Showing posts with label kristoffer hughes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kristoffer hughes. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2019

[Review] From the Cauldron Born by Kristoffer Hughes


From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore
Title: From the Cauldron Born
Author: Kristoffer Hughes
Publishing Date: December 8th, 2012
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Pages: 280


The tale of Taliesin and the magical cauldron of Cerridwen speaks from the heart of the Celtic Pagan tradition. In From the Cauldron Born, you are invited not only to read the story but to live it. You are invited to resonate with the magic of the witch mother Cerridwen and her cauldron of inspiration. You are invited to become Taliesin, the prophetic spirit with the radiant brow. You are invited to awaken to a lucidity of spirit born from the archetypes of sacred myth.Join Kristoffer Hughes on a yearlong journey of rituals based on one of Wales's most profound legends. With deeply transformative exercises and lyrical wisdom, you will experience beauty and knowledge, imagination and creation as never before.

Praise: 
"If you are captivated by the exploration of Welsh and Celtic myth, Kristoffer Hughes's in-depth, scholarly work belongs on your bookshelf."--Ellen Dugan, author of Seasons of Witchery

"In this book, Kris Hughes takes up his Druid's staff and guides us through the winding paths of the tale of Taliesin with insight, learning, and inspiration so that we too may drink the magical brew in the cauldron of Cerridwen and emerge transformed."--Anna Franklin, author of The Sacred Circle 
Tarot



Another review for you! This one was not my most favorite book, which is why we have 2 Triquetras. The cover is beautifully done, which is what drew me in for this one.

I am an Irish Polytheist, not a Welsh-based practitioner, so maybe the story wasn't as poignant for me, but I feel that this book was stretched out a bit too much. I hate to say it, but it seemed a little redundant, and that the same points were being made over and over.

I thought that, from the Goodreads blurb, that we were going to have a deeper understanding of the story, not a rehashing of it three times over. The first part focuses on "a general overview and introduction to the tale and its history." Then we have a retelling of the tale, both traditional AND modern. We go over the landscape of the myth, a bit of historical background and some exercises.

I'm not sure if it's just me but the exercises didn't do too much for me. Again, I think it may be because I'm not too invested in Welsh mythology.

Either way, I'm glad I gave this one a go - if you're a Welsh Pagan, what do you think of diving very deep into mythology? A good thing to look at, or just beating a dead horse, so to speak?

I did receive a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.