Damh the Bard

I am a modern-day Bard. My spirituality, and love of folk tradition, is expressed through my music, storytelling and poetry. Drawing on the Bardic traditions my aim is to make my performances both entertaining and educational, weaving a tapestry of myth, peace, and anthems that speak directly to the heart, but never without a good splash of humour. I am a musical storyteller who works within the world of myth that cannot be proved; where the Faerie really do dance on Midsummer's Eve, where the trees talk, and the Hollow Hills take you into the realms of Annwn. Where the Goddess rides her horse, guiding you to magic, and the Horned God of old calls us from the shadows of the Greenwood.

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DruidCast - A Druid Podcast Episode 140

DruidCast – A Druid Podcast Episode 140

Shownotes for DruidCast Episode 140

The Gap of Dreams / Nia’s Jig / The Beekeeper – Altan – https://altan.ie

The Talky Bit – The Anglo Saxon and Norse Runes – Suzanne Rance – http://www.suzannerance.co.uk

Lady of the Lake – Lori Llyn – https://www.lori-llyn.com/index.html

The Migration Medley – Afro Celt Sound System – https://www.afroceltsoundsystem.org.uk

DruidCast theme – Hills they are Hollow…

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For a Love of Winter

For a Love of Winter

I noticed this week just how quickly the year had flown by. One moment it seemed I was welcoming the Spring after the Beast from the Easthad left our shores. Smiling at the blooming Spring flowers, enjoying the Blackthorn, the Pussy Willow, the Mayflower, and what seemed like the next day watching the leaves turn red and yellow, hearing the Autumn storm winds outside, and the nights have drawn in…

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The Wheel Turns to Samhain Once More

The Wheel Turns to Samhain Once More

Rainbow from the Long Man – Billie Wilson

We had our Samhain open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington this past Sunday. According to the calendar date we were a little early, but as I spoke about in this recent blog postI don’t see the four Fire Festival dates as fixed to the human calendar. To me they arrive when certain natural forces occur. So Imbolc will be when the snowdrops deck the…

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Y Mabinogi - The Second Branch - Open for pre-orders - Here's the story of the album

Y Mabinogi – The Second Branch – Open for pre-orders – Here’s the story of the album

So how did this all happen?

The first thing to do was to delve into the scholarly work that had been done on the Second Branch of Y Mabinogi. The background research, the exploring, finding books old and new, the familiar thud as they fall through the letterbox, then reading, reading, reading. I quickly found there were a lot of opinions on the origins of the Second Branch tales. Some suggested…

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DruidCast - A Druid Podcast Episode 139

DruidCast – A Druid Podcast Episode 139

Shownotes for DruidCast Episode 139

Forests – Willowolf – https://willowolf.bandcamp.com/releases

Hallowe’en Song – Richard Tucker

Talky Bit – The Use of Bones in Magic and Witchcraft – Gemma Gary – http://www.gemmagary.co.uk

Troy books – http://www.troybooks.co.uk

Children of the Sun – Willowolf – https://willowolf.bandcamp.com/releases

Prologue (from Y Mabinogi – The Second Branch – Damh the…

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For the Love of Magic

For the Love of Magic

I’ve always had a private love affair. We fell in love when I was at secondary school. I hunted her out in the library where she used to hang out. It was pretty exciting. To that very young Damh the things she showed me placed my feet upon a life journey. But over the years, every now and then, we lost touch. Other things took my attention. I guess it can happen to any relationship. Then over the…

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Thinking About - Where the Seasons Begin and End

Thinking About – Where the Seasons Begin and End

I thought I’d open a can of worms today. Throw a hot potato in. You know, stir it up a bit. I don’t normally go there but I think, in truth, there is no one correct answer to this so it really doesn’t matter in the end – it’s all about how you personally relate to the seasons and the land around you. So what is this contentious topic…?

Seasons

But more to the point where they begin and end.

BOOM!

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Thinking About - Samhain, Bones and the Ancestors

Thinking About – Samhain, Bones and the Ancestors

Autumn

I still find it amazing how quickly after the Autumn Equinox the season takes hold. Maybe it’s the angle of the Sun to the Earth but the shade of light blends with a touch of gold, whereas the Summer sunshine, to my eyes at least, sparkles with silver, and with that change in light the leaves turn also. There is still a lot of green across the Sussex countryside, but the red of the…

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Thinking About - Doing Druidry/Being a Druid

Thinking About – Doing Druidry/Being a Druid

When I put out the question to readers of the blog what would be the topics you would like me to write about it became obvious that this one was extremely popular.

How you fit Druidic practices into daily life.

This is a very important question and as ever I find my thoughts leading me to answer it in a very roundabout way. Maybe our ideal view of a Druidic practice would be similar to the…

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Fortean Paganism? Tell your Tale

Fortean Paganism? Tell your Tale

In a recent blog post I asked if any of you had gone through any ‘peak’ or strange, unexplainable experiences as you have walked your spiritual path. I said at the time I didn’t know quite what I would do with any of the responses but if you had time maybe you’d like to tell me about them. Well I got a lot of tales, through email, on my Facebook page, and through messenger so thank you!

What I…

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Book Review - The Assembly of the Severed Head by Hugh Lupton

Book Review – The Assembly of the Severed Head by Hugh Lupton

Ok. I’m a Mabinogion groupie. Pretty much any book that has been written about The Four Branchesis either sitting on my shelf, or is on a wish list. The journey I’m currently going through, recording the Four Branches in story and song has only made my love of these tales even deeper. Imagine my delight when this book falls into my hands asking if I would review it. I’ve loved Hugh’s work for…

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The Soundtrack of my Life - Teenage Kicks

The Soundtrack of my Life – Teenage Kicks

So continuing this little series I now move into my teenage years.

Man the late 70s/early 80s were such an exciting time to grow up when it came to music. I saw the excesses of Prog give way to the energy of Punk, then that morphed into New Wave and New Romantic music, but Punk also in a way gave birth to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). Metal with more edge and raw power. Add to…

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DruidCast - A Druid Podcast Episode 138

DruidCast – A Druid Podcast Episode 138

Shownotes for DruidCast Episode 138

Granite – Melanie Bresnan – http://melaniebresnan.com

Hey Brother – James J Turner – https://www.jamesjturner.com

Ashley Mortimer speaking on The Early Days of Wicca from Pagancon Preston – http://www.doreenvaliente.com

April – Melanie Bresnan – http://melaniebresnan.com

The Knarrs – Steve Thomason – https://soundcloud.com/sthomason-1/the-knarrs

DruidCast theme…

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The Soundtrack of my Life - The Early Years (but a bit later...)

The Soundtrack of my Life – The Early Years (but a bit later…)

This is the second part of a short series of articles, the first can be found here.

There comes a point when, although the music loved by our parents still influences us, we begin to notice our own tastes. This happened to me when I first began to watch the TV show Top of the Pops. It’s probably almost unbelievable to some people reading this that at one point the only time you could see music…

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Interview about Y Mabinogi with Wyldwood Radio

Interview about Y Mabinogi with Wyldwood Radio

On Monday night I had the pleasure of chatting with Herne from Wyldwood Radio about my forthcoming album Y Mabinogi – The Second Branch. At times our conversation veered off beautifully into some very interesting and unexpected places. I’ve known Herne for a very long time and it was lovely to catch up.

Wildwood Radiois going through an exciting rebirth right now, so if you like my music, and…

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The Soundtrack of my Life - The Early Years...

The Soundtrack of my Life – The Early Years…

I put a post out on my Facebook page and Twitter feed recently asking if there was anything people who read my blog would like me to write about. The response was brilliant and it’s given me plenty to think about, so thank you for responding!

One of the questions I asked was to publish a ‘soundtrack of my life’ post. The suggestion was 16 songs, which I thought would be too many, but when you…

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Have you had any 'unexplainable' experiences?

Have you had any ‘unexplainable’ experiences?

I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts yesterday called Mysterious Universe. The guest was a retired CSI who had just finished a book about the supernatural experiences he and those who work in CSI Law Enforcement have had over the years. He recounted tales of spirits following home crime investigators from crime scenes, and Otherworldy visitations linked to the job of the CSI. It was a…

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