Are you feeling the call to explore your Welsh ancestry… or are you just curious about the land, mythology, language and magic of Wales?

You may not know this about me: I am Cymraeg (Welsh). I grew up speaking Cymraeg and English fluently at home, switching between them at will. My entire education until the age of 16 was through the medium of Welsh, and I grew up in north west Cymru (Wales).

Over the years, I found myself being asked to teach people Cymraeg - the Welsh language - and I now find myself in the wonderful position of being Welsh Tutor for the broadcasting and television sector in Wales. That’s quite magical!

But what does it mean to be Welsh - Cymraeg?

Our land has been romanticised and portrayed as a magical land - fairies, misty forests, a language that sounds like something from Lord of the Rings.

But it’s also a land that has been heavily colonised, extracted from, and exploited over the centuries. Some dare to call us “the first and final colony”. We are a people so heavily Anglicised that only 20% of the country speak the Welsh language, despite it being one of the oldest languages in Europe.

We’re also known as a land of song. Our bardic tradition stretches back centuries. Our stories and mythologies have inspired many fantasy novels, and you may know some of the stories without realising.

I’ve been blessed to have grown up rooted in the land - despite how heavily privatised and industrialised it is. But having lived in many countries and worked with people from all over the world, I recognise that this is not the case for everybody.

Gyda’r Nos means “with the night”… but we use it to mean “in the evening”. I love this phrase because it invites the evening as a companion…

This evening is for you if you’re feeling a call to explore your Welsh roots - especially if you have been raised in a culture separated from your ancestry, your land, and your people.

It’s also for those who feel a mystical draw towards everything Cymraeg and can’t quite explain it. Perhaps you have moved to live on this land, but haven’t yet engaged with its history, traditions and stories. Perhaps it’s something else that calls you.

Join me for an evening of dipping your toes into what it really means to be Cymraeg - Welsh.

You’ll get to hear the language through song, poetry and story, and I’ll teach you a few phrases and words in the language that we like to call “iaith yr Nefoedd” (language of the Heavens).

I’ll share a little about our Bardic tradition, about what “Celtic” really means, about our ancient stories, and about the land.

But we’ll also start to look at separating the real people who live in Wales today from the Instagram-friendly romanticisation of the landscape and the people.

For those who want more…

For those who want to delve deeper into Cymraeg stories, mythology, magic AND look at how we can begin to decolonise our minds, I’ll be offering a deeper exploration over the coming months.

We’ll be connecting with the land wherever we are, while I teach you about some of the places and landscapes of Cymru, and we’ll be looking at how magic, Druidry and other land-based spiritual practices show up here.. plus we’ll learn about the Tylwyth Teg (faeries) and other mythological and magical creatures, characters (often referred to as Goddesses) such as Rhiannon and Arianrhod, as well as taking a look at other “Celtic” traditions and practices.

We’ll also face tough questions such as: what does it mean to be Welsh in a country where 80% of people don’t speak the Welsh language? Why are identity and language politics so controversial? What’s the real relationship between the Welsh and the English? How do I honour my Welsh ancestry in a way that isn’t performative or appropriative?… and many more..

And, for those who want to pick up some of the language, there’ll also be plenty of mini-lessons and opportunities to practice with me…

Add your email address and name below to receive updates about this course. This will sign you up to my newsletter. If you’d prefer not to receive it but still want to know when the course is coming out, email connect@gwynethjones.coach (and let me know your ideal dates/times… I will try to offer it around people’s availability!)