Myth Merlot

Christmas 2020 Episode: Winter Deities Hate Children

Happy Alcohol-idays! We're back with our second holiday-themed episode after skipping the month of November (at this point none of us should be surprised, #sorrynotsorry). In what should also come as no surprise, Christmas/Winter deities are awful and hate children. Join us for a festive episode full of gift giving, beer drinking, and a bit of casual cannibalism as we delve into two new figures from holiday folklore. Please be advised no children were harmed in the making of this episode; we would also like to remind you that cannibalism and child abuse are frowned upon in most societies. We'd like to wish you all a happy holiday season, whatever you may be celebrating, and a fantastic start to 2020! Be merry, bright, and safe <3.

Sources:

Graves, Shannon. "Who is Holda?" Northern Paganism.2011. http://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/holda/about.html

"Gods and monsters of winter solstice." Crystal Wind. Accessed November 2019.

http://www.crystalwind.ca/mystical-magical/pantheons-and-myths/compendium/gods-and-monsters-of-the-winter-solstice

"12 Fun Christmas Facts." Pastbook. Accessed November 2019.

https://www.pastbook.com/txt/12-fun-christmas-facts/

The witch is back, and there's hell to pay! We've resurrected ourselves this spooky season to communicate with the land of the living on where we've been, why we've been MIA, and why Halloween is waaaay more Irish than any dudebro in a green t-shirt drinking beer and food colouring on Saint Patrick's Day. Join us as we discuss demons of both the mental health and Halloween variety (because anxiety is fun!), having sex with hobbits, and our wedding plans. Happy Halloween! Have fun, stay safe, and have a HELL of a time with lots of boos, treats, and tricks!

Sorces:

"Echtra Nerai (The Adventures of Nera)," ed. Kuno Meyer, Revue celtique 10 (1889)

http://sulis.ucc.ie/cdi/wp-content/uploads/textarchive/EchtraNerai_KMeyer.pdf

The Morrigan. Wikipedia. September 9, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morr%C3%ADgan

Nera (mythology). Wikipedia. April 3, 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nera_(mythology)

Jack-O'-Lantern. Wikipedia. October 11, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-o%27-lantern

Stingy Jack. Wikipedia. October 6, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingy_Jack

The Ladies of the Lake Usually Die in the Lake.

Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink... because we're busy drinking alcohol #sorrynotsorry. 

We're back with episode 8! In this episode, we discuss some of our favourite water myths and creatures. In keeping with themes of water myths, we may never be consistent but we are always sure to refresh and delight! Jump into the deep end with us, and don't forget to tell your go-to swimming buddy!

Sources:

"Amabie." Wikipedia. Updated January 20, 2019. Accessed June 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amabie

Chatzipli, Betty. "Water in the Civilizations of the World." World Water Museum. Accessed June 2019. http://worldwatermuseum.com

Freeman, Minnie Aodla. "Inuit." Canadian Encyclopedia. Published June 8, 2010. Updated March 4, 2015. Accessed June 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuit

Houston, James. "The Goddess of the Sea: the Story of Sedna." Canadian Encyclopedia. Published November 24, 2014. Updated April 23, 2015. Accessed June 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-goddess-of-the-sea-the-story-of-sedna

"Pure, Good, Divine: the Sacredness of Water in History." Unesco. Accessed June 2019. http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Venice/pdf/special_events/bozza_scheda_DOW_7_1.0.pdf

"Sea in Culture." Wikipedia. Updated April 15, 2019. Accessed June 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_in_culture

WE'RE BACK, but we still can't spell! Join us for episode one of season two (or episode seven, whatever) where we talk crime and punishment. In case you were wondering, it really doesn't take much to get a smack down from the gods because they're a bunch of petty bitches. Also Loki is a savage gay drag queen because why not? 

PS: Sorry if we give you nightmares of weirdo exhibitionists staring at you with their butthole.

DISCLAIMER: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence and rape. Listener discretion is advised. 

"Medusa." Wikipedia. May 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa

Oates, Ryan. "The Horrible Tale of Medusa." The Odyssey Online. July 2016. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/horrible-tale-medusa

"Watching the Gorgon's Head in the Polished Shield, He Beheaded Her," in The Mythology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, 82-83. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2018. 

The course of true love never did run smooth, and like all labours of love, neither did the recording of this podcast. Join us as we discover why our episodes aren't recording (spoiler alert: it's Justyn's fault), fail at life/spelling bees, and regale each other with some of our favourite love stories from ancient myth. Second spoiler alert: these ones actually don't have awful, murder-y endings. Hope everyone's February was full of the warm and fuzzies!

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. 75th Anniversary ed. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2017.

The great oracle Google & Wiki

Here at Myth and Merlot, we believe the concept of going through Hell is subjective. For some, it could be going through a #gaydivorce. For others, it could be getting lost in rural Newfoundland during a snow squall. But for some unfortunate deities, it's legit their job (for realsies), or having their rotting corpses locked in a cave by their dipshit husbands. Join us as we explore tales from beyond the veil in Episode 5: To Hell and Back!

"Hail to You, Ra, Perfect Each Day!," In The Mythology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, 272-273. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2018.

Yusa, Michiko. Japanese Religious Traditions, "Shinto: The Native Religion of Japan",  19-30. New Jersey, Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2002.

Ooooh bitch, you thought we were gone?! TRICKED YOU MOFOS! We're back from our impromptu hiatus (day jobs are a bitch) with our fourth episode on tricksters. Join us while we explore the origins of the trickster character, and dive a little deeper (pun intended) into two of our favorite tricksters you definitely don't want to be on the bad side of. At the end of the day, tricksters are just the OG fuckbois, don't @ us. 

Nicki's sources: 

"The Queen Wants to Kill You." In The Mythology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, 294-97. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2018.

Christmas and creatures and cackles, oh my! There will be no silent night during our special Christmas episode, which we recorded together in the same room for the first time since starting this podcast! Join us while we exchange gifts, explore possible origins for holiday traditions, discover a new way to deal with annoying/boring exes, and laugh for a solid 3 minutes at the name "Spoon Licker." We hope your holidays are as lit as we were by the end of this episode! Have a safe and happy holiday season, everyone!

Trigger warning:  Very little to no domestic violence or sexual assault is discussed in this episode, but it is ancient myth y'all, so there is a brief discussion of incestuous relationships around the 30-minute mark. Fast forward 1 minute if this is a topic that is difficult for you to listen to.

Sources: The great oracle Google and Wikipedia, bitches.

Rule # 1 of Mythology – parents and husbands are all terrible. Join us while we simultaneously discuss the theme of revenge in myth and roast the fuckbois of mythology who get what they deserve (don't @ us). 

Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of incest, domestic violence (including the harm of children), sexual assault, and rape. Listener discretion is advised.

Allan, William. "The Ethics of Retaliatory Violence in Athenian Tragedy." Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, 66, no. 4/5 (2013): 593-615. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24521877.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. 75th Anniversary ed. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2017.

Hopman, Marianne. "Revenge and Mythopoiesis in Euripides' "Medea"." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 138, no. 1 (2008): 155-83. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40212078.

The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation: Student's Life Application Bible. Edited by Karen Ball, Kathryn S. Olson & Linda Taylor, Tyndale House Publishers Inc. 2004.

Join us for our inaugural episode as we launch the creation of our podcast with a discussion of our favourite creation myths; although hopefully the episode is not as chaotic as the worlds born from the voids discussed! If an an abundance of chaos, trickery, violence, and bodily fluids sounds appealing to you, grab a drink, sit down, and come along with us for a bumpy ride!