Caitlín and John's News

A Happy New Year to you all! As 2008 opens, Caitlín emerges from the Twelve Days of Christmas to celebrate a slightly dodgy birthday, having had a decidedly nasty flu that temporarily removed her brains, balance and voice. A little later, in much better shape, John celebrates his 60th birthday by going up in a balloon, that’s if we can insert him into it – he professes a fear of heights but also a desire to see Oxford from the air, so we’ve given him an opportunity to see which of the two is the stronger draw or deterrent!

The autumn was a bit of a blur. But we had a wonderful December gathering of the Company of Hawkwood (membership of which is automatically conferred by turning up on our December course, see Events 12-14 December) with our co-founder of FíOS, Felicity Wombwell, concentrating upon the power of Myth and Imagination. By throwing away the script, entering into the present moment, and with the guidance of archetypes, we inspired attendees to help discover the myth of time. By transcending cultural divisions, we discovered ways to the creative conduits to the future.

There’s a very full programme of courses this year, including several new one-off ones that many of you who don’t do the shamanic thing have been asking about. Caitlín is teaching one big course a month throughout this year as well as going to Portugal to teach for the first time, thanks to the kind invitation of a small and dedicated group of Portuguese students who don’t have the benefit of many books translated into their own language. So courses will be given in English with translation. Caitlín is going where no one has been before, teaching a beginner’s shamanic course at the Quaker College, at Woodbrooke in Birmingham (see Events, 19-21 September.) John will be giving his two-part Foundation Course in Celtic and Ancestral Shamanism as usual but this year in Oxford (see Events 15-16 March & 20-21 September)

Our two FíOS Masterclass tutors in 2008 are Caitlín’s own teacher, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, (see Events 10-13 July) who brings her skill and deep experience in the world of Magic to help us practically explore the history of Magic from Babylon to the present. Her wicked humour and insight help frame the fundamentals of magic and ground those precious skills of working in temple that are almost never taught to the new generations of magicians. Oour second tutor is Dutch shaman, Daan van Kampenhout, returns by popular demand. If you’ve ever wondered why many family members suffer from a recurrent problem over many generations or why the ones you love are carrying unknown bequests, then Daan’s work will both enlighten you and help bring peace and healing to that which burdens us all. This work targets personal difficulties in the context of community health, using a mixture of shamanic ritual, prayer, song and family constellation work. (see Events, 10-13 November)

In February, Caitlín will be off to appear at Panthea Con in California (just imagine thousands of fully kitted-out Pagans of all stripes in one place) with R.J.Stewart, returning with him to his home to rest and then record her second CD, Earth’s Own Heart.

John’s life has suddenly become very media-focused over the greater part of last year. He’s been writing a screenplay with his Irish friend and associate, Wil Kinghan. At least 4-5 days a week, he’s been sitting in the front room writing with Wil via web cam and skype-connection. The idea is wonderfully apt and uncharacteristically modern, but we can’t say more about this, for the usual contractual reasons. Since he spends much time every night pursuing his life-long media interest, it’s great to see another door opening. There are several other media openings which he plans to pursue and he wonders daily if he will actually get time to write any more books for the next year or so! Meantime we await the end of the US film writers strike, which has put everything on hold for the last few weeks.

Our own lives have been hectic with too many deadlines, but we have had a few treats. We went to Liverpool (just for the evening!!!) and saw our son Emrys in his Divas cabaret - 3 guys singing the female torch songs from musicals - Emrys singing Annie in a red dress and orange wig with a spotty dog is a sight never seen before! The whole year of his class was there with waving lighters, the works! This year, we’ll be allowed to see his first drama school production. (Divas was an independent production arranged by Emrys and his mates at a local cabaret.) LIPA don’t allow their students to appear publicly until they regard them as semi-professional in standard. With Liverpool becoming City Of Culture for 2008, we daresay that many students will be involved in local events.

The website www.hallowquest.org.uk will be undergoing an upgrade between the time you receive this until about June/July, so please bear with us until the upgrade is accomplished – it’s a big job! We will also feature full descriptions of all our books, so you can see whether one book is more suitable for your needs than another. This is what more people have asked for, along with ‘is this book for beginners or do I need to read something else first?’ We’ll try and give our best guidance, but it’s hard to suggest which book you should begin with; please don’t feel you have to read them all, although of course we’re always flattered if you have set yourself this formidable task!

HELP US PLEASE MAKE THE WEBSITE BETTER. If you feel the website or newsletter lacks any essential feature, or you would like an existing feature altered, please write and let us know as soon as you can as we are in the planning stages of the upgrade. Use our box no. address or write to Caitlín at Tigerna9@aol.com. We hope your enjoy this enlarged issue of the newsletter. Since we reluctantly decided to print only 2 issues a year, rather than 4, which is still advertised in many of our books, we trust that you are still receiving value for money. We have had to unfortunately increase international postage rates since to send even a moderately sized book to USA; the postage is almost the same as the book itself. European postage has increased slightly.

PAYPAL We are now accepting payments by Paypal for those without a British bank account. In order to pay by PayPal, go onto www.paypal.com and register. Registration involves waiting a few days until your online bank account (or your paper bank statement - get a print-out from your local hole-in-the-wall, if so.)) receives an entry signifying that PayPal has recognised your account with them. Thereafter you can just go directly to the PayPal website to pay. If you are receiving a printed version of this newsletter, payments can still be made by this method, by logging onto PayPal and ordering using the account number, below, under the order form. This method is safe and hassle-free. Security with on-line payment accounts can be maintained by having a good firewall installed on your computer and by never responding to emails that purport to come from PayPal. Always log onto the PayPal site from the main menu and not via any email you receive. We’re sorry you’ve had to wait so long for this service. Those who prefer to send a UK cheque can pay as usual.

NINE HALLOWS: ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS FROM ISSUE 64

1.Where would you look for the Narta Monga? Possibly in the territories now occupied by modern Chechnya. The Narta Monga was a cauldron in the myths of the Sarmatians, whose troops served in Roman Britain: perhaps adding to the Grail myths of Britain?

2. What was stolen from whom, by whom at the Horns of Hattin? The relic of the True Cross was stolen by Saladin’s troops from the Crusader army led by Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem in 1187.

3. Who would most likely be using a tabut these days? An Ethiopian Orthodox priest, who celebrates mass upon a tabut or altar-stone which is in likeness of what used to live in the Ark of the Covenant.

4. Whose spear produced a wound equal to nine opposing spears? The spear of Bedwyr in the Mabinogion story Culhwch and Olwen, that great compendium of Welsh myths. Despite being one-handed (a characteristic only ever taken up by one novel, by Rosemary Sutcliff in Sword at Sunset,) Bedwyr saw off many foes with his spear.

5. What would you expect to find in the Crane Bag? The shirt, knife and house of Manannan; the smith's hook and belt of Goibniu, smith of the Tuatha de Dannan; the shears of the king of Scotland; the helmet of the king of Lochlann or Scandinavia; a belt of fish-skin and the bones of the self-renewing pig of Asal. Of course, you could only see these objects at ebb-tide, suggesting that some beach-combing might be in order!

6. Which helpful Saxon enabled King Arthur to cross rivers and how? Osla Gyfellfawr or Big Knife had a sword that extended to create a handy bridge. This is a British joke about Saxons who are named for their short sword or Saex. Osla was really one of Arthur’s main enemies, Ochta of Kent, showing that the British tell fond stories about their enemies - vide the song about Hitler’s wedding tackle.

7. What was the Joy of the Court and who brought it? In Chrétien de Troyes’ Enid and Erec, the Joy of the Court is what happens when the Champion of the Mistress of the Orchard is overcome, thus ending the slaughter of many noble knights. A horn sounds to denote the ending of an evil custom and the beginning of the Joy. ‘Joie de la Cort’ also has connotations of joy of the body or the horn, so take your pick.

8. Who married Feirefitz and what was the name of the Hallow she guarded? Repanse de Schoy (Fullness of Joy) is the Grail Maiden in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival: pagan Feirefitz only sees the bearer not the Grail. When he discovers that baptism will allow him to marry the maiden, he promptly converts – their son is Prester John.

9. Name the four cities from which the Irish Hallows originally came? Finias, Gorias, Falias and Murias. In the Christian Druids by the eccentrically brilliant writer John Minahane , the author suggests their nearest English translations would be Beautysburg, Dutysburg, Scienceburg, and Plentysburg!

MATTHEWS MEDIA AND BOOKS WE LOVED

Yes, we admit it. If we both read fewer books, watched fewer films and listened to fewer CDs we’d probably have written several great works of fiction by now, but there you are! In this section we’ll be sharing what we’ve enjoyed, maybe also flagging up some obscure but wonderful titles that we’ve indefatigably sought out.

Jennifer Cutting’s Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey is chief among the CDs we’ve most enjoyed in 2007. With Jennifer Cutting’s Ocean Orchestra (SunSign Records CD 2004.) Described as ‘Celtic Music for Ancient Moderns,’ its mellow sound and strong oceanic concept is enhanced by the vocals of Maddie Prior, Grace Griffiths and Lisa Moscatiello. With traditional tunes and fresh sea-songs from the hand of Cutting, it’s an album of sea-longings that speaks directly to the soul. A lot of our friends received this from us for Christmas. (CM)

Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy’s The Gospel of the Second Coming. (Hay House, 2007) It’s a tough job trying to explain Gnostic beliefs; who the hell is going to read about Zoe, szyzgies and Barbelo? After all, it’s hard enough keeping on top of the technology of your Ipod or Mp3 player! Timothy Freke has written some wonderful books on Gnosis but this playful, naughty ‘NEW’ gospel will help you take in the Gnostic basics in a way that will both keep you entertained and enlightened with the help of fundamentalist Peter, semi-convinced Mary Magdalene and non-manfest, mythical Jesus himself. If you want to know what to discuss with the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses when they next call by, try this wonderful, sharp piece of writing and watch the sparks fly! Contentious, witty and wholly Gnostic. (CM)

Elizabeth Garner’s The Ingenious Edgar Jones (Headline/Review, 2007) is an astonishing meditation on the mysteries and perils of creativity. The eponymous hero is a born inventor and artisan from childhood, who moves from the burnished caves of a smithy to the mightiest dream of the time – the building of the Museum of Natural History in Oxford. But his genius inevitably brings jealousy, and he makes as many enemies as he has admirers. In addition he becomes torn between the puritanical world of his father and the gentle creativity of his mother. A rich and by turns sombre and witty book, written with enormous assurance and featuring a gallery of unforgettable characters, this is a book to read and re-read. For anyone who has ever wondered at the mysteries and miseries of creation, this is a powerful and, at times, painful book. Elizabeth Garner is the daughter of Alan Garner, author of such mighty works as The Owl Service and Red Shift, or the more recent Thursbitch, but shows she is possessed of a striking and original voice of her own. A writer to watch and a book to enjoy with every fibre of your being. (JM)

HISTORY EMERGES: THE WOLF TWINS’ SHRINE

We live in a world that has been largely mapped and discovered, but history has a wonderful way of unexpectedly emerging into the light. This season’s magical crop of discoveries includes the find of the century: the original Lupercal or cave of Romulus and Remus, discovered while archaeologists were excavating the palace of Augustus on the Palatine Hill in Rome, built beside the shrine. This mythic location was the primary shrine for the founding of the city of Rome and had obviously been subsumed with the palace complex and thus hidden. Read and watch the extraordinary video of the cave on yourself by clicking on the footage of the discovery.
www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7104330.stm

GUEST SLOT