The Godyssey Podcast

The Gaelic Cailleach accepts offerings of bread, often burnt, varying by region and time of year. In autumn, near Samhain, she accepts this gift for her time of year has begun. #WyrdWednesday

In Daoist astrology, autumn is the time of the White Tiger of the West and the element of metal. It represents a movement inward, a time to reflect, to grieve, and to celebrate the good things life brings, in preparation for the harsh truths of winter. #WyrdWednesday

Aesop's Fables comments on the intelligence of crows in "The Crow and the Pitcher," which is not so much a fable on perseverance and cleverness, as it is an observable fact that crows are problem-solvers. #FairytaleTuesday

Contrary to popular belief tarot began its life as a set of cards meant for playing games. It was not until the 18th century that tarot became a divination tool. Like most decks it has four suits (the minor Arcana) but adds 22 additional cards (the major Arcana) #MythologyMonday

The ancient Greeks had little agreement over the centuries regarding how to portray the seasons as gods. The most common depiction of autumn was fruitful Karpo, one of the original Horae. A goddess of harvest and ripening food, she attended to Persephone. #WyrdWednesday

Nagual are shapeshifters, human tricksters born with shamanic powers and familiars they can use for good or evil: the person must choose. Found across Mesoamerica with evidence stretching back millennias, modern Mexican naguals are often associated with brujería. #WyrdWednesday

Found in Mesoamerican art until the Spanish conquest, the Olmec werejaguar motif is found in all manner of art and may have represented rain, sovereignty, or priestly help. Said to be born of women and jaguar, their power was summoned by warriors to defeat foes. #WyrdWednesday

The Scorpion begged the Frog to ferry it across the pond, promising not to sting him, so he agrees; halfway across, the Scorpion stung him. "Why? Now we will both drown," he asks. "A Scorpion cannot change its nature, dear Frog." So goes the famed fable. #FairyTaleTuesday

Zoroastrian Valentines is called Jashn-e Mehr, an Iranian festival of the autumnal equinox which celebrates the ties that bind, whether platonic or romantic. Dedicated to Mithra, kings were crowned on this holy day and the festival survives Islam. #FolkloreSunday

In pre-Christian Slavic tribes, Dożynki was an autumn equinox festival, one celebrating the gifts of the earth and the hope of renewal next year, when the gifts would come once again. Holdovers from these celebrations include the baking of massive pancakes. #FolkloreSunday

Mabon, a modern neopagan name for the autumn equinox, derives its name from Mabon ap Modron, himself derived from the pan-Celtic Maponos, the Great Son. Mabon is the second of the main autumn harvest festivals, after Lunasa and preceding Samhain. #WyrdWednesday

Ancient Mesoamericans imagined the night's sky like that of a cave, with light glistening from each stalactite from far above. Rain is water rushing into our cave, and for that rain gods are given much prominence in Mayan and Aztec mythos. #WyrdWednesday

Hardly faithful to Hephaestus, Aphrodite crawled into bed with her lover Ares and the trap was sprung: god of invention, Hephaestus had created a trap to ensnare the lovers so they would be on full display for all to see, humiliating them as they humiliated him. #MythologyMonday

The mythologies of the Aztec peoples come to us in two sources, in the same book: the Florentine Codex, the most complete work, is written on one side in Spanish, and one side in Nahuatl, recording indigenous life, but sometimes telling it differently. #WyrdWednesday

He lassos tornados. He brought a storm from California to solve a drought in Texas, only to create the Gulf of Mexico. He dug the Rio Grande to give his horse water. He is Pecos Bill, a giant of Southwestern storytelling and of proportion, too. #FairytaleTuesday

On Christmas Day, 1948, Ladell Allen's mother noticed she was missing and found her dying from drinking mercury cyanide over a jilted lover. Though once contained to a sealed-off room, the ghost of Ladell Allen now haunts all of Allen House in Monticello, AR. #SpookySunday