Test Tubes and Cauldrons

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

It's a Fel and Han takeover! This week, two of the hosts get together to discuss a synthesis of mysticism and medicine in the ancient world: the Cult of Asklepios. Tune in to hear about who Asklepios really was: the ascent of a revered medic to god-hero, his relationship to Paian Apollo, and his influence on the development of modern medicine via a cult that dominated the ancient world for centuries.

Resources:

• A timeline of Asklepios: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-124-2-199601150-00011

• Medical historians the Edelsteins discuss the historical evidence for the worship of Asklepios: Kirchner J, ed. Inscriptiones Graecae. In: Edelstein EJ, Edelstein L. Asclepius: A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies. Baltimore: John Hopkins Pr; 1945:374-5.

• Asklepios in Rome: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25609491

• John Scarborough dissects Theophrastus’ Enquiry Into Plants with a modern lens: https://philpapers.org/rec/SCATOH-2

• The Hippocratic ideal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263393/

• The evolution of medicine in the ancient world – how rationalism developed: https://aacnjournals.org/ajcconline/article/23/6/437/3976/From-Asclepius-to-Hippocrates-The-Art-and-Science

• Hippocrates, the “father of molecular medicine”: https://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/23/4/507.long

• Hans Dieter Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation (ISBN: 9780226044477)

• Lindsay Watson, Magic In Ancient Greece and Rome (ISBN: 9781788312981)

• Did it actually work? Placebo effects in the Asklepian sanctuaries: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/tc-2021-0004/html?lang=en

• Frederic Grant, Hellenistic Religions

• Luther H. Martin, Hellenistic Religions

You can still follow us on Instagram @testtubesandcauldrons, or join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM) 👾

We’re delving into worlds unseen this episode, as we explore the various spiritual models of the afterlife, as well as how these models play a role in spiritual practice across the world. We also delve into the sticky world of ‘past life regressions’ and how much we can rely on testimonies like these.

In part 2 (coming in 2 weeks!), join us for some more scientifically styled discussion on near-death experiences.

RESOURCES:

• ‘The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/04/11/the-boy-who-came-back-from-heaven-now-wants-his-day-in-court/

• Decidedly dodgy studies discussing hypnosis to induce ‘past life regressions’: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2019.1626949 && https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.1999.10404243

• What criticisms have been made of hypnosis? https://bfms.org.uk/memory-and-hypnosis/

Thanks for bearing with us as we switch schedules from weekly to fortnightly releases! You can still follow us on Instagram @testtubesandcauldrons, or join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM) 👾

This week, Fel and Han drag Astra along for a riotous exploration of creatures, cryptids, and folklore. Is there any truth to these most mysterious of beasts? What kind of historical or scientific explanations might we have for cryptids? Is Bigfoot real?! Tune into this episode for our thoughts.

RESOURCES

• Pliny’s Natural History: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+toc (A specific link to his dodgy explanation of other peoples can be found here

• mentions Blemmyae: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=5:chapter=8&highlight=)

• Visualising the biomass on Earth: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/all-the-biomass-of-earth-in-one-graphic/

• Mythical’ creatures sometimes turn out to be real: https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/yamuti

• of mammal species may be undiscovered https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5901171/

• Controversial study estimating the number of species on Earth https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127

• Which cryptid are you? https://uquiz.com/quiz/X0fZIl/which-cryptid-are-you

LINKS

Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/) & join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM)!

In this episode, the hosts (Hanne, Fel and Astra) take a step out of the hard sciences and into linguistics, sociology and psychology—pulling examples from history, personal experience and studies to try and find the differences (if there are any) between the three and why they might develop in the way they do.

RESOURCES:

• The Story of Myth by Sarah Iles Johnston

• What They Say in New England by Clifton Johnson

• The 'good luck' snack that makes Taiwan's technology behave, BBC: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210414-the-good-luck-snack-that-makes-taiwans-technology-behave

• The Case Against B.F. Skinner by Noam Chomsky: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1971/12/30/the-case-against-bf-skinner/

• Ancient Origins of Modern Superstition, British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/membership/events/ancient-origins-modern-superstition

• Half-belief and the paradox of ritual instrumental activism: a theory of modern superstition by Colin Campbell: https://www.jstor.org/stable/591121

• The Science of Superstition and Why People Believe in the Unbelieveable: https://theconversation.com/amp/the-science-of-superstition-and-why-people-believe-in-the-unbelievable-97043

MORE FROM TTAC:

Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/) & join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM)!

Alongside a few spats over the appropriate spelling of colour (it does have a u), in this episode the hosts discuss all things bright and beautiful. We chat colour physics, biology, and how our cultural understanding of colours may be less solid than you think! We also examine how this interplays with occult ideas of ‘colour correspondences’ - Jung’s internal alchemy, The Golden Dawn, Feng Shui, and Kabbalah to name a few.

RESOURCES:

• The human eye can ‘see’ infra-red: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141201161116.htm

• Ancient Greek statues - their true colours: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors-17888/ & https://buntegoetter.liebieghaus.de/en/

• The Black Arts, Richard Cavendish (alchemy primer)

• Colours of The Golden Dawn & Kabbalah: https://www.daneel.franken.de/tarot/GoldenDawn/Coloring%20the%20Classic%20Golden%20Dawn%20Tarot.pdf & http://www.lelandra.com/tarotbook/TreeofLifeColors.htm & http://www.billheidrick.com/tlc1995/tlc1295.htm#iq

• Polyphanes’ wonderful post on the planetary colours: https://digitalambler.com/2019/12/04/colors-of-the-planets/