The Forgotten Familiar

Cerissa

A poetic storytelling podcast unearthing forgotten feminine folklore, resistance, and ritual. The past is not gone...it’s just been hiding.

  1. The Final Threshold

    FEB 12

    The Final Threshold

    This is the last episode of The Forgotten Familiar. Not because the stories are finished, but because they are changing form. This podcast has been a love. A quiet hearth. A place where history’s forgotten voices could rise again. And like all true loves, it has asked to be honored, not held past its season. The stories are not ending. They are simply stepping into a more living room, one with breath, presence, and exchange. If you want to continue walking with me, the stories now live on Patreon, where they are told live, held in community, and allowed to breathe. This is not goodbye. It’s an invitation forward. Let the old ways rise again. Music for this episode provided by Pixabay. Send a text Support the show

    16 min
  2. The Guardians at the Gate

    JAN 20

    The Guardians at the Gate

    Before locks, before laws, before gods were named, there was the threshold—and the one who decided what was allowed to cross it. In this episode, we explore the ancient role of guardianship across cultures and history. From doorways and crossroads to tombs and hearths, thresholds were never passive. They were protected, honored, and actively defended. We examine the guardians who stood watch, including Hecate, Anubis, and the household spirits who guarded the home itself. We also look at apotropaic symbols, witch marks, and how modern thresholds now include our boundaries, nervous systems, and digital lives. This is not about fear or isolation. It is about sovereignty. About deciding what enters your space—and what does not. For extended readings, integrated ritual work, and deeper exploration of this episode, join us on Patreon. And if you'd like to help keep the podcast going, consider becoming a sponsor. Let the old ways rise again. Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay Send us a text Support the show

    1h 15m
  3. The Evolution of the Witch

    12/23/2025

    The Evolution of the Witch

    Before the word witch was ever spoken, there was only the fire—and the people who sat close to it. This long-form episode traces the witch's evolution across millennia: from Paleolithic pattern-readers to Egyptian temple magic, from medieval cunning folk to the trials that murdered thousands, from Salem to feminist reclamation, to today's digital age where witchcraft exists between meme and mystery. This is the Season of Becoming—not becoming something new, but remembering what we've always been. Support the show: Become a Patron on Patreon | Or sponsor an episode Music by Eder Maseda from Pixabay Send us a text Support the show

    1h 30m
  4. The Witch Before the Word

    12/05/2025

    The Witch Before the Word

    December opens with a threshold. A shift. A remembering. This episode marks the beginning of The Forgotten Familiar’s new long-form structure—moving from weekly releases to one richly crafted episode each month. (Two for December as we transition.) This slower, deeper format allows the stories to breathe, the research to expand, and the history to land the way it was always meant to. In this episode, we return to the earliest roots of the witch—before the word existed, before the fear, long before the archetype was twisted into something monstrous or marketable. We explore the ancient healers, diviners, midwives, and memory-keepers whose lives formed the first threads of the witchcraft timeline. The ones trusted. Revered. Essential. The ones history tried to forget. This is the beginning of The Season of Becoming—a month-long journey through the evolution of the witch, from her ancient origins to the modern reclamation rising around us. If you want deeper notes, sources, and extended historical context, the companion guide for this episode is available in Whispers Beneath on Patreon. And if you’d like to support the show, you can become a monthly sponsor—every contribution helps keep these stories alive, researched, and told with the depth they deserve. Let the old ways rise again.  by Amelia from Pixabay Send us a text Support the show

    24 min
  5. The Bread Witch of Lublin

    11/14/2025

    The Bread Witch of Lublin

    In 1679, a woman named Regina Zalewska was accused of bewitching bread in the Polish city of Lublin. Her crime was not poison or blasphemy, but the quiet skill of a baker whose loaves rose when others failed. In a world gripped by famine and faith, her whispered prayers over the dough became proof of witchcraft, and her hands, the same hands that fed her neighbors, were condemned by fire. This episode of The Forgotten Familiar uncovers the true story behind the legend of the Bread Witch of Lublin: the fear that turned hunger into heresy, the history of “bread magic” in early-modern Poland, and how women’s everyday labor became mistaken for the supernatural. Step back into a world where bread was sacred, survival was suspicion, and the simplest act of nourishment could become an act of rebellion. Continue the story beyond the episode inside Whisper’s Beneath on Patreon where the full sources, readings, and modern practices inspired by this tale await. And if you'd like to help me keep the stories alive, sponsor an episode using the link here. Music by Rockot from Pixabay Send us a text Support the show

    21 min
  6. Demeter's Hunger

    11/07/2025

    Demeter's Hunger

    Grief reshaped the world. When Persephone vanished into the underworld, her mother, Demeter, walked the earth in sorrow, and the fields turned to dust beneath her feet. In this episode of The Forgotten Familiar, we follow the mother of the grain through myth and memory, from divine despair to the birth of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Her hunger becomes the world’s first lesson in balance, the alchemy of loss turned into life. Listen as ancient myth, history, and reverence intertwine to reveal how one goddess’s grief taught humankind to plant, to harvest, and to remember. Support the storytelling that keeps the old ways alive: Become a listener sponsor, or step deeper into the story with Whisper’s Beneath on Patreon for exclusive behind-the-veil episodes, historical notes, and hidden lore. Music by Dream-Protocol from Pixabay Send us a text Support the show

    28 min
  7. When Witches Walked at Midnight

    10/31/2025

    When Witches Walked at Midnight

    Once, they said witches walked at midnight...not because they were wicked, but because it was the only hour the world forgot to watch. In this special Halloween episode of The Forgotten Familiar, we return to the origins of the witch’s night, from the sacred fires of Samhain to the birth of Halloween, from healers branded as heretics to the quiet rebellion of those who walked through darkness anyway. This is the story of the witch’s endurance, how she survived the pyre, hid in folklore, and rose again beneath a brighter moon. Because every flame lit on this night is a memory, and every witch who walks at midnight now carries the light of those who could not. Find the sources and secrets behind this episode on Patreon, Whispers Beneath. Help keep the stories alive by sponsoring this podcast using the link below. Music by SOUND_GARAGE and Phantom Whispers from Pixabay Sound Effect by P F from Pixabay Send us a text Support the show

    27 min
  8. The Morrígan: The Sovereignty of Endings

    10/24/2025

    The Morrígan: The Sovereignty of Endings

    Mist gathers over the Irish hills. The crows are already watching. The Morrígan, The Great Queen, The Phantom Queen, is not a goddess of death, but of truth. She is the voice that ends what cannot continue, the shadowed mirror that shows us who we are when the masks fall away. Her story is not one of cruelty, but of sovereignty. In this episode of The Forgotten Familiar, we travel through her many faces: Badb the prophet, Macha the avenger, and Nemain the frenzy, and into the myths that shaped Ireland’s oldest understanding of feminine power. From her prophecies in The Táin Bó Cúailnge to her unions of balance and consequence, The Morrígan remains the one who crowns through confrontation and transforms through endings. This is a tale of truth, power, and the quiet rebellion that comes from standing in your own sovereignty. Bonus deep dive available on Patreon, Whispers Beneath. Music provided by MFCC Wings Sound Effect by DRAGON-STUDIO Crow Sound Effect by kave msri Send a text Support the show

    22 min
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About

A poetic storytelling podcast unearthing forgotten feminine folklore, resistance, and ritual. The past is not gone...it’s just been hiding.

Information

  • Creator
    Cerissa
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Cerissa Leese
  • Show Website
    The Forgotten Familiar