Story, myth and the bardic arts

“This poem marked a threshold in my relationship with story — as something lived, inherited, and remembered. On a Druid path, we would say it was a moment when awen moved through me. It was this poem and performance that led me to become Bard of Bath in 2025″

The Bardic Thread

The Bardic path is one of the oldest expressions of story as a living force.

In Celtic traditions, the Bard was a keeper of memory — poet, storyteller, musician, and oral historian. Not separate from life, but woven into it, carrying the stories of people, place, and lineage through voice, song, and word.

This thread continues today in many forms — poetry, performance, music, and contemporary storytelling — but at its heart it remains the same: a way of remembering life through story.

For me, being a Bard is a deeply spiritual journey that connects with my path in Druidry. As a member of the Order of the Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), my Bardic path has been about nurturing creativity as an innate spiritual capacity, and tending to a deeper yearning that is part of being human.

While I now walk within the Druid grade, the Bardic thread continues to live through me — in how I listen, create, and relate to the world. Nature has been, and continues to be, my greatest source of inspiration.

Story as meaning

Story is one of the oldest ways we have ever known the world.

Long before systems, disciplines, or written knowledge, human beings made meaning through myth, voice, and narrative. We learned how to live, who we are, and how we belong through the stories we carried and passed on.

Story is not separate from wisdom — it is one of the ways wisdom becomes visible.

It is how experience becomes meaning. How memory becomes lineage. How life becomes something we can hold, share, and understand.

Myth as a way of seeing

Myth is often misunderstood as something untrue.

In reality, myth is deeply true story — symbolic, archetypal, and layered with meaning. It speaks in a language that moves beyond explanation and into recognition.

Myth helps us understand what cannot always be said clearly, but can be felt, remembered, and lived.

In this sense, myth is not about the past. It is a way of seeing the present — and engaging with it more consciously, rather than passively consuming meaning. 

If this interests you, I invite you to read my article on “Mythos, the quiet wisdom we’ve forgotten and why it needs to be revived.“

A note on “creativity”

Creativity is not about talent or output.

It is about attention — the practice of listening for what wants to emerge, and allowing it to take form.

It is not something to be achieved, but something to be participated in.

There is something quietly liberating in this — especially if you have ever been told that you are “not creative enough.”

Story in practice

Story does not only live on the page or in reflection — it comes alive when it is shared. Gathering in voice, in presence, and in community is one of the oldest ways we remember what it means to be human.

On the Summer Solstice 2025, at the height of light, I hosted The Seasonal Voice — my first Bard of Bath fundraiser celebrating voice, story, and the beauty of coming together in nature.

I welcomed a wonderful circle of performers, including previous Bards of Bath and Emily from Birch Tree Choir, who guided us in opening our voices and singing as one. The event also supported https://www.julianhouse.org.uk/, helping to shine a light on those whose voices are too often unheard.

What unfolded was more than a performance — it was a shared experience of expression, connection, and joy. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the day in the video below.