Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #383590 in Books
• Published on: 1993-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Customer Reviews

Why all the good reviews?
This book, while certainly amusing, does not border on the "truth" of anything, be it historical druidic practices, modern druidism, or even spiritual enlightenment. For instance, if Monroe is so enlightened, why does he claim that women are less spiritually evolved than men? If he's so enlightened, why does he spend so much time criticizing the Christian faith? Certainly, some one who was *truly* spiritually advanced needn't spend so much time bashing other people's faiths. Monroe's knowledge of other topics is also sadly lacking. He advocates the ingesting of mistletoe (eating one berry has been known to cause fatalities among children, and the oil of mistletoe is even more potent still). Also, if you put wormwood (which can cause miscarriage in pregnant women, though he neglects to mention that) in vodka, it creates a substance known as "absinthe" which can get you jailed for a few years *for merely OWNING,* let alone drinking, the substance.

All in all, I found this book to be a highly misinformed work, both historically, medicinally, and spiritually. If you're looking for some good works on the Druids, try reading a work from the historical section, or at the very least, *do not* read this book. Unless, of course, you're not looking for any amount of intelligence in the books you read.

Sexist and Historically Inaccurate
"The 21 lessons of Merlyn" tells a good story, but is historically inaccurate. For starters, the Druids came from Ireland in 1000BC...not from Atlantis in 400BC. Easter and the Yule Log are Germanic, not Pagan AND the kissing under the mistletoe tradition is Scandinavian. Also Ogham is not a symbolic magical alphabet. The druids did not practice celibacy to achieve new heights. There were many powerful beings (Mohammad), who had many wives and children.

The fact the many people see this book as a genuine resource on druidism is what bothers me the most. This book is based on the works of Iolo Morganwg (The Book of Pheryllt) which are proven forgeries. To those people, I must say...read more reliable books. There are many books available at Amazon.com that give a more accurate view on the history of the druids and Celtic lore. Look for resources that do not refer to the book of Pheryllt or "The Lost works of the Druids". Such things don't exist. Druids wrote very little about themselves. They didn't beleive in writing down their beleifs (especially magick spells and medicine).

The authors view of women is also very disturbing. Yes, women were druids AND female druids could achieve just as much as male druids. The author puts female Celts in a negative view.

I neglected to give this book 1 star because the author tells a very creative fictional story of Merlyn and Author. Monroe managed to keep this book interesting throughout. He just needs to find more reliable resources. I hear his second book "The Lost Books of Merlyn" makes up for this one by being more historically accurate, however, I make no claims since I have not read it.

I can not recommend this book because it is sexist content and inaccurate views of druidism.

Historical interpretation of the 21 lessons
Well, this book is a great read if you like to read for story value, but I think that the book lacks much in the way of factual information. No one can tell a person how to practice a religion, but if you are interested in "real" druidism, look somewhere else, please.