Our story starts in the spring of 1981. A man called Ted Seaton from Barnard Castle, who was a keen local metal detectorist, had taken a drive out to Arkengarthdale to search for artefacts. Ted ran an antique shop called The Mudlark in Galgate in Barnard Castle. Just over four years later, Ted was to…
All posts by Mandua Briga
Book Launch!
Posted on Author Mandua BrigaPosted in Academia, Religious Education, Religious StudiesLeave a Reply
Fantastic day at Leeds Trinity University for the launch of Pagan Religions in Five Minutes. Presentations from myself, Angela Puca, Suzanne Owen and Rhiannon Grant, followed by a brilliant discussion. A very enjoyable day!
Pagan Religions in Five Minutes
Posted on Author Mandua BrigaPosted in Academia, Religious Education, Religious StudiesLeave a Reply
Delighted to have received my author’s copy of this wonderful volume, Pagan Religions in Five Minutes. The book contains short chapters from leading scholars in the field of Pagan Studies and is designed to be a quick introduction to Pagan religions, with 70 chapters, each designed to be read in 5 minutes. Ronald Hutton has…
Samhain History, Folklore & Traditions with Dr Jennifer Uzzell
Spent a very enjoyable hour or so yesterday talking to my good friend and colleague, Dr Angela Luca about the history of the Pagan festival of Samhain and the traditions associated with it. You can watch the video here, should you be so inclined. Blessings of the Season!
Mabon at Thornborough Henges
Posted on Author Mandua BrigaPosted in Academia, Autumn Equinox, Mari Lwyd, Religious Studies, Thornborough HengesLeave a Reply
The first outing of our new Mari – Mari Bryn! Mari Bryn was created from the Trac Cymru: Folk Development for Wales flat-pack Mari designed by David Pitt. Keith bought this for Jenny several years ago but they didn’t find the opportunity to put it together, so when David came up to Darlington to create…
The Festival of Archaeology at Thornborough
The Festival of Archaeology at Thornborough took place on Saturday at West Tanfield Memorial Hall, which was the new Thornborough Archaeology Group (TAG) inaugural event in partnership with English Heritage. TAG’s aim is to foster and support community interest and activities in the historic Thornborough Henges landscape such as community centered fieldwork. Dr Jan Harding…
Welcome Mari Briga!
For over two years now our horse skull who we wanted to become our Mari Lwyd / Hobby ‘Oss / Mast Beast Mari Briga AKA Mandua Briga (see our page here for more information) has been sitting on top of Jenny’s bookcase in her front room, reflecting the lack of activity in the Seed Group…
Homecoming
We are absolutely over the moon that Jenny has had her piece on The Cailleach published in the wonderful animist Homecoming journal published by Aurochs Underground Press. This is the first piece of non-academic writing she has had published, and she is delighted! It’s a wonderful achievement and it is a lovely piece of writing. The Homecoming…
Power Animal Shamanic Journey Weekend with Georgien Wybenga 18th-19th May 2024
Posted on Author Mandua BrigaPosted in Celtic Shamanism, Druidic Bell Branch, Journeying, Power Animals, Power Tools, Shamanism, Sweat LodgesLeave a Reply
One of the legendary events in the history of modern contemporary Druidry is the sweat lodge that the Chief of The British Druid Order, Philip Shallcrass, attended at the first ever OBOD camp in 1994. That sweat lodge was facilitated by a lady called Georgien Wybenga. In his 2017 blog post Finding Spirit Animals Philip…
Beltane at Thornborough Henge in North Yorkshire
… And introducing Moon Drum! Jenny, Keith and I had a rare day out on Sunday, travelling down to the Central Henge of the Thornborough triple henge complex for what has become the annual celebration of Beltane. Despite leaving quite late (as usual) we managed to get there just as the ceremony started at 12…