M'anam Cara

01/05/2026

Bright Blessings of Beltane to you.

Calan Haf Hapus!

30/04/2026

Bendithion Nos Galan Haf i bawb | Blessings of Summer’s Eve to all!

Oddi wrthyf i a fy nghathod | From me and my cats.

30/04/2026

Bendithion Nos Galan Haf i bawb | Blessings of Summer’s Eve to all!

Calan Haf - the calends or start of summer. In the traditional Welsh calendar, this was considered the agricultural start of the summer period. Gone are the cold days of winter, now we enter into the time of year when the sun is at its strength. A time of joy and frivolity throughout history. Whilst nowadays we measure the start of this period with a calendar, it’s likely in the past a sure sign that the summer was near was when the hawthorn trees came into flower. This is a time of growth and power, and of course joy!

However, just as any liminal period of transition and shift, in Welsh myth and lore the eve of summer brought all manners of magic, mischief, and mayhem. The eve of summer is essentially a warmer weather Nos Galan Gaeaf / All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween). So as you can imagine, lore abounds regarding ghosts, spirits, fairies, and witches at this time.

Nos Galan Haf is one of our three “Ysbrydnos” or spirit nights here in Wales.

In the four branches of the Mabinogi it was at May’s Eve when Rhiannon’s child was both born and ultimately snatched away from her by a mysterious otherworldly claw. In Culhwch and Olwen we are told that Gwyn ap Nudd (who in later folklore became known as King of Fairy) battles every May Day with his rival Gwythyr ap Greidawl for the hand of Creiddylad. A battle that will continue for all eternity.

The eve of summer was also a time of heightened fairy activity. Upon this liminal night we might see them dancing in the heathland, the meadows, or forests. Careful not to be tempted or seduced to join them in their dance, however, for you may indeed find yourself dancing for an eternity.

This was a time when bonfires were lit, the flowers of the blossoming trees were utilised as decoration, and all manners of dances, merriment, and debauchery were carried out. So take that idea and celebrate this time of year with joyful abandon!

May the celebrations of your Nos Galan Mai, May Day, Witches’ Night, Beltane, or whatever this time might be in your culture or personal practice be inherently magical! I’ll catch some of you at the sabbath pyre soon 😉

07/04/2026

Unite in Peace.
Please join billions of people on earth today in
Meditation and Prayers for Peace in our World.

07/04/2026

On Saturday I will be facilitating a Drumming Meditation at Ty Pawb in Wrexham, 4pm to 5pm. Do come along if you can. You will be very welcome.

Drumming For Wellbeing: Drymio er Llesiant yn Ardd To ac Oriel Gelf Nhŷ Pawb

06/04/2026

How are you loved? How do you love?

“I don't want to be valued—I want to be understood.”
✨Art:

06/04/2026

Starting in 1609, owning this drum was a crime punishable by death in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. In 1767, while hundreds of them were being thrown into the fire, a Norwegian priest sketched and documented one.

When the Norwegian priest and linguist Knud Leem (1697-1774) arrived in Finnmark (Northern Norway) as a missionary in 1725, he formed a deep bond with the Sámi people.He wore their clothes and learned their language.For years,he observed shamanic sessions and personally drew what he saw.

The engraver O.H.von Lode transferred these drawings onto copper plates. Published in Copenhagen in 1767, the book contained over 600 pages of parallel Danish-Latin text and 100 copperplate engravings. It's the most comprehensive Sámi ethnography published in Northern Europe in the 18th century.

The symbols on the drum's membrane were drawn with a red dye made from alder bark. This color symbolized blood. A single drum could hold up to 150 symbols. The noaidi (shaman) would place a brass ring called a 'vuorbi' on the membrane and beat the drum.The symbol where the ring stopped was the answer to the question asked: the location of a lost reindeer, the luck of a hunt, or which sacrifice to offer...

On Northern Sámi drums, the membrane was divided into three tiers by horizontal lines: the upper tier was the realm of the gods, the middle tier was the human world, and the lower tier was the realm of the dead. In 1692, an almost 100-year-old Sámi shaman named Anders Poulsen had his drum confiscated and stood trial for witchcraft in Vadsø (Northern Norway).

Poulsen played his drum in court. He called out to his gods, asking them not to be afraid of the Norwegians in the courtroom. In his 16-page testimony, he explained every single symbol on the membrane one by one. Before he was convicted, he was murdered in his cell with an axe by a mentally ill person named Villum Gundersen. He became the last victim of the Finnmark witch trials.

Missionary Thomas von Westen had about 100 drums collected all by himself. He sent them all to Copenhagen. In the Great Fire of Copenhagen in 1728, 70 of them burned to ashes. Today, only 71 original Sámi drums are preserved worldwide.

03/04/2026

02/04/2026

31/03/2026

I wish us all Happiness 🙏