Women and Mythology

Myth, embodiment, and the psychology of transformation are weaved in this conversation with Carly Mountain, psychotherapist and author of Descent and Rising and Untamed Pleasure.
In this episode, we explore the myth of Inanna as a guide to the underworld journey, those moments that dismantle identity and ask us to move through loss, uncertainty, and change. We speak about descent as a necessary process, and what it reveals in a culture that resists it.
This conversation brings a grounded, mythic lens to experiences many women know intimately, offering language, perspective, and a way to stay with what is unfolding.
Read the myth of Inanna: 
https://www.womenandmythology.com/inanna 
Connect with Carly Mountain’s work:
Website: https://carlymountain.com/
Instagram: @‌carly_mountain
✨ Women & Mythology Podcast is a soulful exploration of myth as a living force in our contemporary lives.
Hosted by Maria Souza — Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator.
📖 Learn more: www.womenandmythology.com
🎧 Follow on Instagram: @womenandmythology
💌 Subscribe to the Mythic News newsletter for stories, reflections, and upcoming events: https://www.womenandmythology.com/subscribe

Myth, archetype, and cultural diagnosis meet in this conversation with Kristina Dryza, archetypal consultant, writer, and cultural reader whose work explores the invisible patterns shaping both individual lives and the collective psyche.
In this episode, we explore what Kristina describes as a year of reckoning, a moment when performative identities collapse and power must be embodied rather than declared. We speak about archetypes currently active in the collective, and why the absence of initiation has shaped so much of our cultural tension.
This conversation offers mythic language and archetypal perspective for navigating the complexity of our time.
Connect with Kristina Dryza’s work:
JCF: https://www.jcf.org/profile/kristinadryza/profile
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinadryza
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KristinaDryza
✨ Women & Mythology Podcast is a soulful exploration of myth as a living force in our contemporary lives.
Hosted by Maria Souza — Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator.
📖 Learn more: www.womenandmythology.com
🎧 Follow on Instagram: @womenandmythology
💌 Subscribe to the Mythic News newsletter for stories, reflections, and upcoming events: https://www.womenandmythology.com/subscribe

Myth, history, and spiritual inquiry come together in this conversation with Anne Baring, scholar, author, and one of the leading voices on the Divine Feminine.
Anne’s work spans decades of independent research into mythology, religion, art history, depth psychology, and cosmology. She is the co-author of The Myth of the Goddess, author of The Dream of the Cosmos, and most recently Divine Wisdom and the Holy Spirit: The Forgotten Feminine Face of God, a culminating work that re-envisions Christianity through the restoration of Sophia, Mary Magdalene, and feminine divine wisdom.
In this episode, we explore the historical exile of the feminine from the Godhead, the cultural and spiritual consequences of this loss, and why myth remains essential for understanding our relationship with the sacred, the earth, and one another. 
This is a rich, thoughtful conversation offering historical insight and mythic depth for listeners seeking a deeper spiritual language.
Connect with Anne Baring’s work:
Website: https://www.annebaring.com/
✨ Women & Mythology Podcast is a soulful exploration of myth as a living force in our contemporary lives.
Hosted by Maria Souza — Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator.
📖 Learn more: www.womenandmythology.com
🎧 Follow on Instagram: @womenandmythology
💌 Subscribe to the Mythic News newsletter for stories, reflections, and upcoming events: https://www.womenandmythology.com/subscribe

What happens when myth finds you, when a story begins to mirror your own becoming?
In this heartfelt conversation, Dr. Stephanie Zajchowski and I explore myth as a living companion, something to enter rather than analyze. We trace her journey from corporate marketing to mythology, through the initiatory thresholds of motherhood, postpartum depression, and the courage to begin again.
Together, we speak about myth as medicine and mirror: how stories can hold us through uncertainty, orient us toward meaning, and remind us that transformation is rarely tidy.
Dr. Stephanie Zajchowski is a mythologist, writer, and founder of Soul Story Coaching. Her work invites a participatory relationship with myth and the imaginal world, where sovereignty, story, and psyche meet. She contributes to the Joseph Campbell Foundation, teaches at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and lectures on imagination, sovereignty, and the feminine archetypal journey.

Connect with Stephanie’s work:
Website: https://stephaniezajchowski.com/
✨ Women & Mythology Podcast is a soulful exploration of myth as a living force in our contemporary lives.
Hosted by Maria Souza — Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator.
📖 Learn more: www.womenandmythology.com
🎧 Follow on Instagram: @womenandmythology
💌 Subscribe to the Mythic News newsletter for stories, reflections, and upcoming events: https://www.womenandmythology.com/subscribe

What does it mean to live with mythic sensibility—to move through the world as though it were alive and full of meaning? In this illuminating conversation, we explore how myth can guide us into deeper relationship with soul, creativity, and the unseen forces shaping our lives.
Together, we journey through the Greek tale of Psyche and Eros as a map of transformation, reflecting on the wisdom of surrender, right timing, and the helpers that appear along the path.
If you’re not yet familiar with this myth, you can read a short version of it here:
https://www.womenandmythology.com/psycheanderos
Dr. Catherine Svehla is a mythologist, storyteller, artist, and host of the Myth Matters podcast. She is also the founder of Mythic Mojo, a platform dedicated to cultivating imagination, conversation, and mythic awareness in contemporary life. Catherine earned her Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and her work bridges storytelling, art, and psychology to invite a more conscious and creative engagement with the world.
Connect with Catherine’s work:
Website: https://mythicmojo.com
Podcast: Myth Matters
✨ Women & Mythology Podcast is a soulful exploration of myth as a living force in our contemporary lives.
Hosted by Maria Souza — Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator.
📖 Learn more: www.womenandmythology.com
🎧 Follow on Instagram: @womenandmythology
💌 Subscribe to the Mythic News newsletter for stories, reflections, and upcoming events: https://www.womenandmythology.com/subscribe