Episoder
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Here is the Russian tale of Ivan Bears-Son. With origins in a cave and what seems to be a fated encounter with darkness and then an underworld teeming with light and life, this story has all the mythic elements that permeate the winter solstice and the journey to the vernal equinox.
Story Sources: Russian Wonder Tales by George Post Wheeler; A Branch from the Lightening Tree by Martin Shaw; The Book of Symbols edited by Ami Ronnberg and Kathleen Martin
As always, a huge thank you to Co-Ag Music, a constant source of quality copyright free music.
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It is a strange thing to think of death as nutritious, that death can make living things into the elemental stuff of life. But as summer’s verdant life begins to succumb to an inevitable end, as death transforms the landscape, the strangeness of that thought recedes, becoming something full of sense and meaning.
This is especially true as I walk through a local woodland and beneath my feet are the remains of arboreal death - humus, that dark organic matter that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays. When leaf litter and animals remains decompose, they break down into their most basic chemical elements…elements that are nutritious to life.
This breaking down of living things, particularly as autumn transitions into winter on my Northern island, inspired this episode of Mythos, which will focus on primordial giant stories - myths in which a giant is sacrificed in order to become the building blocks of creation.
The first is a Norse Myth, details of which can be found in the Prose and Poetic Eddas. The Prose Edda was written in 13th century Iceland and is considered the fullest and most detailed source of Norse Mythology. Drawing upon a variety of sources, the Prose Edda also references an older source - a collection of poems known as the Poetic Edda.
The second story is from the Rigveda, an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit Hymns, one of the four sacred Hindu texts known as the vedas.
Music:
https://www.youtube.com/@ebanisteria.musicale
https://www.youtube.com/@GeethanjaliClassicalMusic
https://www.youtube.com/@Nordicvibrations7979
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Manglende episoder?
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Eggs are an ancient symbol. The magical properties, burial rites and folk beliefs surrounding eggs are many.
In this first episode of Earth Lore, a Mythos series that retells ancient myth and traditional folklore surrounding the cosmos, earth, flora, fauna and natural phenomena, we will look at cosmic origin myths that feature magical primordial eggs.
With a brief introduction, there will then be two retellings of myths from Finland and China.
Music courtesy of Co-Ag music (copyright free music can be found on Youtube)
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In Baltic folklore, birds are mediators of heaven and earth, between the living and the dead. Their music is heraldic and their song a prophetic chanting. Birds inhabit and embody the dynamic force of space, soaring through the invisible ether of the atmosphere.
In this story, we will journey to the thrice-three realm, to the garden of a Baltic King, where, amidst bone white birches and tall meadow grasses, there dwells a bird only accessible to the truly wise
Music (Youtube)
This Fascinating World, Co-Ag Music
Siidisulis linnukene' (Silken Feathered Bird), Maarja Nuut
Traditional kokle music variation 1, Laima Jansone
Abandoned 1, Co-Ag Music
Muutuja, Maarja Nuut & Ruum
Edge of Silence, Co-Ag Music
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October, in much lore, is a spiritually potent time and the oft stated idea that the veil between worlds is thin at this time holds true in traditional Latvian practice. The living would prepare their homes for a visit from deceased ancestors, with the house cleaned and table laden with food for the occasion. To open this feast, an elder of the home would call the names of all the ancestral dead in living memory, inviting them to eat with the living.
In this story, we follow a young man into a Latvian forest, where he follows yet another tradition - retrieving the ancestors from the forest cemetery in a horse drawn cart.
Please head to www.mythospodcast.com and sign up for the email list for weekly stories and research content, for both creative inspiration and the solace of story. Also consider becoming a Patron: a library of episode transcript e-books and some special patrons-only episodes for top two tiers. And I welcome support for upcoming series on Japanese and Korean Folklore - and the Earth Lore series exploring the folklore of the natural world around the globe.Thank you to Co-Ag Music for the excellent soundscapes of this episode.
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The mythic origin tales of Baltic amber are full of magic, and the pre-history of the golden-umber resin-stone is no less awe-inspiring. This pine-tree resin was fossilized 45 million years ago, during a period of intense warmth that caused the pines to exude huge amounts of sap. There is an inherent enchantment in handling something that warms to the touch and is the remnant of a prehistoric coniferous forest. Even more otherworldly are those pieces of amber that contain the tiny remains of this ancient - and almost mythical - past. Oak leaf bits, tiny twigs, pollen, and other plant detritus found itself preserved in the resin which hardened over millions of years. Even ancient insects have been encapsulated in the golden substance. No wonder then that the Baltics, where this fey stone can be found in particular abundance, was the site of trade for many many thousands of years. In this episode, we will dive into a Lithuanian origin myth for this precious stone.
A big thank you to Co-Ag Music and Spanxti for the stunning music in this episode!
You can find Co-Ag here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA
You can find Spanxti here on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk1_IxRDcik
If you’re wanting a bit more than monthly episodes - and like the sound of engaging with the stories of the folk more deeply and creatively - of restoring the ancient practice of listening to and responding to traditional tales, then the upcoming 'Your Story Heritage' course might be for you - if that’s the case, right now, before you forget, CLICK HERE and then click on the orange ‘register your interest’ button.
Consider becoming a Patron
You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.mythospodcast.com/
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In this episode, we journey again to Lithuania: we will go to the noble hall of an ignoble count and to a sylvan lake, to meet a washerwoman of great spirit, whose patrons are full of earth and water magic.
A massive thank you to Co-Ag Music and Jēkabs Zariņš for their permission to use their music.
'Meža diesma,' 'tehniskas variācijas,' and 'Grandparent's Blessing' by Jēkabs Zariņš
'Taste the Fear,' and 'Who will save my soul,' by Co-Ag Music.
Jēkabs Zariņš: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9izFNeuvBR3qt5vfgfBkOw
Co-Ag Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA
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In this episode’s panorama of ancient woodland, northern seas and shamanic underworlds, the world-traversing magic of the grass snake clashes with the bone-deep force of ancestral longing and family drama. From forest pools to pearl-white sands, from black-deep ocean caverns to a verdant underworld, we will explore the magic landscapes of Lithuania, in one of her most famous pieces of folklore.
This story was brought to life by the music of these talented musicians!
- Co-Ag Music on Youtube
- "Turėja Liepa" by Simona Smirnova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIqzz8UZeOE - Also, visit her website at: https://www.simonasmirnova.nyc/
- "Lakštingalėle" by Kumaniusilelis https://www.youtube.com/user/kamaniusilelis/featured - Also, visit their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kamaniusilelis
- Agota Ago https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaRsJDijtkZ5zVXV_Z9ZHTw
- Performance of a Lithuanian Midsummer Folksong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeEnhlRteiA&list=PLfjWyCNZi947Y4DDyk_VnqpRA_aZDaqQg&index=2
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Goddaughter of the Rock Maidens. The name of the story lit up my imagination, as did the brief outline of a plot in W.F Kirby’s 1895 English translation of famous Estonian tales. In just a few sentences, I sensed a powerful narrative: nature spirits and underworlds; a young girl tutored by powerful female fey-folk and enchantments and serpent kings.
For all my listeners, consider joining my upcoming Story Heritage Webinar on Power & Powerlessness. The aim is to explore the wisdom and insights of world folklore surrounding this fundamental human experience. If you want to explore our world storytelling heritage, get inspiration for your own creative life and experience the therapeutic powers of story, go to https://www.mythosstorytelling.com/storyheritage-webinars
Please do consider helping with research costs so I can bring the stories of the folk into our cultural consciousness: https://www.patreon.com/mythospodcast
A huge thank you to Maarja Nuut and Co-Ag Music for allowing me to use their music!
Donate to Maarja here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0rQSHGbaVqFhj4gcXDAjKy?si=5YLWNMrOSaORlMXbkEfMyA
Maarja Nuut songs: 'Veere, Veere päevakene,'
'Handi pandimehe lugu' - Estonian Folk Song
Co-Ag Music: 'Beautiful Days' and 'A Dark Myth'
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It is November in an Estonian village and it is the Time of Souls, when dead ancestors return and roam, visiting homes and enjoying the pleasures of life in the sauna
In this time of extended night, there are forces afoot, and not just those of deceased ancestors. There might be Nututaja: the evil eye, whose envy distresses and disturbs the new-born, and is one amongst a number of supernatural threats around the globe that threaten the infant. Perhaps a symbol of the immense world - with all of its dangers - surrounding the vulnerable little one, the Nututaja’s influence unsettles the baby, who becomes colicky and unable to sleep. In fact, Nututaja’s envy, the evil eye, is so powerful that it creates what seems to be an entity in its own right: Ööitketaja, the Night Wail.
A huge thank you to Maarja Nuut, a stunningly talented Estonian musician whose music seems made for these stories.
Songs: 'Siidisulis linnukene,' 'Veere, Veere, paevakene,' and 'Odangule.'
For more from Maarja, see her website: https://maarjanuut.com/
Introduction Music: Estonian Cradle Song
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A quick introduction to the Baltic States and why a journey into the folkloric realms of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is well worth your time.
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Welcome to episode 1 of 'Folklorica Baltica' - the fourth season of Mythos focusing on The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
In this episode, follow the journey of a young girl who dares enter the dread Wood of Tontla...and who discovers strange magic and hidden blessings.
Music credit goes to some fine Estonian folk musicians who very kindly allowed me to use their music in this episode. Do explore their music for something beautiful and different.
Kirtana Rasa (artist): Monet Aiad (song) and Leia mind taas (song)
Maarja Nuut (artist): Kargus (song)
Midrid (artist): Meeste Kutse (song)
Rüüt (artist): Orjalaul (song)
Handi Paadimehe lugu (traditional song)
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Welcome to Story Therapy, a Mythos mini-series exploring the relationship between narrative and mental health, particularly traditional tales as a therapeutic space where difficult emotions and circumstances can be acknowledged and explored. In this series, experts, mental health practitioners and storytellers will share stories from folklore, myth and legend and we will explore to what extent such tales provide space for delving into what it means to be human, delving into what drives us and what challenges us.
In this episode, Lily Asch, Director of Real Talk, tells a story about the sun hiding its face and the desperate measures taken to deal with this impossible situation. However, what finally works could never have been anticipated!
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This short episode is a part of the Lockdown Lore series - a short story published bi-weekly for a bit of escape and respite.
Listen to Dan Tovey tell an unusual story about a very strange woman turning up to a candy store after closing hours.
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This short episode is a part of the Lockdown Lore series - a short story published bi-weekly for a bit of escape and respite.
The story was inspired by the idea of avenging forest spirits - creatures made of the forest itself (much like the recently released 'Birch' from indie folk horror online station Crypt TV), as well as more traditional monsters like the Slavic Leshy.
For more information on the guest storyteller, Jason Buck, visit www.jasonbuckstoryteller.co.uk and follow his page on Facebook. His storytelling shows are highly recommended and he is currently telling to great effect on Zoom!
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Welcome to Story Therapy, a Mythos mini-series exploring the relationship between narrative and mental health, particularly traditional tales as a therapeutic space where difficult emotions and circumstances can be acknowledged and explored. In this series, experts, mental health practitioners and storytellers will share stories from folklore, myth and legend and we will explore to what extent such tales provide space for delving into what it means to be human, delving into what drives us and what challenges us.
In this first episode, Lily Asch, Director of Real Talk, tells a tale about a grieving sibling. We then discuss what this story tells us about grief, an emotion that many are feeling these days as they face the losses created by the pandemic.
Find out more about Real Talk CIC here: https://www.realtalkproject.org/
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This short episode is a part of the Lockdown Lore series - a short story published bi-weekly for a bit of escape and respite.
In this Polish folktale, a dragon is outwitted when a soldier decides to heed the wisdom of Mother Forest.
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The Sami are the Nordic region's indigenous people: though they share a similar ethnic identity, they inhabit a vast geographical area - from the Atlantic coast of Norway, the lakes, rivers, mountains and forests of Norway, Sweden and Finland to the Kola peninsula of Russia. These stories were collected by a Danish ethnographer, who lived among Swedish Sami. Here is what she has to say about their storytelling tradition:
‘In the protective light, everything may be named, all the horror and sorcery conjured by the darkness. Outside [the tent] in the deepest night wander the dead, the spirits, the evil thoughts one person sends to another...out there are storms and clouds, the moon stars and northern lights. Here inside the tent is the campfire; here is home, the great safe place...During the day the Sami, like other people, are busy with tasks. But when the darkness draws them to the campfire, when the stew kettle hangs on its sooty chain and the steam and smoke rise through the tent opening to the clouds and the night sky, then rest comes, memories slip in, like dreams to a sleeper. The tales and customs of olden times are still a well-spring among the Sami.’
Music: Co-Ag Music, Berit Margrethe Oskal and Sofia Jannak
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From Norway’s verdant mountain pastures where lonely dairymaids tend the seter, or summer farm, to the shadowed forests of Sweden and Denmark, we will encounter the strange beings of the summer wilds. This episode will focus on folktales whose backdrop is the summer season, when the lush reproductive potency of the world is obvious and abundant. Across the Nordic world, Midsummer is celebrated with huge bonfires, and traditionally, was believed to be rich with magical properties. Agrarian Finns, for example, celebrated Midsummer by adorning rooms with flowers, green branches and twigs. According to Finnish folk belief, Midsummer was abundant with väki, a term referring to the inherent power of all things. Midsummer was believed to be charged with curative väki, arising from the fecundity of nature at the height of summer.
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In Scandinavia’s most ancient literature, there exists primordial giants whose actions - and very being - are identified with the origin and creation of the world. Engendered in the great chasm called Ginnungagap, where the frozen waters of the cold-realm Niflheim and the hot breath of the fire-realm Muspel met, the frost giant Ymir and a cow named Audumla were the first created beings. In this creation story, the combination of fire and ice made life possible: some mysterious life grew and thrived in the drops of melting water, which took the form of the giant Ymir. Called jätte (yett-uh) in Swedish, troll or jutul (yoo-tool) in Norwegian, trolls and giants are prominent in fables and in etiological legends explaining the origin of many huge rock formations, lakes and the so-called giants potholes. The Norwegian word ‘jutul’ stems from the Old Norse Jotunn, which denotes a race of giants in opposition to man and gods.
From the pine-laden mountains and prosperous farms of the Vågå region in Norway to imperial Copenhagen, from the jagged-peaks and moss-laden cliffs of Iceland’s West-fjords to the immense vertical sea cliffs of the Faroe Islands, we will hear tales of earth-sculpting colossal beings.
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