This week we look at the daimonic goddess Styx, who is a personification of the river in Hades, but is also associated with Hatred. Her children are Victory, Force, and Rivalry, and Zeus rewarded her help in the Titanomachy by making the gods swear oaths upon her waters. Why do the qualities of a valiant warrior have their origin in a god of hatred? Is it a statement about war, or something else? The psychological possibilities may surprise you.
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47:37
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47:37
Dea Tacita: Double Edged Sword of Silence
This week's episode is about the Roman deity Dea Tacita, celebrated with a ritual at the Feralia to keep gossip and the results of "loose tongues" from the family and the city. However, Dea Tacita's origin story relates to a nymph called Lara (also mother of the Lares or household gods), who has her tongue cut out for warning one of Jupiter's would-be paramours of his possibly unwanted advances. This fact makes the symbolism of Dea Tacita a double edged sword--we see the virtues of silence, but is this silence also a type of oppression?
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44:09
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44:09
Cliodhna: the Banshee Queen as Soul Image
This week we look at Cliodhna, an Irish fairy queen who is a patroness of Munster and also called Queen of the Banshees. This beautiful banshee has a habit of stealing mortal men away from her favored families, though her main legend is the opposite--a mortal man who she loved and with whom she ran away. This has led to the legend of the Tonn Cliodhna, a kind of diastrous tidal wave reminiscent of the one sent to either kill her or return her to her home. We look at the stories of Cliodhna, and how one might look at her stories through the lens of depth psychology.
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49:34
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49:34
Virgin Mary: the Paradoxical Divine Connection
By request, we are looking at the Virgin Mary in this week's podcast, in particular the "dark Feminine" elements of her mythology. An exploration into Mary (or Maryam), mother of Jesus reveals various layers of her myth and the doctrines surrounding her. This includes the myth of the dying and resurrecting vegetation god, some striking parallels with Semele, mother of Dionysus, the heroic myth of the Virgin Birth and the Divine Child, and the social implications of her role in the Bible and other texts from the early Church to the medieval period.
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1:08:18
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1:08:18
Mary Magdalene: The Apostles' Apostle
In this episode we look at Mary Magdalene, the favorite female disciple of Jesus. The gospels suggest that Mary became a follower of Jesus after he expelled seven demons from her. Pope Gregory promoted the narrative that she was a "repentent prostitute". The various Gnostic gospels suggest that Mary knew and understood secrets that the other Apostles could not understand, and she was frequently dismissed and challenged by Simon Peter, acknowledged as the first Pope of the church. We look at the stories about Mary Magdalene, both the history and the tradition, and ultimately ask the question--did Mary have the secret to escaping the cycle of time, hinted at by the Gnostic gospels?
Portugal