67. What is a Bard? Old and New Traditions

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 it tell us about encounters with the extraordinary, about truth, childhood, and lost wisdom? If you want to follow a course on the Celtic myths of the Mabinogi, start here https://celticsource.online/mabinogi

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? Using the '5 Keys of Celtic Myth' approach, we break down this fascinating story to reveal its practical wisdom about finding balance, respecting boundaries, and connecting with forces beyond our understanding.If you want to follow a course on the Celtic myths of the Mabinogi, start here https://celticsource.online/mabinogi

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 in following the Mabinogi course, you can find more information here: https://celticsource.online/mabinogi-the-first-branch/

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 honour their gods, but to track the stars and planets across the heavens. And what they left behind is more than just stone — it’s a prehistoric observatory that still works to this day.The Picts course is course on the website: https://celticsource.online/courses/the-picts/To receive a series of videos from the Celtic Source archive, please sign up to the mailing list: https://celticsource.online/mailing-list/David Nance's original paper: https://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2164/18401/Nance_SGJ_Investigation_Aberdeenshire_Ritual_VOR.pdf?sequence=1

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.online/courses-page

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://celticsource.online/courses-page

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 the course, please visit: https://celticsource.online/courses-page/To receive a series of videos on similar topics, pleas join the mailing: https://celticsource.online/mailing-list/

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