Podcast – Page 21 – New World Witchery – The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft

Episode 144 – Southern Cunning with Aaron Oberon

Summary:

We’re talking about life as a swamp witch today with author Aaron Oberon! Aaron takes us through his work with “folkloric witchcraft” and the ways he both draws on his Southern roots and adapts them to meet contemporary needs. He’ll share his perspective on the Devil’s wife, making magical tools, and Queer identity in a Southern magical context.

Please check out our Patreon page! You can help support the show for as little as a dollar a month, and get some awesome rewards at the same time. Even if you can’t give, spread the word and let others know, and maybe we can make New World Witchery even better than it is now.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Hazel, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jennifer, Clever Kim’s Curios, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 144 – Southern Cunning with Aaron Oberon

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You should definitely check out Aaron’s upcoming book, Southern Cunning, available for pre-order! You can also find his work in the book Queer Magic and listen to him on the Broomsticks in the Bayou podcast.

Aaron’s work references the book The Silver Bullet by Hubert Davis, as well as an essay Cory wrote for Three Hands Press in the book Hands of Apostasy.

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Don’t forget to follow us at Twitter! And check out our Facebook page! For those who are interested, we also now have a page on Pinterest you might like, called “The Olde Broom.” You can follow us on Instagram or check out our new YouTube channel with back episodes of the podcast and new “Everyday Magic” videos, too (as well as most of our contest announcements)! Have something you want to say? Leave us a voice mail on our official NWW hotline: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH, if it helps).

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune. Additional songs are “Dill Pickle Rag,” by The Joy Drops (via a CC Attribution license on SoundCloud); “Shady Grove,” by Doc Watson & Jack Lawrence (from the public Florida Folklife Collection); and “Out of Your League,” by Ninety Pounds of Ugly (licensed from Magnatune).

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

Please think about checking out our Audible Trial program. Visit Audibletrial.com/newworldwitchery to get your free trial of Audible, where you can download over 180,000 titles (including some narrated by Cory). Your purchases help support this show, and there’s no obligation to continue after the free trial

Episode 143 – The Magical Home

Summary:

For this episode we decided to do a magical mental tour of the home, and explore how the different spaces in our dwelling places are used magically. We talk sex and protection in the bedroom, magical blankets and occult summonings in children’s rooms, and the power of the magical threshold.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Hazel, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jennifer, Clever Kim’s Curios, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 143 – The Magical Home

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We reference a few episodes and posts from our distant murky past, including:

Cory mentions the video “Mean Teddies” by animator Vincent Pang, and the upcoming book Making Magic, by Bri Saussy. The famed Horace Miner anthropology essay “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” gets some discussion. We also have a very brief mention of Marie Kondo, author of several books and star of the Netflix series “Tidying Up.” And, of course, the Pennsylvania “sex dungeon” house.

Cory also has a chapter on “Home and Vehicle in American Folklore and Folklife” in the upcoming Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies (due out in 2020, although you may need access to your local library or a university library account to get the article without paying exorbitantly for it).

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune.

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

Episode 142 – Techno Sorcery and Digital Magic

Summary:

We look at folk magic from a “new” perspective this time (which isn’t really very new at all). We discuss embedded spells in webpage code, shuffle-o-mancy and radio divination, and how to make a meme into a spell as we look at where magic and technology overlap (with special guest, Laine’s husband!).

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Hazel, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jennifer, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 142 – Techno Sorcery and Digital Magic

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We talk a little bit about a couple of episodes we did last year, including our Sound Sigils one and one on Sensory Witchcraft.

We also discuss the practice of steganography, which you can learn more about in this article from WIRED.

Cory mentions the book American Gods by Neil Gaiman (also a television show now). We also discuss the “Loss” meme and the “Mocking Spongebob” meme quite a bit. (And this classic as well).

You may also want to learn more about the “coding duck” we discuss.

Finally, here are some of the apps we recommend (either personally or based on trusted friends/listeners and their recommendations):

Druid Oracle Cards
Runic Divination
Star Walk (night sky guide)
iLuna (lunar calendar)
Herbarium Wicca
Aradia (searchable full text of Leland’s Aradia, Gospel of the Witches)
Lunar Calendar
Fool’s Dog Tarot (also check out the MANY other Fool’s Dog Tarot deck apps)
72 Seasons (Shinto calendar)
Seventh Sphere (Lenormand/Tarot Learning)
AstroGuide (horoscopes and astrology)
PlantNet (wild plant identification)

Big thanks to listener Fergus for reminding us to do this episode!

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune.

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

Episode 141 – New Years Divininations Revisited

Summary:

We return to our divination workings from back at the beginning of 2018 to see how everything came together (or in some cases, didn’t). Then we throw some cards to see what the year ahead will bring.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jennifer, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 141 – New Years Divinations Revisited

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–Sources–

We base a lot of this episode on the readings we did in Episode 122 – Divining the New Year. Some of the divination tools we used in that episode were:

The Javamancy Board by Chas Bogan of Carnivalia/The Mystic Dream
The Rabbit Tarot, by Nakisha Elsje Vanderhoeven
The Haindl Tarot pack, by Hermann Haindl (Rachel Pollack’s books are the top recommended interpretation guides)

This year we use some of the following tools:

The Wicked Kingdom playing cards by Wylie Beckett
The Tarot Mucha from Lo Scarabeo

Big thanks to listener Rorie for reminding us to do this episode!

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune.
If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!
Please think about checking out our Audible Trial program. Visit Audibletrial.com/newworldwitchery to get your free trial of Audible, where you can download over 180,000 titles (including some narrated by Cory). Your purchases help support this show, and there’s no obligation to continue after the free trial

Episode 140 – Culture and Witchcraft with Lilith Dorsey

Summary

We interview author and blogger Lilith Dorsey about her recent response to an article on “Black witches” in The Atlantic, as well as the role traditions and pop culture play in shaping contemporary witchcraft and folk magic.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play

Download: Episode 140 – Culture and Witchcraft with Lilith Dorsey

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Lilith Dorsey’s Patheos blog is the best way to see her regular writing, and the article “Black Witches Talk Back” in response to the article in The Atlantic is a must-read companion to this episode.
Dorsey has also written several books, including The African-American Ritual Cookbook and Love Magic: Over 250 Spells and Potions for Getting It, Keeping It, and Making It Last.
We also mention Witchdoctor Utu, who we had on our show during the Great Lakes episode.
We discuss several anthropologists whose work we find valuable, including Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Deren, and Margaret Mead.
We mention Bri Luna (the Hoodwitch) and Chiquita Brujita in conjunction with the rising movement towards magical diversity and inclusion.
Lilith mentions dancing for Dr. John, whose New Orleans music is a lot of fun to listen to
We briefly touch upon the idea of sexual predation in neo-Pagan circles, a topic covered well by Sarah Lawless in some of her recent articles

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune. Additional song is “When,” by Anthony Salvo, also licensed from Magnatune.

Episode 139 – Light Magic for Dark Times with Lisa Marie Basile

Summary:

This time we’re chatting with poet, author, and witch Lisa Marie Basile about her book Light Magic for Dark Times, the intersections of self-care and folk magic, and the way magical practice and poetry can overlap.

Please check out our Patreon page! You can help support the show for as little as a dollar a month, and get some awesome rewards at the same time. Even if you can’t give, spread the word and let others know, and maybe we can make New World Witchery even better than it is now.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 139 – Light Magic for Dark Times with Lisa Marie Basile

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You should definitlely check out Lisa Marie Basile’s author page if you haven’t already. In addition, her book Light Magic for Dark Times and her magazine Luna Luna are both worth checking out as well. The spell you hear in this episode is from her book.

Cory also mentions the book Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals, by Luisa Teish.

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune. Incidental music is “The Bird and the Rainbow,” by Monplaisir, from the Free Music Archive.

Sneak Peek: Myth Taken Episode 0-0

Hello everyone!

We mentioned in our last show that we would be launching a new podcast soon, and today we’re getting the first episode out there! It’s called Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, and you can probably guess what our main subject will be. This really is just an introduction to us, but we also talk about how we’ll be approaching the series, so if the Buffyverse interests you, check it out and see if you want to tag along with us as we delve into Buffy, bad puns, good stories, weird monsters, folklore, mythology, mixed metaphors, and wild tangents.

Also, don’t feel any obligation to subscribe to the new show if Buffy isn’t your thing. We totally get that, and we won’t be sharing all that much about it on the New World Witchery site. So if you’re here for the folk magic and the Buffy stuff is not your cup of blood-and-Wheetabix, no worries!

Okay, on to the show notes for this one!

Summary

This is our first episode, so we introduce ourselves and let you know a little bit about us and about where we’ll be coming from in terms of the show.

Listen

Download: Episode 0-0 – Introductions

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Links

This is where we’ll usually share any relevant links for the episode. This time around, we’d recommend you check out:

New World Witchery – Our other podcast on folk magic in North America
Buffy on Hulu – In case you need to watch the episodes (we don’t get anything from recommending Hulu, they just tend to have good versions of the episodes)
Still Pretty – One of our other favorite Buffy shows
Buffering the Vampire Slayer – One of our other OTHER favorite Buffy shows

You can follow us on Twitter or Facebook for now (more social media will be coming soon).

You can also always email us with your thoughts, questions, and ideas! We love hearing from you!

Music

Music for this episode is “Digging a Grave,” by Shadows from the Underground, and is used under license from Magnatune.

Episode 138 – A New Year and Magical Self Care

Summary:

We look back at 2018’s witchy highlights and talk about some of our upcoming projects for the new year, then discuss folk magical approaches to self care for the new year as well.

Play:

Download: Episode 138 – A New Year and Magical Self Care

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Huge thanks to everyone who made 2018 so wonderful! We had a great year with over twenty total episodes, plus lots of fun bonus stuff as well.

Cory mentions a few of his favorite books from the past year, which includes several books by Laura Tempest Zakroff (who we interviewed last year), the book Six Ways by Aidan Wachter, and Besom, Stang, & Sword by Chris Orapello and Tara-Love Maguire. He also mentions loving the Hilda series on Netflix and the graphic novels it’s based upon, and there’s a little bit of discussion of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as well. Laine mentions American Horror Story: Apocalypse as another good witchy show for the past year.

In the realm of magical self care, Laine draws from Cunningham’s Earth, Air, Fire, & Water. Cory is largely drawing from folklore related to magical cleansing rites and cutting and clearing away negative influences in your life, which have been the focus of several articles on the site, including:

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune.

Episode 137 – Yuletide Cheer! 2018

Summary:

In our annual holiday episode, we turn to the natural world for carols and lessons on the plants and animals of the Yuletide season.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Carole, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 137 – Yuletide Cheer! 2018

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-Sources-

Much of the lore featured in this episode comes from the following books and websites:

Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations of the World Dictionary, 3rd ed. Omnigraphics, Detroit: 2005.
Illes, Judika. Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells. Harper Collins, New York: 2009.
Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatem. A Dictionary of Superstitions. Barnes & Noble Books, New York: 1989.
Raedisch, Linda. The Old Magic of Christmas. Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, MN: 2013.
Santino, Jack. All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life. Univ. of Illinois Press, Chicago: 1995.
Caring for wild birds in the winter season (Mother Nature Network): https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/how-to-take-care-of-birds-this-winter
Aesop’s Fables: “The Ants and the Grasshopper” (Library of Congress)

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Don’t forget to follow us at Twitter! And check out our Facebook page! For those who are interested, we also now have a page on Pinterest you might like, called “The Olde Broom.” You can follow us on Instagram or check out our new YouTube channel with back episodes of the podcast and new “Everyday Magic” videos, too! Have something you want to say? Leave us a voice mail on our official NWW hotline: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH, if it helps).

Promos & Music

Music from this episode is licensed from Magnatune unless otherwise noted. “CC License” indicates a Creative Commons 2.0 Share-and-share-alike license.

Song List:

The Holly & the Ivy – Quire Cleveland
Ceremonies for Christmas Eve – Passsamezzo
The Holly Witches’ Dance – Harper’s Hamper
Ivy is Good – English Ayres
Green Grows the Holly – Shira Kammen
The Blood-red Rose at Yule – Music for a Winter’s Night
Christmas Tree – Emma Wallace
Kentucky (Ohio) Wassail – Quire Cleveland
Apple Tree Wassail – Shira Kammen
Here we Come a-Wassailing – Harper’s Hamper
Wassail Song (1913 – Vaughn Williams) – Quire Cleveland
While Shepherds Watched their Flocks – Alabama Sacred Harp Singers (Wikimedia – CC License)
Shepherd’s Carol to be Sung on New Year’s Day – Passamezzo
On Christmas Day – Jean Ritchie (Library of Congress – Public Domain)
The Boar’s Head Carol – Harper’s Hamper
The Wren in the Furze – Shira Kammen
Fowles in the Frith/Bird on a Briar – English Ayres
Little Skylark – J. Tucker (used with permission of artist)
Da Day Dawn – Samantha Gillogly (used with permission of artist)

Incidental Music for this episode includes “O Christmas Tree,” by Jeff Wahl (Magnatune); “Snow Drop,” by Kevin Macleod (Free Music Archive – CC License); and “The Sighful Branches,” by Axletree (Free Music Archive – CC License).

Episode 136 – Graveyard Lore Part II

Summary:

We return under cover of darkness to the creaky gates and mossy tombstones of graveyards and crypts for this show. We cover a witch ring in a New York cemetery, spooky teenage trips to haunted graveyards, and holding your breath as you pass the local churchyard.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Carole, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Witch Ring in Fort Hill Cemetery, New York

Play:

Download: Episode 136 – Graveyard Lore Part II

Play:

-Sources-

Big thanks to many of our listeners, including AthenaBeth, Michelle, Katie, Emma, Annie, and Thornwald who submitted to this show. We definitely expect to keep mining this topic for more, as we still have tons of great listener submissions to share with you! Keep those coming!

Some of the graveyards mentioned include the Fort Hill Cemetery in New York and Simsbury Cemetery in Connecticut.

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Don’t forget to follow us at Twitter! And check out our Facebook page! For those who are interested, we also now have a page on Pinterest you might like, called “The Olde Broom.” You can follow us on Instagram or check out our new YouTube channel with back episodes of the podcast and new “Everyday Magic” videos, too! Have something you want to say? Leave us a voice mail on our official NWW hotline: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH, if it helps).

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune.