Horses and the Mystical Path
The Celtic Way of Expanding the Human Soul
By Adele von Rüst McCormick, Ph.D.,
Marlena Deborah McCormick, Ph.D., and
Thomas E. McCormick, M.D.
Hardcover $21.95; ISBN: 1577314506; 208 pp.
New World Library, Sep 2004
Book Review by Ann Gilpin
Imagine a politically torn nation in which a rancher must rescue his beloved horses from the threat of approaching war. As he and his family prepare to flee in their trucks, he speaks heart-to-heart with his twenty-five year old stallion, begging the animal to follow the vehicles. The stallion goes to the herd, appears to communicate with its members, and they all seem to understand the dire situation. For three days they run, with little food or water, following the trucks. The trek is arduous, crossing high mountains to reach refuge in another country. They all arrive safely. With his task completed, the ageing stallion modestly accepts praise from the rancher, lies down and dies.
This story of communication between horse and human is true, and along with many others, forms the heart of the book, Horses and the Mystical Path. These stories come from the authors’ many years of developing and operating programs that combine psychotherapy with the healing power of horses to help emotionally disturbed people.
The unique relationship between horses and humans goes back many thousands of years. The authors came to understand this relationship as a divine-like connection and found explanations in a number of spiritual traditions. Most significantly, they discovered ancient Celtic tradition highly revered this connection. In the book, the authors outline the history of Celtic horsemanship, then explore mysticism at length, drawing from the era of the early Celtic church’s so-called “golden age of saints” (ca. 5th - 9th cent. C.E.). While they do touch on the much longer history of the Celts’ spiritual tradition, they curiously do not explore its pre-Christian animist beliefs that heavily influenced the early Celtic church and saints, or mention its divine horsewoman, Epona.
Without a doubt, though, the stories of the horses are the best part of this book. They demonstrate the profound depth horses can reach in their relationships with humans, both in the conscious, daily world and in the unconscious, mysterious world of the soul. Many of the stories will bring tears to the reader’s eyes. With inspiration and wisdom, Horses and the Mystical Path shows how these animals can teach the human to turn away from the cocoon-like self and find a greater perspective of the world all around.
Presenting Wales From A To Y: The People, The Places, The Traditions
By Peter N. Williams, Ph.D
Trafford Publishing, Aug 2003, $23.95, 297 pp.
ISBN: 1553954823
Reviewed by Paula Bardell
Opening with the entry: A Oes Heddwch (Is there Peace), the “stirring three-time cry of the archdruid of Wales . . . at the National Eisteddfod”, and ending with Zito, Jayne, the person who set up the Zito Trust to campaign for “better support and treatment of the mentally ill”, Peter N. Williams’ alphabetical guide to the people, places and traditions of Wales is a rich source of fascinating information for students, teachers, historians and curious browsers.
The author himself was born and raised in the county of Flintshire, close to the English border, where the flat plains of Cheshire look towards the imposing mountains of North Wales. The area is steeped in history; indeed, old Flintshire was established in 1284, seven years after King Edward I ordered work to begin on Flint Castle — the site of many bloody battles between Celts and Romans, British and Saxons, Welsh and Normans. Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians dismantled the edifice in 1646, but its ruins, which overlook the River Dee estuary, continue to attract a steady stream of sightseers each year.
Although Peter has lived in the United States since 1957, he has never forgotten his Welsh roots — he was the founder of the Welsh Society of Delaware — and takes obvious pleasure in exploring his cultural heritage. He is the author of at least half a dozen books about Wales, including The History of Wales in Verse and The Eighth Wonder of Wales: The Survival of its Ancient Celtic Language, and describes himself as being an active member of the “Welsh circuit.” Now a retired English teacher from the University of Delaware, he is a director of the National Welsh-American Foundation and was honoured in 1999 for his work on behalf of Wales and Welsh Americans by being made a member of Gorsedd at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
On his website, CelticInfo.com, Peter reveals that he was “brought up to be English.” By this, he undoubtedly means that his family and teachers
had little choice but to disregard Wales’ own unique customs, history, language (Cymraeg, the oldest spoken language in Britain) and identity in favour of an Anglocentric education. This was far from unusual in a nation dominated by the conquering English since 1282, and subsequently amalgamated with them following the 1536 Act of Union. Although modern Wales (as Peter points out) now has its own devolved political Assembly and “a whole new revolutionary spirit,” many centuries of immigration from England has left parts of Wales — especially Peter’s native northeast region — very heavily anglicized.
Nevertheless, there have been frequent revolts against the English from 1295 until 1500 — most notably the national uprising led by Owain Glyndwr. Then, following the Second World War, a nationalist movement emerged along with a revival of the language, which had earlier been suppressed or discouraged by the English. In 1966, Plaid Cymru (the Welsh National Party) returned its first member to Parliament and, during the mid 1980s, there was a bombing campaign against estate agents selling Welsh properties to English buyers. Finally, in 1997, a referendum endorsed devolution by a narrow margin of 50.3% and the Welsh Assembly started functioning in 2000.
Every year, thousands of people visit Wales to take pleasure in the wild beauty of its untamed scenery, experience a unique way of life and listen to the music of its internationally celebrated choirs. Any lingering impression of Wales as an industrial waste- land — black with collieries and tips — is very much out of date. Without a doubt, the contrast between the remains of its industrial past (now restored for tourists) and the splendour of its valleys are all part of the region’s great appeal.
Presenting Wales From A To Y will make a handy addition to many reference book collections, and will provide a fascinating background for curious visitors and armchair travellers alike. However, for those who would like to probe more deeply into the history of Wales and its feisty inhabitants, Peter’s The Long, Hard Struggle: A History of Wales and The Sacred Places of Wales: A Modern Pilgrimage, both published by Red Dragon Press in Newark, Delaware, are well worth seeking out.
Paula Bardell is a freelance writer who has contributed pieces to numerous publications on subjects ranging from literature and travel, to culture, history and humanitarian issues. She lives in North Wales, is a staff writer for Apsaras Review and the editor of two popular online guides. Her résumé is at:
http://www.mediabistro.com/PaulaBardell.
Presenting Wales From A To Y: The People, The Places, The Traditions