Three Ravens Podcast
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threeravenspod.bsky.social
Three Ravens Podcast
@threeravenspod.bsky.social
A history, mythology and folklore podcast. Gather round the campfire and listen in! https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcast

We also run the old Twitter hashtag #FolkyFriday - new themes each week, so do join in!
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Friends! Thank you for a lovely #FolkyFriday filled with folkloric riddles, fun and games! 🖤

We'll go huddle under blankets now and will return next week on 28/11 with the theme of "Ice Queens, Deities and Spirits of the Cold!"

Tag related posts #FolkyFriday for sharing then from 10am-6pm UK time!
a cartoon drawing of a woman in a white robe holding a spear
ALT: a cartoon drawing of a woman in a white robe holding a spear
media.tenor.com
For this month's episode of Magus we're chatting about the magical life of a genuine icon of esoterica and the occult, Doctor John Dee! 🖤

Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts - or through the link in our bio!

#FolkloreThursday #DoctorDee #JohnDee #History #Folklore #Magic #Podcast #Occult
November 27, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Our final County Episode for 2025 is OUT NOW! 🖤

This week we're headed over one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world to explore the #history and #folklore of magical #Anglesey!

Enriched by extracts from this Saturday's Local Legends chat with @mharastarling.bsky.social it's a corker!
November 24, 2025 at 11:08 AM
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It was a gorgeous evening!
November 23, 2025 at 5:47 PM
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Super productive meet-up and coffee with Christina @treadwells-books.bsky.social this morning.

Watch this space for future collab potential between the Folklore Podcast and Treadwells.

Signed a bunch of books which are now on sale in the shop. ( @threeravenspod.bsky.social free promo for you too!)
November 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
For our final Live Show release of 2026 we have a Live Q&A hosted by the one and only @treadwells-books.bsky.social OUT NOW! 🖤

In case you're unfamiliar, Treadwell's is an esoteric bookshop in London specializing in occult and spiritual topics like magic, witchcraft, and world religions.

Enjoy!
November 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
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pca.st
November 23, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Our new Local Legends interview episode is OUT NOW! 🖤

This week Eleanor has spoken with the wonderful #storyteller Deborah Winter about the #folklore of her home county of Pembrokeshire, a land of mermaids, pirates and the cry of the raven...

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!
November 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Friends! Thank you for a lovely #FolkyFriday filled with folkloric riddles, fun and games! 🖤

We'll go huddle under blankets now and will return next week on 28/11 with the theme of "Ice Queens, Deities and Spirits of the Cold!"

Tag related posts #FolkyFriday for sharing then from 10am-6pm UK time!
a cartoon drawing of a woman in a white robe holding a spear
ALT: a cartoon drawing of a woman in a white robe holding a spear
media.tenor.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:17 PM
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Sometimes the greatest riddle isn’t a question at all. it’s what we see when stories, symbols, and games reveal how ancient play always carried deeper meaning. #FolkyFriday
November 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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In Welsh folklore, the hero Pwyll trapped his fairy enemy Gwawl in a magic bag. Each of Pwyll's men asked what was in it; when Pwyll said "a badger," the man kicked the bag. Gwawl was freed only when he swore to leave Pwyll alone forever. Thus, the game "Badger in the Bag" was invented.
#FolkyFriday
November 21, 2025 at 5:33 PM
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#FolkyFriday 🎲 #Royal #GameoftheGoose
The Royal Game of the Goose (1580s–1800s) 🪿
The first mass-produced board game! No strategy—just chaos. Race your goose, hit hazards, get flung back or forward.
Started in Renaissance Italy, gifted to Philip II (~1587), then took Europe by storm.
November 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
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Because the girl refused to play Lady Daji's game of frolicking in the Shang palace nude, Lady Daji had her executed. Because her father protested, Lady Daji had the girl's father killed and cut into steaks, then fed to his own men. #FolkyFriday
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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Irish selkies answered riddles only when in human form. Fail, and they returned to the sea. For wave-tossed storytelling, try Tidal Blades. #FolkyFriday

Art: Nataša Ilinčić
November 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
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Sittuyin (Burmese: စစ်တုရင်), also known as Burmese chess, is a strategy board game created in Myanmar. It is a direct offspring of the Indian game of chaturanga, which arrived in Myanmar in the 8th century thus it is part of the same family of games such as chess and shogi.

#FolkyFriday 🧵
November 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM
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The term checkmate betrays chess' Indo-Persian origins, as does the name. Chess comes from the Italian scacchi, which is descended from the Persian word for king, Shah. Checkmate is Shah Mat: the King is Helpless. #FolkyFriday
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
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"Wol ye here a wonder thynge Betwyxt a mayd & the fovle fende?" So begins a medieval battle of wits between a young woman & the devil. Every riddle he sets "What ys hyer than ys [the] tre?" She answers "Hewene ys heyer than ys the tre" Her moral strength & sagacity deliver her from evil #FolkyFriday
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
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Once, a group of giants decided to have a picnic and play games on Alsen island, much to the consternation of the human locals.

#folkyfriday #denmark #folktale #folklore #giant
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Alsen_Sund_and_the_Hops%C3%B6
The Alsen Sund and the Hopsö
wiki.sunkencastles.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:04 PM
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#FolkyFriday
Royal Game of #Ur (~2600 BCE)
The oldest known board game, found in Mesopotamian royal tombs with pyramid dice. Some say it’s a journey to the afterlife. Exeter Book Riddles (~950 CE)
96 witty Old English poems from monks with a dark sense of humor, and quill pens.
November 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was a Japanese storytelling game popular during the Edo period. These gatherings were held on summer nights and to begin 100 candles or lamps were lit. Participants then took turns to tell 100 ghost stories (kaidan). After each story, a candle was...
#MythologyMonday
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November 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
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The Round School House in Bibai City, Hokkaido, Japan (1906) was an elementary school from the 1940s-70s. Stories about the nearby woods include lights, shadows
blood curdling screams & demonic sounds.There are stories of people going to the ruins and never
returning. #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday
November 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM
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#FolkyFriday 🎲 #Dice
Ajax & Achilles Playing Dice ~530 BC
This Athenian amphora catches two Trojan War heroes in a rare quiet moment: Ajax reaching for his piece while Achilles leans in over the board. Seven counters and dice (pessi) lie between them—probably an early ancestor of #backgammon
November 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
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Sir Thomas Dalyell (1615–1685) – “Bluidy Tam” – often played cards with the Devil. But Tam made the mistake of winning, & Satan was so angry he hurled the marble gaming table into a pond. The cards & (rescued) table are on display in Tam’s ancestral home…
#FolkyFriday
www.nts.org.uk/stories/deal...
Dealing with the Devil
Project Reveal head to the House of the Binns to catalogue the table where ‘Bluidy Tam’ is said to have played the Devil at cards.
www.nts.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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In the Hindu epic poem 'Mahabharata', Draupadi was the Queen & wife of the 5 Pandavas. When King Yudhishthira lost a game of dice, an effort was made to disrobe her, but she was saved by Krishna. redbubble.com/shop/ap/3765... #FolkyFriday #mythology #art #illustration #vintage
The Ordeal of Queen Draupadi - Warwick Goble by forgottenbeauty | Redbubble
The Ordeal of Queen Draupadi - Warwick Goble From "Indian Myth and Legend" 1913 The life of Draupadi, queen and wife of the five Pandavas, appears in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata (ca. 1500 BC). Ple...
redbubble.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:23 PM