DR. MICKI PISTORIUS

Meddling and Peddling Poisons and Potions

In Greek mythology, Medea, princess of Colchis, was regarded as a sorceress, an accomplished “pharmakeía” and is often depicted as a high-priestess of the goddess, Hecate. When Medea was abandoned by her husband Jason in favour of Glauke, princess of Corinth, she took revenge on her rival by sending her a dress and a crown […]

Powerful Princesses and Policial Poisonings

Where the motive of the 17th-century Spana Prosecution poisoners was to rid themselves of their abusive husbands, there exists another class of poisoners – those who use poison for political advancement. Long before the Renaissance trio of Thofiania d’Adamo, Giullia Tofana and Gironima Spana concocted the arsenic-based Aqua Tofana, Rome’s most famous poisoner was Locusta, […]

A Renegade Gang of Roman Renaissance Female Serial Killers?

Ironically the word ‘arsenic’ originates from Greek folk etymology as ‘arsenikon’, a neuter form of the Greek adjective ‘arsenikos’ meaning “male”, or “virile” and over centuries it was arsenic that women have been using to eliminate the males in their lives. In the mid 1600’s a trio of Renaissance Italian woman with a keen sense […]

The Sisterhood of Arsenic and Old Lace – Lethal Old Ladies

A champion for children’s rights and an activist for socio-economic reform, whose own father was committed to a debtor’s prison, was Victorian era author and literary genius, Charles John Huffam Dickens. In one of his lesser-known novels, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Dickens raises the theme of an elderly man, Old Martin, employing […]

Angels of Death- Tipping the Scales of Themis

Themis is the Greek goddess of justice, divine order, law, and custom and her symbol is the Scales of Justice. Her Roman equivalent is Justitia. She personifies divine law – “that which is put in place”. Judges were often referred to as “themistopóloi” – the servants of Themis. Many defence lawyers in Angel-of-Death nursing […]

My New Best Friend – Serial Killers combating loneliness by keeping bodies in their homes

Feb 3 2024

Articles

My New Best Friend – Serial Killers combating loneliness by keeping bodies in their homes

I have often over and over emphasized that serial killers are normal human beings and underneath their bizarre behaviour lie very normal human needs. Permit me as a profiler and psychologist to explain one of the most disturbing behaviours that some of them exhibit – Why do serial killers keep bodies of their victims in […]

by Dr. Micki Pistorius

Children are Children – Serial Killers were children too

Feb 3 2024

Articles

Children are Children – Serial Killers were children too

Serial killers were not spawned by aliens, they are not an alien species, nor are they comic book superheroes, or superhumans or AI created monsters in video games – they are ordinary people, they were born and raised by parents – regular people – your neighbours, your family, someone on the School Parents’ Committee… A […]

by Dr. Micki Pistorius

Heroes & Warriors: Where Psychology Meets Mythology

Dec 16 2023

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Heroes & Warriors: Where Psychology Meets Mythology

A man with a quest is a man on a mission and woe to anyone who interferes! Dr. Micki Pistorius, psychologist and editor of our Premium Ancient-Origins site, fuses her two professions, archaeology and psychology in this webinar. In the epic Iliad of Homer, Odysseus was considered the wisest of the Achaean Warriors-Kings. Odysseus is an old […]

by micki

Dec 16 2023

Latest Updates

The Hearts of Heroes

What can Odysseus teach us about relationships? How can Leonidas, the King Sparta, inspire captains of industry and high flying businessmen? What secrets can the mythological couple, Theseus and Ariadne, reveal about the human brain? Learn lessons of the heart with heroes, warriors and legends of the ancient world to better understand how to navigate the […]

by micki

Micki Pistorius to be portrayed in new True Crime series

Oct 29 2023

Latest Updates

Micki Pistorius to be portrayed in new True Crime series

Game of Thrones and The Nun actress Charlotte Hope is set to appear as Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s first-ever serial-killer profiler, in Catch Me a Killer, a new true crime series from Germany’s Night Train Media and South Africa’s M-Net/Showmax. Read more…

by micki

Jul 16 2023

Academic And Skills Developer

ACADEMIC AND SKILLS DEVELOPER

Knowledge is wealth and power and should be shared. Micki Pistorius matriculated at Hoërskool Menlo Park, Pretoria in 1978. The following year she enrolled for a BA majoring in Psychology and Languages at the University of Pretoria and upon qualifying, she embarked upon a career in journalism, working in diverse media. Ten years later, she […]

by micki

Jun 16 2023

Psychologist

PSYCHOLOGIST

In 1994 Micki Pistorius obtained her Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a psychologist. Her thesis covered the clinical topic: “A cross evaluation of theories regarding the Oedipus complex by example of a case study”. Upon registration, she was immediately appointed as the first psychological […]

by Dr. Micki Pistorius

Jun 16 2023

Author

AUTHOR

As a child Micki Pistorius’ natural curiosity was cultivated by both her parents and developed into an insatiable interest in history, art and literature. She enrolled for a BA degree, majoring in Psychology and Languages at the University of Pretoria. She has studied German in school and French at university. Her very first appointment was […]

by micki