Our Numinous Nature

Elizabeth "Beth" Morrison is a specialist in secular manuscript illumination & a senior curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.  On this long distance episode we begin with how medieval people made & illuminated manuscripts from the animal hides to the bone black ink.  From there we focus in on a medieval genre of book called a Bestiary, an encyclopedia of animals real and fantastic. We discuss their strange, sometimes shocking, often moralistic Christian ideas about the likes of beavers & elephants, lions & crocodiles, unicorns & dragons, including tidbits on how to hunt a unicorn or the origin of the phrase, "having a monkey on one's back." From there, Beth describes the behind-the-scenes of museum art transportation as well as a past exhibition on the medieval life of women. We end on Beth's personal story about an extremely uncanny synchronicity.  Check out the Getty Museum & Beth's book from the Getty's 2019 Bestiary exhibition.Reading excerpt from The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts; Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century made and edited by T.H. WhiteMusic provided by Sibil•la Ensemble"Douce Dame Jolie" Written by Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300 – 1377) Performed by Sibil•la Ensemble "Codex Rossi: Che ti çova nascondere il bel volto" (c.1300's)Written by Anonymous Performed by Tímea DaradicsCourtesy of Sibil•la Ensemble"Tels rit au main qui au soir pleure"Written by Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300 – 1377)Performed by Kristia MichaelCourtesy of Sibil•la Ensemble"O Rubor Sanguinis"Written by Hildegard von Bingen (1098- 1179)Performed by Sibil•la EnsembleReference Images:Unicorn illumination from bestiary Beaver illumination from bestiary Bonacon illumination from bestiaryDragon illumination from bestiaryJeanne Montbaston's tree of penises Example of Maria Sybilla Merian's insect paintingsSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books<

Claudia Pfeiffer is the Deputy Director & Head Curator of the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. We begin on their recent exhibition about the art of the dog collar: a haunting cast from the eruption of Vesuvius; an ancient "Beware of Dog" mosaic; spiked collars & regal collars. Claudia describes some of the most striking paintings from the exhibition: a theatrical Amsterdam dog market; a mastiff baying a poacher; a lion hunt; & an allegory about the father of cynicism.  From there we switch from dogs to horses and hear about their anatomy & movement as captured by art, including Muybridge's famous horse photographs. To wrap up this dog-lover & art history-lover episode, Claudia tells the lore of Barry the St. Bernard and his iconic barrel flask.  Plan a visit to The National Sporting Library & Museum Music provided by Ars Lyrica Houston"Les Indes Galantes - Entrée les Sauvages"Written by Jean-Philippe Rameau Performed by Ars Lyrica Houston"Fandango from Quintet No. 4, G 448"Written by Luigi BoccheriniPerformed by Ars Lyrica Houston"Propiñán de Melyor and Si habrá en este Baldrés"Written by anonymous Performed by The Crumhorn CollectiveCourtesy of Ars Lyrica HoustonReference Images:Cast of Pompeii watch dog"Beware the Dog" Pompeii mosaic The Amsterdam Dog Market  by Abraham Hondius [c. 1671-1672]Steer & Mastiff Pulling a Cart by Sid Franckett [1910]The Poacher at Bay by Richard Ansdell [1865]The Lion Hunt attributed to Paul de Vos [1590-1678]Alexander and Diogenes by Sir Edwin Landseer [1860's]The Anatomy of the Horse by George Stubbs [1766]The Horse in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge [1878]Example of improper horse gallop by George StubbsSalmon and Trout on a Riverbank by John Bucknell Russell [1874] Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler by Sir Edwin Landseer [1820]Support&a

Justin Torone is a curiosities collector & the co-owner of Rest In Pieces oddity shop in Richmond, Virginia. After a reading about the historical significance of cabinets of curiosity, Justin begins with lore from the cemetery across the street for his shop.  Then we get deep into methods for preserving animal bones: dermestid beetles; articulation; degreasing, maceration, boiling, & later, wet specimens. We find out who the shop's audience is and how they acquire their vintage taxidermy & specimens. From there we leave the animal kingdom & turn to the human as Justin describes the most audacious highlights from his collection: folk art mourning mummies; an "overmodelled" skull; & a medically bisected fetus. All of which begs the question of legality, further illustrated by a university's illegal skeleton auction & a much more nefarious oddities black market. To bring this macabre feast to an end, Justin tells the story of how be become acquainted with a paranormal con-woman who asked him to jeopardize his morals.  Check out Rest in Pieces oddity shop and their great Instagram account. Reading excerpt from Cabinet of Curiosities: Collecting and Understanding the Wonders of the Natural World by Gordon Grice.Music provided by Windhand"Three Sisters"Written by WindhandPerformed by Windhand "Boleskin"Written by WindhandPerformed by Windhand"Aition"Written by WindhandPerformed by WindhandSupport 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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Carole Louie is a medium, past life regressionist, hypnotist, author, & director of THE CENTER-RVA in Richmond, Virginia. To ground this nearly psychedelic, often dark, most definitely mystical episode, we begin with the past-life research undertaken at the University of Virginia. From there Carole describes her own disturbing past-life memories which surfaced organically as flashbacks and became more fully realized through regression therapy. We muse on themes like earth school; inter-life visions; how we choose our life; soul groups; movies as past-life triggers; and even...incarnation as off-world entities. For her story Carole tells of her profound initiation into mediumship, starting with her granny collecting sassafras & culminating in the healing of her Buddhist father's ghost. We come to an end on a few last examples of how spirits appear to a medium & the messages they want to deliver.Check out Carole's THE CENTER-RVA & the 2023 Reincarnation Symposium.Reading excerpt from  Children's Past Lives: How Past Life Memories Affect Your Child by Carol BowmanMusic by BAILE"Walls"Written by BAILEPerformed by BAILE & John Lamonica "Grieve Faster, Heal Faster"Written by BAILEPerformed by BAILE"Birdwings"Written by BAILEPerformed by BAILE"Love" [BAILE Remix]Written by DaughterPerformed & Remixed by BAILESupport 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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Tom Shipley is an antique dealer operating out of his family's 19th-century Sharp's Country Store in Slatyfork, West Virginia. Descending from one of the county's earliest pioneer families, we hear of the lives of Tom's ancestors & their many rich folkways: a Presbyterian boy orphaned by an Indian raid; beekeeping in "bee gums;" a bear trap; furs & ginseng; maple syrup camp; and making apple butter. Then Tom gets into the origin of the 1884 store, describing the wares of its day. A plethora of stories are evoked from the eccentric taxidermy still hanging from the walls including one about a visit from the American Museum of Natural History. Towards the end, for his formal story, we get into the realm of the southern gothic, with tales about an orphan of the flu pandemic followed by visions surrounding the dead & near-dead. This episode, like the country store itself, is a true time capsule of Appalachian life. Check out Sharp's Country Store for more information.Excerpts read from Tales of Pocahontas County by G.D. McNeillArchival recordings from Tom's private family collection.Music provided by the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress"Barbara Allen"Henry Reed Collection (AFC 1999/016)Collected by Alan JabbourPerformed by Henry Reed"Farewell My Dear Brother"Henry Reed Collection (AFC 1999/016)Collected by Alan JabbourPerformed by Henry & Gene Reed"John Brown's a-Hanging on a Sour Apple Tree"Henry Reed Collection (AFC 1999/016)Collected by Alan JabbourPerformed by Henry Reed"Fare Thee Well My Dear Brother"Henry Reed Collection (AFC 1999/016)Collected by Alan JabbourPerformed by Henry ReedSupport 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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Mary Kate Claytor is the Associate Director of Interpretation at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia. After a bit of background about this unique living history museum, Mary Kate describes in detail wool production for a yeoman farmer in the 1600-1800's: starting with sheep shearing, wool washing, stale urine and lanolin, through to carding & combing, drop spindles & spinning wheels, historical & natural dyes, and finally ending on a fabric called linsey-woolsey. From there we move on to another category of historical clothing, buckskins. Mary Kate recounts learning how to hide tan while working at Natural Bridge's Monacan village. Then we switch from clothing to foodways by reflecting on both profound & disturbing experiences while taking part in hog slaughters & fowl processing. We end on hearing of how Mary Kate's historical hobbies connect her to her great-grandmother. Follow Mary Kate on Instagram  & check out the Frontier Culture Museum.  Music provided by Carla Sciaky"Sheep Shearing" [English folk song]From the album Spin the Weaver's SongPerformed by Carla Sciaky"The Band of Shearers" [Scottish folk song] From the album Spin the Weaver's SongPerformed by Carla Sciaky "The Weaver and the Chambermaid" [English folk song]From the album Spin the Weaver's SongPerformed by Carla SciakyReading segment from Folklore of Sussex by Jacqueline SimpsonSupport 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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Mackenzie New-Walker is the Executive Director of the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum in Matewan, West Virginia. Having descended from a long line of miners, Mackenzie describes what life was like for the men, women & children in the oppressive coal company towns of the early 1900's: from how they recruiting their immigrant labor force to paying miners in substitute money called scrip; the private company guards aka "gun thugs" known as the Baldwin-Felts agents; to child labor and laundry day. From there we hear of 1921's Battle of Blair Mountain [the largest labor uprising in US history] where the fed up striking miners transformed into the "Redneck Army."  Mackenzie then recounts the story of The Matewan Massacre, an earlier train station skirmish that has left bullets lodged in a brick wall across from the museum. After reflecting on how this all relates to the present & a sense of coal miner pride, we wrap it up with highlights from the museum's collection, including one about "a canary in a coal mine."Check out the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum & help them fundraise to buy the museum building. Watch the PBS documentary American Experience: The Mine Wars.  Music provided by The Tillers"Which Side Are You On" [Labor Union Song]Collected by Pete Seeger Performed by The Tillers Reading segment from On Dark and Bloody Ground: An Oral History of the West Virginia Mine Wars by Anne T Lawrence Special thanks to West Virginia Archives & History for archival recordings:- Price Williams on the Cabin Creek 1912 Coal Strike- WSAZ Coal King on a Tottering Throne ca 1962Support 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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Matt Frame is a coal miner, avid outdoorsman, & son of a Baptist preacher in Nicholas County, West Virginia. After a folkloric intro about mine-rats, we get into what life is like for both miners today & in Matt's grandfather's time: the machines; depression from the darkness; dogs hauling coal; the quiet killers "black damp" & "black lung;" losing three fingers & narrowly missing a ceiling collapse; the job-site latrine; finding fossils as large as trees; & a miner's soul. For the last third of the conversation, we surface from the coal pit to the light of day guided by folkways & The Bible. First Matt tells of heartbreak while digging ginseng; fox trapping, his grandma's rabbits, a pie crust signature, & making medicine from river yellow root. Then we get into his faith with his salvation, preaching revival, & lessons learned about the sin of pride. We end this slice-of-West-Virginia-life on a story about a haunted moonshine still & pig worms.   Music provided by Jim Cook"Big Bad John" [Cover]Written by Jimmy Dean and Roy AcuffPerformed by Jim Cook"Dark as a Dungeon" [Cover]Written by Johnny CashPerformed by Jim Cook"Call Daddy From the Mine" [Cover]Written by Johnny CashPerformed by Jim CookReading segment from A Journal: Traditions of West Virginia Folk Culture and Educational Awareness; Volume 9 - 2004 by the West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State.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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Corinne Boyer of Washington is a folk herbalist, teacher, and author of five books on traditional plant-lore & folk magic. While modern herbalism focuses on the healing & benevolent properties of plants, in this episode we explore the darker, more mysterious aspects that Corinne has found through tales of old. We begin on feeling & discerning spirits of place: in the woods, water, & rock quarries; their potentially malevolent nature; offerings to appease them; and trusting intuition & an enchanted worldview.  Then we move on to spirits of the human dead: communicating with ancestors, synchronicities, and a formative childhood experience with her great-grandfather's ghost. For her first story, Corinne recounts an ill-omened lightning strike during an unprecedented storm; for her second, she tells of a sleepless night spent in a haunted Swedish inn. We conclude on oak folklore, herbs to keep ghosts at bay, and plants associated with The Devil. Check out Under the Witching Tree & Corinne's other books. For Corinne's website & classes, visit Maple Mist Wood For Corinne's esoteric plant workshop at the 2023 Viridis Genii Symposium Music provided by CHTHONIA"Salt"Written by CHTHONIAPerformed by CHTHONIA"Helleborus"Written by CHTHONIAPerformed by CHTHONIA"Nymphaeum"Written by CHTHONIAPerformed by CHTHONIA"Digitalis"Written by CHTHONIAPerformed by CHTHONIASupport 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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

Jeremiah Wood of Northern Maine is a state fisheries biologist, cattle farmer, trapper, author, & host of the Trapping Today podcast. We open on Jeremiah describing where he lives: the North Maine Woods; his desire to work the land & raise cattle; changes in the region's economy; and thoughts on growing up in such a rural area. From there we begin a focused conversation on the often vilified topic of trapping where we explore what it's all about & why to some, it's their lifestyle; from ethics & misconceptions, regulations & populations, to fur, history, & nostalgia for the past.  While laying out the many furbearing species, Jeremiah describes the behavior & habitat of his favorite, the "pine" marten, followed by what it's like to run a backcountry mustelid trapline. For his story, Jeremiah speaks to his dream of living in Alaska & a recent trip where he caught something contemplatively deeper than a lynx or wolverine. We end on some of Jeremiah's books & podcast guests including the cast of Discovery Channel's "The Last Alaskans." Check out Jeremiah's Trapping Today podcast, shop, and YouTube channel.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: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com