Wayward Wanderer

Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel promised to meet Charlie Kirk in Valhalla.  Joining us today is journalist and author Heather Greene to talk more about what this suggests, why the far-right's understanding of Valhalla is rooted more in pop culture than myth or history, and more! https://www.llewellyn.com/prod... https://www.heathergreene.net/ https://www.youtube.com/ @WitchesMovieCoven Want to...

Fascism is on the march so it's time to answer the question: what is it and where does it come from? Join your host for an explainer on fascism, its history, the realities of that movement today, and some tips for how to beat them. Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Sign up for my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/waywardwanderer or contribute to my KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/ryansmith...

Joining us today is Ron Padron!  Ron is a gay Cuban-American hedge priest and ordained Pagan clergy. His focus is on queer-affirming spirituality & spiritual activism and his practice is a blend of folk Catholicism, Druidry and Witchcraft. He runs White Rose Witching, has published three books on rites, ceremonies, and magical resilience, and edits the ALTAR PUNK and PaganPunk Community Grimoi...

Lifting the Veil is a meditation that helps you shift your focus away from the pulse of day to day life & towards the presence of animistic entities & other than human intelligences that are all around us.  It works by giving your daily cares a means to manifest that is then easily dismissed, making way for reaching the Otherworldly all around us. Want to support this podcast and my other...

There is little question that a militant, aggressive kind of Christianity is now on the march to domination.  If those of us, including the Pagan & Witch movements, wish to survive & overcome these times then we need to start asking what a world after Christian hegemony will look like.  Join your host for what this means for religion & society, how we might get there, and more! In Defe...

The Vaettir are the animistic beings of Nordic spiritualities.  In this explainer, your host Ryan Smith introduces you to some of the core features of the vaettir, gives some examples of kinds of vaettir that exist in the Nordic world, and more! Explainer 6 - Animism Interview with Sif Brookes on Valkyries Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Sign up for my Patreon here: https://www.pa...

Reading Frigga's Loom is a meditation that helps you better understand how you are connected with others in the world and your relationship with wyrd, the force that unites and binds all things in existence.  It works by using images and symbols of connection to give shape to our relationships with other entities, forces, and institutions. Link to the Calming the Sea & Sky meditation Want to s...

Let's talk about why my book, community, and tradition is so much about fire & ice. Join your host for a journey through two of the great cosmic forces of Nordic myth, the dialectics of creation, what ice & fire represent, and more! Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Sign up for my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/wayw... or contribute to my KoFi here: https://ko-fi.co...

I am teaching an online workshop on Hexing & Warding next week on Tuesday, June 10th!  In this class, we'll be covering the basics of offensive and defensive magic, how these techniques can be used for direct action, why they may have more power than ever thanks to the widespread Christian Nationalist belief in spiritual warfare, and more! You can register for this and other classes and worksh...

Joining us on the show today is Malu Reynaud! Malu Reynaud is Brazilian and passionate about religion and spirituality. After a change in career teaching and practicing Law, she decided to pursue a master's degree in Religious Studies (University of South Florida), where she is a teaching assistant. She is currently focusing her research on Afro-Brazilian Religions and Spiritism. We talk about Bra...

Odin is one of the best-known of all the Nordic Gods.  Join your host for a dive into this mysterious, multi-faceted deity who often defies all attempts at definition. Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Sign up for my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/wayw... or contribute to my KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/ryansmithwfi

Joining us on the podcast is Mhara Starling! Mhara was born in North Wales, raised on the Isle of Anglesey, is a native Welsh speaker, and has been practicing witchcraft from a very young age. Mhara is a celebrant and tarot reader who runs moots, gatherings & open rituals. She is the author of Welsh Witchcraft and Welsh Faires, has been featured on the BBC Wales documentary series Young, Welsh...

Reaching the divine is a meditation that helps the practitioner establish and reinforce their connections with one of the many Nordic Gods.  It works by tapping into the power of names, kennings, and symbols associated with each of the Nordic deities.  This meditation and supporting information for it can be found in Ch. 3 of The Way of Fire & Ice . Want to support this podcast and my other wo...

Folk magic is easily the most widespread form of magic in human history. Join your host for a discussion of what folk magic is, black vs white magic, developing your own practice, and more! Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Sign up for my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/waywardwanderer or contribute to my KoFi here: https://ko-fi.com/ryansmithwf

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! Join your host for a dive into a discussion of Star Wars as myth, the mythic power of Star Wars, and what Star Wars shows about how myths can influence the world. This is an unlocked version of a special, Patrons-only episode.  If you want access to other Patrons-only episodes, ad-free listening, and more then sign up at patreon.com/waywardwanderer If you want to book...

We, without question, are facing rising fascist and authoritarian tides which threaten to wash away all that Heathens, Pagans, and Witches hold dear. Tune in to this fireside chat for guidance on direct action, one of the most powerful tools we have for resistance. In this chat, I will cover what direct action is, how to get started, the basics of security culture, and how to deal with questions o...

Joining us today is Jason Mankey!  Jason is a third-degree High Priest and prolific Witchcraft author ten books and counting.  Jason has spent the last twenty-five years of his life researching the Horned God, Witchcraft, and magickal history, and the occult influences in rock and roll music. He regularly lectures and leads rituals at Pagan and Witchcraft events in both North America and the Unite...

I'm going to be presenting my research on Pagans and Heavy Metal at this year's Program for the Evolution of Spirituality Conference which hosted and organized by the Harvard Divinity School.  The conference is free and you can attend either in person at Harvard or online via Zoom at this embedded link .  My presentation starts at 6PM EST this Wednesday, April 23rd. I am also teaching a whole rang...

Joining us today is Irene Glasse, a Heathen witch, longtime teacher of witchcraft, meditation, and magic, Commissioned Lay Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, Maryland, lead organizer of the Frederick Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, and a member of the Sacred Space Conference board. She shares her thoughts on community building, making Pagan organizing sust...

This meditation helps practitioners better understand the meanings and significance of any one of the Elder, Younger, and Anglo-Saxon runes. For this meditation, you will need a guide to the meaning of the runes. You can find one in Chapter 6 of The Way of Fire & Ice and I also recommend Siri Plouffe's Queering the Runes , which was published this past fall. I am hitting the conference circuit...

Seiðr is one of the other main forms of mysticism practiced in modern Heathen and Nordic Pagan spaces. Join your host for an explanation of what seiðr is, historical examples of it, modern seiðr, and more! I am hitting the conference circuit this spring! Please contribute by donating whatever you can afford at my Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/ryansmithwfi Want to support this podcast and my other work?...

Revenge is one of the most common motifs in surviving Nordic source materials. Join your host for an examination of vengeance, its place in Nordic myth, a dive into examples from the tales of Volund & Ragnarok, and what this means for the modern Heathen. I am hitting the conference circuit this spring! Please contribute by donating whatever you can afford at my Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/rya...

This month's meditation helps build a sense of connection with the world around you. It brings you into relationship with the world above and below before then circulating the energy of pure potential throughout you. I am hitting the conference circuit this spring!  Please contribute by donating whatever you can afford at my Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/ryansmithwfi Want to support this podcast and my...

Hey everyone I'm going to be presenting live and in the flesh over the next couple of weeks! I am going to be doing a workshop on Utiseta, a form of trance meditation, at Paganicon in the Twin Cities this coming weekend, talking about Liberated Spirituality at Sacred Spaces in Baltimore on March 27th, and am presenting my research on Paganism and Heavy Metal at the Harvard Divinity School at the e...

CW: Discussion of the Folkish movement, white nationalists, threats of violence and school shootings Joining us today are Christine Cormier and Scott Kelley Ernest, two Heathens who were previously part of the Folkish movement who have since become outspoken critics of white nationalist spirituality. They share what their experience inside the Asatru Folk Assembly and Odinic Rite was like, the one...