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

Creativity, sovereignty, and myth converge in this soulful conversation: an exploration of how women can reconnect with their creative essence, navigate blocks, and tend to the inner fire of imagination.

Joanna Gardner, PhD, is a writer, mythologist, and magical realist whose work centers on creativity, wonder tales, and goddesses. She co-authored Goddesses: A Skeleton Key Study Guide and is the author of The Practice of Enchantment: MythBlast Essays, 2020–2024. Joanna serves as Director of Marketing and Communications at the Joseph Campbell Foundation and is a regular contributor to its MythBlast essay series. She also teaches in the Mythological Studies programs at Pacifica Graduate Institute and the Kosmos Institute, and co-leads the Fates and Graces community—offering webinars and workshops for mythologists and friends of myth.

Connect with her work:
Website: https://joannagardner.com/
Newsletter: https://joannagardner.com/subscribe/

✨ 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

This conversation explores the myths of Medusa and Athena — their intertwined images in ancient art, the cultural shifts that reshaped Medusa’s story, and the deeper truths these goddesses carry about feminine power, protection, and duality.

Images we talked about at: https://www.womenandmythology.com/medusa

Dr. Carla Ionescu is an ancient historian, Artemis expert, and author of She Who Hunts, a groundbreaking exploration of the enduring legacy of Artemis across cultures and centuries. She is the founder of The Artemis Research Centre, host of The Goddess Project Podcast, and a passionate field researcher documenting goddess temples and artifacts across the Mediterranean.

Connect with her work:
Website: https://artemisresearchcentre.com/
Social Media: @‌artemisexpert
Substack: https://artemisexpert.substack.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

In this powerful episode, we remember the mythic Eve, the power of sacred disobedience, the role of creative transgression, and the lifelong journey of sovereignty. Together, we reflect on what it means to shed obedience, reclaim the sacred feminine, and remember ourselves as our own truest source of knowing.

Dr. Vanya Leilani is a depth psychologist, writer, teacher, storyteller, and author of The Flesh and the Fruit: Remembering Eve and the Power of Creative Transgression. Through her work, she supports others in recovering their inner voice, reclaiming sacred agency, and living lives that are more expansive, meaningful, and free.

Connect with her work:
Website: https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/
Book: https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/thefleshandthefruit

✨ 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

This conversation explores the inner transformation of motherhood, the tension between sacrifice and selfhood, the mythopoetic image of the mother, and the call for a deeper cultural conversation around mothering.

Lisa Marchiano is an award-winning author, Jungian analyst, and co-host of the popular podcast This Jungian Life. Her books, including Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself and The Vital Spark: Reclaim Your Outlaw Energies and Find Your Feminine Fire, draw on fairy tales and depth psychology to help women connect more deeply with themselves.

Connect with her work:
Website: https://lisamarchiano.com/
Fairytale group: https://spinningstraw.com/
Dream School: https://dreamwisebook.com/
Podcast: https://thisjungianlife.com/

Maria and Lisa’s conversation on Vital Spark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNjT1aC5fJQ&t=2s

✨ 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

In this first episode of Season 2, we explore mythic sensibility, the ethics of storytelling, the archetype of the elder woman, and how to live a meaningful, enchanted life rooted in story and place.

Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning author, psychologist, and mythologist whose internationally bestselling books, including If Women Rose Rooted and Wise Women, explore the power of myth and fairy tale in reimagining women’s lives. She is a gifted teacher, global lecturer, and faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Connect with her work:
Website: https://sharonblackie.net/
Substack: https://sharonblackie.substack.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

WE ARE BACK! Season 2 of Women and Mythology begins!

This season, incredible mythologists will join me in conversation. New stories, new guests, and a renewed devotion to the mythic life.

Stay tuned! Don’t forget to follow the show so you’ll receive each new episode the moment it drops.

With a deep love for myth,

Maria Souza

Discover my work at Women and Mythology:

www.womenandmythology.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