Happy Equinox!

Here in the northern hemisphere the balance shifts towards darkness, longer nights and colder days. Fires get stoked, handcrafts get pulled from cupboards and we get reacquainted with our thermal layers. Migrating birds demonstrate good sense and head south for a few months. Many of us gaze skywards with envy.

Despite trepidation about the onset of winter, I enjoy the reflective opportunity that Autumn offers after a busy summer. A moment to harvest the fruits of this year, to shed a necessary leaf or two, do some active pruning.

Also, when we shift into the darker half of the year storytelling really comes into its own.

Orkney Storytelling Festival

As the birds fly south, my next trip pulls me north. I've never been to Orkney, but whenever I hear people speak of this northern archipelago, a cultural blend of Scandinavian and Scots, it is with wide eyes and a sense of wonder. It seems an old magic remains there, in the liminal space between standing stones and wild seas. Its storytelling festival is legendary and a fine excuse to make the journey to the Northern Isles.

Running this year from October 24-27, I'm delighted to be one of their guest storytellers (alongside Cath Little and Liz Tulloch) and a fine array of regular tellers (Tom Muir, Erin Farley, Fran Flett Hollinrake, and more).

If you'd like to catch a glimpse of the old world in which storytelling thrives, and experience a rare breed of storytelling festival, you can peruse the timetable below, or hear festival curator, and storytelling legend, Tom Muir via the podcast link.

Orkney Story Fest

Orkneyology Podcast

Scottish International Storytelling Festival

If a venture to windswept northern isles inhabited by descendants of vikings isn't your idea of a good time, there will be an array of storytelling events scattered across Scotland during October as part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF). This is the highlight of the Scottish storytelling calendar.

I'll be presenting my new show, "A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun" alongside Jemima Thewes (check out her music!) on the 30th October. I expect this one might sell out, so grab a ticket early if you're keen to see it. It could be a bit special.

The day after, October 31st, on Samhain itself, I'll be leading the 'Honouring the Elders' session with weaver Katie Warner. We're doing this with one eye on reviving a culture that acknowledges cultural elders in a good way. Come support that process.

A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun

https://sisf.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:5681/913:24877/

Honouring the Elders

https://sisf.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:5717/913:24922/

Digital Offerings

After a gorgeous Myth as Medicine drop-in session last Sunday, I'm excited to start the longer course this coming Sunday (29th Sep, 7-9pm Edinburgh, 11-1pm Vancouver).

We'll embark on a 10 week cycle, each week tuning in to a northern myth and a direction on the 'wheel of nature'. Curated activities and additional resources deepen the relationship with the story through the week, and a fine cohort experience will be shared. We've had fantastic feedback so far and seems to open many pathways on a journey of mythic pursuit.

We've got the makings of a fantastic group and can welcome a couple more folk into the mix.

Myth as Medicine Autumn 24

Herbal Hearth

For Samhain I'll be working with my Irish Herbalist Cait O'Neill to offer another Herbal Hearth Session (Nov 7, 7-9pm GMT).

This session explores the traditions around Samhain and shares stories and herbal practices that can enhance the richness of the season.

Maybe you'd like to join us in leaning on herbal lore, folk medicine and story to invoke the long memory and make the most of this potent time of year when the veil is thin and the ancestors come close?

We'll be offering a whole year programme in 2025, but this will offer a flavour.

Herbal Hearth (Samhain)

Podcast episode

Finally, I bumped into fellow storyteller Tim Porteous outside the Storehouse Cafe in Midlothian today. We had a good old storytelling blether and it reminded me that Tim really is one of my favourite storytellers in these parts.

If you're not local to Edinburgh it's very possible you won't have heard him tell, as he's primarily busy with community projects and schools.

It did prompt me to track down a recording of our shared performance at SISF last year, as I wanted to listen to his stories again. You can listen to our entire Open Hearth session here.

Another Story Podcast

Let me know what you think.

Wishing you balance through the season

Dougie