The Sacred Flame

Gefion the Goddess of the Meadows: Witches and the Spectacle of Modern Life

December 16, 2023 Mathias Nordvig Season 1 Episode 10
The Sacred Flame
Gefion the Goddess of the Meadows: Witches and the Spectacle of Modern Life
Show Notes

This episode begins with the story about Gefion who created the island of Sjalland. I examine the story of her meeting with Gylfi in the form that it is represented by Snorri Sturluson in Edda. After that, I take a dive into the witch craze of the early modern period and discuss its impact on European-western societies, what role it actually played in social life, and how a goddess of the meadows was turned into a witch. I extrapolate some ideas from that, which hint at how we've created a society of the spectacle, a society where human life is framed, encased, and reduced to representations in the tiny boxes that we keep in our pockets, our phones.