Dec 03 2008
Ancient Celtic Druidry – and Racism???
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Jason from the amazing Wild Hunt blog has reported about the recent release of a controversial book. He says:
Prompted in part by a listing at The Witches’ Voice, several members of the Celtic Reconstructionist and Druidic communities* have been examining the dubious claims of a new book by Steven Akins. The self-published book, “The Lebor Feasa Runda: A Druidic Grammar of Celtic Lore and Magic”, claims to be an English translation of a German translation of a before-now undiscovered book of ancient Druid lore. |
In his highly anticipated English translation of the ancient Irish text known as the Lebor Feasa Runda (Book of Secret Knowledge), Celtic scholar and historian, Steven L. Akins, has at last made available to readers the wealth of pre-Christian teachings espoused by the Druids in this seminal work of pagan religious literature. Basing his translation on the only extant transcription of the now lost Black Book of Loughcrew, the actual doctrines of the Celtic priesthood are finally brought to light in this timeless rendering of these sacred scriptures.
There are several problems with his claims of finding this book, not least of which is the fact that it hasn’t been submitted for peer review to any Universities or reputable Celtic scholars. A strange move for a find that would completely revolutionize the field of Celtic Studies (especially Celtic Studies scholars in Germany, who would most likely be eager to verify the validity of a German translation of an ancient Gaelic text) if proven true. Further complicating the reputation of Akins is his involvement in a bribery scandal to attain the rights to a Scottish coat of arms.
Steven Akins, styled himself as Steven L. Akins of that Ilk, Hereditary Chief of the name and arms of the Clan Akins … created a clan badge, crest and tartan for his clan and petitioned the Lord Lyon King of Arms to claim the right to use a coat of arms of an alleged ancestor and legitimize his clan. On April 15, 2001 an article in the Sunday Mail, a Scottish newspaper, stated that Steven Akins allegedly attempted to bribe a Glasgow man in aiding him in his bid to be recognized as chief of Clan Akins. Akins allegedly wished to plant a forged tombstone with a coat of arms inscription, accompanied with forged genealogical records to prove his family was based in Lanarkshire in the 1700s. Steven Akins’ petition was ultimately rejected because of fraudulent information.
As if these factors weren’t enough to raise doubts about the “Lebor Feasa Runda”, it also seems to have gained quite a bit of popularity (warning: link to racist site) with the virulent racists at Stormfront. One entry at the hate-site reproduces the entire author’s preface (again, warning, racist site link) which makes clear exactly why racist Pagans would enjoy Akin’s book.
The disciples of this völkisch esoteric organization [Thule Gesellschaft] saw evidence for an Atlantean origin of the Aryan race in the lore contained within the Lebor Feasa Rúnda, specifically in the legends relating to the ancient gods of the pagan Celts having come from a mysterious island in the North Atlantic, bringing with them the four hallowed treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The fact that the Lebor Feasa Rúnda apparently corroborated the Thule doctrine of Aryan racial origins led to Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler ordering its siezure by the S.S. following Adolf Hitler’s rise to power … At face value, the Lebor Feasa Rúnda, fulfills the same role in pagan Celtic spirituality as the Bible, the Torah, or the Koran do in the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic religions.
Akins himself, at the OBOD message boards, has referred to himself as “protective” and “restrictive” in regards to his (white) race (and lists Adolf Hitler as a “hero” on his MySpace page). While that is surely his personal prerogative, the fact that racial “Druidic” teachings that “corroborate” the Thule Society** should suddenly appear from Akins casts further doubt that this book is anything other than his own invention. I would caution anyone interested in this Celtic “bible” to consider the source before spending your money. Further, modern practitioners of Celtic and Celtic-derived Pagan spiritualities reject any notions of “Celtic blood” being a prerequisite to participate in living Celtic cultures or reconstructed Celtic religions.
ADDENDUM: Celticist Dr. Phillip A. Bernhardt-House has done a examination of material posted online concerning this book, and posted an academic (p)review of his findings.
* I would like to thank Erynn Laurie, C. Lee Vermeers, and others in the CR and Drudic communities who provided me with information for this post.
** Aside from the Nazis, the book is also credited with inspiring everything from the Templars to the OTO, and was allegedly in the hands of people like Roger Bacon and John Dee. That before-now unpublished book sure did get around!
Since the publication of my translation of the Lebor Feasa Runda, there have been innumerable blogs posted on the internet by various talking heads and spin doctors seeking to acquire some notoriety by perpetuating assorted half-truths and other misinformation in regard to what the Lebor Feasa Runda actually is, what it says, and my own agenda in publishing it. In nearly every case, these defamatory remarks and accusations have been completely based on hearsay, rumors, and other third-hand information, with no attempt on the part of those spreading these uninformed allegations to actually take the book in hand, read it, and see exactly what it is and has to say. Many of those seeking to condemn the Lebor Feasa Runda, such as Erynn Rowan Laurie (author of Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom), C. Lee Vermeers (co-author of The CR FAQ), and Phillip A. Bernhardt-House (The Phillupic Hymns) are authors themselves (albeit far left-leaning ones), who have published their own books pertaining to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism and no doubt see the book that I have published as a competing title which may stand in the way of selling their own books and promoting their own agendas (which are notably characterized by feminism, multiculturalism, and alternative sexuality). Thus as a right-leaning conservative Pagan author who has no interest in promoting these causes, it comes as little surprise that those who embrace such philosophies should resort to hysterics and irrational rhetoric as a means of discouraging the reading public from making up their own minds and judging the validity of my work for themselves in an unprejudiced manner unaffected by outside influences.
One of the main allegations that have been put forth against the Lebor Feasa Runda is that it is somehow racist in nature. Let me assure any potential readers that nothing in the Lebor Feasa Runda could in any way be characterized as being racist in either tone or content. The book contains a number of old Irish sagas pertaining to the Celtic gods, the Celts themselves, and outlines the means by which the Celts interacted with their gods in a religious manner. Nothing in the text pertains to other races or ethnicities, nor offers any judgment as to the inherent qualities or character of any cultural group or nationality outside of Ireland. As an individual whose own ethnicity and heritage stems from that culture, my interest in it, it’s spirituality, traditions, and native literature should be apparent.
Another criticism that has been put forth against my work is that it was never submitted to peer review. As an independent scholar, it has never been my duty or my obligation to have any of my work vetted through an academic review process. Furthermore I intentionally avoided this as a means of protecting the privacy of living individuals related to the German author of the transcription of the Lebor Feasa Runda which I have translated, as it was their wish to retain their rights to privacy in the interest of their own personal involvements and associations which have no bearing on the work itself. For this reason I have not sought to publish the original German transcription of the Lebor Feasa Runda, but have chosen instead to make my own English translation of it available to readers who may find its contents to be of interest and use in pursuing their own spiritual path toward enlightenment. I have made every effort to render an accurate translation of the material presented to me, and have purposely done so in a style and manner that I feel is befitting a religious text of what I believe to be of great antiquity. Those who disagree are free to do so, but the text should be allowed to stand on its own merits, and the right to accept or reject it should rest with the individual reader, and not with those whose own self-serving interests are tied to discouraging its intended audience from arriving at their own opinion of it.
Steven L. Akins
Hi Steven,
Thank you very much for reply to our news post.
It is very much our purpose to try and point the Celtic Community to events and news that they might be interested in and the controversial news about your book is obviously much of interest. Being so controversial, I am really pleased that you have replied to not only give the opposite side of the story but also, as the author, a personal reply.
My own reaction to your comment is that you raise some very fair points.
Neither myself or Ruthie have had the chance to read your book as yet – something that both of us are keen to do – and are thus just passing on news and rumours. That is, of course, the function of ours News site and yet, something so intrinsically related to the subject matter (Celtic Mythology) that we cover, I would very much appreciate the opportunity to read, study and form a personal opinion on. When we have had the chance to do so, we would be more than happy to provide an objective review. We are students, not scholars, so we have no agendas.
I am very much comforted by your reassurances that the text is not racist. The arguments about Peer Review are not something that I am qualified to comment on, although I can say that with or without such review I would still be keen to read the book.
Thank you again Steven, for taking the time to set the record straight.
Gary
Gary,
The message I posted earlier was something I had prepared more or less as a generic “press release” in response to the many various blogs that have been running basically the same type of article, and was not directed specifically at your personal blog journal. I do however question the relevance of including a photo of what looks to be a museum display featuring a Ku Klux Klan uniform, as this photo bears no relation to the book I have published, nor to myself in any way. The posting of such photos smacks of cheap sensationalist journalism and comes across as a rather blatent attempt to put a negative spin on a subject which you admittedly have made no effort to personally investigate. I would think that a photo of the book itself, or of something actually pertaining to Druidism or Celtic Paganism would be far more relevant to the subject at hand. You are welcome to visit my author’s webpage at: http://www.geocities.com/lebor_feasa_runda for more information.
Steven L. Akins
Thank you for your comments Steven – I have changed the image accordingly.
Gary
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