In this episode I share about September as harvest month in folklore, Old English names for the month and season, spirits of the grain, the meaning of the equinox in tradition, the upcoming lunar eclipse, and Michaelmas!
Sign up for the Cave of Dreams workshop series: https://www.houseoflegends.me/cave-of-dreams
Find me on Substack: https://enthusiastica.substack.com/
September Almanac playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gajsHJ86ljT3f1TuFtLFI?si=ce9b72a3701d4b77
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
âRipest of Applesâ by Anna and Elizabeth
Buy Anna and Elizabethâs music:
https://annaandelizabeth.bandcamp.com/
âBand of Shearersâ by Carla Sciaky
Buy Carla Sciakyâs music:
https://carlasciaky.com/index.html#store
âMy Son Davidâ by the Brothers Gillespie
Brothers Gillespie tour and music: https://thebrothersgillespie.com/shows
âApples and Potatoesâ by June Tabor
June Tabor tour: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/112582-june-tabor
Instrumental tracks:
âApples in Winterâ by Peter Acty
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/apples-in-winter/1617403163?i=1617403387
âHarvest Homeâ by Willie Clancy
Buy the album: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/willie-clancy-the-gold-ring/458399572
Image: Theodor von HĂśrmann - Mondaufgang nach der Ernte
Lughnasadh Special with Scottish storyteller Daniel Allison
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 ⢠Duration 57:29
Subscribe to my Substack newsletter: https://enthusiastica.substack.com/
Join the Cave of Dreams workshop series: https://www.houseoflegends.me/cave-of-dreams
In this episode, Daniel Allison tells the story of the god Lugh (after whom Lughnasadh is named) at the hall of the king Nuada, leading us into a discussion of how we might approach Lughnasadh folklore and mythology now. Then we share what each of us has been up to lately, especially emphasizing the role of pagan devotion in each of our work, and diving into the role of âpermissionâ to embody sacred traditional culture.
Wolf Milk: February Almanac
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 ⢠Duration 01:13:11
This almanac episode dives into the folklore of February through the lens of the Ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia on February 15th, tracing the themes of birth, milk, wolves, wildness, purification, death, twilight, and thunder through the monthâs other pagan holidays, including St. Brigidâs day on February 1st, Candlemas / Gromnica / Perkunas Day on February 2nd, and Scandinavian St. Peter Hotstone on February 22nd.
This monthâs episode asks what the notion of purification might mean in a pagan context, and suggests it may mean facing the shadow parts of ourselves that we tend to project onto animals (and women) so we can ritually integrate them, clarifying and owning our role as powerfully in-between creatures in a powerfully in-between world.
Important dates:
February 1: Brigidâs Day / Bride (Ireland / Scotland)
February 2: Candlemas (Christian) / Gromnica (Slavic) / Perkunas day (Lithuania) / Perunâs Day (Belarus)
February 14: St. Valentineâs day
February 15: Lupercalia
February 21: Mardi Gras / end of Carnivale / Start of Lent
February 22: St. Peter Hot-stone
Listen to the February Almanac playlist on Tidal:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/4c148b82-bfe5-46cf-ba26-63b7bc2a7acd
Listen to the February Almanac playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QSKLQ8WeAq9v26NWfpTtX?si=33e31c5e2fe74971
Music in this episode:
âLupercaliaâ by Faun
Buy Faunâs music: https://shop.faun-music.com/
âVärgsangenâ by Jonna Jinton
More Jonna Jinton music: https://www.youtube.com/user/jonnajinton
Buy Jonna Jintonâs art: https://jonnajintonsweden.com/
âUlvetimmeâ (The Hour of the Wolf) Maria Franz and Christopher Juul
Buy Heilungâs (Maria Franz and Christopher Juul) music: https://heilung.bandcamp.com/
âMaryâs Keenâ by Noirin Ni Riain
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/marys-keen/992023961?i=992023970
Buy Noirin Ni Riainâs music: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/stor-amhran/41446103
âGrĂĄâ by Wardruna
Buy Wardruna music and merch: https://wardrunashop.com/collections/music
Buy Wardruna digital tracks: https://wardruna.bandcamp.com/music
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Sources for this episode:
Watch Ronja Robbersdaughter: https://fsharetv.io/watch/ronja-robbersdaughter-episode-1-tt0088015
Watch Wolf Walkers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Z_tybgPgg
Emperors of Rome Podcast, Lupercalia episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-cxxxv-lupercalia/id850148806?i=1000465237605
History and Folklore Podcast: Medieval Wolves episode: https://historyandfolklorepodcast.libsyn.com/medieval-wolves
Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs edited by Carl Lindahl, John McNamara, and John Lindow: entry: âWolf [Canis Lupus] and Werewolfâ
The Nordic Animist Year (book) by Rune Rasmussen
Candlelight Tales Podcast: Brigid episode: https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales/episode-7-brigid
Transcript:
Welcome to the podcast. This is the February Almanac episode âof Fair Folk called Wolf Milk.
In these Almanac episodes, I comb through European calendar custom. that is folklore relating to the cycle of the year, typically with a focus on Northern Europe. And I share what I find with you to help you orient the month ahead. Equipped with knowledge of nourishing traditions that can help reconnect you to the natural cycles of the year to land and the life in the plants, animals, our bodies, and ourselves.
Seasonal folklore and festivals call us back into community with all beings on the earth in its regular spinning wheel of life and death. And they help us to tend through ritual, our ties to our kin of all species, both our ancestral kin and our future kin to come. The recovery of European traditional cultures, the ones that privilege relationality, interconnection and respect for all beings, which you might call indigenous cultures, is so early in its stages.
Ploughboy's Glory: January Almanac
Tuesday, January 3, 2023 ⢠Duration 01:06:52
In this January almanac episode, I share about how English Plough Sunday and Plough Monday rituals dovetail with pagan midwinter worship of Odin to present a quandary as rich today as ever:
How do we hold sacred the human capacity to employ technologies that multiply our power, while dancing on the delicate balance between service and domination?
How do we bless the hard work of human hands where it meets the life of the world?
This episode delves into traditions of chasing out the spirits of Yule, as well as blessing of apple trees, ploughs, and ultimately ploughboys as representatives of the overflow of human passion and physical power.
Sign up for UNEARTHED, my course on the roots of imperialism in the Christian Middle Ages: https://rustic-waterfall-641.myflodesk.com
Listen to the January Almanac playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2lcgJz369QMIDmN8J4LEAq?si=96bd3fac66c8482f
Contact me by email fairfolkcast [at] gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danica.boyce/
Music in this episode:
January Man by Lau & Karine Polwart
Buy it:
https://lau-music.bandcamp.com/track/january-man
Apple Tree Wassail by Jon Boden
Buy his albums https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/shopfront/jon-boden
Ploughboyâs Dream by Janice Burns and Jon Doran
Buy it:
https://bandcamp.com/download?cart_id=97060025&sig=7770feb4eddf1844063928c397bc5b88&from=checkout
Ploughboyâs Glory by Lisa Knapp
Buy it:
https://lisaknapp.bandcamp.com/track/ploughboys-glory
Instrumental track:
St. Agnesâ Eve by Carol Wood
Buy it:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/st-agnes-eve/130331483?i=130332115
Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Sources and Resources for this episode:
Rune Hjarno Rasmussenâs St Knut / Odin parallels video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l99YoPiPLrg
The Nordic Animist Year (book) by Rune Hjarno Rasmussen: https://shop.nordicanimism.com/shop/9-books-and-calendars/9-the-nordic-animist-year/
The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Ronald Hutton (book)
âThe Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figuresâ By Lotte Motz
dokumen.tips/documents/motz-lotâŚs-1985.html?page=5
âPerchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishmentsâ by John B. Smith
www.scribd.com/doc/17325747/PercâŚitter-and-Her-Kin
Lyrics to folk song "Ploughboyâs Glory"
http://www.joe-offer.com/folkinfo/songs/362.html
Episode Image: by John Bauer from story "The Ring," by Helena Nyblom, 1914
Transcript:
This is the January Almanac episode of Fair Folk in which I will be discussing the folklore and pagan roots of January celebrations with an emphasis on nourishing traditions we can bring forward and apply to our modern lives, to help us connect to land and to history in productive and empowering ways.
This month I'll be focusing on the new cycle of years changing over the end of the Yule season and our relationship to labour and technology, which was a focus that arose for me while I was researching this January episode. That hasn't arisen for me before, but it definitely is an emphasis of English and Nordic tradition, and it'll explain more as we go ahead.
Other themes that arise in January folklore are the continued divination and predictive quality for the year ahead that we've may have already seen in December. Folklore also the supernatural and the feminine visiting from the wilds beyond, because it is still winter and these forces still rule.
There's often a theme in January songs especially of weather, bad weather, loneliness, cold and love, longing as metaphorically associated with those sensations of coldness and isolation in the wintertime. And of course, the slow return of the sun is being observed across European folklore, which is what I always focus on.
The Twelve Days: December Almanac
Friday, December 16, 2022 ⢠Duration 01:10:02
This episode explores folklore and pagan origins of the 12 days of Christmas, with a focus on the feminine winter figures of Perchta, Holle, and Grýla, featuring a conversation with Jenn Campus, author of A Guide to Celebrating the 12 Days of Yule.
Unearthed: medieval imperialism course: https://rustic-waterfall-641.myflodesk.com
Buy Jenn Campusâ book, A Guide to Celebrating the 12 days of Yule for $5: https://jenncampusauthor.com/product/a-guide-to-celebrating-the-12-days-of-yule/
Emilia Blom, who shared the solstice wishes ritual with me: https://www.instagram.com/vildmedicin/
My Big Fat Solstice playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LFjxSUsJYrJE2S0nuYWdB?si=a743490a69a6459c
Gnome for Christmas Fair Folk episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ysFM2qushhgWVuEx5kLq1?si=6172f7663bc0479f
Join my mailing list: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Resources & references for this episode:
The Stations of the Sun: the ritual year in Britain by Ronald Hutton
"'He met his own funeral procession': The Year walk-ritual in Swedish folk traditionâ Tommy Kuusela: https://www.academia.edu/9403910
The Icelandic Yule Lads poem in English
https://ingebretsens-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/The-Yule-Lads-Poem.pdf
âThe Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figuresâ By Lotte Motz
https://dokumen.tips/documents/motz-lotte-the-winter-goddess-percht-holda-and-related-figures-1985.html?page=5
âPerchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishmentsâ by John B. Smith
https://www.scribd.com/doc/17325747/Perchta-the-Belly-slitter-and-Her-Kin
âGrĂ˝la, GrĂ˝lur, Grøleks and Skeklers: Medieval Disguise Traditions in the North Atlantic?â by Terry Gunnell
https://notendur.hi.is/~terry/articles/TerryGunnell-2001_Gryla,Grylur,Groleks_and_Skeklers.pdf
Music in this episode:
Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Malpas Wassail by the Watersons
Buy it: https://www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/albums/B09WJGTF52?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1483616862&sr=1-1
Spinn, Spinn, Spinnerinn by Herbergsuche Gruppe
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/spinn-spinn-spinnerin/318155276?i=318155791
Grýlukvaeði by Thrju a Palli
Buy it:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/gr%C3%BDlukv%C3%A6%C3%B0i/1621787315?i=1621787688
Instrumental track: The Wanderer by Juniper and the Wolf
Buy Juniper and the Wolfâs music: https://juniperandthewolf.bandcamp.com/
Little Christmas: December Almanac
Thursday, December 1, 2022 ⢠Duration 48:55
This episode surveys the folklore of the first half of December, including St. Nicholas' Day on Dec 6th, St. Lucia's day on Dec. 13th, and the solstice. As we approach the darkest point of winter, I ask the listener to follow the rhythm of nature and turn your gaze to the small, the domestic and the precious.
Join my mailing list:
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Music in this episode:
St. Nicholas by AnĂşna
Buy this track:
https://anuna.bandcamp.com/track/st-nicholas-2
Luciavisa by Lisa (singer Emma Härdelin)
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/luciavisa/204432292?i=204434789
There is no Rose by the Kingâs Singers
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/there-is-no-rose/79623724?i=79623213
Orientis Partibus by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Buy music by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels here: https://www.medievalminstrels.com/
KÄ lÄdĹł rytĹł saulÄ praĹžydo (The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning) by Sedula
Buy this track:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/kal%C4%97d%C5%B3-ryt%C4%85-saul%C4%97-pra%C5%BEydo/1427982403?i=1427982982
Rex Tua Nolo Munera by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Buy music by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels here: https://www.medievalminstrels.com/
Sources for this episode:
Lyrics to The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning by Sedula:
https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=5162
Some more information about medieval animal carols:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/friendly_beasts.htm
More information about medieval carols:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2020/dec/evolution-medieval-christmas-carols
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen:
https://americanliterature.com/author/hans-christian-andersen/short-story/the-snow-queen
The Cailleach w/ Scott Richardson-Read
Wednesday, November 16, 2022 ⢠Duration 01:02:35
This is a conversation with Scottish folk-magic blogger and social worker Scott Richardson Read about the Gaelic folklore figure called the Cailleach: the old woman known as Scotlandâs midwife; landscape shaper, storm-bringer, sovereignty figure, ancestral being, resurrected once and again, and present all through the folk calendar of the year.
The Cailleach has been popularly associated with wintertime, which is why I feature her on Fair Folk now, at the beginning of winter.
Transcript of this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12oDeT-0u-0fnnascirU_k5izVU4kQHACj2zqTFI2wGA/
Resources referenced in this episode:
Cailleachâs Herbarium blog, Cailleach article #1
https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2015/08/the-cailleach-a-tale-of-balance-between-darkness-and-light/
Cailleachâs Herbarium blog, Cailleach article #2
https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2015/08/the-cailleach-a-tale-of-balance-between-darkness-and-light-part-two/
Cailleachâs Herbarium blog entry on an animist shrine dedicated to the Cailleach:
https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2018/01/the-cailleach-scotlands-midwife-tigh-na-bodach/
Article: The Cailleach in Place-names and Place-lore by Alasdair C. Whyte:
https://clog.glasgow.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JSNS/article/view/58/107
Mckenzieâs Wonder Tale, Beira, Queen of Winter:
https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm04.htm
9th century poem about the Cailleach, âThe Old Woman of Beareâ
Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65CWjdVcBmg
Text: https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/anonymous/OldWomanBeare.html
Songs in this episode:
Opening theme: âForest Marchâ by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
âThe Old Woman of the Mill Dust / Cailleach An Dudainâ by Alison Kinnair & Christine Primrose
Buy Alison Kinnair & Christine Primroseâs music:
https://guysegers1.bandcamp.com/track/cailleach-an-dudain-the-old-woman-of-the-mill-dust-alison-kinnaird-christine-primrose (album)
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/cailleach-an-dudain-the-old-woman-of-the-mill-dust/294080419?i=294080481
Fox & Goose: November Almanac
Monday, October 31, 2022 ⢠Duration 01:16:23
This episode asks how we can take the natural themes of the month and separate them from the contexts that have framed and sometimes twisted them, so we can use them to empower all beings â especially, this month, foxes and geese. It surveys November droving and pannage traditions, Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th, fox hunting and its complex legacy, St. Martins day on November 11 and its entanglement with goose lore, and St. Catherineâs day on November 25th, which opens the season of the Germanic winter goddesses, whose later folklore connects spinning and wheels, snow, wild animals, flying, geese, and children.
Join the Mailing List:
view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Listen to the November Almanac playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/094rCk7NZWNOSLmoHHPqc2?si=83d27558f563416b
Fair Folkâs Patreon:
www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast
Songs featured in this episode:
âThe Foxâ by Laura Viers
Buy Laura Viersâ music on Bandcamp:
https://lauraveirs.bandcamp.com/track/the-fox
âKadrilaulâ by Collage / Choir of Tallin University of Technology
Buy Collageâs music:
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/kadriko/1100185926
âMartinmas Timeâ by James Yorkston
Buy James Yorkstonâs music digitally:
https://jamesyorkston.bandcamp.com/
Buy James Yorkstonâs records:
https://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk/shop/
âGoose and Commonâ by the Askew Sisters
Buy the Askew Sistersâ music:
http://www.askewsisters.co.uk/
Opening theme:
Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Some sources for this episode:
The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, 1972.
Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales by Marie Trevelyan, 1909.
https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book//lookupid?key=olbp54204
Article: âThe Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figuresâ by Lotte Motz
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HDXoKGBG3PojPXDJrJXZ3Ae2A7HQCCA7/view?usp=sharing
Article: "Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments" by John B. Smith
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1280qQAcXA-p0bbrF3_zujAbB0tJMr0Bo/view?usp=sharing
Frau Holle in the Grimm's Fairy Tales:
https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm024.html
An article about enclosure:
https://medium.com/@daveuwakwe/what-a-poem-about-a-goose-teaches-us-about-property-3dfe6f7972ec
St. Martin Lore from County Kerry â the National Folklore Collection of Ireland: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666609/4666442 (Search the vast collection for more!)
Rekindle: October Almanac
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 ⢠Duration 01:38:22
Fair Folk is back in operation after a year's break! This episode shares some of the folkloric themes of October: it's the pagan start of winter, and features spooky post-harvest customs of feeding the dead, love longing, rekindling the community fire, and a cute dose of shoe folklore.
Call for key collaborators in the Pagan Monastery Project:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jq9XCt29MqQXEaRNtnoUj4n_5LObtqmWf-F-g8fGdto/edit?usp=sharing
Listen to the Pagan Monastery Podcast on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pagan-monastery-podcast-with-danica-boyce/id1610505250
Listen to the Pagan Monastery Podcast on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7xFdHUx1nJqge8Oq9Bs1GY?si=53d91206134049e8
Join the Mailing List:
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141
Listen to the October Almanac playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6vxucYP0zGjsH2AxfwlayL?si=d5ae8d42bbbe473f
Fair Folkâs Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast
Listen to Our Supernatural Landlords: folklorist Terry Gunnell on northern European winter guising traditions:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/fair-folk-podcast/id1177770160?i=1000501474652
Songs featured in this episode:
Tam Lin by Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer
Buy Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamerâs album:
https://anaismitchell.ochre.store/release/250476-anas-mitchell-jefferson-hamer-child-ballads
Cheshire Souling Song by Cantorion CynWrig Singers
Buy the Cantorion CynWrig Singersâ music:
https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/cantorion-cynwrig/156043718
Holland Handkerchief by Chris Foster
Buy Chris Fosterâs music:
https://chrisfoster1.bandcamp.com/music
Whoâs Gonna Shoe my Pretty Little Foot by Barbara Dane
Buy Barbara Daneâs music:
https://barbaradane.bandcamp.com/
âOld Jacky Frostâ by the Wildness Yet
Buy the Wilderness Yetâs music:
https://www.thewildernessyet.com/shop.html
The Wilderness Yet on Bandcamp (digital):
https://thewildernessyet.bandcamp.com/
Opening theme:
Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woodsâ music:
https://www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds
Some sources for this episode:
Andreas Nordberg âRitual Time and Time Reckoning.â The Pre-Christian Religions of the North: History and Structures, Volume ii, 725
On Shoes in walls: https://ztevetevans.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/strange-folklore-the-mystery-of-concealed-footwear/
For more info on boots and shoes and Hedwig: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781315166940-13/boots-saint-hedwig-jacqueline-jung
Recipe for Hedwigsohlen (Hedwig's soles pastries): https://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2014/10/soles-of-st-hedwig.html
British Calendar Customs: England (1942)
Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore. 1996.
Kevin Danaher. The Year in Ireland. 1972.
Do What You Want: Pausing Fair Folk
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 ⢠Duration 16:07
This episode announces that I will not be producing Fair Folk Podcast for the forseeable future. I am deeply grateful for all of the support you have all given me as I have grown this podcast, and I hope you will continue to connect with me in one of the following ways:
My mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/53d8b01c469b/newsletter
My Youtube channel with my partner Quinn: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5BgVgYLuRWmEs66AHx38A
Instagram: www.instagram.com/danica.boyce
Patreon: patreon.com/fairfolkcast
If you stay subscribed to this podcast, you will receive updates on any further Fair Folk activity, and I'll let you know if I start another audio venture in the future!
All my love,
Danica
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