Show Notes
In this episode of The White Witch Podcast we step into the woods of August to explore two powerful allies of witchcraft, mythology and folklore - Bay and the Wild Boar.
We begin with Bay a plant long associated with prophecy, protection, purification and victory. We explore the many ways Bay can be incorporated into your craft, from cleansing and divination to protection and banishing before following its mythological threads through Circe, Apollo and Daphne and into the sacred world of the Priestesses of Delphi. We also work with Bay practically finishing this section with a simple banishing spell using its leaves - ritual can be found here - https://witchesofthecraft.com/tag/bay-leaf/
Then we travel deeper into the ancient forest to meet the Wild Boar, a creature whose image appears again and again across European mythology as a symbol of ferocity, courage, sovereignty, abundance, protection and the mysteries of the Otherworld.
We follow the boar through the story of Odysseus before travelling north into Norse cosmology and its connections with Freyr and Freyja including the golden boar Gullinbursti and Freyja’s companion Hildisvíni. We visit the great hall of Valhalla where the fallen warriors feast upon the endlessly renewed cosmic boar and explore the animal’s possible connections with the earth and mother goddess Nerthus.
From there we wander through continental and British folklore, meeting the boar god Moccus, seasonal customs such as the Jouluporsas and the animal’s importance within Celtic and Druidic traditions. We explore its links with warriors, death, the afterlife and the Otherworld alongside stories involving Merlin, the Devil, Cerridwen, Manannán mac Lir and the great boar hunt found within the Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen.
We also venture into Greek mythology with Heracles and the Erymanthian Boar before looking at what the Wild Boar may represent spiritually when it appears within our own lives, dreams or practice.
Our book review this month is Circe by Madeline Miller and we finish the episode with a collection of journal prompts inspired by The Odyssey inviting you to consider your own journeys, trials, transformations and homecomings. The journal prompts came from the Instagram page @the_edit_experience_ - What song do your sirens sing? - What bow can only you string? -What is your Troy? -What is your Calypso? - What is your Ithaca? - Why can't you go back there? -Can you forgive yourself for the last seven years? - Can you accept yourself?
So light a candle, gather your Bay leaves and come with me into the old woods — where gods, witches, warriors and wild creatures are never quite as far away as they seem.
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