The Frightful Howls You May Hear

Dear friend and discerning sorcerer Caspar, also known as De Duivelbanner van Overijssel, joins the hosts to chat all things Dutch folk magic. In addition to discussing the diversity of Dutch folk practitioners, what duivelbanners are, differences between Protestant and Catholic traditions, and types of spirits one may encounter, the gang explores the importance of situating the "folk" in "folk ma...

Salt opens the floor on the grounding elements of magical healing and sorcery in health. Exploring the logics of oral charms, Galenic medicine, and medical astrology, he leads the gang through a round table discussion of the key principles of protecting and nurturing long-term health in one's spiritual practice—through all holistic means, magical and mundane. Support us on patreon.com/TheFrightful...

B. Key brings the fire to passionately advocate for the use of magic in anti-fascist resistance. After a brief overview of some of the most critical Supreme Court cases that have eroded civil liberties in the United States, Key provides a miscellany of sorcerous workings to resist the state, evade the law, and protect our communities—especially those most vulnerable to state-enforced oppression—as...

Sorceress, Fairy Seer, Trollkvinne, and dear friend of the show Rose Aurora returns for a discussion about the various signs that manifest in clusters at birth, puberty, and beyond to delineate proclivities for certain kinds of magical pacts. We cover questions concerning lack of free will and choice, what does having "the gift" entail across our cultures, omens that are only recognized by those w...

Sfinga leads the gang through a survey of the counter-magical tactics employed by witch bottles. From Blagrave’s "Astrological Practice of Physick" all the way to Harry Middleton Hyatt's collections on hoodoo and conjure, the Dragon, Wolf, and Owl engage in some quick maths: early modern humoural theory + pins + heat + a witch's bladder = an absolutely fantastic time reversing malefica. Suppo...

After six months of continuous labour, Sfinga and B. Key at last unveil as much as can be said publicly about their profound experience pilgrimaging to the Sanctuary and Rock of the Goddess of Love's birth. Pouring their hearts out in celebration of a theophany, numerous physical manifestations of spiritual presence, remarkable omens of nature, and half a year's worth of toiling over recipes, form...

This week we welcome diviner, perfumer, and conjurer Austin Fuller of BanexBramble and the Southern Bramble podcast. Austin joins Sfinga and B. Key in a heartfelt and riotous discussion on perfume and spiritual colognes, from their creation under the auspices of alchemical patrons to their use in glamour, sorcery, and the activation of spirits. We also consider the ultimate offering of learning sk...

B. Key introduces the gang to his experiments with the aptly-named Book of the Images of the Twelve Hours of the Night. Beginning with an overview of the text itself and then diving deep into the properties of each associated talismanic image, the Owl goes over his personal experiences with the spirits and their manifestations, personal applications of the hours, and much encouragement to go forth...

Mahigan Saint-Pierre of Kitchen Toad joins us once again to celebrate the feast of our most beloved Saint Expedite! We giggle about our formative experiences with the martyr, reminisce on baking late night pound cakes after our petitions manifested even more quickly than we'd dreamed, and ponder why Mahigan's statue of the saint looks exactly like Mark Zuckerberg. Mahi and B. Key also discuss thei...

Sorceress, diviner, and Chinese folk magic practitioner Red Hu leads the gang through the story of Daji, the intelligent, sadistic, and supernaturally seductive fox spirit who allegedly brought about the fall of the Shang dynasty. We cover her legend from Xu Zhonglin's "The Investiture of the Gods," discuss the survival of Chinese fox cults and folk Taoist traditions in Singapore, and share plenty...

What lies at the heart of the concept of spiritual hygiene and what implications does it pose for sympathetic magic? Salt leads the team through an exploration of the relationship between different notions of ritual purity and spirit communion, a topic so often misconstrued with notions of morality, strict orthodoxy, and personal worth. Support us on patreon.com/TheFrightfulHowls and follow us at...

The gang explores the ins and outs of offering protocols, from divination to presentation to disposal. The Dragon, Wolf, and Owl dive deep in consideration of when to make them, what to give, how different actions and foods influence spirits during workings, and how to clean up and dispose of weekly treats and lavish annual feasts alike. Support us on patreon.com/TheFrightfulHowls and follow us at...

B. Key leads the gang through an exploration of what to do when your magic doesn't work out the way you intend. From partial successes to outright roadblocks in materia, technique, taglocks, or spiritual sabotage, the Owl provides a thorough account of how to keep your wits sharp and your spells sharper. Support us on patreon.com/TheFrightfulHowls and follow us at twitter.com/FrightfulHowls .

Salt brings out his astrological cunning to explain the importance of planetary conditions and necessity. Explaining the underlying implications of angularity, aspects and zodiacal shares, the Wolf explores how different contexts shape condition in the astrological figure. Support us on patreon.com/TheFrightfulHowls and follow us at twitter.com/FrightfulHowls .

Astrologer, artist, author, and fellow podcaster J.M. Hamade of "starnightdwell" joins the gang for an exceptionally thoughtful conversation on the hidden djinn. From literary motifs in Qur'anic scripture, Arabic grimoires, and the One Thousand and One Nights to the trance possession rituals of Zār and Gnawa cults, J.M. provides a vivid and articulate account of the immense diversity of djinn trad...

Sfinga explores some of the historical, anthropological, and medical scholarship on the phenomena of kitsune-tsuki: fox spirit possession or "attachment". From Meiji Period medical and religious reforms to the anxieties of socio-economic upheaval in villages, the Dragon considers culturally-negotiated categories of "madness" and trance, the politics of witchcraft accusations, and the fox spirits a...

Sfinga and B. Key are joined by their dear friend, the impeccable sorceress, Fairy Seer, and Trollkvinne Rose Aurora. Trained in trolldom, rootwork, and a sorcerous lineage of Celtic origin, Rose brings her deep erudition and practical cunning to evaluate some of the prominent tropes about the Fair Folk. How do the Good Neighbours differ from spirits of land and nature? How are the living and the...

Cows that are also werewolves, trigger-happy priests who curse more than witches, and a stone bearing the ass-print of the Devil Himself—the world of French Canadian folklore is full of some of the most hilarious motifs and cantrips. Mahigan Saint-Pierre, witch and proprietor of Kitchen Toad, joins the crew for a wild ride on the wild hunt canoe of the folklore, magic, and witchcraft his home. Sup...

Ceremonial tattoo artist and practitioner of rootwork, Quimbanda, and Thai necromancy Gary Noriyuki joins the crew to discuss what it means to participate deeply and authentically in multiple spiritual lineages. From apprenticing under elders in traditional modes of study to making use of the mediumship skills which inevitably carry over, Gary demonstrates his expertise in his considerations of bl...

Salt takes us on a journey through the worship of the Wǔdàxiān in Northern China: the Fox, Weasel, Serpent, Hedgehog, and Rat Immortals of the Chumaxian tradition. Covering the history, cultural roots and influences, and trance possession rites of this rich current, Salt shares his love of the Five Great Immortals in a deeply evocative exploration into what it means to "catch the incense" of their...

Some sorcerers are born with pacts, some achieve pacts, and others have pacts thrust upon them! Sfinga, Salt, and B. Key delve into personal considerations on intimate spirit alliances as more than just reciprocal agreements forged in trade, but transformative convergences of mutual oaths, duties, and license to conjure one another. Support us on patreon.com/TheFrightfulHowls and follow us at twit...

Sfinga and B. Key reflect on recent sorcerous adventures—and all the dirt, hagstones, brick dust, and herbs harvested along the way. Diving into the tips and tricks of collecting, storing, and using materia, the duo consider how to seem innocuous and invisible when gathering spicier dirt, trading with spirit merchants for greater boons, pacts which enable desired animal parts to be brought directl...

The gang reunites with a vengeance to discuss what it means to test your own protection magic. Taking turns sharing stories of practical enchantment, Sfinga, Salt, and B. Key consider ways to improve upon wards, how to check that they are indeed in place, what to do when protective amulets break, verifying disturbances and intrusions, and being warned of danger ahead of time through decoys, famili...

Sigil, servitor, egregore, god(?) - Fotamecus is everything, and we're just Ken(jurers). Sfinga and B. Key tackle the origins, magics, and memetic self-replication of the Internet's favourite time-bending spirit. From his construction as a temporal compression glyph to his current status as a godform of fluid, malleable time, the Dragon and Owl consider the divide between "constructed" and discove...

The gang immanentizes the eschaton in this blast from the past! B. Key returns to his magical origins and leads Sfinga down the rabbit hole of the DKMU. From its early origins on OccultForums through the present day, Key explores the history of one of the most successful chaos magical movements and traverses through the pantheon of godforms that patron it. Through it all, Key and Sfinga muse about...