Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch - 2nd Edition by Lora O'Brien (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Updated and Revised 2nd Edition!

Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch is a delightful mixture of academia and accessibility; a book that explores Witchcraft in Ireland: how it was, is, and will be. It succeeds where many books have failed - fulfilling the longing for real Irish Witchcraft, while crafting the delicate balance between learning from the past and weaving a modern system based on truth and respect. Lora O'Brien is an Irish Draoí (user of magic) working closely with her heritage and her native land, providing a contemporary guide to genuine practice.

Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch explores the past:

• -- Providing an investigation of the Witches' place in Irish mythology.
• -- Looking at Witchcraft and magic by examining the customs connected with the Sidhe (the Irish Fairies).
• -- Examining historical evidence of the Witch trials that swept across the island of Ireland through the ages.

And the present and beyond by:

• -- Working with Irish Gods and Goddesses, landscapes, and energies.
• -- Examining the wheel of the year, with its festivals, cycles, and seasons of Irish culture.
• -- Looking at ritual progression through a Witch's life: magical training, physical growth.
• -- Providing alternatives to the traditional stages of a child's life in modern Irish culture.

When it was released in 2004, this was the first traditionally published Pagan book ever written by an Irish author. It was the book that this author had sought, for over a decade previously... The 2nd edition of this book continues to do now what it did for so many on first publication - it bridges the gap between 'Celtic' NeoPagan nonsense, and authentic Irish Pagan Practice.

Review Quotes

Review by Daven

Rating:

I got this book because I had received the promotional materials from the publisher and this one looked to be interesting. So I asked for it and got it the day I was to leave for an event planned over Samhain weekend. So I stuck it in my bag, vowing to review it as I got the opportunity.

Well, it's been long and hard, but I finally finished the book. Not because it's bad, not because it's highbrow, but because of the ideas explored in this book are weighty.

As a Celt (Scottish descent) and as a Druid who is trying to follow an Irish path, I appreciate that this book starts out with the idea that one cannot study Irish magick and Irish Witchcraft without studying Ireland itself. So much of the "Celtic" magickal groups out there think that if they say a few words in Gaelic and chant the Gods' names that they are Celtic and this makes me very sad for the future of Pagan religion.

But this book starts with the advice that to understand the magick of Ireland, one should travel to Ireland. Failing that, one must understand Ireland through study and through the myths and culture. Only then can a student start understanding the Gods, the fey, the magick, and the sacred places of Ireland. THEN, and only then, can one start understand the spells and rituals that are made up of those elements that have been studied till now.

It's a refreshing change from the "one book and I'm a witch" set.

I also appreciate that this book doesn't try to be one thing to everyone. There are no spells, no rituals, no "Irish Witchcraft 101" in here to bulk it up and take up room. There is a short section on the holidays from the perspective of someone living with those holidays in the places where they are still celebrated. There is a discussion on the Fey Folk and their connection to the Land and people. There is a discussion of the people of Ireland. There is a section talking about the Celtic deities, not in a shopping list of qualities, but in the sense of their personality and Their wants and desires.

I know I'm supposed to find something wrong with this book to criticize at this point, to tell you what I though was wrong with it. Honestly, aside from personal quibbles of problems *I* would have with the material, I can't find anything to criticize. So here you go; I didn't like all the rules she lays out for what I should do.

It doesn't matter that she's right, and that they are absolutely necessary for me to follow to get the most out of my studies of Ireland and the magick of Ireland (and I know it). Part of me was being a spoiled petulant little child and digging my heels in.

So, that's that. Short review. It's earned the 5 stars out of 5 rating. I advise anyone who is interested in Celtic or Irish Witchcraft to go out and buy this book. Pass up the ice cream and the late', get this book. Read it, absorb it, study it, go back months later and read it again. Understand that this system is VASTLY different from any that you have encountered before, accept that and read the book again. Pack your bags to go to Ireland and do the tourist circuit. I hope to move there one day. But get this book.

SOURCE: http: //erinsjournal.com/irish-witchcraft-from-an-irish-witch