Round the Herne

 Earlier this month we had the third annual Suffolk Jungian Symposium at West Suffolk College. My contribution to the day was a talk applying Jungian principles to Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (which also has plenty to say about the human psyche in general and not just as a bit of pretentious lit-crit. The recording of the original event did not come out at all well, so this is a slightly more rambling version of the same thing.

 This is a recording made today or a story that I told along with other members of Clan Ogma (druid group that also does annual storytelling) at the Leaping Hare pagan convention in Colchester. Hard to credit, I know, but the accents were even less convincing at the live performance than they are in this recording. Judging from the feedback for the convention, everyone seems to have had a good day and are all looking forward to next year's event.

 A few random thoughts about Carl Jung's notion of participation mystique and how it can link into animism, paganism, and the creative arts. It would be interesting to hear other views and experiences around this topic (especially what might pretentiously be called the "death of art", touched on towards the end of the video).

 Yesterday our druid group performed the story of Cael and Credhe at the Leaping Hare pagan convention in Colchester, which went down quite well with the audience. The tale is a tragic one of doomed love. My own interpretation is that Cedhe is an embodiment of the Land - whether she is understood as a goddess or a fairy or something else entirely is a separate issue. The marital contingency that her suitor recites the list of her many treasures strikes me as being less about materialism and more that the lucky man should know the many gifts of the earth.

 This was recorded back in February as a practice for a group storytelling at the Leaping Hare convention in late March. Meant to upload it weeks ago, but forgot. It is based on the tale of how Fionn's son, Oisin, is drawn to Tir na nOg, Land of the Ever Young, for love of  a mysterious woman and how he finds the world much changed upon his return. The encounter with Bishop Patrick is much as it is in the original version, though told with a definite sympathy to the pagan viewpoint. 

 A couple of people who had missed the start of the Leaping Hare convention last Saturday asked if I would record a version of my talk on the Royal Myth of Egypt. I've tried to keep to the same length as at the convention and as close to identical topics. This is a reflection on the myth of the feuding brothers and the trials and tribulations faced by their sister in restoring her beloved. If these topics are of any interest to readers (both of you), let me know and I will explore further in future. Tomorrow, Sunday 3rd, I will be giving a talk on the Egyptian concepts of Ma'at and Isfet at an MBS fair being held at Kegrave Community Centre - I shall be talking at 1pm, if anyone fancies coming along to listen.

 Here are the video links to Leaping Hare 2021, which is virtual due to the pandemic. The initial video should automatically lead to the next recording, but in case there are any gremlins I have included the rest of the URLs below. “Introduction” - https://youtu.be/7sY2Hi6mSWA “Altered States” talk by Jo van der Hoeven - https://youtu.be/D7-SLafLIdA “Wolf Song” music by Carys - https://youtu.be/_DKslE4Z_uQ “Too Jung to Die” talk by Robin Herne - https://youtu.be/OacH-dS4DQk “Gods Just Wanna Have Fun” talk by Nick Ford - https://youtu.be/r3qEmwRTPQ4 “Pathways to Initiation” talk by Johnathan Boddam-Whetham - https://youtu.be/jJDNap8cqOI “The Dagda’s Harp” storytelling with Clan Ogma - https://youtu.be/XaNzUY40CIc “Thanks and Farewell” - https://youtu.be/JaB3CwfgFus   Please make a donation to one or more of our good causes: Hedgehog Havens - http://www.hedgehoghavenessex.co.uk/pages/ East Anglian Children's Hospice - https://www.each.org.uk/ Colchest...

Here are the links to the Virtual version of the Leaping Hare pagan convention, featuring the talents of Nick Ford, Carys, Jonathan Boddam-Whethers and myself. In theory one should play on automatically from the previous, but in case there are problems with list I have pasted each link individually below. INTRODUCTION SHEEP POEM (NICK FORD) UNDERWORLD INITIATION (DR J. B. WETHAM) CALL MY BLUFF MINI-QUIZ CARYS'S SONG (GAIA) BEAR TRIBE POEM (NICK FORD) BROTHERHOOD OF THE SHADOWS STORY EPOMEDUOS AND THE MARE ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD TALK

If you haven't already heard you will have worked out for yourself, in the light of government decisions, that the Leaping Hare convention has been postponed from its March date. Assuming that the coronavirus situation has been resolved (ideally cured) in time, we are aiming to meet instead on Saturday 17th October - usual venue in Colchester. Details of the programme can be found on their website. It is mostly the same as originally planned. As a bonus to try and keep people's spirits up during this period of isolation, we will be running a Virtual Hare this Saturday. A playlist of videos will be run including talks, storytelling, poetry, a quiz, and song. The link will be posted in a number of places, including on this blog, for you to watch at your leisure. If you enjoy it, we'd like to encourage you to donate to whatever your local Hospice is - whatever sum you can afford (we appreciate that many will be financially struggling right now with work drying up for lots of ...

Next Saturday is the Leaping Hare convention in Colchester, Essex. I'll be talking about dog mythology and also giving some Irish storytelling along with the rest of Clan Ogma. There is a great array of speakers and workshops - thoroughly recommended if you can get there. The profits are split between various local good causes. The planned programme for 2018 is (subject to changes) as follows ~ 09.30am     Welcome by Barry Bartholomew, PF District Manager 09.45am      Richard Levy , "Narrative Magic" ; 10.45am     Sam Marks, "Walking the Antlered Road" ; 11.45am     Connecting with the Egyptian deities, workshop with Adrienne de Roy , Side Room ;                   12.00pm Women of the Mabinogion workshop with Jo van der Hoeven, main hall;    12.30pm     Lunch break;    ...

Saturday 25th March is the annual Leaping Hare pagan convention in Colchester. We have an excellent series of speakers and workshops over the day, as described below. I will be joining with Clan Ogma to tell the story of the Hound of Ulster (part of an ongoing series of canine-related events this year, as a thanksgiving for the recovery of one of my dogs from potentially serious illness). More details of the conference can be found on the website . Saturday 25 th March, 10am – 5pm Tickets - £6.50 (advance), £8 (on door) Stall pitches – contact terrysmith449ce@gmail.com Join us for a day of talks, workshops, storytelling and more. Speaker and workshops (subject to change) include: Keziah Osborne ~ Sacred Feminine Cycles Jonathan Wethers ~ Everyday Cabala Sergeant Andrew Pardy ~ Pagan Policing Robert Lummis ~ The Lakota Eagle Storytelling with Clan Ogma ~ The Hound of Ulster Plus workshops on drumming (bring own drum if possible), connecting to t...

I've been quiet for a few weeks, wrapped up in matters domestic (my partner has moved in and it has been non-stop moving of furniture, cleaning, disposing of excess possessions, cleaning, redecorating, renovating the kitchen, cleaning, oh and cleaning). What little spare brain cells I've had have been used up at work and writing the weekly East Anglian Daily Times ethics & philosophy column, knocking out pagan newsletters, and eating chocolate. Well, it is Easter. Speaking of Easter, there's a short story below that may vaguely amuse some of you. This Saturday (April 2nd) will be the Leaping Hare pagan convention in Colchester. I will be storytelling with Clan Ogma druid group (The Cauldron Cracked, if I can convince anyone to film it I'll upload a copy here) and giving a talk on Celtic Poetry & Magic to replace one of the speakers who has had to drop out. The programme can be found here . Interview with a Rabbit For the record I would like it not...

On Saturday 28th March I will be joining the rest of my fellow druids in storytelling (the Irish saga of Bricriu's Feast) at Highwoods Community Centre in Colchester. The Leaping Hare convention also includes a full programme of speakers, workshops, stalls, music and general jollity all in exchange for a few quid - profits divided between assorted good causes. I shall also be selling copies of my assorted books. Details of the programme can be found here . Tickets can be purchased on the door, or reserved at a cheaper rate by calling 01206 331183.

Continuing the narcissism, this is my first attempt at recording a story (with croaky throat, battling off the germs of other people) on YouTube. The tale is a late written one, and somewhat bawdy and violent for any shrinking violets who may not cope with such things. There are a couple of mistakes halfway through, but I didn't want to have to record the whole thing again so am hoping if I don't mention them nobody will notice..... It's a fun story and one that we (Clan Ogma, the druid group of which I am a part) performed live at Colchester's Leaping Hare pagan convention some years back. If anyone wants more academic or mystical reflections on the meaning and influences on the tale, I can write more of that later. For the moment, I'll just leave you to experience, and hopefully enjoy, the saga itself. If the response to this is positive, I will add more stories at a later date ~ both Celtic ones and those from further afield.

Every year for the last 15 or so the druid group that I am a member of has performed an Insular Celtic myth at the Leaping Hare convention in Colchester. The story we performed this year was that of St Collen's encounter with Gwynn app Nudd on Glastonbury Tor. The story itself is really quite short, so we expanded it with an earlier incident from Collen's life in which he battled a Pagan King. Despite being low on numbers due to illness, we were thankfully supported by two friends who joined us at the last minute to provide some musical accompaniment. A picture or two will be posted in due course. Though short, the story is redolent with imagery that is (like any symbolism) open to interpretation. One particular aspect is the livery sported by Gwynn's courtiers ~ one half red and the other blue. The saint alleges it is the fires of hell combined with the coldness of being cast out from the love of God. The balance between fire and ice carries rather different echoes for ...