy to digest.

George Calder - Auraicept na nEces: the scholars primer. Very hard to find often wicked expensive

Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The Story of the Men of the Red Branch of UIster (Forgotten Books)
by Lady Augusta Gregory (Paperback)


Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland (Forgotten Books)
by Lady Augusta Gregory (Paperback)


Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland (Forgotten Books)
by Lady Augusta Gregory (Paperback)


Sanas Cormaic (Cormacs Glossary)  
by Cormac Ua Cuillenain, Kuno Meyer (Paperback)

Fionn Mac Cumhail: Celtic Myth in English Literature (Irish Studies)
by James MacKillop (Hardcover)



* Powell, T. G. E. The Celts: A classic and highly recommended text, one of which was the first to underscore the endemic inter-tribal duo-theism practiced by the ancient Celts.

* Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise. Celtic Gods & Heroes: 


* Clark, Rosalind. The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from The Morrigan to Cathleen Ni Houlihan
* Raftery, Barry. Pagan Celtic Ireland.
* Arnold, Bettina and Blaire Gibson. Celtic Chieftain, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe.
* Benozzo, Francesco. Landscape Perception in Early Celtic Literature.
* McNeill, F. Marian. The Silver Bough, vols. I-IV: A study of Scottish-Celtic folk-lore.

* Mallory, J.P. and D. Q. Adams. The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European & the Proto-Indo European World: Discusses the common "war of the gods" motif, of which "The Taking of Ireland" text is a part.


* Larouse Encyclopedia of Mythology: A standard text that should line every Witch’s personal Library!

* Cross, Tom P. and Clark Harris Slover. Ancient Irish Tales.

* Kinsella, Thomas. The Tain: From the Irish Epic Tain Bo Cuailnge.

* Gantz, Jeffrey, trans. Early Irish Myths & Sagas.

* Ford, Patrick K. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales: Contains the tale featuring the sorceress/ goddess Cerridwen and many details most retellings casually omit.

Simon James: World of the Celts
Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick: The Celtic Realms
Helen Litton: The Celts An Illustrated History 
John Haywood: The Historical Atlas Of The Celtic World 
Peter Harbison: Pre-Christain Ireland
Stuart Piggot: The Druids 

The Fairy Folk 
- W.Y. Evans-Wentz: The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries  (Note that this book was written in the early 20th century and the interpretations contained therein are very much a product of the time and popular spiritual views of that period, the value of this book is in the tales so carefully gathered and detailed by the author.)
- Fairycraft: Following The Path of Fairy Witchcraft by Morgan Daimler 

Female Interest
Peter B. Ellis: Celtic Women - Women in Celtic Society and Literature
Jean Markale: Women of the Celts
Moyra Caldecott: Women in Celtic Myth

Modern Druidry
Druidcraft by Philip Carr-Gomm
The Celtic Shaman by Matthews 
Celtic Tree Mysteries by Blamires
Druidheachd: Symbols and Rites of Druidry by Ian Corrigan 
Sacred Fire, Holy Well: A Druid's Grimoire  by Ian Corrigan 
An Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom by Matthews 


Celtic Herbal interest
A Druids Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine by Ellen Evert Hopman
A Druids Herbal For the Sacred Earth Year by Ellen Evert Hopman
Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore by Ellen Evert Hopman 




Legends and Tales
Táin Bó Cúalnge, Translated by Joseph Dunn and Ernst Windisch
Scél Mucci Mic Dathó, Translated by Nora Chadwick
Cath Mag Tuired, Translated by Elizabeth A. Gray
Táin Bó Cúalnge, Translated by Joseph Dunn
The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel, Translated by Whitely Stokes, D.C.L.
Heroic Romances of Ireland, Translated and Compiled by A. H. Leahy
Cuchulain of Muirthemne, By Lady Augusta Gregory
Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland, By Lady Augusta Gregory
Táin Bó Cúalnge (from the Book of Leinster), Translated by Elizabeth A. Gray, edited by Cecile O'Rahilly
Buile Suibhne (The Frenzy of Suibhne), Translated by J. G. Ó Keeffe





Manuscripts
Lebar na Núachongbála, The Book of Leinster
Lebor na nUidre, The Book of the Dun Cow
Leabhar Baile an Mhota, The Book of Ballymote
Leabhar Mór Mhic Fhir Bhisigh, The Great Book of Lecan
Leabhar Buidhe Lecain, The Yellow Book of Lecan
Leabhar Feirmoithe, The Book of Fermoy





2 comments:

faoladh said...

Note that Morgan Daimler has a second volume of Irish myth following The Treasure of the Tuatha De Danann, titled Tales of the Tuatha De Danann.

Also, in such an extended list, I would strongly suggest adding A God Who Makes Fire by Christopher Scott Thompson, The Secret Commonwealth and the Fairy Belief Complex by Brian Walsh, and The Book of the Great Queen by Morpheus Ravenna. You might also consider the works of Ian Corrigan and Claude Lecouteux.

On ogham, Laurie's book is the most important, I'd say, but also very valuable (to the extent that I myself keep all three together in my own ogham studies) are The Poet's Ogam by John-Paul Patton and The Book of Ogham by Michael Kelly (it is a revision of the book with the same title by Edred Thorsson, but I do not recommend the earlier version).

Thank you for recommending my little offering. I am always glad to see others find value in it.

Unknown said...

I've not read those titles, so thanks for sharing them. I look forward to reading them. Your book is brilliant, I always tell people about it. I am rather hesitant of some of the modern druid titles but I'd rather have something at least bridge the gap for people. I didn't want to add too much 'fluff'.