As equinox tips us once more into the dark half of the year (here in the northern hemisphere), the season of story, we journey to the underworld with the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, and we finish our exploration of Hans Christian Ande

East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Feb 27th, 2020 1h 12m

We've been exploring "The Snow Queen" all season, but in this episode of Roots of Lore, let's explore Hans Christian Andersen in a bit more depth. We're getting a sense of who he was and the context of his fairy tales, and then taking a look at

Brigid and the Cailleach

Feb 13th, 2020 1h 7m

We are at a threshold time. Last week marked the midway point between Winter solstice and spring equinox. Now you might be feeling the stirrings of Spring. Depending on where you are, it might even already look like Spring. And it might be temp

The Omen Days of Wyrd

Jan 1st, 2020 1h 12m

Happy New Year! We are standing at the portal between one year and the next, and you may be thinking of New Year's Resolutions or goals to hit the ground running here at the beginning of the year. In this episode of Roots of Lore, we're explori

The Saturnalia

Dec 25th, 2019 45m 58s

It's the season of celebration and in this episode of Roots of Lore, we explore The Saturnalia. Find links + show notes at rootsoflore.com PATREON: rootsoflore.com/support INSTAGRAM: @rootsoflore FACEBOOK: @rootsoflore TWITTER: @rootsoflore

The Season of Story

Dec 18th, 2019 53m 38s

The nights grow long and dark. And from them spring holidays, rituals, celebrations, and stories. Now perhaps more than any other time of year, we find ourselves craving a slow-down to wrap ourselves in tradition, in familiarity, in comfort, an

Bonus

Happy Birthday, Roots of Lore!

Dec 5th, 2019 27m 10s

It's the one year anniversary of the first episode of Roots of Lore. This one is just a mini episode to keep the podcast alive on this auspicious day, explore some birthday folklore, and hint at season two which is coming very, very soon! Fin

Cinderella: Glass Slippers & Ancestors

Mar 8th, 2019 1h 1m

Cinderella is the fairy tale that, perhaps more than any other, sets our standard for how we expect a fairy tale to behave. But this story tells us more than what happens if you have some fancy shoes and a fairy godmother on your side. In this

Riquet with the Tuft: of Beauties and Beasts

Feb 20th, 2019 1h 22m

What would you choose if you had to pick one: beauty or intelligence? In this episode of Roots of Lore, we're exploring two stories that test what qualities are most important in love: Riquet with the Tuft (of Charles Perrault and Catherine Ber

The Fairies and the Enchantments of Eloquence

Feb 2nd, 2019 1h 11m

Sometimes stories serve as lessons for children, but in Perrault's day, sometimes fairy tales were a manners guide for adults. This episode explores "The Fairies" (Les Fées)—sometimes known as "Diamonds and Toads"—by Charles Perrault, "The Ench

Puss in Boots: The Animal as Helper

Jan 16th, 2019 49m 3s

Animals appear often in fairy tales and folklore, and the most famous Animal as Helper is perhaps none other than our favorite booted feline, Puss in Boots (or The Master Cat). In this episode, let's start with Charles Perrault's version of "Th

Little Thumb and the Trail of Breadcrumbs

Jan 11th, 2019 56m 49s

In this episode, we're exploring the class system of Louis XIV's France through the story of Charles Perrault's Le Petit Poucet, or Little Thumb. We'll explore how it ties to the Grimms' Hansel and Gretel and how the ogre creature evolved from

Little Red Riding Hood: The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles

Jan 3rd, 2019 52m 35s

Will you take the path of pins or the path of needles? This is the question that Little Red Riding Hood must answer not as a girl who should be wary of talking to strangers, but as a young woman entering into sexual maturity who might be the ta

Bluebeard: Facing what's behind the door

Dec 19th, 2018 48m 51s

There are many ways to examine a story, and Charles Perrault's story of Bluebeard is a haunting one. So in this episode of Roots of Lore, we're going to look at the story from a psychological approach as well as a historical approach to see who

Sleeping Beauty and what's really beneath true love's kiss

Dec 12th, 2018 58m 29s

What if Sleeping Beauty didn't wake up from her sleep because of a kiss? What if the story doesn't end with a marriage and happily ever after? In this episode of Roots of Lore, we're exploring Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty and how this sto

Charles Perrault: The Man Behind Mother Goose

Dec 5th, 2018 46m 35s

In season one of the Roots of Lore podcast, we'll be diving into Charles Perrault's fairy tales: Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose. So in this first episode, let's set the scene of who was Perrault? What was the w

Trailer

Once upon a time there was a story

Nov 22nd, 2018 2m 28s

Welcome to Roots of Lore, 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. Join me for Seas