Little Christmas: December Almanac

Sign up for October's Cave of Dreams workshop: www.houseoflegends.me/cave-of-dreams Find me on Substack: https://enthusiastica.substack.com/ In this almanac episode, I survey some themes of the folklore of October, from fire rituals to guising, and invite listeners to dream into the relationship they would like to cultivate with the unseen in the winter months of the year. The full moon of October this year is October 17th, from which this episode took its Anglo-Saxon name, Winterfylleþ, winter-full, the full moon marking the start of the winter half of the year. Music in this episode: Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods’ music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds "Tam Lin" by Moira Craig Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/tam-lin/1617427959?i=1617427977 "The Foggy Dew" by Ye Vagabonds Buy it: https://yevagabonds.bandcamp.com/track/the-foggy-dew "Dromte Mig En Drom I Nat" by Musica Ficta & Bo Holten Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/dromte-mig-en-drom-i-nat/474624260?i=474624262 Corrections: The whales I saw were in fact porpoises, and I was recording near Dunstanburgh Castle, rather than Dunstan Castle

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 Woods’ music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds “Ripest of Apples” by Anna and Elizabeth Buy Anna and Elizabeth’s music: https://annaandelizabeth.bandcamp.com/ “Band of Shearers” by Carla Sciaky Buy Carla Sciaky’s music: https://carlasciaky.com/index.html#store “My Son David” by the Brothers Gillespie Brothers Gillespie tour and music: https://thebrothersgillespie.com/shows “Apples and Potatoes” by June Tabor June Tabor tour: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/112582-june-tabor Instrumental tracks: “Apples in Winter” by Peter Acty Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/apples-in-winter/1617403163?i=1617403387 “Harvest Home” by Willie Clancy Buy the album: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/willie-clancy-the-gold-ring/458399572 Image: Theodor von Hörmann - Mondaufgang nach der Ernte

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 “permission” to embody sacred traditional culture.

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. Pagan Ritual Song course: https://f77d9f-2.myshopify.com/products/pagan-ritual-song-course-jan-feb-2024 Buy Jenn Campus’ book, A Guide to Celebrating the 12 days of Yule: jenncampusauthor.com/product/a-guid…-days-of-yule/ Emilia Blom, who shared the solstice wishes ritual with me: www.instagram.com/vildmedicin/ My Big Fat Solstice playlist on Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/2LFjxSU…a743490a69a6459c Gnome for Christmas Fair Folk episode: open.spotify.com/episode/5ysFM2qu…6172f7663bc0479f Join my mailing list: 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 tradition” Tommy Kuusela: www.academia.edu/9403910 The Icelandic Yule Lads poem in English
ingebretsens-blog.com/wp-content/upl…-Lads-Poem.pdf “The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” By Lotte Motz
dokumen.tips/documents/motz-lot…s-1985.html?page=5 “Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments” by John B. Smith
www.scribd.com/doc/17325747/Perc…itter-and-Her-Kin ‘Grýla, Grýlur, Grøleks and Skeklers: Medieval Disguise Traditions in the North Atlantic?” by Terry Gunnell
notendur.hi.is/~terry/articles/T…_and_Skeklers.pdf Music in this episode: Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds Malpas Wassail by the Watersons
Buy it: www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/alb…483616862&sr=1-1 Spinn, Spinn, Spinnerinn by Herbergsuche Gruppe
Buy it: music.apple.com/ca/album/spinn-sp…55276?i=318155791 Grýlukvaeði by Thrju a Palli
Buy it:
music.apple.com/ca/album/gr%C3%BD…7315?i=1621787688 Instrumental track: The Wanderer by Juniper and the Wolf
Buy Juniper and the Wolf’s music: juniperandthewolf.bandcamp.com/

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 you to follow the rhythm of nature and turn your gaze to the small, the domestic and the precious. Sign up for the ONLINE Pagan Carols Singalong!: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/sgn5zaflv8/ Sign up for the IN-PERSON Pagan Carols Singalong in Victoria BC: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/yl53dvqx1w Join my mailing list: view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141 Music in this episode: St. Nicholas by Anúna Buy this track: 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 King’s 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: www.medievalminstrels.com/ Kąlėdų rytų saulė pražydo (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: www.medievalminstrels.com/ Sources for this episode: Lyrics to The Sun Blossomed on Christmas Morning by Sedula: 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

In this episode I gently interrogate what we mean when we say "the veil is thin" at Halloween, and offer a vision of the whole of winter as a season of hospitality between humans and the otherworld(s) through fire, story, music, and rituals of generosity. Listen to past Fair Folk episode "All Hallows' Folk Tradition at the Gates of Winter" https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/all-hallows-folk-tradition-at-the-gates-of-winter/id1177770160?i=1000452872493 Get love letters from me: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/pijrgnu11x Join my Patreon for as little as $2 a month!: https://www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast Where to find Kirsten Milliken, the storyteller: instagram.com/kirstinmillikenstoryteller facebook.com/com/kirstinmillikenstoryteller www.kirstenmilliken.co.uk Music in this episode: Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods’ music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds "Réidh Chnoc Mná Duibhe" by Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin Buy the song: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/re-idh-chnoc-mna-duibhe/1653578592?i=1653581085 Image is Fairy Tale of Kings by Lithuanian painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis

We have reached the energetic peak of the year. The main ancient and folkloric themes of June ritualise the human relationship to two of our primary life-givers, the sun and water. Our romance with these elements (and one another) reach a peak as the year completes its in-breath around the summer solstice. This episode outlines a faint thematic arc in historical Whitsun practices at the start of June, and Midsummer at the end, focusing especially on the folk rituals and folksong of the Baltic countries, Eastern Europe and Ireland. Purchase my new Gathering the Gods course on Thor, Odin, & Freya: fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/ My excellent Midsummer Solstice / June Almanac playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gG8z6O83kpkjflUqaSMZc?si=a7a6693c091046ef The Midsummer Solstice episode of Fair Folk podcast from 2018: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1QZliHXdfHHmSVy0ySfpbv?si=fe6608a7395c4a5e “Rusalki: Anthropology of time, death, and sexuality in Slavic folklore” by Jiří Dynda https://www.academia.edu/34620531/Rusalki_Anthropology_of_time_death_and_sexuality_in_Slavic_folklore “The Mythic Sun: An Aerial Perspective” by Thomas Dubois: https://chs.harvard.edu/chapter/thomas-a-dubois-the-mythic-sun-an-areal-perspective/ “Migration of Song Genres: Two Typical Lithuanian Cases” by Rytis Ambrazevičius https://bop.unibe.ch/EJM/article/view/8335 “The Midsummer Solstice As It Was, Or Was Not, Observed in Pagan Germany, Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxon England” by Sandra Billington https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hX0NJJHjoicOq-5VH3kPfsQAX3NTbAtj/view?usp=sharing Music in this episode: Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods’ music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds “O Na Ivana Na Kupala” by Olexa Kabanov - Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/oh-na-ivana-na-kupala/919387915?i=919387973 “Švinta Jona Vakaralia” by Nalšia - Learn more and buy it (scroll down for English): http://www.lnkc.lt/go.php/lit/Kupole-roze-sekminiu-joniniu-dainuojamoji-tautosaka/110946 Ozolini, Ozolini by Vilkači - Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/j%C4%81nis/1201942701

This episode, a bonus introductory unit to my upcoming Gathering the Gods course, introduces Old Norse culture and language, and describes the status of gods in the Old Norse religion and cosmology. This course will give an overview of the surviving historical texts and traces of the gods Thor, Odin, and Freya. Gathering the Gods begins May 7th! Sign up here: https://fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/ Access the reading and materials for this intro unit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GPjFkblda1E7NlXrpMCHRa0Q5WWk_JJO?usp=sharing

This episode outlines the key themes of May folklore embodied in the celebrations of May 1st, aka May Day or Beltane: bonfires for purification and protection, veneration of plants and trees, the leading of animals to green pastures, erotic expressions of pleasure, and the blooming promise of earth's abundance. Join the Gathering the Gods course on Thor, Odin, & Freya: https://fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/ Listen to the Big Beltane Spotify playlist (newly updated): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6UVpAwkdX39Bk5mY1Kd2Xc?si=0f91f96826544081 Big Beltane: May Day Song and Custom episode from 2019: https://open.spotify.com/episode/62jeozEUNP0FFrKKSafLEJ?si=4de8b4c66c284d5b Music in this episode: "Don't you Go a Rushing" by Lisa Knapp https://lisaknapp.bandcamp.com/album/till-april-is-dead-a-garland-of-may "Robin Hood and the Tanner" by Jesse Ferguson Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/folk-favourites/1238844872 "Äggavisan" by Folk och Rachare Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/%C3%A4ggavisan/1462963060?i=1462963069 Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods’ music: www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds

This episode my guest is Olle Möllervärn, Swedish folklore and paganism researcher and bear nerd! In this episode we discuss animism and how it brings us into more ethical relationship with animals, the connection between human fertility and bears, including human-bear romance, as well as the reason bears are connected with St. Tiburtius' day, April 14th. Join my mailing list for a discount on my upcoming course on Old Norse polytheism, Gathering the Gods: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141 (Registration opens April 17th) Olle Möllervärn on Academia.edu: https://miun.academia.edu/OlleM%C3%B6llerv%C3%A4rn Norwegian bear dance - skip to 18:00: https://tv.nrk.no/program/FOLA69009669 Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods Purchase Sylvia Woods' music: https://www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds