Celtic pagan gods were deities worshipped by the Celtic people, who inhabited parts of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era. These gods represented different aspects of nature and were believed to have supernatural powers and influence over various realms of life. Celtic mythology is filled with tales and legends of these gods, providing insight into the religious beliefs, rituals, and customs of the ancient Celts. One of the most prominent Celtic gods is Cernunnos, also known as the "Horned God." He was associated with fertility, abundance, and the wild aspects of nature. Depicted with antlered horns and a humanoid form, Cernunnos has been found in multiple ancient artifacts, suggesting his significance in Celtic culture.
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1680, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.
But some parts especially perceptions of the siblings respective flavors of witchiness made me frown and reach for Practical Magic as an authority on the subject. I was over the moon, then, to learn that The Rules of Magic is a prequel starring the aunts and their brother Vincent, set mostly during their youth in New York City during the 1960s.
Depicted with antlered horns and a humanoid form, Cernunnos has been found in multiple ancient artifacts, suggesting his significance in Celtic culture. Another significant Celtic god is Lugus, associated with intellect, skill, and craftsmanship. Lugus was often depicted as a youthful god with a spear and represented sovereignty and kingship.
'Rules Of Magic' Blends The Charm Of The Familiar With New Enchantments
I saw Practical Magic the film when I was 14, a little while before I read Practical Magic the book. I loved both, talked passionately about how very different they were from each other, how glad I was that I'd seen the film first so as to appreciate it on its own terms. The film gave me women loving and fighting with and for each other, in a house and garden (and kitchen) to spend the rest of my life lusting after; the book gave me poetry, the names of flowers, and generations of Owens sisters. The book focuses on Sally and Gillian as adult sisters, and on Antonia and Kylie, Sally's teenage daughters – but I always loved best the elderly aunts, Francis and Jet. I loved their comfort with each other, their confidence with magic, their authority, their power. I wanted to be them, and I wanted their stories.
I was over the moon, then, to learn that The Rules of Magic is a prequel starring the aunts and their brother Vincent, set mostly during their youth in New York City during the 1960s.
The Owens women have always had grey eyes, a spark of magic, and bad luck in love. Legend has it that their ancestor, Maria Owens, abandoned by her lover and accused of witchcraft during the Salem trials, cursed her bloodline to prevent her daughters suffering as she did. But Maria's journal also urges her descendants to "fall in love whenever you can," and the contradiction between curse and command is at the heart of Francis, Jet, and Vincent's lives. Coming of age on the Upper East Side with fashionable parents suspicious of the extraordinary, they explore and develop their powers together in secret — all the while resisting, and failing to resist, falling in love, with catastrophic consequences.
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I started reading The Rules of Magic in the afternoon and didn't stop until 2:00 AM. It's not a thriller by any means, not what I'd call a page-turner — there was no urgency to my reading, no skipping along sentences in order to find out what happens. Instead, reading it was like being caught in a current, floating along with a river's twists and turns, glimpsing familiarity and difference in varied measure before tumbling into something like the sea. I kept reading, not because I wanted to reach the end, but because I wanted to dwell in the honey-light of Hoffman's words. I wanted to hold these characters' hands.
Sometimes the degree to which I know Practical Magic by heart worked against my enjoyment, as Rules of Magic contradicts or rewrites elements of the former in order to fully develop the aunts' lives. Mostly this was welcome; Practical Magic suggests that the only romance the aunts ever experienced ended when lightning struck their teenage lovers, while The Rules of Magic quietly acknowledges and then brushes past that incident early on. But some parts — especially perceptions of the siblings' respective flavors of witchiness — made me frown and reach for Practical Magic as an authority on the subject. Which of course it needn't be; final process can certainly trump first thoughts. But reconciling the differences was sometimes distracting.
Hoffman's prose is as tender, dreamy and sweet as ever, laced with the sting of vinegar and broken glass.
For a book titled as it is, there seem to be no more rules to magic than to poetry. Magic here is old family recipes that yield surprising results in new ovens. Given this, I was sometimes confused by how often do no harm came up as an exhortation or a plot point, when by any conceivable metric the Owens siblings do harm people — and themselves — with magic all the time. Trying to puzzle a consistency out of the magic use was a bit like trying to bottle up the river with a sieve, so for the most part I shrugged it off and just lay back into the current.
But overall, the tug of the familiar and the enchantment of the new are the rule to which the above were exceptions. Hoffman's prose is as tender, dreamy and sweet as ever, laced with the sting of vinegar and broken glass. It's startling to take stock of how of a piece this book feels with its predecessor, of what a complicated dance of interlocking nostalgias this book explores and provokes: I, reading a book cataloguing a time during which Hoffman was a child, feel a tug of nostalgia towards the child I was while reading the book she wrote about adults my mother's age. Circles close within circles and spiral out again, and there's a magic in that too.
The Rules of Magic shows that sometimes the work you do comes back to you threefold — and sometimes you go back to the work you've done, and unfold three times more color from it.
Amal El-Mohtar is the Hugo Award-winning author of The Honey Month and the editor of Goblin Fruit, an online poetry magazine.
I was over the moon, then, to learn that The Rules of Magic is a prequel starring the aunts and their brother Vincent, set mostly during their youth in New York City during the 1960s.
He was honored during the festival of Lughnasadh, which celebrated the harvest and the skills of the Celtic people. The goddess Brigid was highly revered and had several aspects, including a deity of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. She was intimately connected to the arts, fertility, and the spring season. In Irish mythology, Brigid was considered a triple goddess, a concept seen in various polytheistic belief systems. The Morrigan was a complex and mysterious goddess associated with war, fate, and sovereignty. She was often depicted as a hooded figure or a crow and was believed to shape-shift into multiple forms. The Morrigan played a prominent role in Irish mythology and was seen as a symbol of battle and prophecy. Other Celtic gods and goddesses included Dagda, the god of the earth and wisdom; Danu, the mother goddess associated with fertility and rivers; and Llyr, the god of the sea. These deities represented the diverse aspects of Celtic culture and provided a spiritual foundation for the ancient Celts. Celtic pagan gods were worshipped through rituals, sacrifices, and offerings, and their influence extended to daily life, agriculture, and the cycle of seasons. With the spread of Christianity and the decline of Celtic culture, the worship of these gods gradually diminished, leaving behind stories and legends that continue to captivate and intrigue..
Reviews for "Cauldrons, Swords, and Other Symbols of Celtic Pagan Gods"
1. Jane - 1 star - I was really disappointed with the book "Celtic pagan godsz". Firstly, the writing style was incredibly confusing and hard to follow. The author was constantly jumping from one character's perspective to another, and it made it nearly impossible to connect with any of them. Additionally, the plot was weak and lacked any real substance. It felt like the author was trying to cover too many themes and ideas at once, resulting in a messy and disjointed storyline. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a cohesive and engaging read.
2. Michael - 2 stars - I had high hopes for "Celtic pagan godsz" but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it difficult to care about their stories or motivations. The dialogues were also quite unnatural and forced, making the interactions between the characters feel unrealistic and awkward. Additionally, the pacing of the book was off, with long stretches of slow-moving plot followed by rushed and unsatisfying resolutions. While the concept of Celtic pagan gods intrigued me, the execution in this book left much to be desired.
3. Sarah - 2.5 stars - "Celtic pagan godsz" had an interesting premise, but it failed to deliver on its potential. The world-building was weak, and I found myself struggling to form a clear picture of the settings and atmospheres described in the book. The author also used excessive amounts of description, often devoting entire paragraphs to minute details that didn't contribute much to the overall story. This made the pacing slow and tedious, and it became hard to stay engaged in the narrative. Overall, while there were some intriguing ideas present, the execution and writing style left much to be desired in this book.