Podcasts about Persephone

Today Rachel and Mary are here to talk about the new series Seeking Persephone Watch Seeking Persephone on amazon https://amzn.to/4u7NYa8 (ad) Follow Mary at https://x.com/_maryrichards Follow us on ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hallmarkies-podcast/id1296728288?mt=2 https://twitter.com/HallmarkiesPod on twitter @HallmarkiesPodcast on Instagram HallmarkiesPodcast.com Check out lots of Hearties inspired merch https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hallmarkies?utm_campaign=Hallmarkies&utm_medium=8581&utm_source=affiliate Please support the podcast on patreon at https://www.patreon.com/hallmarkies1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This eclipse is an initiation — and inside BONES (Living Close to the Bone), we're walking the Surrender Doorway together in a live, embodied Circle.  → Join here Mercury retrograde in Pisces meets a Virgo Full Moon South Node Eclipse in one of the most karmic weeks of March. With Black Moon square the Nodes and Venus activating relationship evolution, this eclipse portal amplifies psychic sensitivity, shadow purification, feminine reclamation, and identity shifts. Expect ego scaffolding to crumble as limitless potential meets real-world embodiment. The invitation? Release what's complete, mature your magnetism, and surrender into something wiser than the small self. Episode Highlights: Psychic Sensitivity Overload — Pisces + Mercury Retrograde amplifies intuition, dreams, and disorientation. Black Moon Activation — The deep sacred feminine rises to reclaim power during this karmic eclipse. Relationship Evolution — Venus + Persephone demand a mature, soul-aligned expression of love and magnetism. Ego Deconstruction — Inner scaffolding collapses as identity shifts during this South Node eclipse. The Eclipse Wormhole — Surrender to higher wisdom… or cling and get pulled under. Ready to Work With This Eclipse Energy? If this week's astrology is activating something in you… don't process it alone. BONES — Monthly Embodiment Workshop We gather live on the first of every month for a 2-hour embodied activation designed to help you integrate the current astrology into your nervous system, your relationships, and your leadership. Replay available instantly if you can't attend live. → Join BONES here  The Path of the Priest/ess In-Person Retreat This is our only in-person Priestess Training offered this year — a 5-day advanced retreat in Ibiza, Spain (22–26 April 2026), limited to 24 participants and available by application only. Early Bird Pricing available through March 15th, 2026. → Details & application here Listen to “This Full Moon Eclipse Ends Who You've Been | March 2–8 Astrology“ podcast here… Topics Explored in “This Full Moon Eclipse Ends Who You've Been | March 2–8 Astrology” podcast: (Times based off audio version) (0:00) March Astrology Forecast: Mercury Retrograde + Full Moon Eclipse (1:18) Theme 1 — Psychic Sensitivity & Pisces Overload (4:28) Theme 2 — Virgo Full Moon, Black Moon, Nodes of Fate & Divine Feminine Power (8:28) Theme 3 — Relationship Evolution: Venus, Mercury Retrograde & Persephone (9:31) Third-Stage Feminine Power: Mature Magnetism & Soul-Aligned Love (13:25) Theme 4 — Jupiter Expansion: Limitless Potential Meets Reality Check (16:38) Theme 5 — Shadow Work & Eclipse Purging (Psychic + Karmic Detox) (19:01) Theme 6 — Ego Deconstruction & Dark Night of the Soul Energy (21:09) Inner Scaffolding Collapse: Identity Shifts & Soul Awakening (25:00) Theme 7 — The Eclipse Wormhole: Surrender vs. Clinging (30:19) Work With the Energy: Bones Workshop + Eclipse Integration You can leave a comment or question for Sabrina on the YouTube version of this episode. Listen to after “Eclipse Corridor Astrology: The Choice That Alters Everything (Feb 23–Mar 1)”: What’s Done is Done Eclipse Portal Opens Leo Full Moon & Eclipse Portal Watch Part 1 — “Are You in the First Wave?”  STAY CONNECTED ReWilding Weekly (free, embodied astrology)  IG  Website  Disclaimer: Educational/spiritual perspectives; not medical/mental-health advice. #2025Shift #NewHuman #SpiritualAwakening Welcome to ReWilding with Sabrina Lynn & ReWilding for Women! A gifted facilitator of revolutionary inner work and the world's leading archetypal embodiment expert, Sabrina Lynn is the creator of the groundbreaking ReWilding Way and founder of ReWilding For Women. Sabrina has led more than 100,000 people through programs based on the ReWilding Way, a modality of healing and awakening that strips away the false, the deep wounds from early life, and the fears that hold people back, to reveal their true and unique soul light and help them build their innate capacity to shine it in the world. Her work includes in-person retreats and events, the monthly ReWilding Membership, Living Close to the Bone, Priest/ess Trainings, Mystery Schools, the ReWilding with the Archetypes, and the wildly popular 6 Faces of the Feminine workshop series. Welcome to ReWilding! The post 367 – This Full Moon Eclipse Ends Who You've Been | March 2–8 Astrology appeared first on Rewilding for Women.

May you have the courage to stand in your own knowing.May you find the grace to let go of striving for perfection, and instead embrace the sacredness of your imperfect, human journey.May luminous moments of optimism and possibility guide you,even as you move through gray times of despair and doubt.May you have the wisdom to choose differently, to prioritize what truly matters,creating a legacy that lingers. May you always find solace in the holy ground beneath your feet,the sacred presence that dwells within and all around you.Shine your light, dear one,your small, precious gifts are needed in this world.Happy Spring Equinox! I hope you are enjoying a gentle leap into a new season. Our own weather has been erratic and wild, including nearby tornadoes that wreaked havoc on our town. And, then, today, as I work on the newsletter, sporadic power outages at our house cutting off my internet. As such, this newsletter will be a little shorter than usual with only a brief audio edition. I've gotten very off schedule this week! Our shop update today is an eclectic one, featuring assorted divine imperfections, “Luna” one-of-a-kind goddesses, and some red winged Nemesis goddesses (by customer request).We also still have assorted goddesses in our very special spring pigment—a beautiful lilac with small flowers. We are using this pigment to honor Áine, the Irish Fairy Queen, who is this year's featured goddess at Gaea Goddess Gathering. We do know that she is a summertime goddess, but we felt like this pigment was an excellent match for the spring equinox/Ostara and our month of Persephone as well, so we went forward with it!This week's magic:* 8 minute video: beholding delight.Resource Reminders:* New free series: An Introduction to Goddess Studies* 1. getting started* 2. printable journal* 3. affirmation card set* 4. portable altar space* 5. introduction to thealogy* 6. influential authors in goddess studies* 7. audio retreat: spots of time (note: publishing Saturday)Blog Posts:* Ritual Reading for Spring Equinox (A Spring Ritual of Returning)* Clarity and the CrossroadsBeholding DelightReminder: Let us be open to delight. Let us be open to wonder. Let us allow joy. Let us be open to the possibility of bliss.Journal prompts for the week:* What is calling to you? What doorway are you sensing?* What are you saying yes to? What is your ritual of returning?Affirmations for this week:* Happiness and ecstasy flow through me wildly and freely.* I am open to joy.* I say yes to life.* I listen to the call.* I allow an expansive dream or creative quest to emerge.* I find the small sacred moments in my daily life and let them sustain me.* I walk my path with presence and intention.Goddess of quiet knowing,help me to make a space for stillness,to guard a place for peace.Remind me that stillness and motionare a constant interplay,the beat between notes,the space between raindrops,the pause between breaths,the silence between heartbeats.The nature of the body is to be in motion,the constant unfolding of a whole universewhirling within our cells,the still spaces in betweensomehow holding the whole together,as in stillnesswe move.Much love,Molly, Mark, + Family This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goddessmagic.substack.com/subscribe

A "blood moon" lunar eclipse is happening March 3rd at almost 13° Virgo. This eclipse is comparatively quiet astrologically, making it easier to focus on Virgo themes of order, service, health, and returning to a natural rhythm. This eclipse "rules" for six months and may fully ripen during Virgo season. Protection is a central theme, connected to blood as naturally protective and to the eclipse as a safe container for ritual and self-exploration, especially around vulnerable "maiden" aspects of self. For goddess work, we recommend Medusa as a powerful protector and healer deeply linked to blood magic. Medusa's mythic blood created coral and red serpents. Explore historical protective folk magic in 16th-century English spell jars using one's own urine, blood, and hair with herbs as well as Melinoë a lesser-known goddess, presented in the Orphic Hymn 71. She is the daughter of Persephone, and Melinoë is a dark and luminous Goddess, the "Queen of Nightmares" and "Master of Ghosts," ruling liminal space between life and death and invoked for protection, trauma processing, and relief from fear and night terrors. She parallels this eclipse "portal" energy. Enjoy this potent time of a lunar eclipse and blood magic! If you are loving this podcast and you feel really motivated or compelled to share, please donate to this podcast: Donate here Connect with the Goddesses:  https://www.goddesswitchwomb.com  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goddesswitchwomb/  Follow us on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@goddesswitchwomb

“The goddess is not a myth of the past, but a living presence within us, reminding us to honor our wildness, wisdom, and endurance in everyday life.”Welcome to Awakening Aphrodite — the podcast that helps you reconnect with your feminine energy and power, reclaim your vitality, and live in harmony with your body, mind, and spirit.In each episode, holistic health expert Amy Fournier shares inspiring conversations with expert guests, blending ancient wisdom and modern science to offer practical tools that help you thrive in today's fast-paced world.Featured Guest: Dr. Carla IonescuDr. Carla Ionescu is an ancient historian and leading authority on the goddess Artemis, known for her deep, interdisciplinary research on sacred feminine archetypes and their place in both myth and lived history. She is the founder of The Artemis Center and host of The Goddess Project, where she explores how ancient goddesses continue to shape modern spiritual and psychological life. She is also the author of works examining Artemis, temple cultures, and the enduring power of goddess traditions in contemporary times.Dr. Carla is not only a scholar but also a passionate storyteller and bridge-builder between academia and embodied spirituality. Born in Romania and later educated in North America, her personal journey of migration, identity, and belonging informs her devotion to recovering the lost voices of women and the divine feminine in history. Through her lectures, writings, and workshops, she helps women reclaim their wild, instinctual wisdom and reconnect with the sacred cycles of nature. She currently splits her time between teaching, research, and guiding seekers who feel called to walk with Artemis and the living goddess within.Be sure to hop on Amy's email list to be notified when her online course and membership community, Goddess Rising, Thriving Through the 4 Stages of Womanhood is open for enrollment: https://amyfournier.com/ebooks-shopCheck out Amy's newest product: Heart & Sacral Guided Meditation: https://amyfournier.com/heart-sacral-meditation/For All Amy's Approved Products: https://amyfournier.com/recommended-products/Timestamps:00:00 Intro16:21 Reading History26:17 Faith To Artemis30:37 Sacred Feminine38:47 Ancient Rituals Today44:20 Gods & Zeus Debate58:28 Academic Bias01:03:22 Rethinking Artemis01:09:45 Artemis & Mary01:20:12 Signs & Stags01:29:01 Artemis Energy01:39:22 Resources & CloseIf you enjoyed this episode be sure to check out:176. Fast Friday: Messages from the Divine Feminine Oracle of Sekhmet and Diana/Artemis, Part III⁠244. How Venus, Vestia, Persephone & Other Mythological Archetypes Can Help Us Today with Letao Wang260. Exploring Female Archetypes with Barbara McNally83. Awakening Aphrodite With Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, Author Of Goddesses In Everywoman229. The Wild Woman: Nourishing your Goddess Instincts, Passion and Beauty with Dr. Stacey ShelbyStay Connected & Support the ShowIf this episode inspired or helped you, it would mean the world to us if you would leave a 5-star rating and review — it really helps us and thank you!Join Amy's Email List for holistic health tips, updates & exclusive content: https://amyfournier.com/contact/Be the first to hear when Amy's upcoming online course & community, Goddess Rising: Thriving In The 4 Stages of Womanhood is open for applications: https://amyfournier.com/contact/Connect With AmyWebsite: https://amyfournier.com​YouTube: Awakening Aphrodite Podcast / FitAmyTV​Instagram: @fitamytv​Facebook: Amy Fournier​Email: amy@amyfournier.comContact CarlaWebsite: www.artemisresearchcentre.com Instagram & TikTok: @artemisexpert YouTube: The Goddess Project New Book: She Who Endures: The Cult and Iconography of Artemis of Ephesus

“The goddess is not a myth of the past, but a living presence within us, reminding us to honor our wildness, wisdom, and endurance in everyday life.”Welcome to Awakening Aphrodite — the podcast that helps you reconnect with your feminine energy and power, reclaim your vitality, and live in harmony with your body, mind, and spirit.In each episode, holistic health expert Amy Fournier shares inspiring conversations with expert guests, blending ancient wisdom and modern science to offer practical tools that help you thrive in today's fast-paced world.Featured Guest: Dr. Carla IonescuDr. Carla Ionescu is an ancient historian and leading authority on the goddess Artemis, known for her deep, interdisciplinary research on sacred feminine archetypes and their place in both myth and lived history. She is the founder of The Artemis Center and host of The Goddess Project, where she explores how ancient goddesses continue to shape modern spiritual and psychological life. She is also the author of works examining Artemis, temple cultures, and the enduring power of goddess traditions in contemporary times.Dr. Carla is not only a scholar but also a passionate storyteller and bridge-builder between academia and embodied spirituality. Born in Romania and later educated in North America, her personal journey of migration, identity, and belonging informs her devotion to recovering the lost voices of women and the divine feminine in history. Through her lectures, writings, and workshops, she helps women reclaim their wild, instinctual wisdom and reconnect with the sacred cycles of nature. She currently splits her time between teaching, research, and guiding seekers who feel called to walk with Artemis and the living goddess within.Be sure to hop on Amy's email list to be notified when her online course and membership community, Goddess Rising, Thriving Through the 4 Stages of Womanhood is open for enrollment: https://amyfournier.com/ebooks-shopCheck out Amy's newest product: Heart & Sacral Guided Meditation: https://amyfournier.com/heart-sacral-meditation/For All Amy's Approved Products: https://amyfournier.com/recommended-products/Timestamps:00:00 Intro16:21 Reading History26:17 Faith To Artemis30:37 Sacred Feminine38:47 Ancient Rituals Today44:20 Gods & Zeus Debate58:28 Academic Bias01:03:22 Rethinking Artemis01:09:45 Artemis & Mary01:20:12 Signs & Stags01:29:01 Artemis Energy01:39:22 Resources & CloseIf you enjoyed this episode be sure to check out:176. Fast Friday: Messages from the Divine Feminine Oracle of Sekhmet and Diana/Artemis, Part III⁠244. How Venus, Vestia, Persephone & Other Mythological Archetypes Can Help Us Today with Letao Wang260. Exploring Female Archetypes with Barbara McNally83. Awakening Aphrodite With Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, Author Of Goddesses In Everywoman229. The Wild Woman: Nourishing your Goddess Instincts, Passion and Beauty with Dr. Stacey ShelbyStay Connected & Support the ShowIf this episode inspired or helped you, it would mean the world to us if you would leave a 5-star rating and review — it really helps us and thank you!Join Amy's Email List for holistic health tips, updates & exclusive content: https://amyfournier.com/contact/Be the first to hear when Amy's upcoming online course & community, Goddess Rising: Thriving In The 4 Stages of Womanhood is open for applications: https://amyfournier.com/contact/Connect With AmyWebsite: https://amyfournier.com​YouTube: Awakening Aphrodite Podcast / FitAmyTV​Instagram: @fitamytv​Facebook: Amy Fournier​Email: amy@amyfournier.comContact CarlaWebsite: www.artemisresearchcentre.com Instagram & TikTok: @artemisexpert YouTube: The Goddess Project New Book: She Who Endures: The Cult and Iconography of Artemis of Ephesus

“The goddess is not a myth of the past, but a living presence within us, reminding us to honor our wildness, wisdom, and endurance in everyday life.”Welcome to Awakening Aphrodite — the podcast that helps you reconnect with your feminine energy and power, reclaim your vitality, and live in harmony with your body, mind, and spirit.In each episode, holistic health expert Amy Fournier shares inspiring conversations with expert guests, blending ancient wisdom and modern science to offer practical tools that help you thrive in today's fast-paced world.Featured Guest: Dr. Carla IonescuDr. Carla Ionescu is an ancient historian and leading authority on the goddess Artemis, known for her deep, interdisciplinary research on sacred feminine archetypes and their place in both myth and lived history. She is the founder of The Artemis Center and host of The Goddess Project, where she explores how ancient goddesses continue to shape modern spiritual and psychological life. She is also the author of works examining Artemis, temple cultures, and the enduring power of goddess traditions in contemporary times.Dr. Carla is not only a scholar but also a passionate storyteller and bridge-builder between academia and embodied spirituality. Born in Romania and later educated in North America, her personal journey of migration, identity, and belonging informs her devotion to recovering the lost voices of women and the divine feminine in history. Through her lectures, writings, and workshops, she helps women reclaim their wild, instinctual wisdom and reconnect with the sacred cycles of nature. She currently splits her time between teaching, research, and guiding seekers who feel called to walk with Artemis and the living goddess within.Be sure to hop on Amy's email list to be notified when her online course and membership community, Goddess Rising, Thriving Through the 4 Stages of Womanhood is open for enrollment: https://amyfournier.com/ebooks-shopCheck out Amy's newest product: Heart & Sacral Guided Meditation: https://amyfournier.com/heart-sacral-meditation/For All Amy's Approved Products: https://amyfournier.com/recommended-products/Timestamps:00:00 Intro16:21 Reading History26:17 Faith To Artemis30:37 Sacred Feminine38:47 Ancient Rituals Today44:20 Gods & Zeus Debate58:28 Academic Bias01:03:22 Rethinking Artemis01:09:45 Artemis & Mary01:20:12 Signs & Stags01:29:01 Artemis Energy01:39:22 Resources & CloseIf you enjoyed this episode be sure to check out:176. Fast Friday: Messages from the Divine Feminine Oracle of Sekhmet and Diana/Artemis, Part III⁠244. How Venus, Vestia, Persephone & Other Mythological Archetypes Can Help Us Today with Letao Wang260. Exploring Female Archetypes with Barbara McNally83. Awakening Aphrodite With Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, Author Of Goddesses In Everywoman229. The Wild Woman: Nourishing your Goddess Instincts, Passion and Beauty with Dr. Stacey ShelbyStay Connected & Support the ShowIf this episode inspired or helped you, it would mean the world to us if you would leave a 5-star rating and review — it really helps us and thank you!Join Amy's Email List for holistic health tips, updates & exclusive content: https://amyfournier.com/contact/Be the first to hear when Amy's upcoming online course & community, Goddess Rising: Thriving In The 4 Stages of Womanhood is open for applications: https://amyfournier.com/contact/Connect With AmyWebsite: https://amyfournier.com​YouTube: Awakening Aphrodite Podcast / FitAmyTV​Instagram: @fitamytv​Facebook: Amy Fournier​Email: amy@amyfournier.comContact CarlaWebsite: www.artemisresearchcentre.com Instagram & TikTok: @artemisexpert YouTube: The Goddess Project New Book: She Who Endures: The Cult and Iconography of Artemis of Ephesus

Persephone's Curse by Katrina Leno Read Alikes: The Everneath by Brodi Ashton House Saphir by Marissa Meyer Abandon by Meg Cabot

In this conversation, Rachel Tzvia Back discusses her memoir 'The Dark-Robed Mother,' exploring her experiences with high-functioning depression, the complexities of motherhood, and the metaphor of Persephone in relation to her struggles. She reflects on the nuances of grief and depression, the importance of representation in literature, and the therapeutic process of writing her book, which involved her children's perspectives. Rachel also shares her current reflections on life and the sorrows of the world.00:00 Introduction to Rachel Tzvia Back and Her Memoir03:08 Understanding High-Functioning Depression06:09 The Spectrum of Sorrow, Melancholy, and Grief09:07 The Myth of Persephone as a Metaphor for Depression11:51 Motherhood, Depression, and Generational Trauma15:10 The Process of Writing and Family Involvement17:57 Current Reflections on Life and Global SorrowsGuest InformationRachel Tzvia BackWebsite: https://racheltzviaback.comGet your copy of The Dark-Robed Mother by Rachel Tzvia BackAs an Amazon Associate, Now I've Heard Everything may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.For more intriguing and engaging interviews each week, subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. and now on YouTube

What if I told you that 9 out of 10 babies in America are missing key gut microbes right from the start? As a labor nurse who's delivered thousands of little ones and now a proud Gigi, this chat totally rocked my world and got me thinking about my own grandbabies' health.Join the Calm Mama Membership: labornursemama.com/cmsLeave a review and include your Instagram username for a chance to win our monthly raffle!I'm thrilled to welcome Stephanie Culler, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Persephone Biosciences. Stephanie's a powerhouse scientist with a PhD in chemical engineering from Caltech, tons of patents in synthetic biology, and a passion for using the gut microbiome to fight disease. Inspired by losing her grandmothers to cancer and her own journey as a first-time mom during COVID, she pivoted from cancer research to baby gut health. She's led the largest U.S. study on infant microbiomes and created groundbreaking products to restore what modern life has stripped away from the gut.In this episode, we dive deep into:Why modern babies are missing crucial bifidobacteria - and how it links to allergies, eczema, asthma, and even long-term risks like cancer.The shocking impact of antibiotics, C-sections, and formula on gut health, and why it's a multi-generational issue.Stephanie's "aha" moment that shifted her from cancer treatments to preventing issues at the source with Persephone's first-of-its-kind synbiotic.Signs your baby's gut needs help: fussiness, colic, constipation, diaper rash, poor sleep - and how this product can turn things around fast.Tips for new moms: Start from day one, even if breastfeeding (mix a smidge into colostrum or on your nipple!), and why it's great for C-section babies too.Bonus: How this could be a game-changer for adults and pregnant mamas, too.More from Dr. Stephanie Culler:Persephone's Daily Synergistic Synbiotic: https://persephone.bio/products/bloomVisit www.persephone.bioFollow on Instagram and TikTok: @persephone.bioConnect with Dr. Stephanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-cullerHelpful Timestamps:00:00 Meet Dr. Stephanie Culler01:44 Stephanie's Story: From Cancer Research to Babies05:27 The My Baby Biome Study: The Shocking 9-in-10 Finding09:26 Signs of an Off Microbiome + Benefits Seen11:16 Why Start From Day One

Tempers flare as the team discusses the outcome of their qualifier and exactly what Eloise was up to outside of Yona. Later, Carmen digs into the mysteries of Persephone Protocol's finances, and Cedar looks for some extra spending money. CW: Police Sirens, police encounter. Check out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions! For Transcripts, our Tip Jar, merch, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/ Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, The Heart is a Dungeon! Theme Song: "PRESS/LEAD" and "Seconds Rising Star (Reprise)" by Harper S.K. Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Black Hawks" by Akibakid, "Electromagic" by Akibakid, "Arcane Sun" by Max Anson, "Blah Blah" by Heyson, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

The team sneaks in, rescues Cadence, disables the Persephone bots, and sneaks out all without causing a ruckus.  loljk Featured Music: "Eastside" by Good Kid and "Against All Odds" by Dual Variant Dungeon Punks is recorded and produced by Kirk Hamilton. Super U is played using Masks: A New Generation. ——— Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/dungeonpunks Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Follow us on Bluesky @dungeonpunks.bsky.social, Instagram/Threads @DungeonPunks or subscribe on YouTube Come hang out on our Discord channel! Find the Songs From Bands We Like on our Spotify and YouTube Music playlists. ——— SEASON 3 CAST: Stu Popp as The GM aka Everyone's Podcast Dad™ Fil Cieplak as Jason Evans aka Thrasher Leigh Eldridge as Artemis Archer aka The Bandit Mel Shim as Barbara "Babe" Lacey aka Terra Firma Taylor Ramone as Jackie Hyde aka Hyde AND Kirk Hamilton as Kevin Dance aka Cadence

Last November Nick and John introduced Dimitra Fimi, the magnificent maven of Tolkien Studies and Professor of Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow, to students of J. K. Rowling's work. In that discussion, ‘Reading Rowling as Myth Maker and Myth Re-Writer: A Conversation with Dr Dimitra Fimi,' she shared her thoughts about Rowling's creative use of mythology in Harry Potter but especially in the Cormoran Strike series.The Hogwarts Professor team asked her to join us again because of Rowling's yuletide charm bracelet gift to Strike fandom and the recent announcement of the Strike 9 title, Sleep Tight, Evangeline. Her insights about the Longfellow poem as a possible even likely source of the next book's epigraphs are engaging, but it is her expertise in the arcane area of miniature books as well as mythology and the light each shines on the two items attached to the last link of the charm bracelet that open up exciting possibilities.Her idea is that the Psalter on the ninth link of the charm bracelet may actually be, unlike the other tokens on the bracelet's nine links, an object that will play a part in the story, a miniature book. It turns out that one inch high books were something of an industry as curios in the 19th and early 20th century, a means of demonstrating technological mastery.Dr Fimi discussed several projects she has been a part of in conjunctions with nano-technologists and the librarians at the University of Glasgow's special collections division. The one that has the most obvious link to English literature is the ‘Tiny Alice project,' a contemporary effort to minituarize Lewis Carroll's Alice stories to unfathomable minuteness:The Tiny Alice Project has produced one of the world's smallest books: a tiny reproduction of Lewis Carroll's children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). All 78 pages and 26,764 words of the story have been transposed on to a tiny silicon chip, with each page just the width of a human hair (60 microns). Each individual letter is just two microns high, and made from pure gold!Click on the icons below to find out more about the project, the technology behind it, and Lewis Carroll and his interest in the minuscule. Via the tabs above you can also discover the long tradition of miniature books, and teaching resources.Clip: Twixter link to tweet aboveYou can read Dr Fimi's write-up of ‘Tiny Alice' and the Miniature Book exhibition she curated at the University of Glasgow to highlight their special collection of these treasures at her 2019 blog post about them. Pictures that include annotated miniature books — copies in which their owners made notes in the miniscule margins of the printed pages — can be seen here.Later this week, Nick will be sharing his thoughts on Robert Browning's The Ring and the Book as the Ironbridge Murder story's template within Hallmarked Man, John, Nick, Sandy Hope, and Ed Shardlow will be parsing the ring within Strike8's Part Seven, and more about Longfellow's Evangeline — stay tuned!The Ten Questions Guiding Today's Conversation with Dr Fimi with the Necessary Links for Fun Follow-Up:(Intro) So everything Serious Strikers are thinking and talking about this month made me think of you, Dimitra, and to write you hat-in-hand with an invitation for your return to HogwartsProfessor to share your perspective, knowledge, and first impressions. Thank you for making time to join us!1. (John) Jumping right in, then, two of the charms on the Strike9 or ‘Evangeline' bracelet are Fimi areas of unique expertise: the Psalter and the Head of Persephone. I had urged readers to read your Miniature Books in Children's Fantasy at A Kind of Elvish Craft: The Dimitra Fimi Substack Site in the links after our conversation here last November but I confess to being surprised still when you asked for the dimensions of the Psalter charm after Nick and I posted our thoughts on the subject. For those who haven't read your ‘Miniature Books' post, please share how one of the world authorities on the writing of J. R. R. Tolkien became interested in the smallest of texts, the ‘Little Books' of 19th century printing.2. (Nick) So you asked for the dimensions of the Psalter, you weren't thinking as we were that the Psalter charms would be a box holding a folded up paper with a psalm, maybe two, inside it. You're thinking it might actually be a complete Coverdale Psalter? Is that possible?3. (John) What Nick and I hope to contribute to the nascent field of Rowling Studies, as you know, is a refocusing of the scholarship and the serious reader attention about her work on to her Lake Springs -- the biographical part of story inspiration -- her Shed Tools or intentional artistry, and the Golden Threads, the plot points and themes that run throughout her work, i.e., to bring Rowling Studies more in line with all literary scholarship about notable authors, living and dead.One of the Golden Threads we talked about in our Kanreki series last summer was the ‘Embedded Text,' the books inside a book topos that is in almost every book Rowling writes (Kanreki Golden Thread posts one and two). Detective fiction is always about an embedded text, the narrative ‘written' by the criminal to prevent the detective from reading the real story of what happened and Rowling-Galbraith often makes this narrative an actual book (Dumbledore Chocolate Frog Card, Tales of Beedle the Bard, Bombyx Mori, Talbot's ‘True Book,' The Predictions of Tycho Dodonus, etc.). How do you think a Psalter miniaturized book would appear in a Strike novel?4. (Nick) Has an author used a miniaturized book before in this way? Were there 19th Century Psalters that people wore as talismans or carried as the original Pocket Books?5. (John) And what about the Head of Persephone charm on that bracelet? It's on the ninth and last link, paired with that Psalter. You shared your first thought about the Persephone charm, a hopeful note, on the comment thread here. As our go-to authority on Greek mythology, I'm dying to know more of your thinking about (a) the specific charm and its relation to the Cupid and Psyche myth-template to the Strike series, (b) its pairing with the Psalter, and (c) its position as the last charm on the bracelet. Do you still think it's a sign that Robin will survive Sleep Tight, Evangeline?6. (Nick) As someone immersed in mythological studies and more than familiar with Rowling's use of myth, do you think the Jungian interpretation of that myth as the ‘actualization of feminine identity' is a better lens through which to read that embedded text or is the Spenserian lens of Eros/Anteros, False Cupid and Cupid more helpful? Or is this not a case of Either/Or but Both/And? Valentines Day Special7. (John) Rowling is a close reader and admirer of J. R. R. Tolkien, though that is more evident in the clear pointers to his work in her own work than from her interviews. How does her use of myth contrast with that of Tolkien and Lewis? (See John's 2008 post about Rowling's debts to Tolkien and the two part podcast with Tolkien scholars and Rowling Readers Dr Amy H Sturgis and Dr Sara Brown here and here for more on that influence.)8. (Nick) In an in-person meeting with UK Serious Strikers last week, Rowling shared with them and later via X with everyone the title of the ninth Strike novel, Sleep Tight, Evangeline. We're pretty sure that title refers to a song by an American Blues group called ‘The Whiskey Shambles' (story of the hunt, why Whiskey Shambles is a good bet). There is a famous poem, though, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called ‘Evangeline,' one perhaps not as famous as ‘Aurora Leigh' or ‘The Ring and the Book,' other texts Rowling may have used as back-drops to her novels, but still another poem very famous in its own time akin to those epics. Is its subject matter as good a match-up with the possible direction of Sleep Tight as the Victorian poetry back-drop is with other Rowling models?9. (John) You're a native Greek speaker; what does ‘Evangeline' mean in Greek? Is it a common name in Greece or is it a ‘Virtue Name' in the Puritan tradition of grace-filled names (cf., Credence Barebone is probably a reference to an Englishman named “Praise-God Barebone, whose son Nicholas may have been given the name If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned[3]“).10. (Nick) Don't leave before trying to tie together the pieces of this conversation! Is there a thread joining the Psalter, the Head of Persephone, miniaturized books, and the title Sleep Tight, Evangeline?Dimitra Fimi is Professor of Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow and Co-Director of the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic. Her Tolkien, Race and Cultural History won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies and she co-edited the critical edition of A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages which won the Tolkien Society Award for Best Book. Her Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children's Fantasy won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies. Other work includes co-editing Sub-creating Arda: World-building in J.R.R. Tolkien's Work, its Precursors and its Legacies and Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy. She has contributed articles for the TLS and The Conversation, and has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs.When the rightly famous and beloved ‘The Great Courses' series decided to offer a Lord of the Rings entry for their catalog of the very best in scholarship for adult-learners, they asked Dimitra Fimi to create ‘The World of J. R. R. Tolkien,' one of their most popular courses and one you can enjoy in an Audible edition.Links Promised in Conversation:A Kind of Elvish Craft: The Dimitra Fimi Substack Site* Miniature Books in Children's Fantasy* Parabasis: A Tribute to Dionysis Stavvopoulos* On Tolkien's Letter 131 (4): “Romance” vs. ScienceDimitra Fimi articles at ‘The Conversation'* After 150 years, we still haven't solved the puzzle of Alice in Wonderland (2015) 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

#Capitalism#philosophy#culture#economics#freedomOn this episode Michael is joined by Persephone to discuss topics from South African culture to Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.Persephone is the producer of The Capitalist Corner, and she is cohost, with Michael, of Everyday Ethics. About Michael Liebowitz – Host of The Rational Egoist Michael Liebowitz is the host of The Rational Egoist podcast, a philosopher, author, and political activist committed to the principles of reason, individualism, and rational self-interest. Deeply influenced by the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Michael uses his platform to challenge cultural dogma, expose moral contradictions, and defend the values that make human flourishing possible. His journey from a 25-year prison sentence to becoming a respected voice in the libertarian and Objectivist communities is a testament to the transformative power of philosophy. Today, Michael speaks, writes, and debates passionately in defense of individual rights and intellectual clarity. He is the co-author of two compelling books that examine the failures of the correctional system and the redemptive power of moral conviction: Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime https://www.amazon.com... View from a Cage: From Convict to Crusader for Liberty https://books2read.com... About Xenia Ioannou – Producer of The Rational Egoist Xenia Ioannou is the producer of The Rational Egoist, responsible for overseeing the publishing, presentation, and promotion of each episode to ensure a consistent standard of clarity, professionalism, and intellectual rigour. She is the CEO of Alexa Real Estate, a property manager and entrepreneur, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Ayn Rand Centre Australia, where she contributes to the organization's strategic direction and public engagement with ideas centered on reason, individual rights, and human freedom. Xenia also leads Capitalism and Coffee – An Objectivist Meetup in Adelaide, creating a forum for thoughtful discussion on philosophy and its application to everyday life, culture, and current issues. Join Capitalism and Coffee here: https://www.meetup.com... Follow Xenia's essays on reason, independence, and purposeful living at her Substack: https://substack.com/@... Because freedom is worth thinking about — and talking about.

May you have the courage to stand in your own knowing.May you find the grace to let go of striving for perfection, and instead embrace the sacredness of your imperfect, human journey.May luminous moments of optimism and possibility guide you,even as you move through gray times of despair and doubt.May you have the wisdom to choose differently, to prioritize what truly matters,creating a legacy that lingers. May you always find solace in the holy ground beneath your feet,the sacred presence that dwells within and all around you.Shine your light, dear one,your small, precious gifts are needed in this world.Happy Spring Equinox! I hope you are enjoying a gentle leap into a new season. Our own weather has been erratic and wild, including nearby tornadoes that wreaked havoc on our town. And, then, today, as I work on the newsletter, sporadic power outages at our house cutting off my internet. As such, this newsletter will be a little shorter than usual with only a brief audio edition. I've gotten very off schedule this week! Our shop update today is an eclectic one, featuring assorted divine imperfections, “Luna” one-of-a-kind goddesses, and some red winged Nemesis goddesses (by customer request).We also still have assorted goddesses in our very special spring pigment—a beautiful lilac with small flowers. We are using this pigment to honor Áine, the Irish Fairy Queen, who is this year's featured goddess at Gaea Goddess Gathering. We do know that she is a summertime goddess, but we felt like this pigment was an excellent match for the spring equinox/Ostara and our month of Persephone as well, so we went forward with it!This week's magic:* 8 minute video: beholding delight.Resource Reminders:* New free series: An Introduction to Goddess Studies* 1. getting started* 2. printable journal* 3. affirmation card set* 4. portable altar space* 5. introduction to thealogy* 6. influential authors in goddess studies* 7. audio retreat: spots of time (note: publishing Saturday)Blog Posts:* Ritual Reading for Spring Equinox (A Spring Ritual of Returning)* Clarity and the CrossroadsBeholding DelightReminder: Let us be open to delight. Let us be open to wonder. Let us allow joy. Let us be open to the possibility of bliss.Journal prompts for the week:* What is calling to you? What doorway are you sensing?* What are you saying yes to? What is your ritual of returning?Affirmations for this week:* Happiness and ecstasy flow through me wildly and freely.* I am open to joy.* I say yes to life.* I listen to the call.* I allow an expansive dream or creative quest to emerge.* I find the small sacred moments in my daily life and let them sustain me.* I walk my path with presence and intention.Goddess of quiet knowing,help me to make a space for stillness,to guard a place for peace.Remind me that stillness and motionare a constant interplay,the beat between notes,the space between raindrops,the pause between breaths,the silence between heartbeats.The nature of the body is to be in motion,the constant unfolding of a whole universewhirling within our cells,the still spaces in betweensomehow holding the whole together,as in stillnesswe move.Much love,Molly, Mark, + Family This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goddessmagic.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Valentine's Day!Mrs Murray met the UK StrikeFans.com contingent and Badly WiredLamp (“and friends”) on Thursday to talk about the Cormoran Strike novels. Yesterday, Friday the 13th, Rowling tweeted about the secret she had told them — the title of Strike9:Nick Jeffery found the most likely source of the title Sleep Tight, Evangeline, assuming it is not an anagram, in six minutes:BadlyWiredLamp who was at the Rowling meeting congratulated Nick on twixter seven minutes later: “Well done for finding it Nick!” with a hand salute emoji. Which semi-confirmation from a witness suggests he is spot on.Even more impressive, Nick wrote up a flash post about The Whiskey Shambles and other ‘Evangeline' possibilities at the HogwartsProfessor weblog, ‘Sleep Tight, Evangeline – Title Release for Strike 9.' Nick and John will be discussing this news as well as the Psalter and Head of Persephone charms with miniature book, Tolkien, and mythology expert Dimitra Fimi this weekend for a post here next week. See her ‘Miniature Books in Children's Fantasy' to prepare for that conversation. Stay tuned!But it's Valentine's Day! John and Nick celebrate this Hallmark Holiday with a journey through the Cormoran Strike novels' V-Day celebrations and a discussion of the various Valentines and Cupid's in the story, with special emphasis on the Cupid and Psyche myth that Rowling has suggested is the series story template.That suggestion came the week after Hallmarked Man's publication in the first of her Public Service Announcements to “Robin and Strike fans:”This image came as a surprise even to Hogwarts Professor subscribers because, though we have been writing and talking about the Cupid and Psyche myth as one of the mythological templates behind the Strike series since early 2021, it was the first time Rowling had acknowledged this publicly. Since the September revelation of this connection by the author and the appearance of the head of Persephone at the end of her Strike9 clues Christmas Charm bracelet, Strike fandom is now on board with the idea. Which on-boarding Nick and John celebrate with this Hearts and Flowers conversation, in which:* Nick reviews the Valentines Day events in the Strike series, the importance of which makes 14 February to Serious Strikers what Halloween is to Harry Potter fans;* John discusses the post American Bar office scene in Troubled Blood that let the cat out of the bag about the Cupid and Psyche myth just beneath the Strellacott romance;* Nick updates that with Rowling's PSAs and charm pointers to the Trials of Psyche in Robin's story;* John lays out how and where Hallmarked Man features Valentine Longcaster, the character with the Cupid name, and a Valentine's Day conflict with dogs to Guard the Gates of Hell (from charting Parts Five and Six);* Nick journeys back to Cuckoo's Calling and explains how Lula Landry's death and Robin's first meeting with Strike are twist on Cupid and Psyche with Venus, Psyche, and Cupid, Hephaestus, and Ares all with their equivalents in Charlotte, Robin, and Cormoran;* John ups the ante of the conversation by bringing in Edmund Spenser and C. S. Lewis, two writers Rowling loves, both of whom wrote stories that turn on Cupid and Psyche, and suggesting that Galbraith, in using the Eros-Anteros distinction of those writers in the Strike series is answering allegorically the core question of human life: whether to focus the soul on the ephemeral body and its desires or on the noetic faculty of soul, the Heart, logos within us;* Nick and John then discuss Robin and Strike's individual relationships Cuckoo to Hallmarked in light of Cupid-False Cupid and taking turns going through the Strike novels with a look at the principal murder victim and murderer and their respective relationships;* John shares the Jungian interpretation of Cupid and Psyche as the mythic representation of feminine actualization, the chrysalis of female identity;* And more!Below are the links to posts on this subject mentioned in their back and forth and to a translation of the original myth. Happy Valentines Day — and stand by for more discussion of Sleep Tight, Evangeline, the Psalter and Persephone Charms, and all things Strike and Mythology with Dimitra Fimi.Links Mentioned in the Valentines Day Celebration Conversation:Rowling Points to Myth of Cupid and Psyche in order to Console Strike Fans Disappointed with Hallmarked Man (8 September 2025, Nick Jeffery)Nick shares the context of Rowling's tweet (fan disappointment!) and the background information about the illustration she chose for it.The Most Pleasant and Delectable Tale of the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche (Apuleius)A translation of the Silver Age Latin tale from Apuleius' Golden Ass.A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus (22 April 2021, John Granger)The first post to discuss Rowling's use of this specific myth within Cormoran Strike, it is essential reading and comes in four parts:* a discussion of Rowling's stated beliefs about the soul and how it is the focus of her story-telling,* a review of her psychological artistry in Potter and the post Potter novels and screenplays,* a synopsis of the Eros and Psyche myth, and* a point to point look at the parallels in the story thus far with speculation about novels to come.Robin's Two Perfumes: The Meaning of Philosychos and Narciso (9 June 2021, John Granger)The names of Robin's baseline perfume, Philosychos, and the one she and Strike choose at story's end, Narciso, both point less to the bedroom than to Robin's allegorical, psychological, and mythological role as Psyche in the series.Erich Neumann in his Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine describes this discipline as a “prohibition against pity” which “signifies Psyche's struggle against the feminine nature.” …Psyche's last trial involves her having to confront death, a “marriage” to which she was condemned as a sacrifice at the story's start, a meeting she can only survive by transcending her feminine qualities of nurturing and pity. She must become, if only temporarily, a narcissist to pass through Hades and return to the world of the Sun and to Cupid. The myth, in Jungian lights, is about her transcending the accidental self, here her feminine and sexual relation to Eros or Cupid, for “ego-stability” leading to “individuation,” ascent to the greater, immortal Self.Robin as resident psychologist and loving soul is the Psyche-cipher of the Strike mysteries. She differs from the relatively passive Human Beauty of the myth in her active and determined “struggle against the feminine nature,” her “What. I. Do!” She not only wrestles with her desires for domesticity and maternity in her thinking but stands up to Strike-Cupid in their Valentine's Day Street Fight and demands his respect or at least more considerate behavior. But she is still struggling with her difficulty to be the narcissist rather than the Great Mother when circumstances and her heroine's journey of psychological individuation demand that.Reading Rowling as Myth Maker and Myth Re-Writer: A Conversation with Dr Dimitra FimiNick Jeffery and John Granger converse with Dr Dimitra Fimi about Harry Potter, Cormoran Strike, Tolkien, Jane Eyre, and the Mythological Artistry of J. K. Rowling, Hogwarts Saga to Hallmarked ManThe Hallmarked Man's Mythological Template‘Cupid and Psyche's importance for grasping the depths of Strike 8, from the “necessity” of the Silver Vault and the three men in Robin's life, to spaghetti carbonara and ‘Maid of the Silver Sea'Ink Black Heart: The Mythic Backdrop (10 September 2022, John Granger)What Rowling is depicting in Robin's journey through the events and mystery of Ink Black Heart include a trap set by Venus, one that takes Robin to a personal and professional underworld or hell, her survival and endurance of every temptation by her determination to be steely rather than empathetic, especially with respect to a certain “lame fellow” (!), and her re-surfacing from hell a changed person, one worthy of begrudging Venereal approval (or Zeus' intervention — Rokeby!).Ink Black Heart: Strike as Zeus to Robin's Leda and Cupid to Mads' Psyche (10 November 2022, John Granger)These traditional portrayals of the every person's human and divine aspects, soul and spirit as man and woman in dynamic, cathartic relationship — think Romeo and Juliet, Redcrosse Knight and Una, Cupid and Psyche — are perhaps, with her alchemical symbolism, sequencing, and coloring, Rowling's greatest literary ‘reach' and achievement in the Strike series, albeit one largely lost on her her vast reading audience. The deliberate conjunction-melange of archetypal psychology, mythology, and spiritual allegory in these novels is, especially in combination with her hermetic artistry, intertextual playfulness (Aurora Leigh!), and chiastic structures, testimony to the author being one of the most accomplished and challenging writers of the age in addition to the most popular (and least well understood, even by her fans).Hallmarked Man: Freemasonry and J. K. Rowling (7 February 2024, Nick Jeffery)The Royal Arch degree is unique in England for including the ceremony of “Passing the Veils” symbolising the path to enlightenment that a mason undergoes as he progresses in the craft. Given Peter Rowling's upward social mobility from working class apprentice to engineer and moving from the Bristol suburbs to middle class Tutshill, it isn't beyond reason to wonder if Peter might have been tempted by the social and career advantages that freemasonry might have offered him and exposed a young Joanne to some of the symbolism.Edinburgh, as well as being the home of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, is also home to if not the oldest lodge in the world, then at least the one with the oldest records. Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 has minutes of meetings from 31st July 1599. There have long been arguments between this Lodge and the one in Kilwinning on the other coast of Scotland as to which is the oldest. (see IVº of the Rite of Baldwyn above)J. K. Rowling's ‘G-Spot' and ‘Triple Play:' The Lake & Shed Secret of Her Success (21 September 2024, John Granger)I want to try tonight to explain as succinctly — and as provocatively — as possible why I think Rowling's ‘Lake and Shed' metaphorical explanation of how she writes offers a compelling reason for both why she writes and why readers around the world love her novels the way they do. I call this her ‘G-Spot' and ‘Triple Play' because it is her point of singular genius, the defining quality that separates her from contemporary story-tellers, which involves ‘Shed' artistry of three particular literary tools, all subliminal, which work together to achieve her aims.The Hallmarked Man's Flood of Names, Characters, and Plots (22 September 2025, John Granger)Rowling's seven Shed tools — psychomachia, literary alchemy, ring composition, misdirection towards defamiliarization, Christian symbolism, mythology, and inter-intratextuality (writing about reading and writing) — are all about the transformation of the human soul by cathartic experience in the imaginative heart, i.e., our spiritual reorientation. These traditional tools alone don't do it, of course; her capacity for creating archetypal characters that we care about in profound fashion is what gives the tools their grip on the heart.But, if a writer uses these tools in his or her Shed, the game being played and its stakes are not in question. Everything Rowling has written to date, with greater or lesser success (largely dependent on her control of the final product, cough*Warner Brothers*cough), shares this aim. Her global popularity testifies that much more often than not she hits her target to the delight of her readers.I assume this was her aim in Hallmarked Man. It's early days on the full exegesis of Strike8 in light of Rowling's Shed tools, Lake springs, and Golden Threads, but there are encouraging signs. My third reading of the book included my first ‘Aha!' moments with respect to the mythological template of the series, the Shed tool Rowling was openly urging her readers to think about in her recent Cupid and Psyche tweet.Jungian Interpretations of ‘Cupid and Psyche:'* Erich Neumann: Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine (A Commentary on the Tale by Apuleius)* Paul Diel: Symbolism in Greek Mythology: Human Desire and Its Transformations (A “psychological study of the symbols condensed in the fate of the mythological hero”)* Robert A. Johnson: SHE: Understanding Feminine Psychology (An interpretation based on the myth of Amor and Psyche and based on Jungian mythological principles)* Marie-Louise von Franz: Golden Ass of Apuleius: The Liberation of the Feminine in Man (originally A Psychological Interpretation of The Golden Ass of Apuleius)‘Tamspells' Point to Point Correspondence List of Events in the Strike-Ellacott Novels and the Myth of Cupid and PsycheThe list ‘Tamspells' made will be Nick and John's starting point in their upcoming conversation with her about how to see the myth beneath the surface of the storyCupid and Psyche Myth Highlights to Look for in Your Review at Home of the Strike Series:* Jealousy of Venus* Psyche's Wedding/Funeral March to Mountain Crag* Psyche Rescued by Cupid, stuck with his own arrow* Retreat to Hidden Castle, Love in Darkness* The Two Sisters* The Confrontation with Lamp and Knife* Psyche's Return Home; Death of Sisters (Pan cameo)* Psyche's Search for Cupid/Venus: Ceres Interview* Brought to Venus (Worry and Sadness)* First Trial: Seeds and Grains (Ant)* Second Trial: Wool from Golden Sheep (Reed)* Third Trial: Crystal glass for Black Stygian water (Zeus, Eagle)* Persephone Odyssey: Box for Beauty (Tower instructions)* Barley Cakes for Cerberus and Two Coins for Charon* Must ignore: “a lame man driving a mule loaded with sticks, a dead man swimming in the river that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead, and old women weaving.”* Meal in Underworld with Persephone* Return Trip, Falling to Temptation* Cupid intervention; intersession and deal with Zeus* Olympian Court Date* Marriage of Cupid and Psyche post Ambrosia, birth of PleasureStrike Novel Victim Eros Anteros Murderer Eros Anteros Cuckoo's Calling Lula Landry Evan Duffield Marlene Higson,Yvette Bristow, Guy Some, Jonah Agyuman John Bristow Alison Creswell Yvette Bristow The Silkworm Owen Quine Kathryn Kent Leonora/Orlando Elizabeth Tassel Michael Fancourt Owen Quine? Career of Evil Kelsey Platt Rock Band Leader Ray Williams, (Hazel Furley) Donny Laing Rhona Bunyan, hostage women Agnes Waite Lethal White Jasper Chiswell Ornella Seraphin, Kinvara Patricia Fleetwood Raphael Chiswell Kinvara Hanratty Ornella Seraphin Troubled Blood Margot Bamborough Paul Satchwell Roy/Anna Phipps Una Janice Beattie Steven Douthwaite/Diamond Dead Mother Dennis Creed Louise Tucker Agnes Waite Ink Black Heart Edie Ledwell Philip Ormond? Joshua Blay, Grant Heather Ledwell Gus Upcott Anomie/Paperwhite, Vikas BhardwajMorehouse Katya Upcott The Running Grave Daiyu Wace, Kevin Pirbright (Jacob) Louise Pirbright Abigail Glover Patrick, Baz Jennifer Wace The Hallmarked Man Tyler Powell Anne-Marie Morgan Chloe Griffiths/Jolanda Lindvall Ian Griffith Jolanda/Sapphire Rita Lindvall? 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

Silphium was a plant much loved by the ancient Greeks due to its reported contraceptive, aphrodisiac, and abortive properties. It only grew in Cyrenica, now Libya, and was a valuable resource to the ancient Greeks who had settled in the area. It's thought that Silphium went extinct in the 1st or 2nd century CE, probably due to overharvesting and changes in the local climate. However in 2021 researchers working in Turkey thought they may have found the long lost plant. Happy Valentines Day! Cover image: A silver Attic drachm 510–470 BC. Found in the excavation of the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cyrenecoin.jpg#mw-jump-to-licenseSee the show notes on the website⁠ ⁠amoroushistories.co.uk⁠⁠Find me on social media;⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Twitter ⁠⁠and⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠⁠.Drop me an email on amoroushistories@gmail.com⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠Shop:⁠ ⁠amoroushistories.bigcartel.com⁠⁠Track: No Saint, Music by: https://slip.stream/

On this podcast episode ... American employers still value a higher education applicant when it comes to the job market according to new research from the Association of American Colleges and Universities. But what does that look like in today's higher education reality?

Greek Gods | Paranormal Podcast In this Greek gods episode timed with the Winter Olympics, we explore the fascinating world of Greek mythology starting with the origin story of the three most powerful gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—who were born to the Titan Cronus and his wife Rhea during the Golden Age, though Cronus attempted to eat all his children after a prophecy warned he'd be overthrown by his sons, leading Zeus to eventually free his brothers and defeat their father. We discuss the 12 great Olympians including Zeus (the serial cheater who ruled the sky), Hera (his perpetually angry sister-wife and goddess of marriage), Athena (the brilliant goddess of wisdom who burst fully formed from Zeus's head), Dionysus (the fun-loving god of wine and theater who was gestated in Zeus's thigh after his mother exploded), and several compelling minor gods like Hecate (goddess of magic and crossroads) and Pan (the half-goat satyr god of wilderness). We share captivating myths including Hades kidnapping Persephone with pomegranate seeds that created the seasons, Prometheus stealing fire for humanity and suffering eternal punishment, and the tragic tale of Arachne, who challenged Athena to a weaving contest with devastating consequences.

Today we're back talking about the infamous mystery cult for Persephone and Demeter - the Eleusinian Mysteries! Who can join this mystery cult, why were the ancient peoples celebrating and what are our thoughts on the discussion of reconstruction of mystery cults?Chapters:(0:00) Introduction(2:10) The Eleusinian Mysteries(23:50) Reconstructing Mystery Cults (Modern Practice)(30:00) Connecting to Eleusis in the Modern Day(51:39) Dionysus, Antonius, and Rome

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

It's Persephone Protocol vs Team Intergalactic! With only one spot left in the Hades Cup, it's all on the line. Will Persephone Protocol take the victory, or will the team get more than they bargained for... CW: Simulated sci-fi combat sounds, fireworks/explosions Check out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions! For Transcripts, our Tip Jar, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/ Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, Game Master Monday!Theme Song: "PRESS/LEAD" and "Seconds Rising Star (Reprise)" by Harper S.K. Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Black Hawks" by Akibakid, "Electromagic" by Akibakid, "Arcane Sun" by Max Anson, "Blah Blah" by Heyson, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

Happy 10 Year Anniversary from your friends at Spirits! To celebrate, we're revisiting the subject of our first ever episode: Persephone and Hades. We look at the story through a decade of new experiences, life changes, and so much more. Thanks for joining us. Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of racism, death, animal death, blood, pedophilia, abduction, sexual assault, misogyny, and incest. Housekeeping- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests' books, and more at spiritspodcast.com/books- Call to Action: Send in those urban legend emails as you head home for the holidays!- Submit Your Urban Legends Audio: Call us! 617-420-2344Minneapolis Spotlight- Birchbark Books & Native Arts - Support a local Minneapolis small business by purchasing books or gift cards from Birchbark Books & Native ArtsFind Us Online- Website & Transcripts: spiritspodcast.com- Patreon: patreon.com/spiritspodcast- Merch: spiritspodcast.com/merch- Instagram: instagram.com/spiritspodcast- Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/spiritspodcast.com- Twitter: twitter.com/spiritspodcast- Tumblr: spiritspodcast.tumblr.comCast & Crew- Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin- Editor: Bren Frederick- Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman- Multitude: multitude.productionsAbout UsSpirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On 23 December last year, Rowling changed her Twixter home page header and cameo with this tweeted explanation:The Charm Bracelet header features thirteen charms on nine links:Rowling tweeted an addendum about the Psalter and Jack in the Box charms:Nick Jeffery dropped an explanatory post two days later at the Hogwarts Professor weblog: J. K. Rowling Drops All the Strike 9 Clues for Christmas! It remains the only complete survey of the pieces and compendium of what Serious Strikers around the world have discovered about them.Beatrice Groves, author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, wrote up her charm bracelet thoughts at ‘The Strike Ellacott Files' a month later. In ‘Charms, Psalms & Golden Clues: A brace(let) of clues for Strike 9,' Prof Groves discusses the magical quality of charms as talismans and even incantational song:Rowling points out in this 2013 piece the link between the name given to charm bracelets and the magical world: ‘Why do we call those little masterpieces “charms” if not in allusion to their talismanic properties?… they are personal amulets.' To charm someone is also to slightly to bewitch them, something Rowling plays with when Riddle exerts his charm on Ginny and literally possesses her: ‘If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed.' Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award is given to a smile that is both literally, as well as metaphorically, bewitching.The word ‘charm' comes, through French, from the Latin ‘carmen' which means ‘song, verse, oracular response, incantation.' Its first meaning in English, therefore, was the magical one: ‘the chanting or recitation of a verse supposed to possess magic power or occult influence; incantation, enchantment; hence, any action, process, verse, sentence, word, or material thing, credited with such properties; a magic spell; a talisman, etc.' (Oxford English Dictionary). From the sixteenth century onwards, ‘charm' meant ‘anything worn about the person to avert evil or ensure prosperity' because such amulets might contain the text of such a charm. And thinking about this made me aware for the first time of how in the most important charms in Harry Potter – the Fidelius Charm and the Patronus Charm – the word is not simply a synonym for spell but encodes this original, protective meaning. These magical ‘Charms' like the charms on charm bracelets encode what Rowling calls ‘talismanic properties.'Nick and John invited 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 to talk about these charms, especially about what she had written briefly on the subject. The goals of this conversation? * To introduce the subject to everyone not familiar with the Christmas tweets and bracelet-header, * to discuss the ‘Why?' of this present to Strike fans everywhere, * to speculate about the meaning of the bracelet pieces individually and in a series, and * to brainstorm their qualities as clues for Strike9, the penultimate novel in the decalogy.Which is a lot! The good news is that the conversation never flagged and the revelations and possible meanings of the charms, thirteen in total on nine links, reward anyone listening in.Nick starts off the conversation with a review of the six charm bracelets in Rowling's life and writing, one of which was a long forgotten piece in the margins of a Rowling web site:[You can read about those internet ‘Easter Eggs' in ‘Hidden Photos at Rowling's Website' here, here, here, and here.]Nick offered as a guiding idea for our conversation the likelihood that the nine links in the bracelet were meaningful, i.e., that they reflected the structure of the book for which the bracelet is meant to be a clue. There are thirteen charms, he noted, but certainly Rowling-Galbraith could have had a thirteen link chain made if she hadn't thought the nine links more than sufficient, even a pointer to Strike 9 being a nine Part mystery. Since, as Nick noted, she has trouble even passing up a shop selling charms, it seems likely she has been collecting the pieces for this one for some time. Perhaps this bracelet is a “target” toward which she has been writing with these books. It is certainly not something she just threw together for a header photo shoot. The trio elected to read the circular collection of charms, consequently, as pieces with individual meaning — as magical talismans of sorts per Prof Groves — and as a ring composition, with both aspects indicating the place and meaning of the piece in the book.After a brief discussion of why Rowling, Inc., would release this set of clues now, with another Strike novel or Bronte Studios television adaptation in the distant future — John offered the possibility that this bit of fan servicing was meant as a touch of appeasement qua Christmas gift to the many fans disappointed with Hallmarked Man — Elizabeth, John, and Nick tackled the thirteen charms on nine links.In Part One of their conversation, they talk about * the heart shaped engagement ring box;* the golden diamond-laden egg;* the anchor;* the two angels; and * the Trojan horse.Their preliminary conclusions at the half-way point?Mrs. Murray in her Nativity gift to her readers offers them clues not only to the next Strike-Ellacott novel but to the meaning of human life. Each of these five charms is a symbol with obvious and not so obvious Christian meaning. John reconsidered his answer to the ‘Why now?' in light of this avalanche of symbolism; instead of it being fan servicing to rescue the brand, he thinks it may be Rowling's attempt — on the most celebrated remnant Christian holiday in a post-Christian world — to reset her serious readers' understanding of what she is about as a writer, what sort of transformation she is trying to create via story within her readers.Part two of this interpretative deep dive into Rowling's artistry in metallurgical symbolism, her “charm work” literary alchemy, will follow shortly. There are five links with seven charms to come — Jack in the Box, Hourglass, White Rose, Crocodile, Corvid, Psalter, and the Head of Persephone — all as rich in meaning as the first four links.Below are links to subjects mentioned in this first conversation and additions not discussed but discovered after the fact, all shared for your consideration and comments!Thank you as always from the Hogwarts Professor team for your joining us with special appreciation to our paid subscribers!Subjects that Elizabeth, Nick, and John Discussed: The Heart Shaped Engagement Ring Charm:* The first, fourth, fifth, and ninth links are clasped objects with surprises inside,* Ink Black Heart and Deathly Hallows: The Heart is Not About Emotions and Affection but the Human Spiritual Center (John, October 2022)* Hallmarked Man, Part Five: The Center of Strike 8 is about “Inner Light” (Ed Shardlow)* Gold as “solid light” and diamonds as “inner light,” both reflecting in nature the Light of God's Word or Logos that is found with in every man (cf., John 1:9 and Rowling's comments about Casual Vacancy being “all about” her belief that “the light of God shines in every soul”);* The consequent symbolism of a golden wedding/engagement band with two diamonds;* The human being as a ‘heart in a box' either enlightened ‘gold and diamonds' or a dark ‘jack in the box' devil* The two-stone ring, as Nick notes, is a “me and you” ring, alluding to a certain theme song. Also, Elizabeth notes, Robin is faced with a choice between two very different types of proposals, so the duality of the ring in the box connects to that conundrum, and since that is apparently where 9 will begin, it gives us a good idea that we are right in “reading” the bracelet starting with this oneThe Gold Diamond-Laden Egg Charm:* Assuming it is an ‘Easter Egg,' the two meanings of that phrase;* Again, ‘gold and diamonds,' as above; * Paschal meaning of Eggs: The custom of exchanging colored eggs entered the life of the Church. The symbolic meaning of the egg as the beginning of a new life was known even earlier. Christians saw in this symbol confirmation of their faith in the coming general resurrection. The Easter egg's red color symbolized the all-conquering Divine Love, which alone could destroy hell!The Foul-Anchor Charm:* ‘Strike 9 to Heads to Portsmouth!' (Nick, September 2025)* Foul Anchor (Wikipedia);* Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (Wikipedia);* Meaning of ‘Hector' in Homeric Greek is ‘Holding Fast,' and, by interpretation, ‘anchor;'* The Greek word for ‘Anchor' found in the New Testament is ἄγκυρα, pronounced ‘ang-chor-a;' * Hebrews 6:19:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.* Meaning of "Anchor of the Soul" in Hebrews 6:19?The Immediate Context of Hebrews 6:13-20The writer reassures wavering Jewish Christians by citing God's oath to Abraham (Genesis 22:16-17). Two “unchangeable things” (God's promise and His oath, v. 18) make it “impossible for God to lie.” The “hope set before us” (v. 18) functions as an anchor that has already “entered … behind the curtain” (v. 19), where Jesus, our High Priest, intercedes (v. 20; cf. 4:14-16).Anchor as Hope: Theological Significance1. Objective, not subjective: “hope” (ἐλπίς) is grounded in the historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:17-20).2. Already-but-not-yet: the anchor is cast forward into the heavenly holy of holies, securing believers' future inheritance (1 Peter 1:3-4) while exerting a present stabilizing pull.3. Firm and secure: βεβαία (reliable) and ἀσφαλής (incapable of slipping). The compound assures permanence beyond circumstantial change (Malachi 3:6).Christ Our Forerunner Behind the VeilThe anchor “enters” (εἰσερχόμενον, pres. tense) the inner sanctuary “behind the curtain,” alluding to the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). Jesus is πρόδρομος (“forerunner,” v. 20), implying that others will follow where He has gone (John 14:2-3). The anchor-rope is His indestructible life (Hebrews 7:16), tethering the believer to God's throne of grace.* Hence its use as a symbol within Christianity: Christ having defeated death is an anchor to those members of His Mystical Body which anchors them to life after death, “beyond the veil;”* The pairing of the anchor charm with the golden egg on the second link of the bracelet reinforces this Paschal symbolism;* Charles Williams' “Co-inherence” ideas: “Who Saved Draco's Soul?” Co-Inherence in Harry PotterThe Two Angels Charms (paired on Link three)* Cupid and Psyche? Maybe!* Angels? Ghosts?* Orlando drawings! A Silkworm flash-back to the Monkey-Bag with the essential clue inside…The Trojan Horse Charm* Trojan Horse (Wikipedia)In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse (Greek: δούρειος ίππος, romanized: doureios hippos, lit. ‘wooden horse') was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's Iliad, with the poem ending before the war is concluded, and it is only briefly mentioned in the Odyssey. It is described at length in the Aeneid, in which Virgil recounts how, after a fruitless ten-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse at the behest of Odysseus, and hid a select force of men inside, including Odysseus himself. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night, the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under the cover of darkness. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city, ending the war.Metaphorically, a “Trojan horse” has come to mean any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place. A malicious computer program that tricks users into willingly running it is also called a “Trojan horse“ or simply a “Trojan”.* Could the Strike Series be a Re-telling of Virgil's Aeneid? (John, July 2017)If Cormoran Strike's story is Rowling's postmodern re-telling of the Aeneid, then the Fates theme is more than apt.It is all about, after all, the hero's destiny or fate to recreate Troy in Italy as Rome, a fate which it is pointless for Aeneas to resist. The refugee from Troy, son of the goddess of beauty, is forced ever onward, often over-riding his preferences and pledges, to his destiny to found Rome as the New Troy. A soldier in an eastern country ‘coming home,' Aeneas is a wounded man, haunted by his divine mother, a man of destiny forced to leave a beautiful, powerful woman who curses him at his departure.Sound familiar? The Aeneid is a reverse reflection and re-telling of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in that it's first six books are about the Trojan's travels and the last six relate his battles with the local tribes in Latium. It seems possible that Rowling might be trying to do with the Aeneid what she did with the Weird Sisters of Macbeth, namely, present what seems to be a tale of inevitability or fate, something prophesied or otherwise seemingly inescapable, as a function really of character choice.In the Peg-Legged PI's story that could mean Rowling's revisiting fate vs choice vis a vis whether he is able to choose to take-or-leave an investigation of Leda's death (and face the dangers inherent in threatening his biological father, Jonny Rokeby) or whether he feels doomed to follow it to its end, whatever the costs to him and to those he loves.* The Trojan Horse is the wisdom of Athene as given to Odysseus, her favorite. 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

In this episode of What Are the Girls Doing?, the girls address recent backlash and stand firmly in their work and scholarship… again. We talk through what it means to be in our Persephone era, from the historical and artistic significance of Kore statues to the creation and meaning behind our recreated Persephone artwork.We also offers a preview of next week's discussion on Eleusis and mystery cults in the ancient world. CHAPTERSOur Persephone era (0:00)Addressing the “backlash” (3:07)The Duality of Persephone and Women (33:11)Preview of Eleusis (46:18)Which mystery cult would you be in? (50:02)

Tonight, we begin our 28 Nights of of Dark Devotion. This is a soft-spoken reading of The Descent of Persephone, drawn from the ancient myth told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. The text scrolls slowly as it's read, allowing the words to move at the pace of my breath for, hopefully, a more intimate experience

May you have the courage to stand in your own knowing.May you find the grace to let go of striving for perfection, and instead embrace the sacredness of your imperfect, human journey.May luminous moments of optimism and possibility guide you,even as you move through gray times of despair and doubt.May you have the wisdom to choose differently, to prioritize what truly matters,creating a legacy that lingers. May you always find solace in the holy ground beneath your feet,the sacred presence that dwells within and all around you.Shine your light, dear one,your small, precious gifts are needed in this world.Happy Spring Equinox! I hope you are enjoying a gentle leap into a new season. Our own weather has been erratic and wild, including nearby tornadoes that wreaked havoc on our town. And, then, today, as I work on the newsletter, sporadic power outages at our house cutting off my internet. As such, this newsletter will be a little shorter than usual with only a brief audio edition. I've gotten very off schedule this week! Our shop update today is an eclectic one, featuring assorted divine imperfections, “Luna” one-of-a-kind goddesses, and some red winged Nemesis goddesses (by customer request).We also still have assorted goddesses in our very special spring pigment—a beautiful lilac with small flowers. We are using this pigment to honor Áine, the Irish Fairy Queen, who is this year's featured goddess at Gaea Goddess Gathering. We do know that she is a summertime goddess, but we felt like this pigment was an excellent match for the spring equinox/Ostara and our month of Persephone as well, so we went forward with it!This week's magic:* 8 minute video: beholding delight.Resource Reminders:* New free series: An Introduction to Goddess Studies* 1. getting started* 2. printable journal* 3. affirmation card set* 4. portable altar space* 5. introduction to thealogy* 6. influential authors in goddess studies* 7. audio retreat: spots of time (note: publishing Saturday)Blog Posts:* Ritual Reading for Spring Equinox (A Spring Ritual of Returning)* Clarity and the CrossroadsBeholding DelightReminder: Let us be open to delight. Let us be open to wonder. Let us allow joy. Let us be open to the possibility of bliss.Journal prompts for the week:* What is calling to you? What doorway are you sensing?* What are you saying yes to? What is your ritual of returning?Affirmations for this week:* Happiness and ecstasy flow through me wildly and freely.* I am open to joy.* I say yes to life.* I listen to the call.* I allow an expansive dream or creative quest to emerge.* I find the small sacred moments in my daily life and let them sustain me.* I walk my path with presence and intention.Goddess of quiet knowing,help me to make a space for stillness,to guard a place for peace.Remind me that stillness and motionare a constant interplay,the beat between notes,the space between raindrops,the pause between breaths,the silence between heartbeats.The nature of the body is to be in motion,the constant unfolding of a whole universewhirling within our cells,the still spaces in betweensomehow holding the whole together,as in stillnesswe move.Much love,Molly, Mark, + Family This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goddessmagic.substack.com/subscribe

Chapter 1 of Psychopompos - a new mythology opens in Oblivion, where Phanes' World Egg hatches, setting the stage for violence, vengeance and a war for the throne of the gods.As Zeus surprises two of his children, Athena and Apollo, with a sudden plan to exile Hera and put a mortal he just met in her place; Hera, meanwhile, throws a bridal shower for Persephone and Eurydice, whose upcoming wedding is hoped to calm tensions on Olympus. In the center of it all is Aphrodite, the shape-shifting Goddexx of Love, who seemingly comes as both an antagonistic flirt and powerful puppeteer.Content Warning: Explicit Language, Violence.For more information about the story and podcast, a full transcript of this episode, or if you like what you heard and want to donate to this project, visit our site:www.psychopomp-cast.com.Cast:-Brandon Boler as Zeus-Anya Clingman as Calliope-Elizabeth Ellis as Hera-Paige Hauer as Persephone-Miguel Long as Ganymede-Valerie Lyvers as Athena & Dionysus-RjW Mays as Demeter-Julian “joolz” Stroop as Aphrodite & Nyx-Ryan Tang as Apollo-Marie Tredway as Artemis-Theo Zucker as EurydiceCrew:-Tate A. Geborkoff - Author & Producer-Rachel Staelens - Director & Producer-Joe Palermo - Director of Sound-Roy Freeman - Musical Director & Composer

This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Laura K. Maurer, author of THE RENEGADE AND THE LODESTAR. About THE RENEGADE AND THE LODESTAR: Persephone is living a nightmare. Waking up on a cold, hard ground with air that smells like rot, the young goddess fills with horror as she remembers her sudden and unexpected demise. And now trapped in the realm of the dead, she clings to the dwindling hope of escape. Hades won't be stopped. Vowing to find his beloved and bring her back to the surface, he and his brother search fruitlessly for the opening unseen by the living… until they find an unlikely path. And as he descends into the Underworld, he finds himself face to face with a ferocious three-headed, six-eyed beast. Learning she was betrayed and sent down below as part of a perverse plot, Persephone scrambles to test her powers as she thwarts the monster planning to make her his queen. While Hades battles seas of shades, inky dangers, and an endless labyrinth to reach the woman he can’t live without. Can Persephone and Hades survive harpies, enemies and a dark world to be reunited? About Laura K. Maurer: Laura has degrees in English and Comparative Religion from the University of Iowa. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, Laura is a Pilates teacher and jewelry designer who has sold literature-related jewelry in libraries and theaters throughout Southern California. She currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband and son where she teaches Pilates and writes at her local library. This week's picks: Laura: Death By Lightning (Netflix) Tracy: A Place for All My Books (Board game) Patrick: Pathbinder Battles Miniatures (Paizo) Links: Laura K. Maurer on Instagram Tracy Townsend on BluSky Patrick Hester on Instagram The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2026 Patrick Hester The post Episode 693-With Laura K. Maurer appeared first on The Functional Nerds.

My guest this week is Crystal King, author of the novels “In the Garden of Monsters”--a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth–“Feast of Sorrow”--about an ancient Roman gourmand–”The Chef's Secret”--about the pope's private chef during the Renaissance--and the brand new “The Happiness Collector,” about a modern-day history professor who lands her dream job in Rome where it slowly becomes apparent that ancient forces are still very much in play.Crystal is a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and former co-editor of the (now defunct) online literary arts journal Plum Ruby Review. She has taught writing, creativity and social media at UMass Boston, Boston University, Mass College of Art, Harvard Extension School, and Grub Street.In today's episode, we cover:- Why she's obsessed with Italy- Her master's degree in the coolest subject I never realized was an area of study: critical and creative thinking- The master's thesis she was sure could be a book (until agents told her, no actually, it can't)- How teaching writing led to her writing her first novel- The two ways to make it in publishing (and the path she's chosen)- Her one regret in life- How her day job in marketing, social media, and AI helps her as a writer- A frank talk about the financial side of being an author- The cool ways she comes up with ideas- How she writes a book in six months, with a full-time day job- Her plug for writing every dayVisit Crystal at crystalking.com or on Substack @crystalking.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode examines what the ancients believed were the entrances to Hades. We're also taking a look at Homer's Odyssey and reviewing the scholarly debate over whether the journey points to the Acheron River or Lake Avernus as the entrance to the underworld the Odysseus entered. We also are exploring necromancy, prophecy, and the sacred cave at Eleusis.CHAPTERS(0:00) Topic introduction, ancient crushes, and sources(9:12) The Acheron, Hades, and Persephone(20:12) Lake Avernus(25:45) Which one is the actual entrance to Hades?(32:35) The underworld entrance at Eleusis(38:53) Spots are open for Greece 2026

Bridget, Caitlin, and Hilda discuss "Tender Cruelty," book 9 in Katee Robert's Dark Olympus series. Longtime listeners know Hilda's feelings on this series, but what do Bridget and Caitlin think? Did this book live up to what they were hoping for? Well, listen now and find out.  Join our Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and let's be friends!Instagram > @Booktokmademe_podTikTok > @BooktokMadeMe

Welcome to Neo-Oliva Bay! 150 years after the events of Requiem, the qualifiers for the Hades Chassis Racing Cup are in full swing. Can local team Persephone Protocol make the cut? Buckle in and start your engines for a story about new magical girls discovering their magic, and their destinies! CW: Simulated sci-fi combat soundsCheck out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions!For Cast/Character Info, our Merch Shop, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/ Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, The Heart is a Dungeon! Theme Song: "PRESS/LEAD" and "Seconds Rising Star (Reprise)" by Harper S.K. Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Black Hawks" by Akibakid, "Electromagic" by Akibakid, "CITYPOPPIN" by Akibakid, "Ama" by Akibakid, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

In this episode of Book Talk for BookTok, we sit down with T.C. Kraven, author of Of Prophecies and Pomegranates, a dark mythological retelling that grapples honestly with one of the most contested stories in Greek mythology: Hades and Persephone. Together, we explore how Kraven approached retelling a myth that has been romanticized, sanitized, and rewritten countless times. We discuss what it means to engage with the original mythos, including the complicated history behind the so-called “Rape of Persephone,” and how linguistic nuance, power, and consent shaped her interpretation of Persephone's story. This conversation also dives into one of the novel's central thematic threads: self-deception. From Demeter's possessive motherhood, to Helios's obsession, to Hades's self-punishment, we unpack how characters lie to themselves in the name of love, protection, and control. We pay special attention to Kraven's striking portrayal of Demeter as an abusive parent and why that interpretation felt both mythologically grounded and narratively necessary. We also talk about Narcissus, whose arc moves beyond vanity into something far more human and tragic, and why his emotional depth matters to the story as a whole. Finally, for aspiring writers, Kraven shares candid insight into her journey through self-publishing and her transition into traditional publishing, offering thoughtful advice for authors navigating both paths. This episode is a must-listen for readers interested in mythological retellings, feminist reinterpretations of Greek myths, and stories that refuse to look away from uncomfortable truths. Find T.C Kraven Her Website: https://tc-kraven.square.site/ Instagram: t.c.kravenauthor TikTok: oracleoforleans Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and non-consensual behavior. Listener discretion is advised. How to participate: Send your theories and spicy takes by commenting on this episode, DMing us, or using the form on our website. The Subtext Society Journal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thesubtextsocietyjournal.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  We're thrilled to announce our newest venture: The Subtext Society Journal—the first of its kind, dedicated to Romance, Romantasy, and fandom with an academic yet accessible voice. We're publishing original essays and thought pieces, and we encourage listeners to submit their own articles for a chance to be featured. Sponsor: Monarch Use code BOOKTALK at Monarch.com for 50% your first year. Sponsor: Liquid IV Liquid I.V. Go to LiquidIV.com and get 20% off your first order with code BOOKTALK at checkout. Sponsor: Vionic Use code BOOKTALK at checkout for 15% off your entire order at www.vionicshoes.com when you log into your account. 1 time use only. Share your thoughts for a chance to be featured! Submit them at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠booktalkforbooktok.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a future mini-episode or exclusive Patreon discussion. Support the Show:  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/booktalkforbooktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Etsy Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Us on Social: Instagram: @BookTalkForBookTok TikTok: @BookTalkForBookTok YouTube: @BookTalkForBookTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join SP3, Tru Draw Josh & special guest Jon Escudero of Dirt Sheet Radio for an all-new edition of our flagship podcast Tru Heel Heat 364 discussing the latest wrestling news including: TIME STAMPS: 0:00 SP3 Cold Open on TNA 4:31 SP3 & Tru Draw Josh welcome you to the show 14:50 Was TNA AMC debut that bad? 31:15 AEW Collision & Dynamite: Maximum Carnage 46:30 Powerhouse Hobbs leaves AEW for WWE & can he succeed? 1:05:45 Jon Escudero of Dirt Sheet Radio joins us to talk Hobbs to WWE 1:30:20 The Rascalz coming to AEW 1:45:45 AEW free agent signings updates - CMLL dual deals for Persephone, Mascara Dorada & Hechicero, Jake Doyle update & YDNP are ALL ELITE plus more 2:15:30 ROH TV on Honor Club & big joint shows w/independent promotions 2:22:40 STARDOM New Year Stars weekend & Shingo/Natsupoi marriage 2:31:14 This week in CMLL capped w/International weekend ft. AEW stars 2:36:40 TIK TOK TIME - Who Had The Better Career? 2:47:00 TIK TOK TIME - Blind rankings of AEW signings 2:51:45 WWE SmackDown from London ft. 4 Way Qualifiers & Leon Slater debut 3:07:20 WWE RAW on Netflix ft. GUNTHER vs AJ Styles 3:17:03 WrestleMania 42 plans in flux - Cody/Roman off, WWE Title match options, GUNTHER/Brock 3:32:50 More WWE news - updates on Street Profits, Tiffany Stratton & creative structure 3:40:17 WWE Evolve & NXT / AAA on FOX Latin America update 3:43:31 TNA Thursday Night IMPACT on AMC premiere 3:46:00 Jon SHOOTS on TNA's all-time bad AMC debut 3:53:03 The IInspiration leaving TNA & more TNA talk 4:00:43 TNA Genesis final predictions 4:06:24 Best, Worst, Moments & Matches of the Week Like, share, comment and subscribe to support! #WWE #AEW #NJPW #STARDOM #TNA #ROH #AAA #CMLL #NOAH #PowerhouseHobbs #TheRascalz #RomanReigns #CodyRhodes #LeonSlater #DrewMcIntyre #SNME #RoyalRumble #MikeSantana #BronBreakker #wrestlemania Welcome to the Tru Heel Heat Wrestling YouTube channel where we cover  the sport of professional wrestling including all WWE TV shows (Raw,  Smackdown, & NXT), AEW Dynamite/Dark, IMPACT Wrestling, NJPW, ROH,  Dark Side of the Ring and more. Our weekly podcast hosted by SP3, Top  Guy JJ & Miss Krssi Luv breaking down the weekly wrestling news and  present unfiltered, honest thoughts and opinions for wrestling fans by  wrestling fans, drops every Saturday. We also include PPV reviews,  countdowns, and exclusive interviews with wrestlers from all promotions  hosted by a wide range of personalities such as Romeo, Chris G, Ness,  StatKing, Drunk Guy JJ, J-News and more. Subscribe and enable ALL  notifications to stay posted for the latest wrestling WWE news,  highlights, commentary, updates and more.Become a member of Tru Heels Facebook community: www.facebook.com/groups/1336177103130224/Subscribe to Tru Heel Heat on YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC0AmFQmsRyQYPKyRm5hDwNgFollow Tru Heels on Twitter: twitter.com/truheelheatFollow Tru Heels on Instagram: www.instagram.com/truheelheat/Music composed by JPM

May you have the courage to stand in your own knowing.May you find the grace to let go of striving for perfection, and instead embrace the sacredness of your imperfect, human journey.May luminous moments of optimism and possibility guide you,even as you move through gray times of despair and doubt.May you have the wisdom to choose differently, to prioritize what truly matters,creating a legacy that lingers. May you always find solace in the holy ground beneath your feet,the sacred presence that dwells within and all around you.Shine your light, dear one,your small, precious gifts are needed in this world.Happy Spring Equinox! I hope you are enjoying a gentle leap into a new season. Our own weather has been erratic and wild, including nearby tornadoes that wreaked havoc on our town. And, then, today, as I work on the newsletter, sporadic power outages at our house cutting off my internet. As such, this newsletter will be a little shorter than usual with only a brief audio edition. I've gotten very off schedule this week! Our shop update today is an eclectic one, featuring assorted divine imperfections, “Luna” one-of-a-kind goddesses, and some red winged Nemesis goddesses (by customer request).We also still have assorted goddesses in our very special spring pigment—a beautiful lilac with small flowers. We are using this pigment to honor Áine, the Irish Fairy Queen, who is this year's featured goddess at Gaea Goddess Gathering. We do know that she is a summertime goddess, but we felt like this pigment was an excellent match for the spring equinox/Ostara and our month of Persephone as well, so we went forward with it!This week's magic:* 8 minute video: beholding delight.Resource Reminders:* New free series: An Introduction to Goddess Studies* 1. getting started* 2. printable journal* 3. affirmation card set* 4. portable altar space* 5. introduction to thealogy* 6. influential authors in goddess studies* 7. audio retreat: spots of time (note: publishing Saturday)Blog Posts:* Ritual Reading for Spring Equinox (A Spring Ritual of Returning)* Clarity and the CrossroadsBeholding DelightReminder: Let us be open to delight. Let us be open to wonder. Let us allow joy. Let us be open to the possibility of bliss.Journal prompts for the week:* What is calling to you? What doorway are you sensing?* What are you saying yes to? What is your ritual of returning?Affirmations for this week:* Happiness and ecstasy flow through me wildly and freely.* I am open to joy.* I say yes to life.* I listen to the call.* I allow an expansive dream or creative quest to emerge.* I find the small sacred moments in my daily life and let them sustain me.* I walk my path with presence and intention.Goddess of quiet knowing,help me to make a space for stillness,to guard a place for peace.Remind me that stillness and motionare a constant interplay,the beat between notes,the space between raindrops,the pause between breaths,the silence between heartbeats.The nature of the body is to be in motion,the constant unfolding of a whole universewhirling within our cells,the still spaces in betweensomehow holding the whole together,as in stillnesswe move.Much love,Molly, Mark, + Family This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goddessmagic.substack.com/subscribe

It's been a week of romance in AEW. Yeah, we know, we weren't really expecting it from a show called Maximum Carnage either. (00:00:00) Ins and outs at AEW: The Rascalz, Hechicero, Persephone, and Mascara Dorada in, Will Hobbs out (00:14:12) Mercedes Moné is a crashout icon (00:16:37) Who's been sending Mina Shirakawa flowers? (00:23:11) Can we have a big meaty feud between Kris Statlander and Thekla please? And should we be overthinking the Cosmic Babes of Wrath's black gear? (00:33:42) Darby Allin is a fake and a fraud until he fights Marina Shafir (00:39:09) Marked safe from FTR vs Young Bucks... for now (00:42:03) Schrodinger's Bandido and a gold star for Maxwell (00:50:05) A Hangman-Kenny sandwich with a Swerve filling (01:05:30) JetSpeed Hangballs (01:12:19) The things that made us happy this week Follow us on Bluesky: wafflybollox.bsky.social Email us: wafflybollox@gmail.com Buy things: ko-fi.com/wrassletrash/shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Flagship: whatever the hell TNA was trying to accomplish with their debut on AMC, major contract season updates, including Powerhouse Hobbs departing AEW, The Rascalz signing with AEW, Nick Nemeth, Mascara Dorada, Persephone, Colby Corino, Matt Taven, SANADA, Jody Threat, and Will Kroos.Plus reviews of NOAH's Legacy Rise 2026 show, previews of TNA Genesis 2026, AAA's Saturday YouTube special, CMLL International Weekend & so much more.Our Sponsors:* Check out our sponsor BetterHelp at https://www.betterhelp.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on The Flagship: whatever the hell TNA was trying to accomplish with their debut on AMC, major contract season updates, including Powerhouse Hobbs departing AEW, The Rascalz signing with AEW, Nick Nemeth, Mascara Dorada, Persephone, Colby Corino, Matt Taven, SANADA, Jody Threat, and Will Kroos.Plus reviews of NOAH's Legacy Rise 2026 show, previews of TNA Genesis 2026, AAA's Saturday YouTube special, CMLL International Weekend & so much more.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/voices-of-wrestling-flagship/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

She helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, betrayed her own family, and became one of the most feared figures in Greek myth. Medea's name has echoed through the ancient world for over two millennia, a byword for passion and revenge but was she really a villain?In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by acclaimed classicist and bestselling author Natalie Haynes to unravel the full story of Medea. From her origins in distant Colchis on the edge of the Greek imagination to her unforgettable portrayal in Euripides' tragedy, they explore how the ancient Greeks understood Medea, why her vengeance shocked audiences, and whether she was ever truly the villain of her own story?MOREJason and the ArgonautsListen on AppleListen on SpotifyMedusaListen on AppleListen on SpotifyWatch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit to watch Natalie Haynes new two-part documentary Divine Fury - Demeter and Persephone. Natalie unravels the story of Persephone's abduction and Demeter's fierce response. Filmed across Athens, Eleusis and beyond, the film traces how the myth was transformed into the Eleusinian mysteries, one of the most profound and secretive experiences of the ancient world.Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Written by Carmen Maria Machado, the dark, inventive and sensual writer behind the collection Her Body and Other Parties, and the memoir In the Dream House, this story, “Persephone Rides at the End of Days," was commissioned for the Selected Shorts anthology Small Odysseys. It's about a Greek goddess coming to terms with who and what she is. Is her name, meaning "bringer of death," her fate? Or will she channel the other side of her mythological self? Our reader is Cynthia Nixon, best known for her role on Sex & the City as well as its sequel, And Just Like That. She has also appeared in so many other television series, including The Gilded Age, and is big on Broadway. Aprana Nancherla hosts this episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ringing in the new year from the "Gopher Gulch" video store, DJ and Matt take a time-traveling trip back to 1992. After reflecting on the historic shifts and cinematic blockbusters of the early 90s, the duo dives into the hidden gem of British television: the supernatural sitcom Mulberry. They explore themes of compassion, the "family business" of death, and why a show about a cheerful apprentice Grim Reaper remains a poignant watch decades later.Timeline & Key Highlights00:00 – New Year at the Video Store: Banter about the "office party," the controversy of "fun-sized" Snickers, and the legendary Lula Mae.02:14 – Holiday Chaos in Gopher Gulch: A recap of local trailer park drama involving "Cooter Jack," moonshine eggnog, and unexpected bonuses.03:22 – Destination 1992: The "Time Traveler VCR" sets the stage with a look at 1992—a year of LA Riots, the end of the Cold War, and the birth of future stars like Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus.04:06 – 90s Fashion & TV Curiosities: A discussion on the "macho man" basketball shorts trend and the original Saved by the Bell pilot starring Hayley Mills.06:52 – The Class of '92 at the Movies: Revisiting the year's heavy hitters, including Aladdin, The Bodyguard, Basic Instinct, and Lethal Weapon 3.11:03 – Memorializing a Legend: A quick tribute to French film icon and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot.11:41 – Feature Discussion: Mulberry (1992): An in-depth look at the British sitcom following a cheerful apprentice Grim Reaper who takes a shine to an "acerbic spinster".18:17 – The BBC Cancellation Mystery: Why the show ended after two seasons and the "heebie-jeebies" that led a high-ranking official to pull the plug.23:16 – Transformation & Symbolism: How the character of Rose Farnaby "comes to life" through the show's set design and color palette.31:30 – The Art of the Obituary: A concluding reflection on personal legacy and why everyone should consider drafting their own highlights.Featured Series: MulberryThe Premise: Mulberry, the son of Death and Springtime, is sent on his first mission to escort the bitter Miss Rose Farnaby to the afterlife. Instead, he poses as her manservant to help her rediscover joy.The Vibe: Described as "Dickensian" with a touch of Greek mythology (Hades and Persephone), the show balances dark themes with gentle, British humor.The Verdict: A compassionate look at dignity in death and the potential for late-life change.Notable Mentions & References

Story Prescription: A favourite tale that shows us that after darkness there is light, that after winter there is spring, that after grief, there is hope.   Story Caution: This story contains contains themes of rape within a paradigm of mythic narrative.   A story from Ancient Greece, about a daughter called Persephone's abduction, and her mournful, wrathful and unrelenting search by her mother, Demeter.   To support this podcast, you can '⁠⁠buy me a coffee'. ⁠⁠You can also tell your friends, which costs nothing. Music: Thank you to ⁠⁠In Feathers ⁠⁠for the beautiful music.   Story Sources: Homer; Ovid; Myths of the Sacred Tree

Make sure to check the rest of the description for all of our social media links, including our Patreon (patreon.com/DoNotRelent)!  Slidewhistle, Immunization, and Aaron (and Persephone the Cat) have all gathered at Aaron's home to finally put an end to it: the First Annual Best Baker's Sexiest NPC Power Ranking is debated and is finally set after 10 months of deliberation. Come for the rankings, stay for the laughs. By the end of this episode season 3 of the Sexiest NPC of the Week segment will reach it's years long conclusion... Please send all your love mail, hate mail, and your your least favorite holiday gift to @DoNotRelentPod (Twitter) or on gmail at DoNotRelentPod@gmail.com! We will respond to literally anything and read it on the pod. Find us at: Patreon: patreon.com/DoNotRelent Linktree: donotrelent.com (go here for our Discord) YouTube: @donotrelent on YouTube (the link is long and ugly) Instagram: www.instagram.com/donotrelent Twitter: twitter.com/DoNotRelentPod Livejournal: donotrelentpod.livejournal.com E-Mail: DoNotRelentPod@gmail.com Finally, if you feel so inclined, please rate us on iTunes and bonusroll.gg. We will take a shot on air in your honor! Every rating helps! :D

This episode we are joined by actor, singer and song-writer Analise Scarpaci!  Analise was last seen as Persephone in Mythic directed by Kathleen Marshall and is known for playing Lydia Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire. Her other credits include A Christmas Story: The Musical and Matilda (both on Broadway), The Sound of Music at PaperMill Playhouse and Empire Records, the Musical.Analise is also a singer-songwriter and you can listen to her EP “Pathetic Little Dreamer” out now on all streaming platforms!We speak with Analise about working as a child actor, the role she gave her confidence in her skillset, working with "legends" and much more!

Send us a textJoin Rachel Hill and Liz Wilson on Two Babes and a Book as we have some book banter about the book Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden.This book was Tier 1's across the board, so we could recommend this book even to our young teens! **We have a new content ratings system! It involves 3 tiers for each category (sex, violence, drugs and alcohol, language). It's similar to G/PG, Pg-13, and R ratings in movies. Check out our instagram page for the breakdown.Follow us on instagram @twobabesandabook. Make a comment there and tell us if you read this book. Make sure to leave us a review!  Thanks to those friends who have already shared the podcast!! It means the WORLD to us! As Holbrook Jackson said, "Never put off till tomorrow the book you can read today."Now go stick your nose in a book!

Holiday Specials Are LIVE! Our biggest offers of the year are here. Up to 50% off transformational journeys to carry you into 2026. From Body Wisdom to Archetype IX, through Dec 31 only — then they close. Explore the Holiday Offers Details here This Dec 8–14 Embodied Astrology forecast explores one of the most magical weeks of the year as Neptune goes direct, Uranus brings final wake-up shifts, and Sedna + Lilith activate your destiny line. With Merlin alchemy, Chiron healing, underworld insights, and powerful feminine–masculine union codes, this week opens a rare portal for rapid evolution and deep energetic upgrades. If you're ready to shed the old, ignite your purpose, and align with the 2026 field, this episode gives you the tools and timing to work the magic—not miss it. Episode Highlights: Neptune Direct dissolves old identities and accelerates 2026-level shedding. Uranus shifts reveal hidden patterns and spark radical breakthroughs. Sedna + Lilith activate the Nodes of Fate for destiny shifts and inner-union healing. Sun–Merlin + Chiron opens a portal of high magic, deep healing, and alchemy. Mercury's psychopomp path uncovers what you’re ready to release—and become. ReWilding Holiday Special Offers!  Step into the Brightest, Truest You in 2026 Save up to 50% on holiday specials that were crafted to hold you through the transitions ahead — to support your next becoming with depth, clarity, and the kind of soul-aligned momentum that changes everything. Offer ends Dec 31st ► Details here Dragon Sessions — Holiday Special Offer Save 50% Awaken your inner alchemist and learn to transmute anything—from shadow to gold—with the high-magic, Merlin-coded practices that power real transformation. Step into the depths, claim your hidden gifts, and rise as the creator of your new world. ► Save 50% Archetype IX Library – Holiday Special Offer Save $1,000 + 3 Months of LIVE Coaching Activate the truest version of you with Archetype IX — the complete ReWilding Mystery School. 36 archetypes, 12 gateways, and 3 months of LIVE coaching to support your awakening. ► Save $1,000 + 3 Month Coaching  ReWilding Membership: Bones – Holiday Special Offer Get 4 Months Free Step into BONES, the ReWilding membership designed to hold you through 2026 with monthly LIVE Circles, deep community support, and over $690 in bonus workshops. Stay grounded, clear, and soul-aligned as the new year unfolds. ► ReWilding Membership 4 Months Free New Human: Start Here Snake to Horse Portal Episode Watch Part 1 — “Are You in the First Wave?”  Watch Part 2 – “2025 Consciousness Shift Explained“ Listen to “Dec 8–14 Astrology | Neptune Direct at 29° Pisces“ podcast here… Topics Explored in “Dec 8–14 Astrology | Neptune Direct at 29° Pisces” podcast: (Times based off audio version) (0:00) Astrology Dec 8–14 | Neptune Direct at 29° Pisces + The Week Your Alchemist Wakes Up (2:54) Dec 8 Mars–Saturn Square | Mastery, Karma & Destiny-Line Activation (4:25) Medusa & Vesta | Fairy Godmother Magic Working Your Nodes of Fate (6:05) Mary Magdalene Square Sedna | Sacred Feminine Activation, New Earth & Lilith Power (7:10) Dec 9-10 Uranus, Lilith & Mercury | Radical Awakening + Shadow Reveals (9:34) Dec 10 Neptune Direct 29° Pisces | Deep Shedding & Identity Dissolution (13:22) Dec 11 Mercury Trine Neptune | Translating the Mystic & Letting the Old Fall Away (15:30) Dec 12 Mercury in Sagittarius + Opposite Sedna | Your Great Transformation Path (18:16) Dec 12 Sun Conjunct Merlin | Alchemy, High Magic & Turning Lead to Gold (21:21) Dec 13 Underworld Initiations | Pluto, Chiron, Persephone & Lilith Activation (26:33) Lilith & Persephone | Masculine–Feminine Healing & New Earth Union Codes (28:01) Dec 14 Mars Square Neptune → Mars into Capricorn | Dissolving Ego + Grounded Momentum You can leave a comment or question for Sabrina on the YouTube version of this episode. Listen to after “Dec 8–14 Astrology | Neptune Direct at 29° Pisces”: More on Neptune & Uranus at 29° → RW 350 More on Persephone, Mary Magdalene & Uranus → RW 349 Retrograde Season, Mary Magdalene & Persephone Codes → RW 347 STAY CONNECTED ReWilding Weekly (free, embodied astrology)  IG  Website  Disclaimer: Educational/spiritual perspectives; not medical/mental-health advice. #2025Shift #NewHuman #SpiritualAwakening Welcome to ReWilding with Sabrina Lynn & ReWilding for Women! A gifted facilitator of revolutionary inner work and the world's leading archetypal embodiment expert, Sabrina Lynn is the creator of the groundbreaking ReWilding Way and founder of ReWilding For Women. Sabrina has led more than 100,000 people through programs based on the ReWilding Way, a modality of healing and awakening that strips away the false, the deep wounds from early life, and the fears that hold people back, to reveal their true and unique soul light and help them build their innate capacity to shine it in the world. Her work includes in-person retreats and events, the monthly ReWilding Membership, Living Close to the Bone, Priest/ess Trainings, Mystery Schools, the ReWilding with the Archetypes, and the wildly popular 6 Faces of the Feminine workshop series. Welcome to ReWilding! The post 354 – Dec 8–14 Astrology | Neptune Direct at 29° Pisces + The Week Your Alchemist Wakes Up appeared first on Rewilding for Women.

This episode takes you through the 1st-floor rooms of the Borghese Gallery in Rome, Italy. It discusses the breathtaking early statues by Gian Lorenzo Bernini - "Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius," "Pluto and Persephone," "Apollo and Daphne," and "David," as well as Antonio Canova's sublime Neoclassical "Paolina Bonaparte as Venus Victrix."

We're re-releasing this powerful conversation with one of my best friends, Layla Martin, as we prepare for our next pilgrimage to Greece in Spring 2026. This episode kicks off our Priestess Pilgrimage series — a journey into the mysteries, medicines, and feminine technologies that shaped entire civilizations. In Part 1, Layla and I explore what it meant to walk as a priestess, why words like witch and oracle were once titles of honor, and how ancient rituals using breath, trance, plants, and embodied worship were designed to help humans experience the divine directly. We also share why tens of thousands of people once traveled to Eleusis to transform their relationship with death — and why those same technologies are rising again now. If you've ever felt the pull toward deeper remembrance, this episode is a doorway. In this episode, we explore: •The true meaning of “High Priestess” — beyond trend, beyond aesthetic •Why the ancient “witch” was simply the wise woman and spiritual leader • How Eleusis became the epicenter of direct divine experience • The connection between plant medicine and early mystical Christianity • Why embodied spirituality threatens systems of control • The Persephone descent as a map for healing and power • How reclamation impacts love, sex, creativity, body image & sovereignty • The very real, very human moments of pilgrimage (including the porta potty initiation) Key Moments: [00:01] High priestesses & the origins of plant medicine as sacrament [00:56] Why Emily & Layla created their own priestess pilgrimage [02:40] Witch, wise woman, priestess — reclaiming the lineage [05:06] What it means to hold spiritual authority in your own body [07:02] How patriarchy severed women from the divine [08:05] The “religion with no name” — nature, cosmos, direct experience [09:41] The Eleusinian Mysteries & dying before you die [12:01] The ingredients, codes & hidden teachings of the Kaikion [15:11] Plant medicine, sovereignty & why it threatened empire [17:18] The psychological impact of remembering your divinity [20:03] Inside the descent myth of Persephone & Demeter [23:52] The moment the pilgrimage became hilariously human Layla Martin — Founder of the VITA Method, teacher of Tantra, sexuality, emotional mastery, and spiritual awakening. Instagram: @thelaylamartin Learn more: laylamartin.com Join the Upcoming Pilgrimage to Greece — Spring 2026 If you feel the call of Eleusis, the mysteries, or this lineage…Emily is opening the next pilgrimage to Greece in Spring 2026. Submit your refundable deposit to secure your spot to apply, this ensures you're among the first considered when applications open. Learn More: zivameditation.com/pages/nextlevel More from Emily & Ziva: • Join Ziva Magic: zivameditation.com/pages/zivamagic • Learn Ziva Meditation: preview.zivameditation.com •Free masterclass: learn.zivameditation.com •Get 15% off with promo code WHYTHIS: whythis.zivameditation.com • Follow us on Instagram: @zivameditation •Visit upgradedformulas.com/emily and use code EMILY for 20% off everything at UpgradedFormulas.com These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider if pregnant/nursing, on medication, or have a medical condition.

Holiday Specials Are LIVE! Our biggest offers of the year are here. Up to 50% off transformational journeys to carry you into 2026. From Body Wisdom to Archetype IX, through Dec 31 only — then they close. Explore the Holiday Offers Details here This week's Embodied Astrology (Dec 1–7) brings one of 2025's biggest energetic turning points: a Super Full Moon in Gemini forming a Grand Cross with the Nodes of Fate, amplified by the Great Attractor, Pluto, Venus, Lilith, and Uranus. Be guided day-by-day so you can navigate major choice points, shed what's complete, and align with your highest timeline. If you're feeling the pressure or the pull to evolve, you're right on time—this is a karmic crossroads week with massive future implications. Use This Astrology To: • See Around The Bend With Great Attractor Insight • Reconnect To Your Inner Oracle • Make Conscious, Aligned Choices • Access Hidden Gifts + Soul-Level Desires • Release Old Patterns And Step Onto Your True Path Supports to Take You Deeper: ReWilding Holiday Special Offers! Step into the Brightest, Truest You in 2026 Save up to 50% on holiday specials that were crafted to hold you through the transitions ahead — to support your next becoming with depth, clarity, and the kind of soul-aligned momentum that changes everything. Offer ends Dec 31st ► Details here Birthing a New World Online Retreat – Holiday Special Offer Save $100 Step into seven initiations that awaken your deepest feminine power. Reclaim the wisdom in your blood, activate your creative life-force, and transform your life from the inside out. ► Save $100 Archetype IX Library – Holiday Special Offer Save $1,000 + 3 Months of LIVE Coaching Activate the truest version of you with Archetype IX — the complete ReWilding Mystery School. 36 archetypes, 12 gateways, and 3 months of LIVE coaching to support your awakening. ► Save $1,000 + 3 Month Coaching  ReWilding Membership: Bones – Holiday Special Offer Get 4 Months Free Step into BONES, the ReWilding membership designed to hold you through 2026 with monthly LIVE Circles, deep community support, and over $690 in bonus workshops. Stay grounded, clear, and soul-aligned as the new year unfolds. ► ReWilding Membership 4 Months Free New Human: Start Here IG LIVE with Richard Rudd & Sabrina Lynn  Watch Part 1 — “Are You in the First Wave?”  Watch Part 2 – “2025 Consciousness Shift Explained“ Richard Rudd & the 2026–27 Great Shift Listen to “Embodied Astrology Dec 1–7 | Super Full Moon“ podcast here… Topics Explored in “Embodied Astrology Dec 1–7 | Super Full Moon” podcast: (Times based off audio version) (0:00) Destined Choice Week & Gemini Super Full Moon (Dec 1–7, 2025 Astrology) (1:30) – Weekly Themes: Choices, Great Attractor Insight & Super Full Moon Completions (7:31) – December 1: Feminine Grand Cross Choice Point – Listening to Your Body Wisdom (14:13) – Underworld Portals & IX Archetypes: Sedna, Venus, Persephone, & Mary Magdalene (15:47) – December 2: Pluto–Venus Sextile: Unearthing the Golden Shadow & Hidden Soul Gifts (18:41) – December 3: Uranus + Lilith: Kundalini Surge, Wild Woman Rising & Karmic Release (25:06) – December 4 – Gemini Super Full Moon, Grand Cross & Great Attractor (27:13) – Full Moon Grand Cross to the Nodes of Fate: Pisces–Virgo Axis and Karmic Timelines (36:37) – Working Consciously with the Great Attractor: Oracle Vision & Manifestation Magnetism (42:24) – December 5: Venus, Kali & No More Self-Lies (45:17) – December 6: Mercury–Jupiter–Saturn Grand Trine – Making the Dream Real (47:59) – December 7: Moon–Jupiter + Grand Trine – Expanded Emotional Vision You can leave a comment or question for Sabrina on the YouTube version of this episode. Listen to after “Embodied Astrology Dec 1–7 | Super Full Moon”: More on Neptune & Uranus at 29° → RW 350 More on Persephone, Mary Magdalene & Uranus → RW 349 Retrograde Season, Mary Magdalene & Persephone Codes → RW 347 STAY CONNECTED ReWilding Weekly (free, embodied astrology)  IG  Website  Disclaimer: Educational/spiritual perspectives; not medical/mental-health advice. #2025Shift #NewHuman #SpiritualAwakening Welcome to ReWilding with Sabrina Lynn & ReWilding for Women! A gifted facilitator of revolutionary inner work and the world's leading archetypal embodiment expert, Sabrina Lynn is the creator of the groundbreaking ReWilding Way and founder of ReWilding For Women. Sabrina has led more than 100,000 people through programs based on the ReWilding Way, a modality of healing and awakening that strips away the false, the deep wounds from early life, and the fears that hold people back, to reveal their true and unique soul light and help them build their innate capacity to shine it in the world. Her work includes in-person retreats and events, the monthly ReWilding Membership, Living Close to the Bone, Priest/ess Trainings, Mystery Schools, the ReWilding with the Archetypes, and the wildly popular 6 Faces of the Feminine workshop series. Welcome to ReWilding! The post 352 – Embodied Astrology Dec 1–7 | Super Full Moon: Destiny Choices, Great Attractor & Karmic Breakthrough appeared first on Rewilding for Women.