me and my deities hang out

i find text posts about magic and things i think my deities would like

[homunculus-argument]

Spiritually, 3 am is the darkest hour of the night. The people who stay up late but not insanely late have gone to bed, people who wake up early but not insanely early are yet to wake up. The only people who are awake are the night shift, and the insane.

[breelandwalker]

PODCAST RECS - Debunking and Fact-Checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces

A collection of podcast episodes fact-checking, debunking, or just providing some clarity on modern myths, misinformation, and conspiracy theories that are frequent flyers in witchcraft and pagan spaces, both theories mistakenly touted by community members and some of the utter drivel spouted by non-witches that still affects us today. Check out these shows on your favorite podcast app!

(Updates to be made whenever I find new content. There will be some crossover with my Witches In History Podcast Recs post and some of the content will be heavy. Blanket trigger warning for violence, abuse, bigotry, sexism, antisemitism, and mistreatment of women, queer people, and children.)

[Last Updated: October 17, 2024]

This post is broken into three basic sections:

Historical Misinformation

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

List of Cited Podcasts, in alphabetical order

American Hysteria

BS-Free Witchcraft

Dig: A History Podcast

Hex Positive

Historical Blindness

History Uncovered

Morbid

Occultae Veritatis

Our Curious Past

Our Fake History

Ridiculous History

Stuff You Missed In History Class

The History of Witchcraft

Unobscured

You’re Wrong About…

Historical Misinformation

General History of Witchcraft

Historical Blindness - A Rediscovery of Witches, Pt 1 & 2 Oct 13, 2020 & Oct. 27, 2020 A discussion of the early modern witch craze and the myths, misconceptions, and theories about witches spread by academics. Topics of discussion include the works of Margaret Murray and Charles Leland, the founding of Wicca, the emergence of the midwife-witch myth, and folk healers as targets of witchcraft accusations. Sarah Handley-Cousins of “Dig: A History Podcast” supplies guest material for both episodes.

Hex Positive, Ep. 36 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn July 1, 2023 Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921...which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the modern witchcraft movement.

Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins Bree NicGarran in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray's various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 03: The History of Wicca October 06, 2018 On this episode, Trae digs deep into the history of Wicca, and tries to give the most accurate history of the religion as they can. I mean, yeah, we know this is a general Witchcraft podcast, but Wicca is the most widely practiced form of Witchcraft in the US, UK, Canada and Australia… so how it got started is kind of important for the modern Witchcraft movement. (And trust me, there aren’t any pulled punches here.)

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 28: The Burning Times May 30, 2020 On this installment of the podcast, we tackle probably one of the more controversial topics in the modern witchcraft movement: The Burning Times. What were the actual “Burning Times,” where do we get that phrase from, and what really happened? Also, how has this phrase been used in modern witchcraft? It’s a heavy one, folks.

Dig: A History Podcast - Both Man and Witch: Uncovering the Invisible History of Male Witches Sept 13, 2020 Since at least the 1970s, academic histories of witches and witchcraft have enjoyed a rare level of visibility in popular culture. Feminist, literary, and historical scholarship about witches has shaped popular culture to such a degree that the discipline has become more about unlearning everything we thought we knew about witches. Though historians have continued to investigate and re-interpret witch history, the general public remains fixated on the compelling, feminist narrative of the vulnerable women hanged and burned at the stake for upsetting the patriarchy. While this part of the story can be true, especially in certain contexts, it’s only part of the story, and frankly, not even the most interesting part. Today, we tackle male witches in early modern Eurasia and North America!

Dig: A History Podcast - Doctor, Healer, Midwife, Witch: How the the Women’s Health Movement Created the Myth of the Midwife-Witch Sept 6, 2020 In 1973, two professors active in the women’s health movement wrote a pamphlet for women to read in the consciousness-raising reading groups. The pamphlet, inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, looked to history to explain how women had been marginalized in their own healthcare. Women used to be an important part of the medical profession as midwives, they argued — but the midwives were forced out of practice because they were so often considered witches and persecuted by the patriarchy in the form of the Catholic Church. The idea that midwives were regularly accused of witchcraft seemed so obvious that it quickly became taken as fact. There was only one problem: it wasn’t true. In this episode, we follow the convoluted origin story of the myth of the midwife-witch.

Dig: A History Podcast - Cheesecloth, Spiritualism, and State Secrets: Helen Duncan’s Famous Witchcraft Trial July 3, 2022 Helen Duncan was charged under the 1735 Witchcraft Act, but her case was no eighteenth-century sensation: she was arrested, charged, and ultimately imprisoned in 1944. Of course, in 1944, Britain was at war, fighting fascism by day on the continent and hiding in air raid shelters by night at home. The spectacle of a Spiritualist medium on trial for witchcraft seemed out of place. What possessed the Home Secretary to allow this trial to make headlines all across the UK in 1944? That’s what we’re here to find out.

The Conspirators, Ep. 63 - The Last Witch Trial Nov. 26, 2017 England’s official laws regarding the prosecution of witches dates back to the 1600s. Those very same laws would also remain on the books until well into the 20th century. In 1944, a psychic medium named Helen Duncan would gain notoriety by becoming the last woman to be tried under England’s witchcraft laws.

The History of Witchcraft Podcast, hosted by Samuel Hume Witches didn’t exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.

Unobscured, Season One - The Salem Witch Trials Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts. It’s 1692. And all hell is about to break loose.

Unobscured is a deep-dive history podcast from the labs of How Stuff Works, featuring the writing and narrative talents of Aaron Mahnke, horror novelist and the mind behind Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities.

As with his other series, Mahnke approaches the events in Salem armed with a mountain of research. Interviews with prominent historians add depth and documentation to each episode. And it’s not just the trials you’ll learn about; it’s the stories of the people, places, attitudes, and conflicts that led to the deaths of more than twenty innocent people.

Each week, a new aspect of the story is explored, gradually weaving events and personalities together in chronological order to create a perspective of the trials that is both expansive and intimate. From Bridget Bishop to Cotton Mather, from Andover to Salem Town, Mahkne digs deep to uncover the truth behind the most notorious witch trials in American history.

Think you know the story of Salem? Think again.

Witchcraft and Other Magical Practices

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 Host Trae Dorn discusses the ongoing debate over whether or not it’s okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There’s so much misinformation in New Age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it’s hard for some witches to get a clear picture. It’s common to run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and we’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – we don’t think you should.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 106 - Lilith, the Phantom Maiden November 22, 2022 Host Nathaniel Lloyd explores the evolution of the figure of Lilith, from Mesopotamian demon, to the first woman created by God, and back to a succubus mother of demons. It’s a tale of syncretism, superstition, forgery, and a dubious interpretation of scriptures.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 55 - Lucky Girl Syndrome and the Law of Attraction January 28, 2023 Trae takes a look at one of New Age spirituality’s most toxic philosophies - The Law of Attraction. The history of the idea is discussed, where it came from, and how this dangerous combination of prosperity gospel, purity culture, and victim-blaming has come back in a major way to a whole new generation as “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” 

Hex Positive, Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope.

This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Stuff You Missed in History Class - A Brief History of Tarot Cards Oct. 26, 2020 How did a card game gain a reputation for being connected to mysticism? Tarot’s history takes a significant turn in the 18th century, but much of that shift in perception is based on one author’s suppositions and theories.

Hex Positive, Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Our Curious Past, Ep. 20 - The Curious History of the Ouija Board August 18, 2023 Host Peter Laws explores the history of the “talking board,” which was wildly popular in the early 1900s, until something happened that would tarnish its’ reputation for good. 

Ridiculous History - Brooms and Witchcraft, Pt. 1 & 2 Oct. 13-15, 2020 Most people are familiar with the stereotypical image of a witch: a haggard, often older individual with a peaked hat, black robes, a demonic familiar and, oddly enough, a penchant for cruising around on broomsticks. But where did that last weirdly specific trop of flying on a broomstick actually come from?  Could the stereotype of witches on broomsticks actually be a drug reference? Join Ben, Noel, and Casey as they continue digging through the history and folklore of witchcraft - and how it affected pop culture in the modern day.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 116 - The Key to the Secrets of King Solomon  May 02, 2023 Host Nathaniel Lloyd continues his occasional series on the history and mythology of magic. In this installment, he looks at the development of the story that the biblical King Solomon was actually a flying-carpet-riding, magic-ring-wielding wizard and alchemist who bound demons to do his will. The origins and content of the legendary Key of Solomon are also discussed.

Dig: A History Podcast - Plastic Shamans and Spiritual Hucksters: A History of Peddling and Protecting Native American Spirituality July 24, 2022 In the late 20th century, white Americans flocked to New Age spirituality, collecting crystals, hugging trees, and finding their places in the great Medicine Wheel. Many didn’t realize - or didn’t care - that much of this spirituality was based on the spiritual faiths and practices of Native American tribes. Frustrated with what they called “spiritual hucksterism,” members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began protesting - and have never stopped. Who were these “plastic shamans,” and how did the spiritual services they sold become so popular?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 145 - All Is Number: Pythagoras and Numerology May 28, 2024 In this installment of the ongoing Encyclopedia Grimoria series, host Nathaniel Lloyd talks about a cult leader who is remembered as a great mathematician, whose real lasting contribution to the world is the nonsensical divination "magic" known as numerology.

Holidays

Hex Positive, Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Host Bree NicGarran puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter  and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first  – the bunny or the egg?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 28 - A Very Historically Blind Christmas Dec. 18, 2018 An exploration of the origins of Christmas traditions, with special guest Brian Earl of the Christmas Past podcast. (There is also some mention of Christmas witches!) Further installments of this series explore additional Christmas traditions and iconography which have been falsely claimed to have pagan origins as well as the myths surrounding the history of Christmas itself. (Eps. 47, 63, 84, & 132 in December of subsequent years)

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Ed and Lorraine Warren

You’re Wrong About…Ed and Lorraine Warren w. Jamie Loftus Nov 8 2021 Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle fame). Topics of interest include Connecticut as a locus of scary happenings, New England uncles, and psychic communication with a tearstained Bigfoot.

Dig: A History Podcast - The Demonologist and the Clairvoyant: Ed and Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigation, and Exorcism in the Modern World Oct 3 2021 In the 1970s, Lorraine and Ed Warren had a spotlight of paranormal obsession shining on them. In the last decade, their work as paranormal investigators–ghost hunters–has been the premise for a blockbuster horror franchise totaling at least seven films so far, and more planned in the near future. So… what the heck? Is this for real? Yes, friends, today we’re talking about demonology, psychic connections to the dead, and the patriarchy. Just a typical day with your historians at Dig.

History Uncovered, Ep. 92 - The Enfield Haunting That Inspired "The Conjuring 2" Oct 25 2023 The Enfield Haunting began with a bang. Literally. From 1977 to 1979, an unassuming North London home was the site of near-constant paranormal activity, from knocking sounds and moving objects to disembodied voices and the terrifying alleged possession of one young daughter of the Hodgson family. But how much truth was there to these happenings? And since the Warrens got involved briefly and subsequently touted themselves as experts on the case (and made money from talking about it), how much of what we think we know reflects the actual events?

Hex Positive, Ep. 042 - Extended Warren Tea with Jenn the Ouija Girl and Lorelei Rivers Jan 01 2024 Discussions about the careers and rhetoric of the Warrens make the rounds regularly in conversations about the paranormal among members of the witchcraft community. But who were the Warrens? Why do they inspire such ire even as the Conjuring franchise gains steam? How much of what we think we know about the supernatural comes from them? And why is it important to recognize - and refute - their rhetoric when we encounter it? Bree NicGarran sits down with Jenn the Ouija Girl and Lorelei Rivers to spill ALL the tea.

"Paranormal" Literature & Media

You’re Wrong About…Winter Book Club - The Amityville Horror, Pts. 1-3 Dec 20 2021 - Feb 6 2022 Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and buying murder furniture might not be such a great idea. Further highlights include Jodie the Demon Pig, poor insulation and terrible parenting as evidence of a haunting, lots and lots of sunk cost fallacy, and how the book kind of debunks itself.

MORBID, Ep. 610 - The Amityville Horror Conspiracy October 17 2024 The supposed experience of the Lutz family at 112 Ocean Avenue served as the basis for the iconic haunted house story, “The Amityville Horror,” and the countless films adapted from or inspired by the original novel. However, unlike most other stories of paranormal experiences, “The Amityville Horror” became a phenomenon that influenced everything from Ronald DeFeo’s criminal defense during his murder trial to the American public’s belief in the supernatural. Yet for all their talk of it being a genuine story of demonic activity, in the years since the publication of the popular novel, a large body of evidence from skeptical evaluations to court records and interview transcripts suggest that America’s most notorious haunted house might not have been quite so haunted after all.

American Hysteria, Ep. 125 - I Was A Teenage Poltergeist October 14 2024 Sarah Marshall, host of “You’re Wrong About…,” transports us to the old world of British Hysteria to reveal the mysterious story of the Enfield Poltergeist and joins host Chelsea Weber Smith at the seance table to discuss the great unknown and the ghosts they know.

You’re Wrong About… - Michelle Remembers, Pt. 1-5 March 26, 2020 - April 30, 2020 Intrepid hosts Sarah and Mike delve into one of the foundational texts of the Satanic Panic - “Michelle Remembers.” A young woman spends a year undergoing hypnosis therapy, which uncovers repressed memories of shocking and horrifying abuse at the hands of a Satanic cult. The book became a foundational text for both mental health professionals and law enforcement attempting to grapple with an alleged nationwide network of insidiously invisible child-abducting cults. The only problem is…none of what Michelle remembered ever actually happened.

You’re Wrong About…. - The Satan Seller, Pt. 1-5 June 28, 2021 - August 9, 2021 Sarah and Mike return to Camp You’re Wrong About for another Satanic Panic story hour. This time, the summer book club explores Mike Warnke’s 1972 “memoir” about joining a demonic cult, rising through the ranks of Satan’s favorite lackeys, his sudden downfall and redemption, and the California hedonism that made him do it. This is followed by a discussion of the Cornerstone Magazine exposé that brought the facts to light and thoroughly discredited Warnke’s story.

American Hysteria, Eps. 64-66 - Chick Tracts, Pts. 1-3 March 20 - April 03, 2023 In his own lifetime, Jack Chick was one of most prolific and widely-read comic artists in history. His company, Chick Tracts, published hundreds of millions of copies of pocket-sized bible comics, filled with lurid illustrations of cackling demons, wicked witches, and sinister cults, all hell-bent on corrupting any hapless mortal they could get their hands on. These tracts were meant to be left where they might be found by a sinner in need of salvation, with a scared-straight morality-play approach to Christianity that contributed in no small part to the period in the late 20th century we now call the Satanic Panic. (There’s also a follow-up two-part episode about one of Chick’s “occult experts,” who claimed to be, among other things, a real-life vampire.)

History Uncovered, Ep. 95 - Roland Doe, The Boy Who Inspired "The Exorcist" November 15, 2023 In 1949, priests performed an exorcism on a boy referred to as "Roland Doe," aka Ronald Hunkeler, in a chilling ordeal that became the real-life inspiration for William Peter Blatty's 1971 book, "The Exorcist," and the movie adaptation released in 1973. But what really happened during this alleged exorcism and was there any proof of the claims of alleged demonic paranormal activity surrounding the events?

You're Wrong About... - The Exorcist (with Marlena Williams) December 27, 2023 Marlena Williams, author of "Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of the Exorcist," joins host Sarah Marshall to discuss the little possession movie that changed America forever. Was the set cursed by Satan himself, or plain old 70s misogyny? What makes a country going through a cultural upheaval embrace stories about the Devil? And - the most critical question of all - do Ouija boards really cause possession?

Frightful, Bonus Episode - Is the Paranormal Like A New Religion? June 25 2024 Since the early 2000s, paranormal content has exploded in popular culture. It seems we can't get enough of ghosts (and hunting for them). What could be behind this enthusiasm for spooky things? Host Peter Laws shares a theory - that the paranormal is a clever way for us to be religious...without being religious. (This is less a debunking than a discussion of a personal hypothesis, but it deals with the pervasiveness of cultural religious themes, the influence of social media on modern mythmaking, and the sense of community surrounding paranormal belief.)

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

Ancient "Mysteries"

Historical Blindness, Pyramidiocy, Eps. 146-151 June-July 2024 Host Nathaniel Lloyd delves into the great pyramids and the various myths and misconceptions surrounding them, some of which, despite vast amounts of historical evidence to the contrary, endure to this very day. Further related segments on this topic may be found on the show's Patreon, including a highly interesting July 2024 minisode regarding "Books of the Dead," which examines claims about H.P. Lovecraft's "Necronomicon" and its' supposed relation to the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus.

History Uncovered, Ep. 117 - The Real History Behind the Mythic City of Atlantis June 12, 2024 First mentioned by Plato in Timaeus and Critias, the lost city of Atlantis later became a widely debated topic among historians. But is Atlantis real? (Spoiler: No. No it is not.)

Hucksters, Secret Societies, and Antisemitism

Historical Blindness, Ep. 14 - Bloody Libel December 12, 2017 An exploration of one of the most destructive myths in history - the blood libel, or the false accusation that Jews of the Middle Ages and beyond ritually murdered Christian children, a lie that host Nathaniel Lloyd traces back to its’ roots in medieval England and the murder of one Young William of Norwich.

Historical Blindness, Eps. 56-57 - The Illuminati Illuminated September 15-29, 2020 A contemplation of the modern conservative conspiracy theory of a “deep state” leads host Nathaniel Lloyd back to the dawn of the modern conspiracy theory, the Enlightenment, when the ultimate conservative conspiracy theory was born as an explanation for the French Revolution: The Illuminati!

Historical Blindness, Eps. 38-40 - Nazi Occultism, Parts 1-3 July 2-30, 2019 An exploration of the dark roots of Nazi occult philosophies, from a neo-paganism preoccupied with the Nordic Pantheon, to a folksy back-to-the-land movement that evolved into a nationalist sentiment, to an ideology of racial supremacy all tied up with contemporary myths and pseudoscience. (The host is careful to note with clarity and vehemence at the start of each episode that this series IN NO WAY approves of, promotes, or supports this ideology and Nazism is roundly condemned at every turn. It’s not an easy listen, but understanding how and why this bigotry continues to be a problem in pagan spaces and how to recognize it is very important.) TL;DR - Fuck Nazis. No tolerance for genocidal fuckwads.

DIG: A History Podcast - Werewolves, Vampires, and the Aryans of Ancient Atlantis: The Occultic Roots of the Nazi Party Oct 17, 2021 Modern movie plotlines which portray Nazi obsessions with occultism might be exaggerated for dramatic effect, but they aren't made up out of wholecloth. The NSDAP, or the National Socialist Worker's Party, was a party ideologically enabled by occultist theories about the Aryan race and vampiric Jews, on old folk tales about secret vigilante courts and nationalist werewolves, and on pseudoscientific ideas about ice moons. In this episode, the hosts explore the occult ideas, racial mythology, and 'supernatural imaginary' that helped to create the Nazi Party.

Our Fake History, Eps. 66-68: Who Was the Mother of the Occult? May-June 2018 An exploration of the life and works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, self-described sage, medium, guru, author, and one of the founders of Theosophy.

The Satanic Panic

American Hysteria - Satanic Panic, pt 1 & 2 Dec. 10 2018 - Jan. 07, 2019 This two-part episode covers perhaps the most mystifying moral panic in US history, the 1980s and early 90s ‘Satanic Panic.’ For this episode, Chelsey covers the rise of organized Satanism beginning in the late 60s, as well as the adversarial countercultures of the hippies and the metalheads, and their apparent Satanic crimes that would be hailed as proof of their evil, as well as proof that teens, as well as children, were in serious moral peril. Satan was allegedly hypnotizing the youth with secret messages in backwards rock songs, teaching them occult magic in Saturday morning cartoons, and causing suicides through a popular role-playing games, all while helping religion blur into politics for good.

For part two, Chelsey will cover what came next, a serious investigation into an imagined network of Satanic cults ritually abusing children in daycare centers all over the country. Chelsey will try to understand this shocking decade in history, why it really happened, and the cultural issues it was really about.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 10 - The Satanic Panic April 27, 2019 The Satanic Panic of the 70s, 80s, and 90s shaped the Modern Witchcraft Movement in a lot of unexpected ways. Its effects still ripple through a lot of our sources, so in this installment of the podcast we’re digging into this extremely weird part of American history. It’s a bit of a doozy, after all.

BS-Free Witchcraft - Ep. 32: A New Satanic Panic? February 27, 2021 A couple of years ago, we did an episode on the history of the Satanic Panic of the latter half of the twentieth century, but recent events have led us to ask - could it be happening again? It’s very possible that we are at the start of a new wave of satanic panic, and QAnon is just the latest symptom of a larger problem.

Occultae Veritatis, Case #014: Satanic Panic of Martensville Jan. 28, 2018 Today the hosts cover one of the various Satanic ritual abuse scandals that happened close to them. Is it full of hot air and false allegations? Yes. Yes it is. 

Occultae Veritatis, Case #097A & B: Dungeons, Dragons, and the Satanic Panic Dec. 07, 2019 - Dec. 15, 2019 Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in 1974, attracted millions of players, along with accusations by some religious figures that the game fostered demon worship and a belief in witchcraft and magic.

[Last Updated: October 17 2024]

[travelingthief]

I looooove seeing people’s altars. The big creative ones. The small minimalist ones. Hidden ones, outdoor ones, travel ones. They’re all so beautiful

[brujarojaderio]

Still More Urban Animism

Another important way to practice animism in urban and suburban areas is to intentionally familiarize yourself with the sky and the orientation of celestial bodies in relation to you. I’m going to talk about the Sun and the Moon because I know a lot of people live where the light pollution is such that they can’t see the stars.

I think it is pretty common for animists, pagans, pantheists and green witches to have some familiarity with the phases of the moon, that the sun and constellations change with the season. That stuff can all be very important, but that’s not quite what I’m talking about.

Anchoring Yourself

I’m talking about grounding yourself in your home, your specific place. Don’t just notice that the sun is rising slightly more southerly than before. You can learn that in a book or on an app. No, notice exactly where it rises. Does it rise between those two houses or that one? Next week is it further down the roof of that house? When you see the evening shadows, mark the angle and check again the next day. Is it noticeably different? How about in three days? How about in three weeks?

When you anchor yourself to a location and observe the movement of the universe around you, you are directly observing what calendars and clocks tell you. This is the viewable and perceivable pulse of the universe and when you use the landmarks around your home, you can measure this pulse and move to its rhythm as well. This is the ollin and malinalli.

But Why?

It is hard to empathize and respect things that we don’t understand. Most of the living things that we revere look to the sun as their chief source of comfort, food, and timekeeping. When we understand the sun and the moon and how it affects our specific area, we understand the motivations and struggles of our neighbors and can help shape a world that caters better to their comfort. If you know the first place the sun hits in early spring on your porch, perhaps you can place a rock there for a creature to sun themselves. If you know a boggy spot under a outdoor faucet that rarely gets sun, perhaps you can transplant some moss there to make a home. Perhaps a neighbor of gnats or snails will move in too, which helps the lizard. Perhaps you create a tiny community in a neglected shady corner of your apartment complex.

These things are not impossible to do without learning about how the sun changes and effects, but if you do make the effort, finding places to view the wonders of nature and help it along becomes much easier, and for me at least, it helps me to understand the greater ecosystem that I live in and what it once was, what it is, and what it can one day be.

If I can see and understand it, then I can more easily revere it as it deserves.

[rickashay-spirit]

closet witch, low spoons, or for those otherwise unable to bake bread or do much for lammas / lughnasah:

Watch the bread episodes of great British bake off, or watch something on YouTube related to the holiday, baking bread, etc. ASMR bread baking, perhaps? And remember, you are still valid and a magickal being, even if you can't do certain things right now.

[solcaladion]

Fraiskette - Folk Magic

Let’s talk more Folk Magic: the Fraiskette

Look at this gorgeous BEAST of a fraiskette she’s so beautiful…..

What is a fraiskette?

Fraiskette are necklaces strewn with amulets and protective charms given to pregnant women and newborn children to ensure a healthy childbirth and early life.

They originate from Germany (specifically Bavaria)

What makes a Fraiskette?

Most fraiskette are made of a red string or red ribbon base

They include various organic charms like teeth, claws, horns, antlers, beaks and even dried animal feet

They also have mineral/rock charms. The one above features jasper, agate and a malachite heart, as well as Donar Stones and fossilized coral and snail shells.

Finally, the include sentimental and religious amulets. The largest pictured above is a Breverl, but also keys, arrows, vials of Walpurgis-oil, small bells and brass depictions of the Mother Mary.

How were they used?

Each of the charms on the fraiskette corresponded to some medicinal or spiritual use.

The eagle talons we’re used to imbue courage to the user

The wolf and deer teeth were used to assist in teething

The Martin feet were used against rheumatism and cramps

The moles feet were used against seizures as well as cramps

The horse hair was used to aid in seizures

Snails shells for protection

The inorganic materials like red stones (amber, jasper, agate) were used specifically against menstrual cramps

Coral was used against blood disease (and is pretty significant as a protection charm in Dutch Magic)

Malachite was used as a stone against rashes and cravings

The fossilized shells are for protection of the bones

The Donar stones are for protection from lightning strikes and seizures

These Necklaces would be put on the Bedpost or worn to Ward away Various Illnesses.

[millionsknives]

i do not inhabit my body i am my body, i am not a brain in a meat suit i am wonderful flesh and bone and veins and synapses and cartilage, my soul is not separate from my body they are one and the same and they are me, and if god did not care about the body he would not have promised to resurrect it

[taxidermy-tits]

[crazycatsiren]

Guanyin has long been my grandmother's favorite divine being. Grandma has always had a mini shrine dedicated to her on a shelf in her home. She was the one who first taught me about her in my youth.

While growing up in China, Guanyin to me was the personification of the most beautiful, the most pure, and the most gentle. I've admired many artworks of her, in her flowing white robes, with her long black hair, soulful dark eyes, and enigmatic expression, sitting or standing on her lotus seat, surrounded by her dragon companion, her young disciples, her faithful pet birds and fish, over the sea that's her home.

Guanyin is a Buddhist bodhisattva associated with mercy, kindness, compassion, and grace. She is the East Asian feminine representation of Avalokiteśvara, the principal attendant of Amitābha Buddha on the right, with 108 avatars, one notable one being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). Guanyin also appears in other Eastern religions as a goddess, including Chinese folk religion. She is the divine embodiment of goodness and forgiveness. The Chinese pray to her for health, fruitfulness, prosperity, and peace. She rules the seas, tames the sea monsters, controls the waves, and makes the deep waters safe crossing for fishermen and sailors. She is an eternal faithful student of Amitābha Buddha's, a teacher of his teachings, who denounces all evildoings.

Although she is most often portrayed as wearing all white, there are artworks depicting her dressed in shades of light pink, green, and blue.

Misconceptions about Guanyin in Western spiritual circles:

Guanyin is not a goddess in the same sense as the Western concept of a female deity. She is not the same as Aphrodite or Freyja, for example. According to Buddhist traditions, she is a bodhisattva (pusa in Chinese). In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a divine being with bodhicitta, a sacred wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. This concept refers to a sentient being (sattva), originally mortal, who develops enlightenment (bodhi), thus possessing the boddhisattva's divine psyche. It describes those who faithfully and diligently work to develop and exemplify loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuṇā), empathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha), the four divine virtues that are the "immeasurables" (brahmavihara).

She does not fit the Wiccan maiden/mother/crone triple goddess archetype at all. She is an unwed virgin. Chinese Buddhists believe in the celibacies of Buddhist divine beings. Even though she is associated with maternal qualities and motherliness, and women who wish to become mothers would pray to the "child bringer/baby sender" aspect and epithet of hers, she is not a mother herself. And she will never be a "crone".

Do not "summon" her for rituals or spell work. She is not one to be "summoned" for anything. It is incredibly disrespectful to try to do so.

She is not part of a closed practice. Buddhism is an open religion. You can worship her if you are not Buddhist or Chinese. But please do your research, and be respectful.

She is not a Pagan deity. The religions that worship her are also not Pagan religions. Please do not put her together with Paganism.

She is also not the Buddhist version of the Virgin Mary.

[breelandwalker]

Secular Celebrations - Beltane

Beltane comes next, that little threshold holiday between late April and early May, the “spring fling” of our year. Mayday festivals have been around for centuries. Mentions of similar celebrations date back to the Roman Floralia and the Greek Maiouma, which is recorded as far back as the 2nd century BCE in the reign of Emperor Commodus. We also see similar festivals with things like bonfires, dancing, sweetheart rituals, and Maypoles all over Europe, and particularly in the British Isles. In some places, it’s connected with the Feast of St. Walpurgis (most notably the German Walpurgisnacht), and in others, it’s evolved into a kind of warm-weather romp that celebrates the month of May and the full flower of springtime. So there’s a lot of room for interpretation and a lot of activities to choose from if you’re celebrating this holiday as a secular witch.

The overarching theme of the day is definitely love. Love magic, sex magic, love divinations, marriage predictions, renewing of vows...it’s all there. There’s a reason besides the weather that May is the most popular month for weddings, and this might be part of it. So if you’re of a mind to work with any of that, DO IT. Cast spells to find love, attract a sweetheart, reconnect with your current partner, or if you’re single, maybe have a fling. Bring a little extra romance into your life. Just make sure you observe consent and common sense, and practice safe SEX as well as safe hex.

If you’re not interested in any of that, you can also work magic for self-love. Often in our conversations on love magic, we leave out that all-important relation with ourselves. Beltane is a great time to rediscover this. It can be a celebration of yourself and your own power and your own journey. Pamper yourself a bit. Have a home spa day, take a ritual bath, do whatever it is that makes you feel strong and gorgeous. Because spoiler alert - you ARE strong and gorgeous. A-bip-bip-bip...yes you are. Yes. You ARE. Even when you don’t feel like it, you’re an amazing person and the world is a better and more interesting place because you’re in it. So celebrate all the things you love about yourself - your mind, your creativity, your skills, and particularly your body, even if it’s uncooperative or a work in progress. Celebrate your strength and your ongoing metamorphosis into the person you want to be. Whether that journey is mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical, you are not the same person you were last year, and your progress deserves recognition.

Celebrate your communal and familial bonds as well. Connect with the people who make you feel loved and cherished and uplifted. If you can’t attend a party, maybe have a virtual game night or a socially-distanced movie marathon. If you’re working on coming out of your shell, this is a good time to maybe take a step in that direction, even if it’s just a small one.

This is a festival of flowers and fire, fertility and fun, so anything you want to do that involves any of those things would be appropriate. Have a bonfire, if you can do so safely, or light up some candles. Make flower crowns or garlands. Add greenery to your home decor. If you haven’t already planted your garden, or if your starter sprouts are ready and the final frost has passed, get them in the ground. Do some growth magic to help them along. Dress in something that makes you happy and comfortable. Put on your favorite music, dance around the house, and sing like you’re on your very own Broadway stage. Make your favorite foods, maybe experiment with making wine or beer or short mead if you’ve ever wanted to give that a shot. Make candied flowers or candied fruit peel.

Go on a picnic, if the weather allows it. If you’re partial to wildcrafting, gather wild herbs and flowers for your magic, always observing permission to harvest and best practices for your local ecosystem. That means whatever you want to pick, make sure you’re allowed to do so, whether on a spiritual level or on a practical one. Don’t go raiding state parks or your neighbor’s flower garden; you probably don’t have permission to take plants from these places. Take only what you need and don’t pick anything you can’t properly identify or anything that’s endangered. Make sure you label everything too; it saves time later and helps you remember what you’ve picked. I suggest bringing a pocket field guide to local flora to help you out. And while you’re out there, hug your favorite tree. If you have trees or shrubs on your property, decorate them with ribbons and streamers, give them a good drink of water, and thank them for all the oxygen. (Just make sure you take these decorations down and dispose of them properly before they become litter.)

Meditate on your passions. Think about your causes, all the things that put a fire in your belly. Think of what makes you feel happy and fierce and free. Rededicate yourself to the things that matter to you, whether in your witchy practices or your personal life, or the social and political causes that you feel most passionate about.

-from Hex Positive, Ep. 011 - Secular Celebrations (Nov 01, 2020)

Other Posts In This Series:

Imbolc

Spring Equinox

Beltane

Midsummer

Lughnasadh

Autumn Equinox

Samhain

Yule

If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop.

The Hex Positive podcast is a proud member of the Nerd and Tie Podcast Network.😊

[witches-bottle-deactivated20241]

The 13 Goals of a Witch;

The 13 Goals of a Witch is a concise list that describes the path of the magus. It is something which does prove to be quite useful alongside other things such as the 13 Powers of a Witch, which can be used in initiatory practices as a sort of base and a meditative device.

The 13 Goals of the Witch (Plus Interpretation)

Know Thyself - This is a maxim that appears time and time again in the craft and in Ancient Greece, it is a Delphic maxim and has a variety of meanings depending on who you ask but it falls down to the same level of introspection. To Know Thyself is to be aware of your own being, your goals, your desires and what some would attest to be the True Will. This goal is the basis of the witch, calling them to sit with themselves and do the work to know, to unlearn and to heal themselves for the sake of their development. Essentially, when all the things that you were told that you were fall away, what does that leave you with?

Know Thy Craft - A macroscopic form of the Microcospic "Know Thyself", Know Thy Craft can refer to the pursuit of wisdom, the development of personal morals and the development of a praxis. This comes into line with the next goal. We're given ideas of what witchcraft is, what it was, what it could be, who we should be as witches but that only one that can definitely define the craft is the person busy doing it. I can sit here and tell you an immediate ten million things but that would make me an armchair magician and you would disregard me because you know your craft. This points simply to the fact that practice makes perfect and that to know is to do and to do is to know.

Learn and Grow - I'm rather supportive of the "Eternal Student" mindset because it instill a sense of humility and flexibility in the craft. This spell method may work for me now but there's absolutely nothing saying that doing this spell a different way might not prove to be both convenient and beneficial. Whatever I learn, I learnt through the grace that was given on me to learn it. This simply refers to the witch as the gatherer of knowledge and having the ability to own up when they did a spell wrong and to learn and grow from the situation, both as a person and a witch.

Apply Knowledge with Wisdom - if Knowledge was the Element of Air, I'd more associate Wisdom with the Element of Earth. To apply something with wisdom is to apply it with experience and personal knowledge. It is to apply an objective idea (such as a hex, which is neither good nor bad but simply a form of magic), with the understanding (but this would work better, it's not necessary for me to waste energy on this person, or fuck them) of its cost, its action, its reaction and its effects in the greater end.

Achieve Balance - This is something I hold quite dearly. For the witch with mental illness, this becomes a major theme. We sometimes need to sit down and actually just breathe. Do I believe that this represents balance in all areas? Balance between the craft and practical action, balance between the between a nature of earth and air, fire and water? In love, in finances, in eating, drinking, between the phone and between the family, between others and between the self? Yes..

Keep Your words in Good Order - Many of my prayers contain the line "And let not my words be that of the foolish, but instead may my tongue speak as the wise", this is a simple invocation but potent as it calls into power personal responsibility and asking that that personal responsibility be supplemented with wisdom. This includes not being dogmatic, being able to speak with wisdom and not ignorance.

Keep Your Thoughts in Good Order - This involves spiritual wisdom and know thyself. This means to understand the mind, to understand the thoughts, to understand the being. Taking time to work with mental healing, understanding the thoughts, developing and unlearning paradigms and dogma to develop the self,.

Celebrate Life - this calls for the magus to celebrate their life, the life of others, the life of the passed and the life of the earth. Essentially, this practice simply calls for gratitude and contemplation, when we learn to celebrate our life, we find more things worth celebrating. Quite frankly, I will always tell my friends to celebrate the fact that they got through their day because it means you got through 100% of your worst days without becoming a murderer. This also calls for the celebration of the natural cycles, the birth and death, winter, summer, the rainy season, when your plant finally blooms... quite simply, it's to experience "fuck yes" attitude in life.

Attune with the cycles of the earth - this is quite self-explanatory and is one of the reasons why the seasonal sabbaths are celebrated. There is the issue, however, that seasonal sabbaths aren't applicable in different places because of differences in season, in temperature, people using the Northern Wheel for the Southern Hemisphere and so on and so forth. Doing this simply means to honour the movement of the earth and to be aware of it. Care for your environment, celebrate the first buds of spring, the migration of the birds, the lunar cycles, the first day of the rainy season, the falling of the leaves, the lengthening of the night - it simply means to regain and forge a connection with the natural realm.

Breathe and Eat Correctly - now this is a tricky beasty because a lot of people end up interpreting it as "YOU NEED TO EAT A FULL XYZ DIET AND EAT THESE SPECIFIC ITEMS BECAUSE OTHER ITEMS BLOCK YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND YOU'RE A HORRIBLE PERSON", no. Not everyone's body is the same, nor at their circumstances. Change your diet to suit your needs and your environment. If you need more iron, then place an emphasis on iron rich foods in your diet. If you need more starch in your diet one week because you need to do a marathon or you're running low on energy, do so. To eat correctly doesn't mean any specified diet but means to eat in accordance with the body's needs. Breathing is also simple. I think we all get so chocked up in the day to day that we don't give ourselves the few minutes we need to take a breather. It doesn't need to be any specific meditation device but can simply be sitting outside or by a window and just breathing. It can be taking a few moments in the morning, in the afternoon and before bed to practice a breathing technique to wake you up and help you unwind.

Exercise the Body - again, there's multiple forms of exercise for multiple bodies and multiple events. The muscles are not the only organs in the body, nor is the fat that people admonish. Your heart, veins, lungs, bones, arms, legs and the like are all worth exercising. A simple bit of cardio which both stimulates breathing and the heart is good. Some stretching in the morning, it's good. You're not obligated here to become a body-builder. The two tenets given here and above are meant to help you get in tune with your body, not go against it or fight with your body.

Meditate - another tricky beast. Meditation is simply to align the mind correctly. We're often given the misconception that the mind is supposed to be silent during meditation. The mind is simply that, a mind - the duty of the mind is to think, to perceive and to analyze. Through meditation, we're giving something to the mind to focus on to still it and allow it to slip into that little space between worlds. You know how you sometimes zone out and you stare at something? To some degree, that is actually meditation. Jason Miller also provides it in his book, "Sorcerer's Secrets" I think, where the mind is brought to focus on some object and all else falls away. So when you meditate, you're bringing your mind to focus on something so that all else falls away and the mind can become silent and calm. This includes prayers, sigils, walking, mindfulness, breathing, drawing, doodling, visualization, counting etc.

Honour the God and Goddess - now this is a primarily WIccan-in-Context, but it means 'Honour the Divinity". Honour the divinity within nature, within yourself, around you, above you, below you, at your side. If the above three are ideas of Horizontal Sympathy (the relationship that the magus has with material affairs and the world around them), then this is an example of s

[witches-bottle-deactivated20241]

The Taking on of God Forms

This is a practice that has existed a long while and has also been found in a great deal of Eastern practices as a way to obtain enlightenment through taking on the virtues of that divinity. The Bornless Rite is an example of the adoption of a godform and the Egyptian Charms often used this, speaking with Great Divinity and as the Divine Force, rather than something separate. Essentially, it allows the magus to become a channel for said divine force and its virtues, it brings forward a state of personal enlightenment and aids in the magical workings of the magus.

it can be considered as an invocatory process and has three aspects:

Physical Mental Spiritual

The Physical aspect includes the taking on of the posture of the deity. This is used to further connect but isn't really necessary. It also includes the visualization aspect, fulling understanding and contemplating the Divine Form.

The Mental Aspect is the taking on, the visualization and the absorption. This brings the energy of the deity into the self and causes mental changes. Now this is where I put a warning that this exercise does require a certain bit of stability which is why I do grounding because it can sometimes cause some issues. You don't need to go far into the stories of the left hand path before you find someone who went crazy or egotistic. You're not becoming the god, you're invoking some of the essence ot aid you. So, I would first consider grounding and meditation beforehand, to still the mind and allow the self to proceed forward. I would also say that this shouldn't be conducted as a direct invocation on a bad day, but rather in those cases - one should work with the divine force through a third party such as prayer or a sigil.

Lastly is spiritual - in which the essence of the self takes on the form of that of the deity. For example, adopting the form of the Bodhisattva Kuan Yin would induce a feeling of peace and compassion, one would notice themselves developing a proper sense of "Worldly Compassion".

The ritual would benefit from the nature of the deity.

[spiritofhyena]

Returning to this blog after a hiatus (and before that, I kept forgetting about having this blog lmao) made me realize that I follow only a few blogs and that I'd like to find some more people to interact with!

So, that's why I made this post~

Please, interact with this post and/or follow me if you post (or are interested in) about any of the following things:

paganism (hoping to find fellow kemetics but I'd like to befriend any pagan!)

divination in general

demonology & demonolatry and/or anything related

any kind of spirit work (deities, demons, angels, spirits, etc)

I guess a bit of anything that could fall in the occult area??

witchy/magic stuff is welcome too, even if I don't consider myself a witch

possibly over 18 of age (as I'll turn 30 this year)

and as a queer person, if you're queer then you have bonus points!

aaand I think that's all?

[maceofpentacles]

to my fellow tarot/oracle deck users and collectors alike:

what is your favorite deck of all time? or your top three? i’m interested in what decks people enjoy!! ((and i also want to add more decks to my wishlist))

[normal-with-adhd-is-a-joke]

I'm tired of giving long-winded explanations for both of these so I made a meme about both it

[image ID: the shaking hands meme. The hand on the left says "christian witches" and the hand on the right says "christian queer people". Where they meet in the middle it says "the Bible is the word of God but it was written down and translated by flawed and biased humans so it's our right and responsibility to spend time with God and discern what we believe His will to be".]

[saintmachina]

I miss witchblr. Will you interact if you’re into:

ancestor veneration

folk Christianity

tarot

astrology

Celtic paganism

I want to follow you! 

[grey-sorcery]

Take me to the survey!

This survey should take approximately 10 minutes!

I will be publishing some of the statistics found from this survey once there are at least 100 responses! However, please bear in mind that these statistics aren't very reliable for statistical information as there is no standardization or control.