I love reissuances of books that have become classics because the publisher and the author has a huge chance to make sure that they are correcting anything that is wrong with the original edition, if they decide to take that step. Personally I don’t think this actually needs any revision. It started out as a good book and continues to be a good book.
Ms. Laurie has done a wonderful job of explaining Irish spirituality in such a way that it is not threatening to the new student. As I read through it, I found that many of the things contained in these pages were almost directly from what I was taught when I started my Druidic studies, and I wondered at the plagiarism, but then I realized that her book actually predated my studies by nearly a decade. I guess I have to talk to my teacher about that.
Once you get past the several chapters dealing with the cosmology, you come to the meat of this book, the devotional work using a type of rosary. When I first encountered Celtic Recon and Wicca using rosaries, I have to say I was put off somewhat. The concept of using a device for prayers was somewhat off putting to me, but I embraced it. And in this work, the concept comes full circle.
Ms. Laurie deals with this subject in a sensitive manner and talks about the concepts of the rosary as a devotional tool, a way of honoring the Gods and Goddesses. She never really crosses over into using the Christian Mythology to describe the tool, but likens it more to a circle of Standing Stones, each stone dedicated to a prayer. In that, you can see the whole cycle as being a trip around a circle of stones, and standing in front of each stone while whispering or saying your prayer or poem to the deity there.
For those of you familiar with it, this is nearly like doing the Stations of the Cross from Catholicism.
She gives good clear descriptions and really gives reasons for doing things this way (which I appreciate more than you know). She is always clear and concise, but also eloquent when she has to be.
All in all I love this book, and the poems are really special. I silently read some of them while going through this book, and they were strong enough that when combined with the whole ritual, it would be a very definite consciousness shift.
I am giving this book four and a half stars out of five possible and advise you all to go out and buy it if you want to up your devotional work with the Irish Gods.
~review by Erin
Author: Erynn Rowan Laurie
Megalithica Books, 2012
$19.99
