Chthonia

Website: https://chthonia.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
School: https://instituteforfemininemyth.org

In this week's episode we look at the seal women of fairy lore, the Selkies. Selkies are beautiful fairies who take off their sealskin to dance by the water. In the stories, a fisherman will see them and steal their sealskin so that they cannot return home. The Selkie is then compelled to be the wife of the fisherman, until she is able to find out where her sealskin is hidden, at which point she retrieves it and returns home again. This story is reflective of the traditional male relationship to the Anima, and how he can never truly possess her by conquering her.

Website: https://chthonia.net
 Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
School: https://instituteforfemininemyth.org

Fans of the 2019 episodes--I am slowly, slowly working my way through re-editing these episodes. In this episode we look at the origins of Hecate from an academic standpoint, including Hesiod's lavish praise of her in the Theogony, and her role as keeper of the keys and a protective gatekeeper.

Website: https://chthonia.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
ISFM: https://instituteforfemininemyth.org

This week's episode looks at the folkloric storm hags of Ireland, Scotland, and Lake Erie in the United States. While hag and witch figures often represent forces of nature, the Storm Hag represents a unique danger that comes at the end of winter--the fragile state of birth and rebirth.

This week we look at Nure-onna, a Yokai who preys on men who try to help or rescue an apparent woman and child in need. We look beyond any social explanations of the story, to explore the realities of nature and natural forces.

Website: https://chthonia.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
School: https://instituteforfemininemyth.org


This week we look at the "Quene of Elfame", the later popular spelling being "Queen of Elphame," or the queen of the land of fairies. But what is "Elphame"--is it a kind of pagan paradise between Heaven and Hell, an interdimensional space under the sidhe (mounds) of Ireland, or a beautiful illusion created by fairy beings--or something else? And what do we mean by the term "fairy"? We look at the appearance of the term Queen of Elphame in witch trial documents, in poetry, and its use by imaginative historians of paganism. We do take a little bit of a side turn into witchcraft history and the confusions created by Robert Graves, who is responsible for our common associations with the name.

Website: https://chthonia.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
School: https://instituteforfemininemyth.org

This week's episode is about Nicnevin, a Scottish witch queen whose is first named in a poetic flyting (comedic poetry battle) written by Alexander Montgomerie in 1585. She is described as a fairy queen, a witch queen, a terrifying hag,the Scottish Hecate, a goddess, and/or the name of a witch burned at the stake. We examine the stories of Nicnevin and her associations; is she an ancient witch queen, or a literary invention?

Website: https://chthonia.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
School: https://instituteforfemininemyth.org

The old episodes are finally coming back! The sound editing issues that plagued the first year of Chthonia (2019) are being fixed, with the help of Jesse Pollack of 1289 Productions. 

In this episode we look at Lilith, said to be the first wife of Adam who abandoned him when he insisted she be subordinate to him rather than his equal. Lilith has a reputation as a demon, a succubus, and an Infernal Queen; she has also become a symbol of female rebellion and empowerment. This is a quintessential study in the Dark Feminine that is still relevant 5 years after it was originally recorded.

Website: https://chthonia.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
GoFundMe for Institute for the Study of Feminine Myth: https://gofund.me/5e24b8ec 

This week we look at the Waterford (Ireland) vampire, the Dearg Due. Unlike some other folkloric vampires, this one has its origins in a story about a forced marriage, star crossed lovers, and abuse of the feminine by a father and a husband. When we look at all the elements of the story, we end up with a story about the dangers of denying female sovereignty rather than a didactic tale about women who want to marry below their social station.

Website: https://chthonia.net
Books: https://chthonia.net/publications
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia


This week we look at Leviathan, the deep sea monster/demon that is characterized as feminine by Enoch, though we are told by other sources that there was a male and female Leviathan, and that the female was slain to be preserved as a feast for the righteous when the Messiah comes. What exactly is the Leviathan? I argue that comparative myths support the idea of a feminine Leviathan, and why the Christian conception of Leviathan as a devil/demon to be "cast into the abyss forever" makes no sense.

Website: https://chthonia.net
Books: https://chthonia.net/publications
Merch: https://chthoniapodcast.creator-spring.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia

This week we look at Jezebel, Phoenician bride of King Ahab of Israel. Jezebel is the foreign queen in Samaria who brought Baal worship back to Israel, persecuting prophets of Yahweh, and the enemy of the prophet Elijah. The name "Jezebel" has been associated with wickedness, vanity, and excessive female pride, and is connected to many "wicked queen" characters in folklore and literature. But who was Jezebel really, and does she deserve her reputation? Was she truly evil, or was she no different from many other sovereigns?