In this episode, Lisa and Sarah discuss how society has used the figure of the witch to control and objectify women’s bodies. From the “hag” stereotype to the fear of birthmarks and freckles, they unpack the long history of suspicion, superstition, and shame.

Sarah gets her first palm reading, and the duo responds to a listener’s question: how can we cleanse and reclaim the power of vilified words?

Whether you're witch-curious or a longtime practitioner, join these only-sometimes-skeptical explorers on their spiritual journey, and this week it’s personal. Are we witches embodied?

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Citations for Who, What, Witch, Where:

Susan Pickard (2019). On Becoming a Hag: Gender, Ageing and Abjection, Feminist Theory, 21(2).

Barbara Creed (1993). The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis, Routledge.

Brydie Kosmina (2023). Feminist Afterlives of the Witch: Popular Culture, Memory, Activism, Palgrave Macmillan.

https://juliamartins.co.uk/why-is-it-that-we-imagine-an-older-woman-when-we-think-of-a-witch

https://theconversation.com/moles-birthmarks-and-red-hair-the-anatomical-features-used-to-accuse-women-of-witchcraft-in-the-17th-century-240621

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/witches-wicked-bodies

Bodies Behaving Badly

https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/bodies-behaving-badly-from-vagina-dentata-to-wandering-wombs-prof-marguerite-johnson-6-part-lecture-series/

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Follow us on instagram at arewewitches and write to us at [email protected]

Any problem you want a magical solution for, please write in for a bit of advice and a magical prescription. It's important we practice as much as possible to get our witchy credentials! We also want to hear how your spells are going, so please write in if you have practiced any magic mentioned in the show.

We are new to this community and these practices. All advice, tips and feedback will be gratefully received. After all, it takes a village to raise a witch.

Blessings to all those that rate & review (5 stars only, please!)

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Keywords: witchcraft history, feminist podcast, modern witches, reclaiming language, spiritual podcast, palm reading, women and witchcraft, witch stereotypes, body autonomy, reclaiming power

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