Nine hundred years ago in Medieval Wales, an unknown author wrote down tales that have been carried in the oral tradition for at least 2,000 years. Some think this collection of tales, known as The Mabinogion, is much older than that. This story, about Pwyll Prince of Dyfed is set before the Saxons, before the Romans, in a time when the native Brittons roamed freely across most of what is now Wales, England and Scotland.

The Mabinogion are thought to be a collection of teaching tales for young nobles. This first one is a story of male initiation. Pwyll’s mentor shows up as Arawn King of Annwfn, which is the Welsh Otherworld. Annwfn translates as the very deep, inner world. This is an encounter with the Magical Huntsman who appears frequently in Celtic lore, you may have come across him as Gwyn ap Nudd.

Whomever wrote down these stories put a Christian veneer on them, but the bulk of them remain decidedly pre-Christian. This is the first section of what is knows as the First Branch of the Mabinogi, there are two more sections in the branch and three more branches. I'll be recording re-tellings of the other parts over the next few months.

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This story grabbed my attention and I'm still not sure why, it's deeper mysteries have yet to be revealed to me. I keep telling it as a way to honor the medicine it carries and let it sink further into me. I'm very curious to know what you make of it.

The Lad of the Skins is from the Fianna Cycle of Irish mythology. These tales of the Fianna, a roving band of warrior-poets, were told all across Ireland and the Scottish Highlands and Islands. They still are. They are set in the third century CE and often feature Finn, whom we met in Episode 9 The Salmon of Wisdom. But in this tale Finn takes a back seat to this mysterious stranger who steps into their circle one evening.

I trust that stories that insist I tell them have something to say to me and whomever chooses to listen. So I offer you this one, that has been quite vocal about being told, knowing that whatever it opens up for you will been a gift on your path.

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This story is again from my home of the Scottish Borders. It continues the theme of the last two episodes, these extreme moments of total enlightenment after the accidental consumption of a magical liquid - just like Taliesin in Wales and Finn McCoull in Ireland. Michael Scott was a historical person in the early thirteenth century who became knows as the Border's Wizard.

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He was a highly educated man who studied in some of the finest schools of the time in Europe and translated Arabic texts. He likely held much esoteric knowledge. Another legend tells that he created the Eildon Hill in the Borders by cutting a larger hill in three pieces. The Eildons, you might remember from Episode 1, are where Thomas the Rhymer was whisked away by the Queen of Elphame.

We may never know the reality of Michael Scott's knowledge and magical ability but this is one story that became attached to his name over the years and survived into our time as part of the lore of the Scottish Borders.

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This story from Ireland is from one of the deep layers of Celtic mythology. If you listened to the previous episode with the Welsh story of the Birth of Taliesin you will see the similarities between these two tales that suggest an older, foundational myth.

It's an iconic Celtic tale of the crossing between the two worlds - ordinary reality and the place of all Wisdom - and here it happens in one defining moment of enlightenment.

This story forms the early beginnings of the large collection of myths and folktales known as the Fianna Cycle that comes from the third century CE. These tales were, and still are, told across Ireland and the West of Scotland. They call forth a long Celtic oral tradition of wonder and magic.

The salmon shows up across Celtic folklore and archeology as an important animal. Learn more:

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To delve deeper into the images and archetypes that stand out for you in this story I invite you to subscribe to the free email course: Working with Archetypes here https://soul.kathoughton.com/working-with-archetypes

Thanks for listening to Celtic Medicine Stories, part of Adventures in the Otherworld. This post is public so feel free to share it.

The story I am sharing with you today is The Birth of Taliesin. The word means "radiant brow" in Welsh, and you'll see why at the end of the story. Taliesin is another one of these Celtic figures who crosses back and forth between history and myth.

There was indeed a famous Welsh Bard in the 6th century called Taliesin and there seem to be stories that pre-date that person and weave throughout the mythic landscape after him. Bards after the 6th century would often compose poetry in the voice of Taliesin or channel him as they created - however you want to see that process.

This is the story of Taliesin's birth. it's quintessential Celtic Myth - there's a cauldron - of course, shapeshifting, death, re-birth and initiation all set in the dramatic Welsh landscape. This story carries a vibrancy that I can't help feel as I tell it. It's fun and full of mystery. I hope you enjoy this version of the Birth of Taliesin.

This is a re-telling of an old Welsh tale captured in the 12th century text The Mabinogion. Its not usually told quiet like this. I see Elen as an expression of the Sovereignty Goddess who is so prevalent in Celtic myth. She is the abundance of the land and recognizes the need to be in partnership with humans for everything to flourish.

To me this story speaks of the human-nature relationship but it also addresses the relationship between the masculine and feminine - both between two people and within all of us.

The story too touches on the theme of the dreaming of the land which skirts around the edges of The Dream Makers story I told in Episode 3. It's quite magical, I hope you enjoy listening as much I as enjoy telling it.

Adventures in the Otherworld is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Learn more about me here: https://www.kathoughton.com/

To delve deeper into the images and archetypes that stand out for you in this story I invite you to subscribe to the free email course: Working with Archetypes here https://soul.kathoughton.com/working-with-archetypes

This is the third and final part of this telling of Merlin's story. This is the part you may be more familiar with and has taken many different forms over the years as the story traveled around Britain between the North and what is now Wales.

This story speaks of Merlin as a great prophet implying that he has found some opening to the Otherworld through which knowledge, unbound by time and space, comes through him. You may recognize a parallel here with the Thomas the Rhymer story from Episode 1. The gift of prophesy is a common theme in the tradition of the Britons.

In both these stories, it is time out alone in the natural world that precipitates the coming of the prophetic ability. in other old Welsh poems Merlin is in conversation with an apple tree and a pig, suggesting his animistic worldview and respect for intelligence beyond the human.

I'd love to know what you hear in this part of Merlin's tale.

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This is the second part of Merlin's story, please listen to Part 1 first as it will give you some context for the battle that is about to happen and Merlin's grief

The battle happened in a field, by a river, in a place that now lies on the Western section of the English-Scottish Border. In the old texts the battle is recorded happening in the year 573 and is labeled one of the Three Futile Battles of Britain. We don't know why it was fought and some suggest it was futile because it pitted Briton against Briton when their fighting power would have been better directed at the invading Angles.

The short written record also states that this was the battle in which "Merlin became mad".

His madness became to focus of my telling of this story. Having experienced the madness of traumatic grief and spent multiple stretches of three days and nights fasting out in wilderness I drew on these experiences to imagine his initiation.

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I consider the experience of grief to be an initiatory experience. This post explains how I arrived at the understanding the grief carried medicine to help us unfold in to a more expanded version of ourself.

https://adventuresintheotherworld.substack.com/p/grief-as-an-initiation-part-1-of