Mythological Stuff

Dragons & Serpents 'A dragon is a legendary creature, typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. Western representations typically have wings, whereas Eastern ones typically do not..... read more

The Golden Apple  It seems that Zeus was preparing a wedding banquet for Peleus and Thetis and did not want to invite Eris because of Her reputation as a trouble maker. This made Eris angry, and so She fashioned an apple of pure gold....read more

Unicorns   In mythology the appearance of a white animal to the hero frequently signifies the commencement of an Otherworldly journey.....read more

Ravens  'Bran'- 'raven' occurs frequently in Welsh poetry as an epithet for a warrior. In the 'Dream of Rhonabwy' from the Mabinogion Arthur, again associated with Cornwall, plays a board game against Owain ap Urien while his men fight Owain's ravens ......read more

The Holy Grail 'The Grail may be described as the dish from which Christ ate the Passover Lamb at the Last Supper; or as the chalice of the first sacrament, in which later the saviour's blood was caught as it flowed from his wounded body; or as a stone with a miraculous feeding and youth preserving virtues; or as a salver containing a man's head, swimming in blood. It may be borne through a castle hall by a beautiful damsel; or it may float through the air in Arthur's castle, veiled in white samite, or it may be placed on a table in the East, together with a fresh caught fish, and serve as a talisman to distinguish the chaste from the unchaste. It's custodian may be called Bron or Ansfortas or Pelles or Joseph of Arimathea or simply called the Fisher King. He may be sound of wind and limb or wounded in the genitals. The hero who achieves the quest may be the notoriously amorous Gawain or the virgin Galahad....read more

Caer Sidi In his authoritative study 'Celtic Folklore' Professor Rhys writes that in Scotland and in Ireland the words 'sid' or 'sith' refer to faery folk. He considers that these words share a common origin in the Latin word 'sedes' meaning 'a seat' or 'settlement,' but that it came to signify an abode of the faery folk. 'Caer Sidi' means  'the Fortress of the Faery folk.'  ....read more

Sacred Isles 'Many of the islands off the west coast of Britain, including Lundy, were known to the Celts as 'Isles of the Dead'. They were regarded as holy islands which formed gateways to the otherworld and to which the illustrious dead were ferried, there to be buried with solemn rite amid the spirits of their forefathers' ......read more

Sacred Sites  'For a culture to whom the timing of seasonal events was particularly important, the culture which produced Stonehenge, for example, the observation of heavenly bodies was a central part of their religious ceremonies. Any place which possessed such alignments was holy. The movements of heavenly bodies is regular and can be calculated and thus predicted. Throughout time the coincidence of a sunrise or sunset with a natural feature such as a mountain or an island has always been, and indeed still is, awe inspiring. Any site which possessed such an alignment was a natural indicator of a heavenly event and thus sacred'. ....read more

Sun Gods The noted authority R.S.Loomis stated that in his view a study of Classical mythology demonstrated a "A powerful belief that the islands not far from the British coast were regarded as the homes of the various gods of the sun." ...read more

The Head  One aspect of early Celtic religion which tends to be either ignored or over-emphasised by later writers is their reverence for the human head. To the Celts the human head represented a physical manifestation of that centre of life, the essence of being which Christians know as the soul. The head was also a prized trophy in battle......read more

The Otherworld The Celts believed in the "Otherworld." It exists alongside our world, separate from it but accessible from anywhere and everywhere. It is the realm of quest and achievement, of challenge and encounter, of initiation and enlightenment. It is Arthur's Avalon, The Grail Castle ,the land of faery and enchantment where time passes at a different speed. It is the land where the story never ends. The "Otherworld" is where the music takes us, it's the never-never land of books, artists enter and return to share their visions. Mystics travel there through meditation......read more

Temples of Apollo  The author of the journal of Pytheas' travels (Diodoros Siculus, Bibliotheca quoting Hecateus of Abdera as one of the writer's authorities). wrote that there were two temples to the god Apollo on the British Isles. There was ‘both a magnificent sacred precinct of Apollo and a notable temple which is adorned with many votive offerings and is spherical in shape’ ..... read more

Island of Hercules The earliest known direct written mention of Lundy comes from the second century geographer, Ptolemy. He calls Lundy;- 'Heraclea' - 'Isle of Hercules.' He also names Hartland Point, the nearest point of land to Lundy;- 'Heracles Promontory' - 'The Headland of Hercules.' ...read more