Fionn Mac Cumhaill

Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Captain of the Fianna, is one of the great heroes of Irish folklore. A hunter, warrior, leader and mystic whose dark side was brought forth by betrayal.

Warriors and poets. Dancer-lover-fighters. They could recite poetry while dancing on the tips of spears. The Fianna are one of the most compelling models of masculinity I’ve ever come across. This model finds its fullest embodiment in Fionn.

Asipattle

The wild card of the bunch. A trickster-hero hailing from an Orkney folk tale, Asipattle forged Iceland, the Baltic Sea and the Northern Isles of Scotland from the body of a snake.

My own encounters with this being in ceremony tell me he was once a kind of shaman-god. I’ve spent years getting to know him and I’ve love to introduce him to you.

Arawn

When reckless, hasty Pwyll gets on the wrong side of Arawn, Prince of the Otherworld, Arawn offers Pwyll the chance to live for a year as Arawn: Pwyll’s other self. His higher self; his fairy self; his shining mirror. Wouldn’t you like to do that?

In this session we’ll enter the world of the Mabinogion, where Arawn can offer each of us a doorway to our Otherworld self.

Lugh

Lugh of the Long Hand, the Ildanach, the Master of All Arts.

Healer, Harper, Medic. Leader, Craftsman, Wordsmith. Lugh’s got it all down.

Is this something he can teach us?

In this session we’ll discuss flow states, creativity and intertextuality before meeting the hero of the Irish Mythological Cycle; the child of monsters and gods.