A Circle of Stones, originally published in 1995, offers a unique approach to meditation and Otherworld journeying in a Celtic Pagan context through the use of prayer beads as a focus for understanding early Gaelic cosmology and ways to journey through its three realms of land, sea, and sky. With chapters on ritual, altars, journeying, and communicating with deities, this short book has provided seekers with tools for their spiritual work for nearly twenty years. This new edition offers a much improved pronunciation guide for the Irish and Scots Gaelic in the text, and a new foreword that offers context for the book's historical place in the emergence of Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan spirituality.
One of the classic foundational works of the Celtic Reconstructionist movement, A Circle of Stones presents a beautiful meditation discipline centered around a reconstructed cosmology of the pagan Irish Celts. Drawing upon traditional Gaelic prayers, poetry, and mythological symbolism for use in concert with a mindfully crafted Celtic mala or set of prayer beads, Erynn Laurie has created an accessible gateway through which the dedicated seeker may explore the realms of the Irish Otherworld and activate its various strands of wisdom in their lives."
Jhenah Telyndru, Avalon Within: A Sacred Journey of Myth, Mystery, and Inner Wisdom, Founder, Sisterhood of Avalon
Circle of Stones was not only the first book introducing us to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, but was also the most sublime. A simple collection of meditations and instructions that simultaneously introduces the reader to the language, gods, and poetry of the ancient
Celts. This is a workbook that rewards repeated returns to its pages, allowing novices and experienced Pagans alike to drink from Manannan mac Lir's well of wisdom. The return of Laurie's book to print is a boon, a gift to the wider Pagan community that should not be overlooked.
Jason Pitzl-Waters, The Wild Hunt @ Patheos.com
This long-anticipated and much-demanded reprint of A Circle of Stones will continue to stand, as has the first edition, as an important monument in the growing modern tradition of Celtic Reconstructionist polytheist practice, particularly in the medieval- and folk-derived Irish traditions of that movement. The historical significance of this book alone makes it a necessary item in the library of anyone interested in these subjects.
Dr. Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, Werewolves, Magical Hounds, and Dog-Headed Men in Celtic Literature.
