Bring On The Questions

Bibliomancy. Divining prophecy via a sacred text or eventually any literature that holds meaning for you. It was practiced regularly for sometime in history in all religions. Eventually Christianity decided it was a little too witchcraft-like. 

We tried our hands at a little Bibliomancy ourselves. We miiight have confirmed there is a multiverse. I think we predicted the Philadelphia Eagles losing the chance to go to the Superbowl? 

#BringOnTheQuestions #Bibliomancy #Divining #Prophecy #Religion

The 2008 killing of Timothy McLean on a Greyhound bus remains one of Canada's most disturbing criminal cases. Vincent Li, suffering from untreated paranoid schizophrenia, beheaded and cannibalized McLean near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Li believed he was fulfilling a divine command to destroy a "demon."

In 2009, Li was found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD). The court ruled that his delusions rendered him incapable of understanding that his actions were wrong. He was remanded to a psychiatric facility, where he responded exceptionally well to medication. By 2017, having demonstrated long-term stability and a low risk of recidivism, he received an absolute discharge under the name Will Lee Baker.

Did he go Wendigo though? Well you’ll have to listen to find out.

#BringOnTheQuestions #History #TrueCrime #Wendigo #Manitoba

Happy Yule! Merry Advent! Soon we'll be in the new year! First we need to celebrate the last few days of 2025 with the final days of the Yuletide season. Much like Advent Yule was formally celebrated or rather observed much longer during the colder months. Now it's nice and condensed down to just 12 days ending on the first day of the new year. 

Day 1: Mother's Night (Mōdraniht (MO-dra-nikht)): Modern rites for the first night often follow scholarly theories regarding ancestral worship. Practitioners may prepare votive offerings of bread, milk, beer, or honey cakes. The lighting of a hearth fire, candle, or Yule Log is central, symbolizing domestic warmth and protection. Rituals include naming the ancestral "mothers" aloud and giving a libation of milk or ale poured onto the earth or into a bowl.

Day 2: The focus shifts to the returning solar energy. Activities include taking time to appreciate the sunset on the Solstice and the sunrise the following morning. Practitioners light a white or gold candle at sunrise to welcome the Sun’s return and often engage in journaling about intentions, what they wish to leave in the darkness and what they wish to bring into the expanding light. Feasting is common, with an emphasis on consuming round or sun-shaped foods, such as oranges, rolls, or specific Yule recipes.

Day 3: On the third day, you celebrate family. If you’re celebrating with your family or loved ones, gather with them for a meal. If you’re celebrating alone, focus on expressing gratitude for the relationships you cherish, both physical and spiritual; honor the people who support and strengthen you.

Day 4: This is the Day of The Wild Hunt, a day to honor the spirits and ancestors who roam the earth, during the longest nights. It’s a good time to reflect on Odin, the Norse god often associated with Yule and the Wild Hunt. You can leave offerings like bread or apples, for spirits at your doorstep.

Day 5: The fifth day of Yule celebrates community and giving. It’s a great day to reach out to friends, neighbors, or coven members (if you’re a witch), and share small gifts, food, or simply kind words.
Day 6: The theme for day six of Yule is spiritual renewal. You can light candles in the morning to bring blessings into your home. You can also cleanse your space, altar, or tarot cards, and set your intentions for the remainder of the Yule season.

Day 7: On this day, wisdom is pursued. People usually turn to divination, whether it’s through tarot, runes, or scrying to seek guidance for the coming year. Take time to reflect on past lessons you’ve learned and the direction you want to go in the future.

Day 8: This day focuses on abundance and the generosity of the Universe. You can make spells for prosperity, or set your intentions for abundance in the coming year. Often, people burn incense like cinnamon or cloves to attract success and wealth.

Day 9: The Day of Strength encourages you to honor your personal power. On this day, you can reflect on the challenges you’ve faced and overcome. You can also call on deities or spirits of strength, like Thor or the warrior spirits of your ancestry, to empower you.

Day 10: As the Yule season is coming to a close, It’s time to honor protection. Make protective charms or talismans, smudge your home (it is a closed practice, so do this only if you are Indigenous), or cast a circle to shield your space from negativity. Focus on the positive energy you had since the start of Yule.

Day 11: This is a night for celebration and joy. Yule merges with New Year’s Eve, so light fireworks or sparklers, dance or make noise, driving away any lingering darkness and welcome a brighter year.

Day 12: The final day of Yule is a day of renewal and new beginnings. Reflect on the transformations you went through, during the Yule season. You can write down goals for the new year or create a vision board that represents your intentions.

The short answer is Krampus is the anti-Santi. He’s the yang to Santa’s ying. He was cool in the early days of Germany and then he was too cool for Germany in World War II. In more modern days Krampus is the mascot for a more goth type Christmas. #BringOnTheQuestions #History #Myth #Krampus #Christmas

Formally, Advent was a time of personal sacrifice or abstinence much like Lent and it lasted 40 days as well. Essentially it was a second Lent for the year. It very slowly evolved into the 24 day countdown we have today. From personal abstinence to a miniature daily treat in a handy tandy countdown box. 

#BringOnTheQuestions #BOTQs #History #Advent #Christmas #Christian #Countdown

A Wendigo is not some cryptid creature that can just be done away with like modern media likes to portray. Succumbing to the Wendigo spirit or going Wendigo is more of a breakdown of one's spirit due to harsh physical conditions, but again that’s an oversimplification of the idea of the Wendigo. It begins with hallucination and paranoia, then moves into seeing regular food as something non-consumable, and finally seeing human flesh as the only thing that can nourish your hunger. Consuming human flesh is the tipping point from the last vestiges of the human spirit succumbing to the Wendigo spirit taking over. Such acts would result in the Algonquian community immediately destroying the cannibalistic human. This can be attested to the reaction the Native American community had in the case of Swift Runner when he mutilated and devoured his entire family.
 
#BringOnTheQuestions #BOTQs #History #TrueCrime #Wendigo #NativeAmerican #Cannibalism

Why is it called “Black Friday”? Well it’s not because the retailers go from not making profits to suddenly making profits on that day. The insane amount of consumerism certainly helps profits, but in reality the profits were already there. 

When someone started playing with gold standards in 1869 it made lots of days dark for the stock market. However, in the 1960s the day after Thanksgiving evolved into something altogether different. Philadelphia, PA would get overwhelmed by hordes of jolly shoppers putting a strain on the police force and anyone else trying to keep the peace. If you have ever gone Black Friday shopping you would know that wild consumeristic tradition carries on everywhere you go. 

#BringOnTheQuestions #BOTQs #History #BlackFriday #Consumerism #Shopping #Thanksgiving

The early concepts of a Homunculus or Homunculi is absolutely unreal to us as modern people. They were attempting to create a human outside of the body via alchemical razzle dazzle. The whole idea really threw us for a loop for a chunk of the episode. It got weird for awhile. The modern Homunculus makes a bit more sense to us in this day and age, but things are starting to skew into moral quandaries. 

#BringOnTheQuestions #BOTQs #Homunculus #Homunculi #Weird #History #Alchemy #Chemistry

Foennix's oldest sibling wanted to know Are Youngest Siblings Always The Tallest, because Foennix is rapidly catching up to her even though she is over 10 years older than her. Genetics, it turns out, is only a part of the factors that determine overall height in humans. One suprising factor that can effect overall height is the time the parents give to any given offspring. 

#BringOnTheQuestions #BOTQs #Siblings #Sisters #Youngest #Height #Genetics #Heriditary

We're finishing up our impromptu two part episode on Samhain/Halloween. We finished Part 1 by starting to talk about Mischief Night and we started this episode with a positive spin on it. The toilet paper in a tree and throwing eggs was/is more like malicious donations. It's Malicious Donation Night! 

We actually learned those last few days of October and first few days of November can be used to honor the dearly departed. Whether you simply leave an empty chair or set a serving for your departed loved one you're supposed to eat in silence so that the spirits can pass through our plane of existence. 

#bringonthequestions #BOTQs #Samhain #Halloween #History #MischiefNight #Malicous #MaliciousDonations