Test Tubes and Cauldrons

It is no secret that witches across the world are fascinated with the moon both from pagan and witchy literature to its importance in ancient civilizations as the luminary that rules the popular monthly cycle. Join us for this weeks episode where we investigate the moons evolution from ancient society to modern times and discuss the science of the moons gravitational pull and how it controls the waters of earth among many, many other topics!

*NOTE: We spoke on a wide range of belief systems, some of which we are unfamiliar with ourselves, so if we said something wrong, please correct us and we'll make a note in episode descriptions!

RESOURCES:

Review of the Study of the Moon and Lunacy: https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1986/01/22165335/p35.pdf?_ga=2.80741470.812012145.1645618604-743710252.1644883191

Overview | Inside and Out of the Moon from NASA: https://moon.nasa.gov/inside-and-out/overview/

MORE FROM TTAC:

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

In this episode, the hosts discuss the weird and wacky world of dreams. What kind of spiritual significance was historically assigned to dreams? How does one practice the mysterious art of oneiromancy? How does sleep work on a neurological level, and what even is a dream? Tune in to hear the hosts' thoughts, and strap in for our increasingly unhinged ramblings on the nature of consciousness. Goodnight, listeners!

Happy Black History Month! Celebrate the underrated ingenuity of Black inventors with this book on African-American inventions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0275966747?ie=UTF&tag=todayinsci-20&link_code=as3

RESOURCES:

• Aelfwine's Prayerbook (bibliomancy/oneiromancy) - https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781870252331/aelfwines-prayerbook/

• 'Serial awakening' experiments to understand sleep phases -https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00542/full

• MRI investigating neurophysiology of sleep - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-008-1579-2

• EEGs investigating neurophysiology of sleep - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5462120/

• Great review article on the neurophysiology of sleep and dreaming - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814941/

We're back! In this episode, the hosts answer your questions. We discuss telepathy, how we met, stigma against occultism in the workplace, the intersection between science & spirituality in our practice, sins against cereal, and more...

BOOKS WE RECOMMENDED:

• Entangled Life - Merlin Sheldrake

• Bad Science and Bad Pharma - Ben Goldacre

• The Hidden Life of Trees: Discoveries from a Secret World - Peter Wohlleben

• The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean

• E=mc^2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation - David Bodanis

• Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive - Phillip Detmer

• Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History - Jay Burreson and Penny Le Couteur

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

RESOURCES:

• fMRI study of a mentalist (in an extremely obscure journal...) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3144613/

MORE FROM TTAC:

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

A very happy Solstice to you all! In this episode, the hosts (Astra, Fel and Hanne) were joined by the wonderful Olivia (a.k.a. @thewitchofwonderlust) to discuss the role of cycles in spiritual practice. Which ones are useful, and which ones might be a little outdated? How do we adapt to cycles in a changing world? Tune in to hear us discuss a whole plethora of topics including calendars, climate change, lunar cycles, planetary magic, death cycles, mythology, alchemy...and (gasp!) even a little biochemistry...

See more of Olivia here:

instagram: @thewitchofwonderlust

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thewitchofwonderlust

twitter: https://twitter.com/wonderlustwitch

In this episode, the hosts explore the topic of auras. Do they hail from an ancient spiritual tradition, or is the truth somewhat more…colourful? Do we have an existing explanation for why some people see auras? How does aura photography work? And how might we use & apply these ideas within an spiritual practice? Tune in this week to hear us discuss these topics and more.

RESOURCES:

• Milán, E. G., Iborra, O., Hochel, M., et al. (2012). Auras in mysticism and synaesthesia: A comparison. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(1), 258-268.

• Albrecht, D. S., Mainero, C., Ichijo, et al. (2019). Imaging of neuroinflammation in migraine with aura: A [11C] PBR28 PET/MRI study. Neurology, 92(17), e2038-e2050.

• Hadjikhani, N., Albrecht, D. S., Mainero, C., et al (2020). Extra‐axial inflammatory signal in parameninges in migraine with visual aura. Annals of neurology, 87(6), 939-949.

• Kilic, K., Karatas, H., Dönmez‐Demir, B., et al(2018). Inadequate brain glycogen or sleep increases spreading depression susceptibility. Annals of neurology, 83(1), 61-73.

• Jordan, N., & Trimble, T. (2008). Is the use of auras and chakras in new age practices related to synaesthetic experience. The Irish Psychologiest, (November), 75-80

• Mills, A. (2009).Kirlian photography. History of Photography, 33(3), 278-287.

Join the discussion on our Discord server: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc

How often have you heard terms thrown around and thought they meant one thing only to realize within a specific space they mean something entirely different? While different meanings in specific fields is not a problem, a larger issue begins to arise when terms are misconstrued and taken from the original context and then expanded to try and fit additional concepts they aren't suited for. Join us in this episode as we talk about some common spiritual buzzwords like "quantum," "statistical significant," "microbiome," "patron," and more! Might be a good idea to grab some calming tea while you are at it!

Follow us!

Link to the TTAC discord: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/

Resources:

Occultism in the Mirror of Late Classical Physics -https://www.academia.edu/1493764/Pondering

Eleutherococcus senticosus as an adaptogen (critique of the term) - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378874100001811

Reign of the P-value and other possibilities- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0174

Welcome back to the lab everyone! This week we are continuing are Occultists and Scientists series by discussing the thrilling and dangerous life of Jack Parsons. We’ve invited Georgina Rose, known as Da’at Darling across platforms to join us in discussing how Parsons passion for both Thelema and science impacted his life. Lots of super interesting information so grab some jet fuel for yourself and lets launch the episode!

Resources:

• History of Solid-Propellant Rocketry: What We Do and Do Not Know: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/pdf/88635main_H-2330.pdf

• Religion: California Cults Time Article from the 1930s: http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,738983-1,00.html

• WIRED Article about Parsons: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jpl-jack-parsons

Books:

• Strange Angel by George Pendle

• Eloquent Blood: The Goddess Bablon and the Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism by Manon Hedenborg White

• Liber 49 by Jack Parsons

• Freedom is a Two Edged Sword by Jack Parsons

• A Rose Veiled in Black by Robert Fitzgerald

Follow Georgina (Da’at Darling)! Follow Georgina!

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daatdarling/

• Twitter:https://mobile.twitter.com/daatdarling

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daatdarling?_...

• Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/daatdarling

Link to our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc

In this episode hosts Astra, Fel, and Han explore ancestry, the importance of DNA in determining eligibility to participate in closed practices and other traditions alongside issues of biological essentialism. Do DNA tests such as 23 & Me actually give you accurate and useable data? If so, how, if at all, does that translate to occult practices? Or is a practice defined by the spirituality of location and not through biological inheritance?

Want to discuss these topics with us more? Join the discord here: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc

Resources:

Low Coverage of Whole Genome Sequencing: https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-019-0682-2

History and Current Approaches to Genome Sequencing: https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2001037019303277?token=E13A38288C654F65E0304EA37B1108BF2348D197EC9AC225338DCF7E210A65FC87FC4D1588C854C5FD51884F7DFE04E1&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20211120003753

Personalised Medicine and Whole Genome Sequencing: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2019.00049/full

Ancestry: Understanding Genetics (good summary of science in English terms): https://genetics.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/same-dna-different-ancestry-results

Defining signal thresholds in DNA microarrays: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC117791/

Black Death Left a Mark on the Human Genome: https://www.science.org/content/article/black-death-left-mark-human-genome

In this episode, we explore the torrid and confusing history of astral projection. From its origins in mystic thought all the way down to its use as a magical tool - what is astral projection & how did we reach today’s understanding? Tune in to hear how the concept of the astral ‘body of light’ was born, and how it evolved in the midst of cultural fetishisation and the development of modern physics. We also discuss how out-of-body experiences might be explained by science.

Come discuss your thoughts on our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc

• On Neoplatonism, the soul, and Christian theology: Parnell, J. B. (2009). The theurgic turn in Christian thought: Iamblichus, Origen, Augustine and the Eucharist. University of Michigan.

• Evolution of the concept of ‘astral’ during the development of physics Asprem, E. (2011). Pondering imponderables: occultism in the mirror of late classical physics. Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, 11(2), 129 - Blanke, O., Landis, T., Spinelli, L., & Seeck, M. (2004).

• Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin. Brain, 127(2), 243-258 - Brugger, P., Regard, M., & Landis, T. (1997).

• Illusory reduplication of one's own body: phenomenology and classification of autoscopic phenomena Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 2(1), 19-38. - Asprem, E. (2017).

• Explaining the esoteric imagination: Towards a theory of kataphatic practice Aries, 17(1), 17-50. - Luhrmann, T. M. (1991).

• Persuasions of the witch’s craft: Ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press (also see Luhrmann’s other work!)

• Liber Null PJ Carroll -

• The Black Arts - R Cavendish

• Astral Atlas: http://astralatlas.tumblr.com/

This week, the hosts explore the concept of ‘clairs’, terms used to differentiate all sorts of diverse psychic experience. From Jainism to Spiritualism, second sight to seances, psychic experiences have been a core tenet of the occult and spirituality for thousands of years. But how well do these historical accounts line up with our modern definition of ‘clairs’, and is there any benefit to viewing these experiences through a scientific lens?

Link to our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc

Resources:

• 1998 (dodgy!) meta-analysis assessing studies on clairvoyance and precognition: Steinkamp, F., Milton, J., & Morris, R. L. (1998). A meta-analysis of forced-choice experiments comparing clairvoyance and precognition. Journal of Parapsychology, 62(3), 193–218

• Testing the psychic Olof Jonsson in a ‘forced choice’ experiment: Don, N. S., McDonough, B. E., & Warren, C. A. (1992). Psi testing of a controversial psychic under controlled conditions. The Journal of Parapsychology, 56(2), 87

• The Mind Machine - massive British experiment testing ESP in the general public: Wiseman, R., & Greening, E. (2002). The Mind Machine: A mass participation experiment into the possible existence of extra‐sensory perception. British Journal of Psychology, 93(4), 487-499

• Neuro-imaging of clairvoyant pairs: Moulton, S. T., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2008). Using neuroimaging to resolve the psi debate. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(1), 182-192.

• What is ‘normal’ experience? Powers III, A. R., Kelley, M. S., & Corlett, P. R. (2017). Varieties of voice-hearing: psychics and the psychosis continuum. Schizophrenia bulletin, 43(1), 84-98.

• Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn

• Les Miroirs Magiques by Paul Sédir

• Lectures by Rudolf Steiner

• Extrasensory Perception (yogi-pratyakṣa) in Jainism and Its Refutations http://www.balcerowicz.eu/indology/balcerowicz2016c.pdf

• Clairvoyance in Jainism: Avadhijñāna in Philosophy, Epistemology and Literature https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4760&context=etd