Re-Feminist History (aka Bitchstory)

As you probably know if you're reading this blog, Samhain is a Pagan holiday celebrated in conjunction with Halloween.  (By the way, "Pagan" doesn't mean Witches, necessarily.  It refers to religious beliefs other than those of the main or recognized religions of a region.)  Anyway, Samhain is a Celtic holiday that celebrates the end of the Harvest season and the beginning of Winter .  It is celebrated on November 1st.  Hmmm, what else happens around that time? All Saints Day, Halloween, Dia De Los Muertos...to name a few.  It's no coincidence that all of these holidays happen at the same time.  When Christian and Catholic Colonists took over a newly conquered area, they tried to mash cultures and religions together to encourage participation by the natives, and then eventually everything is one big soup of holidays.  Samhain is said to mark a period where the veils between worlds becomes thinner. There are various deities associated with death, rebirth, and tra

Listen  to the Podcast on  Spotify Listen on Apple Listen on the web  (NO APP NEEDED) Email me:  kelly@untamedmoon.com  (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS) LISTEN TO THE  Mictecacihuatl  EPISODE  HERE Mictecacihuatl ...If you say it 3 times, does she appear, like Beetlejuice? Let's hope not. This is the Aztec name of the goddess from whom the lore and traditions around Dia De Los Muertos originate! Most of us are somewhat familiar with Day of the Dead, Sugar Skulls, and all that stuff that happens in Mexican culture around Halloween. But here's the real scoop -  The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican civilization that dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. They were highly accomplished in agriculture and trade, and were known for their art and architecture. The Aztec Empire was active from 1345 - 1521. In 1427 the "triple alliance" was formed and the Empire was established as a confederation of three city-states: Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. In 152

Listen  to the Podcast on  Spotify Listen on Apple Listen on the web  (NO APP NEEDED) Email me:  kelly@untamedmoon.com  (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS) LISTEN TO THE  Bonus Shirley Chisholm  EPISODE  HERE Did you know that Kamala Harris isn't the first black woman to run for POTUS?  There have been 5 black men who have run, starting with Frederick Douglas in 1888 and then of course Barack Obama was the first black POTUS.  But this blog is about the ladies.  In 1972, Shirley Chisholm, who was also the first black woman in Congress, ran on a Presidential ticket, and had a reasonable shot.  It's crazy to me, because in the 60s and 70s, in case you hadn't heard, the US was very divided on the issues of race, AND gender.  Black people were barely safe in some parts of the country, so having a black woman candidate is just extraordinary to me.  Women couldn't even have their own bank accounts at that time! But there she was, Shirley Chisholm! Shirley Chisholm, born on November 30, 1924,

Listen  to the Podcast on  Spotify Listen on Apple Listen on the web  (NO APP NEEDED) Email me:  kelly@untamedmoon.com  (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS) LISTEN TO THE  Philippines History  EPISODE  HERE I'm willing to bet that you don't know diddly squat about the Philippines.   Smarty Pants Lisa didn't.  And of course I didn't, cuz I'm not a history major. So we're all learning! That is truly what I love about our podcast. We just recorded an episode highlighting 5 Filipinas who have been instrumental in independence and cultural history for the Philippines.  Their quest for independence has been long and hard won, starting with a bunch of colonizing bullshit that started in the 1500's.  In 1521, good ol' Ferdinand Magellan tried to "discover" the Philippines islands, but um...they killed him.  I had no idea Magellan died that way, did you?   Well despite that uh, "setback", the Portuguese tried again and successfully claimed the islands for the

Listen to the Podcast on  Spotify Listen on Apple Listen on the web  (NO APP NEEDED) Email me:  kelly@untamedmoon.com  (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS) LISTEN TO THE  Haitian History  EPISODE  HE RE One of the prominent figures of the Haitian revolution wasn’t a soldier, or a politician…she was a voodoo priestess! A voodoo priestess is called a “mambo”. Cecile Fatiman was one such mambo. Mambo Fatiman played a crucial role in galvanizing the enslaved population of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) against their colonial oppressors. Her contributions, often overshadowed by military leaders like Toussaint L'Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, highlight the integral role of spirituality and cultural identity in the quest for freedom. Fatiman is perhaps best known for her involvement in the Bois Caïman ceremony in August 1791, which is widely regarded as the catalyst for the uprising that led to Haiti's independence from French colonial rule. During this clandestine gathering, enslaved Africans an

Listen to the Podcast on  Spotify Listen on Apple Listen on the web  (NO APP NEEDED) Email me:  kelly@untamedmoon.com  (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS) LISTEN TO THE  Haitian History  EPISODE  HERE click the beautiful photo for a lovely story This week's Bitchstory (aka:Re-Feminist History)(aka: feminists who swear and google things while recording) is about the Haitian Revolution.  Timely. Relevant. Educational...that's what we  are! Anyway, we've been on a roll with talk about various revolutions so here we are with Haiti.   Guess who "discovered" Haiti? Yes, our favorite pillager for the crown and dude who "discovered" places where humans were already very well established...Christopher Columbus. Sigh.   "Ayiti" (as its native dwellers called her) was Spanish, then French, then the British put their elbows in it for a bit. And the US "occupied" Haiti for a minute as well.  Haiti was rich in natural resources like gold, copper, and marble.  They

We just recorded an episode of Bitchstory in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, and one of the badass ladies we discussed was Frida Kahlo .  Most people have heard of her, or are fans of her very expressive artwork from the early 20th century.  Many people would recognize her by her famous eyebrows, which have become a symbol of feminism in and of themselves.  Frida rejected accepted beauty standards for women, and her eyebrows were like a middle finger to the patriarchy.   But like all famous people, there was much more to her than her art or her eyebrows.  Frida had Polio as a child, and was left with lingering issues from that. Then when she was 18, a bus she was riding collided with an electric trolley car.  A steel handrail impaled her (yes, impaled), going in one hip, and coming out the other side of her body.  It punctured her uterus and her stomach.  Frankly it is a mighty miracle they saved her life. Moreover, they saved her uterus.  However, she did suffer a number of miscarri