Intelligence Squared Why Are Ancient Myths Resurfacing in Modern Britain? With Zakia Sewell
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Mar 20, 2026 
Zakia Sewell, journalist, broadcaster and DJ, author of Finding Albion. She traces a modern folk revival through music, pagan rituals and seasonal celebrations. She explores Glastonbury gatherings, Carnival links to Caribbean traditions, and how myths are being repurposed to reshape British identity amid climate and political anxieties.
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Pentangle Concert Sparked A Lifelong Quest
- Zakia Sewell traced her fascination with an 'alternative Britain' to a 2008 Pentangle concert that her dad took her to.
- The band's fusion of traditional British folk with jazz and psychedelia acted as a gateway, sparking her lifelong quest into folk myths and rituals.
Albion As An Alternative Spirit Of Britain
- Albion is an older, mysterious name for Britain whose myths (Brutus, Albina) present the island as refuge for outsiders rather than imperial glory.
- Sewell uses Albion as an alternative spirit of Britain that lies beneath dominant national myths and requires digging to reveal.
Use The Wheel Of The Year To Reconnect
- The Wheel of the Year offers a practical framework to reconnect with seasonal rhythms through equinoxes, solstices and midpoints.
- Sewell describes it as a modern revival rooted in older Celtic practices used by neo-pagans to mark nature's cycles.
