The story I am sharing with you today is The Birth of Taliesin. The word means "radiant brow" in Welsh, and you'll see why at the end of the story. Taliesin is another one of these Celtic figures who crosses back and forth between history and myth.

There was indeed a famous Welsh Bard in the 6th century called Taliesin and there seem to be stories that pre-date that person and weave throughout the mythic landscape after him. Bards after the 6th century would often compose poetry in the voice of Taliesin or channel him as they created - however you want to see that process.

This is the story of Taliesin's birth. it's quintessential Celtic Myth - there's a cauldron - of course, shapeshifting, death, re-birth and initiation all set in the dramatic Welsh landscape. This story carries a vibrancy that I can't help feel as I tell it. It's fun and full of mystery. I hope you enjoy this version of the Birth of Taliesin.

This is a re-telling of an old Welsh tale captured in the 12th century text The Mabinogion. Its not usually told quiet like this. I see Elen as an expression of the Sovereignty Goddess who is so prevalent in Celtic myth. She is the abundance of the land and recognizes the need to be in partnership with humans for everything to flourish.

To me this story speaks of the human-nature relationship but it also addresses the relationship between the masculine and feminine - both between two people and within all of us.

The story too touches on the theme of the dreaming of the land which skirts around the edges of The Dream Makers story I told in Episode 3. It's quite magical, I hope you enjoy listening as much I as enjoy telling it.

Adventures in the Otherworld is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Learn more about me here: https://www.kathoughton.com/

To delve deeper into the images and archetypes that stand out for you in this story I invite you to subscribe to the free email course: Working with Archetypes here https://soul.kathoughton.com/working-with-archetypes

This is the third and final part of this telling of Merlin's story. This is the part you may be more familiar with and has taken many different forms over the years as the story traveled around Britain between the North and what is now Wales.

This story speaks of Merlin as a great prophet implying that he has found some opening to the Otherworld through which knowledge, unbound by time and space, comes through him. You may recognize a parallel here with the Thomas the Rhymer story from Episode 1. The gift of prophesy is a common theme in the tradition of the Britons.

In both these stories, it is time out alone in the natural world that precipitates the coming of the prophetic ability. in other old Welsh poems Merlin is in conversation with an apple tree and a pig, suggesting his animistic worldview and respect for intelligence beyond the human.

I'd love to know what you hear in this part of Merlin's tale.

https://www.kathoughton.com/

Subscribe to the free email course on Working with Archetypes here: https://soul.kathoughton.com/medicine-archetypes-images