The Lore and Myths of Witches Chapter 2: Northern & Celtic Traditions – From Ice-bound Seeresses to Chicken-Legged Huts

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back, intrepid listeners. We've left behind the dust of

0:04 Speaker 1: Rome and stepped into lands where the wind tastes of

0:07 Speaker 1: salt and pine, and where stories of witches cling like

0:11 Speaker 1: frost to the eaves from Viking ceases wrapped in furs,

0:15 Speaker 1: to Slavic crones living in spinning houses. Europe's northlands brimmed

0:20 Speaker 1: with enchantment.

0:21 Speaker 2: Scandinavia, Velvas, Satyr and the Norse night.

0:26 Speaker 1: In the Sagas of Iceland, witches arrived not as villains

0:30 Speaker 1: but as respected professionals. The Velva or CRS excavations at

0:36 Speaker 1: Osberg in Norway uncovered a rich burial a woman laid

0:40 Speaker 1: out with a carved wooden staff, feathers and herbs, suggesting

0:44 Speaker 1: a priestess of Cedar. Satyr was a magic of weaving fate,

0:49 Speaker 1: calling spirits and foretelling doom. Practitioners sang vard locur, luring

0:55 Speaker 1: helpful beings to answer questions or twist destiny. Some could

0:59 Speaker 1: bless of voyage, heal a sick cow, or, if properly compensated,

1:04 Speaker 1: curse an enemy's fishing luck. But Satar had a cultural catch.

1:10 Speaker 1: Women were celebrated for it, but men risked shame to

1:14 Speaker 1: meddle In Satyr was to trespass into a feminine sphere,

1:17 Speaker 1: branded as ergie unmanly. Even Mighty Odin was teased for

1:23 Speaker 1: learning the craft from Freya, though being all Father gave

1:26 Speaker 1: him a pass.

1:28 Speaker 3: This Viking moment is supported by cider sticks ethically harvested

1:33 Speaker 3: staffs for all your fate weaving needs, because a good

1:37 Speaker 3: prophecy deserves good equipment.

1:40 Speaker 2: Celtic lands, healers, hags and Highland myths.

1:44 Speaker 1: Cross the North Sea to Ireland and you find the

1:47 Speaker 1: bean Fisa, woman of knowledge. She mixed charms and prayers,

1:51 Speaker 1: setting broken bones and soothing restless spirits. Her cousin, the Banshee,

1:56 Speaker 1: kept death's calendar wailing at midnight when someone's time was near.

2:01 Speaker 1: Scotland's rugged hills belonged to the Kailiac, an ancient goddess

2:05 Speaker 1: of winter who hammered mountains out of stone and turned

2:08 Speaker 1: locks solid with her breath. She wasn't a witch in

2:11 Speaker 1: the modern sense, but folklore gave her the power to

2:15 Speaker 1: usher in frost or release spring. Whales added its own flavor.

2:20 Speaker 1: Cunning folk and herbalis often respected churchgoers who sold blessings

2:25 Speaker 1: for livestock or love. Early Christian clerics sometimes frowned on

2:30 Speaker 1: spells invoking older gods, but they often turned a blind

2:34 Speaker 1: eye when those spells cured sheep or colicky babies. Archaeology

2:39 Speaker 1: hints at continuity. Pictish stones carved with enigmatic symbols may

2:44 Speaker 1: record charms or rituals. Medieval manuscripts preserve healing prayers that

2:49 Speaker 1: blend Latin Celtic verse and earthy instructions like bury this

2:54 Speaker 1: charm near the threshold, so no fairy will steal your butter.

2:58 Speaker 3: Need to protect your church from fairy theft, Try butterguard

3:02 Speaker 3: now with triple strength charm seal technology.

3:06 Speaker 2: Slavic worlds sorcerers, saints, and Baba Yaga's hut.

3:12 Speaker 1: East of the Carpathians forests thick with birch and pine

3:17 Speaker 1: hid figures who straddled reverence and fear. Early chronicles mention Vulkvi,

3:23 Speaker 1: pagan sorcerers who resisted Christian missionaries, interpreting omens in bird

3:28 Speaker 1: flights or river ice. After conversion, village healers survived as Nakharki,

3:34 Speaker 1: while stories painted darker portraits of the Vedma, a witch

3:38 Speaker 1: blamed for spoiled milk or blighted rye out of this

3:42 Speaker 1: mist stalked Baba Yaga, one of folklore's most enduring creations.

3:48 Speaker 1: She lives deep in the woods in a hut, perched

3:50 Speaker 1: on chicken legs, spinning to face guests who utter the

3:53 Speaker 1: correct charm. Sometimes she's a cannibalistic menace, other times a

3:58 Speaker 1: cryptic grandmother handing out enchanted gifts if you behave with respect.

4:03 Speaker 1: Her imagery may echo ancient hearth cults or initiatory rights,

4:07 Speaker 1: or simply the folk imagination gone deliciously wild. Either way,

4:12 Speaker 1: she shows how Slavic lore allowed witches to be both

4:15 Speaker 1: helper and horror.

4:17 Speaker 3: Visiting Baba Yaga, don't forget hut gps, because no one

4:21 Speaker 3: likes getting lost in a forest full of carnivorous real estate.

4:25 Speaker 1: From wind swept fjords to emerald valleys and dark Slavic pines,

4:30 Speaker 1: Northern Europe gave witches an extraordinary range prophets, healers, frost goddesses,

4:36 Speaker 1: and hut dwellers with questionable catering policies. Next, we'll cross

4:41 Speaker 1: into medieval villages and parchment filled libraries to see how

4:44 Speaker 1: the church, law and rumor forged the witch we think

4:48 Speaker 1: we know today. I'm Amy and this has been the

4:52 Speaker 1: Strange History Podcast. If this episode tickled your pineal gland,

4:56 Speaker 1: stirred your cauldron, or at least made you laugh awkwardly

4:59 Speaker 1: in public publick, be sure to subscribe, rate, and share.

5:03 Speaker 1: It helps keep our podcast from fading into the void

5:06 Speaker 1: like so many unswept chalk circles. Until next time, stay strange,

5:11 Speaker 1: stay magical, and don't forget to ground yourself after flying

5:15 Speaker 1: off on your broomstick of curiosity.