If one was to walk into their local New Age, Witchcraft and Magic shop and have a look around, one would notice that much of the merchandise in said shop was Celtic. From amulets, to books of Celtic Magic, even Celtic Oracle Cards. This would probably give one the impression that the Celts were an enormously magical civilization, perhaps even the most magical that has ever existed. But how much do we know about the Celts, and how should we think about Celts these days? To help us understand better is Folklorist and scholar Dr. Amy Hale.
Dr. Amy Hale is a Folklorist, Anthropologist and Author specializing in modern Cornwall and contemporary esoteric history and culture. She hosts digital events for The Last Tuesday Society and is constantly publishing many articles on a myriad of subjects. Be sure to Follow Dr. Hale on social media like Twitter but most especially Instagram. To see all that Dr. Hale gets up to check out her Linktr.ee as well as homepage.
Show Notes
- New Directions In Celtic Studies Edited by Amy Hale and Philip Payton
- Ancient Celts
- Rethinking The Ancient Druids: An Archaeological Perspective by Miranda Aldhouse-Green – So, you want to know what Druids probably got up to? This is as close as you’ll get to the truth of the whole she-bang. Recommended
- Why do we know so little about the Druids?
- The Celts: The Construction of a Myth by Malcolm Chapman – Worth reading
- The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy by Ronald Hutton
- The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Ronald Hutton
- Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain by Ronald Hutton
- Our Knowledge of Celtic Mysticism – Bad Celtic – This whole page is worth exploring to be honest
- The Celts – Documentary Part I & Part II
- Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends by Miranda Aldhouse-Green
- Celtic Myth in the 21st Century: The Gods and their Stories in a Global Perspective
- The Routledge History of Medieval Magic – Has a chapter called Magic in Celtic Lands by Mark Williams which is quite fantastic
- The Element Encyclopedia of the Celts by Rodney Castleden – This book is a pretty good introductory book actually
- Lindow Man – Evidence of ritual human sacrifice?
- Celticism, Celtitude and Celticity: The consumption of the past in the age of globalization by Michael Dietler
- If you’re looking for some interesting information on indigenous Irish beliefs, my Episode with David Halpin as well as Circle Stories is beyond excellent and worth exploring
- Dr. Jenny Butler does excellent work
- Singing With Blackbirds: The Survival Of Primal Celtic Shamanism In Later Folk Traditions by Stuart A. Harris-Logan
- A Recommended Reading list for Celtic Studies
- Reading List for Celtic Paganism
- Celtic Curses by Bernard Mees
- The Druid Code: Magic, Megaliths and Mythology by Thomas Sheridan. David Halpin has a review
- Ross Nichols
- The Celtic Holocaust – Amazing Podcast episode about Julius Caesar and the Gauls
Dr. Hale would like to apologize sincerely and profusely for forgetting to include the Celtic Scots of the Highlands and Islands when listing Modern Celtic areas of Europe.
I (Douglas) having since talked to my ancestors about this unintentional slight, can confirm that Dr. Hale is completely and earnestly forgiven 😋
Special thanks to Dr. Alexander Cummins for help on this episode
What Magic is This? 