"Hagitude"

Sharon Blackie has coined the word "hagitude", saying when it came to her she knew instantly that it was going to be the title of her new book. In other words, the book is about hags with attitude.

book recommendations, travel, thin placesJeanne CraneJune 19, 2023hag, book, aging, feminine energy, Divine Feminine, Amidst the Stones, travelComment

Clonmacnoise

We skip now to Day Four of Celtic Spirit. One of Ireland’s most treasured and iconic sites, Clonmacnoise, is on offer today as the group travels eastward. Our narrator is Jake.

book recommendations, Celtic Spirit, travelJeanne CraneAugust 22, 2022travel in Ireland, travel, clonmacnoise, ruinsComment

A Ritual of Connecting to the the Land

Today, we continue the experiment of my sharing audio excerpts from Celtic Spirit. The tour leader, Dorrie, offers short prayers or rituals at each of the thin places or sacred sites the group visits. These are her words as the group gathers at the top of the hill at the Cliffs of Moher:

Sea Lochs of Scotland

Loch Seaforth, Scotland creates the border between The Isles of Lewis and Harris in the Western Hebrides, Scotland. Its extensive meanderings create much of the beauty and magic of the sacred landscape that centers around the Callanish Stone Circles. I have vowed to return. I also realize there is so much more for me to research and learn.

Irish Holy Island Inis Cealtra

here are two well-known holy Islands in Ireland, one on Lough Derg, County Donegal; the other on a different Lough Derg in the Shannon River basin that creates borders for Counties Clare, Galway, and Tipperary. They both are sacred sites with long Christian histories and ancient ruins, but they are drastically different in spiritual perspective and present day

Fascinating Tidal Islands

Being on the water brings up memories of some Celtic places that I thought I would highlight in this month’s blogs. I grew up around lakes but never around the ocean, so you'll find that in my books and in my travels I gravitate to coastal settings.

Celtic Spirit, travelJeanne CraneJune 6, 2022summer, boat, Covid 19, nature, travel, tidal islands, Celtic spirituality, ruinsComment

So Where Are the Sheep?

I am in the middle of updating and revising my 2012 book, Celtic Spirit and I have a rather fun dilemma regarding sheep. Yes, sheep. I have pictures of sheep in the middle of the road in Scotland and Ireland that dates back to my first trip as a teenager in 1963.

travel, Celtic SpiritJeanne CraneMay 16, 2022celtic spirit, sheep, travel, IrelandComment

Red Easter Eggs

Celtic tradition connects the bunny and eggs to both spring and Easter, Both the hare and eggs are signs of fertility, birth and the season of spring not only in Celtic tradition but others as well.

Belfast

Let’s visit one more contemporary Irish statue that has been controversial and has been given a number of quirky, irreverent names. This one is in Belfast, Northern Ireland, not Dublin. Nonetheless, the Irish humor is unmistakable.

travel, Celtic SpiritJeanne CraneDecember 13, 2021travel, statue, Northern Ireland, irish humor, feminine energy, Divine FeminineComment

More Risque Irish Nicknames

Readers so enjoyed the blog on The Floozy in the Jacuzzi, that I felt compelled to share more quirky, even risqué nicknames. Let’s start with the spire that replaced the floozy on O’Connell Street. See how many I know of, comment others that you know.

Celtic Spirit, travelJeanne CraneDecember 6, 2021travel, travel in Ireland, Dublin, statue, celtic lore, Celtic wisdom, celtic spiritComment

An Excerpt from Celtic Spirit A Wee Journey to the Heart of it All

Charming, inspiring, insightful and informational story of fictional characters visiting present day Ireland.

Travelers gather at the Shannon airport to begin a tour of ancient sites of Ireland. Timothy, their very Irish bus driver, calls their intended visit a trip to the very heart of the Celtic spirit-to thin places, as the Irish would say.

The guides offer morning spiritual connection, days of touring, and evenings with pub sing-alongs, dances, and storytelling. Each is drawn to a different aspect of Celtic spirituality and each experiences the powerful energies of the land.

A Canadian couple comes for the Celtic music; a woman from Boston comes to honor the Irish saints; another comes to connect with her childhood love of fairies. A young widower brings his teenage son in hopes of healing. A retiring professor seeks inspiration for the next phase of her life. A busy mom seeks quality time with her teenage daughter and another with her adolescent son. Few anticipate the degree of transformation they will experience.

Join them in learning about Ireland, these thin places, Celtic spirituality, and the emergence of the Divine Feminine as their stories unfold with healing and romance.

An Excerpt from Amidst the Stones of Celtic Ireland

Abby and Mark want the freedom to explore their new relationship away from the watchful eyes of family and neighbors. He is fascinated by lighthouses and she is drawn to ancient Celtic stone circles. They embark on a road trip around the coast of Southwest Ireland that takes them into mystical and magical experiences far beyond their planned itinerary.