Magus #11: Merlin

About this episode

This episode explores the evolution and cultural significance of Merlin, the iconic wizard, through various historical and mythological lenses.

This month on Magus we're discussing maybe the most influential wizard of all time, and a true original - it's only flippin' Merlin! We track his development through prehistory via the archetype of the "Lord of Ecstasy" - a deific entity who appears in mythologies from all over the world. In addition to exploring his British precedents in the form of the Northern and Scots Lowland wild man of the woods Lailoken and the Welsh version of that same character in the form of Myrddin Wyllt, we also marinade ourselves in the swell of "Arthurian" stories that rose and sloshed about across the Medieval era. After he's given the name 'Merlinus' by Geoffrey of Monmouth though, Merlin becomes central to not just tales of Camelot but the propaganda of a slew of European kings. We track how, across the British Isles, his identity continues to twist and mutate - befitting the Latin title of his forebears, homo silvaticus . Though at the same time, across the English Channel, the French and central European courts thought of Merlin as one of the great masters of 'Natural Magic.' Born of a demon and a virgin princess, to alchemists and occultists from Cornelius Agrippa to the Brotherhood of the…

People in this episode

Host: Three Ravens

Topics covered

• Merlin
• Arthurian legends
• mythology
• natural magic
• cultural influence
• historical figures

Keywords

• Merlin
• Arthurian
• mythology
• natural magic
• historical figures
• Lailoken
• Myrddin Wyllt
• Geoffrey of Monmouth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Disney, Brotherhood of the Golden Dawn, Cornelius Agrippa

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