What Magic Is This?

No doubt, UFOs and Aliens would be familiar to every listener of this Podcast. The mysterious and downright terrifying entities we call Aliens as well as their supposed activities here on earth are beyond notorious, indeed they are part of our culture and have been for the last 70 years. And yet, almost every aspect of Aliens and their apparent abductions has an antecedent in the folklore of Fairi...

Without a doubt, when one thinks of Fairies and the cultures as well as countries which have historically been associated with them, no place can hold a candle to that of Ireland. The Aos Sí, or people of the mounds have been a part of life in Ireland for thousands of years. Ireland's landscape is absolutely packed with the remains of stone circles, hillforts, ringforts and other such monuments wh...

There's not a single person listening to  WMiT? who doesn't know what a Fairy is. Or do they? When the word "Fairy" is uttered, most likely our minds immediately think of a small, somewhat feminine, little winged humanoid that glows. But this conception of Fairies is a somewhat recent one. There is so much more to the stories, the history as well as the behavior of these ethereal and magical being...

The next five episodes of What Magic is This? Podcast are going to be opening the doors to the Good Neighbours. Fairies are perhaps one of the most unexamined yet strangely important aspects of the Western Magical Tradition. The late 19th and early 20th century tried to defang them. Over the next 5 episodes, we will be bringing them into focus like no other Podcast before. Coming very soon!  

During the 19th century, African slaves brought to Cuba continued to worship and revere their own Gods, dieties and spirits from their original Yoruba religion, but masked as Catholic Saints. These gods and sprits are called Orisha, and they form the backbone of the African diaspora religion Santería, otherwise known as Lucumí. There are many aspects of Lucumí which make it very unique, including...

It happened! What Magic is This? Podcast has reached 100 "Official" episodes! Of course there were some small episodes and some filler episodes here and there but now we are at the big century mark for the Podcast! And so, for a bit of a celebration, I was trying to think back at which show and guest do I think about more than any other. One episode in particular I think about constantly. I adore...

The word "Polymath" is one that gets used for quite a few people that are already residents of the Fools Gallery , but I don't think anyone deserves that title more than the mystic and visionary medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen. Given to service God by her parents at a young age, Hildegard didn't start to flourish and share her uniqueness until middle age. Someone who would have been an extraor...

We've all seen the movies and recognize the tropes- Swinging Pocket Watch, eyes rolling back into the head, "You are Getting verrrrrryyyy Sleeeeeeepy..." And yet, Hypnosis is so much more than what most of us are lead to believe. From helping to deal with certain anxieties, breaking habits and even pain relief- Hypnosis seems to be a still little understood but extremely amazing condition. Taking...

Many within the realms of Magic, Spirituality, and Mysticism are well aware of heavenly messengers which are called Angels. While many are familiar with the depictions of them as winged celestial beings, their origins and deeds are a bit less well known in today's world. Angels were incredibly important to the Ancient Jewish peoples, and more recent scholarship has begun to uncover to what extent...

When all is said and done, the Western Magical Tradition seems to have one clear and definable feature- it has mainly been about attempting to solicit the aid of spiritual creatures or entities for all manner of magical ends. There is no better encapsulation of this than what is called Solomonic Magic. Guided by Grimoires or magic books, the techniques and protocols of Solomonic Magic are fairly s...

No doubt we are all familiar with the common story trope of a dusty and haggard book of Magic which is filled with spells, rituals and numerous diabolical looking diagrams. However, these certainly existed and many of them are housed in collections both private and public(ish). The word "Grimoire" got its name as these books were very hard to read and make sense of. Still to this day, if you were...

Hailed by many as a forefather of modern medicine, the story of Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known to the world as Paracelsus- is one of hardship, stacked odds and wonder. While his contributions to medicine and health are being recognized more and more through the centuries, after his passing his legend and myth grew exponentially. A Titan of Magic certainly, on this e...

Saints are everywhere. From street names, to buildings, to the names of certain herbs and plants. For a time, their stories and miracles were familiar to many of us. And yet, when one chooses to look a bit closer at the Saints and the cult of the Saints, something fairly magical emerges. Going through the Saints and their Magic with us, is W.- the host of the excellent podcast about Saints, Folk C...

There is a state that occurs right before one falls asleep that is perhaps one of the oddest and trippiest experiences one can have without the use of drugs. This is called Hypnagogia and it occurs every time we fall asleep. Our perceptions become very strange and we can experience many different sensations; sometimes amazing and sometimes terrifying. And yet this state has been utilized by invent...

Back to the Fools Gallery once again, and we have an absolute Titan here. While many of the denizens of the gallery can be said to have changed the world of Magic, few of them can be said to have intrinsically changed the world. Our focus on this episode is the enigmatic and larger than life character that is Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Some would say that modern spirituality would not be what it i...

The Yi Jing or I Ching is an Ancient Chinese text which has been consulted as an oracle for almost 3000 years. While many consider it a foundational text for the Confucian and Daoist philosophical traditions, in the West it is mainly known as a divinatory tool. Yarrow Stalks or coins are used to create hexagrams which can be looked up in the text to provide answers and clarity. For the last 25 yea...

A form of divination which was immensely popular throughout Europe and Africa for centuries, but is little used these days is Geomancy. Practiced and utilized by all social classes, Geomancy was consulted for its clarity as well as it being so flexible in how one can undertake a reading. Stones, the dirt, dice, coins and even beans were used to cast for 16 unique figures, each with its own idiosyn...

Many of those who practice Magic and Divination or are just curious about it, will have a deck of Tarot Cards. And yet, most of them have no idea as to how the Tarot cards became something that is to this day one of the most popular forms of divination. On this episode of WMiT? we will be diving into what I consider to be the most interesting aspect of Tarot, which is the history of the cards them...

Mormonism is an American Religious tradition that started in the early 19th century by one single figure, Joseph Smith. To followers he is considered a prophet and a seer; one who received many revelations in his life which are all part of what makes Mormonism what it is today. Yet, through the years many have taken a closer look at what occurred with Joseph Smith initially at the birth of Mormoni...

Perhaps the most notorious esoteric secret society of all time, the Rosicrucians still inspire enormous amounts of mystery and interest to this day. Yet what is going on with the Rosicrucians exactly? Where did they come from? Who were the Rosicrucians? Why do they matter still? Was it all some kind of inside Joke? To set all of this straight is the scholar of Western Esotericism and the author of...

For more than 60 years in the late 19th century and early 20th century, a New Religious Movement known as Spiritualism swept across the Western World. Everyone from famous authors to housewives took part in engaging with spirits and Mediumship via Séances and other means. These days Spiritualism is mostly taken as a period of time in which every participant was either delusional or being conned by...

As far as books of Magic throughout history, perhaps the most notorious of these is The Picatrix. Originally titled in Arabic as Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm or the Goal of the Wise, it is a very large tome of Talismanic and Astrological Magic which was likely originally composed in the 11th century. Hugely influential in the Renaissance, it has seen a recent surge in popularity in the last 20 years. Joining W...

You enter a darkened room. There's beautiful artwork on the walls, many books, and the place is absolutely filled with decks of cards of all kinds. A single figure sits there, shuffling a small deck of cards as you yourself sit down facing them. You have a question and are looking for answers- The question is " What is the Tarot? " And you will be given the answer by one who knows more than most a...

The image of a witch or a warlock creeping through a dark forest collecting herbs, leaves and branches and stuffing them in a pouch is one that we are all familiar with. And with good reason! Materia Magica from Plants, Trees and Herbs strike to the core of magical practice. For some, it is the very path to how they navigate the world of magic as it involves knowledge, practicality, and lore in ne...

There is no other author whose works have been brought up both on the show, and in the show notes more than Gary Lachman. Gary has stated that his work is about the Evolution of Consciousness and many of the concepts and figures which he writes about should be familiar to every ardent listener of What Magic is This? In this episode, I would love to introduce to you, the person whose books are some...