Cerridwen's Cauldron From The Bard Dawn
Hail & Welcome - Start Your Journey Here
Welcome to the Substack of author & performance storyteller, Dawn Nelson. Here you will find a cauldron of myth, legend, folklore & story that speaks of the land and heritage of the UK.
Hwaet lovely subscribers! Can I just take a moment to say how much I appreciate you all taking the time to subscribe, comment, like, interact with my posts and in general be stand up, good eggs. Putting any kind of creative content out into the world is a brave undertaking and with your support, you folks make it so much easier, more enjoyable and rewarding. In world flooded with information I value your precious time.
So that you know when to expect emails and that those of you who are paid subscribers, know what you are getting for your buck, (pounds never quite sounds the same does it?) I’ve put this post together as a guide to the themes and frequency of content you will find here in the cauldron.
My intention is to post articles for all subscribers on a Wednesday and to post extra articles for paid subscribers on a Sunday. Sometimes I may manage a post every Wednesday and Sunday, sometimes I may have less to share that month and so I won’t post on those days, just for the sake of posting.
What I will guarantee to post every month is the Newsletter and Storyteller’s Library for all, and at least two extra articles for paid subscribers every month, more if I can.
So, if you are already here, dancing around the cauldron, or have yet to take your place around the virtual campfire, a month of posts might look something like this:
Posts in bold are guaranteed unless an apocalypse occurs or some kind of personal emergency
Free Posts (posted on a Wednesday):
Seasonal Newsletter
The Storyteller’s Library (Book Reviews)
Stories From Lore Podcast episode (when time allows)
Heritage site visits
Poetry (as and when I’m inspired)
Paid Posts in addition to the above (posted on Sundays see notes below for more information)
Lessons From The Land
Monthly episode of the Story Forecast
Cigarette Card Stories
Catch up vlog
Behind The Scenes
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The posts I create fall roughly under these three categories:
Behind The Scenes
Each month I give you an insight into my day-to-day work as an author, storyteller and historical interpreter through the following posts.
Newsletter - A monthly newsletter that pauses for the cycles of life, stories, folklore, plantlore, podcast and book recommendations.
The Storyteller’s Library - A monthly round up of the books I’ve been reading in my downtime, for my research and beyond.
Events Updates - Couldn’t make to the event in person? I’ll post about the stories shared and the great events there are going on in the South of England as I attend them and tell my tales.
Mythic Living
Posts that guide you on your path to connect with the land and its stories as you rewild yourself through story.
Stories From Lore - A archive of five seasons of this podcast that ran from October 2020- June 2025.
Stories Of The Sun - A limited series podcast celebrate the launch of my 2024 book ‘Stories Of The Sun’.
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The Story Forecast - monthly seasonal podcast to help you weather the storms of life with doses of story medicine.
Lesson From The Land - new for 2025, essays that explore the stories the land offers me in my wanderings.
Cigarette Card Stories - New for 2025 - Back when we were relatively unaware the damage smoking could do to us, we were positively encouraged to smoke with collectable cards in each pack. Enter ‘The Legends Of Britain’, a collectable cigarette card set from the 1930s, by Churchman cigarettes. Each month I’ll feature one of the stories from the cards starting with number 1.
Seasonal Living Posts - an archive of seasonal living celebration sheets, wheel of the year vlogs, kitchen witching, notes from the downs, podcast extras and mindful moment audios.
Heritage Interpretation
Posts that look at what heritage I have been exploring, researching and reenacting.
Out And About - Whether it’s the British Museum or a trip to a local standing stones, I’ll share posts about great places to visit and what there is to see there.
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Bonus Vlogs - New and archived, research, re-enactment, kit run throughs and updates from my Anglo Saxon, Tudor and Victorian escapades.
One Last Thing:
Why Cerridwen’s Cauldron? Well, it is thanks to Cerridwen’s Cauldron that the first bard was born Taliesin and if you’d like to hear his story, you can listen to me telling it below:
Thanks for reading this far and if there is anything you would love to see more of on the cauldron, be sure to let me know in the comments below or over in my Notes.
You can also join us for monthly story chat here, where each month I’ll take a seasonal story and discuss the themes, like a sort of book club for stories.