BS-Free Witchcraft

We've talked before about the white supremacy issues in the modern witchcraft, neopagan, and norse heathen communities, but today we're dealing with something a little more insidious: the racism that might be coming from inside the house. Because what happens when someone who doesn't think they're racist does something racist is important, and there are lots of little things so many of us do in th...

Burnout is something that every witch will likely experience in their lives, and it's just something we sort of have to deal with. So, in this episode, that's what we're talking about. And it's mostly because, uh, a certain someone is currently burned out beyond all belief.

On this episode of BS-Free Witchcraft it's finally come time for an episode on crystals. Yep, almost three and a half years into this witchcraft podcast, and we're finally going to talk about the shiny rocks we all like to hoard. But here's the thing -- this might not be the episode you expect, because there's a dark side to crystals. A dark side we all need to deal with and be aware of. The entir...

As long as I can remember, people have been debating whether or not it's okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There's so much misinformation in new age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it's hard for some witches to get a clear picture. Like I've run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a...

On this (very last minute) episode of the podcast, we're looking at the myths surrounding paganism and Christmas... and how some of the claims that circulate this time of year don't really have a lot of historical grounding. Or, in some cases, any at all. Frankly I just needed to do something that isn't depressing to talk about after last month.

On this episode of BS-Free Witchcraft we're talking about manipulators, predators, abusers, and cult-ish behavior in the modern witchcraft movement. From online spaces to real world ones, we need to know how to recognize and identify these behaviors. This episode focuses on trying to identify the issues to look out for, and Lee Bradford (creator of The Sweeney Tarot ) appears to talk about their e...

Well, we've reached that special time of year where it's time to talk about ghost stories on the podcast! Sort of! This year, Trae is joined by Lee Bradford (creator of The Sweeney Tarot ), who returns to the podcast after three years. We talk about ghosts, cryptids, and legends that don't quite pan out. This year it's a much more general episode with a lot more fun debunking of weird cryptids and...

In the last few years there has been some minor push back against using the name "Mabon" for the Autumnal Equinox. In this episode we're going to talk about how Mabon got its name, who came up with the name, and why exactly a small group of British Traditional Wiccans are so mad about it. Spoiler: it's because a bunch of Gardnerian Wiccans are mad at Aidan Kelly.

This month we're talking about how we, as a community, need to actually verify that something is real before we start sharing it. Time and time again, something gets passed back and forth within the witchcraft community before someone actually bothers to ask the question "is this something that's really happening?" Because sometimes it isn't.

It's July, so that means it's time for the annual BS-Free Witchcraft Q&A episode! Listeners like you sent in questions, and I'm going to do my best to answer them. Could it be a complete disaster? Maybe! Only one way to find out though.

So a few weeks ago I made a joke post on my Tumblr where I said beginner witches should "Fight a God." This led me through a series of events which made me want to discuss how we relate to gods in witchcraft, the difference between worship and belief, and frankly whether or not we should fight a god. That, and, we've all agreed that Apollo has an OnlyFans.

In any movement or group there's always a pull to do certain things to fit in. There's an unspoken (or I guess sometimes spoken) peer pressure to do certain performative actions to conform. The modern witchcraft movement isn't immune to this phenomenon either, and so that's what we're going to talk about this month. But, like, in a fun way.

On this episode, I sit down with Hex Positive 's Bree NicGarran to talk about openly being a Witch in the modern world. How accepted are witches really these days? What challenges do we face being open about our craft? What are the odds that an old lady with a murder-van is going to harass you in a gas station parking lot? ...they're surprisingly good apparently.

After two fairly depressing episodes, it's time to move on to something a little less bleak. This time around we're talking about The Wheel of the Year! Well, at least the basic idea. Where did it come from, who slapped these eight holidays together, and are they really something every witch needs to give a crap about? Minor spoiler, the answer to that last question is a firm "no."

A couple of years ago we did an episode on the history of the Satanic Panic of the latter half of the twentieth century, but recent events have led us to ask -- could it be happening again? It's very possible that we at the start of a new wave of satanic panic, and QAnon is just the latest symptom of a larger problem.

This month we're attempting to tackle a topic I've had on the list for a while: Norse Paganism's Nazi problem. It's not exactly the most fun thing in the world, but after a certain shirtless idiot was amongst the rioters that attempted to overthrow the United States government at the capitol on January 6th, I just couldn't put it off any longer. I don't know how helpful this episode is, but it def...

This month on the BS-Free Witchcraft podcast we're tackling ghosts -- which may sound like an October topic, but instead of spooky stories we're instead going for practical advice on how to deal with them. What do you do if you encounter a ghost in the wild? What do you do if you think there's a ghost in your home? It's the perfect thing to discuss during the longest nights of the year (at least i...

Earlier this year, Hex Positive 's Bree NicGarran and I sat down to talk about the 1996 movie The Craft . It was a hugely influential film for a whole generation of witches, and surprisingly holds up well. So, needless to say, when the long awaited sequel/remake The Craft: Legacy came out on Video On Demand last month, we knew we needed to sit down and talk about it. So we did. For two hours.

It's Halloween. Like, literally. And like every other October episode on the BS-Free Witchcraft podcast, that means we're talking about personal ghost experiences. Joining me this episode (from all around the Nerd & Tie Podcast Network ) are Gen Prock (from The Nerd & Tie Podcast and Stormwood & Associates ), Cris Sass-Council (from Let's Be Legendary ), and unsurprisingly Bree NicG...

On this episode of the podcast we're going towards a more positive note, and talking about a pretty great thing in the larger Witchcraft and Pagan community. I'm joined by Amanda Tomasini, former organizer of Central Illinois Pagan Pride Day, to discuss... well... Pagan Pride Day . Kind of spoiled that one there, didn't I.

So the world is a massive garbage fire at the moment, and we're all trying to cope. Witchcraft right now isn't the easiest thing to do, and we need to take the time and acknowledge that it's okay to not to feel jazzed about it sometimes . Like -- it's okay to not be okay. Also, apparently we're all astral projecting and sleeping with people in their dreams? Why did no one tell me that was the plan...

It's July, and that means we're doing another Q&A special where I answer questions from listeners like you. And this year I remembered to record it before I hid in a cabin for a week! We talk about your questions about Witchcraft, the show in general, and just stuff I guess. Watch what happens when I get fact checked! It's neat!

It's strange to think that a 90s teenage horror/urban fantasy film would be massively culturally important to the modern witchcraft movement, but for a generation of witches that's exactly what The Craft is. In this super long episode of the podcast (seriously -- it's almost an hour and a half), I sit down with Hex Positive 's Bree NicGarran for a chat about the film. We tackle the themes, plot, a...

On this installment of the podcast we tackle probably one of the more controversial topics in the modern witchcraft movement: The Burning Times. What were the actual "Burning Times," where do we get that phrase from, and what really happened? Also, how has this phrase been used in modern witchcraft. It's a heavy one, folks.

So on last month's episode we talked about would-be-gurus like Leah Steele. This month we're instead going to look at her low-budget cousins though: Spell Farms. What's a Spell Farm? They are websites where the average person can plunk down some money for a "witch" to cast a spell for them. And they're just as reliable and honest as they sound.