The advanced texts, when read after the beginning and Intermediate
texts, will truly give you a well rounded Pagan education. Click on the titles to
purchase the books! - Rhuddlwm Gawr
The Word:
the Greater Mysteries of Welsh Witchcraft" Part 3 of the Quest Trilogy by
Rhuddlwm Gawr & Merridwin Gawr(The last book in The Quest Trilogy. ISBN:
0-595-25808-5 Synopsis: This is the most comprehensive book ever published on the practices of
Celtic and Welsh Witchcraft. Includes complete instruction and information on Celtic
Ritual, including: "The Unicorn Part II", the complete Celtic Book-of-Shadows
(Witches Spellbook) for the Celtic tradition of Witchcraft as practiced in England;
Rituals of the Seasonal Festivals; Magical Spells, The True Universal Laws, Initiation
Rites and Sexual Rituals. The Word discloses for the first time the
relationship between the sacred Magickal knowledge of the Welsh Druids, Knights Templars,
the Odre de Seon, and Prince Llewellyn, the last real Prince of Wales. It explains how the
religion of the American Indians was affected by the Celtic invasions; reveals the
where-abouts of Prince Madoc's tomb in the U.S.; tells of: The Secret of the Grail, The
Tribe of Masters, The Elder Gods, The Sacred Fourteen Keys and new and important
Prophecies of the Coming age. The Word reveals many Techniques of Natural
Magick, Meditation, Psychic Development, Astral Projection, Locating your Soul Mate, and
much more! This book is a must if you are practicing a Celtic Tradition! "I would
recommend it just for the Introduction, reading list and the most complete pagan/Wiccan
directory I've ever seen. Fantastic!" ... Lord C. of Atlanta. If you cannot find this
title, contact: New Leaf Distributors, 401 Thornton Rd., Lithia Springs, GA. 30057-1557;
phone: (770) 948-7845 Atlanta, GA.
The White
Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth by Robert Graves, 1948. Farrar, Straus,
& Giroux trade paperback. ISBN: 0844659835 Synopsis: A rather weighty and yet poetic book, tracing the female deity of
Witchcraft - Goddess of Birth, Love, and Death; of the New, Full, and Old Moon, worshipped
under countless titles. A speculative, mythic history of poetry as religion, touching on
Celtic mythology and themes such as the Ogham tree alphabet and the Lunar Muse in her
various aspects of maiden, mother and crone. Helped popularize many Goddesses such as
Brigid and Cerridwen, enriching modern Neo-Paganism. Fascinating for the advanced student.
Know your Celtic mythology (particularly Welsh) before you start, though!
The Book
of Druidry: History, Sites and Wisdom by Ross Nichols, John Matthews, Philip Carr-Gomm
(Editor), List: $19.00 Amazon Price: $15.20, You Save: $3.80 (20%), Reprint Edition 320
pages, Thorsons Pub, 1992, ISBN: 1855381672 Synopsis: The most comprehensive survey of Druidry available, from their earliest
history to the current renaissance--including a study of the shaping of their ideas, their
principal deities and myths, their learning and social organization, and more. Druidry
from A to Z! The Book of Druidry was essentially the life work of the author
(published posthumously) and represents a maximum attempt to catalogue and share the
collective of what we know about the ancient Druids. It reads somewhat like an
encyclopedia or almanac with the reader able to look-up items of particular interest (e.g.
sacred sites such as Stonehenge) or read straight-through, cover-to-cover. Given the
number of bogus (revisionist) works in print purporting to inform us about Druidry or
druidism (as it is sometimes also called), some of which claim access to secret or
otherwise sacred texts, etc. (which is complete bull-manure), enough cannot be said about
a work like this which has both scholarly merit and general appeal. Buy it and see for
yourself!
Ecstasies
: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath by Carlo Ginzburg, Raymond Rosenthal (Translator),
Reprint Edition, Penguin USA (Paper), 1993, ISBN: 0140158588 Synopsis: Ecstasies is the culmination of Ginzburg's longstanding fascination with
popular myths that are shared across different cultures and eras. Here he follows the
accounts given by those accused of witchcraft centuries ago, gradually weaving them
together into a startling pattern, revealing evidence of a hidden shamanistic culture that
flourished across Europe for millennia. Photographs and maps.
The Night
Battles : Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries by
Carlo Ginzburg, Anne Tedeschi (Translator), List: $15.95 Amazon Price: $15.95, Reprint
Edition, Penguin USA (Paper), 1992, ISBN: 0801843863 Synopsis: An important book in the historiography of witchcraft. Ginzburg's
research on the benandanti was path-breaking when it first appeared in the 1960's. It has
become a classic, a required read for any student of history who is interested in the
topic of the early modern European witch hunts. Ginzburg reconstructs a narrative in which
the notion of what it was to be a "witch" was fundamentally changed by the
Friulian peasants' encounters with the Inquisition.
Grimms
Tales For Young and Old -- Translated by Ralph Manhein (Gollanz), Published by
Doubleday, 1977; ISBN: 0385110057 Synopsis: This is one of the best "fairy tale" sources you will find.
They are more than childrens fairy tales. They are actually tales for those
who wish to discover the source of some of their legends and stories of transformation.
Celtic
Folk Tales from Armorica -- original collected by F M Luzel, selection edited by Derek
Bryce (Llanerch) 110pp; ISBN: 0947992049 Synopsis: These are stories of the Armorica area of Brittony collected in the late
1800s and include notes on each story. An excellent source of transformative tales.
The
Mabinogion - Translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, Dover Reprint; ISBN: 0486295419 Synopsis: Needs no introduction but it's surprising how many people haven't read
it. Various translations available, but this one is the first and important for the
Taliesen Legend.
The Uses
of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim (Penguin); ISBN: 0679723935 Synopsis: Excellent book on "archetypes" with a jungian twist
The
Avebury Cycle by Michael Dames, List: $16.95 Amazon Price: $13.56 You Save: $3.39
(20%), Paperback, Published by Thames & Hudson, 1996; ISBN: 0500278865 Synopsis: An in-depth examination of the monument of Avebury from an intuitive,
pagan friendly and landscape-sensitive archaeological, folkloric, mythological viewpoint.
Echoes of
the Ancient Skies by E C Krupp (Oxford University Press) 386pp 12.99. ISBN: 0195088018 Synopsis: A study of how ancient civilizations looked to the heavens to order their
societies.
Ancient
Mysteries of Britain by Janet and Colin Bord (Paladin) ISBN: 0881621730 Synopsis: A useful and copiously illustrated round-up of British sacred and ancient
sites from caves, holy wells and water sources, sacred trees and stones, folk traditions
etc. etc.
Crafting
the Art of Magic, Book I: A History of Modern Witchcraft 1939-1964, by Aidan A. Kelly,
(St Paul MN: Llewellyn, 1991).ISBN: 0875423701 Synopsis: A historical examination of published works and papers, asserting that
Gerald Gardner pieced together the modern Wiccan book of shadows from sources such as
Margaret Murray, Leland's Aradia, ceremonial magick and a dash of Crowley,
actively promoting a Wiccan mythology under which this was "the old religion."
This thesis traces virtually ALL of modern Wicca to Gerald Gardner.
The Pagan
Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy by Ronald Hutton,
(Oxford: Blackwell, 1991); ISBN: 0631189467 Synopsis: Examines the pagan religions of the ancient British isles with an
academic eye, touching on archaeological and other evidence often used to support
mythological claims of Wicca. Notes the many ambiguities of examining such evidence,
touching on key ideas and authors such as Frazer, Gimbutas, Graves, Murray, et al, from an
academic perspective. A strong and compassionate academic analysis.
The
Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by Sir James Frazer, 1890. ISBN:
0140189319 Synopsis: A Victorian folklorist and early anthropologist, Frazer helped popularize
the notions of European "fire festivals" and the "dying god" of
vegetation, which strongly influence modern Neo-Paganism. His methodology is now outdated,
but his theories of magic are largely carried down to the present day. Available in
several editions.
Sex in
History by Reay Tannahill, Stein & Day trade paperback; ISBN: 0812885406 Synopsis: It has often been said that Witchcraft grew out of an earlier 'fertility
religion' and, although 'fertility' is probably the wrong word here, it is undeniable that
the history of Witchcraft is irrevocably bound up with the history of sexuality. Like
Tantrists and many others in the East, Witches tend to view sex as sacramental. Since this
is quite contrary to the prevailing attitudes of our own culture, it may be helpful to
understand how our culture acquired such negative ideas about sex in the first place. Ms.
Tannahill's unique landmark study will not only answer this question but also indicate the
many options other cultures throughout history have chosen.
When God
Was A Woman by Merlin Stone. Harcourt, Brace, & Jovanovich trade paperback.
ISBN=015696158X Synopsis: At the foundations of the religion of Witchcraft is the religion of the
Goddess. Ms. Stone's book is an archeological tour-de-force of that religion, which is
found at the beginnings of virtually every known culture (yes, even the Judeo-Christian
culture). In this book, one learns about the worship of Astarte, Isis, Ishtar, and many
others. Also recommended is her Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood. Both are
splendid books!
The Way
of Wyrd by Brian Bates. Harper & Row hardback, ISBN=0062500848 Synopsis: What Carlos Castaneda did for Native American tradition, this author does
for ancient Pagan Anglo-Saxon tradition. Subtitled The Book of a Sorcerer's Apprentice
and based on authentic manuscripts found in the British Museum, it is the chronicle of a
young Christian monk sent into the wilds beyond Mercia in 674 to record the heresies
(beliefs) of the Pagans. He is lucky to have as his guide the Anglo-Saxon shaman, Wolf.
Throughout this documentary novel, the Christian and Pagan beliefs are juxtaposed for a
better understanding of both. Not since The Mists of Avalon has a book
accomplished this task so neatly.
This Site Created by Camelot Press for Celtic Church of Dynion Mwyn,
Inc. For information on all individuals and organizations listed in this website, or the
name of a contact person in your area that can give you further information on the Celtic
Church of Dynion Mwyn, Let us hear from you! You may also call us at 000-000-0000 If you
access our voice mail, we will call you back collect if long distance. Or,
you can write Dynion Mwyn, P.O. Box 673206, Marietta, GA 30006-0036