Reclaiming women's stories
Women in British & Irish myth and folklore: resources
Branwen, by Christopher Williams (1873 – 1934)
As an academically trained mythologist and folklorist, as well as a psychologist, I’ve been writing and lecturing about women in British and Irish myth and folklore (and the wider European tradition) for a good couple of decades now. Most notably around and after the publication of If Women Rose Rooted (then subtitled The Power of the Celtic Woman) in early 2016. I still want what I wanted when I first began to write that book: that all the women of these islands should remember who we once were, and who we can be again.
This page is an effort to gather together in one place a selection of those articles, lectures and interviews I’ve given on the subject of women in British and Irish myth and folklore over the years, that aren’t already here on my Substack. I’ll keep updating this page as more happens, but in the meantime, do keep an eye out for new and old offerings at the ‘Reclaiming Women’s Myths and Stories’ tag here at The Art of Enchantment. Most of my work here is about reclaiming women’s stories, so do also take a look at The Heroine’s Journey tag; Midlife, Menopause and Beyond, for myths and stories about older women; and Myth and Fairy Tales, for deep dives and Fairy Tale Salons on specific stories with female protagonists.
‘For women particularly, to have a Celtic identity or ancestry is to inherit a history, literature and mythology in which we are portrayed not only as deeply connected to the natural world, but as playing a unique and critical role in the wellbeing of the Earth and survival of its inhabitants. … And once upon a time women were the guardians of the natural world, the heart of the land. The Celtic woman who appears in these old tales is the one who determines who is fit to rule; she is the guardian and protector of the land, the bearer of wisdom, the root of spiritual and moral authority for the tribe. Celtic creation stories tell us that the land was shaped by a woman; Celtic history offers us examples of women who were the inspirational leaders of their tribes. These are the stories of our own heritage, the stories of the real as well as the mythical women who went before us. What if we could reclaim those stories, and become those women again?’
from IF WOMEN ROSE ROOTED, by Sharon Blackie (2016)
My books about women in British, Irish and European myth and folklore
If Women Rose Rooted. September/ Duckworth (2016)
Foxfire, Wolfskin and other stories of shapeshifting women. September/ Duckworth (2019)
Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life. September/ Duckworth (2022)
Wise Women: Myths and Stories for Midlife and Beyond. Virago (2024)
My press articles on women in British, Irish and European myth and folklore
Interview: ‘Hagitude: Why women entering the menopause should embrace their inner crone.’ Positive News, December 2022
‘In our culture, old women are mostly ignored – but it hasn’t always been that way.’ The Journal.ie, August 2022
‘Matriarch of the Glen: walking the Highlands’ hidden pilgrim trail’. The Guardian, November 2019
‘Roman remains: a walk through history in Snowdonia’. The Guardian, December 2019
‘The power of fairy tales in women’s lives’. The Scotsman, October 2019
‘How Irish myth and folklore can inspire women to fight for ecological change’. Irish Times, October 2019
My videos and lectures on women in British and Irish myth and folklore
If Women Rose Rooted: a gathering in The Bone Cave
This live event took place on 12 December, 2020. (Please ignore the first couple of minutes while I struggled with a recalcitrant Vimeo livestream!)
Women, Wells and Wastelands: a lecture at Pacifica Graduate Institute, California, 2018
The Voice of the Wells: a conversation for The Medicine Festival, 2020 (playback on other websites was disabled by the festival organisers, so you’ll need to watch this one here on YouTube.
Women Rising Rooted: How old Celtic stories inspire change. A three-part lecture and conversation at the Black Mountain Circle, Point Reyes, California, 2018
Podcast interviews about my work on women’s myth and folklore
Please find the complete library on my website, at this page.
‘If women remember that once upon a time we sang with the tongues of seals and flew with the wings of swans, that we forged our own paths through the dark forest while creating a community of its many inhabitants, then we will rise up rooted, like trees.’
from IF WOMEN ROSE ROOTED, by Sharon Blackie (2016)