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’ Neo Pagan nonsense, and authentic Irish Pagan Practice.
Table of Content
Foreword
- Some Reader Reviews, from the 1st Edition
Preface
Acknowledgement
ALL THAT WE MUST LEAVE BEHIND
To Begin
- This is Not Wicca?
- This is Wicca
- What Makes a Pagan?
- What then, is an Irish Witch?
- Being Irish
- This Book
HOW IT WAS
Myth and Legends
- An Cailleach
- The Otherworld
- Users of Magic
Folk and Fairies
- Family Folklore
- The Wise Woman
- The Fairies
- Fairy Spotting
- Fairy Fear
- Familial Wisdom
- What Fairies Do
- Staying on Good Terms
Trials of a Witch’s Life
- Ireland’s First Witch?
- Who Else?
- The Law
- Ireland’s Failed Witch
- The Magic Still Lingers
HOW IT IS
Land and Gods
- Meeting the Trees
- Meeting the Sidhe
- Meeting the Gods
- Ritual Dedication
- How I Went About Things
Cycle and Sabbats
- Samhain (October 31st)
- Imbolg (February 1st)
- Bealtaine (April 30th)
- Lúnasa (August 1st)
Stages of a Witch’s Life
- What is Initiation?
- Cuairteoir (Guest)
- Cuardaitheoir (First Stage)
- Duine Eolach (Second Stage)
- Seanóir (Third Stage)
- Irish Rites of Passage
- Irish Pagan Alternatives
HOW IT WILL BE
To Conclude
- In the Pub
- In the School
- In the Community
- In the Irish Pagan Community
Resources
- Bibliography
- Online Sources
About the Author
Also by Lora O’Brien
About the author
Lora O’Brien is an Author, Teacher, and Guide: native born Irish, with decades of personal and professional experience in our history, heritage, archaeology, mythology, and pre-christian Irish Spirituality. She is a modern Draoí – a practitioner and priest of indigenous Irish magic and spirituality. Lora has been consciously following a Pagan path since 1994, and dedicated specifically to the Irish Goddess Mórrígan in 2004. She managed one of Ireland’s most important sacred sites – Cruachán/Rathcroghan – for a decade, and is a co-founder and Reverend legal celebrant with Pagan Life Rites Ireland.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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