Celtic Tomes
Readings from the Classic Celtic books - everything for lovers of the Lore and stories of the Ancient Celts. We will cover the Celts, Fairies, Myths, Legends, Folklore and stories from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other Celtic realms. If like us, you have seen all those wonderful books that were once published about Celtic Mythology, Folklore, or the Fairies and wished that you had the time to read them, then you have found the right podcast to bring them to your fireside.
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Cult Accessories CT054
06/08/2020
Cult Accessories CT054
This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts.
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Festivals CT053
05/24/2020
Festivals CT053
The Celtic year was not at first regulated by the solstices and equinoxes, but by some method connected with agriculture or with the seasons.
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Tabu CT052
05/10/2020
Tabu CT052
The Irish geis, pl. geasa, which may be rendered by Tabu, had two senses. It meant something which must not be done for fear of disastrous consequences, and also an obligation to do something commanded by another.
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Sacrifice and Prayer CT051
04/26/2020
Sacrifice and Prayer CT051
The Celts offered human victims on the principle of a life for a life, or to propitiate the gods, or in order to divine the future from the entrails of the victim. We shall examine the Celtic custom of human sacrifice from these points of view first.
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Cosmogony CT050
04/12/2020
Cosmogony CT050
The Celts may have possessed the Heaven and Earth myth, but all trace of it has perished. There are, however, remnants of myths showing how the sky is supported by trees, a mountain, or by pillars.
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Animal Worship CT049
03/29/2020
Animal Worship CT049
Animal worship pure and simple had declined among the Celts of historic times, and animals were now regarded mainly as symbols or attributes of divinities.
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Tree and Plant Worship CT048
03/15/2020
Tree and Plant Worship CT048
The Celts had their own cult of trees, but they adopted local cults. This chapter also details how the Celts made their sacred places in dark groves, the trees being hung with offerings or with the heads of victims.
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River and Well Worship CT047
03/01/2020
River and Well Worship CT047
Among the Celts the testimony of contemporary witnesses, inscriptions, votive offerings, and survivals, shows the importance of the cult of waters and of water divinities. This chapter also details the many fairies and folklore creatures associated with water.
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Primitive Nature Worship CT046
02/16/2020
Primitive Nature Worship CT046
McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselves alone.
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The Cult of the Dead CT045
02/02/2020
The Cult of the Dead CT045
The custom of burying grave-goods with the dead and other grave customs is the subject of this chapter. McCulloch also talks about the role of fairies and the festival of Samhain.
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Gods and Men CT044
01/19/2020
Gods and Men CT044
In this chapter, he examines the Gods of the Celts and their relationships to man. How kings adopted divine names and characteristics.
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The Fionn Cycle CT043
01/05/2020
The Fionn Cycle CT043
The story of the mighty hero, Fionn and his warband, the Fianna. McCulloch examines the origins of the Fionn myth and asks how much of the Epic McPherson poem is truly ancient.
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The Cuchulainn Cycle CT042
12/22/2019
The Cuchulainn Cycle CT042
The story of the mighty hero, Cuchulainn, Queen Medb and the Cattle-Raid of Cooley.
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Gods of the Brythons CT041
12/08/2019
Gods of the Brythons CT041
In this chapter, J A McCulloch looks at the nature and origin of the Welsh, Brythonic Gods as seen mainly in the Mabinogion.
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Tuatha De Danaan CT040
11/24/2019
Tuatha De Danaan CT040
In this chapter, J A McCulloch looks at the nature and origin of the Gods of the Tuatha De Danaan, the tribes or folk of the Goddess Danu.
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Irish Mythological Cycle CT039
11/10/2019
Irish Mythological Cycle CT039
An excellent summary of the Gods and Goddesses of the Irish Mythological Cycle.
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The Gods of Gaul CT038
10/27/2019
The Gods of Gaul CT038
A description of the Gods of Gaul and the Continental Celts. J A McCulloch draws most of his information from inscriptions and details the local deities of Gaul.
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The Celtic People CT037
10/13/2019
The Celtic People CT037
In this chapter, McCulloch talks of the origin and identity of the Celtic Peoples and looks at some of the theories abounding in his time. This chapter is very much a product of the age of the book.
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Who was J. A. MacCulloch?
10/09/2019
Who was J. A. MacCulloch?
John Arnott MacCulloch, a Scotsman, was born in 1868 and died in 1950. He was one of Scotland's most famous Celtic Scholars and folklore researchers and he published The Religion of the Ancient Celts in 1911 and his lengthier The Mythology of All Races (in thirteen volumes, published in 1918). According to , he wrote The Religion of the Ancient Celts during a long residence in the Isle of Skye, a place MacCulloch claimed to be "easier to attempt the ancient religion than in a busier or more prosaic place" because it "is where the old language of the people still survives, and where the genius loci speaks everywhere of things remote and strange." MacCulloch's book became an instant classic as it was one of the first to attempt to rebuild Celtic paganism and postulate its inner spirit. MacCulloch portrays the Celt as a seeker after God, linking himself by strong ties to the unseen and eager to conquer the unknown by religious rite and magic art. The earliest aspect of the Celtic religion, MacCulloch believed, was the cult of nature spirits and of life manifested in nature.
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Introductory CT036
09/28/2019
Introductory CT036
McCulloch talks of the difficulties of reconstructing the characteristics of Celtic Paganism, the growth and evolution of the Celtic gods. He also discusses the unknown nature of the higher Celtic spirituality.
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Preface CT035
09/15/2019
Preface CT035
We begin to read J A McCulloch's 'Religion of the Ancient Celts' and find out how important this work actually was to the early days of Celtic Study.
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Religion of the Ancient Celts
01/04/2019
Religion of the Ancient Celts
The votes are in and have been counted and by an overwhelming majority, our next book will be Religion of the Ancient Celts by J. A. MacCulloch. This book is one of the best scholarly treatments of the ancient Celtic religion. Written early in the 20th Century, Religion of the Ancient Celts includes extensive treatment of that perennially fascinating subject, the Druids. There is very little documentary evidence to go on. In particular, we have no actual sacred texts of the ancient Celts, as their texts were transmitted orally only to initiates, and disappeared forever when the last Druid died. Christianity became the dominant religion in the Celtic area before the oral traditions could become written down, unlike the Vedas in India. Ancient Celtic religious beliefs must therefore be inferred from second-hand classical accounts, hints from Celtic mythology, legend and folklore, as well as archaeological and comparative anthropological evidence. MacCulloch marshals this body of evidence, extensively footnoted, so that an authoritative and clear view of ancient Celtic religion emerges. MacCullough details the Celtic belief in reincarnation and a spectral otherworld; documents the enormous pantheon of now-obscure gods and goddesses, including many local deities; and describes totemistic and animistic beliefs. In addition, MacCulloch does not flinch (nor sensationalize) when describing the darker side of Celtic practices, including the famous 'Burning Man' human sacrifices, cannibalism and exogamous incest. With so much spurious, flawed and poorly cited information floating around on the Internet about Celtic beliefs, it is important to review what is actually known about this subject.
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Another Writer's Journey
12/12/2018
Another Writer's Journey
Please accept my apologies for writing about myself. I generally try and avoid this as I feel I am nowhere near as important as the stories I tell (and those that we tell as far as the Celtic Myth Podshow is concerned). That having been said, let's plunge on in! When I moved from Primary School to Secondary school (after the now legendary 11+ examination), one of my favourite lessons was the English class. At 11 years old I was far too young to understand much about Grammar or story/poem analysis, but I loved the act of creation involved in summoning imagery and meaning from words. Plain and simple words that when strung together could create pictures in my mind and feelings in my chest. One memory that sticks in my mind as significant because it told me, even at that tender age that I had an intense desire to write, was a class exercise that progressed over an entire term. We were each asked to write a single-page, short and concise story and then read it to the entire class. I was in heaven! I wrote an adventure story involving a dangerous trek in the jungle and eventual possible rescue. My story stretched the limits of our allotted time as I had filled well over a dozen pages of the small A5 exercise books that we used to be given at school. After I had finished - I don't remember exactly what the teacher said - my fellow class-mates were asked to give their feedback to the teacher and they all asked for more detail about my story and for the tale to be completed. The teacher, perhaps bowing to popular pressure, asked me to complete the story and for the next couple of weeks I wrote continuing episodes and read each out in turn to the class. The joy I felt in entertaining my peers with my my writing is a joy that has never left me. To give pleasure with mere words is something that can never be underestimated. As my relationships with my school-mates developed, I played many games and don't remember writing much other that the allocated tasks that we were all set. Our play-ground games however were rapidly becoming increasingly complex. A small group of my intimate inmates decided to each take on the role of a particular leader/hero/ruler on a planet in some imaginary Science Fiction universe that we had decided upon. My own planet of bio-mechanical inhabitants acquired technical drawings of the transport system within its major cities, biological descriptions of the alien inhabitants (vaguely resembling cones on wheels as I recall!) and each city having its own history mapped out. Hours and hours of work. It never got used in our games of course, but for me the creation of back-story was as essential as the game itself. Writing after Leaving School? As my school-years were coming to an end, my close-knit circle of buddies discovered the very first 3 volume box-set of an imported game from America, ridiculously named "Dungeons & Dragons". The game was what later came to be known as a 'role-playing game' with one person acting as a story-teller come referee come guide and the other players taking on a role of a character within a Fantasy-based universe. The big difference between this and other traditional methods of story-telling was that the actions that the players decided to take determined the future course of events within the story. The Fantasy universe moulded itself around us as we played. We were living in the story! I had come home! What an amazing discovery. It wasn't long before I, myself, took on the part of the Dungeon Master (as the referee was called) and was creating my own interactive stories with a group of players. My own game had maps (based on hex-paper) that were filled in as the players explored the world I had created plastered all over one wall of my very small flat and the remaining space in my flat taken up with as many chairs as I could fill into the space. At one stage, our story had over ten people meeting weekly to continue their adventures and the whole story arc carried on for over a year. That was something that required almost constant attention and a vast amount of time and energy to complete. Something that I would never advise anyone of even half-sane mind to contemplate doing! Turning to Myths & Legends Coming into my early 20's, my daily reading consumption increased and although I didn't put pen to parer at this time not only did my love of fiction grow and evolve but my love of mythological and religious stories also grew. My interests spread into a more academic and factual direction in order to find out where these stories came from and to seek answers as to why some versions of the same story were different and why there were similarities between stories from widely different cultures around the world. This was a long time before I discovered Joseph Campbell! My love of story, mythology and comparative religion eventually lead me to study ritual and magic - which, in my opinion, is yet another variety of living story. But that is really a different tale that I shall save for another day. One of my greatest loves from my first days at Secondary schools was Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the whole Middle-Earth mythos. To be fair, it is a love that I carry with me to this day. Back in 1977, I found the Silmarillion to be hard reading at my first attempt, but I fast grew to love it. In particular, the Song of Creation found in the first part, Ainulindalë, tells of the creation of Eä, the "world that is" struck a deeply resonant chord within my soul. What happened next is something that I look back on with great awe and wonder. Without realising it, my next actions were to act as a prelude to the type of story-telling that I was to take up again 30 years later! I recorded myself reading the Ainulindalë accompanied by music by Tangerine Dream (I think the album was Phaedra) and loved every minute. It was only when I listened to the cassette recording that I was over-whelmed and the hairs on my arms stood up and my heart raced with some form of excitement that I had never felt before. Something magical had happened. When I was reading about the Horns of Ulmo, resounding in the Deep Waters, there were horn blasts in the music. So much synchronicity happened in this reading whose true significance I missed at the time. This was something unique and wonderful. But hey-ho! - I was 18 years old, and forgot all about it in the rush of rapidly expanding teenage hormones in the following months. Time for a Quick Break Let's take a small break in the narrative here, while I grab a glass of water, you get to wonder what on earth you are doing wasting your time reading the drivel that I have written and I skip forward in time. As we go, we can jump over several failed attempts at both fiction and non-fiction writing, and arrive at the point in my life where my long-suffering wife (the gorgeous Ruthie) and I decide to start a podcast about Celtic Mythology. The was born at Imbolc, 2008 - it seemed to us a suitable birthing time. Reading the complex Irish myths out aloud seemed to us an excellent way of learning them, understanding them and perhaps help other people out with the same tasks. It was only natural that eventually we would want to cover all the stories of the Celts that we could find. For two years, I scripted the ideas we came up with and along with friends and family we recorded and released shows every fortnight. There was no way in this or any other universe that we could maintain this pace and were it not for my becoming seriously ill and requiring major surgery due to Cancer at the end of 2009, I think I/we would have burned out and never carried on making any shows or telling any more stories. Health is something that when you are healthy you can often take for granted. I certainly did. Without it, each physical movement initially and later any focus or concentration became something that rapidly drained my energy. I learned about Spoon Theory very quickly indeed. Google it - it's worth it. Life events (family, career, housing, finances etc.) began to overtake us in 2015-2016, and the rate at which we could produce shows dwindled as more and more of our focus and attention had to be placed on far more immediate concerns. I think we only managed to get out one show in 2016 and another in 2017. Early in 2017, I discovered that I had Leukemia and we were again forced to focus on health and the need to rapidly find a new home. Patience, Pacing and Priorities It is strange that no matter how important your writing is to you, or how much you value your creative work and no matter how much pleasure you get from seeing or hearing the joy that other people have from hearing or reading your work, there is no way that the inspiration will flow when your life's basics are under threat. I thought that writing and creating would be a great distraction form the more serious problems in our lives. I was, however, totally wrong. It just wouldn't happen. It took time - a long time - for me to even begin to accept this. Starting a new podcast, , was my refusal to accept that I could do nothing creative during this time. Eventually this podcast too had to come to a halt as life's needs escalated. This was a frustrating time that I am glad we seem to have passed through. It is over and I hope I have learned some very important lessons about patience, pacing and the priorities in our lives. At the height of the Summer heatwave in this year (2018), we moved and began to unpack and settle. I could feel the relaxation beginning to seep into my bones. Despite the mountains of boxes around me, the presence of inspiration began to make itself felt. For me, inspiration works in a very strange and yet defined way. It seems I have to make space in my life and my head, start the process off by moving a little way towards an idea and then whatever it is that comes from outside of myself, from the wider universe, from the Realms of the Fae or the Gods or whatever (be it Awen or Imbas or just plain Inspiration), I begin to feel its breath rushing into me towards a new creation. They say the word 'inspiration' comes from from the Proto-Indo-European root *en "in" + spirare "to breathe". Breathing in the Spirit of creation from the cosmos perhaps? It is interesting that the word 'spirit' also has the same roots.... Flexing My Muscles (as if!) I felt I needed to flex my writing muscles again. "If you don't use it, you lose it" is a common expression, but I am not sure it means you forget how to write, but I think it may mean you lose contact with that flow of "spirit" or whatever that brings a creation into life and full being. I had been listening to podcasts about the Craft of Writing for some time and as October was approaching, I began to hear more and more about NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for the "National Novel Writing Month" and it always takes place during the 30 days of November. In this time you do your best to write 50,000 words to create a novel (novella perhaps?). Success or failure is not strictly the main goal. The main goal of #NaNoWriMo is to get you writing. So I made a decision to write a novel. Research and preparation of that novel has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding pastimes that I have encountered in the last few years and I am incredibly excited to start writing on November 1st. My novel is going to be a ghost story set in the middle of a disaster zone at a place I know well in Hastings - the town where I was born. It's only 10 days away now and I find myself 'itchy' to start writing. As I can't start on my novel until November, I found my mind drifting to other projects. Perhaps I could start thinking about the next book for the Celtic Tomes? So, I totaled the votes cast for the next book and started some preparation. Fantastic! And yet, still the Universe had not finished with me. Unfinished Business Last week, I woke up wondering where my work period that day could be directed, opened my laptop and found myself opening up the Script for the Branwen story! The Second Branch of the Mabinogion is the next story to be told in our main podcast, the Celtic Myth Podshow, and the script is about half-way completed and stands at about 22,000 words. I found myself re-reading and editing what I had already written, suddenly aware that I was mentally preparing myself to finish the script. I sent my prayers of thanks up to the Gods or whoever was helping me with the inspiration and went to bed a very happy Gary. A few days later, the realities of the situation began to sink into my dense, Neanderthal brow and I realised that if I were to avoid the same burn-out problems that I had hit before then I would have to heed the lessons of Pacing that I had tried to learn previously. I would have to take things very slowly indeed. I would have to work in tune with Life and not separate from it. November is, for me, fully booked with NaNoWriMo and Life events, but after that, in the New Year, I can turn my attention back to the Branwen story and do some editing of my novel, some recording for Celtic Tomes and any other project that leaps into my mind. The important thing I have to remember, and I really must drive this home into my thickest of heads, is that I can only focus fully on one major project at a time. To do otherwise would be to tread, stagger and eventually fall on the stony path to a barren plain where nothing gets written. Thank you for listening to the story so far.
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Intermission and Book Choice Show - CT034
03/15/2018
Intermission and Book Choice Show - CT034
We announce that Celtic Tomes is taking a small break while we move house and offer you five amazing books to choose from. Have a listen and decide which book we will read for you when we return after the house move! We talk about how you can make your voice heard. You can vote as many times as you like, and all the votes will be counted up and we'll let you know the scores in the first show of the next Book reading.
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Baleful Storm Spirits - British Goblins CT033
01/10/2018
Baleful Storm Spirits - British Goblins CT033
Baleful Storm Spirits, is all about the spirits of thunder and lightning, hidden treasure and the dragons of Wales. Sikes tells us the story of the Red Lady of Paviland caves and the Treasure Chest under Moel Arthur, the Cavern of the Ravens and the origin of the Red Dragon of Wales.
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Early Inscribed Stones - British Goblins CT032
01/03/2018
Early Inscribed Stones - British Goblins CT032
Early Inscribed Stones tells us all about famous stones that dance, superstitions about rocking stones, and Cromlechs. Sikes tells us the story of the Sagranus Stone and the White Lady, and how humans can be turned into stone. He finishes by telling us about the fairy legends, and the fairy castle at St. Nicholas.
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Legendary Welsh Stones - British Goblins CT031
12/27/2017
Legendary Welsh Stones - British Goblins CT031
Ancient Welsh stones that could move about by themselves and how the Saxon King Edgar the Peaceable passed a law forbidding Stone Worship. How stones could be linked to water, such as the healing powers of Canna's Chair which only worked after drinking from St. Canna's Well. Sikes also tells us about Talking Stones, Expanding Stones and the Stone of Invisibility which is one of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain.
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Mystic Wells - British Goblins CT030
12/20/2017
Mystic Wells - British Goblins CT030
All about the beheading of St. Winnifred and the mystic well that sprang up where her head fell. How the waters of mystic wells can be either beneficent or malicious - they can cure diseases, mental or physical, as well as curing love-sickness. Sikes also tells us some of the stories associated with Barry Island.
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Powers of Bells - British Goblins CT029
12/13/2017
Powers of Bells - British Goblins CT029
In this chapter, we learn that the sound of Brass bells can break enchantments, how they could exorcise spirits and even foretell storms. Sikes also tells us the story of how a stolen Church Bell was carried home to Wales by a very determined horse.
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Death and Burial - British Goblins CT028
12/06/2017
Death and Burial - British Goblins CT028
Find out all the customs about food and drinking, especially Beer, by a coffin, how important Salt is, the Sin-Eater (and whether the stories are true or not), the Scapegoat and Welsh funeral possessions. We learn about praying at crossroads where criminals may have been buried. Sikes also tells us about the Grassless Grave and the Parson's Offerings.
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