Books by Julie White

All ritual is a focus. It makes you aware of the point at which you stand -- be that of a time of year, of day or night, of a moment of potential when the way forward becomes apparent or a possible future is revealed, of an instant when one cycle closing opens the next. It also makes you aware of the place where you stand, for none of the events celebrated by our rituals takes place in limbo. They happen in the real world, marking real and often intimate events of enormous consequence. And by marking these events, we allow them to mark us -- binding us to the sky, to the land, and to the sea from which they all derive. Along with sample rituals for the eightfold year and eight major rites of passage, it contains chapters on the nature of ritual and its place in our spiritual and everyday lives. There are also prayers and other workings.

This new edition was written out of the need to provide an introduction to the Druid Way based on a Celtic metaphysic. The authors bring a wide experience of druidic practice and thought to bear and present a work that will allow those new to the Way to take their first steps with confidence. However, it is also a book that will be of immense interest to those who are already Druid as it approaches the subject with a fresh vision and a passion that will inspire many to re-examine their roots. The book is divided, appropriately, into three sections. The first part, ''How the World Came To Be'', looks at ancestral Celts and Druids and examines not just the history of the Druid Way, but also the metaphysic that gives it continued life. The second part, ''The Shape of the World'', explores some of the philosophical concepts of the modern Druid Way as well as the importance of the Matter of Britain in understanding what it is to be Druid. The final part, ''Working in the World'', looks at some of the practical aspects of being Druid.