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rhoadesd20's review
3.0
In current druidic recreations there are constant reminders that the historical information presented by the Romans is often times biased. While there is truth to this, it has lead to many present druids forming their own biasness against the Romans.
This seems to be very present in this book, as the author cites many Roman sources from a historical inaccurate, and ultimately biased side. She sites Julius Caesar's writings as trying to change the beliefs of those in the British Isles. However, the source she cites is from the Commentarii De Bello Gallico. Gallico, being Gaul (modern day France/Belgium), and the writings being his account of his travels around the landscape while leading the Roman Legions during the Gaulic Wars. Although he did launch two campaigns into the British Isles, which he references in his writings, ultimate comparisons of deities was more oriented to those encountered in Gaul.
It should also be mentioned that Rome did not often try to overthrow the gods of regions. The Romans envisioned deities as being certain beings that may go by different names in different areas. Thereby calling Lugh by the Roman name Mercury is not to devalue the God in the area. Rather, the god as presented to the Romans had many similarities to the god they knew as Mercury, so they used their name for him. If the Romans encountered a deity they did not have represented in their pantheon, often they would adopt that deity. See the cult of Isis, Mithras, etc. In fact, the Romans were very fearful of the divine. Before attacking Carthage, the entire army prayed to the Carthegenian deities asking for their blessing, in so far that even though they are attacking, to they do not wish to anger the local deities.
Another instance is describing the Medusa-like depiction of a goddess present at the British town of Bath, and how it must be a sinister goddess. The Goddess is Minerva (see Greek Athena), anything but sinister. The curses she cites being present in the area is true, but not related to Minerva. In Roman practice, curses were dedicated to gods of the underworld and left in dark places, a symbol of the underworld. Cracks in stone, thrown in caves, sunk to the bottom of lakes. The curses are not necessarily done in the name of a god/dess that may be featured there, rather because it had a feature that was dark, a feature that might be a gateway to the underworld.
However, since Rome conquered the celtic lands, many recreationist groups have this certain antagonism towards the culture. Some certainly merited, some taken a little out of hand.
As someone who has extensively studied Roman culture from previous curiosities, it then creates a problem for me. Whether other information present in the book that I'm not as well versed in is factual, or if there may be bias presented in those sections as well.
The meat of the book does contain very good information, but it is very slow to get going. It is constantly recommended as one of the better books to get started in learning about Druidism from a modern approach. But the first 1/3rd of the book is presented as more hypothetical. Daily walks of inner reflection. But what is the reader reflecting on? What were the druids? What did they do? Little anecdotes are presented, but far from in informative approach. The book also stresses for the reader to take their time. Often recommending taking a few weeks of continuing your walks before proceeding to the next chapter.
If someone was, such as I, looking for a book to get a basis on what a druidic "faith" might be. A down and dirty reading of: what we know, how we interpret it, what they did, important aspects of daily function/ritual, etc. This book would be a poor choice. After weeks of reading guidelines, practicing what the book asks you to (mostly walking and reflecting), when the information is finally presented you might find it doesn't resonate at all.
The author cites magical intent of the rays, seasons, elements. With no clear idea what the "magic" is, or how it is practiced, how you might practice it. Personally, I'm not interested in the "magical" aspects, yet. However, others might be, and all they will see are references, with no guidelines on "doing".
It's a very slow burn book, focused more on inner reflection and getting to a certain state of mind, than an actual book on practice and "doings".
This seems to be very present in this book, as the author cites many Roman sources from a historical inaccurate, and ultimately biased side. She sites Julius Caesar's writings as trying to change the beliefs of those in the British Isles. However, the source she cites is from the Commentarii De Bello Gallico. Gallico, being Gaul (modern day France/Belgium), and the writings being his account of his travels around the landscape while leading the Roman Legions during the Gaulic Wars. Although he did launch two campaigns into the British Isles, which he references in his writings, ultimate comparisons of deities was more oriented to those encountered in Gaul.
It should also be mentioned that Rome did not often try to overthrow the gods of regions. The Romans envisioned deities as being certain beings that may go by different names in different areas. Thereby calling Lugh by the Roman name Mercury is not to devalue the God in the area. Rather, the god as presented to the Romans had many similarities to the god they knew as Mercury, so they used their name for him. If the Romans encountered a deity they did not have represented in their pantheon, often they would adopt that deity. See the cult of Isis, Mithras, etc. In fact, the Romans were very fearful of the divine. Before attacking Carthage, the entire army prayed to the Carthegenian deities asking for their blessing, in so far that even though they are attacking, to they do not wish to anger the local deities.
Another instance is describing the Medusa-like depiction of a goddess present at the British town of Bath, and how it must be a sinister goddess. The Goddess is Minerva (see Greek Athena), anything but sinister. The curses she cites being present in the area is true, but not related to Minerva. In Roman practice, curses were dedicated to gods of the underworld and left in dark places, a symbol of the underworld. Cracks in stone, thrown in caves, sunk to the bottom of lakes. The curses are not necessarily done in the name of a god/dess that may be featured there, rather because it had a feature that was dark, a feature that might be a gateway to the underworld.
However, since Rome conquered the celtic lands, many recreationist groups have this certain antagonism towards the culture. Some certainly merited, some taken a little out of hand.
As someone who has extensively studied Roman culture from previous curiosities, it then creates a problem for me. Whether other information present in the book that I'm not as well versed in is factual, or if there may be bias presented in those sections as well.
The meat of the book does contain very good information, but it is very slow to get going. It is constantly recommended as one of the better books to get started in learning about Druidism from a modern approach. But the first 1/3rd of the book is presented as more hypothetical. Daily walks of inner reflection. But what is the reader reflecting on? What were the druids? What did they do? Little anecdotes are presented, but far from in informative approach. The book also stresses for the reader to take their time. Often recommending taking a few weeks of continuing your walks before proceeding to the next chapter.
If someone was, such as I, looking for a book to get a basis on what a druidic "faith" might be. A down and dirty reading of: what we know, how we interpret it, what they did, important aspects of daily function/ritual, etc. This book would be a poor choice. After weeks of reading guidelines, practicing what the book asks you to (mostly walking and reflecting), when the information is finally presented you might find it doesn't resonate at all.
The author cites magical intent of the rays, seasons, elements. With no clear idea what the "magic" is, or how it is practiced, how you might practice it. Personally, I'm not interested in the "magical" aspects, yet. However, others might be, and all they will see are references, with no guidelines on "doing".
It's a very slow burn book, focused more on inner reflection and getting to a certain state of mind, than an actual book on practice and "doings".
ekfmef's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A well written and interesting overview of druidry. In addition to the information there are lots of exercises that give you a taste of what being a druid is like. I'm not sure whether this version of druidry is something for me, but the book was enlightening.
vortensity's review
I don't find myself wanting to pick this up and continue and it took me over 2 months to get 50 pages in. I don't really connect w/ the author's voice at all and if I'd known she's affiliated with OBOD I probably would have skipped this entirely as I tried out their podcast and didn't like it either. And who knows, maybe this just isn't the path for me.
laurareads87's review
DNF at 31%. It is rare for me to not finish a book like this; however, I just couldn't get through this one. I will certainly seek out another book on Druidry (this was my first) but I will not be finishing this. There were some things I really liked in here -- some mediation ideas and practical suggestions I did really appreciate. However, this book had several major issues for me that I just could not get past. One is ableism -- the author presumes that the only reason that one might not be able to, say, take walks every day is that they feel too busy or work long hours. Some of the strongly emphasized daily practices in here are simply not feasible for many folks, including myself, and there is no acknowledgment of that, no suggestion of alternatives, and no affirmation that not being able to take walks every day is okay. The second is completely uncritical use of the 'g' word to refer to Romani people. This is neither necessary in this book (it is in a totally uncited remark about a 'past belief' that is really out of nowhere) nor even remotely acceptable given that it is a slur. The third issue is the pervasive, almost aggressive insistence on the Western gender binary. I feel like this is one of the most gender stereotypical and heteronormative books I've encountered, and that's saying a lot. The focus on imposing gender constructs onto the landscape, celestial bodies, and elements as though they are given in the things themselves (rather than cultural ideas which are neither timeless nor universal) was both pervasive and distracting. I will certainly return to some of the practices shared in this book, but this is definitely not the one for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexism and Ableism
samtheowl96's review
5.0
I began this book shortly after starting my path with Druidry. It was a journey that took several months, but I loved every step of it.
I love the pauses she makes you take. The visualizations, the journaling, all of it. I feel confident in my path now. Great place to start.
I love the pauses she makes you take. The visualizations, the journaling, all of it. I feel confident in my path now. Great place to start.
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