Pagan Book Reviews

A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts
Erynn Rowan Laurie
Eschaton, 1995
112 pages

I read this book in a day–but it was anything but a shallow read!

This is excellent Celtic spirituality from a Celtic reconstructionist. If you’re tried of fluffy texts on “Celtic Wicca”, this is the book you need.

Erynn explains how to create and use a devotional circle of beads tied closely to Celtic cosmology, derived from her research on original myth and lore. She devotes a couple of pages to each step of the journey, explaining their origins and how to connect with them in everyday life.

The rest of the book discusses her thoughts and suggestions on honoring the Celtic deities and spirits. It’s quite thorough, and rather than spoonfeeding you, she instead gives you the tools to create your own sacred space.

Erynn’s scholarship is solid, and she is careful to explain that this is the best approximation of Celtic religion that she, in this day and age and with the resources available, could create, instead of taking a bunch of filler and presenting it as the real thing. In addition, she also mentions when certain facets come from a specific group of Celts, such as those on the European continent rather than Ireland. And she does her own translations from Gaelic to English, which I find pretty impressive.

This book is a fine example of a solid scholarly foundation put to practical and spiritual use, even more than a decade after its initial publication. I can hardly wait for Erynn’s book on ogam, due out in 2007!

Five pawprints out of five.

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