The Word: Welsh Witchcraft, the Grail of Immortality and the Sacred Keys

By Taliessin Enion Vawr, Merridden Gawr and Rhuddlwm Gawr

THE WORD: Welsh Witchcraft and America
By Rhuddlwm Gawr, Taliesin Enion Vawr, & Merridden Gawr.
Introduction by Sarah Llewellyn
Book Three of The Quest Trilogy

Many avid readers have awaited publication of The Word, part three of the Quest Trilogy. This is the most comprehensive book ever published on the practice of Welsh Witchcraft, and is one of the few books that teaches the basic spirituality of the Craft. It discloses why and how Welsh Witchcraft began. It reveals the religious practices and explains the mysteries of the magical rituals. It demonstrates initiation and guides the reader through that ritual as well as the arcane teachings. The Word establishes the claim that Welsh Witchcraft is a remnant of the ancient religion of Hyperborea and Atlantis.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 11, 2002
• ISBN: 9781462095759

Taliessin Enion Vawr

Taliesin, Enion Vawr, is a ninth level Elder in his family’s tradition of Welsh Witchcraft. He was born in North Wales in the 1920s and raised by an aunt and uncle in a small village near the town of Betws y Coed. It was here he learned of his family’s heritage of Druidism and Welsh Witchcraft as he met Y Tylwyth Teg (Welsh fairies) at Fairy Ring near Betws y Coed, and swam with the water sprites in the local river. He spent a great deal of time with his aunt who was an herbalist and elder of the Dynion Mwyn tradition. He learned of the energy of the mountains through doing "Cave Workings" and hiking near Mt. Snowdonia. In 1963 while visiting friends in Bangor, he was inspired to begin teaching the first class from outside the family. (Taliesin taught the Old Ways until 1992 when he turned over the leadership of Dynion Mwyn to his sister who became chief elder until she died in 1999. Taliesin was responsible for opening up the Welsh tradition to outsiders. His dying wish was that the basic philosophy of the Welsh tradition be available to all through the Internet, and that seekers be given a "Taste of Wales" through home study classes. He died in January 2000.) Lord Rhuddlwm Gawr and Lady Cerridwen Gawr, of the United States, inherited the leadership of Dynion Mwyn. Rhuddlwm Gawr, BLA, D.D., N.D. was initiated into the Dynion Mwyn tradition of Welsh Witchcraft in 1966 and is an authority on the ancient Celtic mystery religions. He draws extensively on his Welsh, English and Native American ancestors in relating the various philosophies inherent in the religion of Dynion Mwyn. He is an author of several books, a successful lecturer, and holds degrees in Environmental Design, Naturopathy, Religion, and Computer Technology and is even now completing studies toward a Ph.D. in Psychology. In addition to formal academic training, Rhuddlwm has intensely applied himself to the study of Metaphysics, Occult Mysteries, Parapsychology, western and eastern philosophies, world history, Native American studies, archaeology, and quantum physics. Rhuddlwm is founder of The International Association of Cymry Wiccae, The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg in the U.S., and Co-founder of The Universal Federation of Pagans. He is an elder of Dynion Mwyn and Y Tylwyth Teg and has presented workshops on Welsh Witchcraft and Druidism since 1973. Merridden Gawr B.A., D.D., is a sixth level high priestess and Elder of Y Tylwyth Teg. She has been teaching Welsh Witchcraft for over twelve years. She holds degrees in Ancient Religion and Celtic Mysteries, and is studying Law. She was born in a small town in the Midwest section of the United States, but grew up in Kansas City where she was first exposed to college life. Merridden draws on her Welsh and Native American heritage in teaching the mysteries. From an early age she questioned her conservative religious upbringing and eventually rejected it to begin studies in Metaphysics. She met Lord Rhuddlwm in 1986 in Atlanta, Georgia and they were married a year later. Merridden is an Elder of The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg, Inc. in the United States. Rhuddlwm and Merridden make their home in the foothills of North Georgia, where they teach, write and raise their daughter, Brittany Ffion who is even now learning about her Welsh heritage. Their book offers you an "alternative" philosophy, one that gives back your personal spiritual power. Their charming writing style is unique among modern teachers. Using a rare blend of Welsh humor and mystical knowledge, they present complex information in a language anyone can understand. There is something about their words that you can't quite put your finger on, but you will find that reading this book may cause your life to change dramatically. They ask nothing of you other than you open your heart to a new aspect of reality.

Book preview

OTHER BOOKS AND WRITINGS ABOUT DYNION MWYN AND Y TYLWYTH TEG

By Rhuddlwm Gawr and Marcy Edwards

The Quest—a Search for the Grail of Immortality

By Rhuddlwm Gawr

The Way—a Discovery of the Grail of Immortality Celtic Crystal Magick Vol I Celtic Crystal Magick Vol II

Dream Magick: Programming Your Dreams with Welsh Witchcraft

A Celtic Witches Herbal (was A Pagan Herbal)

The Thirteen Mystical Treasures of Welsh Witchcraft

By Rhuddlwm Gawr and Merridden Gawr

Earth Energy: Green Dragon Power of Welsh Witchcraft

By Rhuddlwm Gawr and Taliesin enion Vawr

Faerie Rites & Rituals: Witches, Druids & Seasonal Festivals of Wales

Faerie Nature Magick: Welsh Witchcraft & Psychic Healing

Faerie Rites & Rituals: Witches, Druids & Seasonal Festivals of Wales

Initiation into Celtic Witchcraft: the Welsh Tradition

Mysteries of Welsh Witchcraft: Universal Laws and the Old Religion

Nine Level Way: the Path of Welsh Witchcraft

The Threefold Cauldron of Cerridwen: Mythology of Welsh Witchcraft Taliesen of the Radiant Brow: Secrets of Welsh Witchcraft The Triads of Welsh Witchcraft

Celtic Divination—Welsh Witchcraft, Dowsing and Ley Lines

By Rhuddlwm Gawr, Taliesin enion Vawr and Merridden Gawr

Human Awakening—Celtic Paganism: Man, Women & Nature Relinking with Nature: The Welsh Faerie Tradition of Witchcraft Sexual Energy & the Old Religion: Red Dragon Power of Welsh Witchcraft Meditation: The Way of the Celtic Druids and Welsh Witchcraft

By Rhuddlwm Gawr and Richard Lewis

A Celtic Astrologer: The Thirteen Mysteries of the Ancient Druids

The Power of Welsh Witchcraft: Psychic Development & the Old Religion

By Taliesin enion Vawr

The Pentacle & the Sword: The Story of the American Witchcraft Movement

The Word

Welsh Witchcraft, The Grail of Immortality And The Sacred Keys

Taliesin Enion Vawr, Rhuddlwm Gawr, and Merriddin Gawr

Writers Club Press

New York Lincoln Shanghai

The Word

Welsh Witchcraft, The Grail of Immortality And The Sacred Keys

All Rights Reserved © 2002 by Taliesin Enion Vawr, Rhuddlwm ap Gawr, and

Merridden Gawr

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Writers Club Press an imprint of iUniverse, Inc.

For information address:

 iUniverse, Inc.

 2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100

 Lincoln, NE 68512 

www.iuniverse.com

Illustrations by Lady Ashara, Rhuddlwm Gawr and Craig Hamilton Originally published by Camelot Press Ltd., Marietta, Georgia © 1987

ISBN: 0-595-25808-5

ISBN: 978-1-4620-9575-9 (ebook)

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

FOREWORD ♦

INTRODUCTION

THE HISTORY OF WELSH WITCHCRAFT

NOTES

WITCHCRAFT AND THE MODERN WICCA MOVEMENT

NOTES:

THE NATURE OF WELSH FAERIE WITCHCRAFT

NOTES

THE PROPHECIES OF TALIESEN

NOTES

THE VISION ON FORT MOUNTAIN

NOTES

WELSH NATURE MAGICK

NOTES

THE GRAIL, THE WORD AND THE LIGHT

NOTES

COVEN LEADERSHIP

NOTES

THE NINE MAIDENS AND THE SACRED STONES

NOTES

WITCHCRAFT ETHICS, THE WITCHES REDE, AND ANCIENT LAWS

NOTES

THE WITCH COMMUNITY

NOTES

THE MYSTERY OF THE TWELVE KEYS

NOTES

THE THIRTEEN TREASURES

NOTES

THE UNICORN—A WELSH BOOK OF SHADOWS

NOTES

THE GODS OF THE WELSH

NOTES

THE WITCHES CIRCLE

NOTES

THE WELSH RITUAL

NOTES

THE RITUAL TOOLS

NOTES

THE MOON FESTIVALS

NOTES

SABBAT AND OTHER SEASONAL FESTIVALS

NOTES

STAGES OF INITIATION

NOTES

HANDFASTING

NOTES

THE WELSH MYSTERIES

NOTES

PRONUNCIATION OF WELSH WORDS

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SELECTED READING LIST

INTERNATIONAL WITCHCRAFT CONTACTS

TRIOEDD YNYS PRYDEIN TRIADS OF THE ISLE OF

PRYDAIN ♦

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

WHO—WHAT—WHERE

Seekers ask me many questions:

Where are you from? Where are you going? Who initiated you? What degree are you? Who was your teacher? What is your tradition? Who do you agree with?

Who agrees with you? What is your philosophy? Who has the whole truth? Who has no truth at all?

I say to them:

What seems to you to be many is one. What seems to you to be complex is easy. What seems to you to be simple is not. The answer to you all is:

Y TYLWYTH TEG! Rhuddlwm ap Gawr…1967

This book is dedicated to Brittany. Brittany is our daughter and represents the positive side of our life. She is a Dancer and we believe, an Avatar. She was born at the hour the United States first bombed Iraq. Birth and Death are a condition

of the Universe.

Lady Merridden Gawr and Rhuddlwm ap Gawr

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This book acknowledges the many Entities who made it possible: To the Triad, You are the reason we are here. To Charlie who guides us, You are our doorway. To our teacher and guide, Sarah, who showed us the path, We are saddened by your leaving us so soon for the Summerland, we miss you. To our elders Lord Taliesin enion Vawr and Robert Martin, we sing their praises for their work in preserving the Welsh Tradition. To our students and friends who have supported us on our journey and affected our life in a positive manner: Lady Levanah, Elise White, Lady Amythyst, Delyth, Cheyenne, Scott Shipley, Caru and Athos, Dawn Kramer, and all the rest, We thank you all. Without you our experience would be less meaningful.

Merridden ab Gawr and Rhuddlwm ap Gawr

FOREWORD ♦

THE NEW WAY

by Taliesin Enion Vawr

The Elders once again gathered around the council fire. It was evening, and they warmed themselves against the bitter cold of the last days of fall. Their heavy woolen cloaks protected them from the chill. A stag sounded its soulful cry from the ravine at their back, and they could hear the other sounds of the night. A snowy white owl hooted in a tall tree to the west. A dove softly crooned to its mate. A shrew skittered through the fallen leaves of the giant oak tree under which they had gathered. A wolf howled in the distant valley. For a moment, no one spoke letting the sounds of nature fill their being. The one who was their priestess finally addressed the chief:

Hu Gadarn speaks through me, your priestess. There was a pause. She seemed to have fallen asleep. Then her face changed dramatically and she spoke. It has been many days since you harvested the last grain from the Golden Mother. Soon the cold days of winter will be upon you. The Sun God will die, and there will be much hardship in the tribe. Your fate is to die as he dies and be reborn as he lives. Your Goddess will sleep beneath her cold white mantle of snow until springtime. You must, like her, conserve your strength, and store the seeds and nuts that you have harvested to eat during the long darkness of winter. You must organize hunting parties to collect the game animals. You must cure the meat and save the hides. You must send out scouts, for those who came from the south to conquer our cousins are even now making plans to conquer us. Your priestess has seen this in the runes and in the entrails of a rabbit.

The chief sat motionless intently listening to that which he knew by heart but which also was ever new. He stood up and spoke as he looked out over their solemn faces.

Many suns ago, the Nemue came from the sky and brought with them the sacred knowledge which our people preserve today. They married with us and had sons and daughters with us. Our charge from them is to use the sacred knowledge only to help the tribe, and wait until the Nemue once again return to us. Gather the people and bring them to the council circle. We must prepare ourselves for the days which lie ahead, he said. The sacred rituals must be performed. The Magick must be fulfilled. The sacred fires must be kept, and not allowed to die as the God who is even now in his death throes. Each hut must have a fire, and as the warriors go into the forest to hunt, they must bring back wood for those fires. Bring the meat and hides of the animals to the women. Let them cure and dry the meat that we may live. Let them prepare the hides into coverings to keep the tribe warm. So mote it be, and he was silent.

A movie script? A fantasy to pass the day? No, these people were real and their tribe lived in Wales 4000 years ago. These are the roots of modern Welsh Witchcraft. A Pictish/Druid priest or priestess represented the wisdom of the tribe, and passed that wisdom to their sons and daughters. This same wisdom is being rediscovered even today by many peoples in many lands. These are men and women with fire in their hearts and love in their souls. They are the spiritual descendants of the priests and priestesses of the Picts and the Celtic Druids.

These same men and women are creating a new tribe today; The Old Religion for the new age. Some call themselves Witches or Wiccans, others Shamans, Druids or Pagans. The names may be different but the fire in their breasts are the same. They link humankind, the Lord and Lady, and the Great Spirit. They are Unicoi (word meaning the New Way.in the Cherokee tongue)

The Word, presents the history of our tradition. It reveals the Witchcraft that most people never encounter; Dewiniaeth Cymmry, the Wisdom of the Welsh, spiritual and mystical. It teaches knowledge needed to contact your spirit guide and counteract the evil of those who would hide the truth from you; and it explains the Twelve Keys to Enlightenment.

The Word reveals a smattering of these ancient mysteries—mysteries that, until now, could be found only through certain occult schools or by reading a vast number of esoteric and mystical books.

The Word discusses spirit guides, entities that are part of every seeker’s life. The Word reveals a way to contact your spirit guide to help you learn the Mysteries of the Twelve Keys. But don’t think that by reading this book you will learn the secrets of the universe. You won’t! You must study for many years with many guides. This book is a stepping stone to your Quest.

The Word describes one tribe; Dynion Mwyn, the Gentle People and the Clan of Y Tylwyth Teg. Its words bridge the centuries between history and today. It teaches The Logos: the Twelve Sacred Keys of the ancient Welsh religion of Dewiniaeth Cymry, Welsh Witchcraft. It is meant to open the reader’s eyes if the reader will open her mind.

Taliesen Enion Vawr copyright 1986

INTRODUCTION

Whoever says ‘everything is true’ is a fool, Whoever says ‘all is untrue’ is a liar.

—Sarah Llewellyn

This Introduction was written in May 1987, by Lady Sarah Llewellyn two months before her death. She had just read the first two preliminary chapters of The Word. Her note regarding those chapters follows in its entirety. We miss her greatly. She wrote:

"To be Welsh, it is not enough to hang out a flag, celebrate St. David’s Day by sending your Grandmum a bunch of daffodils, or to play recordings of Welsh folk tunes.

"To be Welsh, means taking pride in your heritage. It means knowing your language. It means knowing your history with your own heroes. It means knowing your literature and your music. It means knowing your Religion (and the importance it played in keeping the light of THE WAY alive). It means embracing the very essence of what it is to be a child of Dynion Mwyn (the Gentle Folk).

"I feel compelled to pass on to you this essence, which, I hope will lead you to a path of healthy pride in who you are. In time, you will also be able to pass on this same essence to your brothers and sisters.

"CYMRU (Wales) is the nation on the west coast of Britain. It is one of the seven Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Mann, Cornwall, Britain, Galacia, and Wales). We are the original people who settled the Isle of Britain. We were dispossessed of our lands and forced west by the invading Saxons. Our right to our own nation has been opposed by the Romans, the Saxons, the Normans, and the British. As a people, we have survived and flourished in many ways.

"We have a language. It is a distinct language, ancient and living. Our language is Celtic and scholars say it is one of the oldest languages spoken in Europe. It is a language of bards and scholars, of poets and preachers, of ancient manuscripts and modern TV. It is a language that links us to the depths of history and leads to the future.

"CYMRU has blessed its people and the world with a seemingly unending supply of poets and writers of prose, from the bards of the Dark and Middle Ages through the writers of today. It has also been the home of Dynion Mwyn.

"We of Dynion Mwyn are one of the oldest surviving Witchcraft traditions; one of the five lost clans of the Cymry (Welsh). We have demanded time in Lord Rhuddlwm’s and Taliesin Enion Vawr’s new book because we do not feel that they have adequately discussed us before. We feel that this oversight should be corrected.

"Our family is and always has been unconventional and distinctive from others. When we were growing up, we hid our beliefs and could not discuss our real lives with other children. For this reason our nanny was a part of the family and we were forbidden to attend school until we were old enough to understand why we should keep secrets from others.

"Father was a very important person in Cardiff, and later in the lake district, and would tolerate no hint of scandal associated with our name. He taught us very early that other people were not as we were, and we must always keep our beliefs and religion secret. In our country (Great Britain), the only accepted church is the Church of England. No others have legal status. Thus, we were taught about other religions and philosophies as well as our own.

"I was brought up to respect the opinions of others, but had a horrid time of it when I did enter school. I always defended people who held beliefs different from my own. On my thirteenth birthday I was sent to the United States to learn deportment and proper conduct from my Auntie, who was of our tradition. She was a strict disciplinarian and with her supervision, my behavior ultimately became acceptable to the family. She taught me the ways of our Welsh Tradition. Eventually, I became a High Priestess and Elder.

"There are many Witchcraft and Pagan traditions in the U.K., but our tradition of Witchcraft is unlike others that you may be aware of. Our family worshiped the god and goddess before the time of the last true Prince of Wales. Our tradition teaches that our roots go back more than ten thousand years to the society of Atlan which sank beneath the seas in one day and night. Our heritage speaks of the Knights Templars, the Gnostics, the Etruscans, the Sea People, the Mithras, the Ordre de Seon, the Picts, the ancient Druids and the Egyptian priesthood.

Unlike other groups I have encountered, we do not claim a tradition of pure knowledge handed down from mother to daughter or grandmother to grandson. Our Celtic ancestors incorporated any workable idea, philosophy, or ritual, into our tradition which didn’t …run fast enough to get away." The result is a tradition that has been tested over time and is one of true knowledge.

"We teach that each person on this earth is a traveler on a sacred journey; that we were all born into this life to learn the many lessons that are offered, and to become all that we can be.

"We teach that this Earth is a school of experiences and a learning place for the soul. It is the home of our Mother, the Earth goddess of air, earth, fire and water. It is the home of our Father, the hunter and sky god. It is the home of the tree kingdom, animal kingdom, and the ever-evolving family of humanity. Our tradition teaches the balance of nature, the threefold god and goddess, the threefold law, and the importance of a teacher being spiritually enlightened.

"We believe that we are supported by the life-giving and life-sustaining Mother Earth. But there is another place that draws us away; the spiritual home that has been imprinted on the depths of our being for which we search all of our lives. This is the Grail that all spiritual teachers have spoken of since the beginning of time.

"One of these teachers was Hu Gadarn, a visitor to Wales in the distant past and upon whose philosophy we believe our magickal knowledge is based. Hu Gadarn brought the gift of psychic power to us. In so doing, he brought both a curse and a blessing. The blessing is that we have found the power of the gods within us. The curse is that those who are too dense in thought to learn, or too lazy, fear us. They call us Satanists. They call us possessed by the devil. They call us Witches.

Rhuddlwm Gawr’s new book, The Word, discusses Welsh Witchcraft. It reveals the Witchcraft that most people never encounter, Dewiniaeth Cymry, the Wisdom of the Welsh, the spiritual and mystical side of Witchcraft. It presents knowledge you will need to contact your spirit guide and counteract the evil of those who would hide the truth from you.

"We believe our religion descended from the religion of Prince Llewellyn, the last true Prince of Wales, whose Bards were the original founders of our family and magickal tradition. From his Bardic priests, he received the sacred rituals derived from Celtic Mysteries and a Mystical Order, dedicated to attunement with the Universe.

"From Pictish shaman ancestors, his Bards acquired the sacred knowledge of relinking the family of Dynion Mwyn with each other, male and female, so they were no longer alone, but could touch each other without fear in body, mind and spirit. They were taught to relink with nature, earth, sky and running water so they could walk in balance with the Earth Mother and the Great Spirit.

"From Prince Llewellyn’s wife’s relatives, he acquired the sacred knowledge of the Ordre de Seon and the ancient Etruscan priesthood. His initiates learned the Knights Templar and Mithraic techniques of contemplation, meditation and natural rituals for inducing higher spiritual consciousness. They entered our tradition as refugees from uncertainty and doubt and they learned spiritual truth which could be believed and trusted.

"Prince Llewellyn’s Bards taught a way of life unmarred by the intellectual and moral confusion of the medieval Christian church. They showed students a mystical pathway unfettered by the elitist, dogmatic, and corrupt religious tradition of those days. They taught the student to conquer loneliness and isolation by creating an empathetic supportive community in a world devoid of humanity. These seekers experienced a personal encounter with the Great Spirit, and Nature directly.

"Prince Llewellyn’s Bards taught that our purpose in life is to seek that which is of the most worth in the world; to exalt the dignity of every human being, the compassionate side of our nature, and give the maximum service to humankind.

"The Word will attempt to reveal to you, these ancient mysteries—mysteries that, until now, could be found only by reading a vast number of esoteric and mystical books. The Word discusses the concept of spirit guides, entities that are part of every seeker’s life. The Word reveals a way to contact your spirit guide to help you learn the Mysteries.

Don’t think that reading this book will unlock the secrets of the Universe. It won’t. You must study for many years with many guides. This book is only one pathway of your Quest.

"Lord Rhuddlwm and Lady Merridden have studied our tradition as well as many other religions and magickal systems. We believe they know us better than we know ourselves.

Their church, The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg, was founded in the United States in 1966. It has incorporated the best of Dynion Mwyn, absorbed other traditional teachings, grown and developed into something greater than the sum of its parts.

"Dynion Mwyn is the tradition of my ancestors. It is my religion; a religion of love, knowledge and power. Although what we do is essentially religious, we are not long-faced mystics, forbidding all pleasure, with a promise of eternal bliss. Rather, we approach our works with spontaneous joy and playfulness.

"Yes, we…the Children of the Earth…are also the children of the Morning Star. We seek only to dance the dance of joy and to celebrate Life.

Sarah Llewellyn Wentworth

Copyright 1986—The estate of Sarah Llewellyn Wentworth and the Church of Y Tylwyth Teg, Inc. Marietta, GA

Image717.JPG

THE HISTORY OF WELSH WITCHCRAFT

By Taliesin Enion Vawr

There is nothing permanent except change.

—Heraclitus 540-475 B.C.

(Sources: Documents in the possession of Taliesin Enion Vawr of Dynion Mwyn tradition of Welsh Witchcraft, unpublished article attributed to David Ethridge dated December 1990, and various other sources recorded in endnotes.)

During the past two thousand years, people have misunderstood the art and religion of Witchcraft, causing its violent repression and near destruction. Witchcraft is both the art and practice of folk magick and a Nature oriented religion, which has been passed down by families and groups through the early fourteenth century, when it began to be seriously attacked by the Christian church. In most of the world, Witchcraft has existed from the beginning of time immemorial as an outgrowth of humanities’ first religion, shamanism.

The word Witchcraft is commonly translated as meaning the craft of the wise. This is based not on the modern translation, not on the actual meaning of the word. It is more likely that the original real meaning was the craft of bending/twisting/using psychic power.

In this chapter you will embark on a journey, beginning at the stirrings of ancient Witchcraft and Druidry, and traveling to the creation of the religion of Modern Wicca. You will visit strange and sacred places: Stonehenge, Avebury Circle, Glastonbury Tor, Pentre Ifan, and many more.

Although the art of the Old Religion was in danger of disappearing completely during the burning times of the Middle Ages, a few families in rural Wales, England, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany secretly continued practicing their mysterious craft.

These people passed their religious beliefs and traditional arts to their descendants, who preserved the religious and esoteric knowledge that is the source of the Faerie tradition of Welsh Witchcraft. One North Wales family was part this Faerie tradition: the people of Y Tylwyth Teg, (Faerie Folk) of the tribe of Dynion Mwyn (Gentle People). They claim to be descendants of the bards and druids of Prince Llewellyn, the last true Prince of Wales. An ancient method of memory enhancement was used to record their Craft tradition in the minds of their descendants. These oral traditions eventually evolved into handwritten records and were passed down in families as private manuscripts.

The Welsh people believed Y Tylwyth Teg were benevolent spirits who lived in the forests and wilds; and could help them in their everyday lives. But Roman invasions, and later Christianity, gradually drove the Old Religion underground.

Because of these repressions, many people fell into the abyss of superstition, fear and confusion, adopting the Christian propaganda, that any spirit or deity other than the Christian God was evil and dangerous. It didn’t take long before Witches banished to the outskirts of the village; then imprisoned, tortured and killed. The Old Religion with its connection to the Faerie Folk, was in danger of disappearing forever.

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact historical beginnings of fairy lore. Many writers agree that ancestors of Y Tylwyth Teg are the Welsh People of the Goddess Don. Other writers claim that Atlantis or Hyperborea were the source of Faerie beliefs.

When the first Celts arrived in Wales, they found that the People of the Goddess Don, the Prytani, controlled of the land. The Celtic people fought and defeated the Prytani, driving them ‘underground’ where it is said they remain to this day in the hollow hills or Y Tylwyth Teg mounds. Clearly the belief in Y Tylwyth Teg is part of a pre-Christian religion, which survived for thousands of years and has never been completely erased from the minds of the Welsh people.

THE CYMRY

The early history of Wales is clouded by a lack of authentic documents, which could provide an understanding of this period of the Welsh nation. We know little to nothing about large areas of Wales, during this historical period. More confusion exists because many earlier historians took evidence obtained from medieval Welsh sources and applied it to Thirteenth century copies of Twelfth century manuscripts.

These historians typically applied the evidence from other Celtic nations to the Welsh culture, believing a common Celtic society shared the same attitudes and characteristics. Some characteristics were shared, but not all. The Celts were not the only Gaelic speaking peoples who populated Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man; there were also Brethonic speaking people of Wales, Cornwall, England and France.

The Celtic peoples considered themselves as individual tribes, not part of some greater Celtic nation. The Welsh thought of themselves as Cymry or Britons. The Irish thought of themselves as Gael. It is thought that all of these people descended from an ancient Aryan culture. The term Aryan signifies a group of connected languages spoken by ancient Indo-European peoples. The existing Latin, Greek, Slavic, Teutonic and Celtic derived languages are considered Aryan. The mythologies and religions of these people had similar religious and mystical ideas, pointing to the existence of a single source and ancient priesthood.

It is the contention of our Elders that elements of Druid and Shamanistic philosophy and belief survived from this ancient priesthood until the present time. We call this resulting religion Y Gwyddon and its priesthood practices the art of Dewianeth Cymry—Welsh Witchcraft

To understand Welsh Witchcraft, it is necessary to understand the heritage and culture of the Welsh prior to the thirteenth century.

SOCIETY IN MEDIEVAL WALES

Seven classes of Welsh society can be identified from historical documents: slaves, peasants, Ovates, bards, druids, nobles and kings.

THE SLAVES (Old Welsh: Caeth) were primarily agricultural laborers born into slavery and tied to the land. They were regarded as important property. There is evidence slaves were often undernourished and underfed. Slavery could be imposed as a religious penance or a criminal punishment. In their spare time both slaves and peasants could specialize in craft activities like blacksmithing and shoemaking. Slaves were allowed to own goods and save money; they could and did, where possible, buy their freedom. Peasants (and Nobles) could fall into slavery through economic reasons, as a penance, a criminal punishment, or as captives.

THE PEASANTS (Old Welsh: Aillt) were bondsmen, and indentured tenant farmers to noble landlords. They were tied to the land and could not leave it without their lord’s permission. They accompanied the land if it was sold or granted away. They lived in separate settlements known as a tref (pl trefi) with the slaves who worked for them. They worked the land, returning a food rent to their landlord and a twice-yearly direct payment to the king of dawnbwyd. They were required to fight for their landlord but they did not do labor services. There is no evidence that peasants could change their status and become part of the nobility. By the Twelfth century, their position was being eroded.

OVATES (Old Welsh: Ovate) were the master herbalists and natural healers. They were also the lowest initiates of the Druid class. They were a group unto themselves but could ask to be considered as seekers for the Druid priesthood. After the sixth century, they became known as the village healer, the herb woman or the Cunning Man

BARDS (Old Welsh: Bardd) were the Historians, Poets, Minstrels, and Shaman. Bards were found in all Celtic cultures (Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Manx and Gaul) and a rough equivalent can be found in Norse culture where they were known as skald. Bards were also found in Anglo-Saxon England, and many other cultures. In Wales, after the Roman invasions, Bards became court poets, known as Gogynfeirdd, or Prydydd, and were limited in what they could write or create by rigidly structured rules. The true magickal and spiritual knowledge was kept by a secret order of Bards called derwydds (oak-seers). These oak-seers carried on the real traditions of the Druids. These were the people that wrote the Cad Goddeu and Hanes Taliesin, and who passed the Matter of Britain to the French troubadours and trouveres, thus giving us Arthur and Camelot.

In Celtic culture, the Bard could travel anywhere, say anything, and perform when and where he pleased. He was the bearer of news and the carrier of messages, and, if he were harmed, no one learned what was happening over the next hill. The Bard recorded the custom and history of the country in memorized verse, which allowed him to be consulted in cases of common law. He was, therefore, a valuable source of cultural information, news, and entertainment. His poetry was mainly religious, being used in ritual in a spiritual manner. His goal was to attain a state of poetic truth, that mysterious and elusive gift of the Muse—inspiration.

The ability to tame this chaotic force into poetry is derived from the male archetype of the God. Here we see the eternal principal of creation at work, this time on a mental/spiritual level as the inspirational Muse and the fire of discipline unite to give birth to poetry and music. If the Bard is male, he woos the Muse to use a well-worn phrase. If female, she invokes the Muse from without or within. Basically, the process is the same.

One function of the Bard was to maintain the Dream Time—a belief in the duality of OtherWorld that is felt inside yourself with a prickling at the back of your neck and a tingling up and down your spine.

Bards expressed the Celtic ideal in words and music, to be understood on three levels: through body, mind and spirit. Understanding by the Body comes through listening and feeling the words and music. Understanding by the mind comes through worshiping the Gods. Understanding through the Spirit comes from visiting the OtherWorld—whose essence belongs to the Goddess. The Bard, therefore, must be more than a musician and storyteller—she or he must be a messenger from the OtherWorld.

The body of the legend tells the basic story, which always includes the universal theme—the seasonal relationship between the God and the Goddess. The mind of the legend contains the key to understanding the Faerie Faith system, which is …well hidden, guarded and disguised. The spirit of the legend belongs to the OtherWorld, which affects the unconscious level, merging of the Bard, listener and the Divine.

THE DRUIDS (Old Welsh: Derwydd) were the Priests, Doctors, Poets and Minstrels. They were also the teachers who retained the sacred knowledge of ancient times. The words Ovate, Bard, and Druid conjure different images. The title Ovate has been used to describe master herbologists and natural healers. The title Bard has been used to describe Shakespeare and Robert Burns, as well as given to the impressively costumed gentleman who heads the National Welsh Poetry Festival called the Eisteddfod. The Druid was mentioned in Caesar’s Gallic wars as priests and leaders, as well as bloodthirsty savages who burned sacrifices in wicker containers. What is the truth about these mysterious figures?

Religion was a pre-eminent force in the Celtic culture. Religion was codified in dogma and administered by a priestly caste, the Druids. Druids were a major power within the Celtic empire, with all public and private affairs subject to their authority. The Celts were extremely religious, and regarded the worst punishment to be excommunication. There were three classes of religious leaders in ancient Wales: Bards, Ovates and Druids. Bards were the historians and teachers, Ovates were the herb doctors, and Druids were the shamans and priests.

The immense power of the Druids was the weakness of the Celtic politic. No nation ruled by priests (drawing their authority from spiritual sanctions) is capable of true progress. The Celts fanatic adherence to their religion inevitably added to their empire’s demise.

The Druids were originally the priests of the megalithic pre-Celtic peoples of Western Europe. During the Celtic expansion the Druids and their numerous Celtic deities and beliefs were adopted by the highly religious Celts. After the invasion of the Romans and advent of Christianity, the Druids were not allowed to practice their religion or induct students. They began to mingle their lore and knowledge with that of the Bards.

THE NOBLES (Old Welsh: Uchelwr, or Breyron) were the free landowners in Wales, and as such formed the aristocracy. There is evidence for their existence from the Sixth century. They owed their position to the hereditary right to own land. This right gave them power over their tenant farmers and slaves. They owed no service, rent or due to the king other than the gwestfa, which was the duty to repair bridges and roads on their lands, and labor service during war. The king might choose to ignore or remit these as he wished, or a noble might be powerful enough to resist his monarch’s attempts to enforce them. Nobles owned their land in the form of large estates. These could be grouped together to form multiple estates, or spread over a wider area. They could dispose of their lands as they wished, provided interested parties such as heirs or kindred were in agreement. For a time, kings tried to control land grants to the invading Christian Church. Nobles could act as foster parents to the sons of kings and other noble’s sons. They could also serve on the king’s council (O.W. Degion) as a Gwr Da or good man, acting as royal officers and advisors. The Degion could even govern the kingdom in the king’s absence, and finally;

THE KINGS (Old Welsh: Rhi, or Teyrn) claimed a divine right to rule; this power was passed from father to son or brother-to-brother. The ancient documents emphasized dynastic dominance and dynastic continuity. Sons were expected to succeed fathers. In actuality, kingdoms were sometimes shared, and occasionally quarreled over between brothers, uncles and nephews. There were even quarrels between father and son.

THE ORIGIN OF THE OLD RELIGION AND WELSH WITCHCRAFT

Legends hold the real beginning of the human race took place on the ancient continent of Poseidia, which existed more than four hundred and fifty thousand years ago. (1) These legends relate that a strange people called the Nemue (2) came to Poseidia and were the ancestors of the first people. To confirm this, our Thirteen Treasures contain this legend (3):

"…and countless thousands of courses of the Sun, a foreign people visited our land. They wore strange skins and felt more at home on our seas than on our land. They had been directed to journey to this place and pass on their vast knowledge and their ‘intelligence’ to ‘Ones-Who-Would- Come-After’ their children.

These travelers were, in some ways, a thousand times more elevated than we are today. They had great powers and were able to communicate with your ancestors by thought as well as speech. They could heal with their minds. They could move things with their will alone. Collectively they were known as HU GADARN…The First Triad…The Watchers…The Nemue.

"They were the first messengers to your land. When they arrived, they found a very primitive race of people who were just beginning to use tools. They mated with these people and their offspring became the First People, or Nephilim.

"The Nephilim were tall in nature like their fathers, and some, like their fathers before them had great wisdom and a desire to help humanity. Others however, sought to harm all beings, and lusted for power.

The evils that some of the Nephilim wrought horrified the Nemue. They were shocked to see all the good that they had tried to bring to the beings of the Earth turned into blasphemy. The Nemue decided that they would combine their power and destroy the lands in which the Nephilim dwelt. The Nephilim fought back because they were heirs to the same powers as the Nemue and in one day and one night of destruction wrought by volcanoes, earthquakes, and floods, many of the Nephilim and Nemue were killed and many records were destroyed. The upheaval was of such a magnitude that to this day it can be seen in the rocks, and on the walls of deep canyons…

Battle Tales of fathers and sons are found in the apocryphal books of the Bible, Babylonian fables, Norse and Greek mythology. This legend of the Nephilim also tells of the mysteries of a three-part being called The Triad. The Triad taught humanity about the Earth Mother Goddess, Donn, who had conceived them in the distant past, and of whom they were a part. The Triad taught about the Sky Father, HU, who ruled the skies and was the first light bearer. It taught the three essentials, the laws, and The Word. The Triad gave our ancestors their knowledge, and part of itself. (4)

After a time the Triad left our land and returned to its own land, leaving its work to ripen and bear fruit. Manuscripts hint that approximately three hundred and sixty-two thousand years ago the Triad again visited this land. They are the ones we call today The Old Ones. Between 50,000 B.C. and 15,000 B.C., great human development occurred. Primitive civilizations rose and fell. During the Upper-Paleolithic period in Europe, the worship of the Goddess became prominent. In these Upper-Paleolithic societies, the concept of the creator of all human life was formulated by each clan’s image of women, considered to be their most ancient primal ancestors. The mother was regarded as the sole parent of children. Ancestor worship was the basis for most sacred rituals, and ancestry was determined through the mother’s ancestral line. It was often difficult if not impossible to determine the father due to the sexual customs of the times. The most tangible evidence supporting the Goddess Worship theory is the numerous sculptures of women found throughout most of Europe and the Near East. Some of these sculptures date to 25,000 B.C. These small female figurines made of stone and clay, most of which are seemingly pregnant, have been found throughout sites as far apart as Spain, France, Germany, Austria, and Russia. These sites and figurines date to at least 10,000 years. (5)

Johannes Maringer, in his book, The Gods of Prehistoric Man, says:

"It appears highly probable then that the female figurines were idols of a Great Mother cult, practiced by the non-nomadic Aurignacian mammoth hunters

who inhabited the immense Eurasian territories that extended from Southern France to Lake Baikal in Siberia."

It was from the Siberian Lake Baikal area that tribes are believed to have migrated across the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, forming the Native American population. This supports the belief that European Witchcraft and American Indian shamanism have similar roots. The Europeans were amazed to find that certain beliefs, legends, myths and traditions, customs and taboos only varied slightly from Siberia to the South Seas. The origin of these ancient teachings have been lost, however, substantial archaeological evidence shows that important civilizations existed prior to 5000 B.C. Theory has established Atlantis as one of these civilizations. Atlantis was destroyed between 12,000 and 10,000 B.C. Therefore, in the thousand years between Atlantis and Hyperborea, volumes of knowledge and culture were lost. But, certain concepts remained: Nature worship and the veneration of a God and Goddess. Archaeologists unearthed evidence that in 7,000 B.C., a settlement covering 32 acres existed in southern Anatolia (Turkey) named Catal Huyuk. Ruins of shrines to the Horned Bull God and Mother Goddess (Mother of All Living), lay within the settlement. This was absolute proof of a Nature-based religious tribe of people believing in and worshiping the duality of the God and Goddess from ancient times.

The religious leader of these early tribes was a priest, shaman, herbalist, astrology, poet or bard. The early shaman was the wise man or wise woman of the tribe, the healer and priest or priestess. The wise ones knew about the seasons, weather and crops and were, therefore, very important members of the early culture. Over the years, a priestess became more than a wise woman; she became powerful through consolidating her knowledge and keeping it secret. It was only she who knew the Gods’ and Goddesses’ true names, it was only she who knew the secret of conception.

At first, the religion was simple Nature worship: worship of the Earth Mother and the Sky Father. But it began to grow in complexity as the people rediscovered the old sources of power and obtained knowledge by experimentation and meditation.

The religion taught of male and female deities, which, together, created the Great Spirit. The female deity evolved into the Goddess represented by the Earth and Moon, ruling over birth, life, love, death and rebirth. The male deity evolved into the God represented by the sun, ruling over the seasons. These precepts are fundamental to our faith and belief today.

SECRET DOCTRINE OF THE DRUIDS

To understand the religion of Welsh Witchcraft, you must first understand the origins and philosophy of Druidism. For, it is only within the mind of the druid that we will find the power of the Welsh Witch.

The Druids, Celtic Picts and Welsh Witches left few decipherable written records of their history and philosophy. Legends, archaeological finds and informed hypothesis, provide clues to their existence and contribution to available records.

Archeological records show that the early Druids were pre-Brethonic, highly organized religious philosophers. These records were all that remain of the early Hyperborean migration to Great Britain.

The Celtic Druids of Europe believed their religion originated in Britain. It was their practice to send students across the English Channel, to Britain from Gaul (modern day France and Germany) to learn the Druid doctrines at its purest source. The Druid doctrines were similar to those of the Brahmins of India, the Magi of Persia, and the priests of Egypt. As such, the Druids had two sets of religious doctrines, exoteric and esoteric. They practiced their rituals in Britain and Gaul, but their religion was brought to perfection in Britain, where the Isle of Anglesey was the center and heart of their religious practice.

The word Druid is derived from DRU, which means Oak Tree. Its etymology may also be found in the Gaelic word Druidh, a wise man or magician.

Their temples were generally situated on the tops of hills and mountains, in dense groves of oaks. The adytum or cave of the mysteries was called a Cromlech, and was used as the sacred altar of regeneration. It consisted of three upright stones on which a broad, flat stone rested, making a small cell, used during initiation.

Initiations were performed at midnight and consisted of three degrees. The first was the Ovate, the second the Bard, and the third the Druid. The candidate was placed in a tomb where his symbolic death represented the death of Hu, the sun; and his restoration in the third degree symbolized the

resurrection of the sun. He or she had to undergo trials and tests of courage similar to those practiced in the mysteries of Orpheus.

The Druids taught the doctrine of one supreme creative force, personified as a mother Goddess, and father God. They believed in the immortality of the soul through reincarnation. The Druid was the sole interpreter of religion, and supervised all rituals; no private person was allowed to perform a ritual without their sanction. They possessed the power of excommunication, which was the most horrible punishment that could be inflicted, other than death. They determined all disputes by a final and unalterable decision and could render a judgment of Death

They knew Astronomy and Physics. Their knowledge of the immortality was far too elaborate to have been invented by barbarians. The evidence supporting these statements is contained in parchment and vellum manuscripts preserved in mansions and monasteries in England, Wales and Scotland. Dynion Mwyn and Llewellyn family descendants protect similar historical records.

The earliest and most important of these manuscripts is The Book of Dun Cow. It preserves the romances relating to the Old Gods and heroes of Ireland, and has preserved the source of ancient Irish prehistory. The Book of Leinster, supplements the Book of the Dun Cow, and is about the same age. Other sources include the Book of Invasions, The Book of Ballymote, The Yellow Book of Lecan, and Books of Lecan and Lismore. Unfortunately, many of these books are now only fragmented manuscripts.

The Advocate library in Edinburgh contains the Scottish manuscripts, which corroborate the Irish documents, add to the Cuchulainn saga, and describe the wonderful deeds of Finn, Ossian and the Fenians. They contain stories of other characters more ancient than Finn or Cuchulainn—the Tuatha De Danaan, the goddess tribe of the ancient Gaels. The Welsh manuscripts echo those of the Irish and Scottish.

Four of these are: The Black Book of Caermarthen, The Book of Aneurin, The Book of Taliesin, and The Red Book of Hergest. (6) Other books complete the basic Welsh sources: Barddas (a collection of documents illustrating the theology, wisdom, and usages of the bardo-druidic system of the Isle of Prydein); The Iolo Manuscripts, by E. Taliesin Williams; The Myvyrian Archaeology of Wales printed in the Welsh language and edited by Owain Jones, Edward Williams and [Pughe] William Owen; and The Mabinogion translated by Lady Charlotte Guest. Private and unpublished works include The

Thirteen Treasures, and The Twelve Keys, the written and oral teachings of Y Tylwyth Teg and the historical Llewellyn Family Manuscripts, which are still used to teach the ancient Bardic philosophy. These sources contain the mythology, triads, and ancient mystery teachings of the ancient Bardic tradition, Welsh Witchcraft, and the Cymry.

THE BIRTH OF DYNION MWYN AND WELSH WITCHCRAFT

The Knowledge of Druid and Pictish mysteries was preserved in the Welsh language (as well as Ogham runes), and was hidden, in the form of manuscripts.

By using a highly elaborate mnemonic system, medieval bards preserved and disseminated the ancient teachings through poems and songs. While it is true that the bards of Wales were often unschooled in the deeper mysteries, they were able to transmit and refine heroic poetry and mystical triads. In Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, the ancient literature was similarly preserved.

The occupation of Wales, by the Romans, ended in 383 A.D. From approximately 400 A.D. to 800 A.D., Europe was held in chaos and savagery. These were the Dark Ages. The Christian church had conquered the British and Welsh countryside, and Druidism and Pictish Witchcraft was driven deeper underground.

In 823 A.D., the first notorious leader was born: Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great) the Welsh warrior king. His heritage was the Welsh Bards from whom he learned the sacred knowledge. He was the first to record Druidic Philosophy written on Folios of Bark. He was the second to call his bardic tribe Dynion Mwyn. In 855 he became king, of Powys, and most of Wales. King Rhodri was killed in battle in 878 A.D., fighting an English incursion into his lands. He had three sons: Anarawd, Cadell and Merfyn. Unfortunately for the future of an independent Wales, the alliance of his sons with the English monarch, Alfred, led to Wales’ dependence upon the English monarch for protection. This was perhaps the first sign that the future of Wales was forever to be dependent upon its stronger neighbor to the East. (7)

King Rhodri’s linage is notable in Welsh history. One grandson, Hywel Dda (Howell the Good) reigned from 904 to 950. Although his reign was marked by absolute ruthlessness, he is best remembered for his brilliant codification of Welsh laws. Professor John Davies calls the resulting set of laws …among the most splendid creations of the culture of the Welsh. (8)

The Law of Hywel was a systemization of the legal customs, developed over many centuries. It was a most democratic system and far in advance of English law: for one thing, it gave significant status to women. They were guaranteed property rights, which did not become part of the laws of England for over one thousand years. For example, a woman had the right to seek compensation if struck by her spouse without cause; she could also receive up to one-half the family property upon divorce. (9)

Of Rhodri’s sons, only Anarawd followed the old ways and passed the Bardic legacy to his son, Idwal Foel, who collected many folios of legends concerning HU Gadarn and the Old Ones. He passed our tradition to his son Meurig.

With Meurig we have the first written mention of Green and Red Dragon Power. Meurig had a son Idwal who retained the tribal knowledge until he invested it in his son Iago, who passed it on to his son Cynan. Before he was killed, legend says that Cynan traveled to the Middle East. He reported that he collected …many volumes of mystical knowledge… (10) before he returned. Cynan wrote about his handfasting (marriage) to lady Ragnhildr of Dublin. Their son, Gruffydd ap Cynan, handfasted with Angharad daughter of Owain ab Edwin and produced five children, Owain Gwynedd, Cadwaladr, Cadwallon, Susanna and Gwenllian. (11)

In 1162 A.D. Gypsies, from North India wandered into Wales and were given safe haven by the family of Owain Gwynedd. They had ancient writings, which they called the Tarot. (12)

In 1169 A.D., Prince Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd, an illegitimate son of Owain and a 5th level elder of Dynion Mwyn of Northern Wales, sailed to the Americas and established a colony. He left on a May morning, from Abrgele, with one ship, the Gwennan Gorn, and a crew of twenty. He arrived in the new world and established a settlement. He reestablished the Old Atlantean Religion among the Native Americans he found there. He returned to Wales in 1171 A.D. where he described what he had found, and with his brother Riryd, Lord of Clochran in Ireland, returned to the Americas with seven ships and three hundred men. He was killed in 1172 A.D., and buried in Georgia, United States. His expedition traveled north up the Missouri river and blended their blood with an Indian tribe called the Mandans. (13)

Owain handfasted to Gwladus, daughter of Llywarch ap Trahaearn and Christina, daughter of Gronw ab Owain. He had nine children; Rhun, Hywel, Iorwerth, Maelgwn, David, Rhodri, Cynan, Angharad and Gwenllian. Iorwerth handfasted with Marared, daughter of Madog ap Maredudd and produced a son, Llywelyn Fawr or Llewellyn ap Iorwerth. (14) In 1200, Llewellyn ap Iorwerth, became ruler of the kingdom of Gwynedd, and under his strong and determined leadership, Wales was once more united as a single political unit. In 1204 King John of England, who gave him his daughter Joan in marriage, recognized him. Two entries in Brut y Tywysogion attest to his power, influence and confidence. The first is from the year 1230:

In that year William de Braose the Younger, Lord of Brycheiniog, was hanged by the Lord Llewellyn in Gwynedd after he had been caught in Llewelyn’s chamber with the King of England’s daughter, Llewelyn’s wife.

The second entry is for the year 1240:

He ruled his enemies with sword and spear, gave peace to the monks…enlarged his boundaries by his wars, gave good justice to all according to their deserts, and by the bonds of fear or love bound all men duly to him.

Llywelyn Fawr had six children by Joan: Gruffydd, David, Gwenllian, Helen, Gwladus Ddu and Margaret. Llywelyn Fawr died April 11, 1240 A.D. Gruffydd ap Llewellyn handfasted with Senena and produced five children; Owain Goch, Rhodri, Gwladus, David and the amazing Llywelyn Y Llyw Olaf, the last true Prince of Wales. (15)

PRINCE LLEWELLYN, THE LAST TRUE PRINCE OF WALES

Llewellyn Olaf ap Gruffudd was the great unifying force of Wales. After imprisoning his brothers and taking the kingdom of Gwynedd for himself, Llewellyn was able to assert his claim to be called Prince of Wales. Henry III accorded him the title officially in l267 at the Treaty of Montgomery recognizing the Welsh leader’s claim to the three kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth. For a short, the dream of the Welsh people had been realized; they had a prince, they governed their territories under their Welsh laws, and conducted their affairs in the Welsh language, free from English influence. (16)

In 1264, Prince Llewellyn allied with Simeon de Montfort against the King of England. In 1265 Simeon de Montfort was killed at the battle of Evesham, and the King of England pushed Prince Llewellyn back into Wales. At the treaty of Montgomery, Llewellyn obtained confirmation from the king he Llewellyn, was the true Prince of Wales, and as such had the right to demand homage by all the Welsh lords. (17)

Prince Llewellyn was patron to Hywel Voel, a Druid and Bard. Hywel Voel wrote of Prince Llewellyn’s involvement with the Knights Templar and the Ordre de Seon. In 1271 A.D., Hywel charged the loyal scribes and clerks with the task of salvaging and compiling the known mystical knowledge of the Llewellyn family. The books are the Thirteen Treasures, the Owl, and the first Grimoire (or spell book) of our tradition. (18)

In 1277 AD, the Thirteen Treasures were supplemented with the Druids’ sacred knowledge of the Stones; Knights Templar’s Magick of the Egyptians (Hywel claimed that Prince Llywelyn was initiated into the Order of the Knights Templars in 1279 A.D.) (19); the Persian Gypsies’ knowledge of the Mithraic astrological mysteries; the Pictish Faerie tradition; the rituals of nine maidens of the Isle de Seon, the ancient mystical knowledge of the Etruscans and Cabalistic Magick from the East. (20)

On December 11, 1282 A.D., Prince Llewellyn, was killed by an English knight unaware of his identity.

After Llewellyn was killed in battle against Edward’s troops, the English took control of Cymru. Edward’s troubles with the Welsh, for all practical purposes were at an end. Henceforth, Wales was to live under an alien political system, playing a subordinate role as an integral part of the kingdom of England. (21)

SURVIVAL OF DYNION MWYN

Because of intense scrutiny, Y Tylwyth Teg, (as The Way of Dynion Mwyn had become known), became secretive and disappeared for a time. Gruffudd ap Madawg, a relative of Prince Llewellyn, took Madawg Dwygraig as the family Bard and Druid. Madawg Dwygraig wrote of establishing a Druid Grove near the Llynfi valley, Llangynwyd, Wales in 1284. (22)

Between 1282 A.D. and 1700 A.D., witch-hunts and repression extremely limited record keeping. However those records validate that the knowledge was kept secret from all but a trusted few in the families who kept the old ways. Some traditions vanished; others digressed into legends of The Old Ones. (23)

TALIESIN ENION VAWR

Taliesin, enion Vawr was born in the forests of North Wales in 1927. During the next thirteen years, because of his father’s government position, the family traveled throughout Europe. They returned to England in 1938, and the children were sent to live with relatives in Wales. In September 1940, their father and mother were killed in the bombing of London during the Battle of Britain. Taliesin and his sister were raised by relatives in a small village near a small village in Northern Wales (24) He learned of his family’s heritage of Druidism and Witchcraft as they met Y Tylwyth Teg (welsh fairies) at Fairy Ring near Betws y Coed, and swam with the water sprites in the local river. His journal indicates this was the happiest time of his life. (25)

In 1945 Taliesin’s uncle and auntie traveled to the United States, obtained work visas, and remained in the state of New Jersey until 1959. Taliesin graduated from a local high school and attended a nearby college. When the family returned to England, Taliesin went with them, and upon returning to North Wales he said he was very happy to get home. Over the next few years he continued his occult studies and spent a great deal of time with his auntie, an herbalist and Offieriadess (something like a priestess or elder) of Dynion Mwyn. He learned of the energy of the mountains by participating in Cave Workings and hiking near Mt. Snowdonia. (26)

In 1963 while visiting friends, he met a gentleman named Ray (or Roy) Bowers who inspired him to begin teaching. He organized the family’s records and held the first non-family class. Gwendolyn Wynne, a cousin, studied with the family and carried the religion to London where she taught the old ways until her death. R. (Math) Johnson, another cousin, immigrated to Australia where he taught the tradition, and D. (Gwydion) Jones took the tradition to Patagonia (a region of Argentina) where he taught until his death in 2002. (27)

In 1965, Rhuddlwm Gawr met Sarah Wentworth while in Majorca, Spain. She invited him to London and Wales where he met Taliesin. Rhuddlwm stayed in Wales and studied the Old Ways. In 1966, Rhuddlwm returned to the US and established the Coven and Church of Y Tylwyth Teg in Landover, Maryland. (28)

Taliesin taught the Old Ways until 1992 when he passed the leadership of Dynion Mwyn to his sister (who became chief elder until she died in 1999). Lord Rhuddlwm Gawr and Lady Cerridwen Gawr, of the United States, have inherited the leadership of Dynion Mwyn.

Taliesin was responsible for opening the Welsh tradition to outsiders. His dieing wish was that the basic philosophy of the Welsh tradition be available to all through the Internet, and that seekers be given a Taste of Wales through home study courses. (29)

In January 2000, after an extended illness, Taliesin, the sole surviving elder of the Dynion Mwyn Welsh Family Gwyddon (Witchcraft) tradition, died quietly in his sleep.

Prior to his death, Taliesin lived with a companion, on a small island off the coast of Scotland, writing and meditating. He survived the passing of his sister by a few months.

Taliesin, we never got along, but I respected you and hope that wherever you are, you are finally happy and content.…Rhuddlwm Gawr

RHUDDLWM GAWR AND Y TYLWYTH TEG

In the summer of 1965, William (an American working in Europe), met his future teacher, Sarah Llewellyn, on the Isle of Majorca, Spain, and an instant spiritual connection began. Less than a year later, William was initiated into a Welsh Family tradition, in North Wales and received the name Rhuddlwm Gawr from the elders of Dynion Mwyn tradition. (30) He was instructed to return to the United States and begin teaching the Craft of—Y Tylwyth Teg—The Fairy Folk. (31) He tried to ignore the elders words, but soon found himself teaching an introductory class in Witchcraft in a small Houston bookstore. (32)

In Spring 1967, Rhuddlwm was transferred to Washington, DC, where he organized the Coven of Y Tylwyth Teg. There was an enthusiastic response by many students in the area seeking an Earth-religion-oriented spiritual philosophy. Later, the Coven of Y Tylwyth Teg expanded into a much larger organization—The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg in America. (33)

Y Tylwyth Teg expanded, establishing sister covens in California, Florida, Texas and Georgia.

In 1967, he was instrumental in establishing The Association of Cymry Wiccae as an assembly of Welsh Traditional Covens in America. He, with the help of several Witch leaders of Welsh heritage, organized a meeting (the first pagan Gathering of the Tribes) held that Spring. (34) During this first meeting, many spoke of the primal energy that was generated, and the love that seemed to permeate everything. As a result of this meeting, a conclave of three Welsh Witchcraft covens was born. This conclave was thereafter referred to as the The Grove of The Crystal Dragon. (35)

Through the summer and early fall, the Grove met, deepened their commitment of sharing a common vision of the ancient gods and the survival of our religion. It was agreed that because of the current uncertainties of the day, The Association would keep a low profile for as long as possible. The Grove worked together over the next three years helping establish other pagan groups begin; disseminating knowledge and information. The headquarters of the Association was relocated to Smyrna-Marietta, Georgia, in 1971 where it continues today. In 1972, Y Tylwyth Teg established Bangor, a Bardic school, in Smyrna, Georgia to prepare members for the priesthood and give religious instruction to children.

In 1975, Rhuddlwm founded the Pagan-Occult-Witchcraft SIG of MENSA. Valerie Voigt and others eventually became coordinators for this fine organization. Y Tylwyth Teg began publishing The Sword of Dyrnwyn, a newsletter of Y Tylwyth Teg.

The Association adopted the Goddess Cerridwen as its muse, and adopted the concept of re-linking humanity with Nature.

In February 1976, a US IRS Group Tax Exemption was issued to the Church and The Association of Cymry Wicca. This was the first Group Tax Exemption issued to a true Witchcraft church by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg became legally incorporated by the State of Georgia in Smyrna, Georgia on February 2, 1977. (36)

In October, 1977, The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg and the Association of Cymry Wicca organized the Pagan Gathering of the Tribes in the Southeastern U.S., held at Unicoi State Park near Helen, Georgia. Unicoi means The New Way in the Cherokee tongue. It is located near Mt. Yonah, an important Cherokee psychic power point. (37)

In 1979, Rhuddlwm Gawr published The Quest, the first book in a trilogy about Welsh Witchcraft. In 1985, the second book, of the trilogy, The Way, was published and continued the theme of the ancient Welsh Tradition of Love, Knowledge and Power. The book you are reading is the culmination of this most impressive trilogy.

In 1992, Dynion Mwyn hosted its first internet web page. There are now over seventy Study Group and currently over three thousand students currently studying with Dynion Mwyn and Y Tylwyth Teg. Since 1282, the Tribe of Dynion Mwyn and the Clan of Y Tylwyth Teg have existed in relative obscurity

The well known Welsh author, Jane Pugh wrote: (38)

…today there are strong witch covens in Wales…in the north…(but) Do not ask questions about them, remembering that Witchcraft is an old (and secret) religion, nearly as old as time itself.

NOTES

1. Llewellyn Folio 23, Pg. 14, in the private collection of Marrig ap Llewellyn, Cardiff, Wales

2. The names given in the legends, the nemue and Nephilim, are not spelled this way in Welsh, but the English pronunciation is a close translation.

3. Rhuddlwm gawr’s copy of the Book of Dawn, copied from one written in 1923, and one of the Thirteen Treasures of Y Tylwyth Teg. This legend, although seemingly far fetched, is also one of the oldest recorded in our documents. It was said by the late Taliesin enion Vawr, our past historian, to be over nine hundred years old.

4. Included in an obscure handwritten booklet previously published by Gerald Llewellyn Wentworth, 1672

5. Included in Folio 31, pg 17, Marrig ap llewellyn

6. William Skene, The Four Ancient books of Wales, Edmonston & Douglas,