Celtic Sacred Landscapes

Mr. Pennick is thorough, detailed and pragmatic. I am thoroughly impressed with this book. In a field where new age mumbo-jumbo can overwhelm practical study, this shines. He has written careful, well researched accounts that clarify the celtic use of the landscape, without falling into anecdote, he gives useful examples, and writes clearly. I will buy more of his books.10 / 10

This is a beautifully presented book replete with the author's own illustrations of crosses, knotwork, labyrinths etc. For anyone with an interest in Earth Mysteries or Celtic belief systems this is an essential and informative read. Pennick's style is comfortable, easily accessible yet never too simplistic. One gets the feeling that he truly knows his subject and indeed he should for he has being studying the European Sacred Traditions for nearly thirty years and has written many other books on these subjects such as the Celtic Oracle and Celtic Art in the Northern Tradition. Each chapter is laid out in easy to read sections dealing with a comprehensive range of topics including the symbolic landscape and the Celtic World Tree, sacred groves, the healing powers of wells, springs and stones, caves and the underworld, cities, earthworks, holy mountains and islands, trackways and spiritpaths. Scholarly insight melds with folklore and spirituality yet never descends into over-sentimentalism as so many of these books can do. Pennick awakes in the reader a gentle sense of wonder and a yearning for a return to the times when the earth was embraced as the living being she is, where each tree and stone, each river and spring, bore a name and blessings to bestow, where spirits abounded and the bards sang with pure voices now sadly silenced. Highly recommended.