Show Notes
Welcome to me. Welcome. Welcome all of you. Welcome whether you're listening at home and you've used your imagination to create a chalk circle around you so that nothing can disturb you. Proto Celtic Musings in the Penultimate Pod of the Season. Episode Length: ~30 minutes Season 1, Penultimate Episode Episode Summary A beautifully vulnerable and wandering conversation by the fire as Sarah prepares to close Season 1. This intimate episode explores connecting with the earth through ancient languages, the weight of legacy in storytelling, and the deep listening space that comes before major creative work. Sarah shares her discoveries about Proto-Celtic, reflects on the power of live storytelling, and offers glimpses into the upcoming Tatterhood retreat - all while admitting she feels a bit unpolished and "defragged." Key Topics & Highlights 🌍 Speaking the Language of the Land (3:00 - 8:00) * Felix Padel learning Welsh because "that was the language that the earth spoke there" * Exploring Proto-Celtic as a hypothetical language from 600 BC * Working with Carolyn Hillier's Proto-Celtic dictionary * The power of sound: Awen - the three syllables of inspiration in druidic tradition 📚 Proto-Celtic Word Exploration (8:00 - 12:00) * Strenganyl - Umbilical cord * Munna - Urine (used to tan hides for leather) * Bundo - The earth beneath the feet * Noko - Hill * Kuo - Hollow * Creating an oral working group for songs, poems, and stories 🎭 The Craft of Storytelling (15:00 - 20:00) * Seeing Sally Pom Clayton perform - mastery and magic in action * The difference between weekly podcast storytelling and polished performance pieces * Working with instruments: horse thigh bone ocarina and upcoming wind wand 👑 Preparing for Tatterhood (20:00 - 25:00) * The retreat is full, initiation energy already beginning * Tatterhood: born riding a goat with a wooden spoon * Deep listening space with the women choosing initiation 🎙️ Live Podcasting Discovery (18:00 - 20:00) * Long Sutton Women's Institute - 100 years of meetings * The Lost Lady Society's live podcast format * Plans for Season 2 live recordings and touring 📖 Angela Carter's Legacy (25:00 - 30:00) * The Virago Book of Fairy Tales and Carter's deathbed notes * "Every real story contains something useful" - Walter Benjamin * "No one dies so poor that he does not leave something behind" - Pascal * Fairy tales: "cunning and high spirits" Musical Moments * Bean pod percussion from a dying friend in Wales * Horse thigh bone ocarina - announcing presence to the elements * Upcoming wind wand for Tatterhood's dramatic entrance Notable Quotes "He learnt Welsh because that was the language that the earth spoke." "No one dies so poor that he does not leave something behind." "I felt ashamed in front of them for the person I was... the unmet places, the unlooked after places, the suppressed places." "There's magic here. Beyond the words, woven in this podcast, there's been a presence of deep magic." Seasonal Transition * End of Season 1 approaching * Spring energy: some emerging from underworld "with dirt in their mouth" * Moving toward awareness of legacy and footprint * Deep preparation and listening before major creative work Upcoming Events Tatterhood Retreat - This weekend (full) * Working with the story as initiatory experience * Creating awareness of living legacy * Next year's retreat available
Support the Podcast Patreon: Mooney's Mythic Podcast - support Sarah's important work as a storyteller in these times Resources Mentioned * Book: "No Season But The Summer" by Matilda Leyser (Persephone journey) * Book: "Sacrificing People" by Felix Padel * Book: Proto-Celtic dictionary by Carolyn Hillier * Book: "The Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales" edited by Angela Carter * Artist: Willow Freeman Toddington (instrument maker, Dartmoor) * Storyteller: Sally Pomme Clayton * Collective: The Lost Lady Society, Somerset This episode beautifully captures the liminal space between seasons - both literal spring
More from Mooney's Mythic Podcast
Show Notes Mooney’s Mythic Podcast: Under Anger, a Broken Heart . She spent one night at Wales Millennium Centre seeing Laurie Anderson, then sneaking in to see the Shovel Dance Collective, and she cried, giggled and danced her way through it. Laurie’s Friends and Teachers show leaves her with a teaching from Pema Chödrön: underneath anger there is always a broken heart. Sarah carries that question into the new story she’s making, about a great oak that splits into gardener, magician and king. She also lists her own shadow on a till receipt while working as the witch of Wookey Hole. Max Porter’s All of This Unreal Time and Robin Williamson’s bardic magic feed into the drunk, brilliant wizard she’s learning to embody. Featured * Laurie Anderson: Friends and Teachers, Llais Festival, Wales Millennium Centre. * Shovel Dance Collective: The Bold Fisherman shoveldancecollective.bandcamp.com * Robin Williamson: “Five Denials on Merlin’s Grave”, from A Glint at the Kindling (1979) * Max Porter: All of This Unreal Time * Direction support: Joanna Procter, Reveal Productions * Intro music: Queen Space Baroque Coming up * Friday 23 Oct, 6pm: a mythic storytelling show in the woods near Glastonbury (secret location) with musicians, fire and aerial acts. Get in touch to come. * Friday 30 Oct: Samhain Secrets and Songs with Ted Waters, St Benedict’s Church, Glastonbury.https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998949432563?aff=oddtdtcreator * Women Who Run With the Wolves: a seven-week Tuesday-night circle in Glastonbury. Starts beginning of November 3 spaces left * One-to-one online sessions this winter for speeches, stories and performance. Support the pod on Patreon : Mooneys Mythic Podcast | Stories, soul craft, good company | Patreon
As autumn turns us down into the earth, this episode opens with a threshold track from Tarisha, then shares a treat from the archive: a conversation with Welsh storyteller Owen Staton. Together they explore unscripted telling, storytelling cards, letting a story “sing it plain,” and stories as nourishment and refuge. Owen StatonWelsh performance storyteller, actor and writer, host of Time Between Times.🎧 owenstaton.substack.com · Apple Podcasts🌐 www.welshstoryteller.com · ko-fi.com/owenstaton · patreon.com/owenstaton7 MusicIntro music: Ritual Door 2 Queen Space Baroque Opening track: Tarisha – Deep into the Earth we go, with thanks for permission Come and find me * 14 Oct – Story Wintering: Greek myths, beginning with Artemis * 23 Oct, 6–8pm – Once upon a… Forest: a mythic woodland trail near Glastonbury with circus, music and stories from the realms of the fey. The location is sent when you book. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/once-upon-a-forest-tickets-2002560757132 * 24 Oct – Wellington Garden of Light: oracle storytelling * 30 Oct, 7:30pm – Samhain Secrets in Story and Song with Ted Waters, St Benedict’s Church, Glastonbury. Bring an ancestor stone and photographs. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/samhain-secrets-in-story-and-song-tickets-1998949432563 * 3 Nov – Women Who Run with the Wolves: 7-week in-person circle, Glastonbury (a few spaces left) * 18 Dec – Festive family show with Sarah Curtis (harp and piano), St Benedict’s Church Next week: Laurie Anderson and the Shovel Dance Collective.Support the pod on Patreon, share it with a friend, or leave a comment 💛
Mooney’s Mythic Podcast Past the equinox, Sarah reflects on telling stories in the woods and the prayer she’ll make next time. She also talks about unwrapping a bubble-wrapped six-year-old part of herself, and joining the fierce Savage Sisters Morris side. In the story pot: The Princess’s Blankets and Tam Lin. Then a furious poem from Extinction Rebellion co-founder Stu Basden, recorded at the Green Gathering, and an invitation to come back to life together. Music: Queen Space Baroque, “Ritual Door” (opening titles) · Tarisha, “Deep Into the Earth” · Wyndreth, “My Mother’s Savage Daughter” Support Wyndreth: the writer of My Mother’s Savage Daughter is living with dementia. Please give if you can:👉 https://www.gofundme.com/f/my-mothers-savage-daughter-needs-our-help Come and join me: * 🌲 Mythic Wander, Friday 23rd October. Get in touch for the location. * 🐺 Women Who Run With the Wolves, Glastonbury, seven Tuesdays from 3rd November (I said the 2nd in the episode, but it’s Tuesday 3rd!) * 🕯️ Story Wintering, online, once a month
Opening music By Queen Space Baroque Online workshop Thursday 6:30–8:30pm https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998740818593?aff=oddtdtcreator Samhain telling of Donkey Skin in Glastonbury, 30th Oct https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998949432563?aff=oddtdtcreator
Sarah previews The Synthphonic Orchestra ahead of Friday’s Rose Concert, then reflects on cycles — vision quests, moon time, community rhythm — before telling a Loathly Lady tale: three princes, a dried well, and the old woman who asks only for a kiss. Music: The Synthphonic Orchestra, “Love Remains” Upcoming: Rose Concert (Fri 11th, Glastonbury Town Hall) · Autumn Threshold Gathering online, next Thurs, 2-for-1 tickets on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998740818593?aff=oddtdtcreator Women Who Run With the Wolves (Glastonbury, late Oct) · Greek myths (details soon) Loved this? Send it to one person who needs the story today. Keep the kettle on for the pod — Patreon (Mooney’s Mythic Podcast).