Mythical Astronomy of Ice and Fire

We continue to build the case for Nissa Nissa as a child of the forest by examining the extensive cat woman symbolism of the Nissa Nissa figures in the story. Lady Stoneheart and the Ghost of High Heart; Asha Greyjoy and the wildling spearwives Osha, Ygritte, and Thistle; Cersei Lannister and all her ancestors, including "The Red Widow" Rohanne Webber, and of course, Arya. We will also finally do an extensive comparison of the House of Black and White to all things related to weirwood and the Old Gods of the North. The matching text can be found at LucifermeansLightbringer.com. Thanks to Martin Lewis for the vocal performances, and to John Walsh for our theme music.

This is the long-awaited Arya episode! Arya Stark is a killer with a fine collection of death goddess archetypes such as the Nightwolf, the Ghost in Harrenhal, or a Faceless Man, but she also symbolizes a child of the forest. This is of critical importance to our overarching quest to unravel the mysteries of the War for the Dawn and the Long Night, because Arya is playing into the Nissa Nissa archetype in a very specific way. As you will see, the implications are dramatic: Nissa Nissa may have been a child of the forest, and one who had life after death. Thanks to John Walsh for our new theme music, and thanks to Martin Lewis and the Amethyst Koala for their vocal performances. Enjoy!

In the first episode of Mythical Astronomy, we learned that NIssa Nissa correlates to the moon which was slain by the comet. That's why we call her a moon maiden, and the same goes for all the characters who play the role of Nissa Nissa - they are all types of moon maidens. Now, as we track Azor Ahai through the weirwood forest, we've come upon a new revelation about Nissa Nissa - she's also a weirwood tree maiden. A weirwood goddess, even. Azor Ahai wed Nissa Nissa, and I think he 'wed the trees' too - and these two events might be related to one another, or even be part of the same thing... This episode is for all the ladies and goddesses and fairies and tree nymphs of the land, so guys, put that Lightbringer away for a second and instead... feed yourself to the tree. She's ever-hungry. Vocal performances by Martin Lewis of the Echoes of Ice and Fire Blog and Lady Nightwind. Theme music by John Walsh. Matching text at lucifermeanslightbringer.com

The alternate title for this episode could be "Azor Ahai goes into the weirwoodnet," because that's essentially the topic. Of course, when we say "Azor Ahai" in this sense, we are talking about the group or tribe of horned lords of which Azor Ahai seems to have been a part. We've been picking up hints about Garth people or horned lords being trapped inside the weirwoodnet, and we are going to figure out just exactly what that means. We will be attempting to answer one of those old questions of ASOIAF: whose faces are those on the heart trees? We will also get closet to discerning just what the connection between the meteors and the weirwoods. The matching text to this podcast can be found here. Thanks to Animals as leaders for their music, Martin Lewis and the Amethysts koala for their vocal acting.

Our exploration of the weirwoods goes deep into the heart of the forest to uncover the secrets of the greenseers. We'll be discussing Odin's hanging on Yggdrasil and the larger topic of death transformations accomplished with the help of magical trees. Lots of action at the Inn of the Crossroads, lots of nuts and bolts greenseer talk, a bit of Tully trout-fishing, and we'll even hang a Frey while we're at it. Right at the beginning, we'll have our official Mythical Astronomy breakdown of the Stormlands legend of Durran Godsgrief and fair Elenei. You can find the matching text of the podcast at lucifermeanslightbringer.com / Featuring the vocal performances of Martin Lewis of Echoes of Ice and Fire and the Amethyst Koala.

In Part 2 of the Weirwood Compendium, we will finally be ripping into the symbolism of one of the main characters in the story, Brandon Stark. As the primary recipient of the fire of the gods in ASOIAF, Bran finds himself right at the center of the tangled web of mythology that encompasses both greenseers and Lightbringer. In this episode, we will be visiting several towers of note which Bran is tied to, and we will try not to get struck by lightning as we climb up to the heavens with the bad little boy who was struck down by lighting. We'll also get a healthy dose of Samwell Tarly, as well as the Nightfort and the Night's King, and be on the lookout for a mysterious one-eyed stranger in a hooded cloak. The matching text to the podcast can be found at ‎LucifermeansLightbringer.com

Part 3 of our series on all things related to undead skinchangers, the last hero, Jon Snow, and Green Men turns our attention towards the companions of the last hero, who were almost certainly the original black brothers of the Night's Watch. The is ample evidence to suggest that not only was the last hero an undead skinchanger, but so to were his companions. The origins of the Night's Watch and the humanity's victory over the Long Night are rooted in greenseer magic, and we'll attempt to get to the bottom of it all in this episode. The matching text can be found at lucifermeanslightbringer.com, as well as the link to our patreon campaign. Vocal performances by the Amethyst Koala and Martin Lewis of the Echoes of Ice and Fire blog. Thanks to Animals as Leaders for providing the music for the podcast.

Resurrected fertility gods turn the seasons by dying in the autumn and resurrecting in the spring - but what happens if they are awakened too early, in the dead of winter? Skinchanger zombies, that's what happens. You get the King of Winter. The matching text to this podcast can be found at lucifermeanslightbringer.com Thanks to Martin Lewis for the amazing vocal performances. Check out his Echoes of Ice and Fire for more performances and essays related to ASOIAF. Thanks to Animals as Leaders for allowing us use of their music. Check out their new album here.

We attempt to answer the question, "What's with all the zombies in ASOIAF?" by exploring how George R. R. Martin has tied his concept of resurrection to the real-world folklore of the corn king and the horned god. Topics covered include Coldhands, Jon's resurrection, skinchanging, Garth the Green, green men, the brothers Baratheon, and the War for the Dawn. The matching text to this podcast can be found at lucifermeanslightbringer.com. Thanks to Martin Lewis for the amazing vocal performances. Check out his Echoes of Ice and Fire for more performances and essays related to ASOIAF. Thanks to Animals as Leaders for allowing us use of their music. Check out their new album here. Part Two, "The King of Winter and the Undead Night's Watch," to follow shortly.

So many of you commented on our Great Empire of the Dawn episode that we did with History of Westeros that we decided to do a follow up live episode based on your questions and comments. We recorded it Sat Oct. 22 and you can watch the video version on History of Westeros's Youtube channel.

Our long-awaited joint episode with History of Westeros on the long lost Great Empire of the Dawn is here! We're talking about Dawn Age dragonlords, ancient bloodlines, the Long Night and Azor Ahai and how they relate to Westeros and the Last Hero... we'll be giving you plenty to talk about. You don't need to have listened to any of my prior material to enjoy this, so share away. The video of this episode is available on History of Westeros's youtube page. This episode is based on an essay I wrote last year in collaboration with Durran Durrandon from Westeros.org. Check out his essay "Daenerys is the Amethyst Empress Reborn" for further reading.

Welcome to the Weirwood Compendium, where we will begin to reveal the secrets of the greenseers through the use of mythical astronomy analysis. Our journey to the heart of the weirwoodnet actually begins with the Ironborn mythology, believe it or not, for the Ironborn folklore is actually shot through with covert references to weirwood. Whether it's the weirwood staff of the greatest Drowned Priest, Galon Whitestaff, or the ribs of Nagga, which are almost certainly petrified weirwood, or the tale of the Grey King carving the first longship from the hard, pale wood of the demon tree Ygg, we find that Ironborn culture once had a much stronger connection to weirwood that it does currently. Not only is this connection concealing a huge secret about greenseers and the Ironborn, it's also where we can begin to suss out the relationship between the moon meteors and the greenseers, and that's really the heart of the Long Night story.The matching text to the podcast can be found on lucifermeanslightbringer.com

Venus-based mythology is perhaps some of the most important world mythology to know if you want to understand A Song of Ice and Fire. George has drawn upon it in creating the Night's Watch, House Dayne and the Sword Dawn, and of course, Lightbringer, as well as a few other things. 'Lucifer' is the Latin word for the planet Venus when it appears as the Morningstar - the bright star which appears in the east just before sunrise and heralds the break of day. The word Lucifer also translates to "light-bringer," "dawn-bringer," and "son of the morning." Calling Azor Ahai's famous sword "Lightbringer" directly equates it with Venus, and indeed, heralding the end of the Long Night is what Lightbringer is supposed to do. But due to interesting celestial mechanics, Venus also takes a turn as the Evenstar - the bright star that appears in the west at sunset and heralds the nightfall. This is what our theorizing has told us about Azor Ahai - he's actually the dude who brought on the Long Night. In an interesting parallel, the Bible names both Jesus and Lucifer as the Morningstar. All of this mythology is expressing the dual nature of the planet Venus, and that's what we'll explore in this podcast.As usual, the matching text is available on lucifermeanslightbringer.com

Welcome to the new podcast feed! In our seventh episode, we step back from the close reading of the text to talk about what it is we are doing with our analysis of symbolism and mythology. We'll discuss how A Song of Ice and Fire fits into a critically important tradition of esoteric and symbolic art and literature, and why that is so relevant and compelling to us in today's modern era. This forms the foundation how we at Mythical Astronomy view the books, and thus, our methodology for analyzing them. This isn't just a case of a clever author hiding double-meanings in his writing for his own amusement, but rather the continuation and elevation of a grand literary tradition. We've also got some very important information about the state of the podcast at the beginning. The matching text to this episode and all episodes can be found on lucifermeanslightbringer.com. Featuring the local talents of the Amethyst Koala and the music of Animals as Leaders.

Our first character-centric breakdown takes up the theory that Tyrion is a Targaryen bastard by examining two of his symbolic personas - the gargoyle and the twisted monkey demon. We'll dive into mysteries such as "why are Dragonstone and Winterfell the only two castles with gargoyles on them?" and "Is there a connection between the Last Hero and Azor Ahai?" We'll also ponder one of the first examples of mythical astronomy in the books, Bran's fall from the tower. Featuring the vocal talent of Paige Lawrence & Lady Nightwind. Matching text to the podcast can be found on lucifermeanslightbringer.com

Chapter review, Mythical Astronomy style: we rip into the trial by combat scene, of the most detailed examples of mythical astronomy in the series. We'll explore the symbolism of Oberyn Martel and Ser Gregor Clegane, and we will finally answer the question about what the Hammer of the Waters really was, and when it happened. Guest appearances by John the Fiddler, Tyrion the "giant" of Lannister, Sansa the medusa-maiden, the Last Hero, the sword Widow's Wail, and the purple wedding. As always, you can find the text of the podcast in essay form (plus a few pictures)at lucifermeanslightbringer.com

A special edition of the podcast - we join up with Aziz and Ashaya from History of Westeros for a joint episode on all things Asshai! Call it the 'Ancient Mythical History of Westeros (and sometimes Asshai).' There is no accompanying essay for this one - podcast only - but the video version of this is available on the History of Westeros Youtube channel, if you'd like to watch (we recorded live). Enjoy!