The Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom: By Carl McColman (Complete Idiot's Guide to...)

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Summary: The book I've been waiting for...
Review: Carl McColman has successfully done the improbable - he has synthesized the pith of Celtic Spirituality in all its branches into one volume. Often I find Celtic spirituality texts to be poorly researched and too far out. Not so in this one - a gold mine of cultural gems. Presented in a clear and straight forward manner, this book speaks to me on many levels. Buy it for its clean review of Celtic history, wisely conveyed versions of traditional myths, and gentle guidance along your own personal path. A real find for the novice or advanced seeker alike.

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Summary: It's not "New Age", it's "Neopagan" -- and an excellent book
Review: I am a big fan of "Celtic Spirituality" and also the "Complete Idiot's Guide" series of books, so... when I heard this book was coming out, I was very excited. Then when I read it,.. Well, I didn't even bother to finish it... I agree with the previous reviewer who also gave it one star... this book is just New Age fluff and no Celtic substance. I can not recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Celtic Spirituality, of any kind, whether it be Pagan or Christian. Considering how great so many of the other "Complete Idiot's Guide" books are, this book was a real shock... It does not live up to their normal standards....

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Summary: A Good, Honest Approach
Review: I found "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom" to be an excellent basic resource for new seekers. Let's face it: the topic is a huge, slippery challenge, and any given chapter could be the bases for more in-depth research, but the Guide does a nice job of introduction. It also provides strong additional resources. Rather than "airy fairy" or even "airy fairy faith", I found the attitude of the author honorable, and his emphasis on service to others refreshing. I have students. Although I expect them to take the high road of academic Celtic scholarship, I welcome this Guide as a beginning step in their upward climb.

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Summary: Brilliant! The name says it all!
Review: I have recently purchased this book and found it very informative and incredibly well balanced. The author covers a variety of aspects about Celtic Spirituality and Wisdom, (from Neopagan Druidry to Celtic Christianity,) and manages to remain totally unbiased (a very rare feat indeed.) Quite refreshing and eye-opening, the book paints a no-nonsense down-to-earth approach to Celtic Wisdom, and manages to retain the magical mystical beauty that is at the heart of Celticism. Whenever a controversy is adressed, McColman points it out very clearly and encourages the reader to further explore the subjects themselves so they learn to "ferret" out the fantasy stuff from the historical data. This books also contains a massive amount of references in its bibliography, ranging from mythological story books, to archeological manuals. All in all, I highly recommend this book for anyone who feels beckoned by the magic of the Celtic spirit, and who wishes to understand and incorporate this timeless wisdom full of reverence and celebration into their own lives.

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Summary: It is what it is, but it could be what it isn't.
Review: I won't ring in on the purported New Agedness of this book. Purists we will have with us always. I found THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CELTIC WISDOM aptly named. The COMPLETE has to do with us idiots, and not with CELTIC WISDOM. If you know nothing about Celtic spirituality, if you don't even know that there's no such thing as "Celtic spirituality," then this is the book for you. It is a good overview of the field and can help you sort out your directions. If you are a reconstructionist or revanchist, and you know that there is more to the difference between the Irish and the Welsh than that the latter couldn't swim, you will find this book overly broad and romantic.

Nevertheless, McColman assumes the existence of a collectivity called Celticity and he defends it well enough to be persuasive to all but diehard chauvinists.

My only real issue with the book, more of a concern, is that when McColman speaks of the 7 typical paths into the Celtic spiritual forests he leaves out one point. Although he does say that there is an overlap between, say, Grail mysticism and Celtic Christianity (itself an overly broad term), he doesn't note that some of those overlaps are themselves defined paths.

There is, for example, what might (inadequately) be called Contemplative Celtic Mysticism. People practicing this, among whom I would number myself, are those for whom books like Caitlin Matthews' CELTIC DEVOTIONAL, or poetry by W.B. Yeats, or anything written or spoken by John O'Donohue are chief sources for reflection and inspiration. We are not particularly Christians nor necessarily pagans; we are not shamans but we do traverse worlds in the white spaces between words; we might find Frank MacEowen's understanding of Dana in THE SPIRAL OF MEMORY AND BELONGING to be an illuminating ontology of the Divine. We might enjoy studying Celtic languages for no special reason. We might enjoy listening to Celtic musics because we like their sound. Some of us even might find, in the person of the Irish Brigid, the Divine in female form -- a bridge between pre- and post-Christian faery faith.

The entirety of what is called Celtic Spirituality is far far broader than what McColman could ever have written. But what he did write is adequate, readable, and above all helpful for getting one's first bearings in this vast spiritual terrain.

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Summary: Nifty Introduction to the Celtic World
Review: I've always been intrigued by Irish and Welsh culture, not just a lot of famous Irish blessings which I enjoy but also their music (some of my favorite musical artists are Irish and even Welsh in origin). When I found out about this book, I was further intrigued and was very pleased by what I read. This book takes a great overall look at the great amount of information known about "Celtic lore." The book's chapters cover topics like the history of the Celts, the "otherworld," information about bards, ovates, and druids, Irish & Welsh mythology, "Celtic Christianity," revering your ancestors, "befriending the good people," and a lot more. Reading this book brought up some emotion for me in that I felt reading through it I was being transported "back home" in a way, which probably is no surprise given my Celtic heritage.

The book is an excellent introduction to all things Celtic. Anyone like me who has an interest in Celtic lore will definitely enjoy this book and it will likely leave the reader wanting to know much more. In fact the author includes a great number of related book titles throughout the book and at the book's end for that very reason. I'm looking forward now to doing more reading and studying of the Celtic world thanks to this book.

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Summary: A Perspective to Consider
Review: The Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom is what it is. All of the Idiot's Guides, whether dealing with computers, meditation, Feng Shui, or Celtic Wisdom, set out with a singular task in mind: to make a wide brushstroke in such a way as to educate the reader to the variety of facets that they might not otherwise have known about in a particular area. In this case, the area is Celtic tradition, and in this regard I think the author has taken on a monumental task: to attempt to give voice and shape to a tradition of multiple expressions that not only defy being pinned down, but also often contradict one another.

To make an attempt at such a thing might be described as pure folly, or a fool's task, and yet McColman has succeeded in describing the multiple perspectives in which Celtic tradition is perceived, and he does so in such a way that is rather hands-off, meaning he leaves it up to the reader to decode and decide for themselves. Whether we as readers agree with all of those perspectives presented (such as Ogham being a divination system, the existence of "Celtic Wicca", etc.), one cannot debate the fact that the author has done an immense job of speaking about the various camps that do exist.

The Idiot's Guide is not a book for purist Celtic scholars. I do not believe its author held that intention. What readers will find with the Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom is a work that seeks to give due diligence to the various manifestations or expressions that the Celtic spirit has taken over time, including in the now. Its author is someone who sought to give voice to these various expressions, even though he himself may not be an adherant of all of the expressions and perspectives articulated.

The Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom is a good book for someone who comes to the realm of Celtic tradition with absolutely no idea of how to make heads or tails of the Celtic phenomenon. Is Celtic considered shamanic? By some, yes. Is Celtic considered to be Christian? By some, yes. Is Celtic considered to be Wiccan? Though not by traditionalists, there are others who relate to Celtic tradition in that way.

Although I personally take issue with the Celtic-Wicca connections that people seem to make (Wicca is an Anglo-Saxon tradition), what I value about Carl's treatment of the subject is that he has not alienated anyone by his writing style. He has attempted to describe how the Celtic spirit manifests with contemporary Druids, contemporary Celtic-Christians, contemporary shamanic practitioners, and, low and behold, yes, even Wiccans.

Contrary to the negative reviews of this work I do not perceive The Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom to be "New Age". Indeed, if anything it is the author's valiant attempt to wrap language around a sociological and cultural phenomenon, to offer some sense of how he works with his own spirituality as a Celtic descendent, and to point toward how the Celtic spiritual stream is rather "Old Age" but is re-forming and re-shaping itself in the contemporary milieu.

Another valuable aspect of McColman's efforts is that he has attempted to also dispell many incorrect notions regarding Celtic spirituality, such as that there is some kind of homogenized Celtic culture, and therefore a homogenized Celtic spirituality. This is a profound error in viewing Celtic tradition and McColman illustrates this.

In his writing he has attempted to describe elements of the continental (Gaulish) tradition, such as the idea of druid orders or the supposed 20 years required for the making of a Druid, while also discussing other facets and features that arise from the Irish and Scottish fold (which do not adhere to a continental or Gaulish framework).

On the matter of faeries, it cannot be lorded over the author of this book that New Age bookstores have become rather prolific dispensers of little sprites and gossamer-winged Victorian English garden variety of faeries. To the contrary, the author of this book makes an important point: such notions of the Faery People or faery beings in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales depart radically from these Victorian or New Age versions of the faeries, or rather that Victorian and New Age notions depart radically from the authentic, empowered, and primal experience within Celtic tradition. The Faery People are empowered spirits in such contexts, often appearing human-size and larger, and continue to be a tangible reality for many rural people in Ireland and Scotland. Any dismissal of these dimensions or beings as a phenomenon of continuance in Celtic spirituality is only done by those who stand outside an animistic perception.

Probably the greatest difficulty in producing a book of this nature is its breadth and because of its breadth the by-product being the inability of the author to delve into the true depth of the tradition as much as he might like.

In this work McColman has strived to give the reader a bit of both. In the end, however, an important distinction to make is that there are two ways to go about reading this book: within the context of a living animistic perception, or outside of such a perception. This book seeks to invite you into such an animistic perception. However, if a reader from the outset has a defined resistance to such things, or denies the spirit-realities that form the bedrock of Celtic spirituality, then, like most things in life, the true gifts to be discerned herein will be closed to you.---Frank MacEowen, author of The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, & Seekers

Rating:
Summary: Good overview
Review: This book is a general overview of the different forms of Celtic spirituality. It's not meant to be an encyclopedia of arcane knowledge, or a deep scholarly work, just something to give someone new something to chew on. In the back and throughout the book it gives dozens of listings for webpages and books to further your research. If you're new to Paganism and are interested in all things Celtic, this would be a good read. Same goes for if you're Christian, or just about any other religion. If you're like me and just want an entertaining and pretty light read, it's good for that too. I'm very much happy with the bibliography and research the author has put into the book. I already have some of the books it lists, but it should keep me busy for a while.

All in all, light reading and good introduction for beginners. It covers a lot of ground, and dispels a lot of myths. It doesn't give out a romantic or idealized form of Celtic spirituality (and ancient culture, for that matter) that a lot of books do. No claims here of ancient matriarchial Celtic cultures, or gynocentric warrior women. Kudos, Carl McColman.

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Summary: Very Comprehensive
Review: This is a great start to research in the topics of Celtic wisdom and mythology, as well as Wicca, Grail lore, and more. It is very readable, and well laid out. The sidebars are more interesting that some other Idiot's Guides I have read.

A great investment for your mythology or occult library!

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Summary: It's not "New Age", it's "Neopagan" -- and an excellent book
Review: Two previous reviewers slammed this book for pretty much the same reason: that it was too "new agey" for their liking. That's really funny. When I think of the "new age," I think of crystals, dolphins, Atlantis, channelling, the Seth material, Reiki... stuff like that. And there's nothing like that in this book at all. Okay, so there's a chapter on the fairies, but the author carefully explains how fairies in Celtic folklore are different from new agey flower fairies. This book isn't new age, it's Neopagan. And that might not appeal to someone who thinks that Celtic Christianity is the only "correct" form of Celtic spirituality (and actually, this book does have a very positive chapter on Celtic Christianity). But for those who understand that the earliest Celts were Pagans -- and that many modern people are turning to Celtic spirituality to inspire modern, or "neo" Paganism -- then this book is thoughtful, balanced, and soundly written. The author draws on Irish and Welsh myth, looks at the many attempts to create modern forms of druidism, and provides interesting insights into such topics as magic, divination, and the quest for the grail. As a Pagan priest, this is a book I will enthusiastically recommend to my students.