Our Numinous Nature

Kathryn Parker & Olivia Lloyd are owners of The Veiled Mirror, an online store of antique jewelry & curiosities with a penchant for the romantic, dark and macabre based out of Richmond, Virginia. To start this tour of Victorian culture [1837-1901], we begin with a crafting fad, ornate floral wreaths made of human hair. From there we touch on mourning etiquette; the comical paraphernalia of secret society initiations; The Aesthetic Movement; showing off with a pineapple; & the accessories of women's fashion as eccentric as live insects. Switching to the personal, the ladies share a handful of haunting anecdotes; one about researching a man's calling card found in a bin of 1920's clothing; another about unwittingly removing a "witch bottle" from an abandoned farm house. We end on further memories of urban exploration.
Follow The Veiled Mirror on Instagram & check out their website's current collection at theveiledmirror.com.
Music Provided by The Library of Congress
"The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done"
Performed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina & Trinity Quartet

"War Song of the Normans"
Crusades Hymn
Performed by Reinald Werrenrath & Victor Male Chorus
"Black-Eyed Blues"
Composed by Don Kendall
Performed by Roy Bargy & Benson Orchestra of Chicago
"The Green Fields of Virginia"
Ford, Ward H., performer
Cowell, Sidney Robertson, 1903-1995, collector.
"Nina Gitana"
Composed by Reginald De Koven
Performed by Reed Miller
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Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram
Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art
Contact: [email protected]

Les O'Dell of Marion County, West Virginia is a paranormal investigator, cryptid enthusiast, & collector of strange stories from across his home state. For his second appearance on the podcast, we start lightheartedly on the the annual Mothman Festival then get into the famous regional cryptids & mysterious happenings we missed last time: The Flatwoods Monster, the awful Vegetable Man, Missing 411, calling to Big Foot in Pocahontas County, Dolly Sods UFO sightings, & even feral people. For his stories, Les shares one about a ghost girl & another about his paranormal research of a witch's grave in a back holler. No doubt, this one will get you in touch with the Halloween spirits...
Follow WV Cryptids & Strange Encounters on Facebook & check out Les' booklet West Virginia Cryptids: A Visual Guide to Traversing the Mountain State.
Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.
Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram
Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art
Contact: [email protected]

Rita Mae Brown is a prolific New York Times bestselling author, and a master of foxhounds & huntsman with the Oak Ridge Fox Hunt Club in Afton, Virginia. We open on St. Hubert [patron saint of hunters & hounds], the old world occupation of royal huntsman, & get into modern - no kill - equestrian fox hunting. We hear examples of the fox's witty participation, learn some hound history, get insight into the formal wardrobe etiquette, and paint a picture of a day in the field. In the last section, Rita Mae explains her deep animal friendships starting from her orphaned childhood. She shares two short stories, one about a mounted specter & another about animal sentience & love. We end on a couple of Rita Mae's heroins, the huntress queens of old Europe.
Browse Rita Mae's many books.
***A ST. HUBERT'S DAY RECIPE***
Boulets Liégeois: From the city of Liège, these Belgian meatballs in a sweet & savory fruit sauce served with fries are absolutely mouthwatering. You'll need to order a vital ingredient, Sirop de Liège, a thick, dark apple & pear sauce dating back to the 1600's or you can substitute for a milder flavor with apple butter. Recipe should work just fine with pork, beef, venison, beaver, wild boar.
Music provided by Dr. Clare Longendyke & Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
"Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, D. 929, Op. 100 II. Andante con moto "
Written by Franz Peter Schubert
Performed by Trio Fiore
Courtesy of Dr. Clare Longendyke
"Meditation"
Written by Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
Performed by Modern Medieval
Courtesy of Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek

Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.
Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram
Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art
Contact: [email protected]

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 CHTHONIA
Performed by CHTHONIA
"Helleborus"
Written by CHTHONIA
Performed by CHTHONIA
"Nymphaeum"
Written by CHTHONIA
Performed by CHTHONIA
"Digitalis"
Written by CHTHONIA
Performed by CHTHONIA

Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.
Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram
Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art
Contact: [email protected]

Donna La Pré of Washington, Virginia is a Biodynamic gardener, artist, herbalist, small-batch skin care producer, natural dyer, and perfumer - all under the umbrella of her home business, Tender Flower. Seated outside the charming potting shed in her autumnal garden, we begin by hearing about Donna's ancestry followed by how the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner [anthroposophy] clicked on a deep level, inspiring her spiritual path & Biodynamic gardening in which she grows 85% of the herbs and flowers used in her products. Skimming over her many vocations, we settle into a thought-provoking discussion on aromatherapy, perfumery, and incense. As the interview deepens, Donna is gracious enough to let us peek into her world: one inhabited by nature spirits, elementals, gnomes, fays, and other beings unseen by most. This engrossing episode ends on a trilogy of synchronistic short stories about the loss of both her father & her cat named Sassafras, as well as the rescue of a bleating fawn on a stormy night.
Check out Donna's Tender Flower store & classes as well as her Instagram.
Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram

Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art

Contact: [email protected]