Kalliope's Sanctum

In this special, first ever interview-episode, I'm sharing a recent conversation between myself and my beloved friend Nao Sims—teacher of women's sacred dance for over 25 years, beekeeper, gardener, homesteader, mother, and lover of poetry and myth— as a celebration and announcement for our March 2nd & 3rd in-person workshop on Vancouver Island, Swan Stories, as well as Nao's Six Swans dance series running from January 22nd- February 26th 2024, which will include a writing workshop with me! For more details on these offerings and to register, you can either email Nao directly at naoisobel@gmail.com or follow the link here —https://www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com/podcast — or here — https://sylviavlinsteadt.substack.com/p/a-season-of-swans or contact me at sylvia.linsteadt@gmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Antonis Leontidis (Cretan lyra composition from the album Krifo: antonisleontidis.bandcamp.com/album/krifo) ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, and scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology. She divides her time between California & England, where she is currently pursuing her PhD. Her published fiction includes the English/Greek collection The Venus Year (2023), the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017) and The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014). Website: www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com Substack: sylviavlinsteadt.substack.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

Practiced, sung and recorded through the winter solstice, new moon and now the edge of Christmas, as the Virgin Mary swells with child and comes to the eve of birth, I offer into this moment of celestial light and earthly dark a faithful rendition of the old Scottish borderland folk ballad Tam Lin (Child Ballad 39), accompanied and mixed by my brother Simon Linsteadt on guitar. You can read a full essay about our version of this song, it's musical history (with nods to Scottish folk singer Archie Fisher, as well as Frances Child himself) and reflections on the story itself(with a synopsis too, don't worry!) here: https://sylviavlinsteadt.substack.com/p/tam-lin#details ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the forthcoming collection, The Venus Year, the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com Substack: sylviavlinsteadt.substack.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

Morning Star Woman & Ivan the Youngest Son is, in its original bones, my own telling of the Russian fairytale "The Maiden Tsar," as explored by Robert Bly and Marion Woodman in their book The Maiden King. I will admit, however, that I've taken it and run with it. You will see flashes as far afield as the Fisher King of Arthurian legend, and admittedly a few further too. And you will see that its Maiden Tsar, its swan queen, became merged with my imaginings of Venus in her recent descent below the rim of the horizon, out of sight, in mid-September, as if Venus's passage through the underworld were the story of a woman coming down to earth, becoming human. Today she meets the heart of the Sun, and begins climbing toward evening. So this is a story of swan women and eggs and fishermen, of wise old men in huts and the oldest woman in the world who lives in the moon; of how to mend broken things; of learning how to love, and love well. It is a prayer for fatherlines and motherlines and heartlines, a prayer for all the people I love, a prayer for the women and men in the streets of Iran standing and fighting for their freedom and the radiance of their lives, a prayer for something we perhaps all together have nearly forgotten, a prayer for what we cannot afford to lose, together on this Ark, our holy ground, our home. In my introduction, I mention the release of a new collection of mine that steps deeper into the movements of Venus as well as my own heart. It is available for pre-order here: https://www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com/shop PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Antonis Leontidis (Cretan lyra composition from the album Krifo: antonisleontidis.bandcamp.com/album/krifo) ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the forthcoming collection, The Venus Year, the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com Substack: https://sylviavlinsteadt.substack.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This is the fourth and final part of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. See Episode 11 for part one. I am sharing the full novella in four parts over the spring & summer seasons. May these words be seeds in this time, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you. Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country. www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606 PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This is part three of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. See Episode 11 for part one. I am sharing the full novella in four parts over the spring & summer seasons. May these words be seeds in this time, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you. Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country. www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606 PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylviavictorlinsteadt.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This is part two of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. See Episode 11 for part one. I am sharing the full novella in four or five parts over the spring season. May these words be seeds in this time, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you. Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country. www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606 PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7948583.Sylvia_Linsteadt Patreon: www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This is part one of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. I will be sharing the full novella in four or five parts over the coming weeks. May these words be seeds in this season, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you. Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country. www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606 PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

In this episode I explore the story of Calypso, the nereid daughter of sea-Titans who is infamous for seducing Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Here, Calypso gives a different perspective. Here, we see Calypso as a keeper of her lineage's ancestral traditions of seeing and healing, as the powerful keeper of secrets, as a font of wildness and of earthen truth. I wrote this story at the end of April 2019 in Crete, not realizing that its themes of veiling and unveiling, of Apocalypse, would feel so terribly powerfully relevant a year and a few months later. I hope that Calypso's fierce strength, as well as her guileless love and tenderness, bring a new seeing and a new light to your spirit. This piece was originally shared in my Patreon library, and the written text as well as others like it can be accessed there— https://www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

In this episode, I read the short story "The Pythia," from Our Lady of the Dark Country, my 2018 collection. This tale explores the underpinnings of the myth of Apollo and his takeover of the oracle at Delphi. In the oldest stories, Delphi belongs not to Apollo but to oracular and dreaming women who spoke to the Python in the Earth— the child of Ge. Gaia. Earth. Before Apollo, Delphi belonged to Ge, the goddess of Earth, who is, of course far far older than any Olympian gods. This story is told from the point of view of one of the Pythias, Daphne. It is her account of the day Apollo came, of what led up to it, and what still remains. You can read all of Our Lady of the Dark Country here- https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606 PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

"Ashes, and the King Who Came Home," is a short prose-poem-tale, written last August 2019 (and first shared on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt). It is a reflection and weaving of many threads, both personal and mythic, that were pressing strongly on my psyche at the time. It is about the great wound to the masculine in our culture, and a poetic dream-exploration of its roots; a tragedy that is so deep sometimes it is hard for me to speak about, for it makes me weep. I use The Handless Maiden fairytale as a frame in this story, as told by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, with the King, the Devil, the Messenger, revealing some old wounds and patterns. There are other threads too-- of the underworlds that came with patriarchy. It felt right to share in this moment, this week, this time on our Beloved Earth, with so much loss and so many wounds of all kinds being pressed up to the light to be cleansed, to be loved, to be healed. It's big work. It's exhausting work. It's courageous work. I hope this tale-incantation prayer can bring a bit of sea-salt to cleanse the wound, even if it stings, and then honey. AUDIOBOOK mentioned in this episode- https://www.soundstrue.com/store/theatre-of-the-imagination-volume-one-3635.html PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This episode of Kalliope's Sanctum is a reading of my story The Garden, from my 2018 collection, Our Lady of the Dark Country. It was inspired partly by one of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, which I read in the introduction, and partly by the truly enchanted garden of my dear friend Nao who lives on Vancouver Island, and is a beekeeper, dance teacher, keeps a B&B cottage, and tends the extraordinary flowers & vegetables of Honey Grove. PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This week, I wanted to offer a space of respite, of nourishment, and of comfort in these wildly unknowable, difficult, but profound times. So the Nunnery of Iona came to me, coupled with a sister poem, The Queen of Moss & Green, both of which I wrote during my time in the Scottish highlands and Hebrides this past August of 2019. I hope these words bring you deeper into the sanctuary of your body and of the Earth right where you are, today, into the wellspring of tenderness that is there when we ask, and listen. I also hope they bring you into the root & crown of the power that is only yours, that is indwelling, that you came here with, and that is waiting for you to sit down in, and name. PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This episode is Part 2 of a two part reading of my short story, "Rhea Silvia," from my January 2018 story & poem collection Our Lady of the Dark Country (https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606). Please listen to Part 1, the previous episode, before Part 2, or it won't make much sense! :) This is a retelling of the tale of Rhea Silvia, the so-called mother of Rome— mother of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were later suckled by a wolf, and who founded that great and terrible city, which paved the way for so much of the imperialism that we still live within the story of. In this telling, I try to dig beneath imperial Rome, exploring some of the last traces of the tribal cultures that had occupied the lands of Italy since prehistoric times, and that still persisted even under Roman ideology and rule. Rhea Silvia, in my mind, comes from a line of indigenous Latin people; her name suggests a far old woodland power, Vestal and yet wild. In the introduction I discuss a bit more about this, including pre-Latin, non Indo European languages. Please note that there is sensitive material in Part 2—indirect mention of rape & direct mention of violence— as there was in the original, and in this time in history. Not in any way gratuitous I pray, but necessarily present. I make this note tor listeners for whom this might be triggering. I will say though, that while the story of Rhea Silvia is certainly tragic, I hope my telling is one of deep hope and redemption. Story begins at 3:00 PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

This episode is Part 1 of a two part reading of my short story, "Rhea Silvia," from my January 2018 collection Our Lady of the Dark Country. (https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606) It is a retelling of the tale of Rhea Silvia, the so-called mother of Rome— mother of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were later suckled by a wolf, and who founded that great and terrible city, which paved the way for so much of the imperialism that we still live within the story of. In this telling, I try to dig beneath imperial Rome, exploring some of the last traces of the tribal cultures that had occupied the lands of Italy since prehistoric times, and that still persisted even under Roman ideology and rule. Rhea Silvia, in my mind, comes from a line of indigenous Latin people; her name suggests a far old woodland power, Vestal and yet wild. In the introduction I discuss a bit more about this, including pre-Latin, non Indo European languages. Please note that there is sensitive material —rape— in this story, as it is in the original. Not in any way gratuitous, but present. I make this note tor listeners for whom this might be triggering; it isn't until part 2, but if you would rather not listen from the beginning, I wanted to give this warning. I will say though, that while the story of Rhea Silvia is certainly tragic, I hope my telling is one, ultimately, of deep hope and redemption. Story begins at 10:06. PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

In this episode, I explore the ancient Greek story of Cassiopeia and Andromeda (Queen & Princess of a mythic "Aethiopia"), with a brief opening musing about Our Lady (Divine Mother, Mary, etc), the constellation Cassiopeia (that great M in the northern sky), and the roots of this story with the Babylonian sea-dragon, Tiamat, mother of the world. Storytelling begins at 17:30 ** Books & people mentioned in this episode ** The Way of the Rose By Clark Strand & Perdita Finn https://wayoftherose.org/ Vandana Shiva, Indian scientist, environmental activist & food sovereignty advocate (recommended reading, Who Really Feeds the World?) Star Names, Their Lore & Meaning By Richard Hinckley Allen For more mythic fiction, poetry, essays & audio recordings about Crete and Old Europe, subscribe to my Patreon! www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt/posts PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute composition) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Her short fiction has been published in New California Writing 2013, Dark Mountain, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Golden Key and Deathless Press. Her creative nonfiction can be found in Dark Mountain, Earthlines Magazine, Poecology, and News from Native California. For three years (from 2013 to 2016) Sylvia ran a stories-in-the-mail business called Wild Talewort, in which she sent out rewilded tellings of fairytales and myths to the physical-post boxes of hundreds of subscribers around the world. Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area won the Northern California Book Award in General Nonfiction in 2018. Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Kalliope's Sanctum! In this episode, I begin with a poetic imagining of Kalliope's story, the one before she was ever Muse on Mount Olympus, and also after, now, as we liberate her back to her own ground of being, where she began. I introduce the episode with a few notes about her mythic context, but the story-poem itself begins at 9:58. In the notes, I mention an upcoming opportunity to hear the ecstatic music of Crete live, in my house in California, on February 29th 2020. See more here! https://www.zygiamusic.com/ (Note that the opening music is played by the same musician who will be performing here, Giannis Linardakis.) For a pdf version of this piece, & more mythic fiction, see my Patreon offerings. https://www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt/posts ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute composition) ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Her short fiction has been published in New California Writing 2013, Dark Mountain, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Golden Key and Deathless Press. Her creative nonfiction can be found in Dark Mountain, Earthlines Magazine, Poecology, and News from Native California. For three years (from 2013 to 2016) Sylvia ran a stories-in-the-mail business called Wild Talewort, in which she sent out rewilded tellings of fairytales and myths to the physical-post boxes of hundreds of subscribers around the world. Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area won the Northern California Book Award in General Nonfiction in 2018. Website: http://www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt