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.

Table of Contents


Introduction

A Note About ­Indo-European Root Words

Part One: Mythic Origins

1. Cosmology and the Celtic Dreamtime

2. Creation, Cosmogony and the Ancestry of the Gods

3. Sacred Cycles and the Mythic Symbolism of Time

Part Two: Sovereignty

4. Divining the Divinities: The Mórrígan, Danu and Anu

5. Restoring the Rightful Goddess: Sovereignty in the Tales of Findabair and Gwenhwyfar

6. Mistress of the Wild Things: Abundance and Feminine Power in Early Irish Sources

Part Three: Liminality

7. The Circle of Nine: Priestesses, Islands and Magical Rites

8. Bird-Mask and ­Rowing-Wheel: Mug Roith, Tlachtga and Traditions of Druidic Power

9. Cauldron of Awen, Stream of Imbas: The Symbolism of Water and Divine Inspiration

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index