10 Soul-Nourishing Podcast Recommendations

Written By Sally-Shakti Willow

For Winter Season Listening...

Something that I really love to do, especially on the long-nights of Winter or during my bleed, is settle in and binge-listen to podcasts that dive deep into mythology, folklore, fairy tale and story. There’s a profound, soul-level nourishment that I receive when I listen to the Old Tales, and I hear contemporary wisdom keepers illuminating fresh insights from these ancient yarns.

These stories speak to me from ancient ancestors, beyond time and space, and bring me back home to myself in ways that reconnect me with the intuitive wisdom of my body, the earth and the stars.

When I can settle in and immerse myself fully in the storyworld for the length of a podcast, or a few episodes back to back, maybe listening in the bath or in the kitchen while I prepare meals, I drop in to a level of healing that has not always been available to me in my every day world.

Last winter, while listening to podcasts and grieving that I had recklessly let go of my Grandfather’s copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, I looked into a bookshop in London as I walked past, and there was a brand new version in the window - that I instantly knew was a gift from Grandad to me.

Grimm’s Fairytales

We can never know what magic awaits us as we enter the world of Story, but it is almost always something beautiful and profound.

Here are 5 Storytelling Podcasts I have recently enjoyed and highly recommend:

  1. Roots of Lore, by Caitlin Brehm. Roots of Lore is a podcast from Caitlin Brehm that explores the roots of fairy tales and folklore to ponder the messages and morals they offered in times past and dig into the medicine they survived to offer us today.

  2. The Heroine’s Journey, by Cami Carbone & Estefi Chuecos.

  3. Wise Women Stories, by Inarra Aryane Griffyn & Edwina Murphy-Droomer.This podcast explores womanhood, intuition, transformation, and personal growth by exploring the archetypes and psyches that shape modern women.

  4. Baba Yaga’s Magic, by Madame Pamita. Ancient Slavic Witchcraft for Modern Witches - Come into the hut on chicken feet and take a seat by the fire. Ukrainian diaspora witch, Madame Pamita, takes you on a journey to discover the old magic of Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. Uncover the magical traditions, learn the spells, and meet the spirits of the Slavic lands.

  5. The Story Apothecary, by Nana Tomova. The Story Apothecary is a podcast filled with medicinal and healing stories. Nana Tomova, a Storyteller and a Mental Health Pharmacist dispenses stories for sadness and anxiety, and shares tales for loss, happiness and love. Here you will find her prescriptions of stories for the body, mind, heart and soul, and for the Earth. Come into the Story Apothecary as we enter the healing world of stories together.

Entering into each of these podcasts, I feel like I am entering another world. A world of deep wisdom and wonder.

Photo by Donnie Rosie on Unsplash

And here are 3 special podcast episodes that take me deeper into the magic:

6. Carolyn Hillyer on Dreaming the Ancestors: In this episode, Carolyn Hillyer shares wisdom about living on the wild lands of Dartmoor and her process of reviving and reimagining the Proto-Celtic language; a language spoken by ancient ancestors across various parts of Europe, including the British Isles.

7. Katherine May on The Hagitude Sessions with Sharon Blackie: Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author of books including Enchantment and Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times.

8. The Twelve Days: December Almanac on the Fair Folk Podcast. This episode explores folklore and pagan origins of the 12 days of Christmas, with a focus on the feminine winter figures of Perchta, Holle, and Grýla, featuring a conversation with Jenn Campus, author of A Guide to Celebrating the 12 Days of Yule.

Finally, here are 2 places you can find me in conversation with other Visionary Writers about Visionary Writing, on podcasts and YouTube:

9. Click Here to listen to the Podcasts I’ve been featured on including The Soulcery Podcast with Ligia Costa, Angels and Destiny with Rae Calnan, and Soul Purpose with Caroline Carey.

10. Click Here to enjoy my Writing & Thriving Conversations with Visionary Writers including Manda Scott, Anna Sansom and Melisa Keenan.

I hope you will enjoy these little gifts of listening over the Winter Season. I would love to hear your favourite moments and personal recommendations, too.

❄️

Solstice Blessings,

Sally-Shakti

Sally-Shakti Willow

Writing my PhD in Utopian Poetics showed me what it means to be a writer. I wrote four books of poetry and a 50,000 word thesis, and I started journaling as a way to ground and heal myself.

While I was studying, I also wrote and maintained the Contemporary Small Press website, writing regular reviews of new fiction and poetry published by small presses. I was on the judging panel for the 2018 Republic of Consciousness Prize for literary fiction from the small presses. So I was reading a lot of great writing too. And I co-developed and taught a series of workshops called WELLBEING WHILE WRITING for doctoral researchers at the University of Westminster.

WELLBEING WHILE WRITING used practical techniques from Creative Writing pedagogy to support PhD students of all disciplines with the work of WRITING their thesis. I also used my knowledge and experience of yoga and meditation to provide MOVING & BREATHING FOR WELLBEING workshops to graduate students at the University.

I’ve been teaching English since 2004 and I’ve been teaching Creative Writing at the University of Westminster since 2017.

https://www.writingthriving.com
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