This week we look at the Nu Gui, in our last episode on the dark feminine in Japanese and Chinese folklore. The Nu Gui is a vengeful female ghost, often appearing with long black hair and a white dress. A popular figure in movies and animation, we look at different appearances of the Nu Gui and their implications in culture and psychology.
This week we look at the Chinese goddess Xiwangmu, known as the Queen Mother of the West. Originally a shamanic goddess with the ferocious attributes of a tiger, she later gains a reputation as a compassionate mother, eclipsed later by Kuan Yin in importance.
This week we look at Izanami, the central female deity of Japanese creation and death mythology. Izanami and her brother/husband Izanagi create the firmaments of the earth and all of the elements; however, at Izanami's death she becomes a demonic figure that chases after Izanagi when he betrays a promise to her.
This week we talk about the Kitsune, or fox spirits of Japanese folklore. They can shapeshift into human form, and can be helpful to humans, or destroy them. Identified by multiple tales and sometimes white fur, these often feminine spirits are the ultimate tricksters.
This week we begin a series on dark feminine figures in Japanese and Chinese folklore, starting with the Oni. "Oni" means "demon", and they can be male or female, but in this episode we will focus on female Oni. Several folktales of these vengeful demons are included in the episode.
This week we look at Babalon, who has her origins in the Biblical Whore of Babylon, but has become a kind of magical deity in her own right, specifically in Aleister Crowley's Thelema. In this slightly longer episode, we talk about 3 different "Babalons" in Biblical and esoteric tradition.
In this week's episode we look at Night goddesses, particularly the Greek goddess Nyx and her Roman counterpart Nox, and the Egyptian goddess Nut. These mysterious goddesses have the protective aspects of a mother, but are also feared for their mystery and power.
This week we return to Greece and Rome to look at the queen of the gods, Hera, and her Roman counterpart Juno. This proper matron of respectable marriage has an incredibly dark reputation for deception, madness, and attempted murder.
This week we look at Tiamat, the primordial sea goddess of the Enuma Elish. She battles Marduk and is defeated, and the firmaments of the world are created through her body. She is generally considered to be a monster or sea dragon that embodies primordial chaos. We relate her story to the myths of the Hittite Illuyanka, the Greek Python, and the Biblical Leviathan.
This week's podcast talks about Cerridwen, the Welsh enchantress associated with a magical cauldron of knowledge. A series of mishaps with the exploding cauldron lead to the birth of the bard Taliesin, which has indirectly linked her to the Grail legend, and given her goddess status.
This week we look at the Norse goddess Hel, the daughter of the trickster god Loki, and ruler of the regions under the earth, where most humans went after death. As you might imagine, her name is the root of the modern word Hell, and the connection between the female goddess and the later-named place […]
This week we look at the Egyptian goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris who brings life to his dead body, and becomes pregnant with the god Horus. As a queen of magical power and a mother figure, she is associated with protection of the dead. Like many goddesses of her time, she also has a […]
Just in time for Easter, this second podcast on Dionysus looks at the Orphic concept of the god as successor to Zeus, and as the archetype for the divine savior, later embodied in the mythology of Jesus. Source used in video: The God Who Comes: Dionysian Mysteries Revealed by Rosemarie Taylor-Perry. Algora Publishing, 2003 Music: […]
Welcome to the 50th episode of Chthonia! This week we look at the mysterious figure of Dionysus, in the first of a two part podcast. Dionysus is the god of wine, an egalitarian deity who can be directly experienced through drinking wine. In this episode we look at the Homeric Dionysus, the one portrayed in the Homeric Hymns, and we will look at his connection to the Divine Feminine.
This week we talk about Hawaii's volatile volcano goddess and her role in shaping and protecting the islands, as well as her explosive relationship with her sister and her friends. She represents the dual nature of fire, in both its creative and destructive aspects. Music: Adpated from "Secret Door" by Anastasia Vronski, [CC 4.0] URL: […]
This week's podcast is about Erzulie, a family of Voodoo loas connected to water, and to the Feminine in its various forms. We look at two of the loas in particular; Erzulie Freda, associated with love and sex, and Erzulie Dantor, a fierce protector figure often associated with the Black Madonna. Music: Intro adapted from […]
Oya is the powerful Yorùbá Orisha of the winds and tempests. She is considered either the sister of the Orisha of storms Shango, or one of His three wives, with Oshun and Oba. She is a fierce protector of women who uses her machete to clear the dead wood path and make way for the new. We […]
This week we look at Pomba Gira, sometimes a single term for a powerful female spirit, at other times the title of a group of spirits. A spirit with many avatars, most notably Maria Molambo (Maria of the Trash), Pomba Gira is a highly sexualized and sometimes dangerous female figure in the Afro-Brazilian rituals of […]
The first podcast of 2021 focuses on the loa Maman Brigitte, a hard drinking, sensual spirit that protects the unrepresented dead, and has a very direct relationship to the Irish goddess (and saint) Brigid. Music: Adapted from "Secret Door" by Anastasia Vronski, [CC 4.0] URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Anastasia_Vronski/Estrangements_volume_2/09_-_Secret_DoorComments : http://freemusicarchive.org/Copyright : Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-s...
In this last podcast for 2020, we look at the Hans Christian Andersen tale of the Snow Queen, the very loose basis for the film "Frozen", and like many fairy tales, loaded with symbolism–in this case, about the struggle for love and connection in a cold, analytical world.
It is December, and for this month I am feature winter themes. Today we talk about Skadi, the Scandanavian jötunn (giantess/ancient goddess, similar to a Titan in Greek mythology), who is the embodiment of winter, and is associated with bowhunting, skiing, and mountains. In this episode we look at Skadi's thirst for revenge over her […]
We end the month of November with a look at the Egyptian goddess Taweret, a hippopotamus goddess who was the wife of Set and a ferocious protector of children. Like many dark goddesses, her attributes seemed to change over time, making her more benevolent.
This episode looks at the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, who is considered to be an aspect of the goddess Hathor, and sometimes also the goddess Bast. She is the "eye of Ra", and represents the destructive wrath of the "noonday sun" that burns up everything around it.
Happy Samhain! This year's Samhain/Halloween episode is about the Morrigan, the Irish goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty. Last year I interviewed Aepril Schaile about the Morrigan; this year it's just me, talking about all of the aspects of the Morrigan, and a little about my new book coming soon, "The Morrigan Timelines".
In our last podcast on the Ashta Matrikas, we look at Narasimhi, the fierce lion-headed matrika that is the Shakti of Narasimha, another fierce avatar of Vishnu. Not to be tampered with lightly, she is also known as Pratyangira, the destroyer of black magic.
This week we talk about the Matrika Varahi, the Shakti of Varaha, the boar-headed avatar of Vishnu, and a ratridevata (night goddess) associated with left-hand Tantric practices. She is sometimes called Yami, and considered to be the consort of Yama, the god of death. We look at the complexity of her symbolism, with a boar […]
The matrika Vaishnavi is the shakti of Vishnu's avatar, Vaishnava, in which Vishnu takes the form of a boar and rescues the Earth Mother when she is plunged into the primordial waters. Her weapon is the discus or chakra, showing her connection to the cycle of time. This podcast looks at the multiple aspects of […]
This week's podcast looks at Maheswari, the literal shakti of Shiva (Maheswar). She embodies the vice of anger, and like Shiva himself is a destroyer, and is associated with tamas (darkness). However, like Shiva himself, she is too complex to summarize her nature in a few words, embodying both inauspicious and auspicious qualities.
Brahmi is the shakti of Brahma, the Creator of the Universe in Hindu mythology. She is largely an auspicious deity, but is associated with the vice of pride, and battles the demons of the Chandi Path with water–bringing us back to the dangers of the flood. In this podcast we look at the possible meanings […]
Indrani, also known as Aindri or Mahendri, is the Queen of the Hindu gods, wife of Indra. She is also a Matrika, associated with the vice of jealousy. For such a beautiful and desirable goddess, she also has a very dark side–and is similar to the Greek/Roman goddess Hera/Juno, who–for all of her proper, civilized […]
