The authoritative reader's companion to the ancient Celtic myths in the literary masterpiece, the Mabinogion. • Thoroughly updated edition of Mabon and the Mysteries of Britain (UK). • Illuminates the rich archetypal patterns and meanings in the Four Branches of the Welsh Mabinogion . According to prophecy, a liberator will come to bring light, truth, and freedom to every generation. His mythic title is Mabon, but his identities are many-including Arthur the King, whose coming we await. So says the mythic Welsh text the Mabinogion, which includes some of the oldest magical stories from British mythology and which has been intriguing and beguiling readers for centuries. In Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain , Celtic scholar Caitlín Matthews unlocks the encoded meanings of the Mabinogion and establishes it firmly as a precursor to other living myths of the West. From her fascinating study of these stories emerge two of the major figures of the Celtic tradition: the archetypal Mabon, deliverer and liberator of the land, and Modron, his mother, the Great Goddess herself. The initiatory pattern of Britain's inner guardians is revealed through the succession of the Pendragons, as each rises through the ages from boy, hero, and king to the role of Mabon. As descendants of the ancient Celtic oral tradition, the rich themes and archetypal underpinnings of the Mabinogion are stories for all time. The Mabinogion is the source of some of the oldest myths of the Celtic tradition. Though no actual text of the stories is included in this volume, Matthews, cofounder of the Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies and author of 36 books, offers a companion to help elucidate the mythology. After a lengthy introduction discussing the Welsh storytelling tradition, she introduces each of the four branches of the Mabinogion. Each chapter begins with a synopsis of the story and is followed by detailed commentary on specific aspects. A third section extrapolates further, showing connections with other mythologies from Greek and Roman to Irish and British Arthurian traditions. Graphs and charts help to keep the complicated relationships and patterns of action in perspective. Unfortunately, the author assumes considerable knowledge on the part of the reader. Superscripts appear throughout the text, but they are merely references to numbered sources in the bibliography. Recommended for libraries that support strong folk studies collections. Katherine Kaigler-Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. "The Mabinogion is one of the great treasure troves of our Western spiritual heritage, but to truly appreciate and learn from it we need a guide who can elucidate not only its mythology, context, and history, but also its spiritual depths. Caitlín Matthews expertly leads us into the heart of these Mysteries." ― Philip Carr-Gomm, Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and author of Druidcraft and Druid "I have found Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain to be essential reading. Matthews makes valuable connections between myth and enduring cultural practices. No other study takes the reader through the Mabinogion more masterfully. This book is an indispensable guide to indigenous Celtic literature and myth." ― Ari Berk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Mythology and Folklore, Central Michigan University "Recommended for libraries that support strong folk studies collections." ― Katherine Kaigler-Koenig, Library Journal, September 1, 2002 Caitlín Matthews is internationally renowned for her research into the Celtic and ancestral traditions. She is the author of 36 books, including The Celtic Tradition, The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom , and Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom . She is co-founder of the Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies, which is dedicated to oral, shamanic, and sacred arts. Caitlín Matthews has a shamanic practice in Oxford, England, and teaches worldwide. Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain Hero Myths in the Mabinogion Chapter 1 The Realm of the Mabinogion For the Welsh to distinguish between myth and history has always been a difficult exercise. Emyr Humphries Still lives on the ancient speech, Still the ancient songs endure. John Ceiriog Hughes The Welsh Storytelling Tradition It is summer 1983, Caernarvon Castle, North Wales. Within the castle grounds the timeless stories which form the Four Branches of the Mabinogion are being presented by a bilingual team of actors, musicians, and storytellers. They are but the most recent in a long line of storytellers who have helped transmit the Mabinogion from oral and written tradition to the imagination of new generations. The audience goes home in possession of a few fragments of a once mighty mystery tradition in which men and women encounter the gods, animals talk, leaves become gold, and the dead revive. A few may try to read the Mabinogion fo