#Trae Dorn

[traegorn]

Want some fun, queer, contemporary fantasy books to read (with a good dose of humor and a pinch of spice)? Try my books -- the Mia Graves series! The first two books are out right now, with the third coming in December (and several more volumes on the way).

Start with The Witch and the Rose, which has Witchcraft and Ghosts, while Mia deals with trauma and Riley makes bad life decisions!

Then read the sequel, Bloody Damn Rite, which has Witchcraft and Vampires, while Mia deals with trauma and Riley makes worse life decisions!

Then, in the upcoming Shadowcasting, there's Witchcraft and more Witchcraft, while Mia still deals with Trauma but Riley only just gets kind of judgy... because Bobbi is the one making bad life decisions.

Do all of these people need therapy? Probably.

Order the books today!

The Witch and the Rose ISBN: 9798869132666 eBook: Kindle / Kobo / ePub Paperback: Amazon / Direct Order

Bloody Damn Rite ISBN: 9798330220373 eBook: Kindle / Kobo / ePub Paperback: Amazon / Direct Order

Shadowcasting (Available 12/15/2024) ISBN: 9781088207031 Pre-Order Via: Kindle / Paperback

[nerdandtie]

Hex Positive: 49. Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community? (with Trae Dorn)

[breelandwalker]

PODCAST RECS - Debunking and Fact-Checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces

A collection of podcast episodes fact-checking, debunking, or just providing some clarity on modern myths, misinformation, and conspiracy theories that are frequent flyers in witchcraft and pagan spaces, both theories mistakenly touted by community members and some of the utter drivel spouted by non-witches that still affects us today. Check out these shows on your favorite podcast app!

(Updates to be made whenever I find new content. There will be some crossover with my Witches In History Podcast Recs post and some of the content will be heavy. Blanket trigger warning for violence, abuse, bigotry, sexism, antisemitism, and mistreatment of women, queer people, and children.)

[Last Updated: October 17, 2024]

This post is broken into three basic sections:

Historical Misinformation

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

List of Cited Podcasts, in alphabetical order

American Hysteria

BS-Free Witchcraft

Dig: A History Podcast

Hex Positive

Historical Blindness

History Uncovered

Morbid

Occultae Veritatis

Our Curious Past

Our Fake History

Ridiculous History

Stuff You Missed In History Class

The History of Witchcraft

Unobscured

You’re Wrong About…

Historical Misinformation

General History of Witchcraft

Historical Blindness - A Rediscovery of Witches, Pt 1 & 2 Oct 13, 2020 & Oct. 27, 2020 A discussion of the early modern witch craze and the myths, misconceptions, and theories about witches spread by academics. Topics of discussion include the works of Margaret Murray and Charles Leland, the founding of Wicca, the emergence of the midwife-witch myth, and folk healers as targets of witchcraft accusations. Sarah Handley-Cousins of “Dig: A History Podcast” supplies guest material for both episodes.

Hex Positive, Ep. 36 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn July 1, 2023 Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921...which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the modern witchcraft movement.

Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins Bree NicGarran in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray's various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 03: The History of Wicca October 06, 2018 On this episode, Trae digs deep into the history of Wicca, and tries to give the most accurate history of the religion as they can. I mean, yeah, we know this is a general Witchcraft podcast, but Wicca is the most widely practiced form of Witchcraft in the US, UK, Canada and Australia… so how it got started is kind of important for the modern Witchcraft movement. (And trust me, there aren’t any pulled punches here.)

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 28: The Burning Times May 30, 2020 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.

Dig: A History Podcast - Both Man and Witch: Uncovering the Invisible History of Male Witches Sept 13, 2020 Since at least the 1970s, academic histories of witches and witchcraft have enjoyed a rare level of visibility in popular culture. Feminist, literary, and historical scholarship about witches has shaped popular culture to such a degree that the discipline has become more about unlearning everything we thought we knew about witches. Though historians have continued to investigate and re-interpret witch history, the general public remains fixated on the compelling, feminist narrative of the vulnerable women hanged and burned at the stake for upsetting the patriarchy. While this part of the story can be true, especially in certain contexts, it’s only part of the story, and frankly, not even the most interesting part. Today, we tackle male witches in early modern Eurasia and North America!

Dig: A History Podcast - Doctor, Healer, Midwife, Witch: How the the Women’s Health Movement Created the Myth of the Midwife-Witch Sept 6, 2020 In 1973, two professors active in the women’s health movement wrote a pamphlet for women to read in the consciousness-raising reading groups. The pamphlet, inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, looked to history to explain how women had been marginalized in their own healthcare. Women used to be an important part of the medical profession as midwives, they argued — but the midwives were forced out of practice because they were so often considered witches and persecuted by the patriarchy in the form of the Catholic Church. The idea that midwives were regularly accused of witchcraft seemed so obvious that it quickly became taken as fact. There was only one problem: it wasn’t true. In this episode, we follow the convoluted origin story of the myth of the midwife-witch.

Dig: A History Podcast - Cheesecloth, Spiritualism, and State Secrets: Helen Duncan’s Famous Witchcraft Trial July 3, 2022 Helen Duncan was charged under the 1735 Witchcraft Act, but her case was no eighteenth-century sensation: she was arrested, charged, and ultimately imprisoned in 1944. Of course, in 1944, Britain was at war, fighting fascism by day on the continent and hiding in air raid shelters by night at home. The spectacle of a Spiritualist medium on trial for witchcraft seemed out of place. What possessed the Home Secretary to allow this trial to make headlines all across the UK in 1944? That’s what we’re here to find out.

The Conspirators, Ep. 63 - The Last Witch Trial Nov. 26, 2017 England’s official laws regarding the prosecution of witches dates back to the 1600s. Those very same laws would also remain on the books until well into the 20th century. In 1944, a psychic medium named Helen Duncan would gain notoriety by becoming the last woman to be tried under England’s witchcraft laws.

The History of Witchcraft Podcast, hosted by Samuel Hume Witches didn’t exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.

Unobscured, Season One - The Salem Witch Trials Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts. It’s 1692. And all hell is about to break loose.

Unobscured is a deep-dive history podcast from the labs of How Stuff Works, featuring the writing and narrative talents of Aaron Mahnke, horror novelist and the mind behind Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities.

As with his other series, Mahnke approaches the events in Salem armed with a mountain of research. Interviews with prominent historians add depth and documentation to each episode. And it’s not just the trials you’ll learn about; it’s the stories of the people, places, attitudes, and conflicts that led to the deaths of more than twenty innocent people.

Each week, a new aspect of the story is explored, gradually weaving events and personalities together in chronological order to create a perspective of the trials that is both expansive and intimate. From Bridget Bishop to Cotton Mather, from Andover to Salem Town, Mahkne digs deep to uncover the truth behind the most notorious witch trials in American history.

Think you know the story of Salem? Think again.

Witchcraft and Other Magical Practices

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 Host Trae Dorn discusses the ongoing debate over 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. It’s common to run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and we’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – we don’t think you should.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 106 - Lilith, the Phantom Maiden November 22, 2022 Host Nathaniel Lloyd explores the evolution of the figure of Lilith, from Mesopotamian demon, to the first woman created by God, and back to a succubus mother of demons. It’s a tale of syncretism, superstition, forgery, and a dubious interpretation of scriptures.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 55 - Lucky Girl Syndrome and the Law of Attraction January 28, 2023 Trae takes a look at one of New Age spirituality’s most toxic philosophies - The Law of Attraction. The history of the idea is discussed, where it came from, and how this dangerous combination of prosperity gospel, purity culture, and victim-blaming has come back in a major way to a whole new generation as “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” 

Hex Positive, Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope.

This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Stuff You Missed in History Class - A Brief History of Tarot Cards Oct. 26, 2020 How did a card game gain a reputation for being connected to mysticism? Tarot’s history takes a significant turn in the 18th century, but much of that shift in perception is based on one author’s suppositions and theories.

Hex Positive, Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Our Curious Past, Ep. 20 - The Curious History of the Ouija Board August 18, 2023 Host Peter Laws explores the history of the “talking board,” which was wildly popular in the early 1900s, until something happened that would tarnish its’ reputation for good. 

Ridiculous History - Brooms and Witchcraft, Pt. 1 & 2 Oct. 13-15, 2020 Most people are familiar with the stereotypical image of a witch: a haggard, often older individual with a peaked hat, black robes, a demonic familiar and, oddly enough, a penchant for cruising around on broomsticks. But where did that last weirdly specific trop of flying on a broomstick actually come from?  Could the stereotype of witches on broomsticks actually be a drug reference? Join Ben, Noel, and Casey as they continue digging through the history and folklore of witchcraft - and how it affected pop culture in the modern day.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 116 - The Key to the Secrets of King Solomon  May 02, 2023 Host Nathaniel Lloyd continues his occasional series on the history and mythology of magic. In this installment, he looks at the development of the story that the biblical King Solomon was actually a flying-carpet-riding, magic-ring-wielding wizard and alchemist who bound demons to do his will. The origins and content of the legendary Key of Solomon are also discussed.

Dig: A History Podcast - Plastic Shamans and Spiritual Hucksters: A History of Peddling and Protecting Native American Spirituality July 24, 2022 In the late 20th century, white Americans flocked to New Age spirituality, collecting crystals, hugging trees, and finding their places in the great Medicine Wheel. Many didn’t realize - or didn’t care - that much of this spirituality was based on the spiritual faiths and practices of Native American tribes. Frustrated with what they called “spiritual hucksterism,” members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began protesting - and have never stopped. Who were these “plastic shamans,” and how did the spiritual services they sold become so popular?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 145 - All Is Number: Pythagoras and Numerology May 28, 2024 In this installment of the ongoing Encyclopedia Grimoria series, host Nathaniel Lloyd talks about a cult leader who is remembered as a great mathematician, whose real lasting contribution to the world is the nonsensical divination "magic" known as numerology.

Holidays

Hex Positive, Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Host Bree NicGarran puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter  and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first  – the bunny or the egg?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 28 - A Very Historically Blind Christmas Dec. 18, 2018 An exploration of the origins of Christmas traditions, with special guest Brian Earl of the Christmas Past podcast. (There is also some mention of Christmas witches!) Further installments of this series explore additional Christmas traditions and iconography which have been falsely claimed to have pagan origins as well as the myths surrounding the history of Christmas itself. (Eps. 47, 63, 84, & 132 in December of subsequent years)

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Ed and Lorraine Warren

You’re Wrong About…Ed and Lorraine Warren w. Jamie Loftus Nov 8 2021 Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle fame). Topics of interest include Connecticut as a locus of scary happenings, New England uncles, and psychic communication with a tearstained Bigfoot.

Dig: A History Podcast - The Demonologist and the Clairvoyant: Ed and Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigation, and Exorcism in the Modern World Oct 3 2021 In the 1970s, Lorraine and Ed Warren had a spotlight of paranormal obsession shining on them. In the last decade, their work as paranormal investigators–ghost hunters–has been the premise for a blockbuster horror franchise totaling at least seven films so far, and more planned in the near future. So… what the heck? Is this for real? Yes, friends, today we’re talking about demonology, psychic connections to the dead, and the patriarchy. Just a typical day with your historians at Dig.

History Uncovered, Ep. 92 - The Enfield Haunting That Inspired "The Conjuring 2" Oct 25 2023 The Enfield Haunting began with a bang. Literally. From 1977 to 1979, an unassuming North London home was the site of near-constant paranormal activity, from knocking sounds and moving objects to disembodied voices and the terrifying alleged possession of one young daughter of the Hodgson family. But how much truth was there to these happenings? And since the Warrens got involved briefly and subsequently touted themselves as experts on the case (and made money from talking about it), how much of what we think we know reflects the actual events?

Hex Positive, Ep. 042 - Extended Warren Tea with Jenn the Ouija Girl and Lorelei Rivers Jan 01 2024 Discussions about the careers and rhetoric of the Warrens make the rounds regularly in conversations about the paranormal among members of the witchcraft community. But who were the Warrens? Why do they inspire such ire even as the Conjuring franchise gains steam? How much of what we think we know about the supernatural comes from them? And why is it important to recognize - and refute - their rhetoric when we encounter it? Bree NicGarran sits down with Jenn the Ouija Girl and Lorelei Rivers to spill ALL the tea.

"Paranormal" Literature & Media

You’re Wrong About…Winter Book Club - The Amityville Horror, Pts. 1-3 Dec 20 2021 - Feb 6 2022 Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and buying murder furniture might not be such a great idea. Further highlights include Jodie the Demon Pig, poor insulation and terrible parenting as evidence of a haunting, lots and lots of sunk cost fallacy, and how the book kind of debunks itself.

MORBID, Ep. 610 - The Amityville Horror Conspiracy October 17 2024 The supposed experience of the Lutz family at 112 Ocean Avenue served as the basis for the iconic haunted house story, “The Amityville Horror,” and the countless films adapted from or inspired by the original novel. However, unlike most other stories of paranormal experiences, “The Amityville Horror” became a phenomenon that influenced everything from Ronald DeFeo’s criminal defense during his murder trial to the American public’s belief in the supernatural. Yet for all their talk of it being a genuine story of demonic activity, in the years since the publication of the popular novel, a large body of evidence from skeptical evaluations to court records and interview transcripts suggest that America’s most notorious haunted house might not have been quite so haunted after all.

American Hysteria, Ep. 125 - I Was A Teenage Poltergeist October 14 2024 Sarah Marshall, host of “You’re Wrong About…,” transports us to the old world of British Hysteria to reveal the mysterious story of the Enfield Poltergeist and joins host Chelsea Weber Smith at the seance table to discuss the great unknown and the ghosts they know.

You’re Wrong About… - Michelle Remembers, Pt. 1-5 March 26, 2020 - April 30, 2020 Intrepid hosts Sarah and Mike delve into one of the foundational texts of the Satanic Panic - “Michelle Remembers.” A young woman spends a year undergoing hypnosis therapy, which uncovers repressed memories of shocking and horrifying abuse at the hands of a Satanic cult. The book became a foundational text for both mental health professionals and law enforcement attempting to grapple with an alleged nationwide network of insidiously invisible child-abducting cults. The only problem is…none of what Michelle remembered ever actually happened.

You’re Wrong About…. - The Satan Seller, Pt. 1-5 June 28, 2021 - August 9, 2021 Sarah and Mike return to Camp You’re Wrong About for another Satanic Panic story hour. This time, the summer book club explores Mike Warnke’s 1972 “memoir” about joining a demonic cult, rising through the ranks of Satan’s favorite lackeys, his sudden downfall and redemption, and the California hedonism that made him do it. This is followed by a discussion of the Cornerstone Magazine exposé that brought the facts to light and thoroughly discredited Warnke’s story.

American Hysteria, Eps. 64-66 - Chick Tracts, Pts. 1-3 March 20 - April 03, 2023 In his own lifetime, Jack Chick was one of most prolific and widely-read comic artists in history. His company, Chick Tracts, published hundreds of millions of copies of pocket-sized bible comics, filled with lurid illustrations of cackling demons, wicked witches, and sinister cults, all hell-bent on corrupting any hapless mortal they could get their hands on. These tracts were meant to be left where they might be found by a sinner in need of salvation, with a scared-straight morality-play approach to Christianity that contributed in no small part to the period in the late 20th century we now call the Satanic Panic. (There’s also a follow-up two-part episode about one of Chick’s “occult experts,” who claimed to be, among other things, a real-life vampire.)

History Uncovered, Ep. 95 - Roland Doe, The Boy Who Inspired "The Exorcist" November 15, 2023 In 1949, priests performed an exorcism on a boy referred to as "Roland Doe," aka Ronald Hunkeler, in a chilling ordeal that became the real-life inspiration for William Peter Blatty's 1971 book, "The Exorcist," and the movie adaptation released in 1973. But what really happened during this alleged exorcism and was there any proof of the claims of alleged demonic paranormal activity surrounding the events?

You're Wrong About... - The Exorcist (with Marlena Williams) December 27, 2023 Marlena Williams, author of "Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of the Exorcist," joins host Sarah Marshall to discuss the little possession movie that changed America forever. Was the set cursed by Satan himself, or plain old 70s misogyny? What makes a country going through a cultural upheaval embrace stories about the Devil? And - the most critical question of all - do Ouija boards really cause possession?

Frightful, Bonus Episode - Is the Paranormal Like A New Religion? June 25 2024 Since the early 2000s, paranormal content has exploded in popular culture. It seems we can't get enough of ghosts (and hunting for them). What could be behind this enthusiasm for spooky things? Host Peter Laws shares a theory - that the paranormal is a clever way for us to be religious...without being religious. (This is less a debunking than a discussion of a personal hypothesis, but it deals with the pervasiveness of cultural religious themes, the influence of social media on modern mythmaking, and the sense of community surrounding paranormal belief.)

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

Ancient "Mysteries"

Historical Blindness, Pyramidiocy, Eps. 146-151 June-July 2024 Host Nathaniel Lloyd delves into the great pyramids and the various myths and misconceptions surrounding them, some of which, despite vast amounts of historical evidence to the contrary, endure to this very day. Further related segments on this topic may be found on the show's Patreon, including a highly interesting July 2024 minisode regarding "Books of the Dead," which examines claims about H.P. Lovecraft's "Necronomicon" and its' supposed relation to the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus.

History Uncovered, Ep. 117 - The Real History Behind the Mythic City of Atlantis June 12, 2024 First mentioned by Plato in Timaeus and Critias, the lost city of Atlantis later became a widely debated topic among historians. But is Atlantis real? (Spoiler: No. No it is not.)

Hucksters, Secret Societies, and Antisemitism

Historical Blindness, Ep. 14 - Bloody Libel December 12, 2017 An exploration of one of the most destructive myths in history - the blood libel, or the false accusation that Jews of the Middle Ages and beyond ritually murdered Christian children, a lie that host Nathaniel Lloyd traces back to its’ roots in medieval England and the murder of one Young William of Norwich.

Historical Blindness, Eps. 56-57 - The Illuminati Illuminated September 15-29, 2020 A contemplation of the modern conservative conspiracy theory of a “deep state” leads host Nathaniel Lloyd back to the dawn of the modern conspiracy theory, the Enlightenment, when the ultimate conservative conspiracy theory was born as an explanation for the French Revolution: The Illuminati!

Historical Blindness, Eps. 38-40 - Nazi Occultism, Parts 1-3 July 2-30, 2019 An exploration of the dark roots of Nazi occult philosophies, from a neo-paganism preoccupied with the Nordic Pantheon, to a folksy back-to-the-land movement that evolved into a nationalist sentiment, to an ideology of racial supremacy all tied up with contemporary myths and pseudoscience. (The host is careful to note with clarity and vehemence at the start of each episode that this series IN NO WAY approves of, promotes, or supports this ideology and Nazism is roundly condemned at every turn. It’s not an easy listen, but understanding how and why this bigotry continues to be a problem in pagan spaces and how to recognize it is very important.) TL;DR - Fuck Nazis. No tolerance for genocidal fuckwads.

DIG: A History Podcast - Werewolves, Vampires, and the Aryans of Ancient Atlantis: The Occultic Roots of the Nazi Party Oct 17, 2021 Modern movie plotlines which portray Nazi obsessions with occultism might be exaggerated for dramatic effect, but they aren't made up out of wholecloth. The NSDAP, or the National Socialist Worker's Party, was a party ideologically enabled by occultist theories about the Aryan race and vampiric Jews, on old folk tales about secret vigilante courts and nationalist werewolves, and on pseudoscientific ideas about ice moons. In this episode, the hosts explore the occult ideas, racial mythology, and 'supernatural imaginary' that helped to create the Nazi Party.

Our Fake History, Eps. 66-68: Who Was the Mother of the Occult? May-June 2018 An exploration of the life and works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, self-described sage, medium, guru, author, and one of the founders of Theosophy.

The Satanic Panic

American Hysteria - Satanic Panic, pt 1 & 2 Dec. 10 2018 - Jan. 07, 2019 This two-part episode covers perhaps the most mystifying moral panic in US history, the 1980s and early 90s ‘Satanic Panic.’ For this episode, Chelsey covers the rise of organized Satanism beginning in the late 60s, as well as the adversarial countercultures of the hippies and the metalheads, and their apparent Satanic crimes that would be hailed as proof of their evil, as well as proof that teens, as well as children, were in serious moral peril. Satan was allegedly hypnotizing the youth with secret messages in backwards rock songs, teaching them occult magic in Saturday morning cartoons, and causing suicides through a popular role-playing games, all while helping religion blur into politics for good.

For part two, Chelsey will cover what came next, a serious investigation into an imagined network of Satanic cults ritually abusing children in daycare centers all over the country. Chelsey will try to understand this shocking decade in history, why it really happened, and the cultural issues it was really about.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 10 - The Satanic Panic April 27, 2019 The Satanic Panic of the 70s, 80s, and 90s shaped the Modern Witchcraft Movement in a lot of unexpected ways. Its effects still ripple through a lot of our sources, so in this installment of the podcast we’re digging into this extremely weird part of American history. It’s a bit of a doozy, after all.

BS-Free Witchcraft - Ep. 32: A New Satanic Panic? February 27, 2021 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 are at the start of a new wave of satanic panic, and QAnon is just the latest symptom of a larger problem.

Occultae Veritatis, Case #014: Satanic Panic of Martensville Jan. 28, 2018 Today the hosts cover one of the various Satanic ritual abuse scandals that happened close to them. Is it full of hot air and false allegations? Yes. Yes it is. 

Occultae Veritatis, Case #097A & B: Dungeons, Dragons, and the Satanic Panic Dec. 07, 2019 - Dec. 15, 2019 Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in 1974, attracted millions of players, along with accusations by some religious figures that the game fostered demon worship and a belief in witchcraft and magic.

[Last Updated: October 17 2024]

[hexpositive]

Hex Positive, Ep. 049 - Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community? (with Trae Dorn)

Now available on the Nerd & Tie Podcast Network and your favorite podcatcher!

(It’s more likely than you think….)

Welcome back, witches! We’re diving back into things with another classic collaboration between your friendly neighborhood Witchstorian and everyone’s favorite curmudgeon and host of BS-Free Witchcraft, Trae Dorn. Feeling the weight of our years just a LITTLE bit, we sit down to discuss the stubborn traces of Satanic Panic rhetoric that still linger in the modern witchcraft movement. Not in external gossip or talking-head suppositions, but in the internal discussions that witches maintain in live spaces and especially on social media. Tune in to hear a couple of weary elder millennials ramble about alleged devil worship, community paranoia, and how much it irritates us when people don’t know their own history. 

Remember, witches – you are not immune to propaganda.

Check out the new Upcoming Events page!

Read the Mia Graves series by Trae Dorn!

Visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop on Shopify and check out this month’s featured items. Make sure you also visit the Redbubble page for even more cool merch!

Check my ⁠⁠Wordpress⁠⁠ for full show notes, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events. You can find me as @BreeNicGarran on TikTok, Instagram, and WordPress, or as @breelandwalker on tumblr. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.

Proud member of the ⁠⁠Nerd and Tie Podcast Network⁠⁠.

MUSIC CREDITS

Intro & Outro – “Spellbound” & “Miri’s Magic Dance” Host-Read Ads – “Danse Macabre – Violin Hook” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[thegodthief]

Catching up on old podcasts, only to hear @traegorn say...

"... if the magic described in [the witch trials] was real, Sec would already be a dragon!"

WELP.

(From @breelandwalker's Hex Positive, Ep 36 "Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn")

[moth-yknowtheartist]

your wish is my command. :]

the art is by Trae Dorn according to the signature. I promise this is satire please this is the backstory

[upthewitchypunx]

My favorite quote from @breelandwalker latest Hex Positive Podcast episode about Margaret FUCKING Murray is when Trae says something about coming into the their house and finding a book that says "I am quite literally a witch"

Now I'm going to write "I am quite literally a witch" in a book so that there is evidence and not just spectral evidence. Also, might just refer to @traegorn as Trae "I am quite literally a witch" Dorn from now on.

Also, I would like to take part of The Big Sandwich Ritual. That seems like a fun one.

[spoekelse]

The Uncertain Origins of Lilith

This is a response to Trae Dorn's claims on their podcast and on Tiktok about the origins of Lilith, which I believe to be wrong. For context, listen to their podcast and read/watch their Tiktoks and Tumblr posts.

My base claim here is that there is a lot of scholarly discourse as to the origins of Lilith, whether she was, in Judaism, originally a singular figure or just a type of spirit, and whether the idea of her as a singular figure is exclusive to Judaism.

Furthermore, we absolutely can't just say all of this "misinformation" originated on Tiktok. Tiktok, like old Tumblr, is of course an absolute mess spiritually. Tumblr's the home of Mesperyian, and numerous cults have originated on Tiktok. So I'm not trying to defend Tiktok here, I'm just against saying with certainty that nobody but Jewish people may believe in her. And I mean to show evidence of older origins of people believing her to be a separate goddess.

First of all, it's important to note that Jewish mythology does have its own night spirits syncretous with "lilu", Lilin (Hebrew: לילין) that are mentioned in the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, with these annotations by translator R.H. Charles. (read original)

Lelioto. These are the Lilin (לילין)) from the singular Lilith לִילִית. Male and female demons named Lil and Lilit belong to Assyrian and Babylonian demonology. They were thought, as were also the Lilin (Shabbath, 1516), to attack men and women in their sleep (Lenormant, La Magie, p. 36). The Lilith, or night demon, is mentioned in Isa. xxxiv. 14, along with the satyr 'שָׂעַיר The Lilin, according to the Talmud, were female demons corresponding to the Shedim or male demons. They were partly the offspring (Erub, 18b ; Beresh, 42) of Adam and Lilith, Adam's first wife, a demon, and partly wore derived from the generation that God dispersed (Gen. xi.), for God (Jalkut Shim., Beresh. 62) transformed that generation into Shedim, Ruchin, and Lilin. These Lilin inhabited desert places. They were said to kill children. They have been compared with the Lamiæ and Striges ; όνοκένταυροι. is the LXX. rendering of the word in Isa. xxxiv. 14.

However, this 1930 magazine article by Maximilian Rudwin says "The Hebrew word lilin is not a true plural of lilith. We would expect lilitim or lilitos as a plural. The word is in reality the masculine counterpart of lilith and denotes a male night-monster." Which makes it seem like this isn't plural and is a singular male deity.

What these two sources assert checks out with this Jewish Encyclopedia entry on the same source text.

Of the three Assyrian demons Lilu, Lilit, and Ardat Lilit, the second is referred to in Isa. xxxiv. 14. Schrader ("Jahrb. für Protestantische Theologie," i. 128) takes Lilith to be a goddess of the night; she is said to have been worshiped by the Jewish exiles in Babylon (Levy, in "Z. D. M. G." ix. 470, 484). Sayce ("Hibbert Lectures," pp. 145 et seq.), Fossey ("La Magie Assyrienne," pp. 37 et seq.), and others think that "Lilith" is not connected with the Hebrew "layil" (night), but that it is the name of a demon of the storm, and this view is supported by the cuneiform inscriptions quoted by them.

Cited are Emil G. Hirsch, Solomon Schechter, and Ludwig Blau, all of whom are respected authorities on the subject. Lilu, Lilit, and Ardat Lilit are apparently separate beings, Lilit being a goddess of the night.

And what of the protective prayer bowls of Sassanid Babylon? Lilit and Lilith, separate individual males and female demons, apparently suddenly becoming separate beings during Jewish exile in Babylon. But at this point, they don't seem to have been known as the being who wed Adam before Eve, so why did nearly every Jewish house have one of these prayer bowls, and did the idea spring up out of nowhere? And, if Lilith is purely Jewish, why did gentile Babylonians also ward her off with prayer bowls?

All this to say, we can't even definitively say they were only a class of beings and never individual deities.

As you know, it's very debated within Judaism whether Lilith as a singular entity, as the first wife of Adam even exists. Rabbis Maimonides (1138–1204) and Menachem Meiri (1249–1315) have said she does not. Certainly, there is a precedent of lilin as some type of supernatural entity in Judaism, but that's all we can say for sure.

Also, this 1919 copy of Pirke Aboth, equates the demons "mazzikin" with shedim and lilin, and acknowledges their origin as Assyrio-Babylonian. "this is the most general term for them, though various other grades of them are mentioned in the Talmud and kindred writings : shedim = "evil genii," an Assyrio-Bab. loan-word ; lilin, probably evil spirits of the night, also from the Assyrio-Bab."

What do we know for sure? We know the textual basis from which the notion of Lilith as a wife of Adam supposedly arose. We know that rabbis, as a whole, (of course) do not agree on whether this is a strong enough textual basis, or if this is something picked up by Jewish exiles in Babylon. We cannot say if Lilith, as an individual deity, existed in Mesopotamian mythology.

Before we get into the Epic of Gilgamesh business, I've got to say, I take issue with the confidence with which you make these assertions. You admit you are not a scholar. Yet you just keep saying "clearly" when it's not at all clear.

You say ki-sikil-lil-la-ke is totally unlike Jewish Lilith, which is verifiably false. Again, from the Jewish Encyclopedia:

"The superstitions regarding her and her nefarious doings were, with other superstitions, disseminated more and more among the mass of the Jewish people. She becomes a nocturnal demon, flying about in the form of a night-owl and stealing children.."

Lilith is capable of turning into a night bird in many variations of the legend. Yet you sort of derisively mock the interpretation of ki-sikil-lil-la-ke being Lilith, saying it "could literally mean owl", as if that's supposed to disprove anything. In Isaiah 34, a prophecy regarding the fate of Edom, the name "lilith" is associated with owls.

34:14 "And shall-meet wildcats with jackals the goat he-calls his- fellow lilit (lilith) she-rests and she-finds rest 34:15 there she-shall-nest the great-owl, and she-lays-(eggs), and she-hatches, and she-gathers under her-shadow: hawks [kites, gledes] also they-gather, every one with its mate.

There's also Songs of the Sage. For more on Lilith and the association with owls and other night birds, this bit on Wikipedia provides a nice directory.

In the "Inanna and the Huluppu Tree", which is where the "lilitu" is purported to have first verifiably appeared, the young goddess Inanna caring for the Huluppu tree in her garden. She cries, because a Zu bird, and serpent "who knows no charm", and a lilutu have made the tree their home. Her brother Gilgamesh then slays the serpent, and the lilitu and the Zu bird flee. In a hymn about the origins of Inanna, she is taken to Kur (the Sumerian underworld) to taste the fruit of a tree that grows there, which reveals to her all the secrets of sex.

This parallels 13th century-onward Jewish (and Christian) tellings of Lilith

According to the Revelations of St. John, it was Samael or Satan, who, disguised as a serpent, tempted Eve to disobey the Lord by eating of the forbidden fruit and thus brought upon herself and her husband the wrath of their Creator. A certain Christian tradition identifies the serpent of the Garden of Eden not with Samael or Satan but with Lilith, who thus was the main instigator in the fall of our common ancestors. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, in his famous poem "Eden Bower," follows this later tradition in ascribing the temptation in Eden to this serpent woman Lilith. (source)

In Mandaeism, she's considered to represent the branches of a tree with other figures that form other parts of the tree, which you can see in the (honestly difficult to find and download) A Charm against Demons of Time by Christa Müller-Kessler. Lilith or liliths are referenced in Ginza Rabba and Qolasta as residing in the World of Darkness.

In Lilith's Cave- Jewish Tales of the Supernatural compiled by Howard Schwartz, you can see that accounts of Lilith as Asmodeus' Queen grew to include legends about another world, a world which existed side by side with this one. Yenne Velt is Yiddish for this described "Other World".

And as you well know, Lilith is commonly associated with sex. All these parallels are apparent.

Did Kramer "fuck up"? Scholars do not know. Sure, some contest it, but that isn't thewidely held opinion. You constantly calling it a "mistranslation" is giving me hives. Just stop! Why do you keep calling it a mistranslation?

(Regarding the Burney relief, I'm not going to try and claim that's Lilith. It could be, it fits- wings, the animals, the connection to Inanna- but there's just no evidence, and without evidence, trying to claim anything is ridiculous.)

Something else that's going to give me scurvy is you insisting it wasn't a singular goddess, but a whole class of beings; as if it cannot have been both! Religion and history are funny like that- ideas change. Beelzebub, once god of the Philistines, becomes a demon, and then Satan himself. Pegasus is one being, yet we call every winged horse a pegasus. Zeus and Hades- are they brothers, or are they different aspects of the same deity? Is Persephone the same as Despoina? Who are her parents? Are the Eumenides born of Ouranos' blood, or are they daughters of Hades and Nyx, Hades and Persephone, Euronymè and Cronus, or Euronymè and Phorkys? Are gorgons a type of being, or are Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa the only ones, and "gorgon" is just their title?

Lastly.. it's just weird how you talk about people who worship Lilith as a goddess and their experiences. You're like "the thing called Lilith is not a goddess, so if you are dealing with what you believe to be a goddess either they are not Lilith... maybe it's not a goddess, maybe... you've got all these legends about things called Lilitu.. just saying", implying it to be some nefarious pretender. What is a goddess? What is a demon? Who are you to say?

And of course, yes, I agree, always be careful when dealing with the religion of real life people. Don't bother Jewish people about this, they get enough trouble. But there will never be clear answers to these questions of faith. Your god might be somebody's demon. I see a lot of people who work with Lucifer. Just be kind. And look at your primary sources.

Also look at this excellent video by Dr. Justin Sledge on the subject.

[fox-and-fischer]

Spring Cleaning

I was having a hard time designing and executing some workings that I've had planned, and couldn't seem to figure out why. That is, until I looked around and it smacked me in the face.

my working space is a fuckin MESS LMAO

So I thought today was as good a day as any to get some cleaning done! I put my headphones on, queued up some episodes of Hex Positive and BS-Free Witchcraft, and got to work!

I cleared off the entire space and dusted every nook and cranny I could get to.

She's a beauty, isn't she <3 I got her for $15 secondhand and she's one of my most prized pieces of furniture.

Once the surface was clean, I went through everything that I used to have on the desk and took a moment to ask myself, "Does this still inspire me? Is this tool still useful to me? Is this item significant to me in some way?" I love the eclectic look of having Lots Of Things (I feel like being a witch and being a maximalist go hand in hand sometimes :P), but I still want the things in my working space to be tailored. Not everything needs to be a tool or a magical item, but it does need to somehow inspire me, help me in my practice, or have a meaning to me.

Given a few hours, and some excellent podcasting coming from Bree NicGarran and Trae Dorn, I had a space that was clean, organized, and ready for working!

[dogstardigitalindex]

Podcast: The BS-Free Witchcraft Podcast Host: Trae Dorn (solitary eclectic Wiccan for 20+ years) Episode: 19. Citation Needed Air date: 25 January 2020 Playtime: 26 minutes

Website | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Contrasting how drastically the spreading of information has changed over the last 25 years and how this has contributed to the spread of misinformation. Check authors, especially of self-published books; check their sources.

[rainsofcastamererpg]

Ambientación: Essos.

En el lejano continente de Essos tenemos a dos descendientes de Valyria preparándose para elegir su destino y muchos conflictos de por medio.

Daenerys Targaryen ha conseguido eclosionar tres huevos de dragón y junto a su menguado khalaasar han llegado a Qarth donde ha sufrido desde el robo de sus pequeñas criaturas hasta unos sueños proféticos que la han dejado aún más confusa. Después de destruir a los Eternos y convertir a los brujos de la ciudad en sus enemigos, la Nacida de la Tormenta busca un barco que le pueda llevar de nuevo a Pentos, bajo consejo de ser Jorah Mormont. Sin embargo, la llegada de Arstan Barbablanca, un desventurado Barristan Selmy, ha trastocado sus planes, pues éste le aconseja que parta en busca de un ejército. Lo que no saben es que Quentyn Martell se dispone a llegar hasta la Targaryen para conseguir una alianza y así traer dragones de vuelta a Dorne.

El otro Targaryen perdido es, ni más ni menos, que Aegon Targaryen, el hijo de Rhaegar Targaryen y Elia Martell. Criado por Jon Connington y bajo el nombre de Griff El Joven, el muchacho Targaryen debe de convencer tanto al Grifo como a la Compañía Dorada de que es hora de moverse para conquistar el trono que le pertenece por nacimiento. Sin embargo, el miedo al rechazo atenaza a Aegon y los rumores sobre Daenerys despiertan incertidumbre en su corazón, casi tanto como su procedencia. En cambio, Connington quiere abrir sus opciones y su reciente contacto con Dorne le trae promesas de venganza contra los usurpadores de su querido y difunto Príncipe de Plata.

Dos Targaryen perdidos en el mundo es algo terrible. Y el dragón tiene Tres Cabezas.

¿O solo una?

[traegorn]

So this is me, yet again, plugging my novels. Because if I don't, who will?

Want to read some fun, queer contemporary fantasy books? Try the Mia Graves books! There are currently two books out in the series, The Witch and the Rose and Bloody Damn Rite.

Start with The Witch and the Rose, which has Witchcraft and Ghosts while Mia deals with trauma and Riley makes bad life decisions!

Then read the sequel, Bloody Damn Rite, which has Witchcraft and Vampires while Mia deals with trauma and Riley makes bad life decisions!

And yes, they both probably need a lot of therapy.

Start your adventure now!

The Witch and the Rose ISBN: 9798869132666 Available Via: Amazon / Kindle / Direct Order

Bloody Damn Rite ISBN: 9798330220373 Available Via: Amazon / Kindle / Direct Order

The Witch and the Rose:

Bloody Damn Rite:

[nerdandtie]

Hex Positive: 36. Margaret Effing Murray (With Trae Dorn)

[breelandwalker]

October 2024 Newsletter - Willow Wings Witch Shop

Happy Spooky Month, witches! It’s time for pumpkins and cider and crunchy leaves and haunted houses and all the tricks and treats we can squeeze into our schedules. And for those of us doing a bit of spiritual housekeeping this October, the shop is featuring items designed to help clear unwanted visitors and disruptive energy from your home!

Whether you’re removing that which no longer serves your purposes, banishing something unwanted, fending off baneful intentions, or just trying to keep sneaky spirits from following you home, there’s something for everyone this month. And don’t forget about the Spirit Work Mini Bottle Charms for augmenting your divinations, invocations, and ancestor work while the veil is thin!

Use code CAULDRON for 20% off featured items and new arrivals all month long, and watch for a new merch drop later this month!

Happy Witching! 🎃

Upcoming Events:

First Friday Moon Market (First Friday of each month) Next Event – Friday, Oct 4 2024, 6-9pm Historic Hilton Village 10369 Warwick Blvd, Newports News VA (USA) Hosted by Styx & Stones

Samhain Witch Market Sunday, October 13 2024, 12pm-6pm Diversity Richmond 1407 Sherwood Ave, Richmond VA (USA) Hosted by River City Witch Markets

Nighttime Witches Market Saturday, October 26 2024, 6-10pm Alewerks Taproom 189 B Ewell Rd, Williamsburg VA (USA) Hosted by Alewerks Brewing

Hex Positive, Ep. 049 - Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community? with Trae Dorn Premieres October 7th

Welcome back, witches! We’re diving back into things with another classic collaboration between your friendly neighborhood Witchstorian and everyone’s favorite curmudgeon and host of BS-Free Witchcraft, Trae Dorn. Feeling the weight of our years just a LITTLE bit, we sit down to discuss the stubborn traces of Satanic Panic rhetoric that still linger in the modern witchcraft movement. Not in external gossip or talking-head suppositions, but in the internal discussions that witches maintain in live spaces and especially on social media. Tune in to hear a couple of weary elder millennials ramble about devil worship, community paranoia, and how much it irritates us when people don’t know their own history. Remember, witches - you are not immune to propaganda.

Featured Products:

[hexpositive]

Hex Positive, Ep. 036 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn

Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921…which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the .modern witchcraft movement.

Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins me in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray’s various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

Hex Positive is now on YouTube⁠!

Check my ⁠Wordpress⁠ for full show notes, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events. You can find me as @BreeNicGarran on TikTok, Instagram, and WordPress, or as @breelandwalker on tumblr. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my ⁠Patreon⁠.

Visit the ⁠Willow Wings Witch Shop⁠ to purchase my books and homemade accoutrements for your craft!

Proud member of the ⁠Nerd and Tie Podcast Network⁠.

View the full article on WordPress

[thegirlwiththelantern]

2024 Fantasy Books

This post concentrates on adult fantasy. There will be a separate one for YA. And there will be a second to cover even more at a later date. The Witch and the Rose (Mia Graves #1) by Trae Dorn | 19 / 01 / 24 The Rose House, a Victorian relic in the quaint college town of Parrish Mills, harbors a dark secret. A malevolent spirit haunts its halls, and seeks to claim the home’s newest owner, young…