Legends of the Grail: Stories of Celtic Goddesses

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"Legends of the Grail: Stories of Irish Goddesses" is a collection of ancient Irish myths and legends told in the traditional way with a twist. Each Goddess, generally demonized or misunderstood, has the chance to retell her story in a way that liberates her from centuries of misunderstanding. Some of the stories date back 8,000 years or longer, and yet the wisdom is timeless. The stories begin in 1700BC as the ancient ones known as the Tuatha De Danann leave surface earth. In remembering the tales of our ancestors we are invited to embrace the depth and wisdom we need to navigate this current age. Each chapter is followed with a "Healing With the Goddess" section that contains practices, visualizations and blessings to help the reader get in touch with their own soulful qualities and capacities. These exercises can help us understand the age we live in.

The Mother Goddess Danu introduces several of her daughters including Aine, a Solar Goddess who reminds us of our intelligence and the ways in which we shine. We encounter Ceasair, the granddaughter of Noah who was not allowed to board the Ark, so built her own ship and set sail to Ireland with her horses and fifty friends. In folklore it is Ceasair who initiates the strong Goddess traditions of Ireland. Scatach initiates the hero Cuchulain into the ways of the true warrior, and Emer welcomes the same hero as her husband. The poet Aengus Og sees Caer Ibormeith in a dream and falls in love. Finally the maiden Brighid decides to go on a pilgrimage to find the Cailleach, the most ancient Goddess of them all. There are four Appendices, including a Goddess Timeline and Thealogy called "Her-Story" that lists the Goddess traditions from pre-history to present time. There is also a Glossary and extensive Bibliography for those who wish to learn more about the Goddess traditions.

The author obtained her doctorate in Anglo-Irish literature from King's College London. The academic foreword is by Dr Leonee Ormond and the second forward by is Suzanna Crampton, an Irish Farmer. The book is a mixture of in depth research that honors the Irish heritage, and experiential ways to engage archetypes that can help the reader understand his or her wholeness. The Grail is symbolic of a person who has realized their true Self. The Earth is changing. It is time to look to the past to see how our ancestors navigated the ending of their era, and lived.