Dreaming the Ancestors Tara Brading

In this episode, Carolyn Hillyer shares wisdom about living on the wild lands of Dartmoor and her process of reviving and reimagining the Proto-Celtic language; a language spoken by ancient ancestors across various parts of Europe, including the British Isles. 

Carolyn’s work has awakened in me, and many others, a sense of what our Indigenous tongue might have been before the Anglo-Saxons came. There is a bone-deep ancestral remembering that happens in the presence of the Proto-Celtic language—in the speaking, singing and listening of it—that is difficult to put into words. 

During the episode Carolyn shares a song she has written in Proto-Celtic, an ancestral prayer, and ancient rememberings she’s received from the ancestors.

Wales is a country full of legends and myths about the spiritual world; stories of sacred lakes, healing herbs, women of magic, and the mighty red dragon. The Land remembers these stories and the ancient ways of mystery and magic; traditions that have their roots in old Brythonic Britain.
There are some fierce and magical women in Wales’s ancient mythology who embody the archetype of the Witch in a variety of ways. In this episode, Mhara shares deep wisdom about some of these mythic women (such as Cerridwen, Rhiannon, and Arianrhod) and the Welsh magical traditions at large.

In the midst of rapid technological advancements, there is an ancient whisper that calls to many of us...a calling to return to the wisdom of the earth and the sacred technology of nature. A calling to reconnect with the land in the heartfelt ways of our ancestors. A calling to remember the medicine of the plants and trees, and how to heal ourselves as we heal the earth.

In this episode, Aoife Ní hEochaidh Réamainn talks about working with trees and plants in sacred ways, her experiences of tending the land, and how being in intimate relationship with nature can support our return to wholeness. She also shares her reflections on the Irish people as "people of the trees" and healing Ireland's colonial past through the wisdom of the earth.

In this time of displacement, disconnection and overwhelm, so many people are longing for meaningful ways to belong. The questions that we hold close to our hearts are things like: What does it mean to belong to this earth? What does it mean to have roots? What does it mean to belong to my lineage, my ancestors, my cultural heritage?

For those of you who feel this longing to belong, you know how deep it goes. In this podcast episode with Isla Macleod, we explore some of the pathways to courageously heal our sense of un-belonging. We talk about remembering our heritage and courting the sacred through earth reverence, altar spaces, ritual, and more.

In this podcast episode I speak with Eimear Burke, a Druid and Seanchaí (storyteller) as well as the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). We talk about the importance of Rites of Passage and how Druidry can help to inspire and inform rituals to mark moments of significance in our lives.
In the Western world we sometimes lose track of the most important moments in our lives—transitional and transformational moments such as giving birth, menopause, divorce or breakups, marriage or commitment, death of a loved one, an important achievement, getting sober, menses, and so many other moments. We often don’t give these Rites of Passage the true presence and meaning that they deserve, and in this episode we discuss how the earth-honoring pathway of Druidry can help us to uplift these moments as modern women.
We also discuss what it means to walk the Druidic path in the modern world and how to create more meaning in our everyday lives through ritual and ceremony.

In this conversation, I talk with Nicola Goodall about the importance of midwives in the birthing process for mothers, and the ways that Scottish folk medicine weaves into the ancient tradition of midwifery. 

Nicola shares her wealth of wisdom about the sacredness of birthing, and ways to support this important rite of passage for mothers. She also shares wisdom about the persecution of midwives during the Witch Hunts and the ways that these atrocities have impacted women’s medicine. 

Last but not least, we have a discussion about the importance of mothers being nourished and supported, especially in these times of overwhelm and isolation.