34 Circe Salon -- Make Matriarchy Great Again -- Disrupting History

In another installment of our continuing series called, "The War Against The Goddess," we welcome Max Dashu once again as she joins us to discuss the cults of Magna Mater (Cybele) and the Great Mother Goddesses in the Ancient World and the many attempts to destroy them from Ancient Rome through early Christianity. 

Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.

The sine qua non of this podcast: Matriarchy.  What is it and why is it desirable.  Dawn "Sam" Alden and Sean Marlon Newcombe have an open and frank discussion on the topic of "matriarchy."  A defining episode for this series. 

Marvelously acted, written and director, the film Tár was a critical darling.  But this will not be a film review, but rather an appraisal of how Hollywood handles strong women in leading roles.  We will examine the movie from different perspectives--feminist, cultural, personal-- and give our own take on what this kind of movie says about how strong women are handled in popular entertainment. 

Sean Marlon Newcombe, Lauren Torres and Kimberly Rockwell host.

Kimberly Rockwell and Dawn "Sam" Alden discuss the Female Gaze - is there such a thing? How does a film camera typically "look" at a woman vs how it "looks" at a man? We've been discussing movies a lot this season, so we thought we'd zoom out (pun intended) and think about how filmmaking controls the way we perceive characters in the movies we watch.

Right now, the world needs goddesses, so there's no better time to give an encore presentation of our episode on the Titanides with Max Dashu! Tune in and enjoy!

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It is our pleasure, once again, to present a fascinating conversation with Max Dashu!

Max Dashu has championed the various lost histories of women and championed female-centric civilizations for decades. Max Dashu founded the Suppressed Histories Archives in January of 1970 to research and document women's history on a global scale.

In today's episode, we discuss chapter one of Max's new book Women In...

Join us for a wonderful, foundational episode: we're making matriarchy great again!

Laura Hirch is a filmmaker, writer, artist and a scholar of matriarchal studies.  Her six-part documentary, From The Goddess, explores the concept of the Great Goddess and how matriarchal societies, centered around Goddess worship, thrived in peaceful coexistence for millennia until the emergence of patriarchy 5,000 years ago.  

We discuss her series and other aspects of matriarchal herstory along with our own matriarchal scholar and inspiration, Vicki Noble.  Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.

The full series is available to wat...

The Thracians - Once the most numerous people of Europe, but, now, lost amidst the fog of history.

They were known as formidable and warlike-- and some even said that they were the people who spawned the Amazons.  (Amazon queen Penthesilea was thought to be Thracian by the ancients.)

It's this potential Amazonian connection lead us to the fascinating goddesses in their pantheon.

Join Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden as they talk about what is known about the goddesses of this almost forgotten but once influential people - the Thracians.

Co-hosts Dawn "Sam" Alden and Kimberly Rockwell discuss the works of author Kate Quinn and the women characters in her WW2 novels. Most based on actual women, these stories of spies, pilots, investigators, and drunks with dark secrets are compelling and fun reads. Join the discussion, and leave a comment if you have read these novels as well!
Support the MMGA podcast on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/34Circe

The last in our series, this might actually be what a true Female Revenge Film looks like!  Dawn “Sam” Alden and Kimberly Rockwell talk about this brutal gem of a movie.  Content warning: because the film contains implied castration, implied pedophilia and the aftermath of the murder of a minor, we talk about these topics as they arise in the movie.  Skip this episode if that's outside your comfort zone.

Was Crete one of the latest Matriarchies to resist infiltration and overthrow by the waves of Indo-European invasion? What evidence is hidden in plain sight to support the presence of Matriarchy on the island?  Joan Cichon talks about her book “Matriarchy in Bronze Age Crete” which she has generously made available to all online.  Joining the discussion are Vicki Noble, Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn Sam Alden.

Was Crete one of the latest Matriarchies to resist infiltration and overthrow by the waves of Indo-European invasion? What evidence is hidden in plain sight to support the presence of Matriarchy on the island?  Joan Cichon talks about her book “Matriarchy in Bronze Age Crete” which she has generously made available to all online.  Joining the discussion are Vicki Noble, Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn Sam Alden.
Buy or download Joan's book here: https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270449
Support the podcast here:  https://www.patreon.com/34Circe

The gang's all here and we're ready to discuss the sexism and misogyny imbedded in many words in our language and we're using the book Wordslut by Amanda Montell as our starting point.

Amanda Montell, reporter and feminist linguist, deconstructs language—from insults, cursing, gossip, and catcalling to grammar and pronunciation patterns—to reveal the ways it has been used for centuries to keep women and other marginalized genders from power. 

Dawn "Sam" Alden, Sean Marlon Newcombe, Lauren Torres and Kimberly Rockwell take a deep dive into Ms. Montell's language deconstruction and bring in some langu...

The Motherpeace Round Tarot deck is a co-creation of Karen Vogel and Vicki Noble. Created in 1978, within a year of being given their first tarot deck, Motherpeace represents a vision of Goddess energy and a transmission of ancient wisdom. The Motherpeace deck is based on the traditional tarot system and uses ancient images from goddess-centered cultures throughout the world.  The deck is world renown and very popular.

Lauren Torres interviews Make Matriarchy Great Again founding member Vicki Noble and her co-creator Karen Vogel about the history and significance of the Motherpeace deck.

It’s the 20th Anniversary of an amazing documentary, Double Dare. We speak with the director and one of the stars, and speak fondly of the other star, lost to us this year.  Or, the one in which Zoë muses, Dawn rants, and Amanda puts things perfectly. (And all remember Jeannie fondly.)

Dr Felicitas D. Goodman was an anthropologist who made some ground breaking discoveries in her field. She discovered and verified that holding specific postures altered states of consciousness and that these postures were represented on ancient representations in art and pottery. 

Join Lauren Torres and Dawn "Sam" Alden as they discuss this amazing woman's legacy with Laura Lee.

Laura Lee and her husband Paul are the Co-Directors of the Cuyamungue Institute, a non-profit educational research organization, a worldwide headquarters in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They are leading authorities on the practice of Ecstatic Trance Postures a...

Dr. Carla Ionescu joins us again, this time to talk about Spartan women!  The women of Sparta were unique in the Ancient Greek world for the level of freedom and power that they enjoyed.  Renown for their athletic skill and beauty, they were also reviled by some Greek writers for their learning, economic wealth and open sexuality.

Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Dr. Sarah Pomeroy, Dr. Ionescu joins Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden to discuss these amazing women. 

A frank discussion about abortion. 

We're back for the 2024-2025 season!  And what better way to begin than to discuss the history of a sisterhood between the Haudenosaunee women and the American suffragists.  Join us as we interview Sally Roesch Wagner, noted feminist pioneer, activist and author as we discuss her book, Sisters In Spirit.

The Iroquois, alternatively referred to by the endonym Haudenosaunee, are a confederacy of Native Americans and First Nations peoples in northeast North America.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Lucretia Mott had formed friendships with Haudenosaunee women that enabled them to see the real possibility of cre...

A belated season-end thank you from the 34 Circe Salon to all of our listeners!  We concluded the 2023-2024 season with our Medusa episode and we'll be back again in October for the 2024-2025 season.  We're already recording, so get ready for discussions of all of your favorite topics from warrior women and goddesses to stuntwomen and Bad Marthas.  Thank you to all of you around the world who have supported us! 

You'll hear from us in a few weeks as we all Make Matriarchy Great Again!

In this episode, we delve into the matriarchal reinterpretation of the Medusa myth, contrasting it with the traditional patriarchal narrative of Ancient Greece. Starr Goode, Miriam Robbins Dexter and Joan Marler each bring their unique insights and years of scholarship to our understanding of this famous legend.

Starr Goode is a noted writer and teacher as well as a scholar of matriarchal history with a particular emphasis on the Sheela na gig symbols.

Miriam Robbins Dexter, Ph.D., holds a B.A. in Classics and a Ph.D. in Indo-European Studies (comparative linguistics, archaeology and...

Join Lauren Torres and Dawn "Sam' Alden as they welcome author Molly Remer and discuss (and praise) the Goddess Persephone.

Goddess of spring and Queen of the Underworld, the myths of Persephone are familiar in the Western World.  In this episode, as always, we examine this goddess using a matriarchal rather than patriarchal lens. We also view Persephone from a more personal standpoint, with the work of Ms. Remer as a guide.

In her book, Walking with Persephone, Ms. Remer weaves together personal insights and reflections with experiences in practical priestessing, family life, and explorations o...

Just a brief message to our sponsors from the newest members of the 34 Circe Make Matriarchy Great Again family, Lauren Torres and Kimberly Rockwell.  Thank you all for your support and we look forward to bringing you more exciting matriarchal content in the coming seasons!

Taking care of new mothers by restoring their health through rest, bodywork, and nourishing foods can be found in every society, most in the not so distant past.  Why then does it become all about the new baby that has arrived?  Why don't we think of offering care and support to the parents?  New mothers are born into a new role and ceremonies like Closing the Bones help her transition into a new identity while also restoring her body.  Join us as we talk with Dr Sophie Messager - experienced perinatal educator, healer, retired doula and former research scientist abou...

Join Dawn "Sam" Alden and Kimberly Rockwell as they discuss the female revenge film Peppermint (2018). 

Starring Jennifer Garner, Peppermint tells the story of woman whose happy life is destroyed when a drug cartel kills her husband and daughter. The event turns her into a vigilante and she will not be satisfied until she has her revenge.

Our hosts discuss not only the creative quality of the film, but also what it says about our culture's view of the intersection of gender, ethnicity and power.

We're back with the long-awaited follow-up discussion to our foundational episode on Amazons and Matriarchy.  In Part I, we discussed the movements of the Old Europe matriarchies in the third millennium B.C., as well as Vicki's concept of the "Double-Goddess," its significance for matriarchy and it's connection with the Amazons. 

In this episode we pick up in the second millennium B.C., and discuss the final eras of the matriarchies of Old Europe and the rise and end of what could be called the "resistance movement" of bands of warrior women called "Amazons."  

Vicki Nobl...

Has it been four years already? Why, yes, it has! Join us as we celebrate our fourth anniversary and take a trip down memory lane.  Favorite episodes and stories from Dawn, Sean, Laruen and Kimberly... and a VERY BIG thanks to all of our listeners!

They are the daring action women that we all adore, but what is it really like to be a stuntwoman? Join us for a really fun discussion with four Hollywood stuntwomen: Katie Rowe is the head of the Hollywood Stuntwomen's Association and an amazing stuntwoman of more than two decades.  Angela Meryl is also legendary stuntwoman who has doubled such luminaries as Beyonce and Viveca Fox.  Indus Alelia a stuntwoman who has worked on several independent movies and is renown for her fire stunts.  Devavani Conroy is a stuntwoman and actress who is fairly new on her stuntwoman journey and...

In preparation for our upcoming part 2 episode, we bring you the uncut version of part 1 of Vicki Noble's discussion of the matriarchal origins of the women called "Amazons."  This was the first episode that we recorded for our "Make Matriarchy Great Again" podcast and you can tell as we're still introducing ourselves to all of you. :-)

Here we go... The first installment in our series on the birth of the historical women called "Amazons." Who were their ancestors? Where did they come from? We talk about the destruction of the Old Europe matriarchy by the warrior m...

Join us for the first episode in our Founding Mother Series! Viola Spolin developed a complete system of education which she called Theater Games and her methods are the roots of contemporary improv. 

While the power of Viola's system is widely recognized in the theater education community, her fundamental contribution to improvisation is just beginning to get full recognition. Spolin's non-authoritarian methods are about direct personal expression and are used in diverse fields to foster creativity, empathy, and self-knowledge.

Our Hosts Lauren Torres and Dawn "Sam" Alden talk with Aretha Sills (Viola's grandaughter) about Spolin's f...

We welcome back Professor Walter Penrose, specialist in gender and sexuality in the Ancient World, to discuss everyone's favorite Amazon: Wonder Woman!

Fans had demanded a Wonder Woman movie for decades, so when the movie reached theaters in 2017, the reactions were huge. With Professor Penrose, Dawn and Sean look back on that moment, as well as the comic book genesis and the life of the family who created her. (With a nod, of course, to the legends of the Amazons that we so love.)

It's no secret that Artemis is beloved at the 34 Circe Salon Make Matriarchy Great Again podcast, so this episode is a match made in heaven for us.... because it's all about Artemis!

Our guest is Dr. Carla Ionescu who is one of the leading experts in the worship and ritual of Artemis. In the summers she scavenges new locations and cities world wide, digging through the remains of grave sites, ruins, and abandoned buildings, trying to uncover the long lost mystery that is Artemis, The Great Mother.

We discuss Artemis in her many incarnations and...

People speak of virginity as if it’s a thing. It’s not. It’s not a thing. Kimberly and Dawn talk about the science and the myth of virginity, and why it can be useful, but mostly isn’t.

It is our pleasure, once again, to present a fascinating conversation with Max Dashu!

Max Dashu has championed the various lost histories of women and championed female-centric civilizations for decades. Max Dashu founded the Suppressed Histories Archives in January of 1970 to research and document women's history on a global scale.

In today's episode, we discuss chapter one of Max's new book Women In Greek Mythography.  Focused on the Titanides, the pre-Olympian goddesses, chapter one explores their original stories and the later patriarchal revisions.  Female-centric, the mythology of the Titanides explained how the universe came into be...

Join new Make Matriarchy Great Again host Lauren Torres as she talks with Lucy Pearce, the founder of Womancraft Publishing. Lucy is a multi-faceted creative whose work spans the expressive arts, exploring the lost archetypes of the feminine and symbols of the soul. She is the author of multiple life-changing non-fiction books, including Nautilus Award silver winners Medicine Woman, Burning Woman, and Creatrix: she who makes. Lucy founded Womancraft Publishing, publishing paradigm-shifting books by women for women, in 2014. 

Listen in as we celebrate the transformative power of the stories of women by women!

As with so many women in Greek mythology, Medea has seen her nature, persona and story changed pejoratively with every retelling by the men who spoke her name.  In today's episode, we chat with guest Miriam Robbins Dexter and our regular host and founding member of the podcast, Vicki Noble, about the origin of Medea and the true nature of her story.

Miriam Robbins Dexter, Ph.D., holds a B.A. in Classics and a Ph.D. in Indo-European Studies (comparative linguistics, archaeology and mythology), from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Her friend and colleague, Vicki No...

Women talking to each other - how dare they? Kimberly and Dawn talk to each other about the origin of the campaign against gossip, and how most of it is actually very good for all of us. Let’s chat!

The founder of the Academy Hagia and one of the strongest voices in the Modern Matriarchal Studies movement, Heide Göttner-Abendroth has written books and articles and given amazing talks on historical and extant matriarchy around the globe. It is her definition of what makes a matriarchy that we use on our podcast. We are SO thrilled to be able to speak to her about her own history, and what in her life brought her to matriarchal studies. Join us for a fascinating discussion!

Time for a shout-out to two great Amazon warriors, Penthesilea and Hippolyta. Join old-school hosts, Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden, as they welcome one of our new hosts, Lauren Torres, to discuss these fabulous warrior women. 
 
 It's good to be back!

We're back for the new season (finally) and we're introducing our new hosts as well. Join us as we get back into action making matriarchy great again!