{"podcast":{"title":"The Three Ravens Podcast","slug":"the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563","podcast_index_feed_id":6092563,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6404e1f4c5ea8c0011811194","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/threeravenspodcast","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6404e1f4c5ea8c0011811194/1762731467101-0eb1042b-7eea-4cd5-b8b9-9f44f87aadbd.jpeg","author":"Three Ravens","episode_count":511,"summary":"Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux. In each weekly episode, released on Mondays, we explore a historic county, digging into the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Across our first six series we ventured around England's 39 historic counties twice, taking turns to tell a new version of a legend from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it may have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past. Our Bonus Episodes are then released on Thursdays ( Magic and Medicines about folk remedies and arcane spells, Three Ravens Bestiary about cryptids and mythical creatures, Forgotten Melodies about folk song types with original performances from us, and Magus , which is about the lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history). On Saturdays, we then release episodes of our interview series Local Legends, with each episode featuring a chat between us and an acclaimed folklorist, author, podcaster or historian, deepening discussions about that week's county. In b…","last_synced_at":"2026-08-02T04:21:37.212610+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563"},"episode":{"title":"Magic and Medicines #25: Familiars and Animal Magic","slug":"magic-and-medicines-25-familiars-and-animal-magic","published_at":"2026-06-08T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563/magic-and-medicines-25-familiars-and-animal-magic","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563","url":"https://www.threeravenspodcast.com/","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6404e1f4c5ea8c0011811194/e/6a25aaaf4330c50bd3039ce3/media.mp3","summary":"We're growling, purring and hissing our way into this month's Magic and Medicines episode to talk all about Familiars and Animal Magic! We start by talking about animistic beliefs in early societies, along with associations of animals with particular deities, before diving into Medieval and Renaissance ideas about witches' familiars documented in witch trial materials. With Vinegar Tom, Sacke-and-Sugar and Pecke-in-the-Crowne frolicking about our feet, we explore beliefs about how familiars might be summoned - and whether or not they are really something far more sinister than a magical companion.  There's a bit of Jungian psychology, of course, and an eclectic selection of beliefs from around the world - but are appearances of animals within spiritual practices really just symbols to assist us with self-development? Moving into the 21st century, we discuss neo-shamanism, power animals, and how domestic pets can be spiritually comforting to practitioners of magic and spirituality today, before rounding out the conversation by looking to the future with digital familiars and AI companions! We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday with The Golden Branch, a longer Lang tale! Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon. Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from,…","meta_description":"We're growling, purring and hissing our way into this month's Magic and Medicines episode to talk all about Familiars and Animal Magic! We start by talkin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4176,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563/episodes/magic-and-medicines-25-familiars-and-animal-magic/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563/magic-and-medicines-25-familiars-and-animal-magic.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}