Book reviews

by Holly Worton ~ It is beautiful to read an account of a person exploring their land, finding trees and developing a teacher-student relationship with them, for this is something seriously lacking in our lives, even with us Druids, it could be argued…

by Professor Ronald Hutton ~ This long-awaited book is a tour de force. Interpretations of Druidry through the ages, treated to scrupulous scholarly dissection, in a masterly fashion. The first chapter, the raw material, should be required reading for all who have ever given credence to the impeccability of original sources…but given their suspect nature,…

by Maria Ede-Weaving ~  Modern Druidry is an evolving spirituality; each of its practitioners is continually adding to the breadth and depth of this path through their experiences. What gives a spirituality its power is it practices and approaches, and these are far from static – they live and breathe, grow and change, as we…

Crucible of the Sun: The Mabinogion retold Stuart France ISBN 9781494785130 ~ Press Release: The tales of the Mabionogion capture a narrative deeply entwined through the history of the Celtic peoples of the British Isles, drawing on themes that are embedded in the heart of the land. In Crucible of the Sun, the author retells these timeless stories in his own inimitable…

Empower your life with Sophrology by Philip Carr Gomm really is one of those books that ‘does what it says on the can.’ So, if you don’t meditate, but suspect that your experience of life would be better if you did; if an underlying feeling of stress is your normality, or if you easily lose…

by Steve Marshall

A review by Les Prince of Facing The Darkness by Cat Treadwell ~ Moon Books ~ ISBN 978 1 78099 900 5 ~ On first inspection this book seemed a wonderful idea; like many people I know, clinical depression has been a constant presence in my life since childhood, and I applaud any and every attempt to offer help to…

A review by Nimue Brown of Gather Around The Flame by Daniel Boyle, Bia Helvetti, Roe Malan and Rae Smith. ~  Gather Around The Flame is  a  charming set of seasonal tales, dark, witty, playful and surprising.  Four contributors; Daniel  Boyle, Bia Helvetti, Roe Malan, and Rae Smith offer an array of poems and short stories that fit…

Reviewed by James Nichol ~  There are some who go into the water, and when they emerge, they recognise the Presence in everything. That is why there is nothing to be depised: a king in rags is still as king. This quotation from the second century Gospel of Philip sums up the feeling-tone of Mark…

A Review by Adrian Rooke of ‘Magical Places of Britain: A Guide to Britain’s Natural Sacred Sites’ by Rob Wildwood  ~  Enchanted  Forests, Haunted Waters, Magic Caves, Sacred  Springs, Holy  Wells, Mystic Mountains, Fairy Hills and places of Magic and Miracles in the landscape of Scotland, Wales, England and Cornwall…Discover Britain’s Magical Places using this handy guidebook packed with stunning full colour…

by Entar Tellimarren

by Rebecca Beattie Moon Books, Winchester (UK) & Washington (US), 2015 £4.99 UK, $9.95 US 132 pages. This little book is a joy to read, delving into the lives and works of some well-known, and many lesser-known, British and Irish literary figures in search of the origins of contemporary Paganisms. The writers, five men and…

by Christine Willison

by Rupert Sheldrake

‘As there are billions of souls/There are billions of ways to grow’ (Rumi) prefixes the introduction ‘Sex on the Beach or Death in the Afternoon? A mixology for the spiritual speaker’: this writer understands a good hook, has an open, original approach and eclectic tastes. His lifetime of reading and learning and gift for juxtaposing…

Nimue Brown reviews ‘Storytelling for a Greener World: Environment, community and story-based learning’ by Alida Gersie (Editor), Anthony Nanson (Editor), Edward Schieffelin (Editor) – Hawthorn Press ~  While this isn’t written as an explicitly Druidic book, this is an excellent text for the aspiring bard. It includes a wealth of relevant stories, many ideas for…

Druidry is a fast growing tradition and whether by necessity or choice, many of its practitioners walk the path alone. Sharing a tradition and its spiritual practices with others can be richly rewarding but it is not for everyone and Joanna van der Hoeven’s latest book The Awen Alone: Walking the Path of the Solitary…

by Philip Chandler

Druidry is a spirituality that is associated with being in the beauty of nature but what happens when you live in an urban environment, which is where the majority of people live? Does Druidry also have a message for people in this situation? Any mature spirituality must appeal to people in all walks of life…

Having been drawn to Druidry through a keen interest in the ancient history of Britain, especially its cultural and spiritual heritage, this book was a welcome find…

Druidry teaches us to honour death and to remember the dead with reverence. However, for most of us, our wider culture has hidden much of death’s processes from view. The physical realities of this most inevitable and unavoidable rite of passage have been obscured and this has only served to intensify the fear of death…

This is the book I’ve been waiting for. Believing that magic springs from the soil, that our locality, our region, our land grows us as surely as it does potatoes or grapes, it’s always been a fascination that I know so little about the geology of my native land: and then came along this book…