Horse Goddess

When Epona: The Hidden Goddess of the Celts was published, I was excited to see a new book about Her in English. (Struggling through French and German languages texts is complicated — it’s hard to know if how you read something is the correct meaning when working with translation tools.) Here’s part of the book description from Amazon:

Epona: Hidden Goddess of the Celts reflects the importance of gender in ancient religion, and the author explores the primacy of the Feminine through Epona’s sovereignty as Horse Goddess among the Celts; her identity as “Mistress of Animals” in her love affairs and working relationships, and the surprising role she apparently played in the ancient Greek and Roman Mysteries.

P.D. Mackenzie Cook’s unique study of Epona positions her in a broad cross-cultural context. The story he presents is at the same time historical, speculative, and deeply personal – at once a scholarly survey, intriguing detective story, and spiritual message to be taken to heart.

I reviewed the book, Epona: The Hidden Goddess of the Celts by P.D. MacCenzie Cook[1] in the Imbolc 2017 issue of Air n’Aithesc. A friend of mine read the review and asked that I make it more readily available.

Overall, the book is an interesting read. It’s nice to have some clear information in English, instead of French or German. However, the author clearly states that the story of Epona presented in the book is constructed in the book is speculative and original. You have to keep this in mind when reading, especially the later chapters where the author extrapolates information that could tentatively have been related to Epona.

Here is my full review: Review-Epona-Hidden-Goddess_Ceffyl

Would I recommend it? Yes, with caveats. You have to keep in mind that the author is both presenting well researched information *and* constructing a narrative for Epona to attempt to build a story that ties together evidence and conjecture.

[1] P.D. MacKenzie Cook, Epona: The Hidden Goddess of the Celts, Avalonia: London, UK 2016. ISBN-10: 1905297963; ISBN-16: 978-1905297962

An article I wrote about Epona was included in the first issue of Air n’Aithesc in 2014. The article, “Finding Epona,” is about the search for Epona both from a spiritual aspect and looking for information about her in scholarly literature.

Aedui, C. (2014). Finding Epona. Air n’Aithesc, 1(1), 51-63

Here is the opening of the article:

My life has always revolved around horses. Horses are an extension of the divine present in my everyday life and part of my connection to Epona, the Celtic horse goddess. Touching my mare’s neck is like touching a piece of history.

When I was in college and first exploring pagan paths, my grandmother gave me a copy of Morgan Llewellyn’s The Horse Goddess, which tells the story of a young woman named Epona in 8th century Europe. I was enthralled. Who was Epona? Hodges Library at the University of Knoxville at Tennessee only had one hit for “Epona”: a recording by the Tanahill Weavers.

Since that time, my quest to learn about Epona has included research and personal gnosis, with the research inspiring everyday practice and intuition leading me to search for information in areas I might have otherwise overlooked. My emphasis has been on understanding Her by understanding Her cultural context.

Have an idea for an article related to Celtic Reconstructism? Consider submitting your article, art work, or poetry to AnA for the Spring 2017 edition.

Read more about the AnA submissions guidelines. To send your work:

We accept submissions only through our email address. We do not accept submissions through postal services. We welcome submissions on any topic related to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism with an emphasis on research and research based Unverified Personal Gnosis. These articles may be on various roles of Celtic cultures, including but not limited to, poet, druid, hearth keeper, healer, warrior, artist, smith, as well as cultural overviews. Your manuscript must be in one of the following file forms: .doc, .rtf, .docx, and .txt.

Please send your submissions too ciannait@live.co.uk with the subject line: Air n-Aithesc Submissions

Maya St.Clair of Air n’Aithesc has compiled An Leabhar Urnaí: A Book of Celtic Reconstructionist Friendly Prayers. Epona has two prayers in the book, including one by written by me to use before riding.

Here is the summary of the book from the AnA web site:

An Leabhar Urnaí: A Book of Celtic Reconstructionist Friendly Prayers was inspired by Ceisiwr Serith’s books and A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book.

This book offers prayers and invocations in Old Irish, and Gaulish, with their English translations; as well as prayers in English to Welsh, Irish and Gaulish Gods. The authors and editor also took the time to add a little information on the Gods they pray to and the reasons behind writing their prayers or invocations.

The Imbolc 2016 issue of Air n’Aithesc is now available in ebook and print versions from MagCloud. In this issue, I have an article on how to succeed at your research projects and not get lost in the weeds.

I finally ordered print copies of the magazine. The quality is excellent for a print-on-demand work. The paper is good quality. Ink doesn’t smudge or smear. Images are crisp. It’s something special to see something you wrote in a printed copy, instead of an ebook.

I’m working on an article on research methods. The current section discusses scope and discipline when doing research with the key point being to resist the rabbit holes. Don’t go off on that tangent! I wrote an example that had me snickering but was far too specific for the target audience. Here is my example.

For example, were any of the horses on Epona artifacts painted? One site equates Epona with Rhiannon, and since she had a gray horse then Epona must also have had a gray horse. Rhiannon also rode a horse, but she’s from a later time period and in Wales. There is a related link to the Welsh Mari Llywd traditions around Christmas as well as hobby horses. And they could all possibly related back to Epona, but it really isn’t answering the question of whether or not any of the equids depicted with Epona had been painted.

Air n’Aithesc: Our Message has a new issue out! We have an excellent selection of essays, poetry, and reviews. Information on this issue from Facebook page for Air n-Aithesc lists three book reviews: The Names Upon The Harp: Irish Myths and Legends by Blackbird O’Connell; The Gaelic Finn Tradition by Maya St.Clair; and Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State by Finnchuill.

And a quote from my article, Building a Personal Relationship with Deity:

Going before Her altar, I can sense Her presence behind me, around me, in me. Like the warmth of hands pressing on my shoulders: She is there with me both in Her temple and outside. She is the strength and anchor; the calm in the storm, the mare who guides the herd to safety.

To read more, please check out the second issue of Air n-Aithesc

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/779616?__r=486121&s=w

Here is a happy announcement! The first issue of Air n-Aithesc(which means “Our Message”) went live on February 11th! Here’s the blurb from the journal’s web site explaining the purpose:

Air n-Aithesc: Our Message is a peer-reviewed magazine that hopes to offer well researched material for Celtic Reconstructionists and others who value the role of academics as much as they value the role of the spiritual in their practice.

The magazine’s main aim is to offer as many resources as possible, from research articles to in depth explorations of how personal experiences fit in with the sources,  book reviews, and much more.

I was incredibly honored to be included a staff member and as a contributor for this issue. The other committee members and contributors are people I greatly respect. It is an honor to be amongst such fine company.

What’s in the first issue? Lots of goodies! Including an article on Epona by yours truly. It was an amazing experience to write it. (Processing the research will be another post, I think.)

Wander on over to HP MagCloud and take a sneak peek. Maybe buy a digital or hard copy and support a fine cause.

You can also follow the journal on Twitter and Facebook.