Episodes
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Sign up for October's Cave of Dreams workshop: www.houseoflegends.me/cave-of-dreams
Find me on Substack: https://enthusiastica.substack.com/
In this almanac episode, I survey some themes of the folklore of October, from fire rituals to guising, and invite listeners to dream into the relationship they would like to cultivate with the unseen in the winter months of the year. The full moon of October this year is October 17th, from which this episode took its Anglo-Saxon name, Winterfylleþ, winter-full, the full moon marking the start of the winter half of the year.
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
"Tam Lin" by Moira Craig
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/tam-lin/1617427959?i=1617427977
"The Foggy Dew" by Ye Vagabonds
Buy it: https://yevagabonds.bandcamp.com/track/the-foggy-dew
"Dromte Mig En Drom I Nat" by Musica Ficta & Bo Holten
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/dromte-mig-en-drom-i-nat/474624260?i=474624262
Corrections:
The whales I saw were in fact porpoises, and I was recording near Dunstanburgh Castle, rather than Dunstan Castle -
In this episode I share about September as harvest month in folklore, Old English names for the month and season, spirits of the grain, the meaning of the equinox in tradition, the upcoming lunar eclipse, and Michaelmas!
Sign up for the Cave of Dreams workshop series: https://www.houseoflegends.me/cave-of-dreams
Find me on Substack: https://enthusiastica.substack.com/
September Almanac playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gajsHJ86ljT3f1TuFtLFI?si=ce9b72a3701d4b77
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
“Ripest of Apples” by Anna and Elizabeth
Buy Anna and Elizabeth’s music:
https://annaandelizabeth.bandcamp.com/
“Band of Shearers” by Carla Sciaky
Buy Carla Sciaky’s music:
https://carlasciaky.com/index.html#store
“My Son David” by the Brothers Gillespie
Brothers Gillespie tour and music: https://thebrothersgillespie.com/shows
“Apples and Potatoes” by June Tabor
June Tabor tour: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/112582-june-tabor
Instrumental tracks:
“Apples in Winter” by Peter Acty
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/apples-in-winter/1617403163?i=1617403387
“Harvest Home” by Willie Clancy
Buy the album: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/willie-clancy-the-gold-ring/458399572
Image: Theodor von Hörmann - Mondaufgang nach der Ernte -
Episodes manquant?
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Subscribe to my Substack newsletter: https://enthusiastica.substack.com/
Join the Cave of Dreams workshop series: https://www.houseoflegends.me/cave-of-dreams
In this episode, Daniel Allison tells the story of the god Lugh (after whom Lughnasadh is named) at the hall of the king Nuada, leading us into a discussion of how we might approach Lughnasadh folklore and mythology now. Then we share what each of us has been up to lately, especially emphasizing the role of pagan devotion in each of our work, and diving into the role of “permission” to embody sacred traditional culture. -
This episode explores folklore and pagan origins of the 12 days of Christmas, with a focus on the feminine winter figures of Perchta, Holle, and Grýla, featuring a conversation with Jenn Campus, author of A Guide to Celebrating the 12 Days of Yule.
Pagan Ritual Song course: https://f77d9f-2.myshopify.com/products/pagan-ritual-song-course-jan-feb-2024
Buy Jenn Campus’ book, A Guide to Celebrating the 12 days of Yule: jenncampusauthor.com/product/a-guid…-days-of-yule/
Emilia Blom, who shared the solstice wishes ritual with me: www.instagram.com/vildmedicin/
My Big Fat Solstice playlist on Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/2LFjxSU…a743490a69a6459c
Gnome for Christmas Fair Folk episode: open.spotify.com/episode/5ysFM2qu…6172f7663bc0479f
Join my mailing list: view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Resources & references for this episode:
The Stations of the Sun: the ritual year in Britain by Ronald Hutton
"'He met his own funeral procession': The Year walk-ritual in Swedish folk tradition” Tommy Kuusela: www.academia.edu/9403910
The Icelandic Yule Lads poem in English ingebretsens-blog.com/wp-content/upl…-Lads-Poem.pdf
“The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” By Lotte Motz dokumen.tips/documents/motz-lot…s-1985.html?page=5
“Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments” by John B. Smith www.scribd.com/doc/17325747/Perc…itter-and-Her-Kin
‘Grýla, Grýlur, Grøleks and Skeklers: Medieval Disguise Traditions in the North Atlantic?” by Terry Gunnell notendur.hi.is/~terry/articles/T…_and_Skeklers.pdf
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods’ music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Malpas Wassail by the Watersons Buy it: www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/alb…483616862&sr=1-1
Spinn, Spinn, Spinnerinn by Herbergsuche Gruppe Buy it: music.apple.com/ca/album/spinn-sp…55276?i=318155791
Grýlukvaeði by Thrju a Palli Buy it: music.apple.com/ca/album/gr%C3%BD…7315?i=1621787688
Instrumental track: The Wanderer by Juniper and the Wolf Buy Juniper and the Wolf’s music: juniperandthewolf.bandcamp.com/ -
This episode surveys the folklore of the first half of December, including St. Nicholas' Day on Dec 6th, St. Lucia's day on Dec. 13th, and the solstice. As we approach the darkest point of winter, I ask you to follow the rhythm of nature and turn your gaze to the small, the domestic and the precious.
Sign up for the ONLINE Pagan Carols Singalong!: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/sgn5zaflv8/
Sign up for the IN-PERSON Pagan Carols Singalong in Victoria BC: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/yl53dvqx1w
Join my mailing list:
view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Music in this episode:
St. Nicholas by Anúna
Buy this track:
anuna.bandcamp.com/track/st-nicholas-2
Luciavisa by Lisa (singer Emma Härdelin)
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/luciavisa/204432292?i=204434789
There is no Rose by the King’s Singers
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/there-is-no-rose/79623724?i=79623213
Orientis Partibus by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Buy music by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels here: www.medievalminstrels.com/
Kąlėdų rytų saulė pražydo (The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning) by Sedula
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/kal%C4%97d%C5%B3-ryt%C4%85-saul%C4%97-pra%C5%BEydo/1427982403?i=1427982982
Rex Tua Nolo Munera by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Buy music by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels here: www.medievalminstrels.com/
Sources for this episode:
Lyrics to The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning by Sedula:
www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=5162
Some more information about medieval animal carols:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/friendly_beasts.htm
More information about medieval carols:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2020/dec/evolution-medieval-christmas-carols
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen:
https://americanliterature.com/author/hans-christian-andersen/short-story/the-snow-queen -
In this episode I gently interrogate what we mean when we say "the veil is thin" at Halloween, and offer a vision of the whole of winter as a season of hospitality between humans and the otherworld(s) through fire, story, music, and rituals of generosity.
Listen to past Fair Folk episode "All Hallows' Folk Tradition at the Gates of Winter" https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/all-hallows-folk-tradition-at-the-gates-of-winter/id1177770160?i=1000452872493
Get love letters from me: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/pijrgnu11x
Join my Patreon for as little as $2 a month!: https://www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast
Where to find Kirsten Milliken, the storyteller: instagram.com/kirstinmillikenstoryteller
facebook.com/com/kirstinmillikenstoryteller
www.kirstenmilliken.co.uk
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
"Réidh Chnoc Mná Duibhe" by Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin
Buy the song: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/re-idh-chnoc-mna-duibhe/1653578592?i=1653581085
Image is Fairy Tale of Kings by Lithuanian painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis -
We have reached the energetic peak of the year. The main ancient and folkloric themes of June ritualise the human relationship to two of our primary life-givers, the sun and water. Our romance with these elements (and one another) reach a peak as the year completes its in-breath around the summer solstice. This episode outlines a faint thematic arc in historical Whitsun practices at the start of June, and Midsummer at the end, focusing especially on the folk rituals and folksong of the Baltic countries, Eastern Europe and Ireland.
Purchase my new Gathering the Gods course on Thor, Odin, & Freya: fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/
My excellent Midsummer Solstice / June Almanac playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gG8z6O83kpkjflUqaSMZc?si=a7a6693c091046ef
The Midsummer Solstice episode of Fair Folk podcast from 2018: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1QZliHXdfHHmSVy0ySfpbv?si=fe6608a7395c4a5e
“Rusalki: Anthropology of time, death, and sexuality in Slavic folklore” by Jiří Dynda
https://www.academia.edu/34620531/Rusalki_Anthropology_of_time_death_and_sexuality_in_Slavic_folklore
“The Mythic Sun: An Aerial Perspective” by Thomas Dubois:
https://chs.harvard.edu/chapter/thomas-a-dubois-the-mythic-sun-an-areal-perspective/
“Migration of Song Genres: Two Typical Lithuanian Cases” by Rytis Ambrazevičius
https://bop.unibe.ch/EJM/article/view/8335
“The Midsummer Solstice As It Was, Or Was Not, Observed in Pagan Germany, Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxon England” by Sandra Billington
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hX0NJJHjoicOq-5VH3kPfsQAX3NTbAtj/view?usp=sharing
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
“O Na Ivana Na Kupala” by Olexa Kabanov -
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/oh-na-ivana-na-kupala/919387915?i=919387973
“Švinta Jona Vakaralia” by Nalšia -
Learn more and buy it (scroll down for English): http://www.lnkc.lt/go.php/lit/Kupole-roze-sekminiu-joniniu-dainuojamoji-tautosaka/110946
Ozolini, Ozolini by Vilkači -
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/j%C4%81nis/1201942701 -
This episode, a bonus introductory unit to my upcoming Gathering the Gods course, introduces Old Norse culture and language, and describes the status of gods in the Old Norse religion and cosmology. This course will give an overview of the surviving historical texts and traces of the gods Thor, Odin, and Freya.
Gathering the Gods begins May 7th! Sign up here: https://fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/
Access the reading and materials for this intro unit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GPjFkblda1E7NlXrpMCHRa0Q5WWk_JJO?usp=sharing -
This episode outlines the key themes of May folklore embodied in the celebrations of May 1st, aka May Day or Beltane: bonfires for purification and protection, veneration of plants and trees, the leading of animals to green pastures, erotic expressions of pleasure, and the blooming promise of earth's abundance.
Join the Gathering the Gods course on Thor, Odin, & Freya: https://fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/
Listen to the Big Beltane Spotify playlist (newly updated): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6UVpAwkdX39Bk5mY1Kd2Xc?si=0f91f96826544081
Big Beltane: May Day Song and Custom episode from 2019: https://open.spotify.com/episode/62jeozEUNP0FFrKKSafLEJ?si=4de8b4c66c284d5b
Music in this episode:
"Don't you Go a Rushing" by Lisa Knapp
https://lisaknapp.bandcamp.com/album/till-april-is-dead-a-garland-of-may
"Robin Hood and the Tanner" by Jesse Ferguson
Buy it:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/folk-favourites/1238844872
"Äggavisan" by Folk och Rachare
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/%C3%A4ggavisan/1462963060?i=1462963069
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds -
This episode my guest is Olle Möllervärn, Swedish folklore and paganism researcher and bear nerd! In this episode we discuss animism and how it brings us into more ethical relationship with animals, the connection between human fertility and bears, including human-bear romance, as well as the reason bears are connected with St. Tiburtius' day, April 14th.
Join my mailing list for a discount on my upcoming course on Old Norse polytheism, Gathering the Gods: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141 (Registration opens April 17th)
Olle Möllervärn on Academia.edu: https://miun.academia.edu/OlleM%C3%B6llerv%C3%A4rn
Norwegian bear dance - skip to 18:00: https://tv.nrk.no/program/FOLA69009669
Opening theme:
Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Purchase Sylvia Woods' music: https://www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds -
This episode outlines the folklore of April in northern Europe: April Fool's day, Palm Sunday, Easter, St. George's day, and the history of gathering greenery for ritual and soups, rising at the dawn to worship a goddess, cuckoo folklore, dragon lore, and lovely spring ritual songs to set the mood!
This month's April Almanac Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2AJtQbVqaNJKhwbSNpRqxc?si=4d2dafd206f74a15
Join the mailing list: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Goddess of the Dawn episode of Fair Folk: https://soundcloud.com/fairfolkcast/goddess-of-the-dawn
Goddess of the Dawn Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37OdQr0zs03bygse4ULS47?si=1dcb8ccce828438e
Resources:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, chapter: In the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Place.
A quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7192815-our-immigrant-plant-teachers-offer-a-lot-of-different-models
Mimisbrunnr entry on the Nine Herbs Charm (Nigon Wyrta Galdor): https://www.mimisbrunnr.info/nigon-wyrta-galdor
A nice German nine-herb soup recipe: https://www.kitchenproject.com/german/recipes/Suppe/Grundonnerstagsuppe/index.htm
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Kuku Kaki Kultarinta by Honeypaw
Purchase:
https://honeypawband.bandcamp.com/track/kuku-kaki-kultarinta
Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene by Helena Ek and Goran Mansson
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/edi-beo-thu-hevene-queene/1625877870?i=1625879088
Now the Green Blade Riseth by Caedmon
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/now-the-green-blade-riseth/1491931796?i=1491932896
St. George by Waterson: Carthy
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/st-george/1280110185?i=1280110191
Instrumental track at 54:29: A Madre De Jhesu Cristo by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/a-madre-de-jhesu-cristo/1346857580?i=1346857906
Bright morning stars are rising by Tony Saletan and Irene Saletan
Purchase:
https://folkways.si.edu/tony-and-irene-saletan/folk-songs-and-ballads -
This almanac episode dives into the folklore of February through the lens of the Ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia on February 15th, tracing the themes of birth, milk, wolves, wildness, purification, death, twilight, and thunder through the month’s other pagan holidays, including St. Brigid’s day on February 1st, Candlemas / Gromnica / Perkunas Day on February 2nd, and Scandinavian St. Peter Hotstone on February 22nd.
This month’s episode asks what the notion of purification might mean in a pagan context, and suggests it may mean facing the shadow parts of ourselves that we tend to project onto animals (and women) so we can ritually integrate them, clarifying and owning our role as powerfully in-between creatures in a powerfully in-between world.
Important dates:
February 1: Brigid’s Day / Bride (Ireland / Scotland)
February 2: Candlemas (Christian) / Gromnica (Slavic) / Perkunas day (Lithuania) / Perun’s Day (Belarus)
February 14: St. Valentine’s day
February 15: Lupercalia
February 21: Mardi Gras / end of Carnivale / Start of Lent
February 22: St. Peter Hot-stone
Listen to the February Almanac playlist on Tidal:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/4c148b82-bfe5-46cf-ba26-63b7bc2a7acd
Listen to the February Almanac playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QSKLQ8WeAq9v26NWfpTtX?si=33e31c5e2fe74971
Music in this episode:
“Lupercalia” by Faun
Buy Faun’s music: https://shop.faun-music.com/
“Värgsangen” by Jonna Jinton
More Jonna Jinton music: https://www.youtube.com/user/jonnajinton
Buy Jonna Jinton’s art: https://jonnajintonsweden.com/
“Ulvetimme” (The Hour of the Wolf) Maria Franz and Christopher Juul
Buy Heilung’s (Maria Franz and Christopher Juul) music: https://heilung.bandcamp.com/
“Mary’s Keen” by Noirin Ni Riain
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/marys-keen/992023961?i=992023970
Buy Noirin Ni Riain’s music: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/stor-amhran/41446103
“Grá” by Wardruna
Buy Wardruna music and merch: https://wardrunashop.com/collections/music
Buy Wardruna digital tracks: https://wardruna.bandcamp.com/music
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Sources for this episode:
Watch Ronja Robbersdaughter: https://fsharetv.io/watch/ronja-robbersdaughter-episode-1-tt0088015
Watch Wolf Walkers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Z_tybgPgg
Emperors of Rome Podcast, Lupercalia episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-cxxxv-lupercalia/id850148806?i=1000465237605
History and Folklore Podcast: Medieval Wolves episode: https://historyandfolklorepodcast.libsyn.com/medieval-wolves
Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs edited by Carl Lindahl, John McNamara, and John Lindow: entry: “Wolf [Canis Lupus] and Werewolf”
The Nordic Animist Year (book) by Rune Rasmussen
Candlelight Tales Podcast: Brigid episode: https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales/episode-7-brigid
Transcript:
Welcome to the podcast. This is the February Almanac episode of Fair Folk called Wolf Milk.
In these Almanac episodes, I comb through European calendar custom. that is folklore relating to the cycle of the year, typically with a focus on Northern Europe. And I share what I find with you to help you orient the month ahead. Equipped with knowledge of nourishing traditions that can help reconnect you to the natural cycles of the year to land and the life in the plants, animals, our bodies, and ourselves.
Seasonal folklore and festivals call us back into community with all beings on the earth in its regular spinning wheel of life and death. And they help us to tend through ritual, our ties to our kin of all species, both our ancestral kin and our future kin to come. The recovery of European traditional cultures, the ones that privilege relationality, interconnection and respect for all beings, which you might call indigenous cultures, is so early in its stages. -
In this January almanac episode, I share about how English Plough Sunday and Plough Monday rituals dovetail with pagan midwinter worship of Odin to present a quandary as rich today as ever:
How do we hold sacred the human capacity to employ technologies that multiply our power, while dancing on the delicate balance between service and domination?
How do we bless the hard work of human hands where it meets the life of the world?
This episode delves into traditions of chasing out the spirits of Yule, as well as blessing of apple trees, ploughs, and ultimately ploughboys as representatives of the overflow of human passion and physical power.
Sign up for UNEARTHED, my course on the roots of imperialism in the Christian Middle Ages: https://rustic-waterfall-641.myflodesk.com
Listen to the January Almanac playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2lcgJz369QMIDmN8J4LEAq?si=96bd3fac66c8482f
Contact me by email fairfolkcast [at] gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danica.boyce/
Music in this episode:
January Man by Lau & Karine Polwart
Buy it:
https://lau-music.bandcamp.com/track/january-man
Apple Tree Wassail by Jon Boden
Buy his albums https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/shopfront/jon-boden
Ploughboy’s Dream by Janice Burns and Jon Doran
Buy it:
https://bandcamp.com/download?cart_id=97060025&sig=7770feb4eddf1844063928c397bc5b88&from=checkout
Ploughboy’s Glory by Lisa Knapp
Buy it:
https://lisaknapp.bandcamp.com/track/ploughboys-glory
Instrumental track:
St. Agnes’ Eve by Carol Wood
Buy it:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/st-agnes-eve/130331483?i=130332115
Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Sources and Resources for this episode:
Rune Hjarno Rasmussen’s St Knut / Odin parallels video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l99YoPiPLrg
The Nordic Animist Year (book) by Rune Hjarno Rasmussen: https://shop.nordicanimism.com/shop/9-books-and-calendars/9-the-nordic-animist-year/
The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Ronald Hutton (book)
“The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” By Lotte Motz
dokumen.tips/documents/motz-lot…s-1985.html?page=5
“Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments” by John B. Smith
www.scribd.com/doc/17325747/Perc…itter-and-Her-Kin
Lyrics to folk song "Ploughboy’s Glory"
http://www.joe-offer.com/folkinfo/songs/362.html
Episode Image: by John Bauer from story "The Ring," by Helena Nyblom, 1914
Transcript:
This is the January Almanac episode of Fair Folk in which I will be discussing the folklore and pagan roots of January celebrations with an emphasis on nourishing traditions we can bring forward and apply to our modern lives, to help us connect to land and to history in productive and empowering ways.
This month I'll be focusing on the new cycle of years changing over the end of the Yule season and our relationship to labour and technology, which was a focus that arose for me while I was researching this January episode. That hasn't arisen for me before, but it definitely is an emphasis of English and Nordic tradition, and it'll explain more as we go ahead.
Other themes that arise in January folklore are the continued divination and predictive quality for the year ahead that we've may have already seen in December. Folklore also the supernatural and the feminine visiting from the wilds beyond, because it is still winter and these forces still rule.
There's often a theme in January songs especially of weather, bad weather, loneliness, cold and love, longing as metaphorically associated with those sensations of coldness and isolation in the wintertime. And of course, the slow return of the sun is being observed across European folklore, which is what I always focus on. -
This episode explores folklore and pagan origins of the 12 days of Christmas, with a focus on the feminine winter figures of Perchta, Holle, and Grýla, featuring a conversation with Jenn Campus, author of A Guide to Celebrating the 12 Days of Yule.
Unearthed: medieval imperialism course: https://rustic-waterfall-641.myflodesk.com
Buy Jenn Campus’ book, A Guide to Celebrating the 12 days of Yule for $5: https://jenncampusauthor.com/product/a-guide-to-celebrating-the-12-days-of-yule/
Emilia Blom, who shared the solstice wishes ritual with me: https://www.instagram.com/vildmedicin/
My Big Fat Solstice playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LFjxSUsJYrJE2S0nuYWdB?si=a743490a69a6459c
Gnome for Christmas Fair Folk episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ysFM2qushhgWVuEx5kLq1?si=6172f7663bc0479f
Join my mailing list: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Resources & references for this episode:
The Stations of the Sun: the ritual year in Britain by Ronald Hutton
"'He met his own funeral procession': The Year walk-ritual in Swedish folk tradition” Tommy Kuusela: https://www.academia.edu/9403910
The Icelandic Yule Lads poem in English
https://ingebretsens-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/The-Yule-Lads-Poem.pdf
“The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” By Lotte Motz
https://dokumen.tips/documents/motz-lotte-the-winter-goddess-percht-holda-and-related-figures-1985.html?page=5
“Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments” by John B. Smith
https://www.scribd.com/doc/17325747/Perchta-the-Belly-slitter-and-Her-Kin
‘Grýla, Grýlur, Grøleks and Skeklers: Medieval Disguise Traditions in the North Atlantic?” by Terry Gunnell
https://notendur.hi.is/~terry/articles/TerryGunnell-2001_Gryla,Grylur,Groleks_and_Skeklers.pdf
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Malpas Wassail by the Watersons
Buy it: https://www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/albums/B09WJGTF52?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1483616862&sr=1-1
Spinn, Spinn, Spinnerinn by Herbergsuche Gruppe
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/spinn-spinn-spinnerin/318155276?i=318155791
Grýlukvaeði by Thrju a Palli
Buy it:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/gr%C3%BDlukv%C3%A6%C3%B0i/1621787315?i=1621787688
Instrumental track: The Wanderer by Juniper and the Wolf
Buy Juniper and the Wolf’s music: https://juniperandthewolf.bandcamp.com/ -
This episode surveys the folklore of the first half of December, including St. Nicholas' Day on Dec 6th, St. Lucia's day on Dec. 13th, and the solstice. As we approach the darkest point of winter, I ask the listener to follow the rhythm of nature and turn your gaze to the small, the domestic and the precious.
Join my mailing list:
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Music in this episode:
St. Nicholas by Anúna
Buy this track:
https://anuna.bandcamp.com/track/st-nicholas-2
Luciavisa by Lisa (singer Emma Härdelin)
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/luciavisa/204432292?i=204434789
There is no Rose by the King’s Singers
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/there-is-no-rose/79623724?i=79623213
Orientis Partibus by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Buy music by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels here: https://www.medievalminstrels.com/
Kąlėdų rytų saulė pražydo (The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning) by Sedula
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/kal%C4%97d%C5%B3-ryt%C4%85-saul%C4%97-pra%C5%BEydo/1427982403?i=1427982982
Rex Tua Nolo Munera by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Buy music by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels here: https://www.medievalminstrels.com/
Sources for this episode:
Lyrics to The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning by Sedula:
https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=5162
Some more information about medieval animal carols:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/friendly_beasts.htm
More information about medieval carols:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2020/dec/evolution-medieval-christmas-carols
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen:
https://americanliterature.com/author/hans-christian-andersen/short-story/the-snow-queen -
This is a conversation with Scottish folk-magic blogger and social worker Scott Richardson Read about the Gaelic folklore figure called the Cailleach: the old woman known as Scotland’s midwife; landscape shaper, storm-bringer, sovereignty figure, ancestral being, resurrected once and again, and present all through the folk calendar of the year.The Cailleach has been popularly associated with wintertime, which is why I feature her on Fair Folk now, at the beginning of winter.Transcript of this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12oDeT-0u-0fnnascirU_k5izVU4kQHACj2zqTFI2wGA/Resources referenced in this episode:Cailleach’s Herbarium blog, Cailleach article #1https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2015/08/the-cailleach-a-tale-of-balance-between-darkness-and-light/Cailleach’s Herbarium blog, Cailleach article #2https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2015/08/the-cailleach-a-tale-of-balance-between-darkness-and-light-part-two/Cailleach’s Herbarium blog entry on an animist shrine dedicated to the Cailleach:https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2018/01/the-cailleach-scotlands-midwife-tigh-na-bodach/Article: The Cailleach in Place-names and Place-lore by Alasdair C. Whyte:https://clog.glasgow.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JSNS/article/view/58/107Mckenzie’s Wonder Tale, Beira, Queen of Winter:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm04.htm9th century poem about the Cailleach, “The Old Woman of Beare”Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65CWjdVcBmgText: https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/anonymous/OldWomanBeare.htmlSongs in this episode:Opening theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia WoodsBuy Sylvia Woods’ music:www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds“The Old Woman of the Mill Dust / Cailleach An Dudain” by Alison Kinnair & Christine PrimroseBuy Alison Kinnair & Christine Primrose’s music:https://guysegers1.bandcamp.com/track/cailleach-an-dudain-the-old-woman-of-the-mill-dust-alison-kinnaird-christine-primrose (album)https://music.apple.com/ca/album/cailleach-an-dudain-the-old-woman-of-the-mill-dust/294080419?i=294080481
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This episode asks how we can take the natural themes of the month and separate them from the contexts that have framed and sometimes twisted them, so we can use them to empower all beings – especially, this month, foxes and geese. It surveys November droving and pannage traditions, Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th, fox hunting and its complex legacy, St. Martins day on November 11 and its entanglement with goose lore, and St. Catherine’s day on November 25th, which opens the season of the Germanic winter goddesses, whose later folklore connects spinning and wheels, snow, wild animals, flying, geese, and children.
Join the Mailing List:
view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Listen to the November Almanac playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/094rCk7NZWNOSLmoHHPqc2?si=83d27558f563416b
Fair Folk’s Patreon:
www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast
Songs featured in this episode:
“The Fox” by Laura Viers
Buy Laura Viers’ music on Bandcamp:
https://lauraveirs.bandcamp.com/track/the-fox
“Kadrilaul” by Collage / Choir of Tallin University of Technology
Buy Collage’s music:
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/kadriko/1100185926
“Martinmas Time” by James Yorkston
Buy James Yorkston’s music digitally:
https://jamesyorkston.bandcamp.com/
Buy James Yorkston’s records:
https://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk/shop/
“Goose and Common” by the Askew Sisters
Buy the Askew Sisters’ music:
http://www.askewsisters.co.uk/
Opening theme:
Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Some sources for this episode:
The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, 1972.
Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales by Marie Trevelyan, 1909.
https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book//lookupid?key=olbp54204
Article: “The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” by Lotte Motz
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HDXoKGBG3PojPXDJrJXZ3Ae2A7HQCCA7/view?usp=sharing
Article: "Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments" by John B. Smith
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1280qQAcXA-p0bbrF3_zujAbB0tJMr0Bo/view?usp=sharing
Frau Holle in the Grimm's Fairy Tales:
https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm024.html
An article about enclosure:
https://medium.com/@daveuwakwe/what-a-poem-about-a-goose-teaches-us-about-property-3dfe6f7972ec
St. Martin Lore from County Kerry ℅ the National Folklore Collection of Ireland: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666609/4666442 (Search the vast collection for more!) -
Fair Folk is back in operation after a year's break! This episode shares some of the folkloric themes of October: it's the pagan start of winter, and features spooky post-harvest customs of feeding the dead, love longing, rekindling the community fire, and a cute dose of shoe folklore.
Call for key collaborators in the Pagan Monastery Project:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jq9XCt29MqQXEaRNtnoUj4n_5LObtqmWf-F-g8fGdto/edit?usp=sharing
Listen to the Pagan Monastery Podcast on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pagan-monastery-podcast-with-danica-boyce/id1610505250
Listen to the Pagan Monastery Podcast on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7xFdHUx1nJqge8Oq9Bs1GY?si=53d91206134049e8
Join the Mailing List:
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Listen to the October Almanac playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6vxucYP0zGjsH2AxfwlayL?si=d5ae8d42bbbe473f
Fair Folk’s Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast
Listen to Our Supernatural Landlords: folklorist Terry Gunnell on northern European winter guising traditions:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/fair-folk-podcast/id1177770160?i=1000501474652
Songs featured in this episode:
Tam Lin by Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer
Buy Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer’s album:
https://anaismitchell.ochre.store/release/250476-anas-mitchell-jefferson-hamer-child-ballads
Cheshire Souling Song by Cantorion CynWrig Singers
Buy the Cantorion CynWrig Singers’ music:
https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/cantorion-cynwrig/156043718
Holland Handkerchief by Chris Foster
Buy Chris Foster’s music:
https://chrisfoster1.bandcamp.com/music
Who’s Gonna Shoe my Pretty Little Foot by Barbara Dane
Buy Barbara Dane’s music:
https://barbaradane.bandcamp.com/
“Old Jacky Frost” by the Wildness Yet
Buy the Wilderness Yet’s music:
https://www.thewildernessyet.com/shop.html
The Wilderness Yet on Bandcamp (digital):
https://thewildernessyet.bandcamp.com/
Opening theme:
Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
https://www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Some sources for this episode:
Andreas Nordberg “Ritual Time and Time Reckoning.” The Pre-Christian Religions of the North: History and Structures, Volume ii, 725
On Shoes in walls: https://ztevetevans.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/strange-folklore-the-mystery-of-concealed-footwear/
For more info on boots and shoes and Hedwig: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781315166940-13/boots-saint-hedwig-jacqueline-jung
Recipe for Hedwigsohlen (Hedwig's soles pastries): https://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2014/10/soles-of-st-hedwig.html
British Calendar Customs: England (1942)
Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore. 1996.
Kevin Danaher. The Year in Ireland. 1972. -
This episode announces that I will not be producing Fair Folk Podcast for the forseeable future. I am deeply grateful for all of the support you have all given me as I have grown this podcast, and I hope you will continue to connect with me in one of the following ways:
My mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/53d8b01c469b/newsletter
My Youtube channel with my partner Quinn: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5BgVgYLuRWmEs66AHx38A
Instagram: www.instagram.com/danica.boyce
Patreon: patreon.com/fairfolkcast
If you stay subscribed to this podcast, you will receive updates on any further Fair Folk activity, and I'll let you know if I start another audio venture in the future!
All my love,
Danica -
This episode is a road map to the folklore, mythology, songs and rituals of the goddess of the dawn, gathered from the many cultures of the Indo-European language family. It paints the picture of a radiant, dependable, go-getter goddess who is born again with every day and every epoch. The episode ends with my ritual performance of the medieval hymn “Polorum Regina” in an abandoned church on a mountaintop at sunrise.
Check out Medieval Hymn to the Dawn Goddess on our new YouTube series! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_moj-dcn5nM
The episode I mentioned: A Priest and a Piper: A Conversation with Ignas Šatkauskas, Pagan Priest of Romuva https://m.soundcloud.com/fairfolkcast/ignas-satkauskas-interview
A great resource for Indo-European mythology, folklore and poetry research that I used for this episode is Indo-European Poetry and Myth by Martin Litchfield West
Episode edited by Quinn McCord.
Thank you very much to Sylvia Woods, whose song Forest March is the opening theme to Fair Folk Podcast!
Image: The Coming of Bride by John Duncan, 1917 - Montre plus
