53: Pesta: Ash-Faced and Silent: The Spirit of the Plague

This week I am sharing the story of El Naddaha. El Naddaha is a folkloric figure from Egyptian mythology, often described as a beautiful, ghostly woman who emerges from the banks of the Nile River, particularly at night, to call out to men with her haunting voice. Her name, which roughly translates to "The Caller," reflects her role as a siren-like entity who lures unsuspecting victims to their doom, typically resulting in their mysterious disappearance or drowning. El Naddaha is deeply rooted in rural Egyptian oral traditions, particularly in Upper Egypt, and serves as both a supernatural cautionary tale and a reflection of social anxieties around femininity, desire, and the dangers of the unknown.  Scholars have interpreted her as part of a broader spectrum of Middle Eastern djinn and female spirits that combine allure with peril, acting as both moral warnings and symbols of liminality (El-Aswad, 2010). Her legend has been explored in modern Egyptian literature and film as well, particularly by writers like Ahmed Khaled Tawfik, who helped reframe her mythos for younger audiences (Tawfik, 1993). As a cultural symbol, El Naddaha embodies the tension between tradition and modernity, as well as the persistence of myth in contemporary Egyptian identity. References: El-Aswad, E. (2010). Religion and Folk Cosmology: Scenarios of the Invisible in Rural Egypt. Praeger. Tawfik, A. K. (1993). Ma Waraa Al-Tabi’a [Beyond Nature] Series. Cairo: Modern Arab Association.

In this episode, we unravel the mystery of Ananke, the primordial Greek goddess of necessity, fate, and unyielding compulsion. Older than the Olympians and revered in Orphic traditions, Ananke represents the cosmic force that even the gods cannot escape. We explore her role in shaping destiny, her bond with Chronos (Time), and how ancient philosophers and poets understood her immense power. Is Ananke the true architect of the universe or a shadowy figure behind the curtain of myth? References  1. Atsma, A. J. (n.d.). Ananke: Greek primordial goddess of necessity and compulsion. In Theoi Greek Mythology. Retrieved April 12,2025, https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Ananke.html 2. Ballocca, A. (2022, December 15). Ananke, explained. Medium. Retrieved March 13,, 2025, https://albertoballocca.medium.com/ananke-explained-e46a36d5ee7 3. Cicero. (1928). On the nature of the gods (H. Rackham, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published ca. 45 BCE) 4. Orphic fragments. (1936). In H. S. Versnel (Ed.), Orphic fragments: Texts and testimonia (pp. 21–35). Cambridge University Press. (Original work 6th–4th century BCE, transmitted later) 5. Parada, C. (n.d.). Ananke. In Greek Mythology Link. Maicar Förlag. Retrieved September 6, 2025, from https://www.maicar.com/GML/Ananke.html 6. Pausanias. (1918). Description of Greece (W. H. S. Jones, Trans., Vol. 4). Harvard University Press. (Original work published ca. 160 CE) 7. Pindar. (1997). Odes (C. M. Bowra, Trans.). Penguin Classics. (Original work published ca. 5th century BCE) 8. Plato. (1935). Republic (P. Shorey, Trans., Vols. 5–6). Harvard University Press. (Original work published ca. 380 BCE) 9. Plato. (1929). Timaeus (R. G. Bury, Trans., Vol. 9). Harvard University Press. (Original work published ca. 360 BCE) 10. Proclus. (1992). Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus (H. Tarrant, Trans.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published ca. 5th century CE)

This week I am covering the story of the Biblical Jezebel.  Jezebel is a figure from the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, known for her role as the wife of King Ahab of Israel. She was a Phoenician princess, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon, and she brought with her the worship of the god Baal, which clashed with the monotheistic faith of the Israelites.  Jezebel is often portrayed as a symbol of wickedness and idolatry due to her efforts to promote Baal worship and suppress the prophets of Yahweh. She is especially remembered for her conflict with the prophet Elijah, who condemned her for leading Israel astray. Her story is primarily found in the books of 1 and 2 Kings. Eventually, Jezebel met a violent end; she was thrown from a window by her own servants and trampled by horses, fulfilling a prophecy about her downfall. Over time, her name has become synonymous with immorality, manipulation, and defiance against divine authority.  References for this Episode Brenner, A. (1985). The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical Narrative. JSOT Press. Fuchs, E. (1989). Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Hebrew Bible as a Woman. Sheffield Academic Press. Frymer-Kensky, T. (2002). Reading the Women of the Bible. Schocken. Harris-Perry, M. K. (2011). Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. Yale University Press. Josephus, Flavius. Against Apion. Meyers, C. (1991). Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. Oxford University Press. Tertullian. On the Apparel of Women. The Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings 16–22; 2 Kings 9.

This week we are doing a goddess meditation to help you discover which goddess energy you most need to embody now, and what that goddess wishes to teach or activate in  you. They will leave you with a personal symbol or word that will become a touchstone in your daily life! 

This week we are visiting Pesta, the plague of 1349 in Norway.  Pesta is a figure from Scandinavian folklore, particularly Norwegian legend, who personifies the Black Death, or plague. Often depicted as an old, haggard woman dressed in black or red, Pesta travels from village to village spreading disease. She typically carries either a broom or a rake, if she uses the rake, some people in the town survive; if she uses the broom, everyone dies. Her presence is a harbinger of death, and tales of Pesta served as a way for communities to explain and personify the sudden and devastating outbreaks of plague during the Middle Ages. As a folkloric character, she reflects the deep fear and helplessness people felt in the face of such a deadly and mysterious illness, turning disease into a narrative that could be understood, told, and passed down through generations. CITATIONS FOR THIS EPISODE: Dahlmann, L. A. (n.d.). Folk tales | Pesta and the Black Death | Norway. Talk Norway., from https://talknorway.no/folk-tales-pesta-and-the-black-death-norway/ Lamkin, V. (2015, June 19). Seeks Ghosts: Scandinavians’ Mare and Pesta. Seeks Ghosts (Blog)., from https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/ Story Crossroads. (2025, April 18). P = Pesta and the Traveling Farmer (Norway). Story Crossroads., from https://storycrossroads.org/ Haunt Heads. (2018, March 19). The Black Death: Folklore and the Plague [Blog post]. Haunt Heads: The podcast that goes bump in the night., from https://hauntheads.wordpress.com/

This week we are visiting Deer Woman. Deer Woman is a powerful spirit figure found in the oral traditions of many Indigenous peoples across North America, including the Lakota, Ojibwe, Muscogee, Cherokee, Ponca, and others. Often described as a beautiful woman with long hair and the legs or feet of a deer, she appears at dances, crossroads, or along quiet paths, sometimes to warn, sometimes to punish. While some see her as a trickster or seductress, her deeper role is that of a protector and avenger, especially of women and children.  Deer Woman is said to lure unfaithful or violent men into the forest, where they meet a mysterious or deadly end. For those who live honorably and treat others with respect, she poses no threat. In some stories, she is the spirit of a woman who suffered great violence and returned in this sacred form to guard others from similar harm. Far from being a mere monster or myth, Deer Woman embodies justice, survival, and the fierce love that protects communities from within. 

This week we are diving into the mythology of the mortal, Cassandra. Cassandra is a prominent figure in Greek mythology, known as a Trojan princess and prophetess whose tragic story centers on her gift of foresight, paired with a devastating curse. As the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, Cassandra was granted the power of prophecy by the god Apollo, who hoped to win her affection. When she rejected him, Apollo cursed her so that, although her predictions would be unfailingly accurate, no one would ever believe them. This cruel twist of fate defined her role during the Trojan War, as she warned of the fall of Troy, the death of her brother Hector, and the Greek deception of the wooden horse. Her prophetic insights, however, were dismissed by her family and peers, branding her as mad and leaving her powerless to prevent the city’s destruction. After Troy’s fall, Cassandra was taken as a war prize by Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, and brought to Mycenae. There, she foresaw her own murder alongside Agamemnon at the hands of his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover Aegisthus. True to the pattern of her life, her warnings went unheeded, and she met her death as she had predicted. Cassandra’s story is preserved in a range of classical sources, including Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, where she is mentioned as one of Priam’s daughters. However, it is in the tragic plays of Aeschylus and Euripides that her voice and character are most vividly portrayed. In Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, Cassandra delivers a harrowing prophecy before her death, while in Euripides’s The Trojan Women, she appears as both visionary and victim, embracing her fate with grim defiance. Cassandra’s myth has continued to resonate through Roman literature, such as in Virgil’s Aeneid, and into modern times. She has been reimagined in works like Christa Wolf’s Cassandra and referenced in psychological discourse through the concept of the “Cassandra complex,” describing individuals whose warnings go ignored despite being accurate. More than a tragic figure, Cassandra symbolizes the silencing of truth, the marginalization of women’s voices, and the emotional burden of knowledge without power. Her story remains a powerful commentary on the consequences of disbelief, the fragility of truth in the face of denial, and the enduring strength of those who speak out, even when no one listens. Enjoy the episode!

This week is all about the Greek goddess Lethe. Lethe is not typically considered a "goddess" in the traditional sense, but rather a personification of one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld. However, in some later traditions and poetic interpretations, she is referred to as a goddess or spirit (daimona) associated with forgetfulness, oblivion, and the loss of memory.  Name meaning: The word Lethe (Λήθη) in Greek literally means "oblivion," "forgetfulness," or "concealment." Domain: Lethe is the river of forgetfulness in the Greek underworld (Hades). Souls of the dead would drink from the River Lethe to forget their past lives before reincarnation, according to Orphic and Platonic traditions. Lethe is one of five rivers in the underworld, the others being: Styx (river of oaths) Acheron (river of sorrow) Phlegethon (river of fire) Cocytus (river of wailing)  Lethe as a Deity or Spirit Though rarely worshipped as a formal goddess, Lethe is personified in some ancient sources as a female spirit (daimona) or minor goddess. In Hesiod’s Theogony (a foundational mythological text), Lethe is mentioned as one of the children of Eris (Strife), aligning her with other negative or disruptive forces like Pain, Lies, and Quarrels. In later Orphic mysteries, which explored themes of reincarnation and soul purification, Lethe is paired with Mnemosyne (Memory), forming a duality: to forget (Lethe) and to remember (Mnemosyne). Lethe is rich in philosophical and psychological symbolism: Oblivion vs. Memory: Lethe embodies the tension between forgetting and remembering, particularly in death and rebirth. Escape from Suffering: Drinking from Lethe offers release from the pain and burdens of mortal life. Danger of Forgetting: Philosophers like Plato warned that true knowledge requires remembering (anamnesis), so forgetting can be a kind of spiritual death. Summary Lethe is best understood as: A mythical river of forgetfulness in the Greek underworld, A symbol of oblivion, the erasure of memory, and the preparation for rebirth, Occasionally personified as a goddess-like figure, though not one worshipped in a traditional sense. Citations for this Episode: GreekBoston. (n.d.). Lethe in Greek mythology. https://www.greekboston.com/culture/mythology/lethe/ Homer. (1996). The Odyssey (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century BCE) Mythical Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Lethe. https://mythicalencyclopedia.com/lethe/ Mythology Source. (n.d.). Lethe: The spirit of forgetfulness. https://mythologysource.com/lethe-spirit-forgetfulness/ Mythology Worldwide. (n.d.). Lethe: The river of forgetfulness and its dark secrets. https://mythologyworldwide.com/lethe-the-river-of-forgetfulness-and-its-dark-secrets/ Mythology.net. (n.d.). Lethe. https://mythology.net/greek/greek-concepts/lethe/ Mystery in History. (n.d.). Lethe: River of forgetfulness in Greek mythology. https://mysteryinhistory.com/lethe/ Ovid. (2004). Metamorphoses (D. Raeburn, Trans.). Penguin Classics. (Original work published 8 CE) Pausanias. (1918). Description of Greece (W.H.S. Jones & H.A. Ormerod, Trans.). Harvard University Press. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%201.1.1 (Original work written ca. 2nd century CE) Seneca. (2010). Oedipus (E. F. Watling, Trans.). In Four tragedies and Octavia (pp. 97–144). Penguin Classics. (Original work published ca. 1st century CE) Statius. (2003). Silvae (D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Trans.). Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library). (Original work published ca. 93 CE) Theoi Project. (n.d.). Lethe. https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Lethe.html Virgil. (2009). Georgics (P. Fallon, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 29 BCE) Virgil. (n.d.). Aeneid (T. C. Williams, Trans.). Tufts University: Perseus Digital Library. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Verg.+A.+6.703 (Original work published ca. 19 BCE)

In this episode, Goddess Demeter shares her aspects and how she helps humanity. 

This week is Part 2 of the Goddess Demeter. Demeter is a prominent goddess in ancient Greek mythology, revered as the goddess of agriculture, grain, fertility, and the harvest. One of the Twelve Olympians, she is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, making her a sister to Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, and Hestia. Her Roman counterpart is Ceres, from which the word "cereal" is derived. Demeter is most famously known as the mother of Persephone, her daughter with Zeus. Her deep connection to the earth and its cycles made her especially significant in agrarian societies, where she was seen as the provider of sustenance and the force behind the growth and fertility of the land. The most well-known myth involving Demeter is the story of Persephone’s abduction by Hades, the god of the underworld. When Hades took Persephone to the underworld, Demeter’s grief was so profound that she withdrew her blessings from the earth, causing the crops to die and the world to fall into a state of famine. In response, Zeus intervened, and a compromise was reached: Persephone would spend part of the year in the underworld (autumn and winter) and part with her mother (spring and summer). This myth explains the changing seasons and the natural cycle of growth, decay, and renewal. Demeter was widely worshipped across the Greek world, and she played a central role in the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most important and secretive religious rites of ancient Greece. These mysteries promised initiates a deeper spiritual understanding of life, death, and rebirth. Symbolically, Demeter embodies motherhood, grief, the sacredness of the earth, and the profound rhythms of nature. Her story reflects themes of loss, resilience, and the deep bond between mother and child, as well as the enduring power of life to return after even the darkest winter.