Dr. Daniel Ogden

We are humbled and happy to welcome back Professor Daniel Ogden for next year's conference!

He will be sharing with us about a mythical creature: DRAGONS!!

Dr. Ogden is the author of The Dragon in the West: From Ancient Myth to Modern Legend. Oxford University Press.

An exploration of how the image and idea of the dragon has evolved through history How did the dragon get its wings? Everyone in the modern West has a clear idea of what a dragon looks like and of the sorts of stories it inhabits, not least devotees of the fantasies of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and George R. R. Martin. A cross between a snake and some fearsome mammal, often sporting colossal wings, they live in caves, lie on treasure, maraud, and breathe fire. They are extraordinarily powerful, but even so, ultimately defeated in their battles with humans. What is the origin of this creature? The Dragon in the West is the first serious and substantial account in any language of the evolution of the modern dragon from its ancient forebears. Daniel Ogden's detailed exploration begins with the drakōn of Greek myth and the draco of the dragon-loving Romans, and a look at the ancient world's female dragons. It brings the story forwards though Christian writings, medieval illustrated manuscripts, and the lives of dragon-duelling saints, before concluding with a study of dragons found in the medieval Germanic world, including those of the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and the Norse sagas.

Dr. Daniel Ogden is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Exeter. His previous publications include: Polygamy, Prostitutes and Death: The Hellenistic Dynasties (1999; 2nd ed., 2023); (ed.) The Hellenistic World: New Perspectives (2002); (co-ed. with Elizabeth Carney) Philip and Alexander: Father and Son, Lives and Afterlives (2010); Alexander the Great: Myth, Genesis and Sexuality (2011); and The Legend of Seleucus (Cambridge, 2017).

Dr. Ronald Hutton

We are most delighted to share with you the participation of Professor Ronald Hutton as one of our Keynote Speakers this year.

He will be sharing the presentation:

Traditional Fairies

This talk is designed to answer two big questions. The first is how people who genuinely believed in fairies in Britain and Ireland thought about them, and how these views contrast with those presented in literary images of them, from Shakespeare onward. The second is what function traditional fairy beliefs actually served, in helping humans to interact with the world, and get through life, better.

A leading authority on history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, and on the global context of witchcraft beliefs. Also the leading historian of the ritual year in Britain and of modern paganism.

Hutton is a prolific writer and broadcaster on the history of paganism. He has helped transform people's view of paganism, which is now included in religious studies departments in universities around the world.

Professor Ronald Hutton specializes in British folklore, pre-Christian religion, and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol where he is a member of the 'Medieval and Early Modern Cluster'.  

The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy (1991), The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996), The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (1999), Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain (2009), Pagan Britain (2013), The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present (2017) and Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe: An Investigation (2022). 

Morgan Daimler

We would like to give a warm welcome to our conference to Morgan Daimler who will be sharing this amazing talk:

Leannán Sidhe: Vampiric Fae, Fairy Familiar, or Something Else?

Tracing the fascinating and convoluted roots of the Irish Leannán Sidhe from myth to folklore to popular culture, this presentation will cover beliefs around this enigmatic being throughout history. Stories from a thousand years ago focus on a protective spirit, Yeats described her as a vampiric being who drained the life from the poets she inspired, and 19th century Irish accounts tell of a being who would act as a guide and teacher to wise women - where might the truth lie among these contradictions? We will explore the range of ways the Leannán sidhe has been understood and how those various views might shape our own understanding today, in order to better understand this intriguing but mysterious fairy being.

Morgan Daimler is a witch who has been a polytheist since the early '90′s, following a path inspired by the Irish Fairy Faith blended with neopagan witchcraft. Morgan teaches classes on Irish myth, fairies, and related subjects in the United States and internationally. Morgan has been published in multiple anthologies as well as in Witches and Pagans magazine, and Pagan Dawn magazine. She has written several dozen books, including Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk and Pagan Portals Aos Sidhe, has self-published books of Old and Middle Irish language translations, has a high fantasy novel 'Into Shadow', and an urban fantasy/paranormal romance series called Between the Worlds.

WHY ANCESTRAL PATHWAYS CONFERENCE?

The Ancestral Pathways Conference is a meeting point for diversity, it is a crossroads, between worlds and times, between our ancestors and ourselves. What began with the idea of being a local conference has ended up opening up to the world in a global way, thanks, among other things, to the incredible speakers we have had so far, coming from various corners of the planet.

Following the Pathways of our Ancestors, even those of us who are farthest away could find a commonplace, something to unites us, across time and space, navigating between the different cultures and customs that have flourished throughout the history of the world and humanity.

We will continue exploring the sacred, sometimes invisible, other times tangible, looking back, to the past... But also looking at our present and the future of the spirituality that unites us as a collective, even if it is under different beliefs, within a naturalistic and polytheistic framework, linked to the land and the ancestors.

Of course, we will maintain our intention to serve the community through this event. Double reason to continue supporting us in this new chapter!

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