Dreaming the Ancestors

In this episode, Lucy Ní hAodhagáin (they/she) shares how living in conscious relationship with the land has the power to revive our innate wildness, our sense of belonging, and the wisdom of the ancestors. In Lucy’s early life in Belfast, they would journey into the wild to feel a sense of safety and connection. Over time, their passion for the natural world and ancestral ways of life awakened them to the sacredness of the plants, animals, and even their own body.

In recognizing that we are inseparable from nature, Lucy teaches that decolonization and ecological repair are possible. This conversation with Lucy will inspire you to create your own relationship with the land, our more than human kin, and the foods that nourish us. Through this deep ancestral remembering we can heal our Grandmother Earth, and by returning to the earth-honoring ways of our ancestors, we can also return to ourselves.

In this episode, Laura Murphy shares wisdom about her sacred activism journey and the ways in which she harnesses the ancient Irish practice of imbas forosnai (divine inspiration) in her work to create social change. The Irish spirit is a revolutionary one, and Laura speaks about the intersection of spirituality and activism in Irish history, highlighting the lives of key figures from the Celtic Revival at the end of the 1800s and early 1900s.

Laura’s writing and poetry is at the forefront of her work, and she has become a powerful voice for Ireland’s Mother and Baby Home and Magdalene Laundry survivors after writing a letter to the Taoiseach (Ireland’s head of Parliament) which received national and international attention. She’s also a strong advocate for Palestine, and we speak about the importance of speaking up in these times.

This episode is both highly informative and deeply personal as Laura shares her initiatory experience of leaving the corporate world during a health crisis. This dark night of the soul changed her life in profound ways, setting her firmly on the path of imbas forosnai, sacred activism, and destiny.

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.

In this episode with Jen Murphy, we dive into the connection between mythology and the feminine body, with a special focus on the myths of ancient Ireland.

As women, we are indoctrinated into so many false narratives about our bodies from a very young age...stories that can take us away from the true essence of who we are and our embodied wisdom.

We are living in powerful times where we can re-write these stories and reclaim the power of living embodiment. Tales of the mythic feminine and her archetypal energies can help guide us back to buried and forgotten aspects of self...breathing life into a felt-sense of sacredness & sovereignty that sings in our blood and bones.

In this conversation we  talk about ancient mythology, ancestral embodiment, the power of the mythic feminine, reclaiming the wisdom of our bodies, and re-wilding ourselves as women.

In this episode with Dr. Karen Ward, founder of Moon Mná, we talk about the sacred connection between women and water in the ancient Irish tradition.

There's a vital connection between women, water and flow which is encoded into our bodies. We flow with the menstrual cycle, connecting us to the cycles of Grandmother Moon who holds sway over the tides. We flow with the rhythms of our sexual fluids. We carry sacred womb waters that hold our beloved babies in utero.

These living connections are reflected back to us in nature. Lakes and wells are womblike in nature, representing the sacred waters of Great Mother, Mother Earth. The rivers are a flowing symbol of Life, just as the fluids flow from our sacred womb space. Within the Irish landscape, there are many bodies of water that carry the names of ancient goddesses and stories of the mythic feminine.

In this podcast episode, Karen and I dive into some of the sacred myths and traditions of Ireland that have connected women and water since time immemorial...a conversation that will awaken you to your own connection with the sacred waters.