Pagan Coffee Talk
We will discuss topics related to the Pagan community. All views are from a traditionalist's point of view. The conversations are unscripted (no preparations have been made ahead of time). A special thanks to Darkest Era for the use of their songs: Intro- The Morrigan, Exit - Poem to the Gael. Check them out at http://darkestera.net/.
Pagan Coffee Talk
Budget Witchcraft or Are We Just Wackadoodle? Jinkies!
Ever wondered how to practice witchcraft on a budget and still feel connected to nature? Look no further! Join your hosts, Oswyn and Lord Night, as they share their experiences with backyard harvesting, making things from scratch, and the immense value that this frugal approach brings to their spiritual practice. They also discuss the impact of the current economic climate on the increasing popularity of budget witchcraft.
Delving into the long-standing debate of whether witchcraft is science or superstition, we examine the historical origins of some common superstitions and the scientific reasons behind using certain herbs in healing. Gardening, psychic energies, and the power of salt are just a few of the fascinating topics we explore as we delve into the positive impact of incorporating our beliefs into everyday life. Listen in as we unravel the perception of magic as science and learn how embracing a more natural and cost-effective approach to witchcraft can strengthen your connection to the earth and boost your mental and physical well-being.
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Welcome to Peg and Coffee Talk. Here are your hosts, Azuan and Lord Knight. Today's topic is going to be Witchcraft on a Budget.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Now you've been hearing some people talk about this and you wanted to put your two cents in on this.
Speaker 2:The problem is is now I suddenly see people wanting to do this where we'd been mentioning it before. I've been seeing videos pop up like crazy about doing witchcraft on a budget all of a sudden where just less than six months ago you didn't hear it work Right. You're with me on that. I'm more curious Why?
Speaker 1:Well. I don't know I mean it could be because the economy is the way it is.
Speaker 2:I think it's funny that you know me and you have been talking about this off and on on the podcast. Serious. Being serious And now, all of a sudden, other people are doing it. What Did the economy have to get this bad before you realized you needed to start doing things on a budget?
Speaker 1:Well, i don't know, and the ones that I see doing it, or the younger generations, and I guess they're finding that that witchcraft can be a little on the expensive side.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:There are options that we've been trying to like teach our students for years. There are options to make it cheaper, to make it more affordable.
Speaker 2:Well, not only that, but like Lady Keegan, yeah, all right When she was doing her herbalist class and one of the things me and her kept on going around and around about it was frankincense, and I kept on saying why in the world do we use frankincense when we can use the resin from pine trees to do the same thing? It's a wonderful substitute and you can get it free out of your yard. Right? And when she went through the process of making it into a resin, she thinks that now she thinks it's the most wonderful thing in the world. Why aren't these herbalists going to their backyard? Why aren't they going to places down the road to harvest, like we used to in the old days? Being a witch on a budget is a normal state of being for us.
Speaker 1:It should be well, i mean, it should be for everybody.
Speaker 2:You're with me on that.
Speaker 1:If we got back to the basics of what witchcraft was based on, right, if we look back at the look back at. Salem and-.
Speaker 2:It's what you had access around you. What you had access to. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Around you not You grew stuff in your gardens. You used that for your witchcraft.
Speaker 2:Well, again we're in the United States and you got to remember like dandelion is a foreign species, yes, but yet the medicinal purposes of dandelion is freaking crazy, but we don't use it anymore.
Speaker 1:Right, but it's a weed. It grows everywhere.
Speaker 2:It grows everywhere.
Speaker 1:You can It's all over the place.
Speaker 2:You know, i'm sure your neighbors will be like, oh wait a minute. No, they're digging up the dandelion. No, go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 1:I don't know what you're doing, but get them out of here.
Speaker 2:Get them out of here. There's my question is is we've been talking about this making your own stuff, doing it yourself that we need to be a religion or a type of society in the pagan community where we're back to nature, right Where every pagan family is homesteading and growing their own food and getting back to that connection of nature? Right. So now it's suddenly a good idea, because it's too fucking expensive for people.
Speaker 1:I guess, maybe it took COVID to get people to realize, hey, there's other ways of doing stuff.
Speaker 2:And do feel that connection. There's a difference between sitting down and eating a dinner and eating something that you've caught and done yourself Right. Growing up we did the fish fries. You know where me and my brother and Lyle's all go down and fish forever and catch catfish like crazy Once we get them excuse me, i'm going to be southern here Once we get a mess of catfish up, we then then fry them up and get some.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and it's a wonderful little time.
Speaker 2:But normally at these fish fries nothing comes. Very little comes from the store.
Speaker 1:Right, most everything was homemade.
Speaker 2:Homemade from scratch as much as possible. Right, and that's like doing those, uh, the boars, and but you're doing them in the fire pits.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Under your bearing them underground.
Speaker 1:Yes, again same concept. Yeah, the pig roasts.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love those people probably are like thinking what are they talking about?
Speaker 2:Oh God, No they're, they're no, no, no, no, they're. They're sitting back going. No, no, no. Now they're too southern for us.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:It brings a whole new meaning to the pigs, the priedary ones. You had one from a damn pit. But again, is it cheap? or is it the connection to nature?
Speaker 1:Well, I think it should be the connection to nature. I'm with you. I'm with you. I think it being cheap, or being affordable, or frugal, or however you want to put it, is a bonus, it's an added benefit to it.
Speaker 2:So I mean, there's a big difference buying a piglet, raising it and bringing it up and then sending it off to be slaughtered, and you bring him back a bunch of meat, right, you know? I mean again, what value do you put on your time, your effort And all this, and not only just feeding the animal but tending to it and taking care of its needs every day?
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, if you're doing something like that, you got to look at how much meat you're going to get a ton of meat off of that animal.
Speaker 2:Well, you think about it like that.
Speaker 1:It's going to be enough to feed a family for months.
Speaker 2:Well, you think about it like this We're spending how much on corn just to make sure that deers are raised in our yard so I can use a what A bullet. that costs less than a dollar to take it down. Right. In which you get what. Two or three days You got more than enough meat, the last you all win, or that you don't have to buy Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, you might get tired of venison after a while, but I don't know what you're talking about There's such a thing. There is no such thing. It's too much.
Speaker 2:There's something about that. There's something about that connection. Yeah, i agree. I would encourage every pagan to try it at least for a year, if you can do a commune or something like that, where you go in there and work with the people and hunt up your own food, and do it at least for a year. Otherwise, no, you need to be doing this homestead. You need to learn how to do this stuff from scratch.
Speaker 1:Well, i think it would be ideal, but, you know, not everybody lives in an area where you can do that or where something like that might be available.
Speaker 2:Well, at least as much as you can.
Speaker 1:But I think, even if you live in the city, i still think there's ways that you can get back to more of that natural connection. Right. That connection with nature. If you will, There's ways that you can do that. I mean they have windowsill gardens, They have Yeah, well, you get that.
Speaker 2:what indirect shade?
Speaker 1:Yes. You know, you can grow a few things. You can use that and your cooking and right making your own incenses and stuff. You can do all of that.
Speaker 2:You know and again, watch for on with learning what's in your backyard using those things. Oh, absolutely nothing. I mean, don't get me wrong, the Scott cutting handbooks on herbalism and all that, they're decent books. I'm not knocking them All right. I mean, yes, they're low level books. But when you start going into your backyard, men used to tell us all, used to tell me all the time that you know, all the mysteries of the universe can be found in a single blade of grass. Right, and I sort of believe him on this. I mean because think about it this way Grass, it grows just for grazing. One.
Speaker 2:Herberbor is just to come along and chomp it up so it can keep on growing Right, it's fit, it's grow cycle to match the animal, to encourage it, things like flowers and everything else. Right. How in the world does humanity improve upon nature?
Speaker 1:I don't think you can.
Speaker 2:And how do you put a price tag on that?
Speaker 1:If you have that connection that there's, there's nothing that compares to that. Not going outside and just sitting in your backyard filling the breeze, hearing the birds, watching the squirrels getting that, i don't know, just that natural energy. Yeah there's nothing like it.
Speaker 2:And I'm sorry. This is so much better to me than all the gathers. I mean, don't get me wrong, i love the gathers we went to, we had fun and stuff like that. Yeah. The feeling I have from that last longer than just going to spend and wasting that money to go to a gather. Right.
Speaker 2:Again, yes, I would probably waste the money because I like them. Yeah, I mean, that's a good time, You know as long as it's done like the way we're used to them. I mean the ones with all the class. But I mean, does that make sense to you when I'm saying there that that connection, I, we got freaking tomato plants going and I'm like sitting here telling you every day ooh, ooh, we got blooms, We got blooms We got blooms.
Speaker 1:So I mean again, there's just, there's nothing like it.
Speaker 2:There's nothing like it If you can get your hands in some dirt, go for it. Let's see now. Lord me and also told me and I got to relook up the search research on this that there was an accident organization that was doing that, where you would come out there and work in the dirt and stuff like that, but it was to get people off high blood pressure medicine.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i mean I remember the article but I'd have to look it back up. But there was an article that actually doing the gardening and stuff actually got some people off their off their high blood pressure medicine Something about doing that seems to lower our blood pressure.
Speaker 1:That, and I think, i think it also had something to do well helped those with depression.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I think I believe that was part of the study, or if it wasn't, i think it's something they discovered along while they were doing the study.
Speaker 2:Well, again, the idea there, on the occult side of this is is that you placing your hands in the ground is like making that ground Earth connection. Right. And you're grounding yourself out and it's pulling all those negative energies away from you.
Speaker 1:Yes, ground Yes.
Speaker 2:Into the Earth itself, and it's really a beautiful way of doing it, but I think you get a little bit of feedback from Earth.
Speaker 1:I think. So I was going to say I think it's. I think it's kind of like an outlet of sorts.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Because it's we got that AC outlet and the energy goes back and forth. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:And so it's kind of like a give and take.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:It's enough to get you grounded, but it's enough to give you a little bit of energy in the back, in the back turn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when you, especially if you're depressed right to sit there and work and actually get your hands in. It's weird because the way he described it was it kept on talking about you had to actually get your hands in the dirt.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And it couldn't just be. You know, you watering plants and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it was. Oh no, Go and get your hands dirty Get your hands dirty, don't use them.
Speaker 2:garden gloves.
Speaker 1:Throw them things in the trash, get your hands dirty. So I've got a question for you.
Speaker 2:I got an answer for you. I hope so. It's blue Orange 52. Wrong answer 42. Wrong answer No 42.
Speaker 1:That's the secret of life, right, yep 42. So the question today is why do people think that all witches are superstitious?
Speaker 2:I don't know I've seen a lot of TV shows and cartoons and stuff and read a lot of books and there seems to be this idea that witchcraft is anti science, anti technology, anti. You know what I'm saying? Uh huh, and I see that a lot, and I think it starts off because we have not learned how to secure electronics enough in our households to survive around circles.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I believe that the psychic energies that we build up in circle and all that seems to affect electronics, Okay, so you think that plays into us being superstitious? about certain things. I think it plays in on people perceiving us as superstitious Okay, or anti-science, or anti-technology.
Speaker 1:And are we talking superstition, as in like black cat superstitious, oh yeah that too. Walking under ladders.
Speaker 2:I don't think we do this. We don't worry about crossing a black cat's.
Speaker 1:I think well, no, I know, we don't.
Speaker 2:Well, I did.
Speaker 1:But I can see where some people might because of our use of salt, how that might come across as superstitious, see.
Speaker 2:I can't say nothing. I do superstitious stuff all the time. The whole entire. I was raised on the whole entire idea. If you're palm itches, that means you're about to get money. Right If you scratch it, you're going to scratch away the money. So instead you're supposed to rub Right, you're supposed to rub the money into your hand to get rid of the edge. You know I mean, but there's some superstitions. I sort of see where in the world they came from. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:Like the whole entire thing of if you leave your cabinet doors open. People are going to gossip about you Because at one particular time and instance people were not that poor And I'm sorry if you had a nice dish set or something like that setting out. Yes, people are going to gossip about you. You leave in your pantry doors open. Is was seen as a form of bragging Right. So I can understand, we're certain, but I don't see. One world is always linked to craft That on either. I don't understand it. It drives me up the wall because most of the witches I know aren't superstition and are really really scientific. Right.
Speaker 2:Our apothecaries are sitting there looking at you and know there are these compounds in these plants that help That heal. We don't have to do anything but mix them up correctly and every time and it works.
Speaker 1:Right And we stay away from others because, well, they'll kill you.
Speaker 2:They'll kill you Well, if they're not processed right. And all this could kill you Right, Because there are times when we can use poisons to cure ourselves but it has to be, it has to be precise, it has to be very precise in doing this Right. I mean, that's kind of like using nightshade or monkhood in a cream for arthritis. Right.
Speaker 2:Technically, it's a poison and you're seeping it through your skin. There are scientific reasons behind this. Again, i see a lot of people that seem to think that witches don't believe in this. You know that were against this. Well, on the other hand again not picking on anybody but I see Christians being more anti science and more superstitious.
Speaker 1:Well, I do see I could be wrong on that. I do see where you get that, but I know.
Speaker 2:I mean well again, i personally know a lot of Christians who are not anti science. But how many of them? the Furby, when Furby's came out?
Speaker 1:and the credit. Okay, so you're lumping technology in with science.
Speaker 2:Right, technology, science. Again, it's all the same thing, but again you see a lot of these Christians. We don't know about this. Again, i don't have a problem with their heads. I really don't. I like their hesitance because, especially with AI and stuff going on, i like proceeding with wisdom, not knowledge?
Speaker 1:No, okay, but could our quote unquote superstitious activities really be application of wisdom?
Speaker 2:I might be because, again, like I said, there's a lot of these superstitions that actually have to do more with people's behavior. Right and letting people know. Hey, you know what? yeah you, you leave your cabinet doors open like you're bragging a want the world. Yes, people are gonna talk about you.
Speaker 1:Or if you don't have a lot and you got your cabinet doors open.
Speaker 2:People are gonna say, people gonna talk about you. So again, again, when you have superstitions that are linked to people's The way they do things and why they do things, right. It is less of a superstition and more of a knowledge of yeah, people have funky ideas and do things that not always make sense. Right, because they're following their logic, not yours.
Speaker 1:But I think that pretty well sums it up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but again, like I said, i keep on saying it's basically people not in the community.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm when.
Speaker 2:I run across people of other faiths, christians and stuff like that. The conversation always seems to, at some point or another, lead to the fact that they seem to think that we are anti science, anti technology, 100% and all that. All we have to follow all these superstitious things, not walk under ladders. And because there's such a stigma of Well to follow craft, one must not be very educated.
Speaker 1:Well, i think in some ways that may be it, but I think it could also just have to do with a lack of understanding about what it is we do.
Speaker 2:I Agree with you there. It is a lack of understanding, but I hear this a lot from Other communities outside of ours right, but I well, i'm just saying I think it's.
Speaker 1:I think that comes from a lack of understanding, because I think They all have a misconception about what it is we do and you know and who we are as witches, because of Hollywood and fiction stories and all this other stuff, and I Think that they look at some of that and because it is like you said earlier, because we do believe I believe you said it earlier Because we believe in the ethereal, we believe in the because we believe in magic.
Speaker 2:We believe right that therefore, we are superstitious right in which we're. We have certain scientific concepts that we learn and stuff like that That I like, that we believe allows us to do this right. I didn't say it does or does. I'm just saying we believe that's what yeah.
Speaker 2:All right. In other words, some of this stuff, no, nobody can prove in and, yes, when you're literally looking at it, some of it sounds like you know some fringe science Stuff going on there, right, all right. And again, fringe science is just science. We don't understand yet because at some point all the science we know now was fringe right, i know that's hard, for That might be hard for people to understand. At one point the concept of using electricity was a fringe scientific wonder. Right it was just this it was.
Speaker 1:You're crazy for even thinking this was, yeah, possible.
Speaker 2:But originally it was. It was treated more as a novelty. Right, then anything else.
Speaker 1:But well, yeah, and I think that some people like it, like I just said, i think some people were like do what? no, you're crazy for thinking That's even possible right.
Speaker 2:I Mean it's like the whole and it's like the problem with that I've seen over the years with the whole Egyptian and Then people over here or and other people are saying like no, the pyramids were built this long ago. And here's the proof and the water, and oh. Yeah but yet the official Egyptian people are like no, no, no. This is when it is right. All right, again those fringe science stuff. At one point all of this was that way all right things like carbon dating.
Speaker 1:All of that was French science, i mean a fingerprinting. Yes.
Speaker 2:We were able to do fingerprinting for years and it took forever for the court system to finally realize okay, this person has a unique print on their finger. We found it here at this crime scene right.
Speaker 1:This puts you here again. It was all French science at one point right.
Speaker 2:So Why isn't magic just considered fringed for right now? I Mean it is, but it's not to me. It's just science.
Speaker 1:We haven't figured out yet right, i Think, for those of us in witchcraft. Well, i don't know if we all see it that way or if the majority of us see it that way, but I Think we can see it as French science. But for everybody else, we're just kooks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're just like a doodle. Yeah, you know, i think there's a technical term like a doodle.
Speaker 1:I think it is. Thanks for listening. Join us next week for another episode. Peg and coffee talk is brought to you by life temple and seminary. Please visit us at life temple seminary org. For more information as well as links to our social media Facebook, discord, twitter, youtube and reddit.
Speaker 4:We travel down this trodden path, the maze of stone and my Just hold my hand as we pass by, see your blazing fires, and so it is the end of our day. So walk with me till morning breaks. And so it is the end of our day. So walk with me till morning.
