CELTIC STUDIES

Image: ‘Blackbirds Are Gathering’ by Andrea Kowch: www.andreakowch.com

 

Please note that this course is offered via distance learning only.

 

Are you interested in studying accurate and up-to-date information about the native myths and traditions of Ireland and the other Celtic nations? And are you interested in exploring what an authentic contemporary spirituality – one which has its roots in the old traditions of those countries, but which makes sense in a very different world – might look like? If you are, then this course is for you.

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The primary function of the Hedge School is to provide a resource for accurate and up-to-date knowledge about our native traditions. Much of the available information about Celtic traditions, especially on the web, is either profoundly inaccurate or outdated by several decades; most material on Celtic mythology, in particular, is very poorly researched. With this in mind, the Hedge School’s signature offering is a year-long interactive distance-learning course which offers a sound and up-to-date introduction to our Celtic heritage, and which offers practices for participants to explore the relevance of our native traditions to our lives today.

Our ‘Celtic Traditions’ course derives from Hedge School founder Dr Sharon Blackie’s Master’s-level education in Celtic Studies. It is founded on our current understanding of research from several disciplines, including Classical and indigenous literature, history, archaeology, and folklore. It will include material from all six Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, the Isle of Man, and Cornwall) but will focus primarily on the Gaelic tradition, where there is a greater abundance of material.

Although it’s based on academic material and research, the course materials will be perfectly accessible to all interested students. The course will be of interest to anyone who has a Celtic heritage, or who is fascinated by the old native cultures of the Celtic lands. If your spiritual practice is based on Celtic traditions, or if you would like to develop one which is, then the course will offer you firm and authentic foundations on which to build.

 

Syllabus

The following topics will be covered during the year:

• The foundations of our knowledge: the original sources, and where to find them
• Who were the Celts?
• An introduction to Celtic cosmology, religion and mythology
• The Celtic pantheon: gods, goddesses and other Otherworldly beings
• The Celtic Otherworld, and the mundus imaginalis (including the Otherworldly journey tales: the Echtrae and Immrama)
• The Mabinogion, and the Book of Taliesin
• Arthur, Merlin and the Grail legends
• Gaelic heroes and heroines: the Fionn cycle, the Ulster cycle, and the great cattle raids
• The ritual year
• Animals, trees and plants in Celtic culture
• The Creideamh Sí (‘fairy faith’)
• Celtic Christianity, and the lives of early saints
• Bards, poets, druids, and seers
• Folklore and folklife
• The evidence for Celtic ‘shamanism’

Course structure

This is a self-study course, without assignments. The course will be taught through monthly written Modules, with interspersed audio and visual material. Each month, you’ll be sent an email with links to download your materials; you can then read and work through them at your own pace. Practices will be suggested within the Modules, to allow participants to work creatively with the material, and make it relevant to their own lives. Reading lists and other resources will be provided as we go along, and selected academic articles and book chapters that are relevant to monthly Module content may also be downloaded. During the course of the year, participants will also be able to use a private, high-specification online forum (quite independent of Facebook and other social media), in which Sharon will participate, for ongoing discussions with other participants, and to ask questions about the course material.

Please note that because this is a self-study course, and because everyone will come to it with different skill sets and learning methods, it’s really not possible to sensibly estimate the time commitment required. It’s very much up to you how you approach it, and how deeply you explore the various threads and participate in the forum.

Enrolment and payment

The course will be offered for the first time from 14 April 2018; there will be just one intake of students per year.

The course fee is 295 euros and may be paid in full, or in four equal monthly installments. (From March 1, it’s only possible to pay in full.) Payments are via PayPal or bank transfer (in euros only). If you would like to pay by PayPal with a credit or debit card, please use the payment buttons below. If you have a euro bank account and would prefer to pay by bank transfer, please email us (info[at]thehedgeschool[dot]org) for our bank details.

(PayPal will accept payment in any currency and automatically convert it, without fees. Please note that you don’t need to have a PayPal account to make the payment; when you are taken to the PayPal login page, simply click on the link next to ‘No PayPal account?’ at the bottom of the page.)