ECHOES: A FATHOMS DEEP PODCAST - SHOW NOTES
Shapeshifters and Boundary Crossers: The Appeal of Fluid Identity
Episode 10 | September 22, 2025 | Duration: 24 minutes
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
A mysterious woman appears at a harbor inn, paying in coins that taste of brine and speaking with an accent that shifts like tide pools in moonlight. By dawn she has vanished, leaving behind silver fish and whispered stories of those who dwell between worlds. This scene captures the essence of maritime shapeshifter traditions: beings who remind us that identity itself might be as fluid as the sea. In this episode, we explore why shapeshifters and boundary crossers have captured human imagination across cultures, examining how these ancient maritime archetypes offer profound insights for our contemporary understanding of fluid identity, transformation psychology, and the courage required to exist authentically between established categories.
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FEATURED EXPLORATION
The Tidal Nature of Identity: How the sea's constant motion mirrors the fluidity of human consciousness
Threshold Psychology: Victor Turner's liminal spaces and the geography of transformation
Cultural Mediation: How shapeshifters serve as diplomatic tools and messengers between worlds
Transformation Psychology: Jung's individuation, Turkle's identity cycling, and the vulnerability of change
Maritime Advantages: Why ocean settings provide ideal territory for exploring consciousness and identity
Contemporary Applications: How ancient wisdom speaks to modern concepts of gender fluidity, multicultural identity, and climate adaptation
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SOUND CREDITS
Wave bell attributedPirate Ship at Bay.wav by CGEffex -- https://freesound.org/s/93678/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
SHIP SOUND REQUEST!.wav by hello_flowers -- https://freesound.org/s/31006/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
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RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS
Primary Article: "Shapeshifters and Boundary Crossers: The Appeal of Fluid Identity" - Read the complete fantasy philosophy exploration at fathoms deep beyond dot substack dot com
Anthropological Framework: Victor Turner's liminal space theory, Gloria Anzaldúa's nepantla concept
Psychological Sources: Carl Jung's individuation, Sherry Turkle's identity research, transformation psychology
Literary Analysis: China Miéville, Becky Chambers, Martha Wells, N.K. Jemisin, Kim Stanley Robinson
Cultural Traditions: Celtic selkies, Japanese ningyo, Pacific Northwest salmon people, Global shapeshifter variations
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REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (1969)
Jung, Carl G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (1968)
Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1995)
Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987)
Miéville, China. The Scar (2002)
Chambers, Becky. A Closed and Common Orbit (2017)
Wells, Martha. All Systems Red (2017)
Jemisin, N.K. The Fifth Season (2015)
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RELATED READINGS
Related Content:
Complete Article: Read the full "Shapeshifters and Boundary Crossers" exploration with psychological research and cultural analysis HERE
Building Believable Magical Systems - essay
Cartographers of the Impossible -essay
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CONNECT WITH FATHOMS DEEP
Articles & Research: fathomsdeepbeyond.substack.com
Dimidium World Dark Fantasy Fiction: Visit the Dimidium world at dimidiumtales.substack.com
Rebel Fiction: Explore genre-crossing stories at fluke-print dot sub-stack dot com
Author Website: www.morganadrake.com
Newsletter Signup: subscribe to the Author's newsletter
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ABOUT ECHOES
Echoes: A Fathoms Deep Podcast explores where maritime legend meets the craft of fantasy. Each episode dives into historical mysteries, cultural traditions, and supernatural phenomena of the sea, revealing how this research can transform your approach to worldbuilding and character creation. Hosted by Morgan A. Drake, author of dark maritime fantasy and architect of the Dimidium world.
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NEXT EPISODE
Coming next: "The Bermuda Triangle: Facts vs. Fiction" - Shifting from transformation to mystery as we explore how enigmatic maritime phenomena capture our imagination and shape our understanding of the unknown.
As always, thank you for listening. Share this episode to support FATHOMS DEEP.
Morgan A. Drake
