Magick & Alchemy

In episode 187 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby welcome back Shelby Bundy and Amanda Paulson. Shelby is the visionary and creatrix behind Tamed Wild, and Amanda is a paranormal investigator and psychic medium based in the Pacific Northwest. In this conversation, four witches answer listener questions sent in by the Tamed Wild coven. They discuss their relationship with the clairs (clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, claircognizance, clairsalience), new additions to their magickal practices, and their favorite Samhain rituals. They reflect on modern representations of witches in pop culture and what they love most about being part of the Tamed Wild community.Sources & Shoutouts:The Moon & the Carolina podcastRaising Hare, Chloe DaltonYesteryear, Caro Claire BurkeBeloved, Toni MorrisonThe Darkened Room: Women, Power and Spiritualism in Late Victorian England, Alex OwenJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 186 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby reflect on magickal representation in pop culture. Beginning with the mythical daemon, a spirit who serves as a messenger and muse, they consider 'demonic' displays of divine embodiment in the music of Lana Del Rey and Stevie Nicks. Next, they introduce listeners to the concept of the monstrous feminine and share depictions of the Witch from a feminist horror perspective. They also discuss patriarchal fears over the female reproductive system by highlighting the horror sub-genre, "Good For Her."Sources & Shoutouts:Episode 177: Women in Art & the Occult, Stevie NicksEpisode 131: Lights, Camera, Witchcraft with Heather GreenEpisode 166: Magic Maker with Pam GrossmanEpisode 79: Protection Spells & Curses  Episode 108: Harpies & FuriesEpisode 48: Medusa & AthenaEpisode 122: The Witch & the BitchEpisode 104: The Mothers of Monsters & MagickDiscovery of Witches, Deborah HarknessWheel of Time, Robert JordanA Vision, W.B. & Georgie YeatsThe Soul’s Code, James HillmanBorderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Gloria E. AnzaldúaWalkers Between Worlds, Caitlyn & John MatthewsThe Crossroads: Sacred Stories & the Dark MoonWho’s Who: Lana Del Rey, Bibby SowrayLana Del Rey, Get FreeLana Del Rey, She Does it For the Girls, Hannah EwensLana Del Rey Casually Confirms She Indeed Hexed Donald Trump, Kyle MunzenriederThat Very Witch: Fear, Feminism and the American Witch Film, Emily ColucciThe Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis, Barbara Creed From Carries to the Lure: Monstrous Girls In Cinema, Karen HanJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 185, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby gather oracular insight from the ancient world. Rooted in Latin’s orare, meaning “to speak,” an oracle in Greco-Roman mythology was a divine seer and sibyl with direct access to higher truths and prophecy. In this conversation, Kristin and Kate discuss the Delphic Oracle, a cave-dwelling prophetess whose sanctuary was considered the ‘navel’ of the earth. Also known as the Pythia, this woman was the prophetess at Apollo’s temple, a holy space rumored to have been designed and constructed by bees. They also consider Dodona, the oldest Hellenic oracle. In mythical tales, the prophetesses of Dodona were called pleiades (doves) and were the priestesses of Zeus. Sources & Shoutouts:Current reads:Sophie Strand, Make Me Good SoilAcie Clark, Small TalkSylvia V. Linsteadt, Our Lady of the Dark Country Alyssandra Dutton, Stolen WomenJames Hillman, Healing FictionJames Hillman, Facing the GodsJames Hillman, The Dream and the UnderworldNor Hall, The Moon & the VirginAllen Levi, Theo of GoldenEpisode 90: An Interview with Sophie StrandEpisode 144: Wyrd Women, Part 2Word Witch Correspondence: Acie ClarkThe Greek Myths, Robert GravesList of oracular statements from DelphiDamien Echols, High MagickWilliam J. Broad, The OracleVikki Bramshaw, Dionysos: Exciter to FrenzySimone Weil, Gravity and GraceThe Scientific Detectives Probing the Secrets of Ancient OraclesDodona HistoryThe Black Dove of DodonaSeeking answers from the GodsThe Sacred Oak: Dodona and the Origins of the Oracular TraditionJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 184 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew kick off season seven! Magic practitioners know that words are spells. That's why we set intentions and recite prayers, study old myths and fairy tales, and petition the spirit word for guidance. In this conversation, they begin with the origins of open sesame and hocus pocus, speaking about the sacredness of words. Next, they discuss invocations and the power of speaking aloud, and the mysterious origins of abracadabra. Sources & Shoutouts:Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics by StarhawkThe Harvest Moments and History of Sesame Seeds Around the WorldThe Paris Review: Open SesameIn Babylon They Believed in a Mixture of Honey and Sesame SeedsThe Pagan Origins of Three Catholic PracticesThe Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara WalkerA Candle in the Dark by Thomas AdyMithraismThe Witch’s Art of Incantation by Roger J. HorneMagic Maker by Pam Grossman Say the Magic Word: The Origins of AbracadabraThe Ancient and Mysterious History of AbracadabraLady Gaga Tells Us Everything You Want to Know About Abracadabra After That Spectacular Grammys RevealJoin Tenth House Rising!Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo AudioJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 183 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew head to the harvest time fields to summon the haunts and cryptids of our reaping season. They begin with the Headless Horseman, a fictional rider with possible ties to Crom Cruach, the Dullahan, and other ancient spirits from Irish folklore. Next they meet the Puca, a trickster, shapeshifter, and faerie spirit who watches over our crops in exchange for a “puca’s share” of the harvest. Lastly, they share some strange, seasonal superstitions related to Poludnica, the Polevik, and the Feldgeister.Sources & Shoutouts:Episode 114: Tales of the CornEpisode 137: Autumn Magick “Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland” by Thomas Crofton Croker“Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry” by W.B. Yeats“Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving"The Sagen Tale," Brothers Grimm"The Wild Huntsman," Brothers GrimmCrom Cruach – The Dark Irish Pagan God of Sacrifice and Stone, Paul SheldonThe Puca - Wilderness IrelandMonster of the Week: The PoludnicaPolevic - Book of CreaturesJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 182 of Magick & Alchemy, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby welcome back Perdita Finn to the podcast. Perdita is an author, educator, and co-founder of the feral fellowship, The Way of the Rose. In this conversation, Perdita talks about channeling the old ones and working with our beloved dead in the spirit world. She contemplates romantic animism and asks, if your mother was an animal, what animal would she be? Perdita also introduces us to her new book, Mothers of Magic: Summoning the Wisdom of Our Ancestors.To connect with Perdita, visit her website, subscribe to her Substack, follow her on Instagram, and order her latest book, Mothers of Magic: Summoning the Wisdom of Our Ancestors. Sources & Shoutouts:Episode 104: The Mothers of Monsters and MagicEpisode 136: Asteroid Astrology with Empress of AtlantisEpisode 128: Spring Magick“The Dead Need to Speak,” Perdita FinnGoliath’s Curse, Luke KempAncient Mirrors of Motherhood, Merlin StoneThe Salt King, Natasha PulleyThe Other Side, Jennifer Higgie Join Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 181 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew celebrate the end of their 6th season alongside Animal Oracles, the bat and the crocodile. Beginning with the bat, a creature that roosts in caves, on cliffsides, and within the hollows of trees, Kristin discusses the bat’s relationship to thresholds, mythical junctures, and initiatory landmarks. She highlights its connection to vampires and libraries, and how bats ‘see’ using echolocation. Next, Kate explores crocodile folklore and mythology. She contemplates crocodile deities like Sobek and Ammit, their influence on fertility and the heart, and the quiet ferocity of this primordial creature.Sources & Shoutouts:Episode 161: Hecate with Melissa MaderaEpisode 162: Word Witch with Kate BelewEpisode 163: Something in the Woods Loves You with Jarod K. AndersonEpisode 172: Creative Magick with Shelby Bundy & Amanda PaulsonDionysos: Exciter to Frenzy, Vicki BramshawEnergy Magick of the Vampire,  Don Webb“Echolocation is nature’s built-in sonar. Here’s how it works,” Liz Langley - National Geographic“These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats—and They Like It That Way,” Julie H. Case - Smithsonian MagazineTaschen’s Book of SymbolsThe Rise of Sobek in The Middle Kingdom by Maryan Ragheb from the American Research Center in EgyptRosicrucian Egyptian MuseumAmmit - Egypt MuseumBack From the Brink - PBSJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 180 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby continue their series on animal oracles with the octopus and the dolphin. They begin with the eight-limbed octopus, a creature known as the sea alien. As a symbol of the strange, not only can the octopus alter the color and texture of its body on command, but it also uses tools, solves puzzles, and can escape from seemingly impossible spaces. Like the octopus, the dolphin is a liminal being, moving between shallow waters and deep, oceanic depths. Dolphins are considered our ‘brothers of the sea,’ delivering messengers of joy, friendship, and creation.Sources & Shoutouts:Tamed Wild Beltane Retreat 2027“The Mind of an Octopus,” Scientific American “A Dictionary of Symbols,” J. E. Cirlot“Octopus Legends and Urban Myths,” PBS “Breverton’s Phantasmagoria: A Compendium Of Monsters, Myths And Legends,” Terry Breverton“Sea monsters and their inspiration: Serpents, mermaids, the kraken and more,” Natural History MuseumDolphin Communication ProjectDolphins in Ancient Mythology, PBS“The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images,” TaschenJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 179 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby track the footprints of animal oracles, beginning with the fox and the deer. Assigning meaning to animal sightings and chance interactions is called apantomancy, a form of divination with the wild. Through the lens of apantomancy, the fox might show up as a friend or foe, a fairy or a goddess. The fox is also a shapeshifter, much like its friend, the deer. Deer are ancient symbols of inspiration and creativity, and in folk stories and lullabies, they initiate humans into a realm of ancient magic.Sources & Shoutouts:Mr. Fox, Helen Oyeyemi Season 4, Episode 127: Trickster TalesBones & Honey: A Heathen Prayer Book, Danielle DulskyThe illustrated database of Japanese folkloreKitsune: Japan's Fox of Mystery, Romance and Humor, Kiyosho NozakiThe Age of Deer, Erica HowsareNational GeographicLady of the Beasts, Buffy JohnsonBainne nam fiadh (Deer’s Milk)We are Deer Kin - Missing WitchesJoin Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio

In episode 178 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew conclude their series on Women in Art & the Occult by sharing the stories of Mary Wigman and Louise Bourgeois. As a dancer, Mary Wigman was an artist whose medium was not paint nor pen, but movement. She was the creator of the "Witch Dance," a performance that transformed her into a fluid, intuitive conduit of magic. Louise Bourgeois was a sculptor who considered her art a form of divination and a means of emotional restoration. She is most known for her spider sculptures, which she saw as symbols of resilience, feminine power, creativity, and independence. Bourgeois allowed her mind to wander while creating (a process she called ‘gathering wool’), letting "thought traces, fragments of dreams, idols, speculations, hunches, and intuitions" coalesce into art.Sources & Shoutouts:Tethered: An Anthology of Magic“Re-reading Mary Wigman’s Hexentanz II (1926): the influence of the non-Western ‘Other’ on movement practice in early modern ‘German’ dance,” Lito Tsitsou and Lucy Weir Monte VeritaWitch Dance - YouTubeStephando Mudo - La Biennale di Venezia“Imagination is the Medium,” Literary Coven“Breathing Back the History of German Modern Dance through the Horror Film Genre in Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria,” Wesley Lim“The Language of Dance,” Mary WigmanLouise Bourgeois - Gathering Wool“Surrealist Threads in Louise Bourgeois’ Work,” Essie King“Louise Bourgeois: The Woman Behind The Spider Sculptures,” Essie King“The Damned, the Possessed and the Beloved: About Art, Architecture and Witchcraft”Join Tenth House Rising! Tenth House Rising offers seasonal learning for those who seek meaning through myth, magick, and memory. Rooted in the rhythm of the seasons and inspired by the Wheel of the Year, each month brings a new theme that echoes the energies of the natural world. Learn more at TenthHouseRising.com.For those who desire magick in the mail, you can also subscribe to the Tamed Wild Box, a monthly delivery of magic & earth medicine. Each box is crafted around a season and includes items for the earth-spirited and the lovers of all things mystical and natural. Deliveries can include crystals, herbs & teas, ritual tools, altar items, jewelry, essential oils & other lifestyle pieces. The Tamed Wild Box is a monthly offering of 5-7 items, chosen for the month and season we are in. Each delivery includes a box card that explains your items and a little ritual you can do with your new tools. You will also receive access to a monthly moon gathering, exclusive to box subscribers! Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio Montero.Music by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio