129. Dr. Sharon Blackie: Hagitude

In today’s episode Kate and Betsy interview writer Dr. Sharon Blackie, an award-winning and internationally bestselling author, and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore.  Today we talk about her book Hagitude and the art of reimagining the second half of life. In today’s episode we discuss:  Sharon’s early years in a poor environment in the Northeast of England amidst the sea as well as industry and smoking chimneys, and how after living in many other countries throughout her life she has recently returned to this area to live. How Sharon woke up in the middle of the night with the word “Hagitude” and knew it was the title for her next book.  She explains how she likes reclaiming words that have been used against us, and she defines hagitude as a quality of enoughness, understanding the essence of who you are and your unique gift to the world, and then making use of it in the second half of life. We have so few elder role models in the modern culture who are wise, funny, and feisty, and so she went to look at the old stories and myths to find guidance. How we are told menopause is an ending, but it is also a beginning, and how Sharon found the years post-menopause the best and the easiest years of her life. She shares if you get through it, there is so much more ahead. The power of magic, or what Sharon refers to as enchantment, and how she believes there is more to the world than we experience with our senses. How to be in communication with the land that you live on, and an example of how Sharon has done this in her own life. How the wild woman archetype often emerges in mid-life and then transforms eventually into the wise woman, which leads into learning about her newest book Wise Woman that was just released this week. Bio: Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author, and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore. Her work is focused on reimagining women’s stories, and on the relevance of myths and fairy tales to the personal, cultural and environmental issues we face today. As well as writing six books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted and  Hagitude, her writing has appeared in international media outlets and she has featured in programs by the BBC, US public radio and independent filmmakers. Sharon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Honorary Member of the UK Association of Jungian Analysts, and has taught and lectured at many academic institutions, Jungian organisations, retreat centres and cultural festivals around the world. Her publication ‘The Art of Enchantment’ is in the top ten global literature Substacks. Sharon lives in Cumbria, in the north of England, with her husband, dogs, hens and sheep. She is represented by Jane Graham Maw, at Graham Maw Christie Agency. Sharon’s TEDx talk on the mythic imagination can be viewed here. Her publication ‘The Art of Enchantment’ is in the Top Ten Literature Substacks. About Dr. Blackie’s Book Hagitude: Deftly interweaving myth, psychology and memoir, Sharon Blackie argues that menopause ushers in a rich and vibrant new phase of life, and explores the many different ways in which women can flourish during what is so often portrayed as a time of decline. Hagitude unearths the stories of the little-known but powerful elder women in European myth and folklore, inspiring readers to imagine that the last decades of our lives might be the most dynamic of all. This moving and uplifting book will inspire a new generation of female elders: women who have reclaimed their Inner Hag, matured into their own unique brand of hagitude and who are ready to pass down their deep feminine wisdom for the benefit of the wider Earth community. https://hagitude.org About Dr. Blackie’s New Book Released this Month – Wise Women: Myths and Stories for Midlife and Beyond An unforgettable collection of retold myths and folk tales celebrating the wisdom and power of older women. Ungainly giantesses. Sequin-strewn fairy godmothers. Misunderstood witches. Fierce grandmothers. Hairy-chinned hags. Craggy crones. From early childhood, we learn about the world and its possibilities through myths and fairy tales. The heroines, though, tend to be golden-haired princesses, and the evil-doers often older women. But women today are searching for positive versions of themselves from midlife onwards, and this dazzling array of not-to-be-messed-with characters provides them. They outwit monsters, test and mentor younger heroines, embody the cycles and seasons of the earth, weave the world into being – and almost always have the last laugh. These women manifest their wisdom in different ways, and so offer us inspiration for how we too can walk boldly and live authentically in the second half of life. https://sharonblackie.net/wise-women/ Past Episodes You Might Like With Female Authors  Episode 123: Delores Reynals: A True Women of the World Episode 122: Nina Lohman – The Body Alone: A Lyrical Articulation of Chronic Pain Episode 107: Jocelyn Davis: Insubordinate  Episode 103:  Lyz Lenz: This American Ex-Wife  Episode 90: Michaela Boehm: The Wild Woman’s Way to Embodiment Episode 87: Dr. Stacey Shelby: Tracking the Wild Woman Archetype Episode 52: Katherine Wintsch: Slay Like A Mother Today’s Episode sponsored by: Kate Moreland Coaching Dr Yoga Momma Heartland Yoga Want to Meet Betsy & Kate in Person on Retreat? Join us on a feminine reclamation journey to Paros, Greece in the Fall of 2025.  There are just a few spots left. All the details here! Source