We have a bittersweet announcement today. Tatjana has gotten a new job which is wonderful, however that means, at the very least, we will be on hiatus, at the worst this may be our last episode. I want to thank you all for listening and sticking with us through this curiosity provoking and magical journey. Hopefully we’ve provided some entertainment and useful information. Thanks! Mabon is one of the eight celebrated Wiccan holidays and is pagan in its nature. It is the equal time between...

What is an egg cleanse? It’s when you use an egg to scan over a person's body, kinda like using a handheld metal detector. And then crack the egg open and pour the yolk and white into a glass of water. Depending on what the egg looks like in the water you’re supposed to be able to tell if there’s the evil eye, a curse, or some other malefic thing happening.   Is table salt ok to use for cleansing/charging crystals? Yes. Common table salt is just as good as any specialty salt in my opinion. As...

Review of Part I Pendle Witches Last episode Tatjana talked about the feud between the Demdikes and Chattoxs and the beginning of the resulting trial in 1612. The matriarchs were Elizabeth Southerns( Demdikes) and Anne Whittle(Chattoxes). It started with Elizabeth Southern’s granddaughter, Alizon, and John Law( a Chattox), with Alizon trying to purchase something from him. Things are not clear as to whether Alizon begged or John refused, but there was a quarrel. And as he was walking away he...

Is it bad luck to bury your pets in your backyard? (Death, dying) I do not believe that it is bad luck. I did it all of my young life when I had yards to do it in. I felt it was a way to keep the spirit close but mostly it’s just how I was raised. I do think doing a sacred burial ceremony and grave preparation is something that would ensure a positive experience both for you and the dearly departed spirit. When I was younger, still at home with my parents, this is what we did. I do not think...

2023 Lughnasadh/Lammas This is an Irish Gaelic festival and is by Wiccans considered the start of the harvest season. It is generally held on July 31st - August 1st OR approximately halfway between Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. This seasonal festival was named after the Celtic God Lugh. (It was renamed to Lammas by the early Christians). In Wiccan tradition it is the time when the God is waning. There are many different beliefs of what this festival actually celebrates. Some say it...

Greek Magic Ancient Greece is considered to have been from around 1200 B.C. to about 600 A.D. Theories and thoughts developed in Ancient Greece have been a cornerstone of Western culture and thought. It was also a cornerstone for a lot of Western magic. Magic was definitely an important part of society then even though the practice of it was a more private affair. It wasn’t exactly an encouraged practice, but neither was it illegal, at least the lighter parts of magic. Being caught casting a...

S2 E25 Q & A Magical Minutia Volume 9   Are emotions beneficial to spell work? If so, when and why? They can be very useful and add power to your working. However, do not do magic in the heat of the moment (anger, disappointment, frustration). It can affect your magic in unpredictable ways. It is also good to think about your intention and get it to exactly what you want, that takes time and is hard to do in the moment. Being a Leo moon I would find it very hard to separate my emotions...

Witches Tools - Incense Incense is a powerful and easy to use tool in the witches arsenal. It comes in several varieties; loose, resin, sticks, and cones. There are also endless varieties of ingredients for an amazing array of smells. This makes it fairly easy to find an incense that supports your current spell or intention. The only real caveat is that some people are allergic to smoke ( as well as some pets), in which case you could use essential oils in candles ( which you also have to be...

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year with the longest amount of sun in one day. Solstitium is Latin for (sol) the sun and (stitium) meaning stopped, so the sun is temporarily “still”.  In Germanic, Slavic and Celtic times bonfires were lit and jumped over for good luck in the growing season and for the coming harvest. These fires were also magical in nature since they were seen as ways of warding off demons and evil spirits. Some believed magic was at its most potent during this...

Magic Sex Rituals? How are they done & what’s the purpose of them? It’s generally used for the marriage of the G/Gs together. In some cases it may be used for fertility rites, in others it is used to become a High Priest or Priestess. How they are done is MUCH more complicated. On a simple level it is a ritual like all other rituals, at least in the Wiccan faith. However, the emphasis is placed more on the invoking of the G/Gs than in other rituals AND it will have physical sexual...

Pentagram/Pentacle A pentagram is a five pointed star with each line connected, a pentacle is a circular disk, often made of clay, with a pentagram on it. A pentagram is a reminder of the four elements plus spirit that make up the world, one for each point and used most often as a Wiccan and/or pagan symbol of the faith. The pentacle is most often meant/used to represent earth on the altar. It took me far too long to remember the difference and I still get them confused sometimes.  Pentagrams...

Interview with Arwen   This episode does not have its normal side notes of the responses, just the questions we asked.  Do you consider yourself a witch? If so, how did that come into being for you? When did you start practicing? Was there something that set you on the path of magic? If so, what was it or what was the experience? What does witchcraft mean to you? What about magic. What do you feel are the ethics of being a witch? How do you practice the craft? Do you have any daily...

Beltane is over 2000 years old. No one really wanted to give exact or even ballpark dates in my research. It’s the last of the spring fertility festivals. It’s about bringing the male and female, 2 halves, into a whole as one entity.  It is a fire festival. Fires would be lit and cattle would be led between them for protection.  People would also jump fires for protection/purification, and as couples to be wed or already wedded. Fires were also put out in the homes and fire from the main...

S2 E18  Q & A Spells, Beliefs, Etc...    How do I de-Christianize my mind? Examine your own beliefs and try to figure out whether they are something you believe or something you were taught. I’ve had to do this myself and it’s been a very long process reprogramming my mind.   Go through other cultures, religions and myths to find what feels like home (feels right) then research the history of where it began and where Christianity converted it over time.   How do you make yourself believe?...

The Witches Cauldron The witches cauldron is one of the witches’ tools. It’s not a must have, but features heavily in media with witches. Cauldrons can come in copper, cast iron, pewter, and a host of other materials depending on their use. Cauldrons date back all the way to the Bronze age (3300 BC - 1200 BC), so they have been around a very long time. Often nowadays, when it comes to magic, they are used for making black salt, burning papers with spells on them, burning incense, or mixing...

Ostara (Tatjana) Personal thoughts - a time after Imbolc when the friction from that time allows the breaking open of the shell to let new life begin. A great time to start putting your magic into its first throws of movement. Until now we’ve been working with setting the intention for the year but now it’s time to swing into action. How can we go about implementing our intention with initiative?  Balance - Equinox - heading into the light - Easter   (Sylvia) Personal thoughts- time of...

Protection Magic   Why do protection magic? This helps prevent negative energies from affecting you and your life and possibly those closest to you. It can help from draining your energies or weakening your magic.  There are entities out there that don’t have your best interest in mind. It is wise to make sure they can’t affect you.   How to do protection magic. There are so many different ways to go about doing protection magic as with any magic. We will touch on this more as we go through...

BOS/Grimoire A Book of Shadows is a very useful part of a witch’s tool set. If you’ve been with this spirituality you probably have a good idea of what a book of shadows is, but we’ll describe it for you just in case. It’s used to document spells, ingredients, and the results from spells. It can be a sort of recipe book, a journal, or a combination of the two. It can also be for a whole coven, in which case there’s often rules to what goes in it, or be for a solitary person, in this case it’s...

There are no official notes to this episode since it was recorded on the fly. Some thoughts... Imbolc is the midpoint between Yule (Solstice) and Ostara (Spring Equinox) Usually on Feb 1st or 2nd Imbolc means "In the belly of the Mother" It's a time of gestation. Seeds are beginning to create the friction they need in order to break through their shells in the coming spring. It's a time that can be frustrating but in a good way and also of impatience but not knowing why. It is a Spiritual...

S2 E12 Q & A Divination Divination Types & Spell Work    Candles I use candles to look into the flame, blur my eyes and let any images or thoughts come as they will.  Release loved ones This among many of the different kinds of divination can be used in conjunction with meditation. Pendulums  Yes/No ?s Divine answers for names of children Picking magical tools clarifications Can be used in conjunction with pendulum charts to answer more involved questions. Scrying To divine answers...

Yule is a lovely and special time of year. It is at the time of the winter solstice, the longest night. Many of the Pagan persuasion celebrate it as a return of the light and the rebirth of the male principle. It is the Crones time of year, with the darkness harboring wisdom, a time of rest and of divination. Yule includes getting together with friends and family, celebrating, often with the giving of gifts.  It is warmth and light, comradery and compassion, pine trees and candles. A time to...

This episode History of Magic in Ancient China and we’ll throw in a couple witches   The Magic of Ancient China Little is known of the early days of the Chinese, just stories that went from mouth to mouth. As it started around 2000 BC, and writing started there around 1400-1200 BC in the Shang Dynasty from what we can tell. What is left of the writing is turtle shells and bone fragments, generally used for divination by writing your question on one, throwing it in the fire, and then seeing...

How to work magic into everyday life. House cleansing - saging/saining (Gaelic Polytheists) / censing  This is done with sage, lavender, incense to rid the place of negative energies.  How: There are many different ways. What I do… Good to do when first moving into a new place and nice to do when you move out.  First, have some sort of sage ( or palo santo) or dried cleansing herb to light, usually lit in an abalone shell, censor, or fire safe dish. Have a feather available to waft the...

History of Witch Trials in England Starting in the 15th Century spanning until the 18th Century was when England’s Witch trials took place. Wherein the 17th Century was the high point of the histeria. This was at its peak during both the Civil War time period 1640’s, and the Puritan era 1650’s. Most who were executed were women, an estimated 90%. Over the centuries much of what is known about these times has long since been destroyed. It is believed that somewhere between 500 - 1000 people...