The most recommended druid books

I loved this book. If I had to describe this novel in one word it would be intelligent. Set in Celtic Ireland in the Iron Age, the language is rich and expressive and Merrigan takes you into his world until you feel you belong there. You are drawn into a time where everything is governed by the gods. The story takes you through the training of the young warriors and druids. With the ongoing conflict over land, and with the people’s lives steeped in superstitious beliefs, we come to care that the outcome falls well with our tribe.

Fionn is born into a simple rural tribe. His life is sweet as he grows to double figures playing with his sisters in the fields. At the age of ten, he is called to serve, and the boys of fighting age are gathered from across the land, taken from their families, and… show more.

I picked this up as an adult thinking it was straight historical fiction. After all, we meet the imprisoned Princess Elizabeth of England in the first chapter. However, when the main character is relocated to a remote castle and discovers the underground world of the fairy folk, the story takes a delightful turn into the realm of myth and legend. It pays homage to the Scottish myth of Tam Lin, the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer, and several Arthurian legends, while remaining firmly grounded in Elizabethan England. The added twist of the fairy realm was so deftly accomplished that I finished the book thinking that perhaps, if I lived in Elizabethan England, I too might have stumbled upon the land of the Fairy Folk. 

First published in 1893 it traces the history of the Druidic and Bardic schools across Ireland in the pre-Christian era, through the arrival of St. Patrick and into the Monastic Celtic Christian period, giving a unique insight into this time before the Normans brought ecclesiastical Roman Catholicism with them.

It was a lucky find at the old bookshop at the Hill of Tara. Although it is not specifically about Druids it offers great insights into the schooling and learning of the Pagan and medieval Irish before the collapse of the Gaelic civilisation in Ireland. There is nothing else quite like this in existence, that I know of.

Hounded is the first book in the Iron Druid series, about two-thousand-year-old druid Atticus O'Sullivan, who lives in present-day Arizona.

Atticus is a fun character, with just the right combination of snark, power, and oh-crap-I’m-in-over-my-head-again panic. But his companion, an Irish Wolfhound named Oberon, steals every scene he’s in.

Oberon and Atticus share a telepathic bond, which means we get to hear Oberon’s thoroughly dog-centric perspective on everything from the great squirrel conspiracy to the eternal quest for treats. The author clearly has a love and appreciation for dogs.

Oberon is a great partner and a loveable character. In short, Oberon is a Very Good Boy.

The Sea of Trolls is an excellent and satisfying read that immersed me in the fascinating Norse/Saxon world of 793 A.D. It’s the first book in one of the best series I've read in a long time—featuring rich world-building, magic at all levels, bold deeds, and a dry sense of humor. 

The first printing of this book in c.1470 laid the foundation for our popular, very British myths about Arthur and the Round Table.

I was absorbed by the legends of this great king and his knights; of his desire to bring honour and peace to our island. I at once fell in love with the young king, then wept over his demise when he discovered his wife’s affair with Sir Lancelot.

The thread flowing though these stories, and which eventually leads Arthur to his end, is one of striving for honour above all things. I was so inspired that I drew up an ancestral tree from its pages, so I could see at a glance where the knights linked together with their great leader. I still have that work.

Talk about sacrilege. Although my dad’s side of the family is Irish Catholic, he had nothing to do with the Church once he went to college, where he met my mom. Several years later, they split up. I was raised Southern Baptist by my mom, New Age/Buddhism/Unitarianism on alternating weekends from my dad, and rosary prayers and Virgin Mary sightings shared with me from my grandmother. The point is, to read a superb novel about Jesus having a relationship with Mary Magdalene, is something that would have shocked my Baptist Sunday School teacher. What does this have to do with Ireland? Cunningham describes Maeve aka Mary, as a woman raised by witches on a druid isle—where she first meets Jesus who was there for a bit of druid training—and is kidnapped and sold into Roman slavery. From there, she faces numerous challenges before finding the man she knew… show more.

Another book that inspires a strong memory of where I was when I read it. This time I was on a winter holiday in Scotland with my family and certain scenes are burned into my mind, so expertly were they written. This novel has a superb hero, great setting in Roman Britain, and the legendary warrior-queen, Boudicca. What more could you ask for? Hero of Rome is full of action and adventure and kicks off an excellent series that really doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Written by the first Chosen Chief and founder of the Order Of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), it was published posthumously in 1990 from lost work rediscovered in 1984.

Based on remains of British or Brythonic Druidism combined with texts from the Druidic revival of the 18th century onwards and the author’s own ideas and research, it is one of the most valuable and practical texts of the modern Druidic path.

It is not an easy book to read, written in a rather academic and haughty style, but still it is well worth the effort of reading.

While this draws on many earlier works and is somewhat influenced by romantic ideas of the time (in 1894) it contains much which you would struggle to find elsewhere unless you had access to a huge academic library.

The author gives his personal opinion on the reference material to a large extent, but he is quite explicit in that regard, so even though it is very dated, the reader is well aware of what is stated as pure fact and what is his own interpretation.

An essential work for those with an interest in the Irish form of Druidism and Paganism, which offers a unique insight and perspective long before the Druid revival reached Ireland.