Roots and Realms Podcast

In this episode of Roots & Realms, we sit down with Juno Epifanio, founder of The Haus of H, to explore the power of creating affirming spiritual community for queer, allied, and BIPOC practitioners. We discuss the mission behind The Haus of H, the importance of preserving queer wisdom, and the vision for Witch Camp, a transformative Samhain retreat taking place October 29–November 2 in Lafitte, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans.We also share exciting details about our collaboration at Witch Camp, where Roots & Realms will be hosting a special "red carpet" experience during the Deity Dance.Learn more about Witch Camp and register at "The Haus of H – Witch Camp" https://www.thehausofh.org/retreats/witch-camp

For the Season 2 finale of Roots & Realms, we explore the transformative power of pleasure magic and the sacred role of the body in spiritual practice. From reclaiming bodily autonomy and healing shame to raising energy through self-pleasure, meditation, movement, and ecstatic joy, we discuss how pleasure can become a pathway to empowerment, devotion, and personal transformation. The conversation dives into skyclad practice, self-love, deity connections, and the ways ancient traditions understood pleasure as a creative force of the cosmos. We also reflect on an incredible second season, share exciting personal projects on the horizon, and offer a preview of Season 3, which will feature more diverse guest practitioners and voices from across the magical community. Join us for an honest, thoughtful, and deeply personal discussion as we close one chapter and prepare for the next.

In this episode of Roots and Realms, we explore the complicated world of spiritual mentorship. We discuss the value of guidance, how to discern healthy teacher and student dynamics, common red flags in spiritual spaces, and the importance of accountability, boundaries, and personal agency on the path. Whether you are seeking mentorship, offering it, or recovering from harmful spiritual experiences, this conversation offers insight, reflection, and real talk for modern seekers. We also appreciate your patience with some technical difficulties present in portions of the episode.

In this episode of Roots and Realms, we explore the witchy media that shaped our paths, sparked by the return of American Horror Story: Coven. From The Craft to Practical Magic, we reflect on what felt authentic, what didn’t, and why representation in the Craft matters. The conversation moves through influential books and shows, blending nostalgia with critique and lived experience. We also imagine what a truly grounded, diverse, and practice-centered witchy series could look like beyond Hollywood aesthetics. To close, we introduce a new Roots and Realms project amplifying the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color within Western occult traditions.

In this episode of Roots and Realms, we explore performative paganism and the difference between authentic spiritual practice and spirituality shaped for an audience. The conversation dives into cultural appropriation, emphasizing intention, respect, and accountability when engaging with traditions outside one’s own. We also examine the complexities of moral consumption through a debate on the Harry Potter franchise, questioning whether boycotts are meaningful activism or inconsistent performance. This episode challenges listeners to think critically about spirituality, social media, and what it truly means to walk a genuine path.

In this episode of Roots & Realms, KC, Zaren and Angel discuss what it means to build authentic community in modern occult spaces, particularly for queer and BIPOC practitioners. The conversation explores how imposter syndrome can arise for people of color in predominantly Eurocentric traditions and offers practical ways to overcome it, including cognitive restructuring, success journaling, and ancestor connection. The hosts also highlight common red flags in online occult groups, such as controlling moderators, lack of diversity, and spaces that discourage honest dialogue, while emphasizing the importance of creating brave, supportive communities where practitioners can show up fully as themselves and grow together. ✨

Angel talks about the Magick and Power in Names

In this episode of Roots and Realms, K.C. Freeman, Angel, and Zaren Allen welcome their first-ever guest, Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani, author of Hoodoo Saints & Root Warriors and Conjuring the Calabash. Together they explore hoodoo as liberation work—rooted in community healing, spiritual agency, and resistance. Mawiyah shares practical ways to canonize and connect with ancestors, set healthy spiritual boundaries with complicated relatives, and invites allies to move from performative support to true accomplice-ship. A warm, powerful conversation on devotion, justice, and why magic has always been for liberation.

Season two begins by grounding the craft in work, not aesthetics. The hosts challenge performative witch culture and reclaim magic as practice, devotion, and responsibility. From ancestral survival and foraging to activism and collective spellwork, this episode explores how intention becomes action and how community power becomes resistance. Magic is not for likes. It is for liberation.

A brief moment of reflection on year 2025 from Angel.