stories – New World Witchery – The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – January 2023

First-footing, cartomancy, helpful birds, and more!

Summary:

We welcome in a new year with some information on first footing, add a little variety to our card readings, hear a story about a helpful robin, shake and rattle some gourds, and much more!

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:

ConjuredCardea, AthenaBeth, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Achija Branvin Sionach, Catherine, Jamie, Ralph of the Holle’s Haven Podcast, Christopher, Montine of Book of My Shadows, Victoria & Keifel of 1000 Volt Press, Heather, Sherry, Fergus, Jennifer, Donna, Stephanie, AromaG’s Botanica, Benjamin, Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum, Mark, Vee, Meg, Liz, Donna, Lisa, Jacob, Sierra, and Jen!

Our sincere thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – January 2023

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

You can find a transcript of this episode at our Transcripts page.

The story this episode is taken from The Secret Garden, by Mary Hodges Burnett. Laine reads Chapter 8 – The Robin Who Showed the Way (link for full chapter at Lit2Go)

You can find out more about first footing and other New Year’s Traditions at our post about the topic, as well.

Please note that we’ll be doing our card-readings slightly differently this year. Laine will read for Cory, and Cory for Laine, but we’ll also share general information on the cards we pull, too. If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us at compassandkey@gmail.com or newworldwitcherypodcast@gmail.com or leave a comment at the website: www.newworldwitchery.com . 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 are also on TikTok now. You can follow us on Instagram (main account, or you can follow Laine as well) 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 and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music licensed from AudioSocket includes”Rain,” by Jim Coleman; “Campfire Slow,” by Randall Chrissman; “My Dreams Start out Calmly,” by Shadowy Lines; “At this Point,” by Abstract Aprils; and “Paranormal Dobro,” by Steve Barden. Additional incidental music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Archive and used under a CC 2.0 license.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

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! You can also check out Cory’s folklore show, Chasing Foxfire, where he explores the intersection of folklore and topics like history, medicine, science, nature, literature, pop culture, and more!

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 221 – Yuletide Cheer! 2022

Our annual “Tales and Wassails” episode for the midwinter nights

Summary:

We bring the year to a close with our midwinter festivities, including wassails and carols, a few fairy tales, a pair of poems, and even a bit of festive food lore. Got Jul and Happy Holidays to all!

Producers for this show:

Abby, Achija Branvin Sionach, AromaG’s Botanica, AthenaBeth, Andrea, Bagga Marsh, Benjamin, Breanna, Carol, Carole, Catherine, Cheryl, Christopher, Colby, ConjuredCardea, Daniel, Dave, Don, Donna, Elizabeth, Eveline, Erin, Fergus, Griffin, Heather, Jamie, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Jess, Jenna, Jennifer, Jodi, John, Jonathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Kat, Kee, Kristopher, Liz, Mark, Marisa, Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum, Milo, Minimiel, Montine of Book of My Shadows, , Nikki, Payton, Sara, Scarlet Pirate, Sherry, Staci, Stephanie, Ralph from the Holle’s Haven Podcast, Vee, Victoria & Keifel of 1000 Volt Press, Violet, and WisdomQueen (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

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Play: Episode 222 – Yuletide Cheer! 2022

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Our stories for this episode are “The Golden Key” from the Brothers Grimm and “The Snow Maiden” from Russian folklore.

The poems are “Winter Stars,” by Sara Teasdale and “The Snow Fairy,” by Claude McKay.

The apple lore can be found in our Post #143 – Apples.

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

Some upcoming publications from us:

Cory recently contributed to The Gorgon’s Guide to Magical Resistance, edited by Jenn Zahrt and Laura Tempest Zakroff (which includes his “penis trees” article along with a lot of other great pieces) and the upcoming release of the Llewellyn’s Complete Book of North American Folk Magic, out in Spring 2023. Also be on the lookout for our upcoming collaborative book Conjuring the Commonplace: A Guide to Everyday Enchantment and Junk Drawer Magic also coming in 2023 from 1000Volt Press.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Please note that clicking on links may provide some monetary compensation to New World Witchery.

Image via Pixabay (Used under CC 2.0 License, modified by New World Witchery)

Promos and Music:

Our music for this episode is used under Public Domain through Archive.org or licensed from AudioSocket unless noted otherwise. The songs for this episode are:

“Old Christmas,” by Boyd Asher (Library Of Congress – Public Domain)
“Jingle Bells,” by Morrie Morrison Orchestra (AudioSocket)
“Fum Fum Fum” by the US Army Men’s Choir (Public Domain)
“Pat-a-Pan,” by the Concordia Choir (Archive.org)
“Good King Wenceslas,” by the Harmony Choristers (Archive.org)
“Angels We Have Heard on High,” by Joe Matzzie (AudioSocket)
“Soul Cake,” by the Pagan Carolers (Archive.org)
“Carol of the Birds,” by Columbus Boyschoir (Archive.org)
“Sing We Noel Once More,” by the Harmony Choristers (Archive.org)
“The Wassail Song,” by the English Singers (Archive.org)
“We’ve Been A-Wandering,” by Concordia Choir (Archive.org)
“Somerset Wassail,” by the Pagan Carolers (Archive.org)
“Carol of the Bells,” by Columbus Boyschoir (Archive.org)
“Green Groweth the Holly,” by the Pagan Carolers (Archive.org)
“The Boar’s Head Carol,” by the Pagan Carolers (Archive.org)
“Silent Night,” by Steven Rice (AudioSocket)
“Da Day Dawn,” by Samantha Gillogly (used with permission of artist)

Incidental music includes work by Kevin MacLeod, made available under a CC 2.0 license, and found at the FreeMusicArchive.org

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – December 2022

Holiday greenery and ghosts!

Summary:

Time to close out a year of Folk Magician’s Notebooks with a few nods to the holiday season. We’ve got scary ghost stories (well one anyway), a peek at the lunar calendar for the month, some generous and cozy cards, and more!

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – December 2022

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

Our story this time is “The Golden Arm,” and you can find the version Cory reads on the Pitt.edu website.

We also have a whole post about “Holly and Ivy” if you’re interested!

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Incidental music is Shirley Cason, “Winter Mornings”; Pat Holmberg, “We Three Kings”; and Phil Symonds, “Coventry Carol” all licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Arcive and used under a CC 2.0 license.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – November 2022

Surly cards, fabulous fables, & bewitching bones!

Summary:

We dive into a new month by looking at some surly (and pointy) cards, turning to proverbs for divination, hear some fabulous fables, and play with a few magical bones. Plus our lunar astrology and more!

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – October 2022

Stream:

/audio]

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

We share a series of Aesop’s fables this month, all available from the Library of Congress website. The tales are “The Astrologer,” “The Crow & the Pitcher,” and “The Miller, His Son, and the Ass”

Want to know more about oseteoliths? Or bones in magic more generally?

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Arcive and used under a CC 2.0 license.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2022

Spooky stories of devils and magic gone amiss!

Summary:

We’re back just in time for the spooky season with our annual All Hallows’ Read episode! This time we’re sharing tales of magic gone wrong, with narratives about diabolical woodsmen, sorcerous battles, eerie homunculi, and more. We’ve got special guests joining us to narrate these, too, so see if you can “spot” the voices!

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2022

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We visit old Professor Henry Ostcouch busily working away in his tower, and hear stories of magic gone awry. Each story has a special guest teller as well!

“The Homunculus of Maimonides,” from Lilith’s Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural, edited by Howard Schwartz (read by Ryan of The Red Text Podcast)
“The Battle of the Enchanters,” from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, edited by Jack Zipes (read by Victoria Raschke of the WitchLit Podcast)
“The Black Woodsman,” from The Silver Bullet, and Other American Witch Stories, by Hubert J. Davis (read by Aaron Oberon of the FolkCraft Podcast)
“The Blacksmith and the Devil,” from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, edited by Jack Zipes (read by Austin of Banexbramble and the Southern Bramble Podcast)
“Cornelius Agrippa’s Bloody Book,” from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, edited by Jack Zipes (read by Don Martin of Head on Fire Podcast)

My immense thanks to these readers, who stepped in to help me out when my voice was not up to recording all these tales due to illness, and did a marvelous job telling them, too!

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Music for this episode is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Archive and used under a CC 2.0 license.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – October 2022

Folk tales of talking cats, diabolical cards, enchanted apples, and more!

Summary:

Time for another round of full moons, cards, and so much more! We look at the Blood Moon, talk about a pair of tempting-but-misunderstood cards, talk about the secret magic in the average apple, and hear a story of some very chatty cats.

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – October 2022

Stream:

/audio]

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

The story this month is a Texas folktale called “The Black Cat’s Message,” as retold by S.E. Schlosser.

You may be interested in our article on the folk magic of apples or the video we posted about it as well.

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Arcive and used under a CC 2.0 license.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – September 2022

Lonely cards, blackberries, magic in your coffee cup, and more!

Summary:

We do some introspection with a couple of solitude-focused cards, watch the moon dance through the equinox and Michaelmas, learn about the good fortune in your teacup, hear a tale about listening to your dreams, and learn a little useful broom-crafting!

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – September 2022

Stream:

/audio]

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

Our folktale this month is “The Peddler of Swaffham,” recorded by Joseph Jacobs and available on the Archive.org site (public domain).

A good, brief introduction to tasseomancy is The Stranger in the Cup, by Gregory Lee White.

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Arcive and used under a CC 2.0 license.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – August 2022

This month we’re watching the stars fall, looking at some cards of great resolve, hearing a variation on a familiar tale, and digging into some bread and beans!

Summary:

This month we’re watching the stars fall, looking at some cards of great resolve, hearing a variation on a familiar tale, and digging into some bread and beans!

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – August 2022

Stream:

/audio]

-Sources-

We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

The folklore this month is a variation on a Jack tale, known as “Jack and the Bean Pole,” as recorded in Pennsylvania by Elsie Clews Parsons and available here: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0328jack.html

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music includes tracks from Chase Horseman, licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Arcive and used under a CC 2.0 license. Additional music by Hex_Q used by permission of the artist.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – July 2022

We get dark-and-stormy for July with the Tower Card, the Seven of Spades, and some stories of Elijah.

Summary:

We get a little dark and stormy this month as we visit the Tower Card, the Seven of Spades, and hear some tales of Elijah from Jewish folklore. We also look at storm protection charms and the lunar astrology for the month!

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – July 2022

Stream:

/audio]

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

The folklore this month features three tales of Elijah:

“Elijah the Slave” and “Elijah and the Two Shekels” are both adapted from the Midrash collection, Legends of the Jews. “Elijah, the Widow, & the Oil” is found in 2 Kings 4: 1-7.

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music includes tracks from Jim Coleman and Shadowy Lines, licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music Kevin Macleod, from Free Music Arcive and used under a CC 2.0 license. Additional music by Hex_Q used by permission of the artist.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.

Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – June 2022

We spend some time in the sweet month of June with the Honey Moon, a Queen Bee, a Magician, and a King.

Summary:

We spend some time in the sweet month of June with the Honey Moon, a Queen Bee, a Magician, and a King. Plus we share proverbs, crafts, and lunar astrological dates of note, too.

Producers for this show:

Play:

Play: Special Episode – Folk Magician’s Notebook – June 2022

Stream:

/audio]

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We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend:

The Witches Almanac

Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook

Benebell Wen’s Metaphysician’s Planner

Montine’s Book of My Shadows

Or your local Farmer’s Almanac!

The fairy tale this month is “The Queen Bee,” adapted from a version found at Lit2Go. (Edwardes, M., Taylor, E., trans. (1905). Grimm’s Fairy Tales.)

If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.

You can now buy Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon)

Image via Pixabay (CC 2.0)

Promos and Music:

Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music includes tracks from Jim Coleman, Shadowy Lines, Delicate Noise, and Jonathan Headly. All music licensed from Audio Socket. Additional music by Hex_Q used by permission of the artist.

Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain.

Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.