The Art of Enchantment, with Dr Sharon Blackie

Articles

Myth & Fairy Tale Salon: The Romance of Mis and Dubh Ruis

1 day ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

I’m very much looking forward to Saturday’s Myth & Fairy Tale Salon, in which we’ll be talking about a story very close to my heart: the old Irish tale known as ‘The Romance of Mis and Dubh Ruis’. The story exists only in a shortened form, and in Irish; my version (which I wrote for If Women Rose Rooted) is based on an English summary of two old…
Women and the origins of the Grail

6 days ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

This is quite a long post, as I want (as always) to offer you a proper perspective on the role that women play in the Grail myths and romances, as an antidote to those who so often present these stories simply as examples of the Hero’s Journey. This all derives from extensive research carried out during my MA in Celtic Studies so is both accurate and up-to-date.
Is women's spirituality unique?

1 week ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

As I’ve found myself, this year, more focused on listening to conversations around spirituality – not just here on Substack but elsewhere – I’ve inevitably found myself asking myself a lot of questions about what I’m noticing. So I wanted to share some of those questions with you. Note: before I begin, I should perhaps say that I do clearly un…
The fine art of not 'being nice'

1 week ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

Read through for event/ conference news and reading/ Substack recommendations. This message is likely to be truncated in your inbox by your email provider (especially if it’s the dreaded Gmail …) so please click on the title to go through to Substack and read the Full Monty in your browser. And while you’re there, do join the conversation and leave a comment!Here, down by the river in the Beauteous Vale, the cuckoo has arrived.
Bealtaine retreat for members of the Hearth

2 weeks ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

I’m looking forward to our Bealtaine retreat this coming Thursday, May 1, from 16.00 – 17.30 UK time. Please find the Zoom link below. The meeting will be recorded for those of you who can’t make it live but please come along if you can; these are always such rich and gentle sessions. You’ll find the recording embedded here in this post on F…
Leaving women's stories to women

2 weeks ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

Those of you who are members of The Hearth and following our Temenos threads will know Vanessa Chamberlin; we recorded a video conversation together last month, talking about women’s spirituality, especially in Judaeo-Christian traditions. Her Substack is called The Tuning Fork, and earlier this week she posted an article on it which struck me profoundl…
Leaving again

3 weeks ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

Just over two years ago, we left a house in Wales that had always felt temporary (though we stayed in it for three years) to return to the north of England, inexplicably close to the Co. Durham coast where I was born and grew up and a place to which, in my wildest dreams, I never imagined I’d ever return. The home in Wales had been something of a crash-landing site, as we found ourselves racing against time to relocate back to Britain from Ireland in the face of the looming COVID pandemic.
Getting stuck in the doom loop

1 month ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

I admit that, for the past ten days or so, I’ve been stuck in a psychological doom loop. It comes from a combination of listening obsessively to an excess of news, caring too much, getting too old for all this shit, and being nibbled to death by ducks in everyday life. [British English alert: not literally. Metaphorically. It’s what happens …
Fairy Tale Salon: Beauty and the Beast

1 month ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

This month’s fairy tale salon, coming up on Saturday (April 12) from 16.00 – 17.30 UK time, will be led by the very wonderful New York story-witch Audrey di Mola. Most of you will know Audrey already; if you’re a new subscriber and don’t, please find her bio below. And the session will be moderated by Cathy Martucci. Please find the Zoom lin…
Hope is the thing with feathers. (And some more demons.)

1 month ago | sharonblackie.substack.com | Sharon Blackie

‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –That perches in the soul –And sings the tune without the words –And never stops – at all –Emily DickinsonI was asked recently about hope. Is being hopeful a moral imperative? Is there a ‘language of hope’ that transcends mainstream religious rhetoric?