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© Trae Dorn
Description
BS-Free Witchcraft is a monthly podcast covering the modern witchcraft movement. Hosted by Trae Dorn, a practicing Wiccan Witch for over twenty years, the show delves into the terms we use, the history of the movement, and current events in the Witchcraft world. From Wicca to Secular Witchcraft, the show tries to cover all topics and experience levels.
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This episode marks seven years of this podcast, and as we start the eighth, I decided that it was time we looked back on how much things have changed in the modern witchcraft space since then, along with how different things are since I first became a witch over twenty-five years ago. Because what is witchcraft if it's not change?
Also, I'm standing in a park most of the episode, which is why it sounds like that.
If you're in witchcraft spaces, over the last six years or so, you've likely heard someone talking about "shadow work" (or more obnoxiously telling someone "they need to do some shadow work"). And while some folks seem to consider it an essential element of witchcraft, for those of us who have been in the community a long time it's just a little bit puzzling. Likewise, a lot of the people pushing shadow work don't seem to know where it comes from to begin with. With that in mind, this month I'm going into the origins of shadow work, what it is, and maybe why some folks need to stop pushing it so hard.
It's July which means it's time for the annual feedback/Q&A episode of the show! In this episode I sit down and answer questions that you, the audience, has been sending me over the last few months. It's the same dance we do every summer, and this year you guys sent me some great questions. It's a fun one.
Last month we talked about a good source new witches might want to add to their libraries, because I know how hard it is to separate the signal from the noise. But this month I thought we'd go look at some of the noise instead! I clicked on every terrible ad for witchcraft stuff I could find on Facebook for a week, and decided to inflict what I found on Hex Positive's Bree NicGarran.
It's so, so bad y'all.
One year ago I put out this podcast’s first book review. It was for Annwyn Avalon’s Celtic Goddess Grimoire, and I absolutely hated it. It was everything I despise in modern witchcraft publishing, and it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I felt like I needed to fix that.
The 1991 Christian propaganda series the Pagan Invasion by Jeremiah Films was oddly formative for me. It's a masterclass in propaganda, and a perfect example of the kind of misinformation that was spreading during the heights of the Satanic Panic. So in this episode we're going to break down how "documentaries" like these work to push an agenda, and how to recognize these patterns in other places.
This month on the show we're talking about the importance of taking stock and realizing that the person you used to be isn't the person that you are -- and how important it is to document who you are now so that you might know yourself better later.
Or something.
It makes sense if you listen, I swear.
This month I wanted to talk about a couple of things that wouldn't necessarily fill out a whole episode on their own. First off, after last month's episode I wanted to clarify some of my thoughts on psychics. Secondly, I wanted to talk about bias and what we do with evidence that runs contrary to our beliefs.
It should be a fun one though.
One of the biggest podcasts out there right now is The Telepathy Tapes. It's topping the podcast charts on both Apple and Spotify's American listings, but it perpetrates an incredibly dangerous idea about people with autism. But none of this is new, and we've seen this kind of trend before.
So it's about time we talked about it.
This month we're going to do something a little different -- I'm going to just talk to you about how I'm doing right now. Stuff's not necessarily the best, so I kind of had a few things I needed to get out of my system.
But I'm still here, still fighting, and still sticking by you.
It’s been about a year since Hex Positive‘s Bree NicGarran showed up to review a piece of witchcraft media with Trae, and with how terrible the world is, why not take a break and listen to two witches reviewing the latest piece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Agatha All Along! Because we all need a distraction… and it’s an amazing show.
It's October, so even though we took the year off last year, we're going back to the show's roots with yet another spooky episode! This time around, Lozzie Stardust takes the guest spot and we talk about ghosts, cryptids, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Look, we got really off track on this one.
But I think you'll like it.
You do your best in this life to try and figure out what you're doing. You write everything down, you make a schedule, and you plan. And sometimes those plans work out and sometimes they don't. That's what this episode is about.
Sort of. Kind of. In a way. I think.
Homeopathy is harmful and complete and total bull. I can't emphasize that enough. In this episode we're diving into the history of Homeopathy, what it is, and why it's bad. And I think, by the end of it, you'll agree with me.
It's July, so that means we're doing the annual feedback and Q&A special! You guys spent the last few months sending in witchcraft questions, and they got shuffled around, picked at random, and now you're getting some answers! We've played this dance before, you know what's up.
The entire #ReturnTheStone debacle over the last couple of weeks on WitchTok is honestly just a symptom of a a larger problem. One of the core, underlying issues that is the cause of a lot of these issues in the Modern Witchcraft Movement is arrogance, and it's about time we talk about it.
When the publicist for Weiser Books reached out to the show asking if I wanted a review copy of Annwyn Avalon's new book "Celtic Goddess Grimoire," I don't really think they knew what they were getting into.
Because I said yes.
And this is my review.
And this is not a good book.
Sometimes in this community folks have a habit of making things about them that… aren’t. So that’s what we’re addressing this time around. Because there are times where we need to step back and get some perspective.
One of the most frustrating conversations we keep having to have in the modern witchcraft movement is about cultural appropriation. And while we've repeatedly touched on this before, I've never focused an episode purely on the topic. So let's do that. Let's talk about exactly what it is and why it's such a problem.
A question that is significantly harder to answer than most people think is "What is Witchcraft?" This month I'm going to try to answer that, and if I fail you'll be at least as confused as I am by the end. And hey, isn't nice to do something together from time to time?
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the music drives me nuts for one to loud and repeatative . I enjoyed first podcast but hope rest are not filled with this loud music
Wow. That's some manipulative, victim-blaming shit.
I joined TikTok after reading a Medium essay claiming it's a happy place, in contrast with Facebook & Twitter. of course, this was a while ago.
very much appreciate the book recs! as an aside, I found that in this episode the background music, while pleasant, was too loud and sometimes made it difficult to hear/understand the dialogue.