EVENTS
Cauldrons in Celtic Myth Part 2
Sunday, 15th September
12 noon Pacific/3 pm Eastern/8 pm UK
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Following on from last month's talk, when I confessed to having fallen into a rabbit hole(s), this session will take us back to etymology and archaeology to consider a few curiosities, before bringing us forward again into the medieval texts. A recording of the first talk is available to relevant Patreon patrons (see below) on my Patreon page.
This event is open to patrons who are in Sturdy Ponies tier, and above. You can find more information about membership tiers here. You are very welcome to join as a patron for this month, attend the talk, and then cancel anytime thereafter. The link for the talk will be posted closer to the event. |
Past events
Cauldrons in Celtic Myth
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Macha and horses in the Ulster Cycle
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Gwyddno Garanhir - in his own words?
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Lessons from the Two Sages
Sunday, 15th October
What is the Dialogue of the Two Sages (Immacallam in dá Thuarad)? Is it part of a Celtic wisdom tradition, or merely a battle of wits - a story meant to entertain? This talk will attempt to find some answers to these questions, in the hope that we all come out the other end with a bit more understanding of this puzzling text from the Irish tradition. |
Sunday, 10th September
A presentation in response to questions both about the contents of Cerridwen's cauldron, and how we should interpret myths in which "good" gods do "bad" things. This will be a thought-provoking talk about the nature of myth, the meaning of awen, and different ways that we might view Cerridwen, Herself.
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On Zoom, Saturday 2nd September
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Maponos was venerated as a healer in Gaul, and as an Apollo-like deity in north Britain where He begins to overlap with Mabon. In early Welsh literature, Mabon was known as a divine prisoner and great huntsman with a special affinity for dogs. This class will offer an in-depth introduction to the different aspects of Mabon and Maponos, and also answer the question of how Mabon's name came to be associated with the autumn equinox and winter solstice.
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Triplism and triple deities - Sunday, 13th July
At this month's event, I'll be talking about the importance of the number three in Celtic thought, looking at some triple deities, and perhaps questioning whether we really understand what's going on with them. As always, there will be time to chat before the talk and a Q&A session at the end.
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Saturday, 15th July
Why are horned and antlered deities so popular in neoPaganism - and are our depictions and understanding of them authentic? I hope to unravel a bit of the history, and a few misconceptions, in this talk, starting with Pan and taking in Cernunnos, Elen of the Ways, and a few others, along the way.
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Why are horse goddesses important? Sunday, 25th June
Horse goddesses play a unique role in Celtic mythology and cosmology, and I believe they have much to teach us that is important to how we live our lives in the present time. While this has always been my ‘message’, as a teacher I often find we spend our time in the weeds of early texts, rather than looking at the big picture. This talk will be about the big picture.
12 Days of Celtic Mythology
I'm doing a daily livestream on YouTube over the holidays. You should be able to find them all at this link.
Brythonic connections - Sunday, 10th October
I'll be doing a talk for Irish-American polytheist group Tribe of the Oak at 9 am Pacific/12 noon Eastern/5 pm UK time on Sunday, 10th October. The talk will explore how the differing early history of the islands of Ireland and Britain impacted pre-Christian religion and subsequent Medieval texts. I'll try to give a short overview of who's who and what's what as far as Brythonic deities and myths are concerned, and look at some surprising connections between Irish and Welsh texts.
This event is FREE. You can now watch a video of this event, on the right. |
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Mabon ap Modron and Maponos - Saturday, 18th September
This online class will be an in-depth exploration of the deity/deities Maponos and Mabon ap Modron. We will look at the archaeological/historical evidence for Maponos in both France and Britain as well as all the Welsh-language texts which mention Mabon. We will also touch on important localities and the mysterious St. Mabon.
The class will be between 90 minutes and 2 hours in length.
Time: 12 noon Pacific/3 pm Eastern/8 pm UK
This class is also the first week of the six-week course Mabon, Modron, and The Mabinogi. You can apply the fee for this class to the cost of the full course, if you decide to register for it. Visit the class page at this link for more information.
This online class will be an in-depth exploration of the deity/deities Maponos and Mabon ap Modron. We will look at the archaeological/historical evidence for Maponos in both France and Britain as well as all the Welsh-language texts which mention Mabon. We will also touch on important localities and the mysterious St. Mabon.
The class will be between 90 minutes and 2 hours in length.
Time: 12 noon Pacific/3 pm Eastern/8 pm UK
This class is also the first week of the six-week course Mabon, Modron, and The Mabinogi. You can apply the fee for this class to the cost of the full course, if you decide to register for it. Visit the class page at this link for more information.
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A talk about Mabon - Sunday, 5th September
That's Mabon ap Modron, just to be clear! I'm planning to do a short online talk about Mabon, including time for questions and informal chat. I will include a bit of factual stuff, but I have said it, written it, and videoed it all many times. (And if you've missed all that, there is always the upcoming Mabon, Modron, and The Mabinogi class series. Link here for more information. ) So, once we touch on the basics I thought I might talk a bit about my personal experiences with Mabon as a deity. There could be some poetry involved - we'll see! Time and date: Sunday, September 5th at 12 noon Pacific/3 pm Eastern/8 pm UK |
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You must be a patron to attend this event. You can join for as little as $2 per month (cancel any time).
More information on my Patreon page at this link.
More information on my Patreon page at this link.
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Celtic pronunciation =Saturday, 7th August - $5 workshop This workshop will cover the phonetic systems of both Irish and Welsh, and give you lots of opportunities to practice things like names of deities (with your mic off). You will leave with useful references and resources to take you forward. Approximately 3 hours, with a break. |
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I'll be a featured speaker at this all-day online conference on Saturday, 31st July. I shall be waxing lyrical about the connections between Lugh and Lleu, via some brand new storytelling. I'd love to have your support, and the cost of the conference is very reasonable (pay what you can). I expect to be speaking at around noon Pacific/8 pm UK time.
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Are Celtic deities archetypes? - Saturday, 19th June
What do people mean when they say
deities are archetypes? Where did the idea come from? Join me for the final facebook Live session of this series on Saturday, 19th June at 12 noon Pacific 3 pm Eastern 8 pm UK |
Is there a Celtic pantheon?
Yes, it's another facebook Live session. Should we be lumping all the gods together? Isn't a pantheon a Greek concept? I will have opinions in this one - which is the penultimate Live session in the series.
Wednesday, May 9th |
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Irish deities, Welsh deities - how different are they?
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Saturday, 5th June - facebook live stream
Irish texts occasionally mention that some of the characters in the stories are gods. That doesn't really happen in texts like The Mabinogi. I'll be attempting to unravel the reasons for this difference, and also looking at things like cognate deities between the two cultures, and goodness knows what else!
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Wednesday, May 26th. Celtic Migrations? - facebook Live stream
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Sharing links for facebook streams can be tricky, but I hope that this one might work for you:
https://www.facebook.com/deeperreadings/live/ You can also try the notifications instructions, below. You can watch the edited version of this talk now on YouTube. |
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Saturday, May 22nd. Sorting out the Druids - facebook Live stream
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This will be a short talk about the ancient Druids, and those who call themselves Druids today. You'll be able to leave your questions in the comments. Please come along and say hello! |
A chat about Macha - online event 20th May
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I've had a request to talk about Macha - which I am always pleased to do. Her stories are very diverse, so I'm sure I will come up with something to say, and there will be time for questions and general chat as well.
This is one of the dates aimed at including folk who live in North America and find an evening meeting time more convenient, so it is scheduled for 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern (and 2 am in the UK, if you're a night-owl). As always, there will be time for an informal chat at the beginning and end of the meeting. If you are not currently a patron, you can join for as little as $2 in order to access this event. Click here for more information. |
Meeting Rhiannon in May - workshop on April 25th
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In this three-hour workshop we will learn about Rhiannon’s story in The First Branch of the Mabinogi, with special emphasis on how that relates to the 1st of May. We will look at other lore about Rhiannon as time allows, and at how these things might be brought together in ritual, devotion, altar creation, meditation, or other activities at this time of year.
This class will be inclusive and non-judgemental of your path. We will discuss how you might honour Rhiannon, but it isn’t up to me to tell you how you should honour Her. I believe that I can best serve Rhiannon by offering solid information about Her story, and my experiences with Her. It’s up to you what you do with that information. Cost of the class is $15 US. |
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