Oh, the famous “Mountain Tea”; every Greek villager seems to know the power of this herb! Also known in English as Ironwort or in Greek as τσάι του βουνού, this herb is high in antioxidants and is traditionally drunk as a tea to support…

Music accompanied most, if not all, rites of passage, communal events, and private life in ancient Greece. Below are a few of the most well-known and important instruments of the ancient Greek world. I’ve also included origin stories and myths for some of the Greek instruments — the gods, places, and plants that were connected to the sounds of the ancient landscape.

I recorded this last October, when the Bees were pollinating the Ivy and the Pomegranates were ripe on the tree.

The lyre, kithara, aulos, frame drum…ancient instruments that create a sound so earthen, it makes the hairs on my arms stand on end.
Here is a curated selection of modern artists playing the ancient Greek sounds, as well as modern interpretations of the ancient Greek songs.

What are the trees and herbs sacred to the Moon in ancient Greece? The answer might surprise you! In today’s episode, we meet the three moon goddesses of the ancient Greek world — Selene, Artemis, and Hekate — and discuss the plants, stones, and other entities to invite into a Moon Garden in honor of ancient Greek lunar power.

The Minotaur is a creature born from a king’s hoarding greed and a mother’s cursed lust, used as a weapon to (quite literally) cow foreign powers. This led me to consider the ways we suffer for our ancestors’ mistakes and false beliefs, how inherited shame manifests in self-betrayal. I hand-crafted both the mask and the labrys in this self-portrait series, a meditation on natural beauty turned self-destructive.

Named for the gorgeous Boeotian youth who fell in love with his own reflection, Narcissus is a perennial bulb in the amaryllis and daffodil family. The flower blooms in late winter and early spring, reminding us of its connection to youthfulness and the awakening of desire after the numbness of winter. Although all parts of the flower are toxic to ingest, the Narcissus can be used in ceremony to awaken desire and bring awareness to our capacity for self-love.

A playlist inspired by the myth of Narcissus — the youth cursed to fall in love with his own reflection — and Echo — the nymph whose obsession with Narcissus led to her own dissolution.

Today, on the Winter Solstice, I introduce you to the Greek gods of the Sun — the Titans who gave birth to the radiance of the celestial bodies and the prophetic wisdom that the Greeks believed came from their light. We also learn about the Sun’s connection to the Underworld, grief, and mourning, and meet the plants sacred to the Sun god Helios.

In today’s special episode, we meet Greek multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and ritualist Linda Pappa. Linda is based on the ancient island of Crete, where she has a home and studio in the mountains. She shares with us her artistic process: how she co-creates with the land, crafting ceramic vessels from wild clay she harvests herself and painting with pigments she makes from local plants and soil. Our conversation wanders into some really interesting places, including her reflections on village life, as well as the dark sides of living in modern Greek culture.

In this episode, we’ll be meeting the Greek gods of Night, Sleep, and Dreams — Nyx, Hypnos, the Oneiroi, and more. We’ll explore dream rituals in ancient Greece, in particular dream incubation as a means for healing and divination. We’ll learn about how the Greeks understood their dreams, and how they are connected to the Underworld. And we’ll meet one of my favorite flowers of the Greek landscape, the often controversial — and even illegal in some countries — Poppy.

Self-portraits.

Self-portraits.