This is a
non-fiction book, giving a window into the past of Britain, not long after the Romans
had left, as the Saxons, Jutes, and Angles arrived in waves. As far as I know, this is the oldest recorded history of the Island of Britain written by a
Briton; fascinating reading!
Saint Gildas (c. 494 or 516-c. 570) was a prominent member of the Celtic Christian church in Britain, whose renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens (Gildas the Wise). He was ordained in the Church, and in his works favoured the monastic ideal. Fragments of letters he wrote reveal that he composed a Rule for monastic life that was a little less austere than the Rule written by his contemporary, Saint David, and set suitable penances for its breach. One of his most important works is De Excidio Britanniae or On the Ruin of Britain. The…
I am a big fan of Herman Hesse, and this is the one book of his that had escaped me, regarded by many as his masterpiece.
This is a really strange book, unusual for Hesse to be writing about the future, as most of his work is set in the medieval period or at least before WWI. It’s not a typical sci-fi read, having philosophical and alchemical undertones, but it is indeed a masterpiece, although a rather challenging piece of fiction.
The Glass Bead Game is an ultra-aesthetic game which is played by the scholars, creamed off in childhood and nurtured in elite schools, in the province of Castalia. The Master of the Glass Bead Game, Joseph Knecht, holds the most exalted office in Castalia. He personifies the detachment, serenity and aesthetic vision which reward a life dedicated to perfection of the intellect. But can, indeed should, man live isolated from hunger, family, children, women, in a perfect world where passions are tamed by meditation, where academic discipline and order are paramount? This is Herman Hesse’s great novel. It is a…
I’m familiar with Jung to some extent and his
psychological work, in part through my Druidic study of archetypes; however, I
was not particularly aware of his attitude to the environment and the Earth. This book has been cleverly edited by Meredith Sabini to bring together his
work that focuses on this area and search for purpose and meaning.
While never losing sight of the rational, cultured mind, Jung speaks for the natural mind, source of the evolutionary experience and accumulated wisdom of our species. Through his own example, Jung shows how healing our own living connection with Nature contributes to the whole.
It explores the customs, myths, and folk culture of Halloween and their roots in the ancient Irish festival of
Samhain (and similar around the world), with a particular focus on the oldest
known site associated with this Festival of the Dead – Tlachtga in county
Meath, Ireland.
