Our Numinous Nature

• WELSH FOLK: MINERS, CŴN ANNWN & THE MABINOGION | Author | Russ Williams

  Russ Williams is a Welsh blogger & the author of Where the Folk; A Welsh Folklore Road Trip from Caernarfon, Wales. After readings about the Cŵn Annwn [a mythological pack of otherworldly hunting hounds], we open our conversation on Welsh identity with the preservation of their Celtic language along with tidbits of history and local foods such as the lunch meal of the miners, the Welsh oggie. Jumping into Russ' book on the folkways and lore of Wales we hear about: the macabre horse skull costume known as the Mari Lwyd; a mermaid sex-slave; a tourist town banking on the legend of Gelert the Dog killed by his own master; and finally the epic Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh mythology. For his own uncanny story, Russ takes us out of his homeland to the streets of Bangkok where he was outwitted by a fortuneteller. We bring it back around on more canine folklore and a travel tip for Eryri National Park, formerly known as Snowdonia. Reading from the Mabinogion translated by Lady Charlotte Guest. Check out Russ' book Where the Folk; A Welsh Folklore Roadtrip. And learn more about him at RussWilliams.orgSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: [email protected]

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• AVEBURY: STONE CIRCLES, BURIAL MOUNDS & PSYCHEDELIC VISIONS | Mythologist | Oliver Lavery

  Oliver Lavery is an English mythologist, folklorist, traveling professional storyteller, and host of The Story Crow YouTube channel from Wiltshire County, England, the home of Stonehenge. For this summer solstice special, our return guest describes our recent trip to Avebury, Britain's largest Neolithic complex with its stone circles, village-sized henge [ditch], passage graves and giant manmade mound. First we've got to know, who built these mysterious megaliths & ancient earthworks; and for what purpose? Oliver shares a psychedelic vision he had during the annual solstice festivities that correlates with recent metaphysical theories that the stone circles assist the spirits of the dead. With the many burial mounds scattered across the landscape, we hear of uncanny sights & senses while camping amongst them along the ancient Ridgeway Trail. We conclude the highlights of mysterious Avebury with the largest prehistoric artificial mound in Europe, Silbury Hill. From there we muse on crop circles; hallucinogenic goblins; the similarity between bards & shamans; and finally, a little local lore from Wiltshire.Check out Oliver's Story Crow YouTube Channel and follow his van-life Instagram @The_Folk_BusSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: [email protected]

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• BLACK COWBOYS, JUGS & RHYTHM BONES | Songster | Dom Flemons

  Dom Flemons, aka The American Songster, is a Grammy-award winning, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, as well as a solo Piedmont blues, folk, and old-time musician and historian/scholar of American music residing in Chicago, Illinois. After a reading from the memoir of a 19th-century black cowboy, we begin by hearing how folk music, with a focus on the African American contribution, transformed as it migrated with the people from the rural south to the northern cities. From there we dissect three folk instruments: the rhythm bones, stone mason jugs, and washboards with musical examples of each. Dom's early interest in history and literature led the way to his pioneering Black Cowboys Smithsonian Folkways album. He describes his research into this forgotten chapter of American history and his collecting of folk stories & cowboy poems. We come to an end on this musical episode with a haunting story about playing a song at the graves of an influential African American family band. Reading from The Life and Adventures of Nat Love by Nat Love.Check out Dom Flemon's website, follow him on Instagram @domflemons and check his upcoming tour dates. Music by Dom Flemons"Old Chisholm Trail"Written & Performed by Dom Flemons"Rabbit Foot Rag"Written & Performed by Dom Flemons"John Henry y los vaqueros"Written & Performed by Dom Flemons"Ol' Proc"Performed by Dom Flemons"Snowden's Jig (Genuine Negro Jig)"Written & Performed by Carolina Chocolate Drops"It's Cold Inside"Written & Performed by Dom FlemonsSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: [email protected]

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• DIARY OF ABANDONMENT: DILAPIDATED HOUSES & A DIVINE CALLING | Photographer | Laura Stotts

  Laura Stotts is a North Carolina photographer, genealogist, and writer known as Diary of Abandonment, dedicated to the lost histories of abandoned houses. We begin with her recent preservation work, a field day chinking a cabin at the world's largest collection of log structures. Then we're in the deep end as Laura shares her moving life story, from her trials of addiction & hopelessness to finding a divine calling & a meaningful connection to God, a journey of healing paved with synchronicities that involved abandoned places, saving the life of an elderly veteran and the funeral of a Tuskegee Airman lost since WWII. From there we get into the rubble and hear about her adventures exploring abandoned houses: from booby-traps; to an unhinged & armed landowner; to an ominous basement; and a haunting story about finding a stack of WWII letters between sons at war and their mother & wives at home.  We come to an end of this subtly gothic episode, hearing of illuminating dreams in which Laura's grandparents delivered important encouragement about her role as the family historian, furthering her appreciation for the difficult lives of her ancestors.Check out Laura's website Diary of Abandonment and follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: [email protected]

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• UNSEEN WORLDS, ELEMENTALS & BIODYNAMIC FARMING | Esotericist | Donna La Pré

  Donna La Pré is an esotericist and biodynamic farmer who under the name Tender Flower creates potent perfumes and natural skincare products in her home workshop in Rappahannock County, Virginia. On this highly esoteric exploration of unseen worlds through an Anthroposophic lens, Donna begins by introducing the 19th-century Austrian clairvoyant, Rudolf Steiner & his wisdom path known as Anthroposophy. We deep dive into topics such as: primitive clairvoyance; Christ as the living power of love; the physical, astral, and etheric bodies; reincarnation; and natural rhythms as an antidote to the negative effects of our hyper-technological world. Artificial Intelligence and the creepiness of transhumanism shifts the conversation to the deceptive, materialistic, coldly intellectual being Steiner called Ahriman whose aim is to harden our souls and halt human evolution. For the last third we get into the elementals, the entities or forces of the natural world. Donna ends with three enchanting tales of how she has tangibly experienced the elementals, from building a community-healing urban garden to the etheric medicine emanating from a holly tree. Check out Tender Flower and follow Donna on Instagram. Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: [email protected]

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