Photo by Stefano Pollio on Unsplash
What it's All About:
Ghosts have been a part of human history for as long as we can remember. There are countless stories and legends about supernatural encounters and many cultures around the world believe in the existence of spirits or ghosts.
In the Pagan belief system, we often see ghosts as part of the natural cycle of life and death. They're thought to be the spirits of loved ones who've passed away, or the remains of people who haven't found their way to the afterlife yet.
Throughout history, there have been countless reports of ghostly apparitions, haunted locations, and unexplained phenomena. From ancient Egypt to modern-day ghost hunters, people have always been interested in the paranormal.
In this episode of this Pagan podcast, I'll be talking about ghosts, what they mean in paganism, and how we can connect with our ancestors' spirits.
Join me as we delve into the mysteries of the supernatural world and discover the truth behind the stories.
Songs Featured:
Dream Symbol Background Music by Lightyeartraxx from Pixabay
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Spirit Guide of the Week:
By Sailko - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37963989
Eshu Elegbara
Dream Symbol: (There are three)
Photo by Pang Yuhao on Unsplash
Cane
Photo by Hannah Wright on Unsplash
Castle
Photo by Jeremy Stewardson on Unsplash
Catch
Transcript:
(05:52)
Welcome to another episode of the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast. I am your host, Midnight Starr. You just heard Ghost of a Rose by Blackmore’s Night. Today’s show is all about the history of ghosts. First, some stuff to get out of the way. There is an album coming out on June 24th called the Red Album. It is a compilation album comprising 19 artists who have donated their time, money and music to create this. They're trying to raise money to support organizations that work for women's reproductive health. And they need your help in donating some of your money to this cause and to get the Red Album out to the public. Some musicians who are going to be in this project are Spiral Rhythm, Brain Henke, Mama Gina, and 16 others. Get more details about this project by checking out The Red Album Facebook page or visiting https://pagansong.com/the-red-album/. If you're interested in donating, the Abortion Access Pagan Music Project has a GoFundMe page linked in the show notes. Alternatively, you can find it by searching for it at GoFundMe.com. If you love this program, show some support for the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast by making a donation to either http://www.ko-fi.com/goddessvault or http://www.patreon.com/goddessvault. Make sure you stay up to date with Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast by signing up for my newsletter. Be the first to know when new shows are available. You can access past episodes by paying $7 a month or $70 a year. Or you can subscribe for free at http://musicgoddessvault.substack.com. That's http://musicgoddessvault.substack.com. If you have a suggestion for a show topic, spirit guide or dream symbol, you can contact me through my blog https://goddessvault.wixsite.com/home or on various social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Mastodon, and Pixedfed. You can find all social media links in the show notes. Now let's talk about ghosts and their history. I recall doing an episode in 2021 about them. I didn't realize that ghosts had a history, but it turns out they do. There is even a book about this. I'll tell you about the history of ghosts after you listen to The Horned God of the Sorcerer by Elvinking.
(12:49)
Where do ghosts come from? Throughout history, people in every culture have believed in ghosts and the afterlife. This belief dates back to the animistic times before the advent of Christianity and books. Otherwise, when ancestor worship held great importance. Our ancestors had a lot of religious practices to help their loved one's rest in peace after they passed away. These practices included exorcisms, funeral rites, and even some magic rituals. This also includes holidays to celebrate our ancestors, like Samhain. Some of our forebears believed that the spirits of the dead never departed from the earth. Ghosts, like witches and shape-shifters, became a part of myths from all over the world. There's actually more to the history of ghosts that I'll elaborate on later in this episode. It's music time! Here's Haunting the House by Leslie Hudson.
(19:14)
Time for another Spirit Guide of the Week. I am back in West Africa to talk about the spirit Eshu Elegbara. He's the deity of communications, protector of gates, and ruler of crossroads. Actually, Eshu Elegbara owns all the roads, paths, literal and metaphorical thresholds, highways, the porch to your door, and the road to success. He was really well-respected across different West African cultures and went by different names depending on the language. Elegbara's myth also made its way to the Americas through the slave trade. That's when he became a popular spirit. He is basically a trickster and a force for justice. He is also the mediator between people and other spirits. And he can transform bad luck to good. Eshu Elegbara is the one to call when you're literally lost or need help to find your way. He can help you remove obstacles and navigate the crossroads of life. If you're looking to give something to Eshu Elegbara on your altar, you can leave toys, candy, cigarettes, candy cigarettes, rum, and spicy food with hot sauce and peppers in them. That is it for now. Stay tuned for another spirit guide of the week.
(24:40)
That was Jenna Greene with Crossroads. I want to get back to the history of ghosts. I want to get to one particular period, which is the Victorian period. That was when the Spiritualist Movement began. The Fox sisters, Maggie and Kate, were the pioneers of the Spiritualist Movement, which began in New York in 1848. They discovered that the mysterious knocking sounds in their home were actually the work of a ghost, and they started communicating with it. This revelation soon made the Fox sisters famous. They began conducting seances and advocating for a new religion known as Spiritualism. Spiritualism is a monotheistic religion or spirituality. They believe in one god, but with the difference being the belief that the ghosts live in the spirit world and can be contacted by 'mediums'. Mediums then can relay the messages of these spirits to their loved ones. However, in 1851, there was a test that proved that the Fox sisters were frauds. They were doing the knocking themselves, not an invisible force. In 1888, both sisters admitted they faked the whole thing. But this did not slow the popularity of Spiritualism down. There were still seances until going on. Some universities created a Ghost Club in searching for evidence of apparitions.Skeptics like Harry Houdini, who disproved a medium or psychic's claims of speaking to the dead, were exposed as frauds in the early 1900s. Popularity of Spiritualism declined after the Second World War. However, there are still Spiritualists churches around today. I’ve been to one myself when I was taking a psychic workshop. Regarding the rest of the history of ghosts, contemporary scientists may consider a search for apparitions to be a pseudoscience. It is difficult to provide concrete evidence for the existence of ghosts. Though many individuals who engage in ghost hunting believe their actions to be scientific because of their use of advanced equipment like Electromagnetic Field Detectors and Infrared Cameras. I don’t want to get into the debate on whether you can scientifically prove that ghosts are real. Some people believe they are. This includes some of us pagans. Let's keep this going with some more music, like Ghost Ship by Livia.
(31:39)
Here's another dream symbol to interpret. Here are three more: Cane, Castle, and Catch. If you see a cane in your dream, it shows that you require help and guidance. If you are being caned in a dream, it means that you are being compelled into surrender or compliance. A dream in which you are caning someone denotes repressed anger. A castle in dreams represents wealth, glory, acknowledgment, and admiration for your success. A dream in which you are outside a castle door suggests that you have lost a significant and/or lucrative chance. Dreaming of being inside a castle entrance shows pride and achievement, blocking connection with others. Living in a castle in a dream may symbolize an intense need for safety and security. Whenever you catch something in your dream, it usually signifies that you need to apply something to your life. Dreaming that you are attempting to catch a ball suggests you need to feel complete in your life. Dreaming of catching a fish shows a need for more spirituality. Playing catch in your dream represents your carefree disposition. And playing catch with one of your parents in a dream symbolizes your relationship and connection with them. If you want a dream symbol to interpret and maybe have a dream symbol featured, I will mention the contact information at the end of this show. So keep dreaming.
(37:33)
It's Time for another myth. This is yet another tale from worldoftales.com. It's from Sweden and it's called Yuletide Spectres.
(41:24)
Before the story, you hear Falconer with Catch the Shadows. That is it for this show. Again, I am your host, Midnight Starr. I would like to remind you that if you are interested in donating to the Red Album project, which I mentioned at the beginning of this show, the Abortion Access Pagan Music Project has a GoFundMe page linked in the show notes. Alternatively, you can find it by searching for it on GoFundMe.com. Get more details about this project by checking out The Red Album Facebook page or visiting https://pagansong.com/the-red-album/. It's for a good cause. Got an idea for a show topic, spirit guide or dream symbol? Share it on the website https://goddessvault1.wixsite.com/home and on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Mastodon, and Pixelfed. Canadian Pagan musicians, I'd love to hear from you. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me! I can't wait to discover and play more Canadian pagan music! If you want to help keep this show going, you can donate money to either https://www.ko-fi.com/goddessvault or https://www.patreon.com/goddessvault. If you want to be the first to hear the latest episode, you can sign up for the newsletter, https://musicgoddessvault.substack.com.
I am going to leave you with So Ghostly the Girl Came In by Kate Price. Blessed be.
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