Imbolc 103: The Nine Herbs Charm

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

For our 103 series, we are exploring a specific area of lore or practice related to each Sabbat. In this episode, we are discussing Odin’s Nine Herbs Charm. In the Lacnunga, Woden (AKA Odin) uses the Nine Herbs charm to banish poison and heal. Translating ancient texts is difficult, so we aren’t entirely sure which herbs they are, but we think they are mugwort, plantain, bittercress, betony, chamomile, nettle, apple, chervil, and fennel.

In this episode, we discuss the Lacnunga, Odin’s role with herbs, and the specific herbs mentioned in the Nine Herbs Charm, and recommend some reading material to further your practice.

Links for Reading Material and Related Episodes:

Read the Nine Herbs Charm at Spitalfields Life: https://spitalfieldslife.com/2018/05/15/the-nine-herbs-charm/

Imbolc 101 (Episode 5): https://youtu.be/44Td_vOlKHg

Imbolc 102 (Episode 31): https://youtu.be/5rOasOB3QJY

Dagda Deep Dive (Episode 29): https://youtu.be/nXKQgea1niM

Intro to Modern Odinism (Episode 25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2hFPkF0fw8

Magic on a Budget

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Your magical practice doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg! Ancient people couldn’t buy things online, and often weren’t able to go to the store to pick up ingredients they needed for a spell.

In this episode, join us as we give you our take on magical principles and substitutions you can embrace to practice magic on a budget. We go over many ways to cultivate a low-cost magical practice, from smart splurging to altar décor to the benefits of shopping small and local. We don’t even tell you to give up your daily coffee or avocado toast!

We give you correspondences and two spells we’ve written, along with our personal ways to save money, take care of the planet, and live magically.

Free internet book archives:

Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/

Twilit Grotto- Archives of Western Esoterica: http://www.esotericarchives.com/

Internet Sacred Text Archive: https://sacred-texts.com/

Other episodes you may also want to watch:

Imbolc 101 (Ep 5): https://youtu.be/44Td_vOlKHg

Spellcrafting 101 (Ep 4): https://youtu.be/E4ueJuQ2lpU

Spellcrafting 102- Book of Shadows and Grimoires (Ep 30): https://youtu.be/eI-SOxxCZ6A

Intro to Protection Magic (Ep 12): https://youtu.be/qEVRpeEvl5U

Meditation Basics (Ep 13): https://youtu.be/snAMunKM03w

Technomancy (Ep 36): https://youtu.be/jT7llHYG1Qs

Kitchen Witchery (Ep 19): https://youtu.be/jsiCwIEk4zY

Kitchen Witchery- Potions (Ep 38): https://youtu.be/25CrF9YYdz4

Pub Chat: What even is Santa Claus?

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to Pub Chat! These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents.

This week we look into Santa Claus, is he a god, an egregore, or something else? How does his power or Magic work and where does it come from? Join us as we explore the arbiter of this festive holiday season and delve into the lore of one Kris Kringle.

Yule 103: The Wild Hunt

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

For our 103 series, we are exploring a specific area of lore or practice related to each Sabbat. In this episode, we are discussing The Wild Hunt.  It is a group of ghostly figures pursuing an entity, which is either another ghostly entity, or hapless humans out at the wrong time.

In this episode, we discuss the who, what, and why of The Wild Hunt. The various leaders of the Hunt, and especially Odin’s role within the hunt. We tell a tale related to Odin and the Wild Hunt and recommend some reading material to further your practice.

Links for Reading Material and Related Episodes:

Teutonic Mythology Vol III, by Jacob Grimm, pages 917-950 (Link to this book on the Internet Archive): https://archive.org/details/JacobGrimmTeutonicMythologyVol3/page/n77/mode/2up

Yule 101 (Episode 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8NG89qOqXk

Yule 102 (Episode 28): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbDfRxWUPhU

Hidden Heathenry in Modern Holidays (Episode 26): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzm9NkGLF5s

Intro to Modern Odinism (Episode 25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2hFPkF0fw8

Tasseomancy

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Tasseomancy is the practice of using tea leaves, coffee, or other infusions for divination. Its exact origins are unknown, and its popularity boomed in areas where tea or coffee drinking was common. In this episode, we discuss the known history of tasseomancy and give you tips to enhance your practice.

We go over the process of tasseomancy from brews to consumption of tea to reading the symbols. There are many different ways of doing this, so we give you a few different options so you can choose your favorite. In addition to two tea leaf reading rituals, we give you divination correspondences to boost your spellwork, and discuss our favorite tasseomancy methods.

Our two-year podcast anniversary is coming up, and we’ll be doing a YouTube Live stream to celebrate! Join us on Sunday, December 11, 3033 at 5 pm PST. We’ll be doing a live Q  & A and talking about our plans for year three!

“Tea-Cup Reading and Fortune-Telling by Tea Leaves,” by A Highland Seer, Courtesy of The Gutenberg Project: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18241/18241-h/18241-h.htm#2

Samhain 102

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Samhain is the third and final harvest festival. It takes place on October 31 (or April 30 in the Southern Hemisphere), which is halfway between the Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice.  This is a time to celebrate the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Mute dinners, costumes, trick or treating, jack-o-lanterns, bonfires, and divination are also part of the festivities!

Join us as we deep dive into the history of Samhain and its tradition of being of being a liminal festival. We also give you a bunch of ideas to celebrate the season and discuss our own experiences and traditions. There’s also a simple ritual, and correspondences for Samhain.

If you’d like to learn more about Samhain, please listen to episode #24, Samhain 101.

Pub Chat: What is Godsposuing, Thor and Utgarda-Loki, The Gate

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to Pub Chat! These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents.

Our question of the week is about god spousing. The practice goes back to ancient times and spans all cultures.

In Story Time, Jon tells the story of Thor and Utgarda-Loki, AKA that one time that Thor took a trip to a giant’s house and was told to never come back.

During the month of October, we only watch horror movies! We just watched The Gate, and we discuss the wild weird Speilbergian antics of the movie. There’s death metal and pint-sized demons!

Mabon 102

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals. It takes place on the Autumnal Equinox when night and day are equal. While Mabon is a newer festival, cultures throughout the world have been celebrating the Autumn Equinox for thousands of years. It’s a time of sharing and giving thanks, transition, reflection, preparing for the winter, and of course Feasting and drinking!

Join us as we deep dive into the history and traditions of thankfulness surrounding Mabon and the Autumn Equinox. We also give you a bunch of ideas to celebrate Mabon season and discuss our own experiences and traditions. There’s also a simple ritual, and correspondences for Mabon.

If you’d like to learn more about Mabon, please listen to episode #11, Mabon 101.

Pub Chat: Magic and Burnout, Thor Love and Thunder

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to Pub Chat! These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents. This is a bit of a catch up episode, so grab a beverage and hang out with us!

We’re thrilled to say that we’re back from having a bit of an unplanned break! In this episode, we discuss our break and burnout. Mostly how you can fit magic into your routine to help you recover from or stave off burnout. We also talk about our personal experiences with burnout, and how we’ve handled it.

We watched Thor: Love and Thunder recently and discuss the themes of magic and deities in the movie. We’ll definitely be watching it again!

Freyja Deep Dive

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

The Norse goddess Freyja is known by many names: The Giver, Queen of the Valkyries, Possessor of Brisingamen, Mistress of Cats, and many more. She is a Vanir, and is particularly known for her associations with love, magic, abundance, and the afterlife.

We discuss Freyja in depth and touch on her epithets, iconography, possible origins, as well as a few tangents. There are several Heathen blots that are suitable for worshipping her, which we go over, in addition to sharing an invocation and a spell that we’ve written to honor her. As always, we also list some correspondences that can be used in conjunction with her worship.

In our discussion, we reference serval of our other episodes, so if you liked this episode, you may also want to check out these:

Episode #06, Aphrodite Deep Dive: https://youtu.be/Shvg97IPIkQ

Episode #10, Thor Deep Dive: https://youtu.be/7z3HlTcTrHw

Episode #14, Loki Deep Dive: https://youtu.be/jqrFadRE-bY

Episode #18, Isis Deep Dive: https://youtu.be/uJgMj6YQZh0

Episode #22, Toxic Internet Witchcraft: https://youtu.be/BBaJ0rGufEQ

Episode #25, Intro to Modern Odinism and Heathenry: https://youtu.be/D2hFPkF0fw8

Episode #33, Norse Family Tree: https://youtu.be/Wrxio5z6DVQ

Pub Chat: How can I help, Medusa, Love Death & Robots

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to Pub Chat! These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents. This is a bit of a heavy episode, so grab a beverage and buckle up!

Our question of the week is focused on current events. Many pagans and heathens out there want to know what they can do to help those in need, and how to protect our rights. We give some mundane and witchy ideas and tips to help.

In Story Time, we talk about Medusa: her myths, themes, and how she fits into the broader theme of this particular episode.

We watched Love, Death, and Robots recently and discuss the Jibaro story, and how it ties into the idea of sirens. In our town, there’s a small theater troupe that recently finished a run of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. This classic tale has lots of witchy themes, and we briefly discuss them.

Midsummer 102

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

The summer solstice is also known by pagans and heathens as Litha or Midsummer. The longest day of the year has been celebrated for thousands of years by cultures all around the world. Midsummer festivals are associated with bonfires, playing in the water, herb harvesting, fertility rituals, divination, abundance, fairies, and handfasting.

Join us as we deep dive into the core aspects of Midsummer: bonfires and baths. We discuss the origins and traditions associated with them, including the role of Saint John the Baptist. There’s many other ways to celebrate Midsummer, and we give you loads of ideas.

We also discuss our experiences, a simple ritual, and correspondences for Midsummer. If you’d like to learn more about Midsummer, please listen to episode #15, Midsummer 101.

Pub Chat: Ouija Boards, Helena Blavatsky, Archive 81

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents.

Our question of the week is about Spirit Boards and Ouija Boards—Have we used them, and why are they usually associated with dark entities? We answer this question and give our takes on why spirit boards are showcased in pop culture the way they are today. We’ve talked about the differences between seances and spirit boards in our first Pub Chat Episode, so give that a listen if you want more!

In Story Time, we talk briefly about Helena Blavatsky, well-known Spiritualist, Occultist, and mother of Theosophy. There’s a lot to unpack about her and Theosophy, so we give you a taste of what she’s about so you can decide to look into her if you like.

We watched Archive 81 recently and discuss some of the occult and magical connections that are hinted or are referenced in homage in the show. One of the things that came out of our recent Magic in Anime panel (recording available in our YouTube channel) is to have full-length deep dives on certain shows we’ve talked about in Magic in Media, so keep an eye out for that!

Magic in Anime - *Fanime 2022 Panel*

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Join the Horn and Cauldron podcast duo as we rant, review, and analyze the magical systems in 5 different awesome anime series, from witchcraft to pyromancy with some Magical Girls and gods thrown in for good measure. For this panel, we will be looking into Witch Craft Works, Trese, Fire Force, Record of Ragnarök, and Magical Girl Ore. There will also be 2 companion podcast episodes focusing on magic in some classic anime movies.

**This is a recording of our Live Panel at Fanime 2022 in San Jose. We want to give a special shout-out and thank you to all of the awesome attendees of our panel and the staff of Fanime for making our first live panel such a fantastic experience.

Types of Fae Around the World

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Whether you call them fairies, fair folk, Fae, or something else, they’re an intriguing part of the greater magical and folkloric tapestry. There are many types of Fae, with descriptions of similar mischievous magical beings living in harmony with nature popping up all over the world.

Take a brief world tour discussing types of Fae throughout the world, and their similarities to Fae folk in popular culture, as well as their similarities to each other.

We also discuss our experiences, share a spell, and correspondences for working with the Fae.

If you’d like to hear more about the Fae, listen to Episode 9: Working with the Fae.

Pub Chat: Deity Work, Rasputin, Doctor Strange

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and of course, go off on tangents.

Our question of the week is about Deity work. Do you need to work with or worship a deity? What if you don’t like their myths? Or if you’re not into all that “woo woo” stuff? We talk about all of these aspects of the question, and more.

In Story Time, we finish up our chat about Rasputin by talking about the rumors of him and his deeds. Wizard or Charlatan? You decide whether you think they’re true, and if he was really a magician.

We watched Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and express our thoughts on it spoiler free in Magic in Media segment. We’ll be hosting a panel at FanimeCon 2022 where we talk about Magic in Anime and discuss the magic in five different animes: Record of Ragnarok, Magical Girl Ore, Trese, Fire Force, and Witchcraft Works.

If you want to get ahead of the game, consider watching any of these so you’ll be in the know when you watch the episode (or watch us live at the con)!

Kitchen Witchery 102: Potions

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Potions and magic go hand in hand. They are drunk to enhance magic, obtain immortality and even to cure illness or disease. In this episode, we discuss some of the highlights of potion history… and ramble a bit. But you expected that, right?

Literature, folklore, and pop culture are filled with references to potions, going back thousands of years. We talk briefly about a handful of references to potions, including the Elixir of Life, The Holy Grail, and Florida Water.

In addition to sharing two spells we’ve written, we also go over the building blocks of creating a potion, things to avoid, and ingredients you can use for potions with intentions of love, protection, abundance, energy, healing, and increasing magical powers.

If you’d to hear more about Kitchen Witchery, listen to Episode 19: Kitchen Witchery

Pub Chat: Online Spells, Rasputin, Moon Knight

Welcome to Pub Chat!

These episodes are for us to have a more free-form way to discuss listener questions, shorter subjects, as well as magical happenings, musings, and other sundry.

Our question of the week is whether or not you can use spells or rituals you’ve found online. There’s a common misconception that you can only use spell that are in a physical book, and we take some time to discuss a simple way to use spells found online for yourself!

In Story Time, we talk about the man, the myth, the legend: Rasputin! He’s an enigmatic figure who’s been the subject of rumors for over a century. We discuss briefly the rumors about him, and why they started. You decide whether you think they’re true, and if he was really a magician.

We just got caught up on Moonknight, and have a lot of feelings about it, so we’ll be talking about that in Magic in Media.

Beltane 102

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Beltane is held on May 1st (or November 1st if you’re in the southern hemisphere), which is about halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Beltane has been celebrated since ancient times with bonfires, visiting holy wells, fertility rituals, handfasting, honoring the fae folk, maypoles, feasts, and decorating with spring greenery, flowers, or ribbons.

In this episode, we discuss the origins of Beltane and other festivals that happen at the same time, such as Walpurgisnacht, May Day, Blōstmfrēols, and Floralia. While each one of these is a separate festival, we can also see strong ties to Beltane celebrations, as well as similarities to each other.

We also share how we celebrate Beltane, go over correspondences, and share a simple Beltane ritual. To get the full picture, we recommend that you also listen to episode 11: Beltane 102.

Technomancy

Greeting’s heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Technomancy is essentially using modern technology in your magical practice. This can be as simple as having a digital Book of Shadows, or as complex as coding a program to activate your spell. In this episode, we discuss the brief history of Technomancy and pop culture’s influence on it.

Technology is ubiquitous in our day-to-day lives, and people’s views on using it in their magical practice vary widely. It’s also a subject without much magical reference material, which can make it difficult for people to incorporate it into their own practice.

We talk about how we use Technomancy, give you ideas to use it in your practice, some correspondences, and two spells to help ease you into incorporating it into your magic.