The Cailleach Weaving Through Our Bones, Song & Conversation with Sionnáin | S5 Ep 15

Please Support Our Show: Join us on SubstackLove KnotWork Storytelling? Your financial contribution helps me pay the amazing team that puts this show together. Get the stories behind each episode and stay connected between seasons.Subscribe to our newsletter Myth Is Medicine.IN THIS EPISODE In this episode, Irish songcarrier Sionnáin offers an ode to the Cailleach called “The Wise One.” This is the second installment in our Myth Workers & Culture Makers series and includes a deep, powerful conversation about ancient tradition and living lore. OUR GUESTSionnáin is a singer, songwriter & musician from the West of Ireland. Her path has guided her into gathering both traditional and channeled songs from the landscape of Éire.She lives and breathes the sounds of the land, offering them up as prayers, woven with raw edges, soundscapes and the great depths of the ancient places that shape her journey.Find her on IG at shannonsoulsounds. There, you'll find another gorgeous version of "The Wise One," including beautiful visusals. Learn about Sionnáin’s upcoming program: The Descent:Dreaming with the Cailleach & Rising with BrigidContact her at [email protected] OUR CONVERSATIONThe song, “The Wise One,” was born beside the fire at the Paps of Anu in County Kerry. The Cailleach is the wise old woman, the sacred hag, grandmother essence, and according to some traditions in Éire and Alba (Scotland), the goddess who created the land itself. Cailleach is rooted in contrast - she is strong and fierce, but also soft and nurturing.Caoineadh - the ancient Irish lament tradition (Anglicized as “keen”). The mná chaointe, keening women who would perform the ritual of grief at the wake. For more: visit Mary McLaughlin, a scholar and keeper of the wisdom of the tradition.The legacy of grief related to An tOcras Mór or An Gorta Mor, the famine or the Great Hunger.The conscious choice to open and receive the ancestors, the songs, the magicTuam: the Galway town and site of the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home from 1925-1961, where the remains of 796 babies were found in a disused septic tank. Ireland’s Samhain community traditions that were about sharing and visiting, rather than the commercialized version we have today.Music at the start of the show is by Beth Sweeney and Billy Hardy: billyandbeth.comWORK WITH MARISA1:1 Writing Coaching: If you are working on a spiritual memoir or wellness professional or a creative entrepreneur who wants to use stories to build your business, book a free consultation with Marisa. Learn more at writingcoachmarisa.comLearn about our global creative community, The Writers’ Knot: www.marisagoudy.com/writers-knot-communityFind more of Marisa's writing and get a copy of her book, The Sovereignty Knot: www.marisagoudy.comFollow the show on Substack, Instagram, and Facebook.