From the category archives:

Myth and Legend

Atlantis: The Crystal in the Bermuda Triangle

Atlantis: The Crystal in the Bermuda Triangle
(from Crystal Legends by Moyra Caldecott, Chapter 26)
It seems Edgar Cayce, the famous psychic and healer of Virginia Beach, Florida, predicted that Atlantis would be discovered in 1968. In a series of explorations that began in 1968 Dr Ray Brown, a professional diver, discovered what he was convinced was [...]

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On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 6

Last time, Moyra told the story of Kivanga. Now she provides the commentary….

Many African mythologies assume that the first beings were deformed versions of the human race, and had to undergo transformation with the help of some hero or heroine. In the case of Kivanga, it is significant that the human race comes into [...]

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On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 5

Moyra has been exploring the universal meaning of mythical stories, the connection between the ancient stories and our present lives. She continues…
I will tell you a story now that is so rich in meaning and fascinated me so much I put it in my own book: Mythical Journeys, Legendary Quests.

Before people as we know [...]

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On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 4

The White Bird
At a still pool in the Kalahari
A hunter stoops to drink.
The mirror surface
Flashes with white light
As wings spread to rise.
He looks up
But already the bird
Has flown.
Nothing in sight
But a measureless sky.
The red dust of the earth,
Thorn bushes
And the stark skeletons of rock.
From that day on
He travelled across the parched land
Seeking the bird.
“Wings so [...]

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On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 3

In “On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 1″ and “On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 2″ Moyra has been talking about the universal meaning of some traditional African legends. This time she explores the meaning of the story of The Young Man, The Lion, and the Yellow-flowered Zwart-Storm Tree…
In this story a lion [...]

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On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 2

In the first of this series, “On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 1” Moyra concluded that all cultures have myths that speak to other cultures, because they address a universal need: to make sense of life and death. Now she continues…
Take Africa, for example. The African continent is huge and contains many different cultures. [...]

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On Myths and Legends of Africa: Part 1

In this series of articles, storyteller and bard Moyra Caldecott reflects on the perennial meaning and importance of myths and legends.
To me a MYTH is a seminal, original story, using symbolic images, with the aim of stirring up thought about the great mysteries of life. “Where do we come from?” “Who are we?” “Where are [...]

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Three Celtic Tales

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Three Celtic Tales is a compilation of three traditional Welsh folk tales, drawn from the Mabinogion and retold by Moyra Caldecott.
The Twins of the Tylwyth Teg is based on a well known story in Welsh folklore about a herd boy who marries a faery from under the lake. Before her father will allow her to [...]

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Mythical Journeys, Legendary Quests

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The Spiritual Search – Traditional Stories from World Mythology
From the blurb:
“One of the most persistent themes in myth and legend from the world’s many cultures is that of the story of the journey the quest. In this beautifully illustrated book, noted writer on the topic, Moyra Caldecott, shows the connection between the sacred, mythic journeys [...]

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Myths of the Sacred Tree

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From the blurb:
“Essential to life on earth since the beginning of time, trees hold a special place in our collective consciousness: rooted in the earth, reaching skyward, nourished by the elements, and enlivened by the sap running through their veins, they provide a living metaphor for what it means to be human. Trees have figured [...]

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Women in Celtic Myth

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“The truth about living in the universe is elusive, exciting, and mysterious and it is in the pursuit of that mystery that we find all that is worth having, including ourselves.” (from the Introduction)
“In Celtic myth, the mixture of wise spiritual teaching and dramatic imagery creates new, potent, and disturbing visions. This selection of eleven [...]

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Crystal Legends

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Crystals and gemstones have been a source of fascination since Neolithic times; they endure when the bones of those they have adorned have turned to dust. Such was the profundity of crystal lore that ancient peoples incorporated crystals and gemstones as dynamic and potent symbols in their legends and myths.
In Crystal Legends Moyra Caldecott approaches [...]

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The Green Lady and the King of Shadows

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Drawing on folklore, myth and legend, Moyra Caldecott tells the story of the struggle between good and evil, St. Collen and the mighty Gwyn ap Nudd, a confrontation involving the Earth Goddess and, ultimately, the highest powers in the universe.
From the Introduction:
I believe that myths and legends, while appearing to be pure fabrication hallowed by [...]

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