Neo-Druid Book Reviews

[Morag]

I'm betting that either a) you're easily able to do this because you can borrow her copy, or b) she doesn't have her own, so she wants to read yours when you're done.

Sunflower

Either or. I'm not sure if she has a copy of the book; there are well over 2,000 books in her house. (My bedroom is the library. Wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. With 12 foot ceilings. I really hope there's never an earthquake while I'm sleeping in there, because I would die buried under a lifetime of books.)

I may see if the library has it, too. I love taking out books from the library.

[Morag]

Either or. I'm not sure if she has a copy of the book; there are well over 2,000 books in her house. (My bedroom is the library. Wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. With 12 foot ceilings. I really hope there's never an earthquake while I'm sleeping in there, because I would die buried under a lifetime of books.)

I may see if the library has it, too. I love taking out books from the library.

The public library, that is. Not Mom's library.

[SunflowerP]

(My bedroom is the library. Wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. With 12 foot ceilings. I really hope there's never an earthquake while I'm sleeping in there, because I would die buried under a lifetime of books.)

I can think of an awful lot of worse ways to die.

Sunflower

[Morag]

I can think of an awful lot of worse ways to die.

Sunflower

Yeah, me too. ^_^

[Finn]

I can think of an awful lot of worse ways to die.

Sunflower

Frankly, this is how I want to go.

[darashand]

Any takers?

Yep.

What Do Druids Believe by Phillip Carr-Gomme(2006)

Why is this relevant to Neo-Druidry?

The author attempts to define what Druids believe based on his personal experiences and research

Overall Rating

2 out of 5

The book itself is a great concept, especially for those who wish to explore what Druidry teaches, however I had some major problems with how the information was presented. First, the author makes no distinction between Ancient Druidry and Neo-Druidry and later on does not differentiate between Irish and Welsh ideas (author clearly has a Welsh worldview). Second, he rarely sites his sources or provides notes for further research. This is a major "red-flag" as his claims have no support and does not allow the reader to explore his ideas. Finally, the author feels that Druidry is a philosophy without dogma and is open to all faiths as a supplement of sorts. He feels that Druidry fits well with Christianity and Buddhism (see Ch 5), even going on to introduce DruidCraft, which is a blend of Neo-Druidry and Wicca.

His portrayal of Druidry is mostly the Romantic Ideals of the past, influenced the philosophy of the (American) 60's-70's (peace and love, man), and later on Neo-paganism and Wicca are added to fill in the gaps. His information is generally not based on scholarship, nor does it include any contributions of the Celtic Reconstructionist movement.


Overall, the book is geared for the modern practitioner, who enjoys a more romantic view of Druidry, rather than innovation of the ancient sources.

For me personally, it was not helpful and a waste of money.

[SilverOak]

Yep.

What Do Druids Believe by Phillip Carr-Gomme(2006)

Why is this relevant to Neo-Druidry?

The author attempts to define what Druids believe based on his personal experiences and research

Overall Rating

2 out of 5

The book itself is a great concept, especially for those who wish to explore what Druidry teaches, however I had some major problems with how the information was presented. First, the author makes no distinction between Ancient Druidry and Neo-Druidry and later on does not differentiate between Irish and Welsh ideas (author clearly has a Welsh worldview). Second, he rarely sites his sources or provides notes for further research. This is a major "red-flag" as his claims have no support and does not allow the reader to explore his ideas. Finally, the author feels that Druidry is a philosophy without dogma and is open to all faiths as a supplement of sorts. He feels that Druidry fits well with Christianity and Buddhism (see Ch 5), even going on to introduce DruidCraft, which is a blend of Neo-Druidry and Wicca.

His portrayal of Druidry is mostly the Romantic Ideals of the past, influenced the philosophy of the (American) 60's-70's (peace and love, man), and later on Neo-paganism and Wicca are added to fill in the gaps. His information is generally not based on scholarship, nor does it include any contributions of the Celtic Reconstructionist movement.




Overall, the book is geared for the modern practitioner, who enjoys a more romantic view of Druidry, rather than innovation of the ancient sources.

For me personally, it was not helpful and a waste of money.

Thanks for this review. I do admit that I have had issues with him in the past, exactly because of what you said: combining Druidry with Buddhism and Wicca, just isn't going to work for me.