Check out our latest Everyday Magic video, featuring the folklore of nuts! You can also check out more food-related magical lore at some of our previous episodes and posts:
I know that many people come here for articles on folk magic with historical footnotes and sources, and don’t worry–more of those are in the works. But today I wanted to share a more personal post about my own family life and the magic we share. If that’s not your cuppa mugwort tea, though, I completely understand, and I will not be hurt if you wait for the next post reviewing books of magic or sharing a bit of lore from North America. If you are interested in the personal stuff, though, please read on.
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Over the past few years, one of the aspects of parenthood that I’ve enjoyed most is seeing both how my children reflect their parents and how they are different. We’ve done a few episodes on the idea of magical families and raising children within a magic-inflected world, but largely I have only been able to offer a bit of the magic I experience in abstract ways–nature walks and discussions of the spirits of plants or rivers we pass, small charms to help ward off nightmares, or a steady diet of Studio Ghibli films, for example. As they have come into their personalities and selves more and more, though, I’ve started to see them take up bits of magic on their own, or to seek it out from me in new ways that transcend the “kiss on a boo-boo” level of enchantment (not that a boo-boo kiss isn’t magical; I’d hate to be pitted against that level of magic unprepared, frankly!).
Picking mulberries by our little creek
Some of this has coincided with an increasing awareness of the world around them, and some subtle and wonderful influences that have led them to magic. Today, I want to pause for a moment of personal reflection and look at the influences at play in my kids’ lives. I know this probably seems self-indulgent (“hey look at these pictures of my kiiiiiiids!!!”) but I also think that there’s a lot of pressure on parents with magical inclinations to somehow “raise” their kids in specific ways. I’m hoping that by illustrating the meandering magical path my children have followed–both with and without my direct involvement–it might help ease some of that strain. It’s also helpful to remember that as children grow, the nature of how we all relate to magic in our household has changed as well.
We have often said on the show that we believe in everyday magic, and that includes magic that exists apart from and outside of ourselves. Children are really good at tracking that magic back in the house with them (along with occasional muddy shoes). Those who know me know I’m a big fan of folklore (obviously), and my kids have certainly been marinated in a vast variety of folk tales and other lore from a very young age. Up until very recently, I read to my children every night, ranging from collections of fairy tales and folklore like Perrault’s eighteenth century assemblage to Jane Yolen’s masterful world lore tome and even individual retellings like Zora Neale Hurston’s The Six Fools. And, of course, all of Harry Potter and a great deal of Roald Dahl (both of which have some lovely embedded folk materials). They have listened to some of our All Hallows Read shows, too, during car trips, along with podcasts like Two Girls One Ghost and Spooked!. They have a great fondness for Neil Gaiman’s retelling of the Norse myths (and several of his other books, too). Lately, though, the flow has been slowly reversing. They bring me tales of strange creatures and legends they hear from other kids, and keep an eye out for all things sasquatch related (because he reminds them of me, for reasons both flattering and unflattering). They share digital legend lore, too, telling me stories of the mythic Herobrine of Minecraft’s lands, and helping to expand my “landscape” of magic into spaces I hadn’t considered. I’ve also been making an effort to read the books that they select for me, too, as a way to understand their inner worlds, and in doing that they’ve given me Tracey Baptiste’s The Jumbies and Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts, both of which are rich in lore.
We can’t deny the importance of other media as well. The Harry Potter movies (and one of my personal favorites, Willow) have certainly been in our world for a while now, and while the unrealistic flash-bang magic of Hollywood films isn’t an accurate presentation of how magic works, those are also not the ones they are most drawn to for magic. Instead, my daughter is deeply enamored of the film Song of the Sea, which retells Irish mythology and folklore of selkies in gorgeous ways (she often thinks of herself as a selkie, too). I mentioned the Ghibli films above, and many of their understandings of spirit-world interactions are shaped by films like Spirited Away. They see a little whirlwind carrying leaves down the street and make space for that spirit to go through, for example. YouTube has also provided surprising connection points to magic for them. Two of our family favorite channels, Illymation and Rebecca Parham’s Let Me Explain Studios, have recently done videos on magic-adjacent topics like using tarot as a form of therapy and seeing how slumber parties are like witch gatherings. It helps to normalize their own experiences of magic, and gets them interested in exploring on their own, too.
My daughter turning tarot cards as a therapeutic practice (this deck is the Majors-only Steven Universe deck)
Some of those explorations are directions different than my own. My daughter’s fascination with selkies has also led her to take an interest in other creatures like mermaids and unicorns, to the point where she is learning worldwide folklore about both that are beyond my own scope (which is more focused on North America, of course). My son is getting fascinated by hypnotism (thanks in part to the amazing Uncle Pedro character in the Big Nate book series, who uses hypnosis to help the titular Nate with one of his problems). The Illymation video on tarot sparked an interest for both of them in reading cards. My daughter–who has anxiety and emotional control conditions–uses tarot as a way to talk about her inner life with me and for herself (the therapeutic nature of the cards is one reason that my wife–an Evangelical Christian–has been open to them, in fact). My son’s interest has been more on the “fortune-telling” side, but he still sees some value in thinking of them as patterns he can detect and put together, too. I couldn’t resist, of course, and got them each their own decks (with their input, of course)–the Kawaii Tarot for my daughter and the Happy Tarot for my son (both great and very easy to read).
Additionally, I see the way that magic is infusing their lives in exterior ways as well. I mentioned making way for wind spirits earlier, and an extension of that is the reverence my kids feel for our local spring-fed creek. We make a point as a family to go pick the mulberries on its banks in early summer, thanking the trees for their generosity. The kids love to make sure the birds along the creek trails are fed, and so we bring homemade bird cakes of seeds and nuts out to leave for them (although I think we’re just as likely feeding the squirrels as the birds). They have befriended the gang of local ducks, too, who follow them around and eat from their hands. They recognize that the creek and its denizens are connected and alive, and we do things like trash pick-ups along its banks to show our appreciation. To them, the world is very animistically alive. My son has developed a deeply animistic relationship with a whole bevy of succulents and cacti on his own, too, spending his allowance on new ones or better pots for them. He names and labels each one, talking to them, calling them his “children,” and has even gotten a reputation as the “plant dad” at one of our local shops.
My son’s plant children
Seeing them find these tendrils of magic in their world, especially on their own, has been its own sort of enchantment. There’s a line in a Brandi Carlile song called “The Mother,” in which she notes that all her friends are out doing things they want to do, but that her daughter allows her the chance to experience magic, twice, saying “All the wonders I have seen, I will see a second time, inside of the ages through your eyes.” That has been my own experience as well. New World Witchery–folk magic–lives because we pass it on, but we also pass it up, and around, and between. I learn new magic through my children, and offer them the magic I have to give as well. That magic changes over time, and it may not always be this way, but for the moment I am deeply grateful to share wonder with them.
This time we’re looking at a few more of the everyday objects our listeners have sent in and seeing what sorts of magic we can make of them. We talk astrology and wristwatches, trunk-or-treat altar spaces, and aromatherapy necklaces as magical door chimes. We hope you enjoy and share your own everyday objects with us!
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.
We also mention J.K. Rowling’s story “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart” in Tales of Beedle the Bard. And Gravity Falls (seriously it’s worth watching if you like animation).
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.
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We dig back into the listener suggestions for everyday magical objects and look at another round of commonplace (or uncommonplace) items and how they can fit into a magical practice. Everything from the dapper gentlewitch’s accessories to photosensitive paper makes it into this one, so we hope you enjoy!
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.
You might want to take a quick listen back to our first Everyday Magical Objects episode if you aren’t familiar with what we’re doing in this one. You may also want to listen to our episodes featuring Robert Schreiwer and Robert Phoenix, since Cory mentions the event with them (which was a blast!).
Some of the books and folklore sources used for this episode include:
Thank you to listeners Heather, Autumnn, Mahalia, Mila, Chris, & Jennifer for this episode’s Everyday Magical Object suggestions. Please feel free to send in your own suggestions for future objects!
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.” 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.
We discuss all sorts of topics as we bring on author, dancer, artist, and all around righteous witch Laura Tempest Zakroff. We hear her takes on the many forms of cauldrons (you have more in your house than you know), sigils, and contemporary methods for traditional witchcraft. We also look at a strange and rather retro object in our Everyday Magic segment.
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, Jenna, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Corvus, Khristopher, Ye Olde Magic Shoppe, Raven Dark Moon, Little Wren, J.C., Mandy, Josette, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Catherine, AthenaBeth, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Victoria, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Montine, Regina, Hazel, Michael, Patrick, & Sherry (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!
You can also check out her latest books which were largely the basis for this show: The Witch’s Cauldron and Sigil Witchery, both from Llewellyn Publishing.
Fly Ashtray, sent in by listener Renee
Big thanks to listener Renee for suggesting the insect ash tray we discuss in the Everyday Magic section (see the pic above that she sent in). When discussing it, Cory mentions the books The Little Book of Magical Creatures (edited by Elizabeth Pepper and Barbara Stacy) and The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill (by Robin Artisson).
If you are one of our Patreon supporters, THANK YOU! We know that the Patreon kerfuffle this month was annoying and stressful, so hopefully now everything is behind us on that. You can hear more about it in this episode, too.
Want to send us a holiday greeting for the Yuletide episodes in December? You can do that via email or at our voicemail: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH).
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.” 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.
Incidental Music is “Mother’s Hands,” by Sergei Chereminisov, and is used under a Creative Commons License from the Free Music Archive.
This is the episode in which we tackle some of the many wonderful submissions to our “everyday magical object” contest. We’ve got ideas for cat whiskers, subway coins, and skeleton keys, among others, and we’ll be introducing plans for our new segment.
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, Jenna, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Corvus, Khristopher, Ye Olde Magic Shoppe, Raven Dark Moon, Little Wren, J.C., Josette, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Catherine, AthenaBeth, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Victoria, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Montine, Regina, Hazel, Michael, Patrick, & Sherry (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!
Cory also mentions the concept of hobo nickels, which are worth looking at if you’ve never seen them, and laments not knowing as much about animal magic as the much-missed Gillian of Iron Powaqa.
Want to send us a holiday greeting for the Yuletide episodes in December? You can do that via email or at our voicemail: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH).
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.” 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.
Greetings to all you magically-minded folk out there!
In our most recent episode, we sort of came up with an idea for a contest on the fly, and asked you to send us ideas of unusual or particular items you’ve got lying around that you’d like to find a way to work into a spell somehow. Many of you are already sending us your ideas, which is wonderful, but we thought it would be a good idea to announce the contest a little more formally and let you know just what it is you’re entering for a chance to win. And so, here are the official rules!
Everyday Magical Objects Contest Giveaway
**Ways to Enter**
Send us your magical object idea via email (you can try via social media, but we can’t guarantee we’ll get it that way). Please send just one object at a time, and give us enough of a description of the object that we know exactly what it is. If you can, give us some context, like what kind of magical practice you follow (so that when we come up with a response, it might actually be useful to you). This is definitely not a “stump the chumps” situation—that would be too easy with us!—so send us things that you genuinely want to know about. You can send us as many as you like, but each person can only be entered once for sending in an idea.
If you’re a sponsor of ours on Patreon at any level, $1+, you’ve already got one free entry! If you become a sponsor before the contest deadline, you’ll also get the free entry.
Share one of our episodes (a favorite or one you think others should hear) via social media and tag us for an additional entry! (We’re on Facebook and Twitter, so make sure you’re using the tags appropriate to those mediums or we won’t know you’ve shared anything).
That gives you the chance to get up to three entries per person! (Please note, prize winners must be located someplace where it is legal to ship the contents of the prize packs from the United States)
**What You Can Win**
We’re going to give away two different prize packs, each chosen randomly from our selection of entrants (NOTE: If you win one prize pack, you cannot win the other one, sorry!).
Crafty Cards Prize Pack
This prize pack will contain:
A signed copy of Cory’s card-reading book, 54 Devils
A deck of Wylie Beckert’s Wicked Kingdom playing cards (see the images above and check out her website, as these cards are gorgeous and perfect for cartomancy!)
A deck of the Fantod Pack, cards inspired by and drawn from the work of grim children’s author Edward Gorey, interpreted by Madame Groeda Weyrd
A free email-based card-reading from Cory! Ask your questions, receive answers from the great beyond! (or at least from Cory at his computer)
Wicked Stories Prize Pack
This prize pack contains things from or inspired by weird or magical stories:
A copy of the excellent and terrifying graphic novel Wytches, by Scott Snyder and Jock
A deck of Wylie Beckert’s Wicked Kingdom playing cards, which tell their own strange story
A “Dracula, Lord of Cunning” spellwork candle from Coventry Creations, based on both the character from Bram Stoker’s book and the Vampire Tarot by Robert M. Place
Both prize packs may also get a few extra goodies in them, too! If these prizes sound appealing to you, we’d love for you to enter to win!
What will we be doing with your entries? Well, they’ll be part of an upcoming show (or more than one), of course! So make sure if you want us to keep you anonymous or use a pseudonym, you tell us in your email.
We can’t wait to see what you send us! Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!
For this episode, we’re looking at our personal practices and figuring out how we decide what ingredients to use, when, and why. We talk about sourcing magical ingredients, using spell kits, and how we “shop” for magic in the everyday world.
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.
You may also want to look at our series of articles on Supermarket Magic (part I and part II), which covers finding magical ingredients in mundane places.
Cory mentions the folk tradition of using “bear” and “skunk grease,” which you can find out more about in Vance Randolph’s Ozark Magic & Folklore and the Foxfire series.
We talk about the excellent (and now gone, although back episodes are still available) Lamplighter Blues show, which featured a regular “mundane ingredient” segment. Similarly, the Witches Brewhaha show frequently did a mundane magic section (although we cannot speak for its back episode status).
We’ll be launching a contest, which we literally come up with as we do the episode. A full announcement will come in the next week or so, but it will involve you sending us ideas for potential objects to use in magical ways. Sounds fun, right?!?
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.” 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.
New World Witchery - The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft 