Gaelic Battle Charms

Here is Alexander Carmichael describing the genre of protective charm or seun in Carmina Gadelica ii, 26:

‘Sian’ or ‘seun is occult agency, supernatural power used to ward away injury, and to protect invisibly. Belief in the charm was common, and examples of its efficacy are frequently told.

Go read the Carmichael Watson Project blog on this very intriguing topic.

Testament of a Witch

Author: Douglas Watt
ISBN: 9781906817794

Why did I read it?  It was given to me in exchange for a review and I was keen on the idea of a fictional work set in Scotland during the the notorious witch hunts.

Synopsis:   John Mackenzie is an advocate in Edinburgh who is charged by a letter from a dead woman to investigate happenings in the village of Lammersheugh. He and his assistant, Davie Scougall, a man raised in religious superstition, arrive to find the dead woman's daughter, Euphame also accused of witchcraft and the enlightened Mr Mackenzie and his reluctant assistant must work quickly to save her.

What did I like? Douglas Watt keeps his chapters short and each has a different voice, focussing on one person, or section of the community and this keeps the story moving at a cracking pace.  The zeitgeist of the Scotland in the 17th century - the religious fervour and political unrest - is evoked with apparent ease and Mr Watt is explicit when describing the gruesome nature of the treatment afforded those accused of being in league with the devil but this adds to the feeling of uncertainty and terror of the time.

I enjoyed this book and sped through it keen to discover the underbelly of Lammersheugh with John Mackenzie, but unlike other murder and/or mystery books, I was unable to unravel the mystery ahead of the author's reveal.  For me, this is a big plus for the book.

What didn't I like?  Very little.  Some of the chapters were difficult to read as over half the chapter was  written in a Scottish dialect, though the few Gaelic phrases scattered throughout other chapters were translated into plain English.

 Would I recommend it?  Yes!  I would thoroughly recommend this book to others: friends, family and even my grandmother, a fussy reader.

Rating: 4/5.

Definitive Book List for New Pagans

There was a discussion at An Fianna about a list of books you might recommend to someone new to pagan ways. Its been a while since I thought about this, and given I have come from a heathen perspective, my list has changed. This is the list I provided, though I may amendments from time to time.

BEGINNERS

"Pagan Paths" by Pete Jennings
"Triumph of the Moon" by Professor Ronald Hutton, quickly followed by his other works including "The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy" and "Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain"
and anything by Terry Pratchett.

Celtic/Brythonic

"The Ancient Celts" by Barry Cunliffe
"The Celtic World" by Miranda J Green
"Gods of the Celts" by Miranda J Green
"Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch" by Lora O'Brien
"The Keys of Knowledge - Ogham, Coelbren and Pagan Celtic Religion" by Kevin Jones
"The Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland" by Dáithí Ó hÓgáin

and the following should then be undertaken:

"The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise Woman Healer" by Gearóid Ó Crualaoich
"Britain BC" by Francis Pryor
"Carmina Gadelica"
"The Cattle-Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúailnge)"
"The Celts" by T. G. E. Powell
"Deirdre" [Longes mac nUislenn]
"The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel"
"Early Irish Myths and Sagas" by Jeffrey Gantz
"Imbas Forosnai" by N. K. Chadwick
"The Mabinogion" by Sioned Davies
"The Making of a Druid: Hidden Teachings from the Colloquy of Two Sages" by Christian J. Guyonvarc'h
"The Metrical Dindshenchas"
"The Otherworld Voyage in Irish Literature and History" by Jonathan M. Wooding
"Pagan Celtic Britain" by Anne Ross
"The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (Cath Maige Tuired) "
"Sweeney Astray" as translated by Seamus Heaney
"Tales of the Elders of Ireland" by Anne Dooley
"Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain" by Rachel Bromwich
"The Voyage of Bran"
"The Wooing of Emer" [from LU and Stowe] (Kuno Meyer)
"The Wooing of Étaín" translated by Bergin and Best

Anglo-Saxon Heathen

"Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Magic" by Bill Griffiths
"The Northern Tradition" by Pete Jennings
"The Poetic Edda"
"The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology" by S Sturluson
"The Way of Wyrd" by Brian Bates
"Understanding Wyrd: The Norns and the Tree - An Introduction to the cosmology of Northern Europe spiritual practice" by Jenny Blain
"Wights and Ancestors" by Jenny Blain

and the following should then be undertaken:

"Beowulf" as translated by Seamus Heaney
"Dictionary of Northern Mythology" by Rudolph Simek
"Eyrbyggja Saga"
"Elves, Wights, and Trolls: Studies Towards the Practice of Germanic…" by Kveldulf Gundarsson
Tacitus: "Germania"
"Gods and Myths of Northern Europe" by Hilda Ellis Davidson
"King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway from Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla" by Snorri Sturluson, Magnus Magnusson, and Hermann Palsson
"The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe" by Hilda Ellis Davidson
"Northern Mythology: From Pagan Faith to Local Legends" by Benjamin Thorpe and Jacqueline Simpson
"Njal's Saga"
"Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney"
"The Saga of Grettir the Strong"
"The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki"
"The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer"
"The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America: "Graenlendinga Saga" and "Eirik's Saga""

Witchcraft/Magic

"13 Moons: A Journal of a Natural Witch" by Fiona Walker-Craven
"The Art and Practice of Creative Visualization" by Ophiel
"The Art and Practice of Astral Projection" by Ophiel
"Creative Visualization" by Shakti Gawain
"Liber Noctis: A Handbook of the Sorcerous Arte" by G. St. M. Nottingham
"Natural Magic" by Doreen Valiente
"Treading the Mill: Practical Craft Working in Modern Traditional Witchcraft" by Nigel G. Pearson