I’ve started a Podcast!

I’ve started a Podcast!

I have done this before but that was 3 years ago and I was doing it for “business” reasons not part of my writing vocation; I didn’t really enjoy it then but now feels so different. I’ve started telling a story. I know, Linky-Dinky et al all go on about telling stories to sell stuff to people who really neither need nor want it, but theirs often have as much sex-appeal as a road accident!

Now, I’ve gone back to where I come from, the ancient and often dark tales of the Celtic lands of Britain that birthed me. I used to tell the tales all the time way back and I’m doing it again. Choosing the first one happened by accident (Ha!) and came out of the alchemical transformation workshop I did with my students a couple of weekends back, it’s one of Gwydion’s tales. This picture – of my local stone circle by Andrew Fusek Peters – is of the Milky Way, in the old tongue of Britain we call it Caer Gwydion … Geydion’s Stronghold 🏰

Gwydion is the Master Enchanter of Britain. He’s the son of one of our Mother Goddesses, Don, hence his name Gwydion fab Don – in the old British tongue the “fab” means from the body of, mothered by. As Don holds the essence of Britain so does her son. In most of the stories you can get hold of nowadays Gwydion gets a bad press, is thought of as a charlatan and trickster, con man, swindler, all that sort of thing. He so isn’t!

That comes from the wretched Victorians. They did a good job of collecting the ancient tales together – think Mabinogion – but then they allowed their narrow, prudish, patriarchal mindsets loose on them! Back in the 90s I spent years going through them, often with the help of Caitlin and John Matthews, learn the far deeper, true meanings that are not all wound up in stuffy morality that wove around covering table legs because they were “suggestively indecent” – ye gods!

So yes, Gwydion is a Trickster, he’s a master trickster as he’s a master shapeshifter, and when you read his stories with open eyes you understand that his morals are so very like the good morals we aspire to now in the 21^st century. His tales are about helping the underdogs and putting banana skins under the feet of the hierarchical Top Dogs/Gods.

Or are they?

Like all the ancient ways of the indigenous peoples everywhere – and we old ones of Britain are indigenous too – Gwydion lives in an And/And world. Not an either/or one. So he takes a swing at top-down rulers but, at the same time, he makes sure that we grow up, he’ll suggest we go down the shop for a tin of striped paint, or a box of tappet clearances! And he’ll see what we answer if he asks us to go to the shop for a long weight (yes, I did mean to spell it like that!). If you live in a house with old sash windows you’ll know they work by means of a long weight and a short weight! So Gwydion asks us tricksy questions to see if we’re awake and aware or off with the fairies and, by gum as me Mam from Yorkshire used to say, you need to be awake and aware if you want to work with magic and alchemy. If you’re not you can come badly a cropper, and take others down with you which is never a good idea!

So, Gwydion is starting my new podcast off for me – ta very muchly, mate, I really do appreciate your help. He came up in the alchemical transformation workshop because the whole principle behind alchemy is becoming your very best self (of that moment), and about how to stir your cauldron every day so you’re continuously refining yourself as well as becoming more and more inclusive. We alchemists shine ourselves up every day and we also  try to learn more and more of how the world works, as well as how we can best help her to work as she wishes in what alchemy calls the Great Work. I’ve been doing it all my life. Dad was into this stuff as well as being an experimental engineer in his everyday job, the two went together very well for him! And it’s absolutely great fun, I really recommend it!

My podcast is called Phoenix Rising, and I’m trying to get it onto YouTube. So far, it’s YouTube 10, Elen 2.5! But we’ll get there LOL.

Click the link to subscribe.

As I’m a Taleweaver (we call it cyfarwydd in the old tongue) like Dad, there’ll be lots of tales, more of Gwydion but all the other old ones too – Custennin, Culhwch and Olwen, Arianrhod, Taliesin, Merlin, Blodeuwedd, the whole Celtic Gang! And all their tales are alchemical and transformative.

See you on the other side …