This Podcast is a Ritual

Magic has long trafficked in fantasies of power and control. This is the tantalizing idea that there are certain secrets one can master that will raise a person above their peers and allow them to command angels, devils, and assorted deities. Of course, we have also seen this cautionary tale play out across fairy tales and other works of fiction, and it rarely ends well, so here the Wizard offers...

Before the Wizard reveals his magical praxis for working with the various Powers-that-be, he felt it important to take a moment to address the elephant in the occultural room: Fantasies of control. These seductive messages touch on deeply rooted—often unconscious—anxieties and try to sell a fantasy of power, perfection, and control that promises to resolve all issues. But rather than seek a magic...

Something brought you to this moment. A long sequence of personal choices and cosmic chance collaborated to bring you to this exact moment. But why? That's a question the Wizard explores at length in this new installment of Wizardry in Theory and Practice, digging into the what's and why's of the life shaping forces we call "Power." This episode builds on the metaphysics l...

The Wizard is on the move, somewhere between Here and I-Don't-Know-Where, so it felt like the right time to take a little walkabout within the concept of "wandering," and it's conceptual sibling, "wondering," and see where we might arrive...  ...which, while wizardry is concerned with far more than mere destinations, if you wish to arrive at the actual episode, you&ap...

How do we practice becoming a Person? Doing his best to evade the usual traps of self-optimization, the Wizard offers a humble contemplative practice designed to help us see ourselves—not as perpetual projects—but as vast and complex patterns which emerge across space-and-time out of an intricate web of relationships. Thus, to aid us in our quest to discern our own Person, the Wizards lays out a m...

Before we get into the practical magical follow up to What is a Person? (theory), the Wizard wanted to acknowledge the paradoxical problem of trying to be a better person and how the Cult of Optimization seeks to prey on our collective anxieties with an endless barrage of advice, tips, and self improvement schemes, when perhaps we might have a slightly better time letting all that go to bask in ou...

If you're reading this, you're probably a person. While this word is regarded in everyday language as something simple, straightforward, and basically synonymous with "human being," the Wizard wants you to examine your assumptions and re-consider the concept of "person" as he reveals it to be something sranger, with far greater magical significance... This episode bui...

Despite our bests attempts to "calm down" or "stop panicking," anxiety rarely responds to such strategies, so here are all the Wizard's magical secrets on what actually works, gleaned from years of lived experience as an anxious person as well as countless sessions with clients helping them move past the discomfort of chronic unease that is all too common in this Age of An...

David Bajramovic, aka the Recovering Overthinker, is an existential explorer, taking the wisdom of pioneers like Carl Jung, Rollo May, James Hillman, Friedrich Nietzsche, and other deep thinkers and presenting it for a modern audience in ways that are not only accessible, but actionable, as we all face unprecedented levels of technological distraction and dopamine addiction which can make it hard...

The Wizard addresses the current AI discourse from a variety of unusual angles, digging into our lost utopian dreams, extremely valid capitalist critiques, and problematic pearl-clutching moral panic as we all confront this tidal wave of technology that, whatever you think of it, is certainly upending everything!  But of course, all of that is in the actual episode while this is but a mere amuse-b...

Performance artist, witchdoctor, and sci-fi religion world builder M. Dudeck steps into the ritual for an imaginal exploration with the Wizard, digging into what it means to envision wilder, weirder tomorrows and the magical and artistic tools we can wield to bring them into being. M. is a multidimensional multimedia artist whose work bridges graphic art and ritualistic performance to explore &quo...

The Wizard is about to turn 40 and currently discovering the wonders of aging like... crippling back pain! Thankfully, he's still a wizard and was able to turn this pain into a profound and powerful revelation that he's here to share with you. Hopefully, you've got a steel spine and a relaxed and zen-like calm about everything you do so you'll never need to deal with healing ba...

The quest continues as the Wizard ventures even deeper into the Unknown, taking that bold step over the edge to embark on a new chapter of magic, wizardry, and This Podcast is a Ritual by moving to... well, you'll just have to listen to the episode to find out where the Wizard is going next! Join the ritual: www.patreon.com/thispodcastisaritual And for the other episodes mentioned in this epi...

The Wizard is in transition and working on an episode about where he's moving and what comes next... but it turns out moving really takes it out of you! And that makes it difficult to sit down and do deep creative work like write and record a podcast episode about moving. Which is very meta. So instead of fake the funk and push out something that wasn't quite ready, the Wizard pulls back...

The Wizard finally reveals the ultimate secrets of magic and provides detailed instructions on how to use them to manifest wealth, achieve success, and get everything you've ever wanted (and more!)  Got a question for the the Wizard? Call the Wizard Hotline at 860-415-6009‬ and have it answered in a future episode! Join the ritual: www.patreon.com/thispodcastisaritual

The Wizard is moving and seeing as this is his final week in Avalon, the beloved house he's called home for the last 6 years, it only seemed right to let Avalon speak through him about what it means to take a magical approach to homemaking and honoring the spirit of the place where one resides. If you'd like to make your own home feel just a bit more magical, check out the full episode o...

Settle in and take a sip with kava-tender Steven E.  Leszyk, author of Kava's Magical Roots, as we explore the ceremony surrounding this traditional Polynesian brew, its recent inroads into American culture, and the magical states its consumption can create. Get a copy of Kava's Magical Roots at: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=WkCKUummqxq5DUsXss5V5RXIGB1bYfKY4dqkzuYy0fV Tune i...

The Magic of Meta (Hypnosis & Meditations) continues to get even more magical in our third chapter! This time, we're focusing on the practice and persistence that improves focus, creating a powerful personal ritual with countless benefits. This is also where we're working to develop "access concentration," or the level of focus necessary to really benefit from the deeper me...

From honored ancestors to long dead sages, real wisdom can be found beyond even the oldest elders in the land of the dead, a place one may prefer not to wander without a knowledgable guide. Thankfully, philosophy professor and practicing necromancer Kadmus returns to the ritual to help us hear the whispers of dead wizards, the topic of his recent book Learning from Legendary Practitioners: A Necro...

The second chapter of The Magic of Meta (Hypnosis & Meditations) is here! In this installment, we dive deeper into developing concentration and focus by learning to appreciate the moments of losing focus—all too often regarded as "failing" at meditating—as the actual skill we've honing! And there's a bonus hypnosis tape that will take you even deeper into that drifting, dre...

Tom Banger is an artist, writer, and occultural technologist whose wild life has wound its way through the counter cultural currents of punk rock, heavy metal, and magick. After receiving a serious medical diagnosis, he decided to face it the same way he's lived—with art, intention, and a gleeful anarchic spirit! Tune into Tom's vibrations: https://linktr.ee/tombangerJoin the ritual: www...

The first installment of The Magic of Meta (Hypnosis & Meditations) is here! This is a new series of bonus content, released every other week on the Patreon, consisting of both a guided meditation AND a hypnosis tape designed to help you successfully implement a meta-magical meditation practice in your life and make your reality... slightly better! Learn more in this sneak peek and check out o...

We're all going to die and, unfortunately, this truth applies to parents and other legally intwined loved ones. Thankfully, Becky Robison, author of My Parents Are Dead: What Now?, joins the ritual to give us a guided tour of the bureaucracy waiting beyond the grave! Buy Becky's book, My Parents Are Dead: What Now?, wherever you buy books. Tune into Becky's vibrations: https://www.d...

Metta is a Buddhist concept ordinarily translated into English as "loving kindness." But beneath a surface some might dismiss as simplistic "peace and love" good vibes, metta meditation offers a deep set of practices for developing the capacity to understand one's state of mind, manage difficult emotions, and approach the world from a place of greater ease and peace. Join...

The ritual gets a little whacky as we're visited by Tyler Nacho, creator of the existential puppet show, Death to Realism, and the freaks only magazine Kill Pretty, as we learn how a playful puppet can not only help you find your own voice, but offer aid and guidance to tripping festival goers. Tune into Tyler's vibrations at: https://www.tylernacho.com/Got a question for the the Wizard?...