Stirring the Cauldron

Many non-Pagans have heard of the Wheel of the Year, but don't know much about it. The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern Pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. From Samhain to Beltane, the annual cycle of seasons known as the Wheel of the Year has been influenced by folklore, history, and magic. In this episode, you will learn all about the Wheel, the Sabbats both verbally, and with a little bit of help from some of my favorite Pagan singers like Damh the Bard, Spiral Dance and Lisa Thiel.

Christopher Balzano is writer, a researcher and has been documenting the unexplained since 1994. He’s trekked through haunted woods and crossed ghostly bridges at midnight...searched for Pukwudgies in the dark and stalked a monster by moonlight. These days he Tripping on Legends on his podcast by the same name, and working on a new book as well and those are the things we're talking about. Come listen to some legendary tales, find out about the witch of Arbuckle Creek, and also hear about Chris' visits with one of St. Augustine, Florida's most famous residents, Robert the Doll. We covered lots of ground and there were many tales to tell, so grab a snack, settle back and enjoy the show.

Witches peek from greeting cards and advertisements, and they dig twisted roots from the ground. Witches dance beneath the stars and lurk around cauldrons. Witches heal, witches scare, witches creep, and witches teach! A compendium of witches through the ages, from earliest prehistory to some of the most significant modern practitioners, The Weiser Field Guide to Witches explores who and what is a witch. From such famed historical legends as Aleister Crowley, Marie Laveau and Elizabeth Bathory to the popular literary and cinematic figures Harry Potter and The Wicked Witch of the West, Illes offers a complete range of the history of witches. Included also are the sacred—Isis, Hekate, Aradia—and the profane—the Salem Witch trials and The Burning Times. The Weiser Field Guide to Witches is appropriate for readers of all ages and serves as an excellent and entertaining introduction for those fascinated by the topic.

It's been a long time coming, but Tim and I finally got together to do a Rev and Witch Show. Our guest was Steven Intermill, the curator of The Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to talking about the museum itself and its many displays, Tim knew Raymond Buckland for many years, and he's also been to the museum and met up with Steven, so there were lots of "Ray Stories" spoken about during the podcast as well as hearing about some wonderful museum pieces such as Raymond Buckland’s ceremonial robe, the horned pipe and briefcase of Gerald Gardner, Occultist Aleister Crowley's trident wand, a high priest ceremonial horned helmet, Buckland’s ritual wand, a “Demon in a Box” captured by Buckland in the 1970s and so much more crammed into one short hour. A really fun and interesting show. Makes me want to set the GSP on my broom and head to Cleveland!

You all know Bruce Tango from Ghost Hunters as well as for the wonderful paranormal events that he organizes throughout the year, but lately, he has been working very hard on an upcoming event that is something he's always wanted to do. It's called Legends Fest and will take place on September 28th in Clark, New Jersey. This isn't one of his usual ghost hunts in haunted locations. Instead, it is a star studded show that pays tribute to some of the most iconic legends of comedy, music and the horror genre but there's so much more to it that you really have to listen in and find out what you'll be missing if you don't go. And if you want a sneak peek, make you way over to www.brucetango.com and click on the Legends Fest tab.

Fade to Fear is a novel about a haunted house and a romance writer who is house sitting and encounters a malevolent ghost. The woman is caught up in the mystery of the house and the many ghosts that seem to be trapped there only to discover she may well join them as a trapped spirit! The novel calls upon the author's years of work as a ghost hunter and his research on silent Hollywood.

"Much of the book is based on real cases I have investigated in Hollywood," he says. "I have been sworn to secrecy so I have used a novel format to tell the tales. I believe this is the best work I have done on the supernatural. Readers may find it a bit difficult to read late at night. It even gave me nightmares!" The story advances as the writer discovers more and more evidence of paranormal activity in the mansion as it rolls to a climax with murder and death. Will she survive or become one of the ghosts of the old Von Horst Mansion?

Victoria is a clairvoyant and medium who has been doing readings professionally since 1987. Her background is in Tarot, Palmistry, Mediumship, Crystal Gazing and Psychometry. She is 2nd degree Reiki and Certified in Magnified Healing. In 2001 she created the North Orange County Tarot Society which ran for 5 years and now she’s up and running with an amazing new book which will be coming out soon called Tarot Meditations for the Soul. As she says in the book, "The world of Tarot is a world of symbolism and intrigue. It is a language of the soul with a journey all its own." And now readers of this book will not only experience a whole new way to look at the Tarot. They will embark on a journey of their own.

Carol Garr has been a Wiccan priestess for 20 years and is the author of Enchantment Encumbered: the Study and Practice of Wicca in Restricted Environments. She has been a volunteer in the Arizona state prison system for more than 16 and serves both on the AZ Department Of Corrections Religious Advisory Committee and as an active volunteer working directly with inmates in the study of Wicca. She is also the president of Mother Earth Ministries.

The last time Water Witch Annwyn was on the show talking about her new book, Water Witchcraft: Magic and Lore from the Celtic Tradition, there was so many interesting things to talk about that we quickly ran out of time. At the time we decided that a Part 2 was needed down the line and that's what tonight's episode is all about. Picking up where we left off. And to be honest, we could have gone an extra hour this time and still have plenty more to talk about. The water magic and lore in this book focuses on the Celtic tradition, but draws on other water magic traditions as well, and features rainwater, as well as lakes, rivers, oceans, canals, swamps, and other watery locations, together with the folk and magical customs that have been and are still practiced at these places. You will learn how to set up a water altar at home, how to connect with water spirits, and how to gather or create water witch tools. Included are practical examples, visualizations, and exercises so any reader can start to take up spell work and establish their spiritual connection to water.

Based on the ancient magical writings of 14th-century magus, Honorius of Thebes, the Theban Oracle is a codex employed for centuries as a means of devotion and divination. Used by such masters of the occult sciences as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Dr. John Dee, Francis Barrett, and later Gerald Gardner, it has remained relatively obscure and elusive to the modern practitioner. Until now.

In this book, author Greg Jenkins, PhD, offers both the complete history of this medieval magical system and a working manual for the modern mage to utilize it. Prepare yourself to discover the hidden mysteries of the ancients and the magick within you.