Celtic Source

Get the short guide 'The 5 Keys of Celtic Myth' here: https://celticsource.online/the-5-keys-of-celtic-myth/ The story of Elidyr and the Tylwyth Teg is the oldest Welsh fairy tale on record. It tells of a boy's journey through ancient liminal spaces, encountering a deep realm of where the fairies have their own high ideals and ethics. But what does this story actually mean? What does i...

Get the short guide 'The 5 Keys of Celtic Myth' here: https://celticsource.online/the-5-keys-of-celtic-myth/ How can a simple Welsh folktale about a shepherd who falls in love with a magical lake maiden reveal deep insights about relationships, time, nature, and the delicate balance between different worlds? How did this extraordinary union gave birth to the legendary Physicians of Myddfai...

Get the short guide 'The 5 Keys of Celtic Myth' here: https://celticsource.online/the-5-keys-of-celticmyth/ Calan Mai (Beltane) is a time of flowers, birdsong and sunshine, but Welsh myths set at this time tell of conflict, horrific violence and monstrous threats to the very fertility of the land and the people. What does this mean? What's at the heart of this contradiction? If you're interested i...

Get the short guide 'The 5 Keys of Celtic Myth' here: https://celticsource.online/the-5-keys-of-celtic-myth/ If you're interested in following the Mabinogi course, you can find more information here: https://celticsource.online/mabinogi-the-first-branch/ My work may or may not be for you. This video will hopefully help you decide either way.

Two thousand years ago, an unstoppable empire met an immovable people. Rome’s mighty legions had conquered most of Celtic Britain . . . except for the tribes of the far north. We have little direct evidence for Pictish culture, but there are strong suggestions that long before Christianity reached Scotland, the early Picts were using Neolithic sites built with mathematical precision — not just to...

Sign up for the Mabinogi course here: https://celticsource.online/courses/the-four-branches-of-the-mabinogi/ How do we preserve the integrity of Celtic myths in a modern, largely English-speaking culture? Who gets to say what these myths mean? Are people within Celtic speaking cultures marginalised when it comes to what their own myths mean? Online courses on Celtic myth: https://celticsource.onli...

Saint or goddess? Christian feast or pagan festival? The story of Saint Brigid and Imbolc has puzzled scholars for quite some time now. So what do the actual Irish sources tell us? To get the file of sources and other research, including web links, please visit: https://celticsource.online/imbolc-and-brigid/ If you're interested in following the The Celtic Rites course, please visit: https://c...

The Wheel of the Year was a concept invented in the mid-20th century to describe a cycle of 8 seasonal pagan festivals, many of which were taken from Irish culture. More recently, the whole concept of an eight-fold year has been questioned, the assumption being that some festivals have no basis in history. But the situation, in the Celtic cultures at least, is a bit more nuanced.

The Wheel of the Year, the cycle of seasonal festivals that have been observed across the world, is one of the key features of historical Celtic culture. In many ways, the wheel embodies both a practical and mystical knowledge that was pertinent at different stages of the year. So what was this knowledge? What were the foundational themes common across the different Celtic regions? To join us on t...

History books on Witchcraft:Owen Davies, Cunning-Folk: Popular Magic in English History, (2003); Ronald Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon (1999); Emma Wilby, Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits (2005); Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

The older Welsh myth of Arthur is often overshadowed, both by the obsession with the chivalric Arthur of medieval Europe, and then more recently by the search for the historical Arthur. These subjects can be interesting in their own right, but they rarely ask the important questions: how did a Welsh figure become the centrepiece of an elaborate and profound mythology that’s still popular across th...

A wide rangeing conversation with singer Genevieve Andersen about the role of the bard in Welsh culture, past and present, and the ethics of being inspired by other people’s traditions.

In her most recent collection of poems, Charlotte Hussey has drawn on the fairytale of Tam Lin as found in a 16th century ballad from the Scottish Borders. In this interview we look at some of the poems and how they echo both the myth and Hussey's own history, and how the weaving of several perspectives and stories breaths new life in to this most mysterious of folk ballads. Those of you famil...

Many modern poets have found the awen in Taliesin's myth, not just in Wales but also beyond. Simon Lilly and Chris Martin are two such wordsmiths who have thrown themselves willingly into the cauldron. In this wide rangeing discussion we hear them read their own Taliesin-inspired poetry, and talk through some of the more powerful visions we find in this eternally abundant myth. If you want to...

Trioedd Ynys Prydein, the medieval Welsh storytriads, can tell us a few different things about other sources of Welsh myth, particularly the Mabinogi. Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

What do we mean when we say that Celtic goddesses like Rhiannon and Macha are medieval variations of an older, original horse goddess? What are we missing out in that apparently simple statement? Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

The Táin Bó Cuailnge, often simply called the Táin, is one of the most important Irish myths, and perhaps even one of the most important in Europe, with some claiming that it’s the earliest surviving epic in Western vernacular literature. You can sign up for the course here: https://celticsource.online/courses/the-tain/

Why is Taliesin a suitable guide to the world of Welsh myth? Here's a few reasons why.

This is a new podcast my wife and I will be making over the next few months. If you want to hear more, please search for the Myth Mountain podcast on your favourite platform and subscribe. You can find us on Spotify here. This podcast explores many of the ideas behind the Myth Mountain programme that you can find here. "Join Lucy and Gwilym as they unpack why we are compelled by myths, what r...

There have been several decades of speculation about the relationship between these two mysterious mythic mothers who both founded divine lineages in Celtic myth. But what is their relationship? Are they the same or different?

What questions should we ask when investigating Celtic myths? There are plenty we could ask, but I've tried to hone it down to three eternally fruitful questions. You can join us on the new courses here: https://celticsource.online/courses-page/

There's not many folks who end up in my line of work, and I often reflect on how I've ended up here, why I'm still following the path of Celtic myth. It all began with Taliesin, and I have a very distinct set of memories from my youth about those first tentative steps. This is a recorded version of the introduction to the new book (and now course), Taliesin Origins. https://celticsourc...

Do books on modern paganism have a translation problem when it comes to Celtic sources? A discussion with Kris Hughes on an important subject. Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

What would a 5th branch of the Mabinogi look like? By following the recurring themes of The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, is there a way of guessing what a 5th branch would contain? A lecture given a few years back at the Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival. https://celticsource.online/courses-page