In season 3 of the Mystic Loom Podcast, we visit Brazil for a look at some of its indigenous stories as told by the various tribes of the Amazon.

In this episode we look at the Makurap myth, “The Flying Head” and use it to get a deeper insight into the plight of women in indigenous Brazilian society as well as looking at the role of “the sacred feminine” in the indigenous Brazilian cosmovision. We then branch out into the wider world and look at how this story intersects with other famous accounts of “headless women” such as the Greek tale of the Medusa whose decapitated head had the power to turn men to stone. 

We use the stories of these two headless women to help us unpack the archetype of the “scorned feminine,” one of the many manifestations of the “Dark Feminine” and look at how cultural portrayals of this sacred dimension of femininity impacts women’s spiritual development as well as their place in society.

We conclude the episode by looking at a woman’s “birth dream” and discuss how we can use ancient dream incubation techniques to help us solve the issues that plague us in our waking life.

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If you are interested in having one of your dreams analysed in a future episode, please consider becoming a subscriber. You can find out more about how to do this by clicking the link below.

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A NOTE ON THE FOLKTALE

"THE FLYING HEAD" from the 2002 publication "BARBECUED HUSBANDS AND OTHER STORIES FROM THE AMAZON" by Betty Mindlin.

Abridged and re-written by Dina Luna.

EPISODE MUSIC
 
"Row Row Row Your Boat" By SoundRoseStudio

Stock Media provided by Stock19/ Pond5

Paschi - Peace In Earth - Ayahuasca Song, (Special Edition) Music by Pond5

Today, we will take a look at “The Frog Maiden,” a Burmese “Cinderella” story and use it to discover old animist beliefs that once flourished in Myanmar (Burma). We dive deep into the world of Burmese mythology and trace the evolution of Burmese rain-spirits and thunder-gods, following them all the way back to their humble origins as tribal frog totems. 

We look at tribal customs surrounding “frog drums,” a shamanic instrument used in parts of Myanmar to help communicate with rain spirits. These drums link the frog to both the myths and rituals of some of the oldest inhabitants of Myanmar and give us good insight into the symbolism of the frog as seen through a pan-Burmese lens.

We connect this to current practices related to Thingyan (Burmese New Year) which, to this day, is a time of year still steeped in old traditions such as water-throwing celebrations and hair-washing rituals. We link this to the cultural and spiritual significance of hair in Myanmar as well as in other parts of the world and look briefly at an old mythological Burmese ogress who entices a frog to help delouse her hair. We tie this into other mythological deities such as the Inuit goddess, Sedna, whose hair is connected to her shamanic and spiritual purpose as a " bringer of abundance."

We end the episode by looking at pre-cognitive dreams including how to identify them and how to work with them on a practical level.

This concludes our foray into the “collective unconscious” of Myanmar.

KO-FI MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

If you are interested in having one of your dreams analysed in a future episode, please consider becoming a subscriber. You can find out more about how to do this by clicking the link below.

https://ko-fi.com/themysticloom


PERSONAL WEBSITE

www.themysticloom.com


A NOTE ON THE FOLKTALE

"THE FROG MAIDEN" from the 1948 publication "Burmese Folk-Tales" by Maung Htin Aung.

Abridged and re-written by Dina Luna.


EPISODE MUSIC
 
"Row Row Row Your Boat" By SoundRoseStudio

Stock Media provided by Stock19/ Pond5

Law Of Relaxing Music by Pond5

In this episode we look at the whimsical and melancholic tale, “Raincloud the Crocodile” and use it to explore various beliefs about karma and reincarnation in Myanmar (Burma). 

We also look at old indigenous folk religions that link crocodiles to "the cult of the ancestors”and to the formation of Burmese shamanism, which still continues to influence modern Burmese identity up to this day. 

By unraveling the strands which connect ancient Burmese spirituality with tribal notions of "animal ancestry,” we explore how these concepts tie into cosmic themes such as time and memory, which are encoded into the spiritual anatomy of the human body by way of the chakras (subtle energy centres). 

By delving deeply into the rich and varied symbolism of the crocodile, one of the first creatures in the world to be deified by ancient man, we discover how this mighty creature is linked to the activity of the sacral chakra via the subterranean movement of our samskaras, which form every mental impression, story, dream and memory of a past that stretches further back in history than our own individual timeline, showing us that our ancestors are contemporaneous with us because they live in a realm that  influences every aspect of our lives, including the visceral reality of our physical bodies.

We conclude the episode by looking at the themes of déja-vu and reincarnation in dreams and how to identify if you’ve had a “past life dream.”

KO-FI MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

If you are interested in having one of your dreams analysed in a future episode, please consider becoming a subscriber. You can find out more about how to do this by clicking the link below.

https://ko-fi.com/themysticloom

PERSONAL WEBSITE

www.themysticloom.com

A NOTE ON THE FOLKTALE

"RAINCLOUD THE CROCODILE" from the 1948 publication "Burmese Folk-Tales" by Maung Htin Aung.

Abridged and re-written by Dina Luna.

EPISODE MUSIC
 
"Row Row Row Your Boat" By SoundRoseStudio

Stock Media provided by Stock19/ Pond5

Law Of Relaxing Music by Pond5

Paschi - Peace In Earth - Ayahuasca Song, (Special Edition) Music by Pond5