Episodes
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100. Writing Witchcraft (with E.H. Lupton)
On the show I've talked a lot about witchcraft in fiction over the years. But as I'm also an author of urban fantasy novels, I thought it might be interesting to talk about it from the creative end -- how I think about writing witchcraft in fiction as a witch in real life. And since I thought it...
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99. Communication
So we covered some of this back in the "Respect" episode, but I really just wanted to take some time and explore how we talk to each other in witchcraft spaces. And, uh, I might be part of the problem here from time to time.
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98. Practical Magic (1998) (With Bree NicGarran)
Bree NicGarran joins me this episode as we finally get around to talking about the 1998 film adaptation of Practical Magic. For some people the '90s movie that got them pulled into witchcraft was The Craft, while for others (like Bree) it was this one! We figured with the sequel coming out soon…
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97. Feedback/Q&A Special 2026
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, but maybe a surprise guest will show up and help me answer...
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96. A Fireside Chat
Look, there are two things I wanted to talk about this month, but didn't have enough time to fully prepare an episode on either. So, instead, I'm just going to talk about my current thoughts on both of these (unrelated) topics. First off we have the US Military no longer recognizing about 180...
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95. An Honest Review of Thumper Forge’s “The Chaos Apple”
Well, it must be May, because I'm doing another book review! This time around I'm reviewing Thumper Forge's "The Chaos Apple" (ISBN 9780738775432) which came out last fall. It is, unsurprisingly, a book on Chaos Magic - a topic it turns out I knew more about than I realized. And while overall I...
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94. Respect
One of the biggest challenges in building a real community in the modern witchcraft movement is, honestly, the lack of respect a lot of folks show each other. From asserting that unverified personal gnosis is fact to spreading misinformation, it's a huge issue. Well, we need to fix that.
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93. Gatekeeping.
One of the topics I've wanted to cover on this show for the longest time is gatekeeping in witchcraft spaces. It was on my original list of topics when I started the show, and it just kept getting knocked down the list. My opinion has evolved a lot over the years though, and the take I have now…
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92. Curse Your Enemies
A long time ago I made a joke post on Tumblr called "Beginner Witch Tips" where I included the advice to curse your enemies. But just like how the item "Fight a God" went from tongue in cheek to genuine advice, this one was always partially serious too. So this month, I'm going to explain why I...
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91. “Ancient” Practices
There's an annoying thing in the witchcraft community where every new idea or trend gets cast as an "ancient" practice even if it's just a few years old. Time and time again, we see people constructing false narratives about the supposed historicity of ideas, spells, and rituals in witchcraft...
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90. Nighttime.
I'm getting a bit contemplative at the end of the year, and this month we're talking about the importance of the mystery of the night. Everything feels just a little more magical in the dark, and why that just feels right as a witch. That's right, we're talking about an aesthetic this time…
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89. What Makes Wicca Wicca?
One of the biggest things I think a lot of older witches take for granted is that people understand what makes Wicca, well, Wicca. While we’ve discussed the history before, and last month talked about the weird anti-Wicca backlash, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about how this…
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88. Wicca Bad? Featuring Thumper Forge
If you spend any amount of time on social media these days, especially TikTok, you'll find a surprising amount of anti-Wiccan sentiment... and a lot of it's pretty weird. Thumper Forge, Gardnerian Wiccan and author of the forthcoming The Chaos Apple, joins me as we, frankly, debunk some of the...
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87. A Season of Change
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…
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86. Shadow Work (And Maybe Why We Shouldn’t Tell Other Witches to Do It)
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…
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85. Feedback/Q&A Special 2025
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…
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84. We Clicked on Every Facebook Witchcraft Ad (with Bree NicGarran)
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...
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83. An Honest Review of Thorn Mooney’s “Witches Among Us”
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.
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82. The Pagan Invasion and Propaganda
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...
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81. Reflections
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...
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80. A Couple of Things…
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...
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79. The Telepathy Tapes and the Dangers of ‘Magical Autism’
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…
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78. The State of the Trae
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.
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77. Agatha All Along Review (with Bree NicGarran)
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...
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76. A Spooky-ish Episode (with Lozzie Stardust)
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…
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75. Plans.
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.
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74. Homeopathy is Bulls***.
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.
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73. Feedback/Q&A Special 2024!
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.
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72. Arrogance.
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.
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71. I Hate This Book.
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.
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70. It’s Not About Us
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.
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69. Cultural Appropriation
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...
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68. What is Witchcraft?
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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67. The Headache of Misinformation
Combating misinformation has always been one of the primary missions of this show, and honestly? It just gets exhausting sometimes. Why are people in this community so willing to uncritically pass on bad information? Why can't people be bothered to do the minimum to verify what they're saying's...
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66. Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Last month Hex Positive's Bree NicGarran joined Trae to take a look at the classic witch-centric movie Hocus Pocus (1993). This month, Bree's back to help review the 2022 sequel to that movie -- Hocus Pocus 2.
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65. Hocus Pocus (1993)
It's time to dig back into the VHS tapes that you've shoved in a box in your basement (or just open Disney Plus), and talk about the classic witch-centric movie Hocus Pocus (1993). Hex Positive's Bree NicGarran joins Trae this month for an indepth look at this Halloween movie... in November. But...
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64. Ask the Question.
For the first time in five years, we're breaking the "Trae talks to someone about ghosts for an hour in October" pattern. Instead we're using this month and the witchcraft movement's obsession with Halloween to ask "why are we doing any of this stuff?" It should make sense in the end. I hope.
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63. Nature and Witchcraft
One of the most common descriptions of "witchcraft" you'll find out there will say that it's a "nature based" practice. That's also reinforced in so many witchcraft books over the last century, as well as in the current social media witchcraft circles. This episode is here to ask the question so...
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62. Wrong Way to Witch?
Variations of the phrase "There's No Wrong Way to Witch" get tossed around our community, and I think it's about time we discuss why we say actually say that. But beyond that, there are folks who try to twist the phrase to make it mean things it doesn't -- and we need to talk about how being…
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61. Feedback/Q&A Special 2023!
It’s July! You know what that means — it’s time for our annual Q&A special! Where you the audience send in your questions for the show, so we don’t have to research anything for a month… or something. In this supersized episode, we talk about what you wanted to talk about, instead of this month’s...
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60. Doubt is Good.
This month we're talking about a very important concept: doubt. There are times when we question our beliefs and our witchcraft, and why that's a good thing. Blind faith never helped anyone, and can actively harm you.
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59. Should There Be Wiccan Clergy?
The Aquarian Tabernacle Church has announced a new accreditation program to "professionalize" Wiccan Clergy. They're not the first people to try and set something up like this, and they likely won't be the last. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? Mostly I just think this is just a...
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58. Liminal Spaces and the Crossroads
This month we're talking about liminality and the spaces in between. The places that don't really seem to belong where they are, where that sense of unreality kicks in. Where we go to the edge of the firelight to the transition to the night. And how that all links into one of the most important,...
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57. Change the Wheel
This month on the show we're answering a question I get a lot, and that's how do you celebrate the Wheel of the Year if you live somewhere that the natural cycles don't line up with a bunch of holidays put together in Ireland and Great Britain? How do you adjust and adapt your celebrations to fit...
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56. “Finger Waggling”
This month on the show we're going down a bit more of an unhinged rant than we've done lately, as we discuss "finger waggling," "sit at the foot of the great teacher" energy, and how maybe we shouldn't be letting certain dicks run stuff in the Witchcraft Community. Y'know, basic stuff that maybe…
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55. Lucky Girl Syndrome and the Law of Attraction
This month we're taking a look at one of New Age spirituality's most toxic philosophies: The Law of Attraction. We talk about the history of it, where it came from, and how it's come back in a major way to a whole new generation as "Lucky Girl Syndrome." What sometimes looks like a harmless…
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54. A Conversation With Aidan Kelly
Back in September of 2021, we put out an episode all about Mabon and the person who named it, Aidan Kelly. This last October, just over after that podcast episode was released, Aidan Kelly reached out to me having listened to it and wanted to set the record straight. Thankfully he let me record…
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53. Modern Witchcraft History (at CritWitchCon 2022)
This episode of BS-Free Witchcraft is actually a panel from CritWitchCon 2022 this last October. Spend an hour with Alex Wrekk, Bree NicGarran, Lozzie Stardust and myself as we talk about the history of modern witchcraft. Also you get to listen to me speed run like 130 years of history in under...
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52. Another Spooky Episode
It's October, and that means we're in the spookiest of seasons! With that in mind we continue the podcast's long standing tradition of doing a ghost stories episode! This year Trae is joined by Jodie Haas, co-host and co-creator of Nerd & Tie Podcast Network Shows Cool & Unusual Punishment and…
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51. Consumerism and Witchcraft
Consumerism has been a driving force in the witchcraft movement since the beginning, but in the age of social media it's only gotten more visible. Is this a good thing? I mean... no. No it's not. But we probably wouldn't be talking about it if it was, would we. Also, it's entirely possible that...
About this show
A monthly podcast on the modern witchcraft movement… minus the usual BS.
Hosted by
Trae Dorn
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