Podcasts about Germanic

In this episode we get the inside scoop on Leupold's brand-new BX-6 Range HD binocular, which has optical quality that competes with the big Germanic brands, a 6,000-yard rangefinder, on-board atmospheric sensors, and the most capable ballistic brain on the market. Oh—and it pairs with onX Maps and several other popular GPS mapping apps and projects waypoints way out there... up to a couple of miles!  Many thanks to Leupold's Tim Lesser, who sat down with us and shared the inside story on this incredibly capable new optic... plus great insight on the new VX-4HD line of hunting scopes. ENJOY!      FRIENDS, PLEASE SUPPORT THE PODCAST!  Join the Backcountry Hunting Podcast tribe and get access to all our bonus material on www.patreon.com/backcountry Email us questions here: backcountryhuntingpodcast@gmail.com   VISIT OUR SPONSORS HERE:  www.swiftbullets.com www.timneytriggers.com www.browning.com www.leupold.com www.siembidacustomknives.com www.onxmaps.com www.silencercentral.com https://www.portersfirearms.com/ https://javelinbipod.com  

Jon and Ron dive in and share some of their "first favorites" from the third volume of Tolkien's Collected Poetry. We talk nostalgia, Germanic sagas, and limmericks. (Basically, we're all over the place when Jasmine isn't here!)

Episode 206 - Fan favorite, Anthony Basso, is back on the mic with Nathanael Rea to explore the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, focusing on the evangelization of the Germanic peoples, the impact of Islam, the role of Charles Martel, and the significance of Charlemagne as a Christian king. It also delves into the development of monastic life and the influence of Irish monasticism on the church.

This episode explores the background of the Czar reduced to tears after the Battle of Austerlitz. Many readers know little of the ruler Nicholas Rostov and countless officers were so devoted to.Over the last few years, you may have watched Ridley Scott's film “Napoleon.” I argue that the casting of Alexandr embraces a view of the filmmaker that aligns with the perception the fictional Nicholas held.  Edouard Philipponnat as Alexandr was the standout in the film and embraced a youthful exuberance. Handsome and dashing, Scott captured the energy that Tolstoy depicts.  Should you view a portrait of Alexandr, however, you will not see the equivalent of an Edourd or Brad Pitt. You will discover something that fits of Alexander Pushkin's description of Alexandr of being a “Balding Dandy.” Pushkin was exiled by Alexandr for anti-Czarist sentiments.Napoleon even wrote Josephine in 1807: “I am satisfied with Alexander and he ought to be satisfied with me. If he were a woman, I think I would make him my mistress.” Historically, the opposite may have been true.  Alexandr may have taken up an affair with Josephine and assuredly did so with numerous beautiful and intelligent woman of the aristocracy.More Importantly, Alexandr has a fascinating background which contributes to turning him into the lamenting Sovereign at Austerlitz.Alexander's grandfather was Peter III, who was born in northern German speaking lands and was also, for a time, the presumptive heir for the throne of Sweden. Peter served as Czar for only six months before his wife, Catherine, plotted to overthrew him in 1762. Catherine was Germanic royalty who converted to Orthodoxy upon her marriage. Catherine moved quickly against her husband, who she regarded as lacking sense and maturity. She also considered him a drunk.  Nevertheless, some German historians find Peter to be cultured and open-minded. Peter did have an openness to adapting European technology and placed the sciences on a prestigious level. After the coup, Peter was held in a prison and likely strangled.  The official account was that the cause was a stroke or bowel obstruction. Catherine then ruled as regent for her son Paul, but never gave up any authority when Paul became of-age, around 1772. Catherine alleged, in memoirs and conversation, that Paul was sired by one of her lovers, which would mean Alexandr was not of any so-called Royal blood.  Nevertheless, she took notable efforts to educate Paul's two sons, Alexandr and Konstantin.When Catherine died in 1796, Paul assumed leadership and met a similar end as Peter after a five year reign. Paul shares a complex reputation and was quite notably influenced by his love of Prussia, especially their military.  Paul was most assuredly strangled in 1801.  This second murder of a Czar within 40 years is what brought Alexandr (then 23) to the throne.As referenced, Catherine dedicated time to instruct Alexandr and his brother Konstantin. She would relay the importance of the French Revolution and read to them the Declaration of the Rights of Man. More consequentially, Catherine assigned Alexandr a Swiss tutor, Frédéric-César de La Harpe, to teach Enlightenment ideals. For generations, aristocratic households were commonly hiring French and Swiss educators. Peter the Great had a Swiss soldier and advisor, François Lefort, instruct him on how to follow the path of Europe.Alexandr took to his Swiss tutor and had a keen mind toward European ways. As soon as he became Czar, he put aspects of his education into practice, including creating an intellectual inner circle. Early on, this close group planned various reforms such as easing censorship and planning for a Constitution of the type sprouting around Europe.There was a recognition that serfs were the agricultural and military backbone – but this system would eventually have to change. Alexandr desired phase out serfdom but it didn't end until 1861. Alexandr went as far as issuing a voluntary decree - noting landowners could free their serfs and give them land if they desired. He understood what could and could not be done.Reports are that Alexandr considered himself to be inspired – something of a Chosen One. He felt it was ordained that he would prevail at the pivotal battle at Austerlitz, which he chose to be present at. The all-encompassing loss caused him to become utterly devastated.

SPONSORS: 1) BLUECHEW: Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code JULIAN at BlueChew.com. Visit https://BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information. 2) MOOD: MOOD: Get 20% off your first order of federally legal, hemp-derived cannabis gummies, flower, and more at https://mood.com with promo code JULIAN. JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey WATCH PREVIOUS EPISODES w/ TOLDINSTONE: Episode 251: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wjoqdFMl75spLxkO8x4vr?si=849fdfd7cf0a4c15 Episode 252: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZkNpepvo3jBVEnRK16cNk?si=88cb295a88cd465a (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Garrett Ryan ("Toldinstone") is an Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece Historian, PhD, Author & YouTuber. You can find him here:  @toldinstone  GARRETT's LINKS: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@toldinstone WEBSITE: https://toldinstone.com/ FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 0:00 – Intro 01:26 – PhD life, Gladiator vs Gladiator II, Roman espionage, Sertorius, Arminius, Salamis 11:40 – Late Empire armies, Germans, Hadrian's Wall, Persian power, standing army costs 23:58 – Alexander the Great, Macedonian cavalry, speed of conquest, Persian collapse 34:01 – Roman taxes, cities as culture, multicultural empire, governing at scale 47:52 – Byzantine beacons, Pantheon engineering, pirates, Roman shipping 01:03:08 – Rome, WWII damage, Mussolini, churches, St. Peter's legacy 01:15:20 – The Vatican, Egypt Links Rome in Britain, founding London 01:29:06 – Caesar in Britain & Cleopatra 01:37:37 – Eastern vs Western Empire, Pompey, conquest strategy 01:49:05 – Greek influence on Rome, Homer, The Odyssey & The Iliad 01:58:22 – Origins of Greek myth, Rosetta Stone, canon of the gods 02:10:58 – Greek gods, afterlife, mystery cults, Christianity parallels 02:21:52 – Greek philosophy, Plato, Archimedes, science 02:33:26 – Daily life in Greece, slavery, Sparta 02:43:54 – Spartan warfare, fitness, Olympic roots 02:50:43 – Rome's fall, Germanic tribes, decay from within, America vs Rome 03:01:17 – Toldinstone's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 380 - Garrett Ryan Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts Professor, the genius behind AppalachianInkling.com, Hunger Games expert, and author of Milton, Spenser and the Chronicles of Narnia: Literary Sources for the C.S. Lewis Novels, joined Nick and John to discuss the Charm Bracelet that J. K. Rowling posted on her Twixter home page as a Christmas gift to her readers. She said that that the thirteen charms on nine links were a set of clues about the next Strike novel, the ninth in a ten book series.In the first Part of Elizabeth, Nick, and John's conversation, they discussed Rowling's charm bracelet history, speculated about why she posted this picture when she did, decided to look at each charm on the bracelet for its stand-alone meaning and its place in the nine link set, and to read the whole series as if it were a ring composition, one reflecting a nine Part structure in Strike 9. They then made deep dives into the details of each charm: the heart shaped box containing a ‘You and Me' engagement ring, a golden diamond-laden egg, a foul anchor, two angels, and a Trojan horse.In this second Part of that conversation, the trio of Serious Strikers continue with the remaining charms on the bracelet, namely, a Jack-in-the-box, an Hourglass, a White Rose and Crocodile, a Corvid head, and a Psalter paired on the last link with the Head of Persephone. They share their thoughts, too, about the bracelet as a symbolic integer and its ring meaning.The notes below are in support of references they make mid-flight and to other resources of interest to Magic Charm Decoders! Enjoy.Thank you to all our subscribers with special gratitude and appreciations for our paid subscribers; you are the wind in our sails, the heat from our vents… Serious Strikers are reading Browning's The Ring and the Book, charting Hallmarked Man Part Six, and reviewing the Myth of Cupid and Psyche to look for parallels in the Strike-Ellacott series. See you soon!Jack-in-the-Box Charm* Rowling claims this as her favorite charm (Nick and John in the conversation mistakenly attribute this preference to the Psalter charm):* Badly Wired Lamp ID'd it* Is it a devil — or a Racoon?* The jack in the box toy, the 'Jack' being a devil, was invented in Germany in the 16th century as a mockery of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. * The shape of this charm, the golden circular center in the inside of the open box top, represents the transcendent spiritual realm and the square bottom with its four directions, the fallen world. The ‘jack' devil lives in the latter but is from the former.* The charm is the third latched object in the chain, the heart box and Trojan horse preceding it and the psalter at chain's end following it — which means the ring latch and center are latched objects with surprises inside. The two interior objects at center have deadly surprises and the beginning and end eternal life interiors. The symbolism here is of the human being and its capacity via choice for either spiritual perfection in sacrificial love (anteros) or consumption by individual desires (eros). The thing hidden inside, man's spiritual capacity or heart, is either light or darkness, the inside bigger than the outside. (John)* What is the Strike 9 connection, the analogue to the demonic Jack in the box? Is it RFM? Uncle Ted? Ilsa's husband Nick? Polworth?* The Jack's position is at the center of the bracelet and between the hourglass and the Trojan horse. So it's placed between cleverness and craftiness and things that we can control and bad surprises, but also time, because we can't control time. (Elizabeth)Hourglass Charm* tempus fugit ‘like sand in an hourglass'* memento mori* infinite symbol* The Strike series may be a collection of mystery-story genres, each one illustrating a unique type of story, different from all the others while keeping the same core of characters and overarching narrative (cf., Rowling's note in The Running Grave acknowledgements that that book was her “cult” book). The hourglass, then, may be Rowling's pointer to Strike9 being a suspense drama in which the good guys not only have a challenging mission (find and rescue the missing Robin, Strike, Lucy, Pat, whomever) but have to do it before a literal deadline arrives. The Ticking Clock plot device.* If the Jack at link five is the center of the bracelet ring of nine links, how does the hourglass mirror the Trojan horse? It's two parts? The deadline aspect? “Reveal the crazies inside before the hourglass empties”?White Rose Charm* White Rose of Yorkshire* The interior of the flower charm is a literal Turtleback or ring composition diagram.* White Rose of Dante: Paradiso Cantos XXXI and XXXIIThe true home of all the blessed is with God in the Empyrean, a heaven of pure light beyond time and space. Dante sees the blessed systematically arranged in an immense white rose: like a hologram, a three-dimensional image, the rose is formed from a ray of light reflected off the outer surface of the Primum Mobile (30.106-17). The queen of this white rose is the Virgin Mary, traditionally represented as a rose herself (see Par. 23.73-4). This celestial rose recalls large rose windows of Gothic cathedrals, many of which are dedicated to Mary. The image of the rose, often red, is also used to represent Christ or, in other contexts, earthly love. The white rose is symmetrically structured according to various criteria, including belief, age, and gender. One half of the rose, already full, holds those who, according to Christian tradition, believed in Christ to come (the blessed of the Hebrew Bible); the other half, with only a few seats still unoccupied, contains those who believed in Christ already come (saved Christians). Two gendered rows mark this division of the rose in two halves. In the row below Mary appear women of the Hebrew Bible (Eve, Rachel, Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, Ruth, and unnamed others); Beatrice is seated next to Rachel, on the third row from the top. Opposite Mary, John the Baptist heads a row of men containing Francis, Benedict, Augustine, and other Christian fathers. Mary is flanked by Adam (first man) and Moses on one side, and Peter (first pope) and John the Evangelist on the other. John the Baptist is flanked by Lucy on one side and Anna, the mother of Mary, on the other. While only adults are seated in the upper section of the rose, below a certain line the rose contains souls of blessed children, their precise location based not on their own merits (since they lacked the power of free will) but on predestination. As physical laws do not apply in the Empyrean, Dante's ability to see these figures is not diminished by distance (30.118-23; 31.76-8).* White Rose of Mockingjay (Hunger Games finale)The prevailing symbol of Catching Fire and the most meaningful token the Christ figure of the series gives Katniss is a pearl, the solid-light symbolism of which we've discussed before. I think Commander Paylor's name may be our last Madge-Pearl-Mags name reference in being a “pale orb.” That gold and pearls have a similar translucency and metaphysical correspondence with the ‘Light of the World' make the twin possibilities that much more rich — and Commander Paylor's ascending to Panem's Presidency that much more meaningful and appropriate.Katniss steps into the Garden with the Pearl's blessing (“on my authority”) and discovers roses of every possible color. There are red, of course, and “lush pink, sunset orange, and even pale blue.” She knows what she wants, though; the rose colored like light, the white rose, Dante's symbolic prelude to the beatific vision and transcendence. Just as she cuts the “magnificent white bud just about to open” “from the top of a slender bush” (ibid, p. 355), the manacled, “pale, sickly green” President Snow, our snake in the Garden, speaks.“The colors, are lovely, of course, but nothing says perfection like white.”Our story Satan, you recall, left her a white rose in District 12 in chapter 1 and dropped roses with the bunker buster bombs in Part 1 to terrify Katniss. Now we know why. He was taunting her with her end, that as a seeker's soul he knew her goal was perfection in Christ and taunted her with it, especially when he held Peeta-Christ and understood the cartharsis and chrysalis she would have to pass through to claim it herself. Now that she is in the inner sanctuary, the High Place, he tells her the truth she could not hear anywhere else, the final, ugly truth about the cause for which Katniss had sacrificed everything. Snow reveals, just as Peeta had told her at the story's start, that she was deceived by those she trusted. President Coin killed Primrose with a weapon designed by Gale.Having been to the Absolute center, the world navel, and taken away the beatific vision as a white rose, Katniss is no longer a seeker but the resolution of contraries, an androgyn of justice and mercy. She is above right and wrong now as the phoenix-mockingjay and hears the voice of the “murderer” on the Hanging Tree at last. She deceives President Coin at the Victors Meeting as something of an avenging angel; she becomes a murderer herself by assassinating President Coin. Peeta-Christ comes down from the tree as her savior once again and prevents her suicide via Nightlock by his out-of-nowhere intervention.* Why does the White Rose share the seventh bracelet link with a crocodile? Faerie Queene!Crocodile Charm* The Crocodile in Shed, crocodile skin handbags (Hallmarked Man) “Maybe the4 crocodile or whatever they're keeping in the shed's chewed its way out,” said Strike. “ (Chapter 22, p 176; center chapter of Part 2)* Crocodile entry, Cirlot's Dictionary of SymbolismCrocodile Two basically different aspects of the crocodile are blended in its symbolic meaning, representing the influence upon the animal of two of the four Elements. In the first place, because of it viciousness and destructive power, the crocodile came to signify fury and evil in Egyptian hieroglyphics (19); in the second place, since it inhabits a realm intermediate between earth and water, and is associated with mud and vegetation, it came to be thought of as an emblem of fecundity and power (50). In the opinion of Mertens Stienon there is a third aspct, deriving from its resemblance to the dragon and the serpent, as a symbol of knowledge. In Egypt, the dead used to be portrayed transformed into crocodiles of knowledge, an idea which is linked with that of the zodiacal sign of Capricorn. Blavatsky compares the crocodile with the Kumara of India (40). Then, finally, come the symbols of Inversion proper and of rebirth. (67)* Lyndy Abraham's Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery entry for ‘Crocodile:'Crocodile The mercurial *serpent or transforming arcanum in its initial chthonic aspect during the dark, destructive opening of the opus alchymicum. Like the *bee, the crocodile was classified as a serpent in te bestiaries of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The amphibious nature of the crocodile made it an apt symbol for the dual-natured *Mercurius. When Lepidus in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra says, ‘Your serpent of Egypt is bred of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile' (2.7.26-7), he is referring to the generation of gold in the earth, and the generation of the mercurial serpent through the heat of the secret *fire or ‘sun'. With the phrase ‘operation of your sun' Lepidus also alludes to the final law of the alchemical Emerald Table: ‘That which I had to say about the operation of the Sun is completed' (48)* Sandy Hope on Crocodile symbolismIsis Church crocodile in Faerie Queene: Book 5, Canto VIIBook V Canto vii. The speaker praises the virtue of justice and cites Osyris as an example of the just man. His wife, Isis, represented equity and to the Temple of Isis Britomart and Talus come to spend the night. Talus, however, is not allowed into the temple. Britomart enters and sees a statue of Isis with her foot on a crocodile. The temple is also full of the priests of Isis who are not allowed to drink wine as it leads to rebellion. Britomart sleeps under the statue of Isis and dreams that the crocodile comes alive and threatens the Goddess. The Goddess subdues the crocodile and it becomes meek and then impregnates the Goddess. She gives birth to a lion which conquers all other beats. Britomart awakes and tells her troubling dream to a priest. He tells her that the crocodile represents Arthegall, Isis represents Britomart, and the lion their son whom they will conceive. Grateful for the interpretation, Britomart leaves and comes to Radigund's castle. Radigund and Britomart battle, Britomart is wounded in the shoulder, and finally Britomart beheads Radigund. Talus enters the castle and wreaks carnage on the Amazon women inside. Britomart finds Arthegall dressed, like other, in women's clothing. she is shamed by the sight, and it is not quite clear whether her suspicions that Arthegall has been unfaithful are confirmed or refuted. She finds Arthegall some armour, arms him, and the rest in the castle. during this time Britomart rules as a princess and reforms the Amazon society so that women are restored to proper subjection to men. Finally, Arthegall leaves to complete his quest against Grantorto. Britomart lets him leave because she knows that his success in this quest is important to restore his ego. After residing further at the Amazon castle she finally leaves to help keep her mind off the absent Arthegall.* The Spenser Encyclopedia entry for ‘Church of Isis:' (408) Clifford DavidsonWhen Britomart spends the night in the temple, she sees a ‘wondrous vision' in which she participates first as a votary of Isis and then as the goddess herself. Her devotion to the statue causes her to become Isis in her dream: she is serving at the altar when she sees herself transformed into Isis but wearing the royal robe. The crocodile awakens, devours the flames which threaten to destroy the temple, and threatens to eat Isis/Britomart until it is driven back by her rod. Then it seeks her ‘grace and love,' she yields, it impregnates her, and from their union she gives birth to a lion. As the Priest explains, the crocodile is Osiris (the Egyptian god of Justice) who sleeps under the feet of Isis ‘To shew that clemence oft in things amis,/ Restraines those sterne behests, and cruell doomes of his' (22), and who shows thereby the proper relation of justice and judgment to equity. The Priest also explains to Britomart that the crocodile is Artegall, ‘The righteous Knight,' who will settle the storms and ‘raging flames, that many foes shall reare' and restore to her the heritage of her throne, and who will give her a ‘Lion like' son (23), the new British monarchy of the Tudors.The crocodile is a symbol both of guile and of a regeneration that will affect future history. As guile, its relation to Isis is reminiscent of Vice figures under the feet of triumphing Virtues in medieval art. An iconographic association between the crocodile in its demonic aspect and medieval saints' legends derives ultimately – significantly for Spenser – from the classical figure of Britomartis (Miskimin 1978). In Plutarch's Isis and Osiris 50, it is linked to Typhon, the enemy of justice and order, while in Renaissance iconographic tradition it is often symbolic of the need for prudence (for one must be prudent to avoid the wily crocodile). Cesare Ripa's Iconologia (sv Lussuria) shows the nude Luxury (or Lechery) seated upon a crocodile, an interesting analogy to its phallic sexuality in Britomart's dream. Yet along with these primarily negative associations, there are also positive ones in the crocodile's identification with Osiris/Artegall/Justice and in the implication that Isis/Britomart/Equity is incomplete without her partner. The image contains its own contradiction, unresolved by the Priest.* Troubled Blood and Faerie Queene: Where Britobart and Artegall are used as stand-ins for Robin and Cormoran:Troubled Blood features several embedded texts, the most important of which is never mentioned in the book: Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen. Serious Strikers enjoyed the luxury of not one but two scholars of Edmund Spenser who checked in on the relevance and meaning of Rowling's choice of the greatest English epic poem for her epigraphs, not to mention the host of correspondences between Strike 5 and Queen. Elizabeth Baird-Hardy did a part by part exegesis of the Troubled Blood-Faerie Queen conjunctions and Beatrice Groves shared her first thoughts on the connections as well. Just as Lethal White's meaning and artistry is relatively unappreciated without a close reading of Ibsen's Rosmersholm, so with Strike 5 and Faerie Queen.Elizabeth Baird-Hardy* Day One, Part One: The Spenserian Epigraphs of the Pre-Released Troubled Blood Chapters* Day Two, Part Two: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Eight to Fourteen* Day Three, Part Three: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Fifteen to Thirty* Day Four, Part Four: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Thirty One to Forty Eight* Day Five, Part Five: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Forty Nine to Fifty Nine* Part Six: The Spenserian Epigraphs of Troubled Blood Chapters Sixty to Seventy One* Spenser and Strike Part Seven: Changes for the BetterBeatrice Groves* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 1): Spenserian Clues in Troubled Blood Epigraphs* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 2): Shipping Robin and Strike in the Epigraphs of Troubled Blood* Trouble in Faerie Land (Part 3): Searching for Duessa in Troubled BloodJohn Granger:* How Spenser Uses Cupid in Faerie Queen and Its Relevance for Understanding Troubled Blood* Reading Troubled Blood as a Medieval Morality PlayCorvid Charm* Rowling Twixter headers: 12 January 2016, 9 April 2017 (Nick)* Fantastic Beasts reference? The Lestrange Family Motto features a crow and the ‘Lost Child' of that series is named ‘Corvus'* Crow Symbolism per Cirlot, Dictionary of Symbols:Crow Because of its black colour, the crow is associated with the idea of beginning (as expressed in such symbols as the maternal night, primigenial darkness, the fertilizing earth). Because it is also associated with the atmosphere, it is a symbol for creative, demiurgic power and for spiritual strength. Because of its flight, it is considered a messenger. And, in sum, the crow has been invested by many primitive peoples with far-reaching cosmic significance. Indeed, for the Red Indians of North America it is the great civilizer and the creator of the visible world. It has a similar meaning for the Celts and the Germanic tribes, as well as in Siberia (35). In the classical cultures it no longer possesses such wide implications, but it does still retain certain mystic powers and in particular the ability to foresee the future; hence its claw played a special part in rites of divination (8). In Christian symbolism it is an allegory of solitude. Amongst the alchemists it recovers some of the original characteristics ascribed to it by the primitives, standing in particular for nigredo, or the initial state which is both the inherent characteristic of prime matter and the condition produced by separating out the Elements (putrefactio) … In Beaumont's view, the crow in itself signifies the isolation of him who lives on a superior plane (5), this being the symbolism in general of all solitary birds. (71-72)* Lyndy Abraham's Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery entry for ‘Crow:' (49)Crow, crow's head, crow's bill A symbol of the *putrefaction and *black nigredo which is the first stge of the opus alchymicum. The old body of the metal or matter for the Stone is dissolved and putrefied into the first matter of *creation, the *prima materia, so that it may be regenerated and cast into a new form. The Hermetis Trismegisti Tractatus Aureus said of this initial stage of death and dissolution in the work: ‘The First is the Corvus, the Crow or Raven, which from its blackness is said to be the beginning of the Art' (bk. 2, 235). In his Aurora, Paracelsus wrote that when the matter has been placed in the gentle heat of the secret fire it passes through corruption and grows black: ‘This operation they call putrefaction, and the blackness they name the head of the Crow' (55). Thomas Charnock likewise wrote of the putrefaction: ‘The Crowes head began to appere as black as Jett' (TCB, 296). In Zoroaster's Cave the matter produced during this stage is identified with the name of the process: ‘When the matter has stood for the space of forty dayes in a moderate heat, there will begin to appear above, a blacknesse like to pitch, which is the Caput Corvi of the Philosophers, and the wise men's Mercury' (80). According to Ripley the terms ‘crows head' and ‘crows bill' are synonymous: ‘The hede of the Crow that tokeyn call we,/And sum men call hyt the Crows byll' (TCB, 134) (see ashes). In A Fig for Momus Thomas Lodge listed the crow's head amongst other alchemical enigmas: ‘Then of the crowes-head, tell they weighty things' (Works, 3:69). When Face in Jonson's The Alchemist says that the matter of the Stone has become ‘ground black', Mammon enquires of him, ‘That's your crowes-head? And Subtle replies, ‘No, ‘tis not perfect, would it were the crow' (2.3.67-8).Psalter Charm* In ‘Charms, Psalms & Golden Clues: A brace(let) of clues for Strike 9,' Prof Groves discusses the psalm as charm:Charm first meant the incantation itself, and then the amulet that carried that incantation to protect the wearer and then – from the 19th century – the small ornamental trinkets, fastened to girdles, watch-chains and bracelets, that resembled those original, talismanic charms. This means that Rowling's clue-charm of a Psalm book (which can actually carry a sacred text) circles back beautifully to the original meaning of the word – in which a charm was an amulet carrying a holy text. These charms do not always hold texts but Rowling has confirmed that this one does: ‘The book is a psalm book and holds real, miniature psalms' I think this protective hinterland of charms make it likely that the specific psalm that such a psalm-book charm would carry would be the most comforting and talismanic of psalms – Psalm 23. This psalm famously describes the Lord's love as protective, even unto the valley of the shadow of death* John argues that, in addition to the 23rd Psalm, Psalm 90 (91 in Masoretic or KJV reckoning), the so-called ‘Soldier's Psalm' is at least as likely as an insert for this charm, which is to say, as a talisman a soldier might give a woman about to enter Hades to beg a gift from Persephone…The Head of Persephone Charm* Rowling's clarifying picture* Psyche's Last Task from Venus:One final task is then given to Psyche, one in which Psyche is commanded to bring back a bit of Persephone's beauty from the Underworld. In Greek mythology no living soul is meant to be able to enter the Underworld, let alone leave it, and so Aphrodite felt that she would be rid of Psyche once and for all. Indeed, it seemed that Aphrodite would be proved right, for Psyche's only idea about entering the Underworld was to kill herself. Before Psyche can commit suicide a voice whispers to her instructions about how to complete the task. Thus Psyche finds an entrance to the Underworld and is soon crossing the Acheron upon the skiff of Charon, and the princess even manages to gain an audience with Persephone. Persephone on the surface appears to be sympathetic to the quest of Psyche, but Psyche has been warned about accepting food or a seat in the palace of Hades, for both would bind her to the Underworld for all time. But eventually, Persephone gives Psyche a golden box, said to contain some of the goddess' beauty.* The Head of Persephone charm is paired with the Psalter on the ninth and last link; again, if the Psalm is 22 (23) or 90 (91), then the connection is an invocational prayer for help traveling through the “valley of death,” for protection from the “asp and basilisk,” the “lion and dragon.”* As above, note that the beginning, middle, and end of the bracelet feature clasped objects, with the Psalter being a codex that opens and Psyche's journey to Persephone is in pursuit of a “golden box” containing the means to otherworldly beauty. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Day 2791 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – Arianism: The Heresy That Shook an Empire and Hastened Rome's Fall Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2791 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2791 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God's Word. John's lessons can be found on his website   theologyinfive.com.   Today's lesson is titled  Arianism: The Heresy That Shook an Empire and Hastened Rome's Fall. Arianism was more than a theological dispute; it became a force that rattled the foundations of the Roman Empire. Originating with the Alexandrian priest Arius (AD 250–336), the doctrine asserted that the Son, Jesus Christ, was a created being and therefore not co-eternal with the Father. This challenged the traditional Christian understanding of Jesus' divinity and ignited a controversy that tore through the Church and empire alike. By the time of Constantine in the early 4th century, Christianity had been legalized and heavily promoted, though not yet made the official religion of Rome. Constantine's patronage brought Christianity into the center of imperial life, and his calling of the Council of Nicaea in 325 demonstrated just how closely church and empire were becoming linked. Yet the settlement of Nicaea did not resolve the issue. The Arian controversy lingered, splitting bishops, congregations, and emperors. What began as a debate over the Trinity soon spiraled into a crisis that divided the empire at its core. As Arianism spread, particularly among the Germanic tribes who would later overrun the Western Empire, the theological rift turned into a political fault line. In this way, a doctrinal battle over Christ's divinity became bound up with the very fate of Rome itself. The first segment is: Why Arianism Was Declared a Heresy The Church declared Arianism a heresy at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325. The fundamental issue revolved around the nature and divinity of Jesus Christ. While Arius believed Jesus was a creation—albeit the highest of all creations—the Church upheld that Jesus was uncreated, co-eternal, and co-equal with the Father. Scripture played a decisive role in the dispute. John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This verse affirms the divinity of Jesus, describing Him as the Word who both existed at the beginning and was God Himself. Colossians 1:16 likewise insists on Christ's active role in creation: “For by him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Such passages undermine the Arian claim that Jesus Himself was a creation. The second segment is: Arianism and the Fall of Rome...

Gaius and Germanicus turn their debate to American migration patterns, with Gaius arguing that modern elites exploit immigrants as property for cheap labor and political votes, echoing historical patterns of indentured servitude that built colonial economies. Germanicus draws comparisons to Rome, noting that the empire successfully assimilated diverse races through genuine upward mobility and citizenship pathways that created loyalty across ethnic lines. However, he warns that the Western Empire eventually collapsed when Germanic tribes entered not as individuals seeking assimilation but as unassimilated national groups maintaining separate identities and allegiances. Germanicus cautions that current policies encouraging migrants to remain culturally separate rather than integrating into the host society dangerously resemble the dynamics that fractured Rome. The pair concludes that immigration has been a neuralgic obsession throughout American history, with elites consistently exploiting immigrant labor while simultaneously fearing political insurrection from unassimilated populations.1863 DRAFT RIOTS NYC

In this episode of Spirit Box, I'm joined by researcher and author Judith Dillon for a deep conversation about runes, alphabets, and the hidden patterns behind magical and divinatory traditions.We talk about Judith's latest book 'Futhark Rune Mysteries, Origins of Magic and Divination in the Primal Alphabet' on the mysteries of the Germanic runes and trace their roots back to ancient Semitic alphabets and Egyptian hieroglyphs. Along the way, we explore how early writing systems, oracle traditions, and symbolic templates share remarkable similarities across cultures — from Celtic tree lore and tarot to nursery rhymes and sacred texts.Focusing on the first four runes, Judith unpacks their mythological, magical, and life-cycle symbolism, showing how they map stages of human development, healing, and spiritual transformation. She also shares fascinating insights into how ancient systems preserved meaning through precise positioning and pattern, even as languages evolved — including the remarkable history of the Hebrew Torah script.We move through mystery traditions, underworld myths, celestial cycles, and the enduring power of symbolic order in human culture, reflecting on why these ancient systems still matter today.This is a thoughtful and illuminating conversation for anyone interested in runes, esotericism, ancient knowledge systems, and the deep architecture of meaning behind our oldest symbols.Show notes:https://www.innertraditions.com/futhark-rune-mysteriesKeep in touch?https://linktr.ee/darraghmason

The Anglo Saxons lived beneath skies they did not trust. To them, the heavens were alive capable of movement, intention, and warning. Night skies were darker than anything we experience today, and people watched them closely, not for wonder alone, but for survival. What appeared above was believed to speak, and sometimes to threaten.Their records contain unsettling descriptions that resist easy explanation. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle speaks of “fiery dragons flying in the air,” of strange lights that moved across the sky, and of glowing shapes that appeared before moments of catastrophe. In 793, just before the Viking attack on Lindisfarne, witnesses reported terrifying aerial phenomena flames, lights, and shapes in the heavens events described not as symbols but as things seen. The timing disturbed them deeply. The sky, it seemed, was watching.Other accounts describe crosses of light hovering in the air, radiant shields appearing above battlefields, and luminous objects that drifted, burned, or vanished without sound. These were not stars. They moved. They lingered. They returned. Medieval writers struggled to name them, reaching for the closest language they had: dragons, angels, heavenly armies, signs from God. But the descriptions themselves feel observational like people trying to make sense of something genuinely unfamiliar.The Anglo Saxons did not separate the natural from the supernatural. A strange light was not merely a phenomenon; it was an intrusion. Something crossing from one realm into another. Their older Germanic beliefs had spoken of otherworldly beings moving between skies and earth, while Christian theology reframed these encounters as divine or demonic. Yet in both systems, the experience remained the same: something unknown appeared, moved with purpose, and then was gone.Modern readers sometimes wonder whether these accounts hint at misunderstood natural events meteors, auroras, rare electrical phenomena. But some details are awkward for those explanations: the repeated sightings, the apparent maneuvering, the sense of presence, the way observers reacted with fear rather than awe. The texts give the impression that these were not passive lights but active signs, watching rather than simply passing through.What is most unsettling is not what the Anglo Saxons believed these things were, but how calmly they recorded them. They did not ask if such things existed only what they meant. The sky was not empty, and it was not safe. Whatever these lights and shapes truly were, they left a deep impression on a people who believed they were living at the edge of unseen worlds.Seen through a modern lens, these accounts raise an uncomfortable possibility: that encounters with unexplained aerial phenomena did not begin in the twentieth century, but have followed humanity for centuries changing names, forms, and meanings as cultures changed, yet always appearing just beyond understanding.

Send us a textWhat do you think of laryngeals? How should we refer to the Anatolian languages? Where do you stand on Gimbutas and Renfrew? In this episode of New Humanists, Dr. Colin Gorrie helps guide us through the Indo-European family tree. We follow the various branches as they spread out across Europe and Asia: Anatolian, Tocharian, Celtic, Germanic, Italic, and more. This episode covers the second half of Laura Spinney's introduction to the field of Indo-European studies, Proto.Laura Spinney's Proto: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781639732586Colin Gorrie's YouTube interview with Laura Spinney: https://youtu.be/_nVIV-qaHHYM.L. West's Indo-European Poetry and Myth: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780199558919Thomas S. Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780226458120Colin Gorrie's "Dead Language Society" Substack: https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/Calvert Watkins' How to Kill a Dragon: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780195085952Ekho, the ancient language audiobook app, is coming soon. Check here for more details: https://ancientlanguage.com/ekhoNew Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Turn online alignment into an offline community — join us at TheWayFwrd.com to connect with like-minded people near you.If consciousness is moving forward, are you moving with it or resisting the invitation?In this episode, I sit down with Edmund Knighton for a grounded, uncompromising conversation on The Law of One, consciousness evolution, and why love isn't a feeling you wait for, it's something you practice.This discussion moves through the nature of density of consciousness, the accelerating forces of polarization, and why service to self vs service to others isn't a moral debate, but an evolutionary sorting process. Conflict, suffering, and global instability aren't framed as failures of the system here, they're revealed as catalysts for awakening, testing whether we respond with fear or clarity.We also address why spiritual bypassing keeps people stuck, how vulnerability functions as a stabilizing force rather than a weakness, and why embodiment — not dissociation — is required for real spiritual maturity.If you've felt unsure how to stay grounded, this episode offers clarity.You'll Learn:[00:00] Introduction[02:22] What vulnerability reveals about transformation in the present[08:44] Alec's dream about his grandfather revealed the movement from 3rd to 4th density consciousness[15:19] The Buddha in Red Face story[21:11] Integrating masculine and feminine energies increases the strength of both rather than diminishing either[32:52] When Edmund discovered The Law of One[42:53] The eight densities of consciousness [53:01] Practicing love during division without falling into spiritual bypassing[01:10:01] Why those in service to self are actually serving us by offering opportunities to choose love[01:20:05] How the veil of forgetting and free will allow us to remember our true nature as creators[01:43:58] Distinguishing your own essence from external noise through stillness and Steiner's practices[01:57:35] Why true forgiveness becomes unnecessary when we understand our projections[02:17:16] Why we cannot return to tribal ways and must move forward with new forms of conscious community[02:39:30] What the Germanic and Slavic epochs reveal about humanity's progression from individual thinking to soul-warmed communityRelated The Way Forward Episodes:Beyond Verbal Autists, Telepathy & The Nature Of Thought with Melissa Jolly Graves | YouTubeSoulstice Magic, 13 Holy Nights & Neurogenic Qigong featuring Lara Day | YouTubeMemoirs of a Child Sex Slave: Quest For Love featuring Anneke Lucas | YoutubeResources Mentioned:Law of One | WebsiteBe Here Farm + Nature | WebsiteBeing Human Event | WebsiteBuddha in Redface by Eduardo Duran | BookTranscendent Sex by Jenny Wade | BookThe Red Lion by Maria Szepes | BookMutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan | Book or AudiobookClick here to enroll in the 2026 season of Being Human. Mention that you found the Being Human program through The Way Forward and receive a $300 discount.Find more from Edmund:Edmund Knighton | EmailClick here for Dark Room RetreatsFind more from Alec:Alec Zeck | InstagramAlec Zeck | XThe Way Forward | InstagramThe Way Forward is Sponsored By:Paleovalley is 100% Grass-Fed Bone Broth Protein is a nutrient-dense, easy-to-digest source of collagen and essential amino acids. Sourced from grass-fed cows, this protein powder provides the building blocks for healthy joints, skin, and gut function—without fillers or artificial ingredients. Support the show and claim 15% off your PaleoValley order!Designed for deep focus and well-being. 100% blue light and flicker free. For $50 off your Daylight Computer, use discount code: TWF50New Biology Clinic: Redefine Health from the Ground UpExperience tailored terrain-based health services with consults, livestreams, movement classes, and more. Visit www.NewBiologyClinic.com and use code THEWAYFORWARD (case sensitive) for $50 off activation. Members get the $150 fee waived

• Explores in depth the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season• Looks at the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, as well as female gift bringers, holiday Spirits, and Yuletide animals• Shares crafts such as how to make a Yule Log, practices such as Winter Solstice divinations, and recipes for traditional foods and drinksFor millennia cultures have taken time out to honor the darkest days of the year with lights, foods, and festivities.In ancient Egypt, people decorated their homes with greenery at the festival of the rebirth of the God Horus. The ancient Romans shared gifts, especially candles, at the midwinter festival of Saturnalia. In Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, the Yule Log was burned in the hearth, fruit orchards were wassailed, and sheaves of wheat were displayed to carry luck into the New Year. In Celtic cultures, mummers and guisers went door to door, and European mistletoe (Viscum album) was gathered by Druids as a medicinal and magical aid.Ellen Evert Hopman shares folklore, recipes, rituals, and crafts to enliven your Yuletide observance. She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus as well as holiday Spirits and Yuletide animals. She explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and make traditional foods and drinks such as Elizabethan gingerbread cookies and Wassail. And she looks in depth at the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season such as Frankincense and Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Bayberry, and many more. This guide offers practical and magical ways to celebrate and honor the darkest days of the year.Ellen Evert Hopman is a master herbalist and lay homeopath, who has been a Druidic initiate since 1984. She is a founding member of the Order of the White Oak, the Archdruidess and founder of Tribe of the Oak, a former professor at the Grey School of Wizardry, and a member of the Grey Council of Mages and Sages. She is the author of Celtic herbals and Druid novels, including Secret Medicines from Your Garden, The Sacred Herbs of Samhain, and Once Around the Sun: Stories, Crafts, and Recipes to Celebrate the Sacred Earth Year. She lives in Massachusetts.https://elleneverthopman.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.

A "national treasure" is an artifact with significant cultural history associated with a particular country. The Norwegian primstav certainly qualifies. It's a kind of perpetual calendar or almanac stick originating around 1100 was used to track important agricultural and religious dates through symbols used in particular communities.   Then there's the Golden Horns of Gallehus, exquisite artifacts discovered in 1649 and 1734 in Southern Denmark. They show the first use of runic Germanic writing (Proto Norse) in the form of a full sentence. Their display in Danish museums was interrupted by a horrible event. Join me as we learn about these two national treasures and hear a Nordic song from 1300 written in runes with notes.  These are two famous cultural icons that you've probably never heard of. We also play the oldest song written in Proto-Norse runes entitled, "Drømde mik en drøm i nat" by Ensemble Mare Balticum. Visit our episode page at National Treasures : The Primstav and the Horns of Gallehus for pictures, links, and notes.

Who were the Italian sailors who stole the bones of St Nicolas from his church in Turkey in 1087? How was the mythology of St Nicolas combined with Germanic pagan stories of Odin riding a white horse accompanied by ravens? How did polar-mania and Coca Cola advertising transform Dutch traditions around St Nicolas into the Santa Claus we know today? William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple to discuss his original research on the epic Heist of St Nicolas… Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com  For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Step deeper into the shadowed corridors of human belief with The History of Magic: Volume 2, Joseph Ennemoser's sweeping exploration of the supernatural forces that have shaped civilizations. Building on the foundations of Volume 1, this installment turns its gaze toward the magical traditions of the Germanic and medieval world, tracing how visions, prophecy, dreams,...

WhoRyan Brown, Director of Golf & Ski at The Mountaintop at Grand Geneva, WisconsinRecorded onJune 17, 2025About the Mountaintop at Grand GenevaClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Marcus HotelsLocated in: Lake Geneva, WisconsinYear founded: 1968Pass affiliations: NoneClosest neighboring U.S. ski areas: Alpine Valley (:23), Wilmot Mountain (:29), Crystal Ridge (:48), Alpine Hills Adventure Park (1:04)Base elevation: 847 feetSummit elevation: 962 feetVertical drop: 115 feetSkiable acres: 30Average annual snowfall: 34 inchesTrail count: 21 (41% beginner, 41% intermediate, 18% advanced)Lift count: 6 (3 doubles, 1 ropetow, 2 carpets)Why I interviewed himOf America's various mega-regions, the Midwest is the quietest about its history. It lacks the quaint-town Colonialism and Revolutionary pride of the self-satisfied East, the cowboy wildness and adobe earthiness of the West, the defiant resentment of the Lost Glory South. Our seventh-grade Michigan History class stapled together the state's timeline mostly as a series of French explorers passing through on their way to somewhere more interesting. They were followed by a wave of industrial loggers who mowed the primeval forests into pancakes. Then the factories showed up. And so the state's legacy was framed not as one of political or cultural or military primacy, but of brand, the place that stamped out Chevys and Fords by the tens of millions.To understand the Midwest, then, we must look for what's permanent. The land itself won't do. It's mostly soil, mostly flat. Great for farming, bad for vistas. Dirt doesn't speak to the soul like rock, like mountains. What humans built doesn't tell us a much better story. Everything in the Midwest feels too new to conceal ghosts. The largest cities rose late, were destroyed in turn by fires and freeways, eventually recharged with arenas and glass-walled buildings that fail to echo or honor the past. Nothing lasts: the Detroit Pistons built the Palace of Auburn Hills in 1988 and developers demolished it 32 years later; the Detroit Lions (and, for a time, the Pistons) played at the Pontiac Silverdome, a titanic, 82,600-spectator stadium that opened in 1976 and came down in 2013 (37 years old). History seemed to bypass the region, corralling the major wars to the east and shooing the natural disasters to the west and south. Even shipwrecks lose their doubloons-and-antique-cannons romance in the Midwest: the Great Lakes most famous downed vessel, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, sank into Lake Superior in 1975. Her cargo was 26,535 tons of taconite ore pellets. A sad story, but not exactly the sinking of the Titanic.Our Midwest ancestors did leave us one legacy that no one has yet demolished: names. Place names are perhaps the best cultural relics of the various peoples who occupied this land since the glaciers retreated 12,000-ish years ago. Thousands of Midwest cities, towns, and counties carry Native American names. “Michigan” is derived from the Algonquin “Mishigamaw,” meaning “big lake”; “Minnesota” from the Sioux word meaning “cloudy water.” The legacies of French explorers and missionaries live on in “Detroit” (French for “strait”), “Marquette” (17th century French missionary Jacques Marquette), and “Eau Claire” (“clear water”).But one global immigration funnel dominated what became the modern Midwest: 50 percent of Wisconsin's population descends from German, Nordic, or Scandinavian countries, who arrived in waves from the Colonial era through the early 1900s. The surnames are everywhere: Schmitz and Meyer and Webber and Schultz and Olson and Hanson. But these Old-Worlders came a bit late to name the cities and towns. So they named what they built instead. And they built a lot of ski areas. Ten of Wisconsin's 34 ski areas carry names evocative of Europe's cold regions, Scandinavia and the Alps:I wonder what it must have been like, in 18-something-or-other, to leave a place where the Alps stood high on the horizon, where your family had lived in the same stone house for centuries, and sail for God knows how many weeks or months across an ocean, and slow roll overland by oxen cart or whatever they moved about in back then, and at the end of this great journey find yourself in… Wisconsin? They would have likely been unprepared for the landscape aesthetic. Tourism is a modern invention. “The elite of ancient Egypt spent their fortunes building pyramids and having their corpses mummified, but none of them thought of going shopping in Babylon or taking a skiing holiday in Phoenicia [partly in present-day Lebanon, which is home to as many as seven ski areas],” Yuval Noah Harari writes in Sapiens his 2015 “brief history of humankind.” Imagine old Friedrich, who had never left Bavaria, reconstituting his world in the hillocks and flats of the Midwest.Nothing against Wisconsin, but fast-forward 200 years, when the robots can give us a side-by-side of the upper Midwest and the European Alps, and it's pretty clear why one is a global tourist destination and the other is known mostly as a place that makes a lot of cheese. And well you can imagine why Friedrich might want to summon a little bit of the old country to the texture of his life in the form of a ski area name. That these two worlds - the glorious Alps and humble Wisconsin skiing - overlap, even in a handful of place names, suggests a yearning for a life abandoned, a natural act of pining by a species that was not built to move their life across timezones.This is not a perfect analysis. Most – perhaps none – of these ski areas was founded by actual immigrants, but by their descendants. The Germanic languages spoken by these immigrant waves did not survive assimilation. But these little cultural tokens did. The aura of ancestral place endured when even language fell away. These little ski areas honor that.And by injecting grandiosity into the everyday, they do something else. In coloring some of the world's most compact ski centers with the aura of some of its most iconic, their founders left us a message: these ski areas, humble as they are, matter. They fuse us to the past and they fuse us to the majesty of the up-high, prove to us that skiing is worth doing anywhere that it can be done, ensure that the ability to move like that and to feel the things that movement makes you feel are not exclusive realms fenced into the clouds, somewhere beyond means and imagination.Which brings us to Grand Geneva, a ski area name that evokes the great Swiss gateway city to the Alps. Too bad reality rarely matches up with the easiest narrative. The resort draws its name from the nearby town of Lake Geneva, which a 19th-century surveyor named not after the Swiss city, but after Geneva, New York, a city (that is apparently named after Geneva, Switzerland), on the shores of Seneca Lake, the largest of the state's 11 finger lakes. Regardless, the lofty name was the fifth choice for a ski area originally called “Indian Knob.” That lasted three years, until the ski area shuttered and re-opened as the venerable Playboy Ski Area in 1968. More regrettable names followed – Americana Resort from 1982 to '93, Hotdog Mountain from 1992 to '94 – before going with the most obvious and least-questionable name, though its official moniker, “The Mountaintop at Grand Geneva” is one of the more awkward names in American skiing.None of which explains the principal question of this sector: why I interviewed Mr. Brown. Well, I skied a bunch of Milwaukee bumps on my drive up to Bohemia from Chicago last year, this was one of them, and I thought it was a cute little place. I also wondered how, with its small-even-for-Wisconsin vertical drop and antique lift collection, the place had endured in a state littered with abandoned ski areas. Consider it another entry into my ongoing investigation into why the ski areas that you would not always expect to make it are often the ones that do.What we talked aboutFighting the backyard effect – “our customer base – they don't really know” that the ski areas are making snow; a Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison bullseye; competing against the Vail-owned mountain to the south and the high-speed-laced ski area to the north; a golf resort with a ski area tacked on; “you don't need a big hill to have a great park”; brutal Midwest winters and the escape of skiing; I attempt to talk about golf again and we're probably done with that for a while; Boyne Resorts as a “top golf destination”; why Grand Geneva moved its terrain park; whether the backside park could re-open; “we've got some major snowmaking in the works”; potential lift upgrades; no bars on the lifts; the ever-tradeoff between terrain parks and beginner terrain; the ski area's history as a Playboy Club and how the ski hill survived into the modern era; how the resort moves skiers to the hill with hundreds of rooms and none of them on the trails; thoughts on Indy Pass; and Lake Geneva lake life.What I got wrongWe recorded this conversation prior to Sunburst's joining Indy Pass, so I didn't mention the resort when discussing Wisconsin ski areas on the product.Podcast NotesOn the worst season in the history of the MidwestI just covered this in the article that accompanied the podcast on Treetops, Michigan, but I'll summarize it this way: the 2023-24 ski season almost broke the Midwest. Fortunately, last winter was better, and this year is off to a banging start.On steep terrain beneath lift AI just thought this was a really unexpected and cool angle for such a little hill. On the Playboy ClubFrom SKI magazine, December 1969:It is always interesting when giants merge. Last winter Playboy magazine (5.5 million readers) and the Playboy Club (19 swinging nightclubs from Hawaii to New York to Jamaica, with 100,000 card-carrying members) in effect joined the sport of skiing, which is also a large, but less formal, structure of 3.5 million lift-ticket-carrying members. The resulting conglomerate was the Lake Geneva Playboy Club-Hotel, Playboy's ski resort on the rolling plains of Wisconsin.The Playboy Club people must have borrowed the idea of their costumed Bunny Waitress from the snow bunny of skiing fame, and since Playboy and skiing both manifestly devote themselves to the pleasures of the body, some sort of merger was inevitable. Out of this union, obviously, issued the Ultimate Ski Bunny – one able to ski as well as sport the scanty Bunny costume to lustrous perfection.That's a bit different from how the resort positions its ski facilities today:Enjoy southern Wisconsin's gem - our skiing and snow resort in the countryside of Lake Geneva, with the best ski hills in Wisconsin. The Mountain Top at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa boasts 20 downhill ski runs and terrain designed for all ages, groups and abilities, making us one of the best ski resorts in Wisconsin. Just an hour from Milwaukee and Chicago, our ski resort in Lake Geneva is close enough to home for convenience, but far enough for you and your family to have an adventure. Our ultimate skier's getaway offers snowmaking abilities that allow our ski resort to stay open even when there is no snow falling.The Mountain Top offers ski and snow accommodations, such as trolley transportation available from guest rooms at Grand Geneva and Timber Ridge Lodge, three chairlifts, two carpet lifts, a six-acre terrain park, excellent group rates, food and drinks at Leinenkugel's Mountain Top Lodge and even night skiing. We have more than just skiing! Enjoy Lake Geneva sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing too. Truly something for everyone at The Mountain Top ski resort in Lake Geneva. No ski equipment? No problem with the Learn to Ride rentals. Come experience The Mountain Top at Grand Geneva and enjoy the best skiing around Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.On lost Wisconsin and Midwest ski areasThe Midwest Lost Ski Areas Project counts 129 lost ski areas in Wisconsin. I've yet to order these Big Dumb Chart-style, but there are lots of cool links in here that can easily devour your day.The Storm explores the world of North American lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

In this episode, we explore the ancient roots of the Winter Solstice, Yule, and Christmas, tracing how humans across time have honored the longest night of the year and the return of the light.We look at Yule traditions in Norse and Germanic cultures, including the symbolism of the Yule log, evergreens, fire, and winter mythologies like the Wild Hunt. We also explore how early Christianity layered the celebration of Christ's birth onto existing Solstice festivals, weaving older solar traditions into new spiritual stories.This episode reflects on darkness as a sacred teacher, winter as a threshold, and the universal human instinct to mark time with ritual, story, and hope. Whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas, the Solstice, or simply the turning of the season, this is an invitation to slow down and honor the quiet miracle of return.

In this seasonal episode, hosts Allison and Mandy explore the deeper meaning of the Winter Solstice, Yule, and the ancient roots beneath modern Christmas. Together, they reflect on this sacred turning point in the Wheel of the Year—a time long honoured as the return of the light after the darkest night.They begin with the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, symbolizing stillness, death and rebirth, and the quiet trust that light always returns—even when growth isn't yet visible.The conversation then moves into Yule, an ancient Pagan celebration rooted in Norse, Germanic, and Celtic traditions. Through symbols like evergreens, fire, the hearth, sacred animals, and communal feasting, Yule represents humanity's ritual response to the turning of the sun.Allison and Mandy also explore how Christmas came to sit at this time of year, explaining how early Christianity layered itself over existing Solstice festivals—preserving many pre-Christian symbols that still live on today.The episode gently reframes our relationship with darkness, reminding listeners that it was once seen as fertile, womb-like, and sacred—not something to fear.Listeners are offered simple, modern ways to honour the season, including candle rituals, ancestral remembrance, time in nature, storytelling, and allowing rest and stillness.The episode closes with a powerful reminder: you don't have to choose between traditions. Solstice, Yule, and Christmas can coexist—and the season belongs to everyone.“The light was never lost. It was only waiting to be remembered.”⸻Contact & OfferingsFor intuitive readings, mentorship, and spiritual support with Allison at The Luminant Soul, reach out at:

Hilary Giovale is a mother, writer, facilitator, and community organizer who holds a Master’s Degree in Good and Sustainable Communities. She has taught improvisational dance and has served on the boards of philanthropic, human rights, and environmental organizations. Descended from the Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe, she is a ninth-generation American settler. For most of her life these origins were obscured by whiteness. After learning more about her ancestors’ history, Hilary began emerging from a fog of amnesia, denial, and fragmentation. For the first time, she could see a painful reality: her family’s occupation of this land has harmed Indigenous and African peoples, cultures, lands, and lifeways. With this realization, her life changed. How can I become a good relative? This inquiry guides Hilary’s work, including her writing, teaching, and reparative philanthropy. Divesting from settler colonialism and whiteness, she seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of healing, mutual liberation, and equitable futures. She is the author of the award-winning book Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair. Go deeper with Hilary’s Guide to Making a Personal Reparations Plan, and find a copy of her book here. 100% of book proceeds go to the Decolonizing Wealth Project and Jubilee Justice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Runecasting is one of the best known forms of Heathen, Nordic, and Germanic divination. Join your host for a short walk through the whys and hows of runic divination.Explainer - DivinationWant to support this podcast and my other work?  Sign up for my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/wayw... or contribute to my KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/ryansmithwfiI am teaching classes on Inclusive Nordic Spirituality!  You can find out more and sign up at this link: http://www.onblackwings.com/classes

⁠⁠Support us on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---At the dawn of the Middle Ages, small numbers of Jewish families ventured across the frozen Alps, seeking a new life in a foreign land they called Ashkenaz. In their workshops, at the market, and around the shabbat table, these people created a new language in secret: one that joined together the Hebrew writing system of ancient Palestine with the Germanic vocabulary of their Christian neighbors. Despite its obscure and polygenic medieval origins, this neighborhood speech would grow to become a fundamental element of Jewish history and identity and a true world language: Yiddish.This episode of Gladio Free Europe explores the origins and development of Yiddish with the help of Wilf, esteemed circumpolar Yiddish scholar and longtime friend of the pod. Wilf guides Liam and Russian Sam through the complexities of the language's development and grammar. The many influences on Yiddish, from its Semitic alphabet to its Slavic grammatical structures and its unexpected Romance loans, tell the story of the Ashkenazi Jewish people. So too does the resilience and growth of Yiddish in spite of centuries of hostility and, in the 20th century, near-total annihilation. Putting Yiddish in the context of the rise of rabbinical Judaism and the expansion of the diaspora, we see how this Germanic vernacular developed alongside the liturgical language of Hebrew. While widespread bilingualism meant Yiddish and Hebrew would influence each other throughout their history, the two languages were often perceived in conflict. Yiddish would be demeaned and degraded throughout its history, both by vicious bigots who hated its Jewishness and pious scholars who thought it not Jewish enough. Yet despite centuries of hardship, the language would blossom across the medieval period into a literary language along the lines of French and Italian. Medieval Jewish writers eagerly took part in the broader European tradition of chivalric romance. Yiddish adventure stories about Jewish knights, Jewish princesses, even a Jewish King Arthur were widely read and have some lingering influence on Jewish folklore to this day. As Yiddish spread eastward, out of the German lands and into the kingdoms of the Slavs and Hungarians, the language of the Ashkenazi Jews ceased to be a medium of communication with Christians, but instead an ethnolect that could only be understood by Jews. The unique situation of Eastern European Jews, more numerous and more culturally distinctive than their Western European neighbors, would be fundamental to the later development of Yiddish.Listen to the newest episode of Gladio Free Europe to understand what makes Yiddish, the heymish mother tongue of the Jewish hearth, unique among the languages and such a treasured aspect of the Jewish experience. Borek-habo!

This episode is a recording of our recent women's circle gathering on Sacred Wintering and the Twelve Holy Nights, and it was truly beautiful—deep, grounded, accessible, and full of wisdom for the season we're entering.For centuries across European, Germanic, and Christian-mystic lineages, the Twelve Holy Nights have marked a threshold in time: the Year Between Years. These nights begin on December 25 and carry us through January 6, honoring the liminal space when the sun's return becomes visible and intuition feels naturally heightened.I invited Lisa Jara to teach with me, because she guides this practice every year with a devotion and clarity I deeply respect. Lisa and I first connected through a membership of intuitive and anti-capitalist entrepreneurs, and our friendship grew quickly through long WhatsApp voice notes about the people we serve, the work we love, and the ways cyclicality shapes our lives. I've practiced the Twelve Holy Nights on my own for the last two years—well, actually, with my husband and daughter and I love that it can be done with others!—and it has become one of my favorite ways to enter Winter with intention rather than resistance.Inside this session, we explored:What it means to like our lives, including how we can learn to like WinterHow to proactively surrender to Winter instead of waiting for a “forced winter” through burnout, grief, or crisisWhy so many of us stopped naturally wintering—and how capitalism shaped thatHow Winter restores self-trust and reconnects us with our inner wisdomA generous teaching from Lisa on the cosmology, history, and practice of the Twelve Holy NightsHow each Holy Night mirrors a month of the coming yearHow to work with dreams, symbols, signs, and synchronicitiesAn imaginative visioning practice to help you enter the season more intentionallyThis conversation is for anyone longing for slowness, clarity, ritual, or a more embodied relationship with Winter. It's also for anyone who wants to practice the Twelve Holy Nights this year in a simple, grounded, and meaningful way.Links Mentioned in the Episode

In this chilling episode of Cloaked and Cosmic, host Natty dives into the dark folklore of Frau Perchta, the icy Alpine legend known for punishment, winter rituals, and unsettling judgment of the living. From her origins in Germanic and pagan mythology to her terrifying role in Yuletide traditions, Natty breaks down the history, symbolism, and horror behind this frozen folkloric figure.Expect deep lore, eerie cultural traditions, and macabre details delivered with dark humor and cosmic curiosity. This episode explores ancient winter spirits, Alpine legends, pagan belief systems, and why Frau Perchta remains one of the most unsettling mythological figures tied to the coldest time of year.Perfect for listeners who love folklore, mythology, paranormal history, witchcraft themes, and eerie legends with a comedic edge.Joe's BookBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cloaked-and-cosmic--6041412/support.Dare to believe!

Support Midgard Musings By Clicking Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/MidgardMusings⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to visit Fjallvaettir Workshop: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fjallvaettir.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate to my mother's-in-law GoFundMe for medical equipment upgrades: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gofund.me/43c134d0Here are some of the book recommendations that were mentioned in this episode:Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings by James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David WengrowThe Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel RuizIn this episode of Random Heathen Ramblings, Chris Miller and I are diving into the rich, interconnected web of ideas, mindsets, and traditions that shape the modern Heathen path. Using The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz as our starting point, we explore how wisdom from outside the Germanic world can illuminate, reinforce, or even challenge our own worldview.From there, we widen the lens.We discuss syncretism; both the kind our ancestors practiced and the kind we engage in today along with finfara, cultural exchange, and the flow of ideas across tribes, nations, and spiritual traditions. How do we integrate outside concepts responsibly? Where do we draw healthy boundaries? And what frameworks, philosophies, and practices can help us deepen our connection to our gods, ancestors, and land spirits?This episode is all about embracing the complexity of being a modern Heathen in a global world, without losing the roots that make our tradition unique.Join us for a conversation full of insight, challenge, humor, and honest exploration as we walk the wider web that connects past and present, culture and culture, and each of us to our own lived practice.

Back after a long Thanksgiving week with our friends from Burning Beard! This weekend they are kicking off a three day benifit at the brewery; Friday and Saturday Punk Rock Saves Christmas and Sunday Hip Hop Saves Christmas! We get into the nitty-gritty over a often overlooked Germanic style of beer called Sticke with Something Sticke In My Eye.

What does it mean to be a warrior when the odds are not in your favor and even the world seems to have turned its back on you? Welcome to the world of the heroes in Northern European myth. The divine heroes Beowulf, Sigurd, and Starkadr and the Germanic warriors who venerated them, lived in a world of stark extremes, where courage, honor, and strength were tested at every turn. Their stories weren't just entertainment; they were guides for living boldly in a harsh and uncertain world.While we no longer live in these warrior cultures of the past, those of us attempting to walk this path in the modern world still face the same eternal questions:How do you live knowing that everything you love will one day die?How do you act with honor in a world no longer believes in it?How do you continue to fight when you feel as though the battle cannot be won?This is the world these warriors inhabited, and through their deeds, their trials, and their defiance, we find answers to the timeless questions of how to live, act, and fight with honor today.So, strap in and get ready for a wild ride through the world of the Germanic Hero.  It's all in this episode of the Pearl Snap Tactical Podcast!Resources:Laughing Shall I Die: The Lives and Deaths of the Vikings, Tom ShippeySaga of the Volsungs, translated by Jackson CrawfordThe History of the Danes, Saxo GrammaticusBeowulf, translated by Seamus HeaneySupport the showGet Members Only Content when you upgrade to a premium membership on our Substack page. Click here.Link up with us:Website: Pearl Snap TacticalInstagram: Pearl Snap Tactical X: Pearl Snap TaciticalThe views and opinions expressed by the guests do not necessarily reflect those of the host, this podcast or affiliates. The information provided in these shows are for educational purposes do not constitute legal advice. Those interest in training in the use of firearms or other self-defense applications are advised to seek out a professional, qualified instructor.(Some of the links in the episode show notes are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products or services we have personally used and believe will add value to our listeners.)

Michael Jaco and Sheila Holm return with one of their most explosive conversations yet — an unveiling of concealed histories, buried identities, and the hidden Germanic bloodlines that shaped the American power structure. Sheila exposes the long-suppressed truth about the Bush family's real heritage and their original surname “Scherff,” tracing this lineage through intelligence networks, wartime alliances, and the rise of the modern Deep State. She shares how these covert identities were positioned inside American leadership, influencing everything from foreign policy to banking, military operations, and presidential administrations — all under a carefully crafted façade. The revelations go even deeper as Michael and Sheila explore J. Edgar Hoover's undocumented German origins and how his placement at the top of the FBI set the stage for unprecedented control over national narratives, political figures, and classified information. Together, they follow the threads connecting secret societies, globalist agendas, generational bloodlines, and the shaping of America's modern power grid. This conversation is a riveting blend of historical truth, spiritual insight, and geopolitical clarity — pulling back the curtain on who really built the American empire, who controlled its rise, and why the awakening happening today is so monumental. If you're ready for a deeper understanding of the forces that engineered the last century of American history, this episode will open your eyes.

In this episode, we dive into the charm of Strasbourg — a city where French and German influences blend beautifully and every stroll feels like stepping into a storybook. It's the perfect intro if you're dreaming about visiting Strasbourg or just want a taste of what makes this Alsatian gem so irresistible.We start in UNESCO-listed Petite France, the postcard-perfect corner of Strasbourg famous for its half-timbered houses, flower-filled balconies and winding canals. It's one of those spots where you swear you'll stop taking photos… and then immediately take five more.Then it's on to the showstopper: the Strasbourg Cathedral. This Gothic marvel is impossible to miss — soaring spires, an astronomical clock that's downright mesmerizing and stained glass that turns sunlight into magic. If you're visiting Strasbourg, this is the landmark you'll remember long after you've left.Of course, tasting Flammekueche (tarte flambée) is practically a rite of passage here. Thin, crispy, creamy, and totally addictive — think Alsace's take on pizza, and yes, it's every bit as delicious as it sounds.Whether you hop on a river boat tour, join a walking tour, or let your feet guide you, Strasbourg is a city that rewards wandering. And don't forget the local shops — perfect for picking up wine, treats, or that just-right souvenir.Tune in to get a feel for Strasbourg, spark some travel inspiration, and maybe set the wheels in motion for your own Alsatian adventure.In this episode:1:03: Intro2:40: Placing Strasbourg on the map6:59: Fun small day trip stops11:16: Wandering the Petite France14:39: Strasbourg Cathedral 21:55: Flammekueche & Food23:47: River Cruise & Walking Tour25:14 Le Comptoir des Vignerons Alsaciens27:31: Other Tips31:21: Final Thoughts32:53: Wrapping it upImportant links:Strasbourg CathedralLe GruberLe Comptoir des Vignerons AlsaciensSolo Traveler Tracey's ListWander Your Way ResourcesWander Your WayWander Your Way Adventures ★ Support this podcast ★

Andi Locke Mears has been using the knowledge of Germanic New Medicine in her naturopathic practice since 2008. Until then, she was chasing the next certification to best serve her patients. But GNM dramatically changed the way she interacted with her patients back then and continues to until this day.In this, the 5th episode on GNM, Andi teaches us about Constellations. This in NOT family constellations as most may think, but a state the vast majority of us are in due to multiple conflict shocks impacting specific parts of our brains.Our brains are a map of what we have perceived and it does not lie. Each of our perceptions, preferences, behaviours and more have been shaped by what we have experienced and perceived in the moment.This is not bad or good, it just 'is'. This knowledge gives clarity and can also provide for empathy when judging ourselves and others.And what I really love about GNM is the empowerment it brings while dropping the fear. Once you realize that most of what the experts are claiming with regards to symptoms and disease is in fact not true, a whole new level of confidence and trust in your body overtakes you.This interview may require more than one listen! This is a confusing and elaborate topic and this interview is a mere introduction to the topic of constellations, but I hope it gives you some insights into your own life and that of the people around you.Here are some of the major talking points:01:40 - See episodes 64, 66, 74 and 92 for previous GNM interviews with Tanya Verquin and Danny Carroll02:20 - Who is Andi Lock Mears?04:20 - Germanic New Medicine is NOT a modality - it is a new understanding of biology, pathology, physiology, psychiatry, psychology and behavioural issues05:25 - How Andi got started in GNM08:00 - The name and origins explained of Germanic New Medicine12:00 - How gGNM came to be13:05 - Testicular cancer - loss of loved one before diagnosis14:40 - How Dr. Hamer couldn't present his post-doctoral thesis because his findings were 100% accurate16:30 - The power of raising your children with this knowledge17:30 - Constellations explained18:15 - Dr. Hamer's first job in an insane asylum25:00 - Territorial conflicts explained (these affected hormonal status)27:00 - Differences between male and female territories28:00 - How handedness affects how conflcts affect us28:50 - How left-handers have more balanced brains29:40 - How territory conflicts affect our behaviours and hormone status32:25 - Alpha males and females35:00 - Brain stem is related to survival conflicts, cerebellum is related protection conflicts44:15 - How mood shifts once conflicts downgrade45:45 - Dangers of resolving territorial conflicts46:30 - Post-mortal constellation and arteries and veins, how it starts and the dangers of resolutions48:50 - Epicrisis - height of healing, squeezing out fluid49:25 - Every epicrisis is initiated by the brain51:00 - Labels in our kids are all conflict shocks52:00 - Short-term memory loss can look like inability to focus53:00 - Kids are conflicted because we don't live biologically54:00 - How we move through an event depends on perception of our subconscious1:00:00 - How we are biologically meant to have our kids when we are young, as young as teenagers1:05:00 - If women give birth before the age of 25, we gain 3 years of maturity for every birth1:16:00 - A few words on menopauseand more!!Support me and check out my store page for discounts on various products at: https://www.sovereigncollective.org/shop/Find Andi:www.andilocke.comFind me:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saschakalivoda/IG: https://www.instagram.com/saschaksays/Website: www.sovereigncollective.orgYou Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@saschasays/videosBitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Tfl1Zo021FcX

Andi Locke, ND, teacher of Germanische Heilkunde/Germanic New Medicine, joins us to explain how the biological laws of nature can dissolve fear of disease and guide truly informed, body-wise healing.References:https://informedchoicewa.substack.com/https://www.andilockemears.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

* We're back!* Post-hiatus update on Josh's latest theatrical production* Legends of Barsaive chapter 13 should be released soon!* FreedoniaCon: February 28-March 1* Overview of Theran Provinces from Vivane boxed set* Great Thera: Island in the Selestrean Sea (aka the Mediterranean)* Present-day Santorini/Thira* Creana: South of Great Thera; city states along river and up along eastern coast of the Selestran Sea* Inspired by ancient Egypt; desert, ancient tombs* The groundwork for the Theran Empire sourcebook was laid in this supplement.* Indrisa: Far to the east/southeast of Great Thera* Indian sub-continent* Brief descriptions of orks and trolls feels like Barsaive rehash* Marac: West/southwest of Great Thera* Inspired by Arabian Nights and similar materials* Talea: Due west of Great Thera* Italian peninsula; fell to Thera due to internal squabbles* Multiple city-states* Vasgothia: Northwest of Great Thera* Dense, haunted forests and forbidding mountains* Inspired by Roman interactions with Germanic tribes, Black Forest, etc.* Other areas* Araucania: Amazon Basin* Aznan: Sub-Saharan AfricaFind and Follow:Email: edsgpodcast@gmail.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcastFind and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchantGet product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.comFASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesincOfficial Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawnFASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9uEarthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

Hello Beloved. In a world where our attention spans are shrinking, true hope for our livelihoods—and our lives—emerges when we step beyond binary thinking. Embracing shades of gray opens the door to richer, more nuanced perspectives on every situation.By accepting that multiple truths can coexist, we lift the crushing weight of forcing every decision into a rigid right-or-wrong box.Nurturing trust in our intuition and inner wisdom erodes the compulsion for constant external approval or lengthy defenses.This quiet inner confidence fortifies the seamless harmony of body, mind, heart, and soul, while awakening our natural capacity to weather doubt and exhaustion.What Holds Us Back from Revelations of Self-CompassionThe Moment Everything Changes — exists at a threshold in a moment when the familiar path and the unknown future collide. Here, we stand at the Choice Point.It's not a single decision. It's a recurring crossroads where we face the most primal question: Asking: Do I stay with what I know, or do I step toward what calls me?The First SOVEREIGN SOUNDS SERIES Podcast showcases the etymological breakdown (more fun than you think - super empowering) through the story of Florence Nightingale back in 1854, choosing to leave her comfortable English life to revolutionize medicine in a war-torn hospital that told through the ETYMOLOGY of “COMPASSION".”If you want to hear and transform your relation to this word, you can upgrade at any point to unlock The Light Between Oracle App + Private Episodes where I channel these downloads. Dismantling the Four Walls of Self-DoubtYou face it every time you consider leaving a job, ending a relationship, speaking a truth, or claiming your authentic self.The Choice Point is where transformation begins. But it's also where most of us freeze.Understanding the forces that keep us paralyzed at the threshold—and more importantly, how to move through them—is the work of reclaiming our power.The Four Walls of the PrisonFear of the Unknown: The Primary ObstacleFear is the gatekeeper of the Choice Point.Not the fear of failure or consequences—though those exist. The deepest, most paralyzing fear is the fear of not knowing what comes next. Our nervous systems are wired for certainty. Uncertainty triggers our threat-detection systems.When we contemplate the unknown, our amygdala fires. Our breath shortens. We retreat to what we know, even if it's painful, because painful and known feels safer than uncertain and new.This is why people stay in unfulfilling jobs, relationships that drain them, and lives that don't fit. The devil you know is more manageable than the devil you don't.The truth: The unknown is not dangerous—it's just unfamiliar. And familiarity is not safety; it's often just habit wearing the mask of security.Attachment to Past Patterns and “Known Suffering”There's a paradox at the heart of human psychology: We become attached to our pain.Our wounds become our identity. Our limiting beliefs become our armor. The story we've told ourselves for years—“I'm not worthy,” “I'm too broken,” “People like me don't get to have that”—becomes so familiar that it feels like truth.When offered the possibility of transformation, we unconsciously cling to the pattern. Because at least we know how to survive it. At least there's a narrative. At least there's a reason.This is what psychologists call the “comfort in suffering”—the twisted familiarity that makes even pain feel like home.The Choice Point asks us to grieve what we're leaving behind, even if it was killing us. And that grief is real. That loss is real. Even when the old pattern was destructive, letting it go means losing an identity we've spent years constructing.The truth: Healing requires grieving. But the cost of staying is always higher than the cost of going.Narrow Paths vs. Opening to Infinite PossibilitiesHere's something CRITICAL and why active concious thinking is foundational. Our minds are pattern-recognition machines designed for efficiency, not expansion.The mind works by creating neural pathways. The more we travel a particular thought or behavior, the deeper the groove becomes. Over time, these grooves feel like the only paths available. The mind literally cannot perceive possibilities outside these worn tracks.This is called “cognitive narrowing,” and it's hardwired into our neurology.When faced with a Choice Point, the mind does what it's trained to do: it generates only the solutions it's already mapped. It says, Here are your three options” when actually there are 300. It insists, “This is realistic” while dismissing what's possible as fantasy.We are collectively re-aligning the “all is mind.”The Choice Point isn't just about willpower or courage. It's about expanding the mental field itself—opening to possibilities the conditioned mind cannot yet perceive.This requires what we might call a “frequency shift”—a change in consciousness that literally opens new neural pathways and allows previously invisible solutions to appear.Trust: The Key That Unlocks the TransitionAll three obstacles—fear, attachment, and mental narrowing—lock together into one immovable wall: lack of trust.Trust in ourselves. Trust in the process. Trust that the ground will hold us when we take a step into the unknown.Without trust, we're trying to move through the Choice Point while our nervous system screams “danger.” We're negotiating with fear rather than transcending it.But trust isn't blind faith. It's not ignoring real risks or pretending danger doesn't exist.True trust is remembering that you've already survived every difficult moment in your life. You've moved through uncertainty before. Your body knows how to adapt. Your spirit has weathered storms you thought would destroy you.Trust is recognizing that there's an intelligence working through you—not just your rational mind, but your intuition, your embodied wisdom, your spiritual knowing. Align with that larger intelligence and each Choice Point becomes navigable.This is where language transforms the nervous system itself. When we reclaim the word Trust from its distorted meanings—blind obedience, naïveté, passivity—and return it to its root (a Germanic word meaning “to comfort” or “to strengthen”), we literally change our nervous system's response to the unknown.The truth: You have everything you need to move through the Choice Point. You just need to remember it.The Evolution of Language: How We Lost Our WayFrom Collective Intuition to Fragmented Mind - our ancestors didn't face the Choice Point as we do.Early human societies operated from a place of collective intuition—a kind of group consciousness where decisions emerged from shared sensing rather than individual analysis. Bodies, hearts, and minds moved as one intelligence.There was no paralyzing individual choice. There was knowing. A seamless trust in the collective direction.Then came language.Language was revolutionary and traumatic simultaneously.Words gave us the ability to communicate across time and space. They allowed civilization to build. But they also fragmented us. Words separated the knower from the known. They created subject and object, self and other, safety and danger.As language developed, it slowly replaced embodied knowing with mental analysis. We stopped trusting our gut. We started overthinking. We moved from intuition to ideology.By the time we reached the Enlightenment, trust in the mind had become supreme—and trust in the body, intuition, and collective wisdom had atrophied almost completely.This is why the Choice Point feels so isolating and terrifying now. We're making the decision alone, with only the overthinking mind as our guide. We've lost access to the embodied wisdom and collective knowing that would make the transition feel natural.The Body, the Heart, and Language All Different Channels of KnowingHere's a crucial distinction: The body and mind speak different languages.The body knows through sensation and intuition. It receives information instantaneously—what some call “gut feeling” or “heart knowing.” This wisdom doesn't require analysis. It just is.The mind knows through logic, language, and analysis. It requires evidence, reasoning, and time to process.Neither is superior. They're complementary intelligence systems.But as language became the dominant channel of communication, the body's wisdom became marginalized. We learned to doubt our gut. We were told to “think logically” and ignore our feelings. We were trained to second-guess intuition and defer to external expertise.This created a crisis at the Choice Point: We're using only half our intelligence to make full-life decisions.The path through the Choice Point requires both channels:The mind to discern the practical details and logistics The body to feel the rightness or wrongness of the direction The heart to connect with why this choice matters The spirit to sense the alignment with our larger soul purposeWhen all four are integrated, the Choice Point becomes a place of clarity rather than paralysis.Language as a Living Entity: How Words Shape Our ChoicesHere's where things get deeply revolutionary: Language is not fixed. It breathes.Words are living frequencies that carry the imprint of human consciousness across time. When a culture shifts, words shift with it. And when we understand how a word has been distorted, we can reclaim its original power.Consider how certain words—like Trust, Faith, Surrender, Intuition—have been shaped and twisted by different historical periods.Medieval Europe: Trust was tied to God and divine order. There was a collective framework holding the trust.Industrial Revolution: Trust narrowed. It became about institutions and external authority. Trust in the system. Trust in the expert. Trust in the hierarchy.Modern Era: Trust fragmented further. We distrust institutions. We distrust expertise. We distrust each other. And most dangerously, we distrust ourselves.The result: We're trying to move through the Choice Point with no trust at all.And, my beloved…. here's the liberation: By understanding how the word has been distorted, we can restore its original frequency.When we trace Trust back to its roots—to mean “to comfort,” “to strengthen,” “to hold steady”—we access a different nervous system response. We're not just intellectually deciding to trust. We're activating a frequency in our body that remembers trust as a felt experience, not a concept. Words are spells and shape consciousness.The Architecture of the Choice Point: Three PhasesTransformation at the Choice Point unfolds in distinct phases:Phase 1: Awareness (The Recognition)You begin to see that the current path no longer fits. Something is calling. The discomfort that once seemed normal now feels intolerable.This is where most people get stuck—they see the problem but convince themselves to adjust to it rather than change it. They re-narrate the suffering as meaningful. They spiritualize their dysfunction.True awareness requires honest grief: admitting that something in your life is not working.Phase 2: The Threshold (The Fear)You stand at the actual Choice Point. The old path is visible behind you. The new path is invisible ahead of you.This is where all four obstacles crystallize: Fear screams Attachment pulls backward The mind insists the new path doesn't exist Trust evaporatesThis phase is not meant to be comfortable. Discomfort at the Choice Point is a sign of integrity, not a sign to turn back.Phase 3: The Leap and Landing (The Integration)You move through. The ground holds. You begin to integrate the new frequency. The new path becomes visible as you walk it—not before.Most people want to see the entire new path before they step forward. But that's not how transformation works. We get vision as we move, not before.Four Practices for Moving Through the Choice Point* Embody Your BodyPractice feeling sensation without narrative. Place your hand on your heart. Notice: What does your body know that your mind hasn't admitted yet?Your body doesn't lie. It carries wisdom your mind has trained itself to ignore.Reclaim Trust as a FrequencyRepeat: “I remember the word. I reclaim the root. I restore the power.”Place your hand on your heart and feel what trust actually feels like—not as a concept, but as a sensation of being held, strengthened, comforted.* Expand Your Mental FieldAsk: “What possibilities exist beyond what I can currently imagine?”This simple question opens neural pathways. It signals your brain that there are more options than the three the conditioned mind has offered.Connect to Collective KnowingYou don't have to figure this out alone. There's an intelligence working through human history, through your bloodline, through the zeitgeist of this moment.Ask: “What wants to emerge through me? What is my soul's larger purpose in this transition?”Express Your Choice Point ExerciseIn Closing: While the new paradigm hasn't fully materialized yet. We're all standing in the threshold together.The opportunity is that we're not paralyzed alone anymore. We're standing at the threshold with millions of others who are also choosing to evolve. The Mantra for the Choice PointAs you contemplate your own threshold, return to this again and again:I remember: My body knows. My intuition knows. My spirit knows. I've survived every difficult moment. I have access to more wisdom than my overthinking mind.Surrender as power, not weakness.Intuition as light intelligence, not fantasy.I restore: The power to choose. The power to transform. The power to walk into the unknown and have it become known as I move. CHOOSE to Deepen Your ExplorationThis deep exploration is a small reflection of The Sovereign Sounds Series Podcast that creates one word as a conceptual map of a Choice Point. The vertical energetic origin and the horizontal effects through time as it became a frequency of power over and power under. The Choice Point is calling. Trust is the key. And you have everything you need to move through.Incantations and Reflections for IntegrationAs you sit with this exploration, journal on:* Where am I standing at a Choice Point right now—even if I haven't fully admitted it?* What pattern am I most attached to, even though it no longer serves me?PS: Be on the lookout for the first privast podcast drop and over $258+ intuitive enriching resources to help you on your evolutionary journey. Join and upgrade HERE!Kassandra Get full access to The Light Between at thelightbetween.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to season six!What if the legends of the old world were not legends at all? In this episode, we trace the dark lineage of two ancient Germanic legends, the Lindwurm and the Drude, and follow their shadow across the sea to the New World where a new creature appears: The SnallygasterLove Haunted Cosmos? Get access to our exclusive show, The Dusty Tome, early ad-free access to main episodes and monthly AMA's with our co-host, Ben Garrett, by becoming a patron of the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/HauntedCosmos Buy the Haunted Cosmos book: https://www.newchristendompress.com/all-products/p/cosmosbook PS: It's also available as an audiobook!This episode is sponsored by: Gray Toad Tallow. Visit their website here and use COSMOS15 at checkout for 15% off your order. https://graytoadtallow.com/Indigo Sundries Soap Company - Go to http://indigosundriessoap.com and use code HAUNTEDCOSMOS for 10% off your whole order!Armored Republic: Making Tools of Liberty for the defense of every free man's God-given rights - Text JOIN to 88027 or visit: https://www.ar500armor.com/ New Dominion Design Co. Visit their website here and learn more! http://newdominiondesignco.com/Get all your elderberry products from our friends at The King's Ridge Elderberries! Head to https://tkrfarm.com and use code BRIGHTHEARTH for 10% off!Jake Muller Adventures is an immersive, mysterious, and engaging audio drama. Use code "HAUNTED" to claim 10% off all digital downloads. https://www.jakemulleradventures.com/haunted Stonecrop Wealth Advisors! Go to this link to check out their special offers to Haunted Cosmos listeners today. https://stonecropadvisors.com/hauntedcosmosSmall batch, hand-poured candles. Welcome to the resistance. https://resistancecandles.com/Support the show

For tonight's episode, we invite you to delve into European myths from Antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as the history of the peoples that carried them. We will begin with Celtic stories, taken in particular from Irish mythology. We will then relive the story of the Ring of the Nibelung, as told in the Germanic myths that inspired Wagner to create his famous operas from the Ring cycle. Finally, we will finish this overview with Norse stories. #sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #history #mytholofy Welcome to Lights Out Library Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming ASMR voice. Learn something new while you enjoy a restful night of sleep. Listen ad free and get access to bonus content on our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/LightsOutLibrary621⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen on Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@LightsOutLibraryov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ¿Quieres escuchar en Español? Echa un vistazo a La Biblioteca de los Sueños! En Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1t522alsv5RxFsAf9AmYfg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ En Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-biblioteca-de-los-sue%C3%B1os-documentarios-para-dormir/id1715193755⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ En Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@LaBibliotecadelosSuenosov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We welcome back on Joseph J. Alexander, a veteran of many hats in pro wrestling, He's also clergy of a religious organization and a student of many areas of the esoteric, arcane, historic and religious. He's on a prior episode under a Gospel of Thomas title if interested.Today we talk about the numerous waves of Celtic mythology, as well as Celtic history and folklore. The overlaps to Norse and Germanic are addressed and acts as a natural bridge into the less known Slavic mythos. From there, we delve into the mysterious Romani or Strega mythos. Since I dabble (perhaps dangerously) in comparative mythology, we draw comparisons to better known figures from Greek, Egyptian and other pantheons.We enjoyed a far ranging conversation in an efficient amount of time. An enormous value at any price.  

In this episode of the Greyhorn Pagans podcast, host StijnFawkes welcomes Mike from Keepers of the Word to discuss the intersection of Germanic Paganism and Freemasonry. They explore the esoteric traditions within Freemasonry, the importance of brotherhood, and the revival of ancient teachings. Mike shares his personal journey into Freemasonry, inspired by his family's history and a desire to delve into mysticism and ancient rituals. The conversation touches on the significance of community, the role of rituals in personal growth, and the parallels between Norse mythology and Masonic teachings. They also discuss the Feast of King Ragnar, an event celebrating brotherhood and tradition, and the importance of self-reliance and personal integrity.TakeawaysFreemasonry explores esoteric traditions and fosters brotherhood.Mike's journey into Freemasonry was inspired by family history and mysticism.The Feast of King Ragnar celebrates brotherhood and tradition.Norse mythology and Masonic teachings share common themes.Community and rituals play a crucial role in personal growth.Self-reliance and personal integrity are key values in Freemasonry.The podcast highlights the revival of ancient teachings.Brotherhood is formed through shared rituals and experiences.Freemasonry is not a religion but a fraternity focused on personal development.The conversation emphasizes the importance of keeping one's word.Join our Supporters Club:https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/greyhorn-pagans-podcast--6047518/supportKeepers of the Word:Instagram Facebook LinktreeGreyhorn Pagans:Support us on PatreonVisit our website for moreShow FireFae some love

Under the oppressive systems of white supremacy and colonialism, and the internalisation of "whiteness" in the dominant culture, how can the practice of reparative philanthropy re-story colonial narratives of power to shift to flattened hierarchies of giving and receiving? In today's episode, we are in conversation with Hilary Giovale, a mother, writer, and community organizer. Being a ninth-generation American settler, she is descended from Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe. As an active reparationist, her work is guided by intuition, love, and relationships to transmute harmful philanthropic practices to ones rooted in reciprocity and equitable giving. Hilary's recent book Becoming a Good Relative shares remedies for the debilitating shame that can overtake white Americans when facing their peoples' colonial past and our current complicity with systemic white supremacy. It offers a unique methodology, supported by African American and Indigenous Elders, which we dive into the depths in today's conversation. Visit mindfullofeverything.com to access full episode shownotes, resources and archives. Connect with us on Instagram (@mindfullofeverything_pod) and Facebook (@mindfullofeverything).

On this episode of Ojai Talk of the Town, I sit down with composer, songwriter, and sound designer Stephen Geering — whose music you've likely heard even if you haven't heard his name. Growing up in a deeply musical family (his mother, Jenny, was a concert pianist and teacher), Stephen began his musical education at age seven, learning piano and classical music in Chicago and Ravinia.In Geer MusicFrom there, he forged a path that spans studio albums, video game scoring, commercial work, and soundtrack composition. After postgraduate studies in scoring at UCLA under Don Ray, his original songs began to draw attention, which opened doors to composing for television, commercials, and ultimately the booming world of interactive gaming.In Geer Music+2IMDb+2We dive into his time creating music for major studios and game publishers, his creative process when shifting between musical genres and media formats, and how he maintains artistic identity in commercial work. Stephen also shares how he and his wife Dawn — an attorney — chose Ojai as home, and how they became involved in nurturing music education and youth programs such as the Ojai Music Festival's Bravo! Program with their daughter.We talk of ambition and adaptation, of composing as storytelling, and of the joys and challenges of being both a commercial and personal artist. We did not talk about new discoveries at Pompeii, Germanic diphthongs or Czech nymph fishing.He also also offers sound (sorry, couldn't resist) for young people seeking a career in music. If you've ever wondered how a musician builds a life out of sound, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. To learn more about Stephen and his fascinating career, point your browser to ...https://www.ingeermusic.com/about.html

What is the fascination that we have with seductive avatars of oblivion? Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams indoctrinated the adolescent me to the possibilities of the Succubus, and became my tween age, gothic sex symbol; the painting by Pre-Raphaeite John Millet:  Ophelia (who floats beautifully in the river) hung on my dorm wall for years.  Today, Double Trouble features a couple of ice queens who inspire detached sexual delirium, one contemporary, and one long gone, but still as magnetic as when she walked the earth: the enigmatic Lana Del Rey and Andy Warhol's muse - Nico (nee Christa Paffgen). LANA DEL REYWhen Lana Del Rey sings “We were born to die,” you know she's not fooling around. Her voice might be studiously without affect, but you can sense some psychic turmoil underneath. And when she purrs, “you like your girls insane,” she is obviously speaking from experience. Her Greta Garbo air of mystery smolders like an ember that could reignite and singe you at any moment. Of course, LDR is vastly more multi-dimensional as an artist than simply existing as a blank canvas on which to project our emo fantasies. Her later work, such as her fifth album, the widely acclaimed “Norman Fucking Rockwell” has generous reserves of humor, complexity, and intelligence to ponder and appreciate.  And, her recent marriage hints at even further explorations of domestic bliss. So maybe our gothic goddess will be embracing life going forward.NICOSpeaking of blank canvasses on which we can project our fantasies - Nico, the fashion model, turned Chanteuse, was the ultimate receptive surface.  She wasn't even a singer at first, veering off key as she often did, but her voice with its hypnotic, Germanic drone had its undeniable charms. And, Andy Warhol knew the socko glamor that he was wielding when he saddled the Velvet Underground with her, making her their front person. Who knows if the group, as brilliant as they were, would have garnered any attention initially if it wasn't for Warhol's 1960s answer to Marlene Dietrich. Nico struggled with heroin addiction and died tragically young in a senseless bicycle accident, but before she left us she created, (with the help of Velvet's veteran John Cale as producer) some unforgettable mantras. Frozen Warnings is one of the most compelling - It's harmonium and droning viola conjure the sense of tip-toeing across a frozen lake and feeling the ice cracking under your feet as you try to reach the glaciated siren.

In this episode I am joined by Dr Francisco José Luis, scholar of Indo-Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion trained at the Sorbonne, Paris and SOAS, London. Francisco recalls his upbringing and education in Luxembourg; details his rigorous academic training in classical languages such as Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit; and laments what he sees as the rise of idealogical indoctrination in modern education Francisco discusses his PhD in pre-reformist Sikhism, his years of field work living in the Punjab, and expresses his love of the German intellectual tradition. Francisco reveals the influence of Neoplatonism in Islamic theology and mysticism, describes his own turn to Shiʿi Islam, and explains why he believes that even today there is a living lineage of Neoplatonism that stretches directly back to Plotinus. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep327-neoplatonic-mystic-dr-francisco-jos-luis Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast'. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:01 - Upbringing in Luxembourg 02:56 - Classical education 04:28 - Learning Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit 08:03 - Germanic intellectual tradition and WW2 12:37 - Advantages of an anti-American education 15:06 - Critical thinking and intellectual independence 17:04 - Boomer educators and idealogical indoctrination 20:59 - German literature 22:56 - Post WW2 culture shock and the boomer revolution 27:20 - Vatican II and loss of trust 30:35 - Filling education gaps 32:06 - A deeply pagan Catholic 35:21 - Meditation practice and interest in Neo-Vedanta 37:52 - Studying two masters degrees simultaneously at the Sorbonne 39:57 - Rigorous training in Sanskrit 43:56 - MA theses in French literature and pre-reform Sikhism 45:20 - PhD at SOAS in pre-reformist Sikh monastic orders 46:48 - Living among the Sikh community and learning Punjabi 49:54 - Young Sikh's interest in pre-reformist religion 50:54 - Death threats from Sikhs 53:00 - Changes in Sikhism 55:20 - Tradition religious music of Sikhism and other pre-reformist features 01:00:18 - Neo-traditionalist Sikh movements in the UK and India 01:03:59 - Falling in love with Shiʿi Islam 01:10:16 - Conversion to Islam? 01:11:45 - Shi'ism as a personal practice 01:13:23 - Cultural barriers against European converts 01:16:12 - Neo-Platonic Vajrayanism 01:17:43 - Mysticism perceived as a threat 01:21:48 - Neoplatonic influence on Islam 01:27:28 - Surprising Neo-Platonic features of Islamic mysticism 01:33:30 - Metempsychosis in Islam 01:37:16 - Francisco is a Neoplatonist 01:43:08 - Vajrayana and Shiʿi inner alchemy and dream yoga 01:50:43 - Islamic tummo … To find our more about Dr Francisco José Luis, visit: - https://www.instagram.com/hludvig_tradicionalista For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - https://www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi' by Steve James

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 24, 2025 is: brandish • BRAN-dish • verb To brandish something, such as a weapon, is to wave or swing it in a threatening or excited manner. // Squeals of laughter erupted as three children brandishing squirt guns rounded the corner of the house. See the entry > Examples: “The dancers are young men from the neighborhoods dressed in dark robes accented by bright yellow, red and blue accessories and tall, maroon hats called Tkoumbout adorned with silver jewelry. The men's dances and women's chants have been passed down through generations. Children participate in the festivities by mimicking the older performers. Boys brandish miniature swords and scarves in their small hands and girls stand with the female drummers.” — Audrey Thibert, The Associated Press, 1 July 2025 Did you know? The word brandish is often paired with a word for a weapon, such as knife or handgun. The link between brandish and weaponry is present in the word's etymology: brandish comes ultimately from a Germanic word meaning “sword.” Since the word's 14th century introduction to the English language (by way of Anglo-French) weapons have commonly been the things brandished, but also extensive is the use of brandish with things that are wielded to defeat in other ways, such as banners and placards used in the war of ideas. One can even brandish something that isn't physical, such as a law or one's intellect. In that case, you are figuratively waving the thing in someone's face so that it cannot be ignored.

Thursday, 11 September 2025   Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. Matthew 13:5   “And others, it fell upon the rock-like, where it had not much earth, and immediately it out-rose through not having soil depth” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus continued His parable concerning the sower and his seed, noting that some seed fell on the road, explaining that the birds came and devoured them. He next tells of what happens to some of the other seed, saying, “And others, it fell upon the rock-like, where it had not much earth.”   A new adjective, petródés, is introduced. It is derived from petra, a rock or mass of rocks, and eidos, a view as in a form, appearance, shape, etc. As such, it is a place appearing rocky. In this case, it would be a rocky area, but not everything rock-like is actually rocky, such as a wall painted like rocks.   In this case, it may be an area where stones that have been tilled up are tossed, heaping up in a pile. It also might be an outcropping of rocks that abuts the tillable land. Whatever the situation, the sower, while tossing out his seed, inadvertently has some land on this rocky area. When he does, Jesus next says, “and immediately it out-rose.”   A second new word, exanatelló, is used. It is derived from ek, out or from, and anatelló, to rise or spring up. The seed feels the warmth of the sun, and the rock may have had dew settle on it, spurring the seed to germinate and begin to rise. There is a problem with this, though. Jesus notes what it is, saying, “through not having soil depth.”   A third new word, bathos, deep or a depth, is introduced. Some etymologists place this word as the origin of our modern word bath. Others say that it is derived from a Germanic word. Either way, the seed has no soil to cover it. Jesus will explain the result of those seeds' germination in the coming verse.   Life application: The parable of the sower is given based on something almost every person there would fully understand. The society was mostly agrarian. There are those who had other professions, but even those people would be at least familiar with what happened when a seed landed on a rocky spot.   In other words, Jesus is dealing with the people in a manner they would be able to comprehend if they thought the matter through. They may not understand the spiritual application He intended, but at least they would know what was being conveyed concerning seeds.   His speech was plain and directed to them without a lot of nonessential extras. This is just how we should speak to people about the gospel. God has made it extremely simple to understand. So much so is this the case that little children can hear it and be saved. People who are mentally challenged can comprehend it and call on Christ.   And more, it is universal in its ability to convert. It is not limited to some cultures, a “western” mindset, skin color, age, education level, or any other dividing factor. God is perfect and holy, and man is fallen and separate from God because of sin. In this state, he is condemned.   However, God sent Jesus to live the perfect life that we cannot. He was crucified for our sins according to Scripture. He was buried. He rose again on the third day according to Scripture. This is the gospel, the good news, that saves a person when he believes. Nothing else is needed, and its effects are eternal.   Tell this message to a little child who just got caught stealing a cookie, and he will get it. Tell it to a prostitute who wants to be freed from the life she is living, and she will get it. Tell it to a doctor or a scientist, and he will understand the meaning.   The message will be understood. The issue isn't whether a person will hear and understand. It is whether a person will hear and believe. All God wants for His gospel to effect salvation is for the hearer to accept the premise, admit that they have sinned, and believe that God has accomplished what is necessary to bring about restoration.   How simple the message is, and yet how difficult it is for some to believe. And more, people may hear the message and reject it today, but hear it again tomorrow and believe. So keep on giving the simple message of salvation to those who need to hear it.   Glorious God Almighty, with all the wisdom You possess and with all the knowledge in the universe held by You, when it comes to saving humanity, You made the message so simple. There is no need to search high or low, or north or south. Rather, it is right with us when it is spoken in our ears. May we be responsible enough to share it with those who so desperately need You. Amen.  

Amy is joined by author and organizer Hilary Giovale to discuss her book, Becoming A Good Relative, and have a transparent conversation about whiteness, white guilt, and finding the difference between appreciation and appropriation on our journeys toward healing and decolonization.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyHilary Giovale is a mother, writer, and community organizer who holds a Master's Degree in Good and Sustainable Communities. She has taught improvisational dance and has served on the boards of philanthropic, human rights, and environmental organizations. Descended from the Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe, she is a ninth-generation American settler. For most of her life these origins were obscured by whiteness.After learning more about her ancestors' history, Hilary began emerging from a fog of amnesia, denial, and fragmentation. For the first time, she could see a painful reality: her family's occupation of this land has harmed Indigenous and African peoples, cultures, lands, and lifeways. With this realization, her life changed. Divesting from settler colonialism and whiteness, she seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of healing, mutual liberation, and equitable futures. She is the author of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair (Green Writers Press, October 2024).

In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast, Murray tackles a question from Jörn: How different are an ancient Greek city-state's hoplite phalanx and a Germanic shield wall? While separated by centuries and culture, both formations relied on close-order infantry and cohesion. Murray explores their tactical similarities and differences, the contexts in which they developed, and what each reveals about the societies that used them.   Join us on Patreon patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast  

On this episode of The Wandering Road, we follow the trail of the mysterious Dogman — a creature caught between folklore and nightmare. From chilling sightings across the Americas to Native American stories of wolf spirits, we unravel how humanity's fascination with half-man, half-wolf beings stretches back through time. We'll travel through European legend, from the Germanic tales of wolf-warriors to the infamous Beast of Gévaudan in 18th-century France, exploring how cultures across the world have shaped the myth. Is Dogman a cryptid, a spirit, or a reflection of something deeper in the human psyche? Join us as we journey through history, legend, and fear to uncover the roots of this enduring creature of the shadows.Support the showSOCIAL MEDIATwitter: @TWRoadpodcastIG: twroadpodcastWant to be a guest or share your paranormal experiences? Email us!twroadpodcast@gmail.com

Our Trauma Culture has spread across the globe with terrifying speed and ghastly efficiency.  But the tide is turning and people of good heart in many nations are beginning to understand that what we need now is a move towards a 21st Century Initiation Culture. The language is often different, but at heart, this is where we need to go. Our guest this week, Hilary Giovale, is a mother, writer, facilitator and community organiser who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.  As an active reparationist, she seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of human rights, environmental justice, and equitable futures.  She is the author of the award-winning book Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair.Descended from the Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe, she is a ninth-generation American settler.  For most of her life these origins were obscured by whiteness.  After learning more about her ancestors' history, Hilary began emerging from a fog of amnesia, denial, and fragmentation.  For the first time, she could see a painful reality: her family's occupation of this land has harmed Indigenous and African peoples, cultures, lands, and lifeways.  This realisation changed her life and part of this change was writing this moving, deeply important book.  Supported by local First Peoples, she undertook four years of fasting ceremonies, and began to engage differently, more deeply and with a new, raw authenticity with those whose ancestors had been most damaged by the Trauma Culture's colonisation of the land. Her book is essential reading for anyone in white culture, wherever we live in the world. It's a raw, unflinching step into discomfort, but it's also a deeply moving memoir of Hilary's journey inward, to dreams, to genuine visionary connection with the land, to the power of heartfelt apology to heal at least some of the generational horror of the Trauma Culture.  So, you'll definitely want to read this. If you're in North America, you can get hard copies easily. If you're elsewhere, you may only be able to get an e-book, but either way, Hilary returns all income she receives from book sales to Decolonizing Wealth Project and Jubilee Justice.  Hilary's website: https://www.goodrelative.comBecoming a Good Relative https://www.goodrelative.com/bookE-book here: on Barnes and Noble  and on KoboGuide to Making a Personal Reparations Plan https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G-ufl_8ixdquMGrDziiBUBAANYKXrN7eHtjiE5aKTfw/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.1kvofvfw6wnsWhat we offer: Accidental Gods, Dreaming Awake and the Thrutopia Writing Masterclass If you'd like to join our next Open Gathering offered by our Accidental Gods Programme it's  'Dreaming Your Death Awake' (you don't have to be a member) it's on 2nd November - details are here.If you'd like to join us at Accidental Gods, this is the membership where we endeavour to help you to connect fully with the living web of life. If you'd like to train more deeply in the contemporary shamanic work at Dreaming Awake, you'll find us here. If you'd like to explore the recordings from our last Thrutopia Writing Masterclass, the details are here

⁠⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Long after the smoke from the battlefields died down, long after the ravens had eaten their fill, the Migration Era lived on in Germanic heroic legend, well into the Middle Ages. For centuries after the battles and events of that era, people throughout Europe were crafting legends and sagas that repurposed and mythologized those events, sometimes recasting major figures from that time into villains and heroes of a later saga. Goths and Huns figured prominently.  And that is our subject today: who got mythologized, and how. Sponsors and Advertising This episode is sponsored by Taskrabbit. Get 15% off your first task at Taskrabbit.com or the Taskrabbit app using promo code HISTORY. This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It took little more than a single generation for the centuries-old Roman Empire to fall. In those critical decades, while Christians and pagans, legions and barbarians, generals and politicians squabbled over dwindling scraps of power, two men – former comrades on the battlefield – rose to prominence on opposite sides of the great game of empire. Roman general Flavius Stilicho, the man behind the Roman throne, dedicated himself to restoring imperial glory, only to find himself struggling for his life against political foes. Alaric, King of the Goths, desired to be a friend of Rome, was betrayed by it, and given no choice but to become its enemy. Battling each other to a standstill, these two warriors ultimately overcame their differences in order to save the empire from enemies on all sides. And when Stilicho fell, Alaric took vengeance on Rome, sacking it in 410, triggering the ultimate downfall of the Western Empire. To discuss this critical decade in Western history is Don Hollway, author of “At the Gates of Rome: The Fall of the Eternal City, AD 410.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Alaric of the Visigoths sacked Rome, it shocked the world—not least because Rome hadn't been sacked in a thousand years. But also, while Rome was a Christian city by now—it had been for decades—the Visigoths were Christian too.  And they weren't recent converts, either. They had all been Christian for over 160 years. Theirs was the earliest conversion of a Germanic people in recorded history. And their Christianity was different than the state religion of Rome. How did that happen, and why? Join us as we try to answer those questions. Sponsors and Advertising This episode is sponsored by Taskrabbit. Get 15% off your first task at Taskrabbit.com or the Taskrabbit app using promo code HISTORY. This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices