98 Gifts of the Wyrd: Tania Yager: Allure of the Dark Spirits

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen. Santa, and Frosty, and Rudolph, and Dickens. But do you know? The Alluring Dark Spirits of old? In this episode, you can meet three of the Dark Spirits of the Christmas with my guest Tania Yager. Tania is the author of the book The Allure of the Dark Spirits (which will be available Dec. 5, 2025 on Lulu). We talk about the process of getting the book written and about the three topics of the book: Krampus, La Befana, and the Mari Lwyd. The book "is a whimsical, bombastic, and deeply heartfelt journey into the shadowy magic of winter folklore. Part memoir, part shamanic exploration, and part folklore celebration, Yager invites readers to walk beside her as she meets the Alpine Krampus in the snowy streets of Munich, seeks out the Italian witch La Befana, and revisits her own bittersweet ties to Wales through the ghostly Mari Lwyd." We had a great discussion (one of the longer I've done) talking about her journey and about the spirits. The book will be available for order on Dec. 5, 2025 (Krampusnacht) in time for the holiday season. A gift for yourself and that special friend in your life who also enjoys the spirits of winter. This is a longer episode, so here is a bit of a show flow: 0:00:00 Introduction and background of Tania and developing the book 0:35:28 Frau Perchta/Frau Holle 0:47:33 Krampus 1:02:00 La Befana 1:11:20 Mari Lwyd - Mari Beast 1:37:56 New Projects, closing Yager is a multifaceted visual/ performance artist, writer, holistic educator, and shamanic practitioner. She has dedicated her life to the art of storytelling in all forms and strives to put the education at the forefront of her work. She is the creative director of Twisted Heart Puppetworks and founder of The Wild Hunt of Vista Krampus Run and The Dark X-mas Market of Vista. Through her works, she aims to inspire others to explore folklore, fantasy, myth and magic. Order the book beginning Dec. 5, 2025 on Lulu. Find the link at The Wild Hunt of Vista.com Check out the Dark X-mas Market in Vista California on Dec .13 2025. Follow Tania on IG & FB: @twistedheartpuppetworks and IG: @wildhuntersvista The Dark Market on IG & FB: @thedarkxmasmarket # # # Create your podcast today!

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98 Gifts of the Wyrd: Tania Yager: Allure of the Dark Spirits is an episode from Gifts of the Wyrd by J Hijatt.

This episode is 104:15 long.

This episode was published on Dec 1, 2025.

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