Show Notes
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 – 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. Catherine’s 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.
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Songs featured in this episode:
“The Fox” by Laura Viers Buy Laura Viers’ music on Bandcamp: https://lauraveirs.bandcamp.com/track/the-fox
“Kadrilaul” by Collage / Choir of Tallin University of Technology Buy Collage’s music: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/kadriko/1100185926
“Martinmas Time” by James Yorkston Buy James Yorkston’s music digitally: https://jamesyorkston.bandcamp.com/
Buy James Yorkston’s records: https://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk/shop/
“Goose and Common” by the Askew Sisters Buy the Askew Sisters’ music: http://www.askewsisters.co.uk/
Opening theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods Buy Sylvia Woods’ 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: “The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures” 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 ℅ the National Folklore Collection of Ireland: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666609/4666442 (Search the vast collection for more!)
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