Tag: neopaganism

• Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses: A New Edition for an “Old Friend”

  If you are interested in Celtic mythology — and curious about how to integrate the ancient wisdom from the Celtic people into your spiritual life today — then The Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses might be for you.

  I co-authored this book with a good friend, Kathryn Hinds; the first edition was published in 2005. It’s been out of print for a while, and Kathryn passed away after a brief illness in 2018. I’m sorry she isn’t here to see this beautiful new edition featuring an introduction by Courtney Weber and lovely cover art by Thalia Took.

  

  In case you’re wondering: yes, this book explores Celtic mythology from a neopagan perspective. Which is to say, that the book assumes readers are not merely interested in the myths and legends of the old gods and goddesses from a purely literary perspective, but also explores how these archetypal figures can be spiritually meaningful, even to us today.

  If you are thinking, “Why would a contemplative Christian like Carl write a spiritual book about pagan gods and goddesses?” Then I need refer you to another post on this blog, “You Wrote Books About Paganism?!?” — which also formed the basis of a chapter in my most recent book, Unteachable Lessons. What both this blog post and book chapter will tell you is that, yes, for several years back in the day, I explored the modern-day pagan movement: Goddess devotion, shamanism, druidism, and Wicca (spiritual witchcraft). While I was on this journey of spiritual exploration, I wrote a number of books, including one called Magic of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses which I co-authored with Kathryn Hinds. That was the book which has now been reissued as Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses. The new edition is the same book, only with a new foreword and afterword, and a much better cover design and interior layout.

  So what that means, is that this book is a snapshot from fifteen years ago. My spirituality is not the same as it was then; I made the choice, actually just months after writing this book, to return to the practice of contemplative Christianity.

  So — you may be wondering, why would I want to promote a book that I wrote a long time ago, especially since I no longer adhere to the spiritual path I followed at the time I wrote the book? For several reasons. First, I think it’s a good book that explains the spirituality of Celtic Neopaganism, at least from one perspective. You don’t have to be a practitioner of this particular type of spirituality in order to learn something from this book. I also recognize that some people will want to read this book for their own spiritual purposes. Granted, I no longer follow a pagan spiritual path. But I am an interfaith-friendly, contemplative Christian, which means I do not demonize other spiritual paths, just because they are different from my own. As a contemplative, I believe that the Spirit of Love — what we Christians call “God” — can be at work in people’s lives in a variety of cultural, religious and spiritual settings. It is my hope that this new edition of a book I co-wrote a long time ago will be helpful to anyone who is exploring Celtic paganism with a sincere desire to find meaning, joy, and a path to being a better person. Or, I hope the book can be educational and informative for any reader, including those who want to learn more about Celtic Neopaganism without necessarily adopting it as their spiritual path.

  If you are interested in Celtic mythology or Celtic Neopaganism, I commend this book to you. And if you are just curious to see what was bouncing around in my head around the year 2004, then check it out. It’s an old friend — and like many old friends, I no longer see entirely eye-to-eye with it. But I’m willing to accept that, and value it as a chapter of my story. If you choose to read it — for whatever reason — I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

  You can order The Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Indiebound (independent bookstores). You can also get an ebook version for your Kindle or Nook. If you live in the USA, you can order it directly from me.

  Featured Image: Kathryn Hinds and Carl McColman, 2005. Photo by Fran McColman.

   

  July 23, 2020

  Carl McColman, Celtic Paganism, Celtic Spirituality, Kathryn Hinds, neopaganism

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• A New Edition of One of My Older Books is Coming Out Next Summer!

  In my book Unteachable Lessons I talk about how, before I became a Catholic in 2005, I wrote a number of books that reflected my interest in pre-Christian spirituality — books about Goddess spirituality, ancient Celtic spirituality, Druidism and Wicca. I wrote:

  These days most of those old books are out of print, but anyone with an internet connection can easily find used copies for sale (usually for about a penny plus shipping) on eBay or Amazon.

  If you want to learn more about those old “pagan” books of mine, you can read about them here: Eight Pagan Books (By a Christian Author).

  Well, as it turns out, one of my old books is going to be reprinted next summer. Today the publisher sent me the cover art, and so I’d like to share it with you now. The book, when it was originally published, was called Magic of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses. The new edition has a new title: The Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses. I like the new title better. And I definitely prefer the new cover design.

  

  This is an image of an Irish mother goddess, Danu, by pagan artist Thalia Took. You can see the original art on her website by clicking here.

  This book is a celebration of some of the major deities from Irish, Welsh, and continental Celtic mythology. While it is written for people who have a religious interest in these old mythic figures, it could be of interest to anyone who appreciates mythology or Celtic spirituality.

  Now, I know that many of my current readers are not interested in paganism, Celtic or otherwise. For that matter, a lot of my readers from fifteen or twenty years ago are not interested in my more recent books exploring Christian spirituality and mysticism. But, what continually surprises and delights me, is the number of people who are interested in all my work, whether pagan or Christian.¹I’ve been asked why I don’t capitalize “paganism.” It’s for the same reason I don’t capitalize “mysticism” — it’s a description of a type of spirituality, not the name of a religion. But I do capitalize Wicca or Asatru, just like I capitalize Christianity or Islam.

  So if you are interested in the old Celtic myths, I hope you will take a look. Of all my older books, I’m really happy that this is the one that my publisher saw fit to reprint — and that’s because it was co-authored with a friend of mine, Kathryn Hinds. Kathryn was an excellent writer and a gentle soul who, I am sad to say, was called to leave this life in 2018. I’m sorry she’s gone, but I’m really happy that her collaboration with me will live on in this new edition of our book.

  Here’s a picture of me and Kathryn from the last time I saw her, in 2016. We were at an awards banquet for the Georgia Writers Association, and we both received honors — me for Befriending Silence, and her for her novel The Healer’s Choice.

  

  So, next summer will see this new edition of Kathryn’s and my book. If you haven’t read one of my older books, it could be a fun introduction to that chapter of my life. If you’re interested in ancient Celtic spirituality, I bet you’d like it. Even though I no longer identify as a pagan, I’m still perfectly happy to commend this book to those who are interested in its subject — for reasons I explain in Unteachable Lessons.

  You can pre-order The Spirit of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses from Amazon — just click here.

  October 21, 2019

  Celtic Spirituality, Kathryn Hinds, neopaganism

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• “You Wrote Books About Paganism?!?”

  The late Kenneth Leech used to tell the story about giving a lecture at a seminary in America on the topic of race relations, and afterwards a seminarian seemed surprised to learn that he was the “same Kenneth Leech” who wrote books on spirituality. Apparently, the mind of this seminarian couldn’t equate a social-justice Christian with a contemplative-prayer Christian.

  But yes, Leech-the-expert-on-racism and Leech-the-expert-on-mysticism were one and the same.

  I often have a similar conversation with people who read my writing or attend one of my talks or retreats. These days, while I do some interfaith work, most of my writing and speaking is meant for Catholics or mainline Protestants. I write and speak about topics like Christian mysticism, contemplative prayer, monastic spirituality, and Celtic Christianity. But it doesn’t take a lot of digging on the Internet to discover that I didn’t always write or speak on these topics.

  “Are you same Carl McColman who…?”

  I know what’s coming when someone says, “When I heard you were going to lead our retreat, I googled you.” That usually leads to some variation of this question: “Are you the same Carl McColman who writes books about Paganism?”

  

  The conversation generally goes like this:

  “Well, it’s more accurate to say I used to write Pagan books — the last one was written in 2004 and published in 2005. I haven’t written books specifically for Pagan readers since, well, I left the Pagan world to become a Catholic.”

  “So you used to be a Pagan.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “You were into Wicca, Druidism, shamanism, Goddess worship, all that stuff?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “But isn’t that stuff evil?”

  “I think it’s dangerous to apply stereotypes to entire groups. Not all Christians are good, for example.”

  Most people get this, and will acknowledge that money-grubbing TV preachers or clergy who abuse children are just two examples of Christians who undermine the integrity of our faith.

  I go on. “You could say the same thing about Muslims, or Jews, or Buddhists. Remember the Buddhist who shot those people at the DC Navy Yard? Human nature being what it is, you find good and evil in all walks of life, all groups of people. So, yeah, there are some Pagans whose behavior I consider to be unethical, if not sinful or evil. But many other Pagans are dedicated to good things like building community or fostering environmental sustainability. So I think we need to avoid using simplistic labels.”

  “Well, if it’s not evil, why did you leave Paganism?”

  “After exploring Paganism for a number of years, I realized I didn’t belong there. My heart belongs to Jesus Christ. I made a mistake when I turned my back on him to pursue a spirituality that regarded him as just one among many spiritual teachers. By returning to Christianity and becoming a Catholic, I profess Jesus as the Second Person of the Holy  Trinity, which is to say, a unique expression of God’s love.”

  

  “What’s a nice Catholic like you doing in the interfaith world?”

  Sometimes the conversation will focus not just on my Pagan past, but also my interfaith work, which has continued to the present day. “I saw online that you also do interfaith work.”

  “That’s true. And out of that work, I remain deeply respectful of other faiths — all other faiths. Judaism and Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, Wicca and Taoism, Sikhism and Shinto — as a Catholic Christian, it is my duty to be respectful of all religions, to respectfully criticize what I think is wrong or misguided but to just as respectfully affirm all that is good and true and beautiful. In every faith. And incidentally, the Catholic Catechism supports this perspective.”

  “So let me get this straight. You wrote Pagan books, but you are no longer a Pagan. You realized Paganism wasn’t right for you, and that you love and follow Jesus Christ, but you don’t run around calling Paganism bad or evil because you believe it’s important to respect other religions, even minority religions like Paganism.”

  “That’s correct. Mind you, I don’t believe ‘anything goes.’ I think it’s wrong to force women to wear birkas, or to practice animal sacrifice like in Santeria, or any other practice that is unjust, exploitative, or abusive. But to the extent that religions provide people with positive meaning, purpose, and ethical guidance, I believe as a Christian it’s my job to be in dialogue with such faith, not in hostile opposition.”

  “Do you believe in the devil?”

  “Evil is real. Just ask any slave, or abused child, or victim of trafficking or corruption. Whether ‘the devil’ is a sentient being or a mythical embodiment of evil, is, to my mind, irrelevant. We must fight evil either way. But I also think we need to be careful to avoid stereotyping groups of people as ‘good’ or ‘evil’ — instead we should simply oppose evil in whatever form it takes or whatever context it arises, and likewise we should support the good that can be found in whatever context or setting we find it.”

  “Well, I have to admit, this all makes me uncomfortable.”

  “I’m sorry if it bothers you that I wrote books about non-Christian spirituality over ten years ago, or that I remain committed to positive dialogue between faiths. My exploration of Paganism was a chapter in my life, and I’ve met many Catholics and other Christians who also explore other faiths, for a season or a decade. It’s something many people do. Nowadays, I only talk about Paganism or interfaith dialogue when I am asked to do so by the sponsors of my retreats or classes, and I always do so from the perspective of a committed follower of Jesus Christ. Even when doing interfaith work, I strive to keep my theology, ethics and beliefs well within what is generally accepted as orthodox Christianity. I myself have a spiritual director, a confessor, and numerous teachers and mentors within the Christian world.”

  The Main Question

  “As a Christian, why should I trust you?” This, really, is the main point behind conversations like this. It’s a great question, and perhaps one that readers should ask of all writers.

  Here’s how I answer it:

  “As to why you (or anyone) should trust me, what matters more to me is that you trust yourself. If you do that, then you can evaluate my work fairly. I believe that my current work speaks for itself. Read my blog. Read my books published since 2010. And when you attend my retreats or classes, listen to what I have to say with a discerning mind. Frankly, I think we should always practice discernment when listening to any teacher or speaker — even the ones we do trust! Even the best teachers make mistakes, and even the worst teachers come up with good ideas now and then.”

  I always try to finish the conversation on a positive note.

  “I know that not everyone is drawn to the topics I explore in my work: contemplative prayer, monastic spirituality, Christian mysticism, or Celtic wisdom — and, of course, interfaith dialogue. That’s fine. If this isn’t your cup of theological tea, then please find teachers more to your liking. But I hope you will be able to see that my intention is to promote authentically Christian, while interfaith-friendly, expressions of spirituality, mysticism, and wisdom.”

  Generally, a conversation like this satisfies most people. Sometimes I run into people who are so genuinely frightened of interfaith dialogue, or of Paganism, that they simply cannot accept me, even now as a committed Christian. That saddens me, of course. But whenever possible, I like to talk to folks who are willing to hear about my spiritual journey. I love to share my experience: that a lively interest in the wisdom of other religious and philosophical paths, far from lessening my faith in Christ, helps me to become even more devoted to him. And I believe that can be true of anyone who approaches interfaith dialogue with a loving heart, a discerning mind, and a grounded commitment to your own faith.

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  To learn more about my spiritual journey from Paganism to Catholicism, read After the Magic, originally published on Beliefnet in 2005.

  To learn more about my Pagan books, check out Eight Pagan Books (By a Christian Author).

  To learn more about my Christian books, check out Books by Carl McColman.

  December 1, 2016

  Books, Catholicism, Christianity, interfaith dialogue, neopaganism, Paganism, Wicca

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