Midsummer 102

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

The summer solstice is also known by pagans and heathens as Litha or Midsummer. The longest day of the year has been celebrated for thousands of years by cultures all around the world. Midsummer festivals are associated with bonfires, playing in the water, herb harvesting, fertility rituals, divination, abundance, fairies, and handfasting.

Join us as we deep dive into the core aspects of Midsummer: bonfires and baths. We discuss the origins and traditions associated with them, including the role of Saint John the Baptist. There’s many other ways to celebrate Midsummer, and we give you loads of ideas.

We also discuss our experiences, a simple ritual, and correspondences for Midsummer. If you’d like to learn more about Midsummer, please listen to episode #15, Midsummer 101.

Pub Chat: Ouija Boards, Helena Blavatsky, Archive 81

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents.

Our question of the week is about Spirit Boards and Ouija Boards—Have we used them, and why are they usually associated with dark entities? We answer this question and give our takes on why spirit boards are showcased in pop culture the way they are today. We’ve talked about the differences between seances and spirit boards in our first Pub Chat Episode, so give that a listen if you want more!

In Story Time, we talk briefly about Helena Blavatsky, well-known Spiritualist, Occultist, and mother of Theosophy. There’s a lot to unpack about her and Theosophy, so we give you a taste of what she’s about so you can decide to look into her if you like.

We watched Archive 81 recently and discuss some of the occult and magical connections that are hinted or are referenced in homage in the show. One of the things that came out of our recent Magic in Anime panel (recording available in our YouTube channel) is to have full-length deep dives on certain shows we’ve talked about in Magic in Media, so keep an eye out for that!

Magic in Anime - *Fanime 2022 Panel*

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Join the Horn and Cauldron podcast duo as we rant, review, and analyze the magical systems in 5 different awesome anime series, from witchcraft to pyromancy with some Magical Girls and gods thrown in for good measure. For this panel, we will be looking into Witch Craft Works, Trese, Fire Force, Record of Ragnarök, and Magical Girl Ore. There will also be 2 companion podcast episodes focusing on magic in some classic anime movies.

**This is a recording of our Live Panel at Fanime 2022 in San Jose. We want to give a special shout-out and thank you to all of the awesome attendees of our panel and the staff of Fanime for making our first live panel such a fantastic experience.

Types of Fae Around the World

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Whether you call them fairies, fair folk, Fae, or something else, they’re an intriguing part of the greater magical and folkloric tapestry. There are many types of Fae, with descriptions of similar mischievous magical beings living in harmony with nature popping up all over the world.

Take a brief world tour discussing types of Fae throughout the world, and their similarities to Fae folk in popular culture, as well as their similarities to each other.

We also discuss our experiences, share a spell, and correspondences for working with the Fae.

If you’d like to hear more about the Fae, listen to Episode 9: Working with the Fae.

Pub Chat: Deity Work, Rasputin, Doctor Strange

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents.

Our question of the week is about Deity work. Do you need to work with or worship a deity? What if you don’t like their myths? Or if you’re not into all that “woo woo” stuff? We talk about all of these aspects of the question, and more.

In Story Time, we finish up our chat about Rasputin by talking about the rumors of him and his deeds. Wizard or Charlatan? You decide whether you think they’re true, and if he was really a magician.

We watched Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and express our thoughts on it spoiler free in Magic in Media segment. We’ll be hosting a panel at FanimeCon 2022 where we talk about Magic in Anime and discuss the magic in five different animes: Record of Ragnarok, Magical Girl Ore, Trese, Fire Force, and Witchcraft Works.

If you want to get ahead of the game, consider watching any of these so you’ll be in the know when you watch the episode (or watch us live at the con)!

Kitchen Witchery 102: Potions

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Potions and magic go hand in hand. They are drunk to enhance magic, obtain immortality and even to cure illness or disease. In this episode, we discuss some of the highlights of potion history… and ramble a bit. But you expected that, right?

Literature, folklore, and pop culture are filled with references to potions, going back thousands of years. We talk briefly about a handful of references to potions, including the Elixir of Life, The Holy Grail, and Florida Water.

In addition to sharing two spells we’ve written, we also go over the building blocks of creating a potion, things to avoid, and ingredients you can use for potions with intentions of love, protection, abundance, energy, healing, and increasing magical powers.

If you’d to hear more about Kitchen Witchery, listen to Episode 19: Kitchen Witchery

Pub Chat: Online Spells, Rasputin, Moon Knight

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and other sundry.

Our question of the week is whether or not you can use spells or rituals you’ve found online. There’s a common misconception that you can only use spell that are in a physical book, and we take some time to discuss a simple way to use spells found online for yourself!

In Story Time, we talk about the man, the myth, the legend: Rasputin! He’s an enigmatic figure who’s been the subject of rumors for over a century. We discuss briefly the rumors about him, and why they started. You decide whether you think they’re true, and if he was really a magician.

We just got caught up on Moonknight, and have a lot of feelings about it, so we’ll be talking about that in Magic in Media.

Beltane 102

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Beltane is held on May 1st (or November 1st if you’re in the southern hemisphere), which is about halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Beltane has been celebrated since ancient times with bonfires, visiting holy wells, fertility rituals, handfasting, honoring the fae folk, maypoles, feasts, and decorating with spring greenery, flowers, or ribbons.

In this episode, we discuss the origins of Beltane and other festivals that happen at the same time, such as Walpurgisnacht, May Day, Blōstmfrēols, and Floralia. While each one of these is a separate festival, we can also see strong ties to Beltane celebrations, as well as similarities to each other.

We also share how we celebrate Beltane, go over correspondences, and share a simple Beltane ritual. To get the full picture, we recommend that you also listen to episode 11: Beltane 102.

Technomancy

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Technomancy is essentially using modern technology in your magical practice. This can be as simple as having a digital Book of Shadows, or as complex as coding a program to activate your spell. In this episode, we discuss the brief history of Technomancy and pop culture’s influence on it.

Technology is ubiquitous in our day-to-day lives, and people’s views on using it in their magical practice vary widely. It’s also a subject without much magical reference material, which can make it difficult for people to incorporate it into their own practice.

We talk about how we use Technomancy, give you ideas to use it in your practice, some correspondences, and two spells to help ease you into incorporating it into your magic.

Pub Chat: Am I Cursed, Aleister Crowley, Fanime Panel

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and other sundry.

Our question of the week is about being cursed or hexed. A common question online in the pagan community is about people who think they’ve been cursed, or aren’t sure if they have been. We discuss some simple ways to tell if you have cursed or hexed.

In Story Time, we talk about the origin of the popular phrase “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” It’s an interesting story, and the phrase has inspired many practitioners since it was written a little over 100 years ago.

We’ve been quite busy lately, with lots of changes in our personal lives and big projects coming up. We discuss briefly what’s going on with us, and share some exciting news about hosting a panel at a convention!

Dionysus Deep Dive

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

The Greek god Dionysus is a popular figure that has captivated people for centuries. He is popularly known as the god of wine and wild parties, but he is so much more than that! In this episode, we discuss his origins, his family, and one of his myths.

There are many festivals honoring Dionysus as well. We talk about some of his more popular festivals: Dionysia, Anthesteria, Bacchanalia, and the Mysteries. Some of these festivals have sordid histories, but all promise a wild time with food, drinks, and of course—partying.

We share correspondences and give you some ideas to celebrate and honor Dionysus. There’s also an invocation for Dionysus and a simple spell that will help you overcome anxiety.

Ostara 102

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Ostara is held on the Spring or Vernal Equinox, when night and day are of equal length. Cultures throughout the world have celebrated the equinox for thousands of years. In this episode, we discuss the pagan and heathen holiday of Ostara.

Spring and rebirth are big themes of this festival, since this is the time of year that the earth comes alive again. Many beliefs from around the world echo these themes in the spring. We explore some of these from eastern Europe, ancient Roman times, and Norse traditions.

We also talk about how we celebrate Ostara, go over correspondences, give you some ideas to celebrate this festival, and share a simple Ostara ritual.

Pub Chat: Craft Names, Doreen Valiente, Discovery of Witches Magic Review

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and other sundry.

Our question of the week is about using craft or magical names. We briefly talk about a craft name is, why you’d choose one (or not!), and our personal experience with craft names.

In Story Time, we cover Wicca Tiger King part four: Doreen Valiente, the mother of Wicca. She led a very interesting life, so we talk about her backstory and how her life intertwined with Cardell, Howard, and Gardner to wrap up this wacky, fun, and interesting series.

This week, we finished watching A Discovery of Witches. We fell in love with this show, so this is a more in-depth review of the show where we discuss the magical and supernatural world it encompasses.

The Norse Family Tree

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Unlike the Greek pantheon, we don’t quite know how long people have been worshipping Norse Deities, but we think their worship dates back 2500 years. Of the few sources we have, there are many gods, goddesses, Jotun, and others who were considered deities by the Norse.

In this episode, we discuss the creation mythos of the Norse pantheon. Like many others, it describes a black void that eventually sparks to life. What happens next—a cow using a block of ice as a salt lick, a giant who becomes the world as we know it isn’t quite as run of the mill.

We go over the main gods and goddesses that are worshipped from this pantheon. Some are Aesir, some are Vanir, and some fall somewhere in between or even completely outside of the Aesir and Vanir. We will discuss the magical correspondences of Odin, Frigg, Bragi, Idunn, Baldr, Mimir, Thor, Sif, Tyr, Njörd, Freyja, Freyr, Loki, Heimdall, and Hel in this episode.

Pub Chat: Astral Projection, Gerald Gardner, Magic in Media

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings and musings.

Our question of the week is on astral projection. We briefly talk about what astral projection (AKA astral travel) is, how it’s done, and how widespread it is. It’s reportedly even been researched for decades by various governments to give an advantage over other countries!

In Story Time, we cover Wicca Tiger King part three: Gerald Gardner, the father of Wicca. There’s a lot to unpack about his backstory, but we focus on how he ensured that Wicca wouldn’t fade away.

This week, we watched King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). We briefly discuss the magic of this movie in Magic and Media, and chit chat about a variety of other things.

Handfasting and Love Magic

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Spring is starting around here, and that means love is in the air! In this episode, we discuss the history and practices of handfasting and love magic. We also share two spells that we’re written, in addition to correspondences for love-based magic.

Handfasting has become more popular over the last decade—we should know, because when we got married, we had our own handfasting ceremony of sorts! We talk about some basic handfasting practices and traditions, and a bit about our handfasting ceremony, which was based on ancient heathen traditions.

Love magic is one of the earliest, and probably most popular types of magic out there. It’s been used to influence someone to love you, to strengthen the love between two people, get an ex to leave you alone, to increase desire, and more. There is much to discuss regarding love magic: from ancient spells to modern practices to ethics, and this will be the first of several episodes about love magic.

Pub Chat: Magical Home Protection, Raymond Howard, Magic in Media

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings and musings.

Our question of the week is about ways to magically protect your home. We briefly talk about a bunch of ways to add protection magic to your home—from protection bottles to houseplants to 55-pound bags of salt! We also recommend a few episodes of our podcast that you can listen to for more protection magic ideas and tips.

In Story Time, we cover Wicca Tiger King part two: Raymond Howard. He was an associate of Charles Cordell and has his own interesting and wacky backstory.

This week, we watched Stargate, Paradise Hills, and Bright. We briefly discuss the magic of their respective worlds in Magic in Media, and hint at some fun new projects we have in store.

Imbolc 102

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Join us as we discuss the major themes of Imbolc: cleaning, purification, and welcoming new beginnings and positive energy in your life. Many of these themes also pair with Lunar New Year (which happens to start on the same day as Imbolc in 2022), so we talk about the connections and parallels there also. We also share, a simple Imbolc ritual, correspondences, and our experiences for this pagan holiday.

Imbolc, which takes place on February 1st in the northern hemisphere or August 1st in the southern hemisphere is halfway between the Yule (held on the winter solstice) and Ostara (held on the spring equinox). This sabbat is a time to celebrate the coming of spring with feasts, cozy hearth fires, planning gardens, weather divination, and other activities. Synonymous with Imbolc is the Celtic goddess Brigid, who is associated with healing, blacksmithing, livestock, fertility, the arts, and other crafts.

Pub Chat: Magical Pain Management, Charles Cordell, Magic in Media

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings and musings.

Our question of the week is about using magic for pain management. While magic can’t be used to take pain away, some magical ideas may help manage pain in conjunction with your physican’s orders. We’re not medical professionals, and our conversation shouldn’t be considered medical advice.

In Story Time, we talk about Charles Cordell—The Tiger King of Witchcraft and rival of the Father of Wicca, Gerald Gardner.

This week, we watched Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and Interview with the Vampire, and we briefly discuss the magic of their respective worlds in Magic and Media.

Spellcrafting 102: Book of Shadows and Grimoires

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

This is the second installment of our Spellcrafting series, where we talk about the history and evolution of Grimoires and a Book of Shadows. The terms Grimoire and Book of Shadows are used interchangeably in pop culture, and we discuss the links and differences between the two.

We also talk about the pros and cons of paper versus digital Grimoires and give you a bunch of ideas of what to put in yours, as well as how to organize them! We use a two-book system, which employs a Book of Shadows as a magical journal, and a separate Grimoire for reference material, correspondences, and spells or rituals that we come back to over and over again.

As usual, we have written a spell for this episode, which is a very simple consecration spell for your magical books, and correspondences that you can use when creating and maintaining your own magical tomes.