Stones and water

A quick look at our five covers of Celtic Guide, so far, and it would seem I have a fixation with water and stones. In fact, I do. I have collected stones from castles and beaches and foundations of old family houses to the point where I don't know which stone came from where, I just know that they mean something. In looking at all the old civilizations, including the Celts, one of the main pieces of evidence that we have is of stone work. It's not that these people didn't build with wood, it is just that the stone lasted, stood the test of time, even if a little battered. The stone world of the Celt was virtually always surrounded by water. They say the same water on the earth today was here a million years ago, and will be here a million years into the future. What two better substances – water and stone – to symbolize a culture which has also stood the test of time?

There is evidence that at least some Celtic people helped build the pyramids of Egypt. The oldest set of laws in the world are the old Celtic Brehon Laws. Versions of the Celtic language are still spoken 2,000 years later, outlasting even Latin as a language of the common folk. While the melody for the song "Danny Boy" is simply a borrowing from a much earlier "O'Cahan's Lament," you can be sure the O'Cahan minstrel wove together pieces of music he had learned from earlier musicians to create that beautiful melody. Elvis borrowed the melody of "Annie Laurie" for his "Love Me Tender," and Dylan borrowed an old Irish song for his "Blowin' In The Wind." In fact, Dylan was a great fan of Irish music hanging out with Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers almost to the point of being a pest. When he came out with his first album he included the Celtic song "The Minstrel Boy" because of the ring of defiance it had, which he obviously incorporated into much of his own music. From Dylan came Springsteen, Mellencamp, the Beatles, and so many more, and so it is safe to say, with no question what-so-ever, that Celtic music has been the single most influential force behind modern music, as well as Bluegrass, Country Western, and even show tunes.

The point I am making is that the Celtic culture has been around for a very long time and the oldest evidence of its magnificence may be the multitude of castles and monasteries left behind, and the fact that it conquered some of the wildest waters and lands on earth, from the Highlands and Islands, to the rugged Antrim coast, to the Cape Breton mountainous coastline, to the forbidding Yukon River Valley – through multi-thousand mile sea journeys to Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and even Hawaii – and it is easy to see that the Celts made the world theirs by way of water.

And so, perhaps simply because I am a Celt, I love stone and water, and my covers seem to reveal that. Maybe June will be different. Maybe July won't.

Celtic Guide

May Issue

The May issue of Celtic Guide will post sometime this week. It is jam-packed with three times the number of pages as our first issue of January, and with six guest authors, two of them new to the pages of CG. This issue focuses on Celtic Mysteries. For June we will soon be working on our Celtic Pirate issue and hope to have two brand new authors for that issue, too.

Happy Tartan Day

Today, April 6th, marks 692 years since the Declaration of Arbroath was written as a letter to the Pope to recognize Scotland as an independent nation. The United States Declaration borrowed heavily from this document and, because of this, April 6 has been proclaimed by Congress and signed into law by the president over the last two decades as National Tartan Day.

Stories pouring in

It's not quite even April and not only is the April Guide posted, but stories are pouring in for the May issue, which will focus on more ancient Celtic culture and mysteries. I am so grateful to the handful of authors who have so quickly and kindly lent their hands to this endeavor. The word is spreading, new ideas and articles are arising, and the quality of the Guide is improving with each issue.

Unless there is some disturbing or glaring error, no back issue will be changed from its basic design and content. This promises to become an archive of some great and diverse Celtic-oriented stories. That was the plan, in the first place!

Come visit the Celtic Guide

I couldn't resist!

April is now online, just a bit early. It was basically finished and several people wanted a glimpse of it, so I figured - What the heck? While you are enjoying this issue and past issues, I and many other wonderful guest authors will be busy on the May issue of Celtic Guide

New Authors

The April issue is well underway. We have at least two new authors and it appears we may have one or two more join in before we go live.

The focus will be on Scotland, this issue, with a brief detour to Hawaii. National Tartan Day is celebrated on April 6th. We may possible have a word or two from its first National Chairman, whom I met in 2006. We've also been introduced to a writer from National Geographic, and a Hollywood publicist.

Ain't "viral" wonderful? Ha!

Anyway, it's back to work, writing, editing, emailing and have the time of my life. Anyone got sumpin' to say, I'm a listenin'.

Celtic Guide

Back To Work

Vacation's over, time to get busy on April. Went to Hawaii for a couple of weeks and found that the Celtic community is alive and well, there. The Hawaiian Scottish Festival & Highland Games kicks off March 31st, with the games extending into April. This will be the 31st year for the event.

Also, the islands are gearing up for St. Patrick's Day. There are a half dozen or so Irish pubs just in the Honolulu area, alone. Perhaps I will feature some more Hawaiian/ Celtic news in the April issue.

FYI - One of the most famous of Hawaiian princesses was Victoria Ka'iulani . . . half Scottish, through her father, Archibald Cleghorn, a Scottish financier from Edinburgh, Scotland. Victoria (only part of her much longer Hawaiian name) knew the step-daughter of Robert Louis Stevenson, and Stevenson wrote a poem to the princess referring to her as "The Island Rose." One of the Irish Pubs in Honolulu is named "The Island Rose."

Look for a bit more Hawaiian/Celtic news and a lot of news on National Tartan Day in the April issue of Celtic Guide. And read our back issues at -

Celtic Guide