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Metapsychosis

Journal of Consciousness, Literature, and Art

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Chthonia

Exploring the world of the Dark Feminine in myth, religion, folklore, and magic.

Episode 53Hel

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 2 May 2021

This week we look at the Norse goddess Hel, the daughter of the trickster god Loki, and ruler of the regions under the earth, where most humans went after death. As you might imagine, her name is the root of the modern word Hell, and the connection bet …

Episode 52Isis

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 18 Apr 2021

This week we look at the Egyptian goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris who brings life to his dead body, and becomes pregnant with the god Horus. As a queen of magical power and a mother figure, she is associated with protection of the dead. Like many godd …

Episode 51Dionysus (Part 2)

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 3 Apr 2021

Just in time for Easter, this second podcast on Dionysus looks at the Orphic concept of the god as successor to Zeus, and as the archetype for the divine savior, later embodied in the mythology of Jesus. Source used in video: The God Who Comes: Dionysi …

Episode 49Pele

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 7 Mar 2021

This week we talk about Hawaii’s volatile volcano goddess and her role in shaping and protecting the islands, as well as her explosive relationship with her sister and her friends. She represents the dual nature of fire, in both its creative and destru …

Episode 48Erzulie

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 21 Feb 2021

This week’s podcast is about Erzulie, a family of Voodoo loas connected to water, and to the Feminine in its various forms. We look at two of the loas in particular; Erzulie Freda, associated with love and sex, and Erzulie Dantor, a fierce protector fi …

Oya

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 7 Feb 2021

Oya is the powerful Yorùbá Orisha of the winds and tempests. She is considered either the sister of the Orisha of storms Shango, or one of His three wives, with Oshun and Oba. She is a fierce protector of women who uses her machete to clear t …

Episode 46Pomba Gira

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 24 Jan 2021

This week we look at Pomba Gira, sometimes a single term for a powerful female spirit, at other times the title of a group of spirits. A spirit with many avatars, most notably Maria Molambo (Maria of the Trash), Pomba Gira is a highly sexualized and so …

Episode 45Maman Brigitte

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 10 Jan 2021

The first podcast of 2021 focuses on the loa Maman Brigitte, a hard drinking, sensual spirit that protects the unrepresented dead, and has a very direct relationship to the Irish goddess (and saint) Brigid. Music: Adapted from “Secret Door” by Anastasi …

Episode 44The Snow Queen

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 27 Dec 2020

In this last podcast for 2020, we look at the Hans Christian Andersen tale of the Snow Queen, the very loose basis for the film “Frozen”, and like many fairy tales, loaded with symbolism–in this case, about the struggle for love and connection in a co …

Episode 43Skadi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 13 Dec 2020

It is December, and for this month I am feature winter themes. Today we talk about Skadi, the Scandanavian jötunn (giantess/ancient goddess, similar to a Titan in Greek mythology), who is the embodiment of winter, and is associated with bowhunting, ski …

Episode 42Taweret

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 29 Nov 2020

We end the month of November with a look at the Egyptian goddess Taweret, a hippopotamus goddess who was the wife of Set and a ferocious protector of children. Like many dark goddesses, her attributes seemed to change over time, making her more benevol …

Episode 41Sekhmet

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 15 Nov 2020

This episode looks at the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, who is considered to be an aspect of the goddess Hathor, and sometimes also the goddess Bast. She is the “eye of Ra”, and represents the destructive wrath of the “noonday sun” that burns up everything …

Episode 40Morrigan

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 30 Oct 2020

Happy Samhain! This year’s Samhain/Halloween episode is about the Morrigan, the Irish goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty. Last year I interviewed Aepril Schaile about the Morrigan; this year it’s just me, talking about all of the aspects of the Morr …

Episode 39Narasimhi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 18 Oct 2020

In our last podcast on the Ashta Matrikas, we look at Narasimhi, the fierce lion-headed matrika that is the Shakti of Narasimha, another fierce avatar of Vishnu. Not to be tampered with lightly, she is also known as Pratyangira, the destroyer of black …

Episode 38Varahi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 4 Oct 2020

This week we talk about the Matrika Varahi, the Shakti of Varaha, the boar-headed avatar of Vishnu, and a ratridevata (night goddess) associated with left-hand Tantric practices. She is sometimes called Yami, and considered to be the consort of Yama, t …

Episode 37Vaishnavi

By
Metapsychosis
| 20 Sep 2020

The matrika Vaishnavi is the shakti of Vishnu’s avatar, Vaishnava, in which Vishnu takes the form of a boar and rescues the Earth Mother when she is plunged into the primordial waters. Her weapon is the discus or chakra, showing her connection to the c …

Episode 36Maheswari

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 6 Sep 2020

This week’s podcast looks at Maheswari, the literal shakti of Shiva (Maheswar). She embodies the vice of anger, and like Shiva himself is a destroyer, and is associated with tamas (darkness). However, like Shiva himself, she is too complex to summarize …

Episode 35Brahmi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 23 Aug 2020

Brahmi is the shakti of Brahma, the Creator of the Universe in Hindu mythology. She is largely an auspicious deity, but is associated with the vice of pride, and battles the demons of the Chandi Path with water–bringing us back to the dangers of the f …

Episode 34Indrani

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 9 Aug 2020

Indrani, also known as Aindri or Mahendri, is the Queen of the Hindu gods, wife of Indra. She is also a Matrika, associated with the vice of jealousy. For such a beautiful and desirable goddess, she also has a very dark side–and is similar to the Gree …

Episode 33Kaumari

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 26 Jul 2020

This week’s podcast is about Kaumari, the Shakti (primal energy) of the Hindu war god Kaumara (also known as Skanda or Kartikeya). This violent goddess, associated with the vice of attachment, also has a paradoxical role as the Kanyakumari Devi, a virg …

Episode 32Chamunda

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 12 Jul 2020

This week begins our series on the Asta Matrikas, eight fierce Shaktis who represent the powers of the Hindu gods themselves. We start with Chamunda, known as the slayer of anger (Chanda) and passion (Munda). However, Chamunda is much older and a more …

Episode 31Kamala

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 28 Jun 2020

This is the last podcast on the Das Mahavidyas. This week we look at Kamala, the Tantric manifestation of Mahalakshmi. While Lakshmi is associated with her husband Vishnu and a model of obedience, Kamala is wholly independent of any spouse, and has a f …

Episode 30Bhuvaneswari

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 14 Jun 2020

In the second-to-last episode about the Mahavidyas, we look at Bhuvaneswari, the goddess who is the embodiment of the material world.

Episode 29Tripurasundari

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 31 May 2020

This week’s goddess is not as dark, but extremely powerful, the Queen of the Sricakra. She is known for restoring the god Kama (Desire) to the world after being destroyed by Shiva, and doing battle with the demon created from Kama’s ashes, Bhandasura ( …

Episode 28Bhagalamukhi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 17 May 2020

Bhagalamukhi means “crane-faced”; however, she is not portrayed as a crane, and equally mysterious is her connection to the color yellow, which seems to provide a connection to Vishnu. She is known as the Paralyzer; we look at the deeper meaning of thi …

Episode 27Tara

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 3 May 2020

This week’s episode looks at the Hindu goddess Tara, listed as the second Mahavidya in traditional order. Unlike the tender Buddhist Tara, this Tantric goddess is associated with the fire of cremation and has a fierce appearance. However, they are both …

Episode 26Dhumavati

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 19 Apr 2020

Continuing our Mahavidyas series, Dhumavati is an inauspicious goddess associated with old age, poverty, and sickness. But she is also the goddess of the Void between Death and Life, and plays an important role in teaching us to stay in the present.

Episode 25Bhairavi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 5 Apr 2020

This week’s episode is about the Goddess of Destruction and consort of Bhairava, the destructive aspect of Shiva. As with our other Mahavidyas, Bhairavi also has powerful life-affirming aspects.

Episode 24Chinnamasta

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 23 Mar 2020

In our continued series on the Das Mahavidyas, we look this week at Chinnamasta, the self-decapitating goddess. Her image is gruesome and somewhat shocking; however she represents a sublime reality about life and death.

Episode 23Matangi

By
  • Brigid Burke
| 8 Mar 2020

In the wake of fears of the Coronavirus, I thought it would be timely to discuss Matangi, one of the Mahavidyas associated with pollution and impurity. Matangi shows us how the Divine is present in the impure–and the unwanted.

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Transmissions

Light up your mind and nourish your soul with communiqués from the creative team behind Metapsychosis Journal. With every full moon, Transmissions brings you news, features, events, signal boosts, and intimations from the evolving edges of contemporary spiritual thought. Sign up free and receive your first issue when you confirm your email.

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Metapsychosis is a project of Cosmos Co‑op, a community dedicated to art, consciousness, and culture. We are building a home on the web, with local roots, where people of the Earth can band together to collaborate on creative projects, while contributing to the vision of an evolving planetary society. Visit our other projects: Untimely Books, Infinite Conversations, and Cosmos.Social.

Unless otherwise noted, all rights are reserved by the individual authors. Other website content is licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Site background image by Kai C. Schwarzer, "Eine Frage der Erfahrung" (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)