The Lore of the Bard - The Magick Moon

The Lore of the Bard A Guide to the Celtic and Druid Mysteries by Arthur Rowan.

A self-study course in modern Druidry Bardry is a potent, necessary dimension of the ancient druidic tradition. The bards were lore keepers, great magic workers, and soul singers of healing. They were highly esteemed and considered untouchable by Celtic nobles and otherworldly beings.

The Lore of the Bard fills an untended gap in the Celtic tradition. It lays down a philosophy for living in accordance with the Old Ways, with a complete magical practice combining the innate magical properties of objects, locations, and times with the passionately moving and enchanting forces of poetry and music.

Special Features

The only book available on the complete practice of the Celtic bard, a distinct but vital aspect of the growing druidic spiritual magical practice. For anyone drawn to the enchantment of Celtic music, myth, and poetry

Teaches divination by use of the old techniques:
- scrying with natural pools, and auguring with the enigmatic Dallan wands
- Develops a deeper understanding of the forest alphabet, the magically charged ogham script
- Incorporates both historical and contemporary elements

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction Who Were the Bards of Celtica? 1

PART I Celt and Bard
1 The Age of Celtica 11
The people of the bard

2 Jung Meets Vercingetorix 29
Celtic psychology

3 Individual Strings 45
Understanding the development of the self with a metaphor of the harp

PART II Bardcraft
4 In Search of Imbas 53
Seeking imbas, the source of bardic wisdom and power

5 The Forge of Art 75
The creation of bardic poetry

6 Harp and Lore 91
The power of music in the bardic tradition, and how to produce it

7 Elder Enchantment 111
The ancient magic of poetry, music, and mind

8 Ogham Ciphers and the Forest Mysteries 143
The secrets of the ogham forest alphabet and its calendrical relations

9 Arcane Arts 167
Some of the lesser enchantments of bardry and the Celtic tradition

PART III The Power of Legend
10 The Language of Myth 201
The power and purpose of myth

11 The Substance of True Dreams 221
Archetypal awareness and understanding

PART IV Lore and Traditions
12 Otherworld 233
A survey of the meaning of the Otherworld, the Celtic pantheons, and the sidhe

13 Practical Bardcraft 259
Initiation into bardcraft, dedication, and important notes

14 The Old Ways 275
Celebrating the high Celtic days, meditation in dark huts, ceilidhs

15 Ceridwen's Cauldron 301
Aspects of bardic philosophy

16 Where Times Mingle 327
Following the craft of the bard

Appendix A: A Concise Catalog of Celtic Symbols 331

Appendix B: Sources for Traditional Celtic Instruments and Music 335
Notes 337
Glossary 341
Recommended Reading & Bibliography 353
Index 357

REVIEWS:
Editorial Reviews

A self-study course in modern Druidry Bardry is a potent, necessary dimension of the ancient druidic tradition. The bards were lore keepers, great magic workers, and soul singers of healing. They were highly esteemed and considered untouchable by Celtic nobles and otherworldly beings. The Lore of the Bard fills an untended gap in the Celtic tradition. It lays down a philosophy for living in accordance with the Old Ways, with a complete magical practice combining the innate magical properties of objects, locations, and times with the passionately moving and enchanting forces of poetry and music.

The only book available on the complete practice of the Celtic bard, a distinct but vital aspect of the growing druidic spiritual magical practice For anyone drawn to the enchantment of Celtic music, myth, and poetry Teaches divination by use of the old techniques: scrying with natural pools, and auguring with the enigmatic Dallan wands Develops a deeper understanding of the forest alphabet, the magically charged ogham script Incorporates both historical and contemporary elements

About the Author
Arthur Rowan (Alaska) has followed the druidic bardic path for many years. He is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, one of the oldest druidic groups surviving into the 21st century. An accomplished harper and whistle player, he spends much of his time deep in the Alaskan wilderness, creating bardic music and poetry to the whims and cycles of nature.

Rowan spends much of his time researching his passions: folklore, folk music, and parapsychology, believing they are linked. Folklore and folk music are the tales and the moods that speak to peoples innermost being across generations, and parapsychology is the study of that spiritual or psychic thread that binds us to all times and places. Each is a different perspective on that which means the most to us. They are the links that give life the meaning that most matters, the search for the mystery and the magic that transcends merely knowing.

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