Test Tubes and Cauldrons

It's a science-heavy one this week, everyone! This week the hosts discuss the intriguing world of epigenetics, where nature and nurture collide. Can you change your DNA? What effect does the world have on our genetics, and on us as people? Does this have any spiritual consequences, as some people claim? Tune in this week to hear about the science behind epigenetics and our thoughts on how this somewhat contentious field has been appropriated by the spiritual world.

RESOURCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

• A great beginner page for genetics https://www.yourgenome.org/
• A deep dive into the history of DNA structure and function https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-dna-structure-and-function-watson-397/
• The classic 'smoking grannies' epigenetic study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41431-022-01081-2 && https://clinicalepigeneticsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13148-019-0631-3
• The Dutch Hunger Winter https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579375/
• Trauma and heritability https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6952751/
• Review article summarising how epigenetics can unify Lamarckian and Darwinian principles https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/7/5/1296/605886

We are back with a long-awaited episode of our Occultists & Scientists series focusing on the life of John Dee and his scryer Edward Kelley. A renaissance man in every right, Dee was a physician, engineer, theologian, astronomer, cartographer, and magician - working with the angels to develop a unique system of angelic magic now described as Enochian. But this tale of the great magician has dark secrets…imprisoned for performing astrology, rumours of being a spy, hooking up with others wives, oh my! Perhaps like most magicians of his time, piousness was just a rumour. Join us as we soar to the skies and explore the magnanimous life of Dr. John Dee.

REFERENCES:

• The Scientific Spirit in England in Early Modern Times (c. 1600): https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/225631
• The Magic and Astrology of John Dee: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057/9781137399472_8.pdf
• John Dee and the sciences: early modern networks of knowledge: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778877/pdf/main.pdf
• The Mathematicall Praeface to Elements of Geometric of Euclid of Megara by John Dee: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22062/22062-h/22062-h.htm
• At the crossroads of magic and science: John Dee’s Archemastrie: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/occult-scientific-mentalities/at-the-crossroads-of-magic-and-science-john-dees-archemastrie/9D21A2FB0A2E33D9F4D2C0F85A7787E4

BOOKS:

The Queen’s Conjuror: The life and magic of Dr. Dee by B. Woolley

Enochian Vision Magic by Lon Milo Duquette

The Essential Enochian Grimoire by Aaron Leitch

In this episode, the hosts dive into the science of smell & the odiferous side of the occult Why is incense such a popular offering? Does an oil's odour reflect its properties? And what on earth does a saint smell like?! This episode features four case studies across different traditions to explore the seemingly-ubiquitous - but surprisingly diverse - role of fragrance in the occult. You can also expect to hear about science of smell & how odour can interplay with cognition.

smell ya later x

REFERENCES

- Brief summary: the science of smell! // Sell, C. S. (2006). On the unpredictability of odor. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 45(38), 6254-6261.

- Amazing book on the chemistry behind perfumery // Pybus, D. H., & Sell, C. S. (Eds.). (1999). The chemistry of fragrances (Vol. 17). Royal Society of Chemistry.

- Olfaction and memory - how odour interplays with PTSD & emotion // Vermetten, E., & Bremner, J. D. (2003). Olfaction as a traumatic reminder in posttraumatic stress disorder: case reports and review. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64(2), 202-207. && Zald, D. H., & Pardo, J. V. (1997). && Emotion, olfaction, and the human amygdala: amygdala activation during aversive olfactory stimulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 94(8), 4119-4124.

- Tapputi, one of the world's first chemists (and perfume makers)! // https://arkeonews.net/the-3200-year-old-perfume-of-tapputi-the-first-female-perfumer-in-history-came-to-life-again/ - Odour in antiquity // https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/17556/GrantG.pdf

- The role of scents in traditional Chinese religion // Habkirk, S., & Chang, H. (2017). Scents, community, and incense in traditional Chinese religion. Material Religion, 13(2), 156-174.

- Osmogenesia & sensing the saints Saucier, C. (2010). // The sweet sound of sanctity: sensing St Lambert. The Senses and Society, 5(1), 10-27. && Harvey, S. A. (1998). St Ephrem on the scent of salvation. The journal of theological studies, 49(1), 109-128.

- Amusing paper on 'oilers' with a lot in there about MLMs // Kieffer, K. G. (2021). Smelling Things: Essential Oils and Essentialism in Contemporary American Spirituality. Religion and American Culture, 31(3), 297-331.

This week the hosts dive into the intersection between conspiracy theories and the occult, all the way from the wacky to the outright terrifying. This episode explores the basis of the psychological concept ‘magical thinking’ and how it relates to spirituality, as well as how this mode of thinking might help or hinder one’s practice. It also features a discussion on why conspiracy theories are unfortunately so prevalent in the occult world, how to spot them, and the potential dangers they pose if left unchallenged.

REFERENCES:

- Some degree of magical thinking is normal: Peters, E. R., Joseph, S. A., & Garety, P. A. (1999). Measurement of delusional ideation in the normal population: introducing the PDI (Peters et al. Delusions Inventory). Schizophrenia bulletin, 25(3), 553-576

- Stress might pre-dispose us to magical thinking: Keinan, G. (2002). The effects of stress and desire for control on superstitious behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(1), 102-108. && Keinan, G. (1994). Effects of stress and tolerance of ambiguity on magical thinking. Journal of personality and social psychology, 67(1), 48.

- The ‘dual model’ hypothesis of magical thinking & superstition - system 1 vs system 2: Risen, J. L. (2016). Believing what we do not believe: Acquiescence to superstitious beliefs and other powerful intuitions. Psychological review, 123(2), 182.

- The basics – LSU’s guide to conspiracy theories: https://faculty.lsu.edu/fakenews/about/rumors.php

- Historical connections between conspiracy and esotericism: Asprem, E., & Dyrendal, A. (2018). Close companions? Esotericism and conspiracy theories. In Handbook of conspiracy theory and contemporary religion (pp. 207-233). Brill.

- You might also want to check out our earlier episode on bias!

In this episode, the hosts explore the crossover between spirituality and sustainability. What does it mean to build an environmentally sustainable spiritual practice? How have environmentalism and spirituality historically crossed paths? And why DO people keep burying jars, anyway? Join us this week for a topic very close to our hearts. Thanks to Kelsey from our Discord (https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc) for suggesting this episode.

REFERENCES:

Environmental challenges associated with vegan diets https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/23/the-environmental-dangers-of-veganism && https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200211-why-the-vegan-diet-is-not-always-green

Interactions and collaborations between environmenal scientists & local spiritual practice - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/1540-9295%282007%295%5B332%3AEOTFC%5D2.0.CO%3B2 && https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195631648.pdf-

Monkey conservation in Fiema & Boabeng supported by local spiritual practice - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08873630709478212?journalCode=rjcg20 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195631648.pdf

Religion's proposed relation to 'earth stewardship - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/120322 && https://www.academia.edu/7961945/Environmental_Stewardship_Critical_Perspectives_Past_and_Present_Edited_by_Robert_James_Berry

WITCHBODIES podcast https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/29535/ You can keep up-to-date (ish) with our podcast on (Instagram)[https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/].

We're baaaack! Please enjoy as Hanne, Astra and Fel expand and dive deep on research practices and how to incorporate what you've researched into practicality. And again, thank you all so much for your continued support.

Check out our discord!: https://discord.gg/NfefwYePyP

Notes:

• Owen Davies Grimoires: A History of Magick

• Magic in Medieval Manuscripts by Sophie Page and Esoteric Archives

• Grimoire archive: http://english.grimoar.cz/?Loc=aut&Lng=2&New=374

• Explaining p-values: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.2019.1583913

In this episode, the three hosts (Astra, Han and Fel) discuss personal experiences with as well as research surrounding spirituality and Mental Health, positive impacts, negative impacts and how the community discusses (or avoids discussing) it. Reminder: None of the hosts are mental health professionals, all advice is not a replacement for medical treatment.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/RESOURCES:

• Nap Ministry

• The role of religion and spirituality in mental health

• Mental Health, Religion, and Spirituality

• Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research.

• Unusual but sound minds: Mental health indicators in spiritual individuals

• Steps for Working With Delusions

• Nature and mental health

• Mental health benefits of nature-based recreation: a systematic review

• Distribution of vitamin D status in the UK: a cross-sectional analysis of UK Biobank

US Based Hotlines: https://www.pleaselive.org/hotlines/

UK Based Hotlines: https://www.therapyroute.com/article/suicide-hotlines-and-crisis-lines-in-the-united-kingdom

It's another Fel and Han special today, with the hosts discussing a subject very dear to our collective hearts: Trees! In this episode, the hosts discuss how seemingly universal tree-lore is and why so many themes might be shared across cultures. We also explore the science behind how trees 'talk' to one another and how this fascinating phenomenon might translate to a spiritual context. Finally, prepare yourself for chaos as we test the definition of hedge witchcraft to its limit. hope you enjoyed us branching out this episode.

For this episode, we drew heavily upon the books Finding The Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben for our research.

TW: discussion of drug use in this episode

In Part 2 of the Afterlives and Past Lives series, the hosts Astra, Hanne and Fel explore the mystifying and perhaps mystical world of near-death experiences. Tune in to hear our scientific deconstruction of what a near-death experience actually is, how they correspond to spiritual traditions across the globe, and how some of our personal experiences have shaped our attitudes towards death and the afterlife.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/RESOURCES:

-Tibetan Book Of The Dead

- Near-death experiences might change your attitude to life: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022167819892107

- ...or you might even experience hallucinations after the fact: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022167804266281?journalCode=jhpa

- The Greyson NDE scale, and how near-death experiences remain consistent over time: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6854303/ && https://www.resuscitationjournal.com/article/S0300-9572(06)00669-1/fulltext

- What goes on in the brain during death? An EEG offers clues: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.813531/full

- Review of potential mechanisms for NDEs:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-019-0983-2

- A staggering 12% of cardiac patients in this study experienced NDEs: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673601071008

- 'Real vs imagined' memories https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23544039/ && https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.03.003

- Meditation-induced NDEs: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-018-0922-3

- NDEs can occur independently of death: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00490/full

- Review of NDEs and their characteristics, with some great case studies https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12582