Tag: feminine

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Hecate is the quintessential chthonic deity, as queen of ghosts and witches. But Hecate’s origins and associations are complex; part 1 of a 2-part podcast deals with what we know about her origins as a beneficent goddess associated with protection and …

The Erinyes are often viewed as ladies of punishment, or manifestations of guilt, with their snaky hair and monstrous appearance. But the Erinyes were not originally monsters, and have a beneficent side as well.

Explores the folklore behind the alleged first wife of Adam, who is associated with seduction, temptation, and producing demons with unsuspecting men on one hand, and is a symbol of feminine autonomy on the other.

We look at Babylonian, Akkadian and Sumerian goddesses of love, war, and the underworld, with a particular look at the ancient story of the Descent of Inanna.

We think of mother goddesses as being gentle and loving, but ancient mother goddess worship had a dark side. This first episode looks at ancient mother goddesses of the Near East.