Girl in a Bookshop with Regina de Búrca

Apr 30

Girl in a Bookshop

I am back with a new creative venture, The Celtic Creatives (formerly the Celtic School of Embodiment). This is a mythic village where we gather together to learn about creativity from Irish and wider Celtic mythology and invite this ancestral relationship and wisdom into our creative practice to enrich our sense of belonging (to one another and the world’s soul) and our wellbeing.

Bealtaine is a time of great creativity, especially mischief-making! Our folklore blooms with tales of the sídhe (fairies) and na cailleacha (witches) up to all sorts like robbing your butter, and of people casting piseógs, superstitious beliefs, charms and spells. To inspire your creative soul this Bealtaine, I share a conversation with Irish writer, Regina de Búrca. Here’s a little about what we explore:

Regina invites a ‘Creative Ancestor’ into our space, someone who has inspired her massively in her creativity
What it was like to be raised in a bookshop in the West of Ireland and how this fostered Regina’s love of the Irish language
What Regina’s creative process looks like
The benevolent forces that can help shape and guide our creative journey during painful times in our lives
How Irish mythology and folklore has influenced Regina’s creativity and felt sense of magic
A myth that Regina would willingly walk into
The importance of keeping our stories alive through a diversity of voices. Allowing our mythology and folklore to evolve for these times
How might we become good Creative Ancestors for the generations to follow

About Regina:

Regina de Búrca was raised in a bookshop in the West of Ireland, where her fascination with the Irish language and mythology began. In 2010, she graduated with an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University in England and has had various short stories published since then. She has been an editor of the online speculative fiction magazine 'The Future Fire' since 2009. She was commissioned to write a children's version of 'Dracula' by an educational publisher in 2014. In 2021, she produced the first Irish language version of the Rider Waite Tarot deck. In May 2022, she was shortlisted for the Minds Shine Bright short story competition for a story about a Sheela-na-Gig. In Spring 2024, she launched Journey through the Tarot via Irish Herstory on Substack, a series of posts that connect historic Irish women to each of the 78 Rider-Waite Tarot cards.

Substack: Journey through the Tarot via Irish Herstory

Website: Irish Rider Waite Tarot (where you can learn more about Regina, book a tarot reading, or order the tarot as Gaeilge)

Instagram: rdeburca