Comments On The Divine Hag Of The Christian Celts


I've read The Divine Hag of the Christian Celts (and am still the only one to have reviewed it on Amazon!), and I really enjoyed it. I have only visited two Sheelas in the stone so to speak, the one in Oxford, and one in Fiddington (Somerset), but I have a couple more nearby still to visit (one only 20 minutes away!). What I really like about the book is the catalogue & illustrations in the back, as it means you can refer to a picture of the Sheela being mentioned in the main text.

I have worked with Sheela na Gig as a gateway Goddess for a while, but this book really opened up some new ways in which to percieve her. I have always worked with Sheela as a Goddess of similar nature to the Morrigan etc, and this book seems to concur with my beliefs, which is always a bonus! As a side note, whereas many pagans split their Goddesses into a triplicity of maiden, mother & crone, I like to think Goddesses (if you percieve her as one that is!) such as Sheela transcend this pattern, being linked to sex, life, death & renewal. I think it's a product of modern minds who like to seperate life & sex from death that has led to the threefold pattern, and I have found that working with these types of Goddesses has allowed me to spread my perception of to link death & life (and before working with gateway Goddesses I did have a real problem with death).

I also agree with a lot of the arguments made especially against the idea that the Sheelas are a warning against lust & sin. The Oxford Sheela was in the tower museum with a card quoting this idea from Images of Lust, but having seen where it was originally on the tower, I also find it quite unlikely that a warning would be placed in such an unprominent place.
Martin



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