Pagan Portals: Lugh || Book Review

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I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions written in this review are mine alone.


“Lugh is a God of Ireland who is also found in other Celtic language speaking cultures, popular historically and just as well-loved today. A deity of kingship and battle, he led his people out of oppression. A God skilled in magic, he used his power to bless and curse. Multifaceted and known as the ‘many-skilled’, Lugh is an intriguing member of the Tuatha De Danann and we can learn a great deal about him through his mythology, by looking at his cognates in other related cultures, and his modern appearances.” – Moon Books Blurb


For such a short book, Lugh is jam-packed with information any new seeker of Lugh would need. Morgan Daimler does a wonderful job sharing important information about the history of Lugh, His stories across different Celtic regions, and ways we as modern polytheists may connect with Him. I wanted to point out something I find very important. In the Author’s Note, Morgan Daimler makes it clear that she uses the Irish spelling whenever possible but that there was no standardized Irish spelling before the 20th century. This can make some names and words hard for an English speaker to grasp, but there is a pronunciation guide at the end of the book.

I wasn’t very well-informed on Lugh from an academic or pagan perspective besides the general knowledge of who He is. This book presented information about Lugh, His stories, and His possible aspects in many Celtic regions in an easy-to-read manner. The different stories and regions were interesting to read, though there is some overlap between the stories of different regions. However, I don’t mind the repetition. It helps to solidify the information but also show that Lugh was not just present in Ireland. There are stories of Him that spread across many Celtic nations, though the names for Himself were different and they may have even been different deities entirely.

A common reason someone may pick up this book is to learn about Lugh today and how one can begin to honor Him or work with Him. There are two chapters in this book that give a wealth of knowledge on Lugh and His associations as well as depictions of Him in a modern context. The entire section on Lúnasa is vital, in my opinion, because it showcases Lugh’s connection to the festival of Lughnasadh (Lúnasa) and where the Tailteann Games originated.

Overall, this book is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to learn more about Lugh, the Many-Skilled God of Ireland. Morgan Daimler puts the puzzle pieces together with ease, grabbing stories from lore and mythology to make them understandable for the average person; as understandable as they can be, I suppose, since a lot of Irish myth and lore is contradictory, but that’s another story altogether. At the end of the book, Morgan Daimler gathers together resources, further reading, and a fantastic bibliography to put the reader on the path to further knowledge if they wish to seek Lugh and know Him better.

Grab a copy for yourself here: https://amzn.to/2VwsMiM

Find Morgan (they/them) online! https://lairbhan.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check out my other book reviews here: Book Reviews


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