The Story Apothecary

By Nana TomovaSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Arts Books Spirituality

The Story Apothecary episodes

January 01 53. Persephone in the Underworld
Story Prescription: A favourite tale that shows us that after darkness there is light, that after winter there is spring, that after grief, there is hope.

Story Caution: This story contains contains themes of rape within a paradigm of mythic narrative.

A story from Ancient Greece, about a daughter called Persephone's abduction, and her mournful, wrathful and unrelenting search by her mother, Demeter.

To support this podcast, you can '⁠⁠buy me a coffee'. ⁠⁠You can also tell your friends, which costs nothing.
Music: Thank you to ⁠⁠In Feathers ⁠⁠for the beautiful music.

Story Sources: Homer; Ovid; Myths of the Sacred Tree
39 min
February 14, 2025 52. The Power of Love
Story Prescription: To know love, we also must know that it may not last forever. To appreciate life, we must know that it cannot stay for eternity. This is a story about love and about death, and how the two are interlinked. Mostly it's a story about life and love, from Armenia.

Thank you to InFeathers for the Music.
Get your ticker to join me for A Damsel Not In Distress - Untamed Tales for International Women’s Day. It will be a great night.
31 min
December 25, 202451. The Christmas Spiders
Story Prescription: A Christmas story about hope
A story from the Ukraine about a poor family at Christmas, but miracles do happen!

Stories of ⁠Vampires, Ghosts & Creatures of the Night:⁠ Saturday 4th January on Zoom. If you're interested in hearing some wonderfully dark stories for the Bulgarian 'Dirty Days' join me and musician In Feathers. ⁠More information here.⁠
If you enjoy this podcast, you can '⁠buy me a coffee' ⁠as a one-off way of supporting me if you enjoy listening.
Music: Thank you to ⁠In Feathers ⁠for the beautiful music.
11 min
December 16, 202450. Bashakote - the Chieftain of the Wild Cats
Story Prescription: A story for jealousy. It's easy for it to be all-consuming, but sometimes it devours us.

A story from Bulgaria about the ruler of the wild cats, Bashakote. It's a humorous, slightly dark and wonderful tale.
Stories of Vampires, Ghosts & Creatures of the Night: Saturday 4th January on Zoom. If you're interested in hearing some wonderfully dark stories for the Bulgarian 'Dirty Days' join me and musician In Feathers. More information here.
If you enjoy this podcast, you can 'buy me a coffee' as a one-off way of supporting me if you enjoy listening.
Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music.
38 min
October 27, 202449. Song of the Sorrowing Harp
Story Prescription: A story for Hallowe'en, All Hallow's Eve, when the souls of those past are remembered.
An ethereally spooky story from Scotland, about two sisters who love the same man. It doesn't end well, but it does end with a song of a harp that sings of sorrow.
If you are listening from the Scottish Highlands, or know someone who might enjoy Stories and Harp, join us on Saturday 16th November for Love in the Underworld.
If you are not local to Scotland, but would like to join me online, then Wild Women, a six months journey into the wild feminine through stories starts on the 8th November.
27 min
October 11, 2024 48. How a Husband Weaned his Wife from Fairytales
Story Prescription: A story that shows us that it's possible to keep the inner fire burning no matter the challenging circumstances.

Story Caution: This story contains domestic violence as a central theme. If you choose to listen, take care of yourself.

A story from Russia about a woman who loves fairytales, and who only lets guests stay if they can tale a tale. Her husband however, does not agree.

WILD WOMEN starts in November 2024, for more information go to ⁠⁠https://www.nanatomova.com/wildwomen⁠⁠

To support this podcast, you can '⁠⁠buy me a coffee'. ⁠⁠You can also tell your friends, which costs nothing.
Music: Thank you to ⁠⁠In Feathers ⁠⁠for the beautiful music.
29 min
August 07, 202447. The Hedgehog and his Bride
Story Prescription: A story for relationships, with significant others and also with ourselves. It takes many transformations, a life-death-life cycle to make a relationship work. It is also a story about overcoming difficult experiences, and the journey it takes to do this. A story full of courage.
A Baltic story from Lithuania, where a hardworking hedgehog wishes to marry none other than the King's daughter. How will he succeed? What does his future bride think of this? And how does an unequal marriage such as this one work? For lovers of the story East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
If you enjoy this podcast, and wish to find another story, head over to https://www.nanatomova.com/story-prescriptions to listen to a story for the ailment you are looking for.
If you wish to contribute you can 'buy me a coffee' as a one-off way of supporting me if you enjoy listening.

Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music.
44 min
July 05, 2024 46. The Blue Baba of the Marsh
Story Prescription: A story about the greed and the dangers of prioritising gold over the real treasure of the land.
A sweet story from the Ural Mountains about a young man who gets given a sieve and three feathers by his grandmother and the advice about where to find real treasure.
To support my work financially can 'buy me a coffee' as a one-off way of supporting me if you enjoy listening.
Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music.
42 min
May 18, 2024 45. Nature’s Ways
Story Prescription: A story about freedom. A story about overcoming fear, asking the right questions and speaking your longing aloud.

A story from Armenia, where a controlling king locks his daughter away so that she may never leave his side.
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To support my work financially you can '⁠buy me a coffee' ⁠ if you enjoy listening.
Music: Thank you to ⁠In Feathers ⁠for the beautiful music.

For more Story Medicine, following this link to my website where each prescription is linked to a story of this podcast.
https://www.nanatomova.com/story-prescriptions
36 min
January 16, 2024 44. The Snow Maiden
Story Prescription: A story about love, and that if we open our hearts to feel the fire, we take a risk. But if we don't then we live in the shadows of the basement, where life is grey.

A story from Russia, where a snow child becomes alive. But she wants to feel the fire in her heart, even if that comes at a price.
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To support my work financially you can 'buy me a coffee' if you enjoy listening.
Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music.

Links for events which are coming up:
https://www.nanatomova.com/events
30 min

About The Story Apothecary

From the publisher's feed

The Story Apothecary is a podcast filled with medicinal and healing stories. Nana Tomova, a Storyteller and a Mental Health Pharmacist dispenses stories for sadness and anxiety, and shares tales for…