Celtic Medicine Stories

This is the second part of the first branch of the Mabinogi that we began in the last episode. These tales carried in the oral tradition of the ancient Britons contain teachings about how to be. Here our hero, Pwyll Prince of Dyfed, faces more trials as he learns about the importance of consent and generosity from a female tutor.Rhiannon is a beguiling figure who appears from the O

Nine hundred years ago in Medieval Wales, an unknown author wrote down tales that have been carried in the oral tradition for at least 2,000 years. Some think this collection of tales, known as The Mabinogion, is much older than that. This story, about Pwyll Prince of Dyfed is set before the Saxons, before the Romans, in a time when the native Brittons roamed freely across most of

This story grabbed my attention and I'm still not sure why, it's deeper mysteries have yet to be revealed to me. I keep telling it as a way to honor the medicine it carries and let it sink further into me. I'm very curious to know what you make of it. The Lad of the Skins is from the Fianna Cycle of Irish mythology. These tales of the Fianna, a roving band of warrior-poets, were to

This story is again from my home of the Scottish Borders. It continues the theme of the last two episodes, these extreme moments of total enlightenment after the accidental consumption of a magical liquid - just like Taliesin in Wales and Finn McCoull in Ireland. Michael Scott was a historical person in the early thirteenth century who became knows as the Border's Wizard. Adventure

This story from Ireland is from one of the deep layers of Celtic mythology. If you listened to the previous episode with the Welsh story of the Birth of Taliesin you will see the similarities between these two tales that suggest an older, foundational myth. It's an iconic Celtic tale of the crossing between the two worlds - ordinary reality and the place of all Wisdom - and here it

The story I am sharing with you today is The Birth of Taliesin. The word means "radiant brow" in Welsh, and you'll see why at the end of the story. Taliesin is another one of these Celtic figures who crosses back and forth between history and myth. There was indeed a famous Welsh Bard in the 6th century called Taliesin and there seem to be stories that pre-date that person and weav

This is a re-telling of an old Welsh tale captured in the 12th century text The Mabinogion. Its not usually told quiet like this. I see Elen as an expression of the Sovereignty Goddess who is so prevalent in Celtic myth. She is the abundance of the land and recognizes the need to be in partnership with humans for everything to flourish.To me this story speaks of the human-nature re

This is the third and final part of this telling of Merlin's story. This is the part you may be more familiar with and has taken many different forms over the years as the story traveled around Britain between the North and what is now Wales. This story speaks of Merlin as a great prophet implying that he has found some opening to the Otherworld through which knowledge, unbound by

This is the second part of Merlin's story, please listen to Part 1 first as it will give you some context for the battle that is about to happen and Merlin's griefThe battle happened in a field, by a river, in a place that now lies on the Western section of the English-Scottish Border. In the old texts the battle is recorded happening in the year 573 and is labeled one of the Three

Myrddin of the Wildwood -Part 1 of 4: The Old WaysMerlin has become a legend, many fantastical tales have been woven about him, and he continues to show up, in various guises in our popular culture. He has captured our imaginations as the archetypal Druid or Wizard.When we trace the history of his story we find at the beginning the fragments of an historical figure. A man who exist