Living with the Old Gods
Like Duolingo, but for Living with the Old Gods. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
A short one: 26 levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Spotting Magic in the Wild, Celebrating the Turning Year, and Meeting the Tribes of the Gods. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Living with the Old Gods
- A lone tree is often a marker for a 'fairy path' or a portal to the Otherworld
- Solitary trees are believed to be inhabited or guarded by the Aos Sí (fairies)
- Damaging a fairy thorn leads to personal misfortune or physical illness
- The disruption of the tree causes the loss of livestock or farm productivity
- The traditional consequences of damaging a fairy thorn
- The tree acts as a liminal space where two worlds meet
- Respecting the boundary prevents spiritual disruption in the human realm
- Fairy forts are actually Iron Age ringforts
- Supernatural retribution as a deterrent
- Defensive structures as spiritual boundaries
- Underground storage as entry points
- Relationship between physical features and interpretation
- The perception of fairy forts as active dwellings
- The overlap of history and magic
- Cultural taboos as conservation
- Physical features and magical interpretations
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Living with the Old Gods the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Who is traditionally believed to inhabit or guard a lone tree in the Irish countryside?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
Where Living with the Old Gods takes you
Discover the magic of ancient Ireland through the lens of the landscape itself. Learn how to spot the traces of the gods in the hills, celebrate the turning seasons, and understand the myths that still shape Irish culture today.
- 1
Spotting Magic in the Wild
- Why You Shouldn't Touch a Lone Hawthorn Tree
- The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Forts
- How to Leave an Offering for the Good People
- Finding the Sacred in Wells and Springs
- 2
Celebrating the Turning Year
- Samhain: When the Veil Grows Thin
- Imbolc: Welcoming the First Signs of Spring
- Bealtaine: Lighting the Great Fires
- Lughnasadh: The Festival of the Harvest
- How the Sun Aligns with Ancient Tombs
- Creating Your Own Seasonal Ritual
- 3
Meeting the Tribes of the Gods
- The Morrigan: Goddess of War and Fate
- The Dagda and His Magic Cauldron
- Brigid: From Fiery Goddess to Saint
3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Living with the Old Gods is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Living with the Old Gods today.
Download Tomo, search Living with the Old Gods, and play your first lesson in under a minute.