Season Two (Ep7) In this Valentine's Day episode, we open with playful banter about birthdays, admitting we are both terrible at remembering dates and often struggle with the obligation attached to celebrations. We reflect on how our brains resist structured expectations like birthdays or scheduled gift-giving, preferring spontaneous expressions of care instead. Despite joking about being forgetful friends, they emphasize that our love and appreciation for people are genuine, just not always traditionally expressed. The conversation then shifts to Valentine's Day itself, which Bella reveals is her favorite holiday, not Halloween or Samhain as many might assume because of her deep love of romance, devotion, and the celebration of love in all its forms. Bella then dives into the historical roots of Valentine's Day, tracing it back to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, held February 13–15 and dedicated to the fertility god Faunus and the myth of Romulus and Remus. She explains how the festival involved animal sacrifice, ritual blood markings, and the use of goat-hide straps for consensual fertility rites practices she humorously compares to ancient BDSM traditions. We discuss how these pagan rites were later suppressed during the Christianization of Rome and reframed through the story of St. Valentine under Emperor Claudius II, eventually transforming into a saint's feast day. WE note how, centuries later, particularly during the Victorian era, Valentine's Day evolved into the romantic, commercial holiday we recognize today. The episode blends humor, historical insight, kink-positive commentary, and cultural critique, ultimately celebrating love while playfully imagining a modern revival of Lupercalia minus the goat sacrifice.

Opia - striking intensity of direct eye contact which feels intmate and unsettling

Cover art created by Casey at BellTarot.com

Abella's Link Tree

Ryan's Link Tree