What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

I met and interviewed these witches the first time they attended Anahata's Purpose, and am following up with them five years later.
We explore the transformative impact of Anahata's Purpose, and share how this spiritual gathering changed our lives and magical practices.
• Anahata's Purpose combines wellness festival, retreat, and festival elements with 150+ workshops and activities with facilitators from all over North America
• Attendees describe finding unexpected community and "soul family" connections
• Many experience profound personal growth through specialized workshops like "Healing Your Not Good Enoughness"
• The retreat serves as a yearly spiritual reset and opportunity for authentic connection
• Participants report increased confidence in their craft and deeper somatic connections
• Multiple witches transitioned from solitary practice to enjoying group ritual work
• First-timers are encouraged to attend alone to maximize connections with new people
• The alcohol-free environment creates space for genuine emotional processing

Join us at Anahata's Purpose this October 16-19 in Darlington, Maryland. Get your tickets now at anahataspurpose.com. Be sure to come by the Flora & Function and Crepuscular Conjuration tent to say hi! Be sure to visit The Hearth & Hedge and Theresa Mariesa too!

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Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Mara Starling, a Welsh witch and author, shares the magic and lore of her culture while exploring how voice, breath, and relationship with the landscape form the foundation of her practice.

• The Welsh language has multiple terms for magical practitioners beyond just "witch," including suin raig (one familiar with enchantment) and gwyddan (one familiar with trees)
• Welsh magical tradition is deeply connected to bardic practices, where poetry and song function as powerful magical tools
• The concept of "awen" – divine poetic inspiration that flows from the otherworld – can be accessed through singing
• Living in accordance with "the wisdom of the forest" means building diverse, supportive communities that mirror how trees protect and communicate with each other
• Witchcraft is inherently "queer" in the sense of being transgressive and existing beyond normative boundaries
• The voice is a powerful magical tool – singing incantations with full power rather than mumbling them shows devotion and connects to ancient practices
• Building community begins with simple gatherings that grow organically, but must include clear boundaries against harmful behavior
• Much magical knowledge can be found through conversations with community elders rather than just books or formal instruction

Click here to visit Mhara on the internet!

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Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Dr. Susan Harper, an anthropologist of religion and practicing witch in Iowa, shares her experiences with building magical communities and reclaiming personal power through witchcraft.

• Defining witchcraft as reclaiming a word historically used against women while embracing the power of "paying attention" to the world
• Evolving from formal rituals to a daily practice centered on tarot, moon observation, and gardening
• Seeing witchcraft as liberatory practice that helps heal personal wounds while working toward cultural change
• Using tarot as a primary magical tool for nearly 30 years, finding it provides insight and structure
• Creating accessible magic through library-hosted workshops, providing democratic access while ensuring fair compensation
• Building community through Unitarian Universalist connections, especially CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) chapters
• Navigating witchcraft in the Midwest, finding surprising acceptance in seemingly conservative areas
• Sharing adventures from early practice, including getting lost in ritual robes in small-town Texas
• Announcing her new book "Feminist Witchcraft" launching July 1st, culminating seven years of writing

Find Dr. Susan Harper on Facebook and Instagram as "Dreaming Priestess" and look for her book "Feminist Witchcraft" available at bookstores near you.

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Natasha Randolph shares her journey as an eclectic pagan witch, focusing on spiritual hygiene, crystal work, and the importance of intentional practice in witchcraft. She offers practical advice for maintaining energetic boundaries and connecting with both spirits and local witch communities.

• Living in sync with natural cycles and honoring elements as foundational to witch practice
• Maintaining altars as evolving sacred spaces for offerings, energy work, and manifestation
• Spiritual hygiene as critically overlooked yet essential for all practitioners
• Ground, cleanse, shield, and raise vibration as daily protection practice
• Building local witch community through metaphysical shops and social media groups
• Amethyst as a protective "power crystal" that provides safety for spiritual exploration
• Using copper jewelry and water as conduits to prevent energy drain during channeling
• Childhood experiences forming and dissolving a school coven
• Home protection spellwork focusing on intentional boundaries

Visit psychicmediumnatasha.com and use code "new client" for 25% off all services for first-time clients. Sign up for Natasha's email list to learn about her upcoming masterclasses this summer.

Please go to the People's Choice Podcast Awards and nominate Your Average Witch podcast in the People's Choice and Religious and Spirituality categories. Getting this recognition would really help grow the show. Click here to nominate me!

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Karena, an empowerment and transformation coach, shares her perspective on witchcraft as resistance against patriarchal systems and a way of honoring our shadow aspects.

• Creating daily rituals helps us reclaim our power and stay centered in a chaotic world
• Rest is resistance and a powerful form of witchcraft in a capitalist society that demands constant productivity
• Loss and grief can be powerful teachers when we give them proper time and space
• Psychology and sociology provide important tools for understanding ourselves and our place in community
• Spell work is the tangible representation of our inner feelings expressed externally
• Early experiences with magic, like Karena's childhood fairy encounters, shape our spiritual perspectives
• We are magical simply because we exist—no extraordinary abilities required

Visit That Witch Karena here! 

Please go to the People's Choice Podcast Awards and nominate Your Average Witch podcast in the People's Choice and Religious and Spirituality categories. Getting this recognition would really help grow the show. Click here to nominate me!

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Starla Yilmaz joins us to discuss her journey as a witch, tarot creator, and cross-stitcher, sharing how a divine calling led her to create the Butterfly Wisdom Tarot deck through 21 months of meticulous stitching.

• Practicing witchcraft since age 15-16, Starla views it as being conscious of energy and recognizing universal connections
• Received a divine promise that "as long as you're writing, you'll be taken care of"
• Added cross-stitch to her calling, leading to the creation of her hand-stitched tarot deck
• Practices practical magic including candle witchcraft, sigil work, and kitchen magic as a busy mom
• Emphasizes issues of cultural appropriation around white sage use, suggesting selenite wands as alternatives
• Built community through her local Universalist Unitarian Church's CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group
• Each card in her Butterfly Wisdom Tarot features a real, identifiable butterfly species
• Created a unique guidebook with micro short stories rather than traditional meanings
• Recommends connecting with local metaphysical shops to find community and resources

Pre-order the Butterfly Wisdom Tarot, releasing June 28th, through your local metaphysical shop or bookstore.

Visit Starla here! starlayilmaz.com

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum shares insights on working with spirit vessels, building magical community, and developing personal relationships with plants and other magical allies. Drawing from years of experience as a shop owner and festival organizer, he offers a refreshing perspective on connecting with magic through animism and spirit communication.

• Exploring the dangers of putting magical teachers on pedestals and the importance of recognizing everyone's humanity
• Building local magical community through Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival, a hybrid event offering advanced classes and unique ritual experiences
• Performing actual witchcraft in Salem's historic Witch House as an act of reclamation
• The lasting influence of Scott Cunningham's accessible books on Matthew's path as a young queer practitioner
• Developing reciprocal relationships with plant allies like cinquefoil (five finger grass) that reveal unique magical applications
• Crafting an ancestral dream spell using personal items connected to departed loved ones
• The power of speaking intentions aloud to help manifest magic through physical vibration
• Using divination as a conversation tool with spirits rather than just fortune-telling

Check out Matthew's upcoming book "Ensouling the Effigy: The Witch's Arte of Enspirited Objects" coming in October from Crossed Crow Books, or visit salemwitchfest.com to join this year's festival either online or in person. Use code AVERAGEWITCH for 10% off at Spiritus Arcanum.

SpiritusArcanum.com

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum joins us to explore animism, witchcraft, and the spirits that inhabit everything around us. We dive into what it means to be a witch in today's world, examining the complex relationship between magical practice and capitalism.

• Defining what it means to be a witch through spirit work, spirit flight, shape-shifting, and bewitching ordinary objects
• Exploring panpsychic animism as a worldview where consciousness exists in everything from plants to rocks to spell bottles
• Understanding magical materials as conscious allies rather than mere ingredients in recipes
• Creating magical objects as vessels for spirits and developing relationships with the spirits we work with
• Using breath as a powerful magical tool for conjuring, offering, and transformation
• Navigating the contradictions of practicing animist magic in a capitalist world
• Challenging unhealthy authority dynamics in magical communities while valuing ethical eldership
• Reclaiming an animist perspective as a way to heal our relationship with the natural world

Join us next week for part two of our conversation with Matthew, where we'll discuss the Salem Witch Fest, making allies of plant spirits, and collaborate on a spell to connect with our ancestors.

Visit Spiritus Arcanum here!

spiritusarcanum.com

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

We dive deep into what it truly means to be a witch with Alyssa Barlow from Blyssfull Magick, exploring the power of authenticity in spiritual practice and the importance of finding your own path.

• Alyssa defines herself as an intuitive healer, psychic medium, tarot reader, and Reiki master who helps people find their inner power
• Being a witch means reconnecting with your innate wisdom and creator energy without constantly buying into spiritual consumerism
• The conversation explores the difference between worship and devotion, highlighting the importance of maintaining personal sovereignty 
• As a mother, Alyssa embraces the "consistency of inconsistency" in her practice through small rituals like bath ceremonies and cinnamon for abundance
• Spiritual bypassing in magical communities needs more discussion—not everything is "love and light," and toxic positivity can be harmful
• Alyssa creates community through monthly Reiki shares and donation-based readings, with plans for Reiki work in homeless shelters
• Her primary influences include Carl Jung, Mama Gaia, and her mother's natural intuitive abilities
• Favorite magical tools include herbs (especially lavender), selenite sword, and patchouli oil
• Recommended books: The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer, and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Learn more about Alyssa and Blyssfull Magick here! 

Visit charmbycharlye.com to check out this week's sponsor's Protect Your Neck bundle, which includes tarot, fire scrying, and spiritual prescriptions for just $22.

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

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What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Brett Hollyhead, a Welsh Marches folk witch, shares insights on witchcraft as a practice of liberation, connection to landscape, and challenging oppressive systems. Brett's practice combines Welsh folklore with practical magic while celebrating the liminal identity of the Welsh Marches borderlands.

• Defining a witch as a custodian of wisdom who straddles between spiritual and physical worlds
• Exploring the Welsh Marches as a hybrid cultural landscape shaped by centuries of cross-pollination
• Using crochet as a primary magical tool connected to ancient feminine deities across cultures
• Challenging binary gender systems in paganism by embracing nature's inherent queerness
• Building community through pole dance teaching that emphasizes body positivity and empowerment
• Finding power in Welsh cultural identity and connecting to the goddess Havren/Sabrina
• Combining activism with craft through "craftivism" to support environmental causes
• Sharing the folklore of the Reekin Giant, demonstrating how landscape shapes cultural stories
• Promoting inclusivity and accessibility within magical communities

Follow Brett on instagram!

Brett's book "Sabrina: Discovering the Goddess of the River Severn" will be released on April 29th in the UK and early May elsewhere.

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

Follow YAW at:
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Review the show on Apple podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-average-witch-podcast/id1567845483