Anthony Murphy's "Mythical Ireland; New Light on the Ancient Past" opens a doorway to the knowledge of the Druids as they learned to tell time by the night sky. Using the ancient monuments of Ireland such as the monuments of The Boyne Valley, Murphy brilliantly unlocks the ancient secrets of the stone circles and the mounds and presents that information in an enlightening and accessible way for the modern reader. As Murphy's publisher states: "The search embodies retrieving something of deeper import from the 5,000-year old megalithic monuments and their associated myths. The book represents a fascinating and engaging journey through time, landscape, and the human spirit." The importance of this journey is that each of us gain the knowledge of the patterns of the moon, the sun, and the stars from the ancient Druids. Making the information easy to access and opening the pathways of knowing the natural world is an exciting journey that awaits you! Moreover, the journey only begins with the book. In addition to the book, the "Mythical Ireland" website has also now branched out into social media, where there is a significant following on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr. Start your adventure now!
Mythical Ireland embodies the search for a soul among Ireland's ancient ruins, and is an attempt to retrieve something of deeper import from 5,000-year-old megalithic monuments and their associated myths. The book represents a fascinating and engaging journey through time, landscape and the human spirit. Dealing with archaeology, interpretive mythography, cosmology and cosmogony, the book attempts to grapple with a core meaning, something beyond the functional interpretations of academia.
In this revised and expanded edition, Anthony Murphy delves further into the many enthralling aspects of this journey. Just how much knowledge did locals have of the secrets of Newgrange before…
"The Druids" by Peter Berresford Ellis is perhaps the most informative and accurately researched book about the Druids in scholarly circles today. Peter Berresford Ellis, a brilliant writer and researcher, has compiled a series of essays about the life and times of the Druids that outweighs most works about the Druids and the Celts, today. To do this, Ellis includes the fascinating origins of the Druids, the rituals of the Druids, and the Wisdom Schools of the Druids. Through these easily accessible essays, we are able to learn about the Druids as teachers, philosophers, judges, historians, astronomers and poets. Finally, we have access to a book that separates fact from fiction to elucidate the truths of the past. If that isn't enough for you to digest, then consider my favorite essay in the book which is entitled "Female Druids." Here, Peter Berresford Ellis presents the fact that women as Dryades or Druidesses are equal partners in ALL the professions of Druid practice. The very centrality of their positions as judges, historians and poets and the like astounds the imagination as to the importance of women in the Celtic world compared to their inferior positions in other ancient cultures. Women and men will enjoy the enlightened view of the author and the information presented!
"A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year" by Ellen Evert Hopman shows you how to use herbs to celebrate the festivals of the seasons by drawing on extensive research of the magical healing practices of the Druids. The solar holidays, such as the equinoxes and the solstices, are accented by the presentation of the use of herbs to accompany the celebrations of the Druid year. Before each section of the book of the Earth Festivals of the Sacred Earth Year, Ellen Evert Hopman includes a brief essay outlining the meaning of the celebration. For example, in the chapter on the Winter Solstice or Mean Geimhridh, Ellen Evert Hopman introduces us to the myths and culture behind The Yule Log and the use of holly, ivy and mistletoe in the Druid ceremonies. Then, each herb is discussed in terms of the part used, the herbal uses, the homeopathic uses and the magical uses. Hopman follows this pattern throughout the book in order that the book may be used as both an informative and practical guide. Whether you use herbs or not, the information in this book is astounding and profoundly accurate. A master herbalist, Ellen Evert Hopman is also the author of several books, including "Tree Medicine, Tree Magic." Start your journey of healing and learning to heal from the Druid Medicine presented here by Ellen Evert Hopman.
For the ancient Druids, the healing and magical properties of herbs were inseparable from the larger cycles of the seasons, the movements of the planets, and the progression of a human life. A Druid's Herbal shows the reader how to use herbs when creating rituals to celebrate festivals and significant life passages such as births, house blessings, weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies. Drawing on extensive research and a deep personal experience with Pagan traditions, Ellen Evert Hopman explores the history and folklore surrounding the eight major Celtic festivals: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lugnasad, and Fall…
"The Myth of the Year: Returning to the Origin of the Druid Calendar" reveals the astronomy and underlying Celtic and Greek mythology of the seasons of the year using a translation of The Coligny Calendar of the Druids discovered in France and The Sacred Calendar of Eleusis of ancient Greece. The myths of the ancients follow the seasons through the stars, the moon, and the sun illuminating the path of knowledge our ancestors used throughout the year. The origins of the goddesses and gods of the seasons are traced to their Neolithic roots illuminating their archetypes evident in the night sky. The Grandmother, the Mother and the Daughter Goddesses of the Summer, Fall and Winter, respectively, are identified in the night sky in patterns that are easily discernible and accessible to the modern reader. The Dying God or Son is identified in the Spring to complete the myths of the year in order that each season's story be presented in the night sky. Travel through the year and learn to keep time by the night sky as the ancients did. Explore the rhythms of the sky through the goddesses and gods of the human imagination in their voyage through time. Each year, the calendar is presented free on Helen Benigni's academia.edu website, under the title of "The Moon Cycle Calendar." Check it out this year and next! The artwork is fantastic and the information is precious to us all!
