Welcome to Celtic Shamanism and Healing

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Below is a list of resources and suggested reading before our first class, plus two drum journey audio I made. The journey audios are most effective through headphones.

(If you have taken my "Fundamentals of Celtic Shamanism Class," the first eight resources below were also part of that class)

The entire Celtic shamanic tradition is complex and fragmented. Here is a decent video that gives you an overview of that complexity.

1. Overview of The Celtic Shamanic Tradition and Medicine Wheel guide (PDF)
2. Basic Shamanic Journey guide (PDF)
3. 9 minute Drumming Audio
4. Journey Audio (Some guided narration followed by drumming)
5. Multiple Drum 21 Minute Journey (Straight drumming)
6. Another good resource for a shamanic drum journey audio is the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. (I have used #7 Multiple Drumming for many years.)There are also many drum journey audios on YouTube, however, they may have ads interrupting them. Spotify also has "Shamanic Drum" audios, but many of them are cluttered with multiple instruments. You are looking for something rather simple, lasting a minimum of 9  minutes.  
7. A very good book on Celtic Shamanism: Fire in the Head, by Tom Cowan ($17.99)
8. Here is the link to the Facebook page Called Circle Stories." (you may need a Facebook account to see it). It's a very good blog about Irish spiritual traditions by David Halpin.
9. Here is a lovey 37-minute telling of “Cath Maighe Tuireadh” - the “Second Battle of MoyTura” by a brother and sister podcast team under the name of Candlelit Tales (which I think has since changed its name to Celtic Mythology Podcast). I like their work a lot, and if you look through the list of podcasts you will find all the Irish stories you’ll ever need. Here is a 90 minute version of the complete story.
10. Celtic Medicine Wheel Brief Guide. This guide gives you an introduction to working with the Celtic Wheel as  healing tool.
    Celtic Wheel updated brief Study (PDF)
11. Temenos Meditation Audio
    
    NEW RESOURCES AFTER CLASS #2
    
    
12. The Inner teacher, the inner shaman, the “I am”: The "inner Teacher" or" Inner Shaman" is related to the popular phrase, "I Am." Here's s good video teaching about the “I Am”
13. Celtic Deities of the Wheel: Here is a good YouTube site by an oddly charming storyteller of Irish myths. He does a good job of including scholarly views in his tellings. You can search deities names and he often has something to say.
14. Aine, Goddess of Summer and wealth (south): Here is a more in-depth exploration of this very unclear figure: Read more.
15. Lugh, master of skills (South, North). About Lughnasa (August first)
16. Manannan Mac Lir (West). Here is a telling of the Voyage of Bran (I like this guy, Story Crow).                                                                              A note about the rape of Aine: This is an area of Celtic myth that we have to be very careful with. In our culture of “smashing the patriarchy” stories with these elements are quickly adopted to support a feminist viewpoint. That is fine and appropriate, however, remember that, it is very common in quasi-historical myths to add in or change elements that frame a family, a whole race or a region of the country in a poor light. An example in our day is the phrase “the Biden crime family.” If we lived in ancient Ireland, and the Trump family were to win “the war,” there would be embedded in our faery tales sties of the Biden family doing awful things to the goddesses. The most gut-wrenching tale along these lines is called "The Elucidation," which is a brief part of the Holy Grail myth. Those of us studying the shamanic path, in my view are all “the knights of the round table” (no gender need to be applied!). Further reading here.
17. The Dagda (West, South, Sky). About Cauldrons. About the Dagda. The story of the Dagda’s harp and the “three noble strains of music.”
18. My audio of the Story of Boann and the Well of Wisdom
19. My audio of the story of Beira, Brigid and Aengus
20. My 20 minute audio meditation on "the Heart of the Earth." 
21. YouTube Video about the Cailleach (West, North). This gives a bunch of information in a short time.
22. Here is a truly strange and wondrous 8 minute movie about the Cailleach
23. Story Crow’s video on the Cailleach
    
    NEW RESOURCES AFTER CLASS #3
    
    
24. A nice video exploring where the Celtic gods and Goddesses came from
25. The Two Charms we learned in class
26. A poem I wrote calling in the directions
27. An amazing book of Scottish spells, charms, blessings and information – The Carmina Gadelica. Here is an online version that has have both the Scots Gaelic and English, but the printed book has far more content. Online: https://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cg1/cg1004.htm. Order a complete hard copy here
    
    NEW RESOURCES AFTER CLASS #4
    
    
28. Here is a decent blog about the three cauldrons
29. And another blog on the cauldrons that swings wide from the original text but shows you how some people apply the cauldrons
30. The three cauldrons seem to be quite similar to the three Dantian in Chinese Medicine, Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Dantian, or dan tian, translates from Chinese to mean “field of elixir.” It describes what’s believed by some to be the seat of life force energy in the body. This can give you some perspective on the three cauldrons.
31. Here is a 20 minute meditation/VIsualization I made on the three cauldrons. Best with headphones.
    
    NEW RESOURCES AFTER CLASS #5
    
    
32. For those interested in diving deeply into the weeds of various translations of the "Three Cauldrons" as well as some other ancient Irish texts, see "A God Who Make Fire," by Chirstopher Scott Thompson.
33. Here is a web page that gives the complete text of the Cauldrons of Poesy, and some interpretation by Erynn Rowan Laurie. Her interpretation is more pagan than some, and more “new-agey.” That doesn’t make it incorrect, it’s just good to keep mind.
34. This is the first five pages of my "Complete Guide to Brigid." The entire study guide is in my website store ($29). This PDF gives you good info on this Primary Celtic Goddess and healing ally.
35. Here is a link to my audio of my "Healing journey with Brigid"