The Modern Witch Wants You to be Self-Empowered

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The modern witch is more than a character from “Harry Potter.” She, he or they could be a co-worker, a neighbor or a friend who uses spells, spirituality and study to connect with ancestors, mystery or the divine. Throughout history and across cultures, witches have been persecuted – labeled as heretics, Satanists or just plain weird. But witches have also been revered (and feared) for their ability to cure ailments with herbs and tinctures, to commune with nature and to summon the spirits. We talk about witches, witchcraft and the powerful spell they hold on us. Guests: Michelle Tea, author and poet, Her latest book is "Modern Magic: Stories, Rituals and Spells for Contemporary Witches"; She also hosts the podcast "Your Magic" where she has read the tarot cards for Roxane Gay, Phoebe Bridgers and other celebrities. Bri Luna, founder of the website "The Hoodwitch", Her most recent book is "Blood Sex Magic: Everyday Magic for the Modern Mystic from the Creator of The Hoodwitch". Helen Berger, visiting scholar, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School; Berger is considered one of the country's foremost experts on Witches. She is the author of four books, including "Solitary Pagans" among other books on Witches, Wiccans and contemporary Pagans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scaleups, online in person, and on the go. Shopify is made for
0:22.8	entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:29.8	Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:37.3	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason
0:39.8	Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to
0:46.1	make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an
0:52.4	unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion.
0:57.7	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
1:06.0	Tickets on sale now at Broadwaysf.com.
1:11.1	From KQED.
1:12.3	From KQED.
1:25.5	I hope you had a very spooky Halloween, but the truth is, for most people, it's a holiday filled with candy and consumer crap.
1:35.3	But behind the kitschy witch iconography, there's something fascinating happening with modern witchcraft.
1:42.3	Perhaps it's a need for spiritual practice not rooted in traditional religion.
1:46.0	Perhaps it's a search for a more ecologically grounded way of accessing the divine.
1:51.0	But many women have become interested in the world of tinctures and communing with the more than human world.
1:58.0	We'll talk about the intertwined history of the persecution of witches and women
2:02.5	and the new practices of witches. That's all coming up next, right after this news.
2:12.6	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrable. Witches have been persecuted across cultures, labeled as heretics, Satanists, or simply placed outside the bounds of society.
2:28.3	But witches have also been revered for their ability to cure ailments with herbs and tinctures, to commune with nature, and to summon spirits.
2:38.4	After decades of campy representation, it might feel difficult to take a spiritual practice, including
2:44.9	witchcraft seriously, but this is a tradition with roots much longer than Christianity, probably just about as long as human culture.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.