Woodland Bard

Stories of the mythology of Tlachtga seem to form the heart of the sacred flame that we have reverence towards at Samhain, and even to the bonfires we may light from this flame, but few know of her name. The Hill Of Tlachtga near Athboy in Co. Meath has an exceptional heritage in the druid tradition linked to Samhain, pronounced many ways though mainly something like soo-win or soo-waan. Many people just call this Halloween. On Ordnance Survey Maps as the Hill of Ward, The Hill Of Tlachtga is about 12 miles from the Hill of Tara. A sacred fire festival has probably been held there since the time of the Tuatha De Dannan high king Lugh, about 3500 years. Some of the mythology of the Jack O'Lantern may well have originated from here. Here I share some of the inspiring stories I have heard about Tlachtga and her father of many variations of names, most common appearing to be Mug Ruith ... though perhaps best known may be Merlin? I will start with tales of her fa

The Oak Tree That Went Viral - by Woodland Bard I posted a picture of an Oak Tree today, On Facebook. Many 'friends' said they like my Oak Tree picture. I know because they clicked ‘like’. Some clicked, ‘wow’, ‘yay’, and even ‘sad’ by mistake. Many people shared my Oak Tree picture On their Facebook page, Including many people who did not click ‘like’. I was poked by many people who wanted me to ‘like’ their picture of my Oak Tree picture On Facebook, on Twitter too, And serving as a background to a hip hop song on YouTube, And sequenced as a loop on Vibe, And debated academically on Linked In My Oak Tree picture came back to me with Graffiti over it; Telling me to love trees, Plant a tree., Asking me to hug it, Telling me it will soon be extinct, Telling me it really is the tree of life. Blogs appeared on Wordpress and Blogger Informing me how my Oak Tree is, The heart of earth saving permaculture, The doorway to the goddess, and, Yes, someo

When stones fall, they lay Until humans erect them And call it 'sacred' When trees fall, there's life That transforms into some things Our eyes cannot see Leave alone the stones That incubate lasting fears (tears) And embrace the trees. pic taken at Cavan Burren, around the Hut Sites remains area

A Facebook friend, Boris Achenbach, brought to my attention a picture and introductory story about the Forest Of Dubhris featured on the Facebook Page of Celtic Mythology  . This is the story told by Celtic Mythology ... The FOREST OF DUBHROS was the Dark Forest of County Sligo. In it grew a wonderful quicken rowan tree. It happened one time after the tree was grown, there were messengers of the Tuatha de Danann going through the wood of Dubhros. And they heard a great noise of birds and of bees, and they went where the noise was, and they saw the beautiful Druid tree. They went back then and told what they bad seen, and all the chief men of the Tuatha de Danaan when they heard it knew the tree must have grown from a berry of the Land of the Ever-Living Ones. And they enquired among all their people, till they knew it was a young man of them, that was a musician had dropped the berry. Lovely symbolic story that I feel we could apply to many conditions, many stories, of our own