Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome, my mythic friends, toMythis, according to yours
truly.
I'm your host, Wendy Morrow.
On this podcast, we'll dive intomyths and folklore from all over
the world.
These stories have shapedcultures, stirred imaginations,
and kept us captivated forcenturies.
Together, we'll explore theorigins, meanings, and mysteries
behind these tales with a freshperspective and a little bit of
(00:24):
fun.
On our last episode, we talkedabout Sedna and her story was
quite morbid.
It had some moments where I wasjust like, Oh, I don't know,
like that's scary.
That's frightening.
But then she came out on top,right?
She became this beautifulgoddess.
Her life had so much meaningtowards the end.
It did before too, but from hermistakes, she became stronger
(00:48):
for it., and for.
The betrayal that she wentthrough if you did not listen to
that episode I encourage youstrongly to go back and listen
to hers because what a goodstory.
I just love any story with thathas to deal with the ocean this
is an Irish mythology.
Very excited to talk about it.
(01:08):
To me, this story sounds more ofan Asian type lore.
I know it's definitely notthough.
It's an Irish tale, it's about aheroic warrior whose rage and
battle leads to nearly asuperhuman feat, but with very
tragic consequences.
(01:30):
Let's go ahead and dive into it.
You know what I'm about to say,grab your favorite drink and
gather around my campfire for atale you won't forget.
Let's begin.
The legend of clan, the Angloover the green hills of Ulster,
where Warriors trained withspears and swords.
La land was alive with chaos andancient tales, and Nano was more
(01:51):
famous than the story of clan.
A hero whose fierce rage andbattle made him nearly
unstoppable, but also led him toa tragic end.
Cuchulainn, whose name means thehand of the clan.
One of the most famous storiesfrom Koochelain's youth took
place when he was still a boy.
(02:11):
He had been invited to a feastat the home of Kulan, a
blacksmith.
But as the feast went on, greatthreat appeared in the horizon.
And a group of marauding enemiessought to raid Ulster.
The warriors of the land weretoo far away to defend the
territory.
So it was left to young Saitantato stop the invaders.
His heart burning with the fireof a warrior, Satan grabbed his
(02:34):
s his slingshot and rushed outto meet the enemies.
When he arrived to Klan's home,he found the enemy setting their
sight on the people there.
Without hesitation, he picked upa large stone and began slinging
it with a deadly position.
Each stone hit its target,knocking down the enemy one
after the other.
But the most iconic moment camewhen Satanta was faced with the
(02:56):
leader of marauders holding hisgaibolg in one hand He charged
at the leader with suchintensity that the ground shook
beneath his feet.
To clarify, Gaibolg was, thestone, the sling he was using.
In a flash, the boy warriorstruck down the invader, saving
Kulan's home.
(03:18):
From that moment on, he wasknown as Kuchalain, the hound
who protected the people.
As Kuchalain grew older, so didhis fame and his rage.
A gift from the gods, hisstrength in battle was matched
Only by his uncontrollable fury,when he entered battle, he could
enter into what was known as theRastrad, or the Warp Spasm, a
(03:39):
terrifying battle frenzy thattransformed him into nearly an
unrecognizable figure.
His body would contort, his eyeswould glow with fire, and his
voice would become the roar of awild animal.
In this state, he wasunstoppable, taking down enemies
with ease.
(03:59):
One of the most famous instanceswith Gu Chon Lee, one of the
most famous instances ofCuchulain's rage occurred during
the Tainbo Kulhing.
This means the Cattle of Raid ofKuling, and I might have totally
biffed that, but I definitelyknow what that means.
Like the name means when hesingle handedly defended Ulster
(04:20):
against the armies of Qanach ledby Queen Meb, with no other
warriors able to fight due tothe curse placed on the men of
Ulster, Cuchulainn Stood alone,taking on wave after wave of
attackers.
Let the battle come.
He cried.
His voice booming over thebattlefield.
I will not yield.
The Warriors of Koch.
(04:40):
Were in awe of him.
One by one.
They fell before the might ofhis Gae Bolg, but Cuchulainn's
fury was never quenched.
His rage drove him to take theentire army, and he fought with
such ferocity that It seemed nomortal could stand against him.
But for all his glory,Cuchulainn's rage was his
downfall as well.
His thirst for battle led him toMake enemies with even the gods,
(05:05):
which is really tragic.
His greatest tragedy came when,after the cattle raid of Cooley,
the warrior was cursed by thegods and his destiny was sealed.
In the end, it was not a bladeor spear that claimed
Cuchulainn's life, but his ownrage.
After being mortally wounded inbattle by the spear of Lagide He
(05:25):
tied himself to a standingstone, refusing to fall even in
death.
The enemies who saw him standingthere still alive and bound to
the stone, dared not approachhim for fear of his legendary
wrath.
It wasn't until a raven perchedupon his shoulder that his
enemies knew he had fallen.
Let's talk about, thesignificant, cultural
(05:47):
significance of this story.
Cuchulainn is more than just awarrior.
He's a symbolic of a heroicideal in Irish mythology.
I should actually say Irishfolklore.
An ideal in Irish folklore, hisstory embodies the balance
between strength and flaw andhis unyielding will to protect
his people as the central themein Irish folklore.
(06:11):
In ancient Ireland, thewarrior's class was revered and
Cuchulainn's tale became adefining legend for what it
means to be a hero.
It exemplifies the voice ofhonor, loyalty, and the warrior
code.
However, his tragic end servesas a cautionary tale.
The very trait that made him ahero is his fierceness and his
(06:35):
determination also led to hisdestruction.
Chulainn's story is reflectiveof the broader Irish culture
reverence of warrior who foughtto protect their land and their
people.
His fierce spirit in battle wasseen as both a gift and a curse,
reminding the Irish thatgreatness often comes at a great
(06:56):
cost.
Kuchalain's story teaches usthat the ha Teaches us that
while courage, strength, andloyalty are noble traits, they
might They must be temporarywith wisdom and self control his
rage brought him power But italso led to his downfall the
lesson here is very clear.
(07:16):
Okay, here it is Listen up truestrength lies not in unchecked
fury But in ability to maintainbalance to recognize when to
fight and when to yield in theend, Cuchulainn's tale reminds
us that even the greatest heroesmust face the consequences of
their actions.
His legacy lives on as bothwarning and inspiration, showing
(07:37):
that both, that the path of herois not without its price.
Alright guys, it's time to myththis tale okay, the scripture I
chose today was Philippians 4verses 13, King James Version.
It quotes, I can do all thingsthrough Christ which strengthens
me.
One of my very favorite versesever.
(08:00):
And here's how it relates tothis tale.
Cuchulainn's superhuman featswere powered by his rage and
inner strength, yet his downfallcame from the uncontrolled
nature of his power.
This scripture encouragesstrength, but it also reminds us
that the true strength comesfrom Christ, aligned with
(08:20):
Cuchulainn's journey of innerconflict and the need for a
temperance.
Obviously, Cuchulainn didn'thave the ability to control,
this rage that was inside ofhim.
It reminds me of anotherscripture, one that I was
actually considering instead ofthis one, but I'll share, I'll
just share both of them.
(08:41):
Why not just, share both?
This one is Proverbs 16 verses32.
It says, He that is slow toanchor is better than the
mighty, and he that ruleth hisspirit than he that taketh a
city.
Huh, whoa, it's not so strong.
I love that verse.
Both of these verses combinedjust sums up this whole story.
(09:03):
What a cautionary tale that likeYour emotions can be so strong.
I can relate to this in analmost scary type of way have
you guys experienced this whereyou've just let your emotions
just like you, you felt themcompletely?
And it seems like that's All youcan feel and you just let it
control you for a whole day ortwo or three or five Like
(09:26):
sometimes I feel like myemotions seriously get to me And
i'm just like how do I can'tthink about anything else?
I literally cannot Reach up andover the emotion and it's just
so all consuming and i've had tolearn how to navigate my
emotions better.
(09:47):
You Sometimes I do a thing whereI feel something so strongly,
but I'm really good at massagingit and just pretending it's not
there at all.
And it just bubbles up andbecomes so big and huge.
I was reading this book and ithad this warrior in it and this
warrior was able to He was ableto control his emotions in a way
(10:08):
that like helped him okay, youguys might want to read this
book, but here I'll recommend itto you.
It's called The Will of theMany.
It's by James Islington the maincharacter, he's able to turn his
anger off and on, when he knowshe needs it.
And I thought it was super coolhow he used it, towards the end
(10:31):
to, really express his emotionsand how he felt.
Because sometimes you shouldn't,it's good to be honest,
obviously, but, it's Not allthings need to be said, okay?
Even if they're true.
And some things can be said innicer, kinder ways, okay?
(10:52):
But, I love how, this justteaches a lesson of just because
you could and you can doesn'tmean you should.
And also, just because you feelis right or you feel the
emotions doesn't mean it'salways right or good.
And sometimes a lot of peoplejust say that oh, I know this is
(11:15):
bad, but I'm using it for a goodthing.
I dunno, some of those grayareas, we really have to take a
step back and ask ourself, like,why are we doing this?
Like, why is this necessary?
With Kuchelain's rage, itliterally changed his physical
features.
Have you ever seen someone sored and so angry that you
(11:36):
literally can't be there becauseyou know that their fury or
their anger is just turns thewhole room sour.
I know I've experienced thatwith other people, I've
experienced that with myselfthose emotions are hard to
navigate.
But, For the, question of thisepisode, it is this.
Koochalang's rage led him togreat feats, but at what cost?
(12:02):
How can we harness our innerstrength and passion without
losing control?
How do you guys Look at yourselfand say, okay, wow.
It's like that meme that says,sometimes I'm like just so angry
that I have to tell myself tochill like that's dramatic.
One of my roommate's favoritesaying is it's not that deep
(12:25):
Just take a breather, gooutside, touch some grass.
I don't know, sometimes I haveto tell myself, it's not that
deep.
Chill out.
It's okay.
Everything, it's not about you.
Angry people hurt people andsometimes it's not about you.
Sometimes it's good to let ourrage take control because it can
be empowering and can let us dogreat things.
(12:45):
I know sometimes when people arelike, oh, you're not capable of
doing that, I'm like, watch me.
Literally watch me, I'm gonna doit.
It's not about them, it's aboutme proving to myself that I can
do something especially if Iwanted to do it before.
And when someone doubts you, andyou're like, I want to do this
thing, And they're like, oh, no,you're not capable of doing that
thing.
There's no way you can do it.
(13:07):
You can do hard things, but youcan't do that thing.
No, you can do hard things.
So you should go out and do thatthing.
Prove to yourself that you cando that thing.
Let that rage help you movethrough that.
But carefully navigate howyou're going to do that I know
when I am, like when, people,Expect something of me that I
(13:29):
expect of myself, and they'relike they doubt that I can do
that thing.
And I do it to impress them.
let Christ strengthen you andalso don't let your emotions get
in the way of greatness because.
Instead, use that power.
(13:50):
Use your emotions for greatnesslearn how to rule yourself and
instead of letting the worldrule you become a ruler of your
mind and a ruler of your bodyand a ruler of your habit and
what you say.
Become the king or queen ofyourself, of your voice, of your
(14:12):
mind.
Be cautious of what you saybecause it can be the downfall
of a kingdom or the build up andthe saving of a nation.
I'm going to close with thequestion again and I will put
this on my Instagram so you guyscan look at it.
But the question is this.
(14:33):
Ku Chulainn's rage led him togreat feats, but at what cost?
How can we harness our innerstrength and passion without
losing control?
Share how you would do this.
Share how you harnessed yourinner passion without losing
control and how you're able tohandle your mind and your body
okay guys.
I'll see you next time on myththis you guys have a great day
(14:56):
and remember that you are veryloved Bye