Laurie Erynn Rowan - A circle of stones : journeys and meditations for modern Celts

Preface

Ever sinceCircle of Stones went out of print, people have been asking when I would bemaking it available again. I've had a PDF of the book up on my website for sometime but, like many people, I prefer an actual book in my hands to a PDF fileon a computer when I'm doing my spiritual work. In early 2011, sixteen yearsafter the book originally went to press, I was finally persuaded that gettingphysical copies of Circle of Stones back into readers' hands was probably agood idea.

Thisis not really a new edition of the book. There are no substantive changes inthe text, beyond some grammatical corrections and the correction of the Irishand Gaelic texts and pronunciations. You hold it in your hands now, warts andall. If I were to write it today, it would be an entirely different creature,but every author knows that you can't keep rewriting one book, or you'll be atit for the rest of your life. I had to set this one down and move on, and I don'tregret that in the least. I've learned a lot in the last sixteen years and manyof the things asserted in the text as it stands are not what I think now. Thatis only as it should be.

Inthose same sixteen years, new archaeological discoveries have been made, newtranslations of primary texts have appeared, new scholars have come into thefield, and new theories have been propounded. Our knowledge is in a constantstate of flux, and it's necessary to keep up with this always-shifting body ofmaterial if we're going to do our spirituality justice. Writers, like everyoneelse, grow and change their minds as new information arises. I've done a lot ofwriting and work on ogam, on sacred madness and poetry, and on the CelticReconstructionist Pagan movement as a whole in the time since this book wasfirst written and have tried to integrate what I have continued to learn intothose writings.

Whenthis book was written, there were no other books out there by CelticReconstructionist Pagans for other CR Pagans. The movement itself was veryyoung it still is and everything was under discussion and debate. We were,and still are, trying to define ourselves and discover our boundaries and theshapes of our spiritualities. There still aren't many books out there writtenby members of the community for use within the community, but new resources doexist and new venues for discussion continue to be created and to pass into theaether when their usefulness diminishes. As the earliest specifically CR book, Circleof Stones still gets cited fairly often on reading lists, and it isobviously still popular enough that I was persuaded to do a reprint. I hopethat many newer books will come along and offer more up to date and accurateinformation, and that new and talented scholars and authors will come forwardand share their own work and insights with us, with poetic grace and judiciouswisdom.

Withoutthe kindness of Immanion Press, this current edition would not exist. StormConstantine and Taylor Ellwood were excited to bring my first work back intoprint, and I appreciate their enthusiasm more than I can say. Herb McSidheprovided clean scans of old artwork for this edition, and Bob Daverin createdthe new and much cleaner Fionn's Window glyph, also used in my book Ogam:Weaving Word Wisdom. Caera Aislingeach has done a spectacular job of cleaningup the Irish and Gaelic in the text, and providing a pronunciation guide. Shemay also do a sound file for the prayers in the book, so keep an eye on mywebsite, The Preserving Shrine, at http://www.seanet.com/~inisglas for updateson that possibility.

Manythanks are due to my dear friends in the Seattle area CR community, who are aconstant source of support and encouragement. Their wisdom and insight, theirresearch, and their discussions and debate have been invaluable to me over theyears. Their friendship has been a joy and their thoughts and comments aninspiration.

Erynn RowanLaurie

erynnrowanlaurie@gmail.com

Everett, WA

August, 2011