Celtic Spirit Stories
Reviewed By: Shawn Smith
REVIEW
Overview: A colorful site with limited Celtic story materials. Authored by Mara Freedman, an “author & teacher of Celtic sacred traditions”, the site appears to be a marketing tool for her books, story and music CDs, tours, wedding services, and philosophies. The site includes a biography of Ms. Freeman, writings on Celtic folklore, a link for activities to celebrate the Celtic (Druid) year, a link for myths and tales, a calendar of classes conducted by Freeman, a link for psychic and “soul guidance” readings from Freeman, as well as links for information on Celtic weddings offered by Freeman and mystical tours of Ireland and the British Isles. • Authority: This website’s home page is titled “Chalice Center: a gateway into the world of Celtic spirituality” and is authored by Mara Freedman, a British writer, lecturer and storyteller. Ms. Freedman has studied Celtic sacred traditions for over thirty years. The site offers an address and toll free number to contact Ms. Freedman’s Celtic Spirit organization. • Accuracy: The site does contain links to several traditional Celtic stories retold by Ms. Freedman, as well as links to other stories retold by different authors. Many of these links are no longer live; it appears that all portions of the site are not regularly updated. The stories represented on the site appear to be accurate. • Currency: As indicated above, numerous links for myths and storytelling were no longer current; however, merchandise and services ordering information appeared to be current. • Objectivity: The site appears to be designed with a twofold purpose: to sell books, CDs and services provided by Freedman, and to explain the principles of Celtic spirituality (Druidism) to the site visitors. Information on the site is definitely biased towards the spiritual agenda; however, visitors who are only interested in the folklore/mythology links can easily reach those without reading other material. The site appears to be sponsored by Freedman’s Chalice Productions Company. Although the site is in the .org domain, it would be equally appropriate in the .com domain, due to the amount of merchandise and services offered through the site. It appears to fall within the .org domain because of the religious philosophy/spiritualism offered. • Access: The site is easily accessed, and is free to users with no registration required. There appear to be no special hardware or software requirements; the site was accessed easily through both Internet Explorer 6.1 as well as Netscape. • Design/Appearance: The site was colorful and easy to navigate. Visitors can choose the area of the site they are most interested in (myths/folklore, tours, CDs, etc.) and click on the area relevant to their interest. The site uses beautiful Celtic designs and artwork.
Reviewed By: Deanna Wallace
Celtic Spirit This colorful site, with its Old English style font, provides links to information on Celtic stories. At the top of the page, there are links to full scripts for three different stories: “The Selkie,” “The Prince, the Fox, and the Sword,” and “The Children of Lir.” At the bottom of the page there are links to a dozen or more other Celtic story sites. In addition to these links, there are also links to information on Celtic weddings (with beautiful Celtic blessings) and other rituals, lists of classes and workshops, books and CDs, and even travel tours of “Mystical England.” This one-page site is well organized. There is not a lot of information on this particular page (other than scripts), but as I mentioned, there are many links to other sites with volumes of information. The site is very aesthetically pleasing with color graphics and the fancy, Old World style lettering. It would be a good source for anyone looking for a Celtic story (or a Celtic wedding blessing!)