Hello! I'm Caitlin Matthews. I live in Oxford, England with my partner, John Matthews. If you want to know more about our courses, events and forthcoming books, you are cordially invited to visit us at www.hallowquest.org.uk.
Here I am in a stone-built farmhouse on Orkney that uses a similar construction for beds and cupboards as the Stone Age village of Skara Brae. The peat fire is smoking and the saithe herring are curing nicely. Time for a little dusting of the dresser. Why don't you come over for a cup of tea?
I'm primarily known for being the author of many books including Singing the Soul Back Home, Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain, Psychic Shield, and Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom. I write in the fields of metaphysical non-fiction, poetry, fiction, folkstory and myth, as well as writing books for children. I'm known for my research into the Celtic and ancestral traditions, and the ways in which I provoke exploration of the creative metaphysical field, and how we can apply it to our spiritual path.
With John Matthews, I've written the Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom, the Arthurian Tarot and Walkers Between the Worlds. Our latest collaboration is the StoryWorld series of cards and books for storytellers of all ages, which now has seven packs - two more titles to come in Autumn 2010.
Although I'm the author of over sixty books, most of my work is oral rather than written. As a teacher of ancestral, shamanic and metaphysical traditions, I go all over the world, working with communities and spiritual institutions. With John Matthews, and my dear colleague Felicity Wombwell, I co-founded The Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies, which is dedicated to the mythic, oracular and sacred arts. Our FiOS shamanic training programme teaches students the ancestral wisdom and healing arts as living sacred traditions in which we still engage.
As a singer, I play Celtic & medieval harps, sruti and psaltery. My CDs include Deep Well in the Wild Wood: Songs from the Place Beyond and the latest, Earth's Own Heart: Songs from the Faery Hills appears soon. I was the Pictish language originator and song-writer of Song of the Exile for the 2004 Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur and I appear frequently on international radio and television.
For the last 20 years, I've had a shamanic practice in Oxford dedicated to healing soul sickness and ancestral fragmentation. I use my voice to help open the way between the worlds, to sing the soul's essential nature, tracking it through the client's story and bringing it homeward, with the help of spirit allies who have chosen to work with me.
I'm currently working on Rekindling Ancestral Hearths: a book to help us come into good relationship with our ancestors. I believe that being in communion with our ancestors and gifting spirits is essential for the wellbeing of our world, and lies at the root of war and peace. I'm also completing the Celtic Ancestor Oracle and going on to a book on Celtic Seership and Vision.
For new readers of my work, there is no 'one book' that conveys all that I teach, but the following practical books may be a helpful guide for you to begin somewhere:
Walkers Between Worlds - for a grounding in where our spiritual traditions arose.
Singing the Soul Back Home - for a guide on how we come into come relationship with our gifting spirits
Celtic Devotional - for a post-denominational way of spiritually acknowledging each day and season
Psychic Shield - for those who need a friendly guide to how the universe and ourselves rub off each other and how we can do it more harmoniously with attention to the care of the soul.
