The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual

As I read this book, I felt I had found a rare treasure I had been seeking for a very long time. Alexei Kondratiev has created a textbook of Celtic spirituality and ritual that rings with authenticity and meaning.It begins with a clear and fascinating description of what is known of the history of the early Celts, including their class of priests and bards, the Druids, and what is understood of their culture. The author makes... Read Full Review

This book's opening chapter, with its history of the Celts, I found to be invigorating in a way that more academic and popular histories both lack. It makes you see the West from the Celtic perspective, with an almost "what if?" tone. The remainder focuses upon the author's attempts to rebuild from what we know of the historical record, folkloric practice, and modern re-creation what can be taken from the past and made relevant... Read Full Review

There are very few books like The Apple Branch- the scholarship is impeccable and the author's knowledge of and passion for Celtic culture shines through on every page. This is the one book which everyone involved in Celtic spirituality must read. The underlying logic of Celtic religion is laid out in a clear and understandable way, but no easy short cuts are offered. Instead, Kondratiev stresses the need to learn a Celtic... Read Full Review

This book is the best book of Celtic history and ritual that I have ever read. Alexei's scholarship is incredible, and while most such books are dull, he presents the information in a very interesting way. He does not handfeed you pre-written ritual, but gives you the framework for you to customize and research. This book is for Pagans as well as open minded Christians, which makes the book countlessly usefull. I heartily... Read Full Review

Kondratiev's name may be Russian, but his heart is Celtic for sure based on this text. It's a wonderful antidote to the nonsense being perpetuated by poseurs such as McCoy, Stepanich, and Monroe. He encourages the reader to actually understand the Celts as they were and are as part of their spiritual and cultural growth, and his research and clarity of understanding shines through on every page. It's useable by Pagans and... Read Full Review