Episode 88: Thomas the Rhymer with Kat Houghton

Kat Houghton is a storyteller, author, wilderness rites of passage guide, transformational coach and forest farmer. Originally from the Scottish Borders, she now lives and works in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia. For the last eleven months Kat has been a student on my Myth Singers program, which led her to start her new podcast, Celtic Medicine Stories, which I highly recommend. On this episode, Kat tells the classic Scottish story of Thomas the Rhymer, which is well overdue a telling on this podcast, and afterward we talk about the story, which Kat sees as an initiatory story which mirrors her own work with visionary rites of passage. I also offer an exercise to help you access 'True Thomas Knowing'. Learn more about Kat and the many aspects of her work here.Listen to Kat's Celtic Medicine Stories Podcast on Apple Podcasts here.Note: Kat's home region has been devastated by the Hurricane Helene. Kat is currently working hard with other volunteers in the area. If you would like to help, she suggests the following two organisations:'BeLoved Asheville has a long history of carrying for our most vulnerable people, especially those without houses. There are suddenly many more for them to assist' https://www.belovedasheville.com/rebuilding-hope-after-hurricane-helene/  'And our farmers who have been donating all their harvest and not getting paid. This fund is to support them and the farms that were so damaged they have no more crops'  https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-farmers-and-grassroots-food-system-organizing-in-wncYou can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

My guest today is Dougie Mackay. Dougie hails from the Scottish Highlands and draws on his background in nature connection and ancestral skills in his storytelling. He founded the Inverness Storytelling Festival, hosts the Tales for Our Times podcast, recently toured British Columbia and hosts regular events at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. On this episode Dougie tells the Scottish story of Whuppity Stoorie, and afterwards we talk about the story and his work. I’m trying a new format, in which we go straight into the story and then talk afterwards, so please let me know if you prefer this.Visit Dougie's website here and listen to his podcast here.You can sign up for the waiting list for Daniel and Danica's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

Today’s episode is a joint release with Danica Boyce of Fair Folk Podcast to mark Lughnasa. It’s been a few years since Danica and I last guested on each other’s podcasts, during which time our work has evolved and changed, we’ve started collaborating and Danica has moved to Scotland. So it was about time for a catch up. On this episode we take the story of The Coming of Lugh as a starting point for a conversation about accessing Celtic myth, pagan ritual song and the nature of devotional practice amongst other things. We also share news of our new offering, The Cave of Dreams. You can sign up for the waiting list for The Cave of Dreams here.Join Danica's substack here, listen to her podcast Fair Folk here and follow her on Instagram here. If you're in or near England next week, join us at Medicine Festival. A few Celtic tradition bearers mentioned on the episode who share their work online are Candlelit Tales, Fireside, Michael Harvey, Tamar Williams and Angharad Wynne. Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

We're a bit past midsummer but it's such a great story, I couldn't resist!This is another Celtic story taken from my new book Scottish Myths & Legends Volume II, told by me. It's an old pagan tale of dancing trees which, to me, is an illustration of the overflowing of life and light we experience in Scotland in the middle of summer, when the nights never truly darken. I wonder if the people of Ancient Scotland might have believed that all the trees, not just those in this one glen, danced on midsummer's night.  My version of the story comes from a version by the influential Traveller singer and storyteller Stanley Robertson. Supposedly Stanley’s family would camp at a Traveller site near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire when they were working on the flax harvest; Auld Croovie was the name of a tree near the site. In some versions, the trees dance only once every fifty years. The word ‘Croovie’ is from the Gaelic word ‘craobh’ for tree.Stanley Robertson had a profound influence on many singers and storytellers, including the celebrated singer Sam Lee who was his apprentice. You can listen to some recordings of Stanley on Soundcloud here.Go out and tell this story to the trees. You can buy Scottish Myths & Legends Vol. II here. Get my free ebook of Orcadian stories here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here. Learn about Myth Singers, my Online Celtic Storytelling Apprenticeship, here. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

Today’s episode is a special one as it marks the release of my new book, Scottish Myths & Legends Volume II.For this episode I wanted to share with you a story narrated by Angus King, who narrated the audiobook of Scottish Myths & Legends Volumes I & II. The story comes from the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides. I first heard it from Linda Williamson, the wife of the famous Traveller storyteller Duncan Williamson, and it’s called Fair Maid’s Tresses. You can buy Scottish Myths & Legends Vol. II here. You can find a list of books narrated by Angus here.Get my free ebook of Orcadian stories here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here. Learn about Myth Singers, my Online Celtic Storytelling Apprenticeship, here. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

My guest today is Stephen McCabe of Green Temple Therapy. A former student on my Myth Singers course, Stephen is a storyteller, author, Zen Buddhist, tarot reader and nature therapist based in the village of Temple in Scotland. He’s the author of The Moorfoot Tales, a collection in which his deep love for nature is always present and eloquently expressed. You can use the chapter marker or go to around 47mins if you’d like to skip straight to the story. Learn more about Stephen by visiting his website where you can download his free nature therapy ebook, or buy getting a copy of The Moorfoot Tales, which I highly recommend. Get my free ebook of traditional and original stories here. Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here. Learn about Myth Singers, my Online Celtic Storytelling Apprenticeship, here. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

My guest today is Jess Smith. Jess is a storyteller, author and singer from the Scottish travelling people. She spent much of her childhood living on a bus and travelling around Scotland with her parents and seven sisters, spending evenings around fires listening to the stories carried by the travelling people while the rest of the country was busy forgetting them. Listening back to the interview, which we recorded a couple of year ago, I’m struck once again by gratitude that I know and get to talk to people who carry such precious heritage and knowledge as Jess, and to introduce you to her. There are very few people left who can remember this way of life, and even fewer with such a gift for describing it.You can use the chapter marker if you’d like to skip straight to the story, which starts around 40mins in. But I'd highly recommended listening to Jess describe a way of life which is almost gone from this world.You can learn more about Jess and find links to buy her books here.Get my free ebook of Orcadian stories here.Support the podcast by buying one of my books for the price of a cup of coffee here. Learn about Myth Singers, my Online Celtic Storytelling Apprenticeship, here. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

In this episode I share a Scottish story taken from my forthcoming book, Scottish Myths & Legends Volume II.The story comes from Orkney, an archipelago northeast of the Scottish mainland.Get my free ebook of Orcadian stories here.Support the podcast by buying one of my books for the price of a cup of coffee here. Learn about Myth Singers, my Online Celtic Storytelling Apprenticeship, here. You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

This is a very special episode!My guest on today’s episode is Judith-Kate Friedman. Judith-Kate inhabits the flinty places where art, activism, ritual and oral tradition dance. She sings, composes, writes, performs, curates spaces, produces events, tends hearth-fires, tells stories and documents aliveness. Born in New York City, she now calls Washington State’s rural north Olympic Peninsula (traditional Coast Salish lands) home. Judith-Kate was married to the late Daniel Deardorff, who was a mythsinger, storyteller, ritualist, composer, and producer. A polio survivor and early teacher about Otherness, he toured extensively with renowned soft-rock band Seals and Crofts and produced award-winning albums for other artists. When post-polio sequelae required change, he became an independent scholar of myth teaching internationally alongside such renowned teachers as Robert Bly, Martin Shaw,  and Michael Meade, all of whom adored and revered him, and speak passionately of him and his work. Judith-Kate runs the Mythsinger Legacy Project which continues Daniel’s work restoring myth to culture and community. In this episode, Judith-Kate and I talk about Daniel’s life and work, and we are very, very fortunate to feature a recording of Daniel telling a story.You can learn more about Daniel Deardorff, Judith-Kate and the Mythsinger Legacy Project at their respective websites, which are linked below, along with a link to purchase the new edition of The Other Within. The story starts at 57mins.https://mythsingerlegacy.orghttps://judithkate.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Other-Within-Genius-Deformity-Culture/dp/1556437609Join the House of Legends Clan hereSupport the podcast by buying one of Daniel Allison's books hereYou can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.

On this episode I share my interpretation of a classic Greek myth.Support House of Legends by becoming a patronLearn about Myth Singers, my online Celtic Storytelling ApprenticeshipGet my books, Scottish Myths & Legends, The Shattering Sea and Finn & The Fianna, at Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon CanadaGet my FREE ebook Silverborn hereJoin me on InstagramMusic by Kate Young You can join Daniel Allison and Danica Boyce's 'Cave of Dreams' gatherings here.Support the podcast by buying one of my ebooks for the price of a cup of coffee here.Thanks for being part of House of Legends.