MacEowen uses an ancient Irish myth “The Settling of the Manor of Tara” to tap into the energies around and within the individual. He uses the lessons in the lore to show a different way of looking at the world around you and coping with daily life. MacEowen uses quotes from across many religions and belief systems to drive his point home. At the same time he tries to honor and respect all beliefs while promoting his concepts. Even though the technique is based on an Irish myth, he makes a point of inviting the reader to remove the word Celtic from his title and insert in whatever path appeals to the reader most. This flexibility in presentation invites in readers from all paths and belief systems.
The core of his Irish Spirit Wheel is based on a long and complicated myth. Within the book he gives a condensed version which remains true to the original longer version. MacEowen doesn’t expand on the myth in order to promote his ideas but merely condenses the version to give the reader a clear picture of where he extracted the Irish Spirit Wheel concept. In doing so, he attempts to make this myth accessible to all and to remove some of the Christian influences placed in by interpretation of monks over the centuries.
Using the directional associations outlined in the myth, the bulk of the book is broken down into sections; Center for Sovereignty; North for battle; East for prosperity; South for music; and West for knowledge. In each section, the author uses mini-stories about people he’s helped with his Irish Spirit Wheel to personalize this method by giving solid examples of the affects that can occur within a person’s life and how the method can be used to make improvements. Each section includes meditations to help the reader work within his framework. The meditations are very general with just a few key sentences and allow the reader to incorporate their own beliefs and rituals into the process.
There are a couple of places where MacEowen gets a bit preachy, which can be a bit tedious to wade through. In the conclusion, the author presents a variety of ways on how to work with the Irish Spirit Wheel and I would have liked more development in this section with solid examples.
Overall MacEowen is respectful of all traditions and tried to encourage all to use his Irish Spirit Wheel for bringing balance into their lives. His writing style is easy to read and follow. Essentially this is an interesting idea and takes the act of bringing balance into life or even to society, back to an ancient Irish myth. Recommended.
~review by Eileen Tromel
Author: Frank MacEowen
New World Library, 2007
