In this week’s episode Max Dashu speaks with Joanna about: researching the spiritual heritage of Europe; decolonization and the ancestral recovery work of Europeans and Americans; reweaving the web of culture; suppressed histories: women, peasantry, religious minorities; pan-European spinner goddesses, distaffs and Pagan women’s weaving ceremonies; a long history of domination of women, people and Nature; the earliest written records of patriarchal misogyny; the mythological encoding of male domination; the higher accuracy of oralture (oral tradition culture); the megalithic womb-tombs; the sacred mugwort and the underworld journey towards a secret, healing name; understanding the demonization of the Earth-based sacred traditions of Europe.

Max Dashu founded the Suppressed Histories Archives in 1970 to research and document women’s history from an international perspective. She built a collection of 15,000 slides and 30,000 digital images, and has created 150 slideshows on female cultural heritages across human history. Dashu’s work bridges the gap between academia and grassroots education. It foregrounds indigenous women passed over by standard histories and highlights female spheres of power retained even in some patriarchal societies. Dashu is known for her expertise on ancient female iconography in world archaeology, women shamans, witches and the witch hunts, mother-right cultures, patriarchies and the origins of domination. Dashu has just published “Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100( Veleda Press, 2016). This book is Vol. VII in the 15-volume series “Secret History of the Witches”, with two more volumes forthcoming. She has also produced two videos on dvd: “Women’s Power in Global Perspective” (2008) and “Woman Shaman: the Ancients” (2013).

“I Can’t Sit Still”, original music by Evarusnik