Episode 1.8: Season Finale

Happy full moon, witches! December’s supermoon (kicking off a supermoon trilogy!) is in Gemini and is known in various cultures as the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon.

Other names for December’s moon include the Bitter Moon (Chinese), Oak Moon (English), Snow Moon (Cherokee), Peach Moon (Choctaw), and Twelfth Moon (Dakotah Sioux).

We have reached our eighth episode (a very fortuitous number!) and the end of our first season. In this special episode, we reflect back on the texts we’ve discussed and the witches who have inspired us.

Our theme song is “Moon and Spruce” by Sarah Littledrum.

Listen to hear our answers to the following questions:

“Which witch…”

  • Inspired you to learn something new or to improve your craft?
  • Helped you to see other people in a new light or to better understand your own position in society?
  • Changed the way you think of your body or the human body in general?
  • Taught you something about the natural world or encouraged you to heal and/or connect with your environment?
  • Encouraged you to create art or foster a spiritual practice?
  • Made you laugh?

“What was your favorite/ most magical moment from doing the podcast?”

“Which witch wins the ‘Witch of the Year’ Award?”

You can find and listen to all of our previous episodes here.

If you have comments, feedback, and/or suggestions for Season 2, please do let us know! Thanks again for listening, and we will see you on a forthcoming full moon in 2018!

Episode 1.3: Wonder Woman

For our third episode, we are excited to bring you our discussion of the 2017 film Wonder Woman! There will definitely be spoilers. (There are also spoilers for Captain America: The First Avenger.)

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Introduction (0:00 – 7:13)

  • Amazons as witches
  • Brief history of the Amazons
  • Significance of the Wonder Woman film

Related Links

The Amazon Women: Is There Any Truth Behind the Myth? (Smithsonian Magazine)

Ukraine’s Asgarda: Reinventing the Amazon Warrior Women

The Strange, Complicated, Feminist History of Wonder Woman’s Origin Story

Wonder Woman Breaks Records: Biggest Live-Action Box Office Hit by Female Director

Which Craft? (7:17 – 21:54)

  • Filmography and stylistic choices/ visuals
  • Costumes
  • Score
  • Screenplay and structure
  • Casting

NB: One thing we meant to talk about, but didn’t get to, was how much of a role Chris Pine/ Steve Trevor was given, considering he was the love interest/ sidekick. (See McDorman’s review, linked below, for more about how Trevor is centered in the story.*) We also forgot to talk about Robin Wright!!! Nooooo!

Related Links

Wonder Woman: Armor vs. Underwear & Why it Matters

Wonder Woman’s Amazon Origins Detailed in New Movie Art

Joss Whedon and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Script

*Is Diana Really the Hero of Wonder Woman? A Review by G.L. McDorman

“Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” (21:58 – 39:55)

  • Representation of people of color and minorities
  • Representation of women in the film
  • Female villainy
  • Diana’s characterization

Related Links

My Soul Looks Back and Wonders: A Critical Examination of the Wonder Woman Movie

Eugene Brave Rock Reveals Chief is a Demi-God Too

Black Panther Teaser Trailer

“Bald Heads and Queer Noses” (40:00 – 53:05)

  • Ares (and his hipster mustache)
  • Steve Trevor (and his nudity scene)
  • Amazons (and their non-sexualized skin)
  • Lesbian and bisexual representation
  • Body positivity
  • Working bodies and scars
  • Disability and disfigurement

Related Links

How Disfigured Villains like “Wonder Woman’s” Dr. Poison Perpetuate Stigma

“Round About the Cauldron Go” (53:10 – 1:03:49)

  • Dr. Poison as witch figure
  • Chemical warfare and drugs
  • Women in science
  • Ares’s environmental argument

“Treguna, Makoidees, Trecorum, Satis, Dee!” (1:03:55 – 1:16:41)

  • Creation of the Amazons
  • Creation of Diana
  • Diana’s self-discovery and empowerment
  • Parallels to the Eve and Satan story
  • Parallels to the Goddess Artemis/ Diana
  • Love as the central theme

Final Spells (1:16:45 – 1:27:12)

  • Amazon Queen Hiera
  • Women’s activism today

Related Links

The 11 Biggest Marches and Protests in American History

Race and Feminism: Women’s March Recalls the Touchy History

Women Warriors: Myths and Legends of Heroic Women

Penthesilea (the Amazon who fought at Troy)

Wonder Women Have Been Smashing the Patriarchy Since Classical Times

Blooper reel (1:27:07 – 1:28:41)

  • Literally just a minute of us laughing

 

In August we’re discussing Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett. See you on the next full moon (Aug 7)!