Michael Dames

Ireland, more than any other country in Europe, has retained its mythological heritage, which lives today in the oral tradition of folk tales, in literature, in place-names and language, in ceremonies and monuments. Mountains and loughs are the homes of gods and goddesses, of saints and monsters, and pattern, beauty and cyclical logic are revealed in their stories. Michael Dames, whose previous works have won him a wide and enthusiastic following, has walked through each of the four show more provinces of Ireland--Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht--visiting first a focal mythic site, such as St. Patrick's Purgatory on Lough Derg, then further sites that "spiral off". He also surveys the entire island from a fifth province, "Mide" or "center", which becomes its axis. Ireland's sacred locations unexpectedly take on contemporary relevance as we realize that the underlying concerns of myth--conservation and recurrence--are increasingly present concerns too. The rich, multi-layered and visionary text is complemented by a careful selection of photographs, engravings, maps and diagrams that reveal the sacred places of pagan and Christian legend. Source: Publisher 1996 reprint revised edition show less

Michael Dames 'The Avebury Cycle' forms -together with his 'The Silbury Treasure' the basis of a particular brand of magical symbolism that I have adopted into my private pagan practice and wich I am still investigating. Even though Mr. Dames' base assumption of an all-encompassing Neolthic Mother Goddess cult has been toned down more recently, the picture he draws of the Avebury monuments as monumental representations for the four stations within the Wheel of the Year is both compelling as show more well as powerfully evocative. Don't take the 'history' too literally but let the imagenery inspire you! show less