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Battle Scars and Sacred Stars: The Story of the Picts

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…

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The Celtic Equinoxes?

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.

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The Celtic Rites and Sacred Time

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,…

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Disagreeing about Religion and Geoffrey of Monmouth

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Arthur's Myth: Death, Cauldrons and The Holy Grail

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…

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Celtic Source Programme 2024-2025

CS-Programme-24-25Download You can sign up for the different memberships here.

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What is a Bard? Old and New Traditions

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.

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End-of-year Review

2023-24 has been a busy year for Celtic Source. Here’s where we’ve been. Where do you want to go next?

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Reimagining the Mysteries of Tam Lin

I recently had a fascinating conversation with a very fine poet, Charlotte Hussey, about her new collection of poetry, And if I go with child?, an inspired reimagining of the Scottish border ballad of Tam Lin. You can also listen to this episode as a podcast here.

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Taliesin in Modern Poetry

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…

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What the Welsh Triads can tell us

Trioedd Ynys Prydein, the medieval Welsh storytriads, can tell us a few different things about other sources of Welsh myth, particularly the Mabinogi.

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The Ancient Celtic Horse Goddess?

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? You can listen to this episode ​as a podcast.

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The Blessings of the Táin

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 listen to this episode as a podcast here.​ The Táin 9 week course begins on Sunday, 14th of January.

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Taliesin the Guide

I recently proposed in a talk for Druids Down Under that Taliesin is a suitable guide to the world of Welsh myth. More recently, I was asked to expand on what I meant by that. Here’s a brief answer: You can also listen to this episode ​as a podcast here.

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Myth Mountain Podcast

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…

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Danu and Dôn

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? You can also l​isten to this episode as a podcast here.

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Is Taliesin a god?

The answer may not be what you think . . . I also respond to a question about the apparent difference between myth and folklore. This is an edited version of a talk I gave for Druids Down Under. Or listen as a podcast here.