Episode 80: Psychedelic Witchcraft

Episode DescriptionOn episode 80 of the Magick & Alchemy Podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby discuss the relationship between psychedelic states and witchcraft. They talk about magickal elixirs, like those given to initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and Circe’s ‘love filters.’ They consider magic mushrooms, mandrake, poppy flowers, LSD, and how these substances played a role in journeying, dreamwork, and divination. They talk about Isis, Hecate, Inanna, Demeter, Persephone, Asclepius, Maria Sabina, St. Nick, and reflect on the connection between ergot (a psychoactive fungus) and the Salem Witch Trials.Created by Tamed Wild.Production by Julio MonteroMusic by Follow the Wind,Taizo Audio. Sources:“Plants of the Gods” by Richard Evan Schultes, Albert Hofman, and Christian Ratsch“Witchcraft Medicine” by Claudia Muller Ebeling, Christian Ratsch, and Wolf-Dieter Storl“Psychedelic Mystery Traditions: Spirit Plants, Magical Practices, and Ecstatic States” by Thomas Hatsis"The Witch's Ointment" by Thomas Hatsis"Pharmako Gnosis: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path"by Dale Pendell "Maria Sabina: Selections (Poets for the Millennium)," Volume 2by Maria Sabina and Jerome Rothenberg“Mushrooms and Mankind” by James Arthur“Missing Witches” by Amy Torok and Risa Dickens“Psychedelics & Witchcraft: Deliriants, Soporifics, & Folklore.” Tripsitter.com, 2022“Why Do Witches Ride Brooms?” via The AtlanticMerry JaneJohn Rush via LiveScienceDr. Linnda Caporael from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute HistoricMysteries.comHeriberto YepezHieroglyphica, sive, de sacris Aegyptiorvm aliarvmqve gentivm listeris commentari (1575 manuscript)