Rating: 
Summary: not whati was looking for...
Review: A lovely book- full of wonderful Celtic wisdom. A daily journey all must travel. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to those people that have been searching for the out-of-print " Celtic Devotional", also by Caitlin Matthews.
Rating: 
Summary: A Lovely Book
Review: A lovely book- full of wonderful Celtic wisdom. A daily journey all must travel. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to those people that have been searching for the out-of-print " Celtic Devotional", also by Caitlin Matthews.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for daily meditation, but a little too "New Age".
Review: Caitlin Matthews has done an excellent job of creating a Celtic-inspired book of daily devotions, each page including a verse, a short "sermon", and a suggested activity or subject for personal meditiation. She has also done a good job of keeping the different Celtic tribes seperate by including countries of origin with each verse or myth. (As usual, though, I haven't come across anything about the silversmith Celts in the mountains of Spain, but I believe that is probably the fault of history and not Celtic researchers. In all fairness, though, I haven't finished the year of devotions included!) However, several of the verses seem to be excerpts from her own poetry. Having studied formalism extensively, it's apparent she is a fine writer, but I would have liked to have seen more historical verse used. (That's just my personal taste-- and I didn't take that into account with my rating.) I only gave it four stars because so far there seems to be a little too much "peace and love and be kind to animals" propaganda in it. I am a strict vegetarian, myself, but it seems to me that such things are out of place in Celtic Reconstructionism and are better left to Primitive Reconstructionists like Wiccans. These are, after all, the hunter/herder/warriors whose strength and intelligence frightened the bejesus out of Caesar's troops. There is also a mention of the "Three-Fold Law" which seems to be a way to bring in the Wiccan crowd. However, if you've started turning to the "Celtic Spirit" because you seem to have lost your way, or you feel some sort of daily discipline will give your life more structure, you could probably benefit from purchasing this book and reading a passage every morning. And for those of you historical purists, the historical and mythological passages appear to be accurate, and they provide a good introduction to each. In spite of my misgivings about the "New Age" nature of the work, I have continued to use it daily and am still finding it quite enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Good for daily meditation, but a little too "New Age".
Review: Caitlin Matthews has done an excellent job of creating a Celtic-inspired book of daily devotions, each page including a verse, a short "sermon", and a suggested activity or subject for personal meditiation. She has also done a good job of keeping the different Celtic tribes seperate by including countries of origin with each verse or myth. (As usual, though, I haven't come across anything about the silversmith Celts in the mountains of Spain, but I believe that is probably the fault of history and not Celtic researchers. In all fairness, though, I haven't finished the year of devotions included!) However, several of the verses seem to be excerpts from her own poetry. Having studied formalism extensively, it's apparent she is a fine writer, but I would have liked to have seen more historical verse used. (That's just my personal taste-- and I didn't take that into account with my rating.) I only gave it four stars because so far there seems to be a little too much "peace and love and be kind to animals" propaganda in it. I am a strict vegetarian, myself, but it seems to me that such things are out of place in Celtic Reconstructionism and are better left to Primitive Reconstructionists like Wiccans. These are, after all, the hunter/herder/warriors whose strength and intelligence frightened the bejesus out of Caesar's troops. There is also a mention of the "Three-Fold Law" which seems to be a way to bring in the Wiccan crowd. However, if you've started turning to the "Celtic Spirit" because you seem to have lost your way, or you feel some sort of daily discipline will give your life more structure, you could probably benefit from purchasing this book and reading a passage every morning. And for those of you historical purists, the historical and mythological passages appear to be accurate, and they provide a good introduction to each. In spite of my misgivings about the "New Age" nature of the work, I have continued to use it daily and am still finding it quite enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Other Importances of this Book
Review: Celtic spirituality is a vast domain, one that cannot truly be pinned down to one expression. Aspects of the Celtic spirit are, no doubt, Pagan in form and essence--involving elements of Druidism, folk "shamanism" and faery lore, while other expressions draw upon the rich tradition of Celtic-Christian mysticism. Woven in and throughout, almost as a kind of binding glue to the traditions, are the bardic traditions of verse, word, and story. Caitlin has done a marvelous job in The Celtic Spirit of expressing a footing in all forms of Celtic spirituality. This little book is an invitation, through the mode of a bardic-contemplative tool, to slow down each day, to meditate on some feature of the vast Celtic spiritual traditions, giving the reader the unmistakable sense that the Celtic spirit is not quarantined to some ancient, inaccessible past, but rather a living stream of inspiration that survives today.
Rating:
Summary: Well-Sculpted Daily Meditations
Review: Celtic spirituality is a vast domain, one that cannot truly be pinned down to one expression. Aspects of the Celtic spirit are, no doubt, Pagan in form and essence--involving elements of Druidism, folk "shamanism" and faery lore, while other expressions draw upon the rich tradition of Celtic-Christian mysticism. Woven in and throughout, almost as a kind of binding glue to the traditions, are the bardic traditions of verse, word, and story. Caitlin has done a marvelous job in The Celtic Spirit of expressing a footing in all forms of Celtic spirituality. This little book is an invitation, through the mode of a bardic-contemplative tool, to slow down each day, to meditate on some feature of the vast Celtic spiritual traditions, giving the reader the unmistakable sense that the Celtic spirit is not quarantined to some ancient, inaccessible past, but rather a living stream of inspiration that survives today.
Rating:
Summary: I use it each day for inspiration and guidance
Review: I find there are so many books which explore the Celtic tradition but which don't help you relate the spiritual insights of the tradition to your daily life. Here at last is a book that does this! I love it, and recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone who wants to actually use Celtic spirituality to help them change their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Gentle
Review: I own a number of Celtic books, and this is my favorite, next to Caitlin Matthew's Celtic Devotional. As always, she weaves Celtic lore with practical advice for a modern seeker. The daily meditations are organized and themed around the 4 Celtic seasons, and serve as excellent meditation fodder or just plain good advice! HIGHLY recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Life-changing
Review: I own a number of Celtic books, and this is my favorite, next to Caitlin Matthew's Celtic Devotional. As always, she weaves Celtic lore with practical advice for a modern seeker. The daily meditations are organized and themed around the 4 Celtic seasons, and serve as excellent meditation fodder or just plain good advice! HIGHLY recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A nice Day to Day for a Pagan like me
Review: Like many others in the world, I am extremely busy. As much as I would like to spend all of my time with my spirituality, I cannot sacrifice as much time as a Buddhist monk. This wonderful little book keeps me on track. As I find a little free time in my day, I take out this book and look at the corresponding date and review the thought there. Sometimes it is just a nice thought, sometimes it is more meaningful given a current situation in my life. At the very least, it allows me a few minutes to slow down and focus on me for just a little while. I don't necessarily read this every day, but that doesn't matter. There are days of the month listed as dates, not days, so this book can be used year after year. It is divided into seasons, and names the major holidays contained in each season. I find this format easy to follow and keeps me more in tune with the turning of the year than my busy schedule would otherwise allow.
|
