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Known more by legend than fact, Marie Laveau has been immortalized for her Louisiana Voodoo practices. Born in New Orleans as the first free woman of color in her family, she's remembered for much more than her religious practices. By the end of her life, Marie was known as the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans and had practiced it for at least 60 years.

Marie was not only known for her Voodoo practices and ceremonies. She nursed the sick in Yellow Fever epidemics, cared for the condemned, and let Choctaw women and children sleep in her front yard. She was a true figurehead of multiracial, diverse community of New Orleans, and is still consulted for guidance today.

Come along with us as we explore Marie's place in New Orleans history, influence on Afro-Catholic practices, and her enduring legacy through history and astrology for Black History Month!

Sources

Articles:

• “The Ancestors: Marie Laveau’s Tomb” by August Darbonne, Kathryn O’Dwyer (https://tinyurl.com/yaav7s86)
• "The Birth of New Orleans' Voodoo Queen: A Long-Held Mystery Resolved" by Ina J. Fandrich (https://tinyurl.com/5n6sszf4)
• "Extreme Penalty of the Law: Death Punishment for Murder, The Executions Yesterday", New Orleans Republican, May 14, 1871 (https://tinyurl.com/4et3fz47)
• “Marie Laveau” by Carolyn Marrow Long (https://tinyurl.com/34ej4p5m)
• "Marie Laveau's husband disappeared 200 years ago, but an LSU student thinks she finally found him" by Doug MacCash (https://tinyurl.com/y5e3eun7)

Books:

• The French Quarter: an Informal History of the New Orleans by Herbert Ashbury
• The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans by Denise Alvarado
• A New Orleans voudou priestess: the legend and reality of Marie Laveau by Carolyn Morrow Long
• Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, & Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans by Denise Alvarado

Primary Sources:

• Le Code Noir, May 6, 1687 (https://tinyurl.com/2s468ypz)
• Louisiana's Code Noir, 1724 (https://tinyurl.com/5z28pun5)

Websites:

• Marie Laveau Home Site (https://tinyurl.com/m4ck5jj5)
• Marie Laveau's Tomb (https://tinyurl.com/524krb6s)
• Marie Laveau, Voodoo Practitioner (https://tinyurl.com/y934fm97)
• St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (https://tinyurl.com/4nn8utak)
• Who was Marie Laveau? (https://tinyurl.com/3n73sn5p)

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Born on April 15, 1894, Bessie Smith fell in love with music at a young age. Inspired by her brother Clarence, she started off performing on 9th Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. By 14, she was performing at Atlanta's 81 Theatre, where she met the legendary Ma Rainey.

In 1923, Bessie recorded "Down Hearted Blues." In less than 6 months, it sold 780,000 copies. This catapulted her into the national spotlight where she toured the North and South, collaborated with greats like Louis Armstrong, and became the highest paid Black entertainer of her time.

Come along with us as we explore Bessie's career, influence on blues and jazz, and her enduring legacy through history and astrology for Black History Month!

Sources

Articles:

• “Bessie Smith” by Chris Albertson, for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (https://tinyurl.com/5ad57fps)
• "Bessie Smith: Blues Icon, Trailblazer with Village Connections" by Leeanne G-Bowley (https://tinyurl.com/472fpr6e)
• "Bessie Smith's First Recordings" by Roger Kimmel Smith (https://tinyurl.com/5n6r5e7p)
• "Bulldykers and lady lovers: the rumors about lesbian blues singers were all true" by Meagan Day (https://tinyurl.com/4byxcx83)
• “Edward Albee: Controversial Father of Vaudeville” by Anna Jennings (https://tinyurl.com/dw6byj4v)
• “Forebearers: Bessie Smith, The Empress of The Blues” by Gwen Thompkins (https://tinyurl.com/d58j32k3)
• "1923: Bessie Smith, 100 Women of the Year", TIME Magazine (https://tinyurl.com/43ywwxrk)

Books:

• Bessie by Chris Alberston, Revised and Extended Edition.

Digital Media:

• Bessie, HBO Films, 2015
• St. Louis Blues (https://tinyurl.com/545z73tr)

Websites:

• Bessie Smith (https://tinyurl.com/th3d8phr)
• Bessie Smith (https://tinyurl.com/msw69jkn)
• Bessie Smith (https://tinyurl.com/5dn9xyfs)
• GRAMMY Hall of Fame Past Recipients (https://tinyurl.com/mnrn3b45)
• The National Recording Registry 2002 (https://tinyurl.com/2my6fs2t)
• 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll (https://tinyurl.com/4vbbdazz)

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For over 1,100 years, the Pythia at the Oracle of Delphi influenced politics, wars, and laws in the Ancient Greek world. Open to questions only nine days a year, the Pythia gave guidance to people from all across Greece, Asia Minor, and beyond.

Between 535 to 615 of the oracles have survived, and over half are said to be historically correct. Pericles, Xenophon (a friend of Socrates), and Emperor Hadrian consulted the Pythia, showing how these women were the greatest authority in Ancient Greece.

Come along with us as we explore the founding of the Oracle of Delphi, famous prophecies, and the Pythia's power through history and astrology in Olivia's birthday episode!

This episode contains mentions of rape & cannibalism.

Sources

Articles:

• “Apollo and the Pythia: the Oracle of Delphi” (https://tinyurl.com/wretu7df)
• “Delphic priestesses were the world’s first political risk consultants” (https://tinyurl.com/38d6wen8)
• "The excavations at Delphi" (https://tinyurl.com/bpbxp9b3)
• “The Oracle of Delphi: The Ancient Greek Fortuneteller” (https://tinyurl.com/mfpdtbr8)
• "What Lies Beneath: The Great Excavation Sacred Delphi" (https://tinyurl.com/5ufkx99z)

Books:

• The Astrology of Fate by Liz Green
• Delphi: a history of the center of the ancient world by Michael Scott
• Delphi and the Greek Warrior by Lauren O. Thyme
• Delphi: The History of the Ancient Greek Sanctuary and Home to the World's Most Famous Oracle by Charles River Editors and Andrew Scott
• “The Delphic Oracle” in Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology (https://tinyurl.com/45bjxh2c)
• The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets by William J. Broad
• “The Twelve Labors of Heracles” in Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology (https://tinyurl.com/m97z52yp)

Primary Sources:

• The Histories by Herodotus, Translated by Andrea L. Purvis, Edited by Robert B. Strassler
• The Obsolescence of Oracles by Plutarch, Translated by F.C. Babbitt

Website:

• Archaeological Site of Delphi (https://tinyurl.com/v22kpxfr)
• Delphi Archaeological Museum (https://tinyurl.com/2dm34js7)
• Heracles and Apollo (https://tinyurl.com/3u2v472j)
• History of Delphi (https://tinyurl.com/5ufkx99z)
• The Oracle at Delphi (https://tinyurl.com/3r5dcebd)

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