Glamoury
By Steve Blamires
St. Paul MN, Llewellyn Publications (2000)
Reviewed by Jennifer Martin
Steve Blamires exposition on the Celtic Green World is
a somewhat engaging, though not entirely enlightening read on Celtic-oriented
neopaganism. It is best understood as simply thatone individuals
take on the Old Ways, not to be accepted by any means as a be-all end-all
authority. Taken as an introductory text, Glamoury is innocuous enough;
however, any serious seeker must continue his or her research, as Blamires
appears to be sorely lacking in that aspect. Following some of his advice,
the novice may find him- or herself in a situation from which extraction
may be difficult; it is best to take Blamires writings with more than
a single grain of salt.
The main strength of Blamires text is that it comes across as non-threatening,
but not entirely light and airy (in contrast to authors such as Sirona Knight).
He attempts to provide a history of Ireland and Celtic paganism in an easily-digestible
format that is not in the least intimidating, keeping it brief and providing
pronunciations at every opportunity. Blamires advice on dealing with
the Sidhe and other individuals one might come across beyond the veil in
the Otherworld is fairly good advice, even for dealing with
people in the mundane world: approach all with an attitude of healthy humility.
In other words, assume an attitude in which one understands his or her place
in relation to everyone and everything else in this world and beyond, and
act accordingly. When it comes to occurrences that take place in the mundane
world, including pain and death, his advice, again, is good: If you
review your life, you will find many instances where you have shied away
from experiences like watching others suffer, periods of intense physical
or mental pain, being told that a loved one is dying or dead, or having
to put down a faithful old pet. These experiences have as much to teach
us as any of the easier-to-accept lessons of life (75). His emphasis
on trusting ones intuition, both within and outside the course of
magickal Work, is excellent, and something that cannot be reinforced enough.
Blamires visualization techniques are also fairly good, as is his
emphasis on practice and taking things at ones own pace. While slightly
hypocritical, as there is nothing the Gaels love more than a good drink,
his thinking on addictive drugs in the course of life and ritual Work is
also quite good; though it must be pointed out that, unfortunately, many
of us require prescription drugs to cope with problems that cannot be treated
homeopathically. Blamires also provides a good introduction to holidays,
terminology, and key players in Celtic myth.
These things being said, Blamires does nothing to cement his work as scholastically
or experientially valid; thus it is difficult for the reader to take even
the positive aspects of his writing seriously. Although his credentials
may be good (these are not made explicit, however), it is clear that in
many respects his education has been exceedingly poor, and his ignorance
is obvious from the first pages. This is especially true of his archaeological
and anthropological knowledge, while, ironically, he emphasizes that any
serious seeker must become familiar with the disciplines; and his understanding
of other religious systems appears terribly deficient, leading him to level
harsh value judgments that are often incorrect. Blamires writes that ...
the Celts of these regions were wealthy, had an aristocracy, and a very
high standard of living. These are the social conditions necessary for a
people to start to evolve an appreciation of the arts, and to develop the
spiritual side of their nature (6). From this statement alone, it
is clear that he has no more than a laymans understanding of the development
of spiritual life, despite his exhortations to the seeker to delve into
archaeological, anthropological, and historical disciplines: we saw the
first evidence of spiritual belief with Neandertals, who had none of these
things. Blamires writes: The problem with the archaeological evidence
is that it tells us nothing of the economical, social, or ideological way
of life of the Celts who populated any given site (13). From this
statement, it is clear that his archaeological training is either nonexistent
or severely deficient, as archaeological evidence can provide us with a
wealth of information in these regards, especially if proper recovery methods
were carefully followed. Blamires seems to entirely discredit whatever information
the current record has provided us with, completely ignoring the fact that
information regarding economy, society, ideology and so forth are in many
cases fairly easily inferred from things such as climate, technology, and
husbandry. This is continued in his statements regarding the discovery of
grave goods, jewelry, and other materials that he contends provide us with
little to no information (13-15). His reliance on historical (written) versus
archaeological evidence (although he allegedly combines the two) is detrimental
to his arguments, especially when he presents the writings of authors such
as Caesar without any discussion on the dangers of ignoring the bias inherent
in all written accounts: all writings are biased, as they present a view
of things through an individuals or cultures eyes, and in this
sense, all have an agenda, recognized or not, intentional or not.
Blamires himself demonstrates several running agendas, not the least of
which being his emphasis on Irish Celtic Magic [sic], interesting
given his Scottish heritage (as opposed to simply Celtic Magick). It is
clear that he has an environmentalist agenda as well; and while this is
not necessarily something to fault him for, it makes his own bias obvious.
It is also clear that while he states he is not attempting to push one magickal
path over another (61), his loyalty lies with Irish Celtic Druidism to such
an extent that he comes across as either nationalistically arrogant or downright
xenophobic. This becomes painfully clear in his constant references to the
differences between Western (read Irish Celtic)
and Eastern spiritual paths. He differentiates between his path and those
of the east as follows:
The
Irish system specifically, and Western systems generally, stress becoming
absorbed in this world and what is happening within it and within yourself.
The ways of the East tend to put the emphasis on detachment from this
physical world, and rising above the pleasures and temptations
of the flesh. Such notions are embodied in the physical exercises developed
by Eastern systems, and should not be mixed with a system which encourages
the opposite approach to life [39].
This
statement demonstrates a very poor understanding of many Eastern systems;
Taoism and zen, for example, are entirely devoted to reaching other
planes through utter absorption in this one. Sage Hui-Neng, for example,
writes that To seek enlightenment by separating from this world
is as absurd as to search for a rabbits horn; and one zendo
demonstrates: Someone said, Please, Master, show me a way
in! Yun-men said, Slurping gruel, eating rice.
Blamires describes the gods and goddesses as having attained their renowned
status by being differently-abled rather than out-and-out divine (71),
a concept very similar to that of Hindu Bodhisattvas or Taoist Saints.
His description of the Celtic view of reincarnation is also very much
like the process of attaining Nirvana (73). Blamires also downplays
the idea of magick and spiritualism entailing work, though it is something
he states several times. He explains, Nothing is ever forced or
put under unnecessary pressure to grow or develop in the Green World
... (36), forgetting the development of gemstones and suchit
is, in fact, all in the definition of unnecessary, one guesses.
However, more than one spiritualist has rephrased Master Hakuins
statement that Should you desire the great tranquillity, prepare
to sweat white beads.
Above all else, Blamires poor scholarship requires the reader
to put his or her faith entirely in his interpretation, and does not
allow the seeker to retrace the authors own stepsa hallmark
of good research. He uses very few footnotes or citations; although
he provides a bibliography, it is unclear as to how many of these books
he actually referred to in the text (outside of direct quotations).
He has, apparently, relied only on books, and it is unclear how much
he has delved into current archaeological research. A good author wishing
to provide a springboard for further study would have also provided
resources on the disciplines he allegedly holds so close to his heart,
such as basic anthropological and archaeological texts, as well as texts
on studying history, mythology, and the like. Blamires does not explain
references such as the super string theory in quantum mechanics
(65) and the practice of trephination, which he almost presents as being
Celtic in origin (125), when it is known that the Aztecs and others
engaged in this practice as well. If he was truly attempting to create
a valid resource for seekers, he would have done well to include brief
explanations to things that are not necessarily common knowledge.
In reading Glamoury, the seeker should be advised to mark the authors
own words and attitudes regarding journeys to the Otherworlduse
great caution and do not fully trust things to be as they seem. Blamires
introduction to Celtic-flavored neopaganism is light and easily digested,
but is certainly not fulfilling or nutritious. While he presents his
point of view in a non-threatening manner, and provides some helpful
pieces of advice, the overwhelmingly poor quality of his scholarship,
unwarrantedly condescending attitude, and obvious cultural ignorance
make Blamires difficult to accept as a serious author. The danger in
this, however, is that the novice might not understand the finer points
of his deficiencies and leave the salt on the shelf.
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