Hallowe'en traditions though the years

In this Hallowe'en or Samhain Holiday Special we bring you two fascinating accounts of Samhain traditions: one modern and one Victorian, and an amazing story by a talented story-teller, Chris Joliffe - and we hope to be hearing more from Chris in the future - and 5 of the best pieces of music we reckon you'll hear for this year's Samhain! This one's a corker!

Phew!

Full Show-notes, with all credits, can be found on our main Website at http://celticmythpodshow.com/halloween2011

Running Order:

We hope you enjoy it!

Gary & Ruthie x x x

Released: 19 Nov 2011, 1h 19m

It's always great to hear from you! Email garyandruth@celticmythpodshow.com, or leave us a message using Speakpipe

The Cauldron Born

by Damh the Bard

We can do no better than start our show with Damh singing us in with his song about the Goddess that stirs the cauldron of Awen or inspiration. She is central to the story of Taliesin - possibly the greatest bard - and Damh's song reminds us that in search for inspiration we are all "the Cauldron Born".

You can find out more about Damh on his website at Pagan Music or on our Contributor Page.

 

Samhain: the Lowering of the Veil

by Jennifer Emick

Often controversial, Jennifer Emick has kindly written a fascinating piece about Samhain traditions for us. Jennifer Emick is an artist, writer, and religious educator. She has promoted religious understanding in the internet community for over a decade. She is the About.com Guide to Alternative Religions, the most popular source for Celtic spiritual symbolism on the internet. Ms. Emick lives in the San Francisco Bay area. 

She is also the Author of The Everything Celtic Wisdom Book which you can find on Amazon which looks at Irish, Scottish, and Welsh traditions. See her Contributor Page for more details.

 

Realm of the Free

by Cindy Spear & Colin Mold

Cindy Spear Cindy has written another amazing poem that has been set to music by Colin Mold called "The Realm of the Free". To find out more about Cindy Spear go to her website or visit her Contributor Page.     Colin Mold Colin is a talented musician who not only plays the band Karnataka in the UK, performs as a session musician and has two solo albums to his name. His latest project is a forth-coming album, Girl On the Castle Steps, on which will you will also hear this track as well as another one with lyrics written by Cindy called Green and Gold. Find out more about Colin on his website or on his Contributor Page.

 

Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland

By Lady Augusta Gregory

Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932), born Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books of retellings of stories taken from Irish mythology. Born into a class that identified closely with British rule, her conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced by her writings, was emblematic of many of the political struggles to occur in Ireland during her lifetime. Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her work behind the Irish Literary Revival. [Wiki]

She said:

"The Sidhe cannot make themselves visible to all. They are shape-changers; they can grow small or grow large, they can take what shape they choose; they appear as men or women wearing clothes of many colours, of today or of some old forgotten fashion, or they are seen as bird or beast, or as a barrel or a flock of wool. ..... There are two races among the Sidhe. One is tall and handsome, gay, and given to jesting and to playing pranks, leading us astray in the fields, giving gold that turns to withered leaves or to dust. These ride on horses through the night-time in large companies and troops, or ride in coaches, laughing and decked with flowers and fine clothes. The people of the other race are small, malicious, wide-bellied, carrying before them a bag. When a man or woman is about to die, a woman of the Sidhe will sometimes cry for a warning, keening and making lamentation. At the hour of death fighting may be heard in the air or about the house-that is, when the man in danger has friends among the shadows, who are fighting on his behalf. ....

This is the news I have been given of the people of the Sidhe by many who have seen them and some who have known their power.

A.G.

The full text can be found on Sacred Texts at Sacred Texts.

 

She is Crone

by Kellianna

Kellianna is an American pagan artist internationally performing song and chant inspired by myth, magic, sacred places and ancient times. With guitar and vocals she brings to life the stories and sagas of the Gods and Goddesses. With frame drum and chant she honors the Earth and the Ancestors via primal drumming and powerful vocals.

This track, the incredibly powerful summoning of the Crone, is from her latest album "Elemental" - well worth checking out.  You can find out more about this enchantress on her website or on our Contributor Page.

 

Samhain Story & Forget Me Not

by Chris Joliffe

Astoundingly, Chris is an undiscovered talent - that is, until now! This amazing bard has given us permission to use some of his amazing stories and poems in the show and we're sure that you'll love them just as much as we do.

In this show, you can hears his short poem Forget Me Not and his mythically-rich story, Samhain Story. We hope to bring you much more of Chris in the future and in the meantime check out his Contributor Page to find out a little more about him.

 

The Cheshire Souling Song

by Kate Fkletcher & Corwen Broch

Kate and Corwen are more than just folk musicians. They are also instrument makers and workshop leaders who perform folk music and drama, recreate Ancient music and instruments, make crafts, run workshops for schools and demonstrate at museums and other events. In some ways, they have become folk music's scientists in that their research is delving deep into the past to discover the songs (one of Kate's specialities I believe) and the instruments (definitely one of Corwen's!) of the past. We've seen Corwen demonstrate an ancient lyre on YouTube! Hold on, let's see if I can find it...     You'll find the link to their YouTube channel on their Contributor Page and it really is worth listening to more of their music and finding out about some of the instruments used by the Celts and how they sounded! I think one of the most amazing things I've read about them is on their website where it says: Never afraid to sing all the verses of a long ballad, or play newly composed material on long forgotten instruments, our music has been described as 'hypno/folk'. We aim to make music that their ancestors would understand and appreciate. You can find out more about Kate & Corwen on their website at Ancient Music.co.uk or on their Contributor Page.

The Shores of Wales

by Kray Van Kirk

"I have a different approach now to writing and performing music. I no longer record CDs, as I want to reduce the waste headed to our landfills, and I don't charge money for my songs as a deliberate movement away from the bottom line that seems to govern so much of our daily lives. So I keep writing my songs, and I sing them when I play a show, and I give them away to anyone who wants them. My graduate work takes me to interesting places on rather short notice sometimes, and I try to plan concerts around that travel, although the short notice can make it difficult."

About this track, The Shores of Wales, he says: "Every time I play this, someone comes up to me almost frantic to hear what finally happened in the story. I don't think there's a real answer- the beach is empty, the horse is alone, and William rides still. I do like the Faerie King, though- although he is careless of William's fate and casually cruel, he also lays his own soul on the line when challenged."

Find out more about Kray on his website or his Contributor Page. 

 

Competition Winner

We announce the winner of our competition set in the Chatterbox Show SP24 and wish you all the best of the season and a very Happy New Year!

 

 

 

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Special Thanks

 

Psicodreamics for Spirit of Nature and Earth Prayer from the album Ancient Wisdom. See his website for further details of check out his Contributor Page.

Green Druid for the enthralling lay, Celta. See his Contributor Page for more details.

Adragante, for his track Chanson a la Marie from his album, Harmonie Cosmique. Check out his Contributor Page for more details.

Grégoire Lourme, for 1DSENS - Musee virtuel - Evasion from his album Shorts Works. See his Contributor Page for more details.

 

For our Theme Music:

The Skylark and Haghole, the brilliant Culann's Hounds. See their Contributor page for details.

 

Extra Special Thanks for Unrestricted Access to Wonderful Music

(in Alphabetic order)

Anne Roos Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of her masterful music to Anne Roos. You can find out more about Anne on her website or on her Contributor page.

Caera Extra Special thanks go for permission to any of her evocative harping and Gaelic singing to Caera. You can find out more about Caera on her website or on her Contributor Page.

Celia Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of her wonderful music to Celia Farran. You can find out more about Celia on her website or on her Contributor Page.

Damh the Bard Extra Special thanks go to Damh the Bard for his permission to use any of his music on the Show. You can find out more about Damh (Dave) on his website or on his Contributor page.

The Dolmen Extra Special thanks also go to The Dolmen, for their permission to use any of their fantastic Celtic Folk/Rock music on the Show. You can find out more about The Dolmen on their website or on our Contributor page.

Keltoria Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of their inspired music to Keltoria. You can find out more about Keltoria on their website or on their Contributor page.

Kevin Skinner Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of his superb music to Kevin Skinner. You can find out more about Kevin on his website or on his Contributor page.

Phil Thornton Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of his astounding ambient music to the Sonic Sorcerer himself, Phil Thornton. You can find out more about Phil on his website or on his Contributor Page.

S.J. Tucker Extra Special thanks go to Sooj for her permission to use any of her superb music. You can find out more about Sooj on her website or on her Contributor page.

Spiral Dance Extra Special thanks go for permission to use Adrienne and the band to use any of their music in the show. You can find out more about Spiral Dance on their website or on their Contributor page.

We'd like to wish you 'Hwyl fawr!', which is Welsh for Goodbye and have fun, or more literally Wishing a Good Mood on you!

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