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New Page Books/Career Press 2004 ISBN #1-56414-759-2
Irish Witchcraft From An Irish Witch is being promoted as being the first book of its kind - i.e. the first book relating to Irish Witchcraft that was written by a practicing Irish Witch. Lora O'Brien is a practicing Irish Witch, and High Priestess for the Crow Coven, of which her husband is High Priest. She also writes for Irish and UK Pagan and Witchcraft magazines. From the foreword, written by Merlyn, editor of Witchcraft & Wiccamagazine: "Lora puts her principles into practice as a very active member of the Witchcraft community in Ireland, being one of the organizers of Witchfest Ireland and a star speaker on "Irish Witchcradt" at the massive Witchfest International in London. She has spent many years as a volunteer helping to advise newcomers to the Craft. If you are Irish, have Irish ancestry, or just feel drawn to Irish Witchcraft, this is the book you have been waiting for. Lora O'Brien has re-examined every established principle and idea within Witchcraft with the objective of truly integrating it into an Irish framework. The depth of research and grasp of Celtic myth and legend has not been equaled by any other book that I have ever read. Lora explains the link between Witchcraft, magic, and the ancient myths of Witches, and Goddesses and Gods, giving a true historical perspective on the ancient art of Spellcraft. The system contained within these pages will give the reader all the information needed to understand and practice genuine Irish Witchcraft." O'Brien begins by telling us that magically, the only manner in which she defines herself is as Irish Priestess and Witch. Her Irish heritage and her life path as a Witch hold equal importance. This really is the basis for this book. Connecting, helping and utilizing the magic through being Irish, Priestess and Witch - this is her foundation. The first thing that she addresses is the difference between Wiccan and Witch. O'Brien does an adequate job of defining Wiccan both and Pagan beliefs, and then goes on to define very specifically what an "Irish" Witch is. To begin with, she objects to the term Witch as being of Anglo-Saxon origin, and she resents it being used to describe her own calling. So why does she use it herself? Her explanation is that it would be too difficult to find modern terminology that fits in trying to pick one Irish word that is not only appropriate but that is widely understood. In this book, O'Brien makes extensive use of Irish terminology, which even she agrees can be hard to pronounce. To that end, after every Irish word (which is italicized), in parenthesis she places the word "pron." (short for pronunciation), along with a phonetic pronunciation. For example, she uses the term Banfháodh (pron. Ban-aw-eeh), which means Prophetess. She would have done better to simply put in the phonetic pronunciation. Throughout the book I found the inclusion of "pron." to be unnecessary and distracting. O' Brien also comes on quite strongly about anyone showing an interest in their Irish roots/ancestry. She does not feel that doing the genealogical research is enough. She does not feel that having Irish "blood" ancestry is enough. She feels that the true basis of understanding Irish Witchcraft is, at the minimum, visiting Ireland (she would prefer that you live there), connect with the land, the people, the culture and the mythology. Learn the language - she feels that it is disrespectful to address Irish deities in any language other than their own. Personal growth, or what they get out of this book, is placed on the shoulders of the reader. O'Brien gives this as a partial reason for the fact that she has included no prescribed rituals in this book. She feels that they need to be worded by the individual practitioner, using their own intent, to be of significance. She makes a major point that this book is not going to spoon feed anyone anything. She addresses, in a minimal manner, that all ritual needs to begin with the creations of sacred space, however the practitioner wishes to create that space. She makes the point that the sacred space that is created acts as the bridge between this world and the Otherworld. I would have liked to see this section expanded. The next section delves into Irish Gods and Goddesses, giving what the modern usage would be for each deity (i.e. how they would relate to the practitioners life and ritual/ceremonial purpose). She advises that when working with God or Goddess energy, that the practitioner remain aware that this is complex energy, and that when working with them the practitioner should take the time to get to know them, their history, their affiliations and loyalties, and their intricacies in every way that they possibly can. O'Brien includes an extensive section on fairies - on myths, on fears that people have about dealing with them, and on actions that fairies take. One of the points that is brought home here is showing respect for the fairie realm, and making the attempt to stay on good terms with them. The history of Witch related trials in Ireland is also briefly touched upon. Part of this is history, part is legend. The research here is well done, and the presentation interesting. One of the most important chapters deals with the move that O'Brien and her family made to the land that they are now living on. Through story, we see how she comes to know her land, and the energies that inhabit it. This is important for everyone, wherever they live. The reader is also advised to learn the history of existing Gods, Goddesses and Guides, to create a better understanding of how to work with them. This also goes for any energies that the practitioner wishes to call upon that are not an essential part of the land that they inhabit. Included in this chapter is the format for a ritual dedication that can be applied to any land, anywhere. At this point O'Brien begins to discuss the Wheel of the Year, and the Sabbats. These are times of year that mark the seasons, and are very connected to the land and its people. A history of the four main Sabbats (Samhain, Imbolg, Bealtaine, and Lughnasadh) is presented, as well as how the Sabbat is to be celebrated. O'Brien does a fair presentation of the stages of commitment of a Witches "life" - her growth within the craft. She defines the first stage of commitment (equivalent, roughly, the first degree in Wicca) as commitment to learning the work. This is a time to choose specialized areas of study, and to learn basic ritual work. The second stage of commitment (equivalent, roughly, to the second degree in Wicca) marks the passage to priesthood. The third stage of commitment is one that not everyone reaches, and is equivalent to the third degree in Wicca. It is where the practitioner becomes a High Priest or High Priestess. There is an interesting comparison done here with the Christian rites of passage. Overall, I do not feel that this book lived up to its foreword. There was a lot of personal opinion here, referencing Internet correspondence, the new Age Community, tourists etc. Every author should be allowed to express his or her own opinion in their books, but I felt that it was overdone here. At the end of the book, O'Brien takes a specific book and author to task for presenting what she calls misinformation. After the first few "Dear Reader" references, I grew annoyed. I really cannot, in good faith, recommend this book to anyone living outside of Ireland. If you don't live in Ireland, and basically want this book as a point of reference, that is fine. If you live outside of Ireland, and think you might want to be an Irish Witch, you may find this book insulting.
Bonnie Cehovet
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