Courtney Weber’s new book Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magick of the Celtic Goddess (Weiser 2015) is freshly out and she was kind enough
to give me a copy as thanks for using the prayer I wrote after the Newtown
killings. I asked her if she would answer a few questions about the book and her
connection to it so that I could pass that on to you along with the publishing
information. Here are her answers to my probing queries.
My perspective: Progressive Wiccan/Pagan with strong Celtic influences.
Why did you write the book?
Several reasons! First of all (and I tell this story in the book), I made a promise to Brigid back in college that if She would help me finish a short story for my fiction class, I'd write a book for Her. She sent along the inspiration, but I did not complete my end of the bargain. I forgot about it completely and went about my life, wondering why my writing career could never launch beyond a MySpace blog with 20 followers. Eventually, people started asking me about book recommendations about Brigid. I would refer them to Irish prayer books and Celtic myths. Finally, it made sense to just put one together with all the things I was sending people around to find, scavenger-hunt style. It was also about that time that in ritual, I was reminded of a promise I'd made a decade before. I knew I needed to write the book to make good my word to Brigid, and also try to help people find the resources they were looking for. (Continued below.)
Several reasons! First of all (and I tell this story in the book), I made a promise to Brigid back in college that if She would help me finish a short story for my fiction class, I'd write a book for Her. She sent along the inspiration, but I did not complete my end of the bargain. I forgot about it completely and went about my life, wondering why my writing career could never launch beyond a MySpace blog with 20 followers. Eventually, people started asking me about book recommendations about Brigid. I would refer them to Irish prayer books and Celtic myths. Finally, it made sense to just put one together with all the things I was sending people around to find, scavenger-hunt style. It was also about that time that in ritual, I was reminded of a promise I'd made a decade before. I knew I needed to write the book to make good my word to Brigid, and also try to help people find the resources they were looking for. (Continued below.)
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| Courtney Weber photo by Theresa Pridemore |
