Website: https://chthonia.net Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia Social media: chthoniapodcast (IG, X, and YouTube), Chthonia Podcast (FB) This week's podcast looks at the Banshee, a Celtic/Gaelic female phantom fairy figure that is heard and sometimes seen weeping and wailing to portend the death of a member of an ancient Irish family. Is the B…

Website: https://chthonia.net Buy Project Lethe and other books at https://chthonia.net/publications Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia Social media: chthoniapodcast (IG, YouTube, X), Chthonia Podcast (FB) This week we look at the architectural grotesque figure known as the Sheela Na Gig. No one really knows why they were placed on churches, cas…

In this week's episode we discuss the Harpies, creatures with the head of a woman and the body of a monstrous bird that represent storm winds. This episode was created in the wake of a huge storm that knocked my power out for 2 days, so there's discussion of the impact of storms, unpredictability, and sudden change. The name refers to "snatching", …

This week we look at the Mexican folkloric figure of La Llorona, the wailing woman eternally searching for her dead children. She is generally seen as a dangerous figure who is alternately a child stealer, someone seducing men to their deaths, or an omen of death. While the image of La Llorona may have its roots in Aztec myth, her story is very muc…

This week's topic is a loaded one! Agdistis is a Phrygian hermaphroditic daimon that is so powerful the gods fear them, and Agdistis is castrated and becomes female only, with the discarded member becoming either an almond or pomegranate tree. This myth and it's related ones (Myrrha/Adonis/Aphrodite, Gaia/Ouranos/Kronos) give us a lot of insight in…

In this week's episode we look at Queen Medb of Connacht in Ireland, who was legendary for her seductive power, her warlike nature, and her political power among the High Kings. Notorious for having several lovers in addition to whoever was her current husband, Medb was a kingmaker and a heromaker. Her desire to have wealth equal to her husband dro…

Check out the Divine Feminine App! Click at the link below to view and register for free, or download the app on your phone. https://thedfapp.com/v2/dashboard#a_aid=Chthonia Website: https://chthonia.net Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia Social media: chthoniapodcast (IG, X, and YouTube), Chthonia Podcast (FB) As March closes out, we look at th…

Check out the Divine Feminine App! Click at the link below to view and register for free, or download the app on your phone. https://thedfapp.com/v2/dashboard#a_aid=Chthonia Website: https://chthonia.net Patreon: https://patreon.com/chthonia Social media: chthoniapodcast (IG, X, and YouTube), Chthonia Podcast (FB) This week we look at the final ent…

Check out the Divine Feminine App! https://thedfapp.com/v2/dashboard#a_aid=Chthonia This week we continue the series on Female Christian Mystics with the polymath saint Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard began having spiritual visions at age 3, and was in a convent by age 8, where she was taught to read and write in Latin. She was an acclaimed mystic, …

In honor of Valentine's Day this past week, this podcast takes a look at 4 goddesses of love and desire: Aphrodite, Ishtar, Freya, and Rati. Love goddesses are often war goddesses as well, or at least have strong connections to war--why is that the case? We look at different ideas about love, marriage, and relationship, and examine how the rati-yud…

In this week's podcast we look at my namesake, the goddess Brigid, as we have just passed Imbolc (also known as Brigid's Day). This episode focuses on the goddess rather than the saint, though there are obvious crossovers between the two. Brigid is portrayed as a triple goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing,and is seen as a fire goddess. In the…

This week we continue our series on Christian female mystics with a look at St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine is an incredibly complex figure, who at once represents the Christian feminine ideal of the Virgin, while also defining her mystical "marriage" in rather shockingly embodied terms. We also look at the way in which she uses fasting as a …

Happy 2024! We start off the new year with the first podcast in the Female Christian Mystics series by looking at St. Teresa of Jesus, better known as Teresa of Avila. Teresa died in 1582 and was canonized a saint in 1622; she was made a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Teresa was a celibate nun, but had a deep erotic current that ran …

We end 2023 with a look at Despoina, an obscure Arcadian goddess associated with this title which means "Mistress". Often connected to Kore/Persephone, Artemis and Hecate, this child of Demeter and Poseidon holds a powerful secret and a name that would only be revealed to initiates of her Mysteries. The only surviving image connected to Despoina is…

Just in time for Santa Lucia's Day (13 December) we look at Lussi, the sorceress who rides with her ghoulish brood at the Solstice, bringing destruction to homes unprepared for the coming winter, carrying off naughty children, and those who mistreated their animals during the year. Lussi leads a version of the brood known as the Wild Hunt, and bear…

As we head into the winter season, we round out the last few podcasts of the year with a discussion of the Japanese "snow woman" Yuki-onna. Like many of our Dark Feminine figures, she has both gentle and terrifying aspects; she can fall in love and marry, she can bring treasure, but she also freezes people to death and in some instances cannibalize…

Jinn are spirits created from fire that are part of Arabic and Islamic folklore. A full discussion of the Jinn would take many episodes, so in this podcast I discuss what Jinn are and what is known about their origins, their place in Islamic cosmogony, and the different types of Jinn, particularly the Ghula and Si'lat, who often appear in feminine …

This week we are talking about Eisheth Zenunim, "queen of harlots" who is considered the personification of sin in the Zohar, and one of the 4 wives of Samael. We discuss Eisheth's relationship to the serpent in the Garden of Eden as well as to Babalon, and her Kabbalistic association with the Qlippoth, the flip side of the Tree of Life consisting …

This week we look at Echidna, the mother of monsters in Greek mythology. Echnidna is said to be the mother of the Sphinx, the Chimera, the Lernean Hydra, and Cerberus among others. She is identified with Python, the dragon slain by Apollo at what would later be his oracle site at Delphi. As a monster associated with rot and decay, she represents te…

This episode looks at the third goddess in our Canaanite trilogy, the warrior goddess Anath, the sister or helpmate of the Canaanite deity Ba'al Hadad. Anath's attributes and role with respect to the Israelites is contested, as is her role as a fertility and hunting goddess. The scholarship has a hard time reconciling this bloodthirsty goddess with…

This week I examine the Canaanite mother goddess represented by a sacred tree, and according to some archaeological evidence and speculation, may have been the wife of the Biblical god Yahweh. The episode looks at this theory as well as the origins of Asherah, her role in ancient Judaic society and her presence in the Bible, and how this is a prime…

This week we look at Astarte, wife of Baal, goddess of love, hunting and war. We take a dive into Canaanite religion and its relationship to early Judaic religion, including her mentions in the Baal Cycle and the Bible, as well as her later role in Egypt as a war goddess and wife of Set. We also explore the seeming paradox of love goddesses also ac…

This week we look at the Ancient Egyptian chimeric demoness called Ammit. Having the head of a crocodile, the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, and the forequarters of a lion, Ammit stands beside Anubis waiting to devour the hearts and souls of the unjust dead. In this episode we look at the background of afterlife beliefs in ancient Egypt and some o…

This week we look at the "Dancing Demon" of Talmudic and Kabbalistic literature, one of the 4 wives of archangel Samael, and an "angel of sacred prostitution". Lilith is viewed as her competitor, and sometimes as her mother and grandmother, though her name means "Agrat daughter of Mahlat," herself a daughter of Ishmael and a wife of Esau. We look a…

Poludnica, also known as Lady Midday and the Noonwraith, is a demon of the harvest who punishes those who do not rest at noontime. She has various names throughout Eastern Europe, and is represented as a woman in a white dress, sometimes with a skeletal face, who carries a scythe, shears, or a whip. In this podcast we take a deep dive into the "dar…

This week's podcast talks about the succubus, a female demon that is said to have sex with men while they sleep, and her male counterpart, the incubus. There is some version of the succubus in almost every culture; we will look at the medieval view of these creatures, its likely origins in ancient beliefs about immortality, and how these narratives…

I have talked about the Gorgon Medusa on this podcast in the past; today's episode looks at all three Gorgons, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. This is a deep dive into the psychological meaning of the Gorgons and other similar daimons, and their relationship to goddesses such as Athena and Artemis. When we move from archaic Greek literature to Roman l…

We finally have a new Chthonia Conversation, and Joanna Madloch is back! We dive into Slavic theogony (creation mythology) and conceptions of the afterlife in the stories of Perun, Veles, and their offspring. Joanna sent me a few names in chat, that you can reference; these are in order within the conversation: Swaróg Dadźbóg Chors Księżyc Mokosz S…

In the first part of the 2000s, there were paranormal TV shows and movies made about the Dybbuk (or Dibbuk), an evil spirit from Judaic folklore that can possess a person. The idea of the "Dybbuk Box" that cursed its owners gained urban folktale status. However, these evil spirits are not demons, they are the restless male dead, and were not really…

This episode looks at the Babylonian goddess Lamashtu, who may be one of the earliest examples of a vampiric goddess who hunts humans and feeds on flesh, particularly that of unborn children. While we may expect such a goddess to be classed as a demon, Lamashtu is the daughter of the sky god Anu, and has celestial origins. Her ill effects on pregna…

This week's episode is about the Valkyries, the "choosers of the slain" who bring warriors to Odin's Valhalla, to fight at the "twilight of the gods," Ragnarok. We look at the original role of the Valkyries as "demonic" feasters on the dead flesh of fallen warriors, and their transformation into beautiful shieldmaidens serving warriors in Valhalla.…

This episode explores the Latawica, female spirits of the aborted or stillborn in Slavic mythology. The term Latawica is also used in connection with "loose" women, as these spirits that appear as half bird and half human can also shapeshift into seductive forms. As we see in many of these stories, the original version takes on a very different ton…

This week's podcast is a long one--I talk about the Murrain Maiden, also called the Plague Maiden, or Morowa Dziewica. When she enters a town waving her red handkerchief, the residents are doomed. This podcast gets into the imagery of the Murrain Maiden folktale, and the way in which the idea of plague and illness connects to demon lore and to the …

This month's conversation is with esoteric artist Orryelle Defenestrate Bascule. Our discussion centers around Orryelle's art, music, and ritual theatre performance, including his film "Solve et Coagula." We talk about the idea of embodiment, including the embodiment of sound in language, the kundalini force, and quite a bit about the goddess Hekat…

This week we look at the Rusalka, an elemental spirit from Slavic folklore. She is described either as spirit of forest and field or as a water spirit, though in both roles she is a "fertility wight," a being that brings water to the crops and fields. However, by the 19th century the Rusalka became the spirit of women who died unbaptized or as virg…

This week we take a foray back into Slavic folklore, with a look at the female demonic figure known as the Strzyga (or Striga, or Strega). These are creatures with a gray or bluish appearance that feed on the flesh and blood of humans, and are connected to the Roman "Strix", a bird of ill omen usually associated with the owl. They have two souls, t…

Welcome to Chthonia's 100th regular episode! We look at the Pisacha this week--flesh eating demons of Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Lord Shiva is frequently attended by bhuta (ghosts) and pisacha; whatever else may be different about the conception of these beings, it is agreed that they have to do with anger. Whether they are viewed as angry ghost…

This week we look at one of the "horrors of Hecate," the Empusa. Empusa is a shapeshifting daimon or ghost that is sometimes likened to a succubus, and sometimes a grotesque spirit that attacks men; she also attacks mystery cult initiates in an attempt to distract them from completing their initiation. She is sometimes portrayed with the leg of a d…

This month's conversation features two guests: Alexandros Matsangos, a translator, Psychology Ph.D., and author of "The Male Lesbian Manifesto"; Geoffreyjen Edwards is a former scientist, a fashion designer, and author of the science fiction novel "Plenum: the First Book of Deo," part of a 15-volume space opera. Both Alexandros and Geoffreyjen expl…

This week we look at the Graeae, three women who are "born old" and live in the Western lands at the edge of the world. They are sisters of the Gorgons, and watch over their home with the assistance of one eye and one tooth shared between them. The main story of the Graeae occurs in the Perseus myth, when he steals their eye in exchange for informa…

This week's episode looks at Baubo, a figure in Greek mythology usually regarded as humorous, as she manages to making the grieving goddess Demeter laugh by showing off her genitalia. So-called Baubo statuettes have been found around the world, but her actual role in ancient Greece, if any, remains a mystery. Homer refers to Iambe rather than Baubo…

Happy new year! To kick off 2023 we look at the last of our Navadurgas, Siddhidhatri. Her name roughly translates to "giver of perfection" or "giver of power," and she is the form of Shakti that creates the Tridevas (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) and gives them their powers. She is also half of the dual-sexed deity Sri Ardhanariswara. We discuss the m…

We end 2022 with a podcast on the auspicious goddess Mahagauri, the eighth Navadurga. This golden/white goddess is hardly "dark Feminine" in appearance; however, she is the slayer of Shumba and Nishumba, the asuras ("demons") of too much (self conceit) and too little (self depreciation). We talk about her relationship to the Mahavidya Shodashi, the…

This week we look at the sixth Navadurga, Katyayani. She is associated with the Ajna chakra (third eye), and is the manifestation of the anger of the gods against the Mahisasura. She is also associated with finding the right husband and happy marriage. How do these attributes fit together? We discuss these qualities of Katyayani with respect to the…

This week's episode is a bit mind-blowing. Skandamata is the fifth Navadurga, and the embodiment of Parvati as mother of Skanda (Kartikeya, the war god). Skanda is born to defeat a demon called Tarakasura--the demon of salvation, who is the grandson of Diti (limitation). Skandamata also embodies the Visuddha chakra, where sound and speech are born.…

This month's conversation is with Phoenix the Elder, a shaman who has apprenticed in Slavic shaman traditions and Bardo traditions among others, and has worked in these traditions for over 40 years. Now retired from taking apprentices, she talks about her experiences with the Dark Feminine, the differences between Dark Goddesses and Night Goddesses…

This week we discuss Kushmanda, the fourth Navadurga, who is also the Adishakti (Primal Shakti). She is the Shakti of Lord Surya (the Sun), and represents the true reality beyond all the apparent difference (maya) in the universe. We compare the Greek and Biblical creation stories to Kushmanda's creation, which is not word (Logos) driven, and how t…

This week we look at the third Navadurga, known as Chandraghanta, the married form of the goddess Parvati. Her story begins at her wedding, when her bridegroom-to-be shows up dressed like an Aghori with matted hair, covered in cremation ash, and wearing a skull necklace, accompanied by ghouls. Her family is terrified, but Shiva's Aghori aspect also…

This month's conversation is a fun and informal look at the Dark Feminine in horror movies with my longtime friend and former librarian Jeanette Hanley, who has seen a LOT of horror movies in her lifetime. Jeanette and I have had many discussions about this topic through the COVID lockdowns, and I wanted to bring at least some of that discussion to…

This week we look at the second Navadurga, Brahmacharini. Also a term for a female renunciate in Hinduism, Brahmacharini is the manifestation of goddess Parvati before she is married to Shiva. She goes through 5,000 years of ascetic tapas before Shiva offers a marriage proposal. Parvati is a reincarnation of Sati (Shakti), and Shakti/Shiva are heav…