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Post by potia on Jan 28, 2009 9:40:39 GMT -1
Just found this online book homepage.eircom.net/~shae/index.htm and wondered if anyone here has read it. Looks like a reasonable one to me from the list of authors/contributors. Any opinions?
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Post by Lee on Jan 28, 2009 10:08:30 GMT -1
looks like something worth going through, the only name that stands out is Kondratievs', and to be honest he bothers me. i read his Apple branch book (i think it was) and whilst there was much in it of merit it was also... desperate, needy and weak. it just didnt sit right.
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Post by megli on Jan 28, 2009 10:13:36 GMT -1
Heartfelt cheering. It's excellent. Francine (whom I've spoken to on various forums) is very knowledgeable. I might quibble certain things but they would be just that, quibbles. This should be on Druid/Celtic Pagan/Brython 101.
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Post by megli on Jan 28, 2009 10:15:01 GMT -1
I'm no fan of Kondratiev though i respect his linguistic skills. (He's a fluent speaker of all six modern Celtic languages.) the Apple Branch was bad, but his contributions have been kept well in check here.
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Post by Blackbird on Jan 28, 2009 14:12:46 GMT -1
I thought Francine Nicholson died a few years back? (Apologies to Francine if not!)
I quite liked the Apple Branch. Although some of it was a dodgy, I liked the practical ideas about group activities and seasonal stuff to do.
This looks useful, I'll have a proper read through it another time, but the range of subjects looks good. Flipping quickly through the 'music' article, there are a few glaring omissions, and it's obviously biased towards the Irish stuff (no mention of Ap Huw, which is a far older source than Bunting!) but still a good introduction.
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Post by megli on Jan 28, 2009 14:30:21 GMT -1
The irish stuff is especially good.
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Post by megli on Jan 28, 2009 14:30:38 GMT -1
Oh dear, i hope she's not dead!
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Post by potia on Jan 28, 2009 15:55:05 GMT -1
According to the information in the preface and on the contributors she died on Feb 1st 2003.
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Post by megli on Jan 28, 2009 17:35:40 GMT -1
Oh dear. poor lady. I thought i hadn't seen her on Old irish-L for a while!
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Post by maglowyllt on Jan 29, 2009 8:11:08 GMT -1
I've read that before. Very Informative and a refreshing change.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2009 11:24:14 GMT -1
I did really enjoy the Apple Branch... It was the first book on neopaganism I read that insists on knowing the ancient cultures, learning the languages, and, to be short, know what you are actually talking about. The book was very inspirational for me personally and has changed my path thoroughly: I think it was Kondratiev who gave me the idea of incorporating later Celtic traditions into my own path, to integrate my knowledge of celtic civilisation into my spirituality. I always was having a bit of a schizo feeling about my 'two sides': student of celtic and neopagan, who seemed to contradict each other, and this book was the one that inspired me to integate these two sides and follow the path I am following now.
There are things that I liked less: like that he obviously borrowed things from wicca or traditions like wicca, and presentated that as part of his 'celtic' path. And I really missed footnotes: more that once I read something in the book that catched my interest, but as he never tells where he got this or that bit of information, it is impossible to verify it or to seek out more about it.
But all the same: lots of kudos to Kondratiev!!!
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Post by Lee on Jan 30, 2009 11:45:09 GMT -1
i think some of his approach - learning about the culture, the language etc- was great, what jarred with me was the idea of trying t merge all 'celtic' countries inot one mass: so things like having a symbol of the 6 countries around the circle, or using all 6 langauges in the ritual. it seemed he was grasping and trying too hard to be celtic.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2009 15:11:14 GMT -1
Yes that part vexed me as well. There is no such thing as THE Celtic cuture!!! But all the same, the book inspired me to follow the path I am following now. The things I took from his book are incorporating, in my case, Breton culture and folklore (so not a mix of all celtic folklore) in my practice, and the thing I value most is that the book inspired me to address Gods and spirits of place, the land itself, in Breton more than in an other language...And though I am convinced that Deity listens to the heart rather than to the words that are pronounce, I have found that I can easier contact spirits of place in Breton...maybe also because it is a language closer to my heart I also love to find out about all kinds of local customs and croyances (is that a word? things people believe in...) and find out what they can mean for me, right now in the modern age. It is a very fullfilling thing to study: adapting living lore (or lore that was alive just until recently, in most cases ) to a, let's face it, recently invented religion makes it to me much more alive, makes me feel I walk in the footsteps of the ancestors, in a way. Following a tradition is important to everyone, but rather than inventing a tradition for my modern, invented faith, I prefer to incorporate REAL tradition and accept that the rest is invented. This is imho the only way a modern paganism can be 'traditional'. I also like very much the way Kondratiev insists (was it in this book or in an article I read online?) on developing a relationship with the land, with the place you are living. This is the very basic thought of paganism, living with nature, but it is all too often forgotten by many pagans, who are more occupied by evoking exotic deities and studying magical correspondences...I don't give so much about magic, I do not consider it a part of my religion. Magic is real for me, but it is not really an important thing in my life. Religion and my relationship with the land I live on, on the other hand, definitely are. That's what I learned from Kondratiev and the things I studied after reading Kondatriev. Maybe I overrate his book, but to me it was important.
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