Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld

Sharon Paice MacLeod is a Harvard-trained Celticist, grant-funded researcher, historical consultant and professional musician. She has taught Celtic literature, mythology and folklore at the university level and lives in New England.

“Engaging.... From the first page of the Introduction, we feel as though she is telling us a beautiful story, going back-and-forth in time with ease and an effortless rhythm. The use of vital sources provides valuable background to the author’s line of thoughts, and allow readers to push their inquiries further. This process, as well as the general time of the book, creates a bond of trust between the reader and the author which winds up incredibly refreshing. To be able to research, gather, translate, analyze, understand and then render in a seemingly effortless way such knowledge is a true gift...a must read...a valuable asset”—Reading Religion

• Table of ContentsIntroductionA Note About ­Indo-European Root WordsPart One: Mythic Origins1. Cosmology and the Celtic Dreamtime2. Creation, Cosmogony and the Ancestry of the Gods3. Sacred Cycles and the Mythic Symbolism of TimePart Two: Sovereignty4. Divining the Divinities: The Mórrígan, Danu and Anu5. Restoring the Rightful Goddess: Sovereignty in the Tales of Findabair and Gwenhwyfar6. Mistress of the Wild Things: Abundance and Feminine Power in Early Irish SourcesPart Three: Liminality7. The Circle of Nine: Priestesses, Islands and Magical Rites8. Bird-Mask and ­Rowing-Wheel: Mug Roith, Tlachtga and Traditions of Druidic Power9. Cauldron of Awen, Stream of Imbas: The Symbolism of Water and Divine InspirationChapter NotesBibliographyIndex