World Greywolf
Chant for Healing & Protection

This chant is based on an early Irish poem from a medieval collection known as the Metrical Dindsenchas. The original is part of a story in which the Irish healer god, Dian Cécht, prevents a disease from ravaging Ireland by destroying the Serpent that embodies it, burning its remains to ashes and casting them into a fast-flowing river. Another appropriate piece to have been recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic. The original and my adapted-for-chanting version are both featured in the British Druid Order's ovate course. Being in lockdown, the voices are all mine. Of the five featured drums, four were made by me, two frame drums and two clay ones based on Bronze Age originals. Characterising disease as a lizard-like monster was common among our Irish and British ancestors, who found that giving it a readily visualised form was a great help in working to defeat it. The same principle is used in 'shamanic' healing traditions around the world.