Radical Elphame – Details, episodes & analysis

Folk magic has a powerful pull. It can express complex metaphysical ideas that, for most of us practicing today, had once felt like the purview of the "New Age." Magical ideas that once seemed fantastical, through the lens of folk magic, can suddenly feel earthy and vital. Techniques that once felt silly can begin to feel ancestral. The source texts go from channeled writings, to myths and folktales, and academic papers. There's an artistry and intelligence grouped in with modern-day practitioners of folk magic that give the disenchanted "Western" mind permission to think differently.

Coupled with the aesthetic power and the engrossing scholarship inherent in the modern-day study of folk magic, can sometimes be a cold distance and a whiff of a larp. Can the practices of people alive during the Witch Trials, people who might scry entrails, or bleed their cattle on fairy hills to propiciate the Good Neighbors, ever truly be unlocked for a person in a contemporary world so removed from this archaic way of life? Even as someone with a podcast that focuses on folk magic, I often feel like there can be something missing in translation when I encounter many of these antiquated and esoteric beliefs and practices, especially when sifted through and untangled from primary sources.

I am extremely lucky to have just returned from an intensive workshop with Corinne Boyer in Washington State. There are many great things I can say about studying under Corinne, but paramount for me is how alive she can make the folkloric practices and beliefs, which in less capable hands might feel like mere relics or curios. Rooted in her deep study of the folk beliefs surrounding plants, trees, the dead, and wider metaphysics, Corinne has that rare ability to re-enchant and unlock a worldview and way of life that otherwise may have vanished completely. Corinne's almost playful willingness to test drive and experiment with the folkways of our ancestors felt like it summoned them to the room and made them feel at home and welcomed in our world. 

SHOW NOTES:

Sign up for Classes with Corinne: Maple Mist Wood

Corinne's Bibliography: Books

IG: @maplemistwood

 

They're on bumper stickers, they're on bags of jerky, they're on bars of soap, and if you're not seeing an ancient alien on the History Channel, you're almost certainly seeing someone searching for them in the woods. Big Foot, Sasquatch, Oh Mah, Sunk Ape – they go by many names, and are spotted throughout North America, and beyond. For some, they are a myth; for some, a monster; and for the rest, a mascot. The loudest amongst their fans will tell you they are a flesh and blood relic hominid, and describe their migration patterns, their use of infrasound to evade capture, and, of course, their pendulous breasts. So what, then, does "Big Foot" have to do with the mythic Woodwose of European folklore? The sometimes therianthropic wild man you find in the art and literature of Medieval Europe, and sometimes even in the hagiographies of Saints. What could this mysterious European archetype have in common with America's most popular cryptid? The real question may be, what don't they have in common?

Both Bigfoot and the Woodwose exist as symbols of the uncivilized natural world, its dangers, and the faint familiarity with a time in the distant past when this was also our home. Both display supernatural-seeming abilities. Both challenge us and inspire us. Both have no hard scientific evidence of existing. The callous skeptic would conclude that this comparison perfectly illustrates why belief in Bigfoot is absurd. To the Occultist, the Animist, the Magician, however, such clear deliniations between reality and fantasy are never to be trusted. What the skeptic forgets are the beliefs of the native inhabitants of Turtle Island, who all speak of these creatures in the same breath as bears, deer, and coyotes. To Indigenous People of this land, creatures that we now call Bigfoot are very real, and they also have more in common with nature spirits than gorillas. 

Nay Noodmans gave a fantastic presentation at this year's Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival, exploring all of these ideas and many more. I'm so excited to have her back on the show to chat about the history of the Woodwose, how the Magician should reconsider Bigfoot, and of course we make time to swap personal stories about life in Far Northern California's Bigfoot Country. 

SHOW NOTES: 

House of Gnomi: https://www.instagram.com/houseofgnomi/

Nay's Links: https://linktr.ee/houseofgnomi

Salem Witchcraft & Folklore Festival: Salemwitchfest

We are living in an era where the term "folk" has become the modifier of choice for many looking for a unique way to describe their own spirituality or magical practice. Folk Witchcraft, Folk Catholicism, Folk Magic. "Folk" seems to denote a certain level of idiosyncrasy, authenticity, or earthiness. It also eschews connotations with more popular or commercialized forms of these practices. Sometimes this use of the word "folk" can feel like the way we used "alternative" in the nineties, particularly to describe genres of music. By the mid-nineties "alternative" rock was far and away the most popular music genre, leading one to ask: what exactly was it an alternative to? Similarly in the world of spirituality, sometimes the modifier "folk" can seem vague. I believe it was Jesse Hathaway Diaz who I first heard pose the question in regards to folk spirituality: "Who are the folk?" 

In Scott Richardson-Read's new book Milldust and Dreaming Bread – Exploring Scottish Folk Belief and Folk Magic, the "folk" in question are vivid and unmistakable. While the pastoral stories and customs of the past weave throughout the book, Scott also taps into the deep impressions a land and a people have made upon each other, setting the stage for the folk of today. The impression one gets reading Milldust and Dreaming Bread, is that the "folk" Scott is referring to has less to do with homespun or antiquated practices, and more to do with the Scottish culture's deep and living sense of reciprocity and right relation in the face of the oppressive influence of Empire. This Scottish folkway imbues the myths of the Country, and is at the root of its magical expression. 

As someone first lit up magically by a form of Witchcraft often called folkloric, a large part of my practice has been forged by pulling on the threads of what can sometimes seem like a vague cosmology, back to where I can find its sense of place, rooted in a culture and landscape. Scott's work throughout the years on his blog the Cailleachs Herbarium (and now in this book) has been my own personal roadmap to find out for myself who the "folk" in question are.

 

SHOW NOTES:

Buy Scott's Book: Mill Dust and Dreaming Bread

Scott's Blog: The Cailleachs Herbarium

IG: @cailleachsherbarium

Scottish Histories of Resistance: https://www.scottishhistoriesofresistance.co.uk/

Magic is weird. The more it becomes a part of your life, the constructs you once held dearly as fundamental pillars of reality begin to break down, and in their place, new constructs start to emerge. As someone with a practice founded in Witchcraft and Druidry, I've replaced many of my preconceived notions of reality with a somewhat animist, and ancestral, and even gnostic (at times) interface with the world. This is completely idiosyncratic, but it's true for me, and it allows me to tap into a live wire of personal gnosis that reverberates through my spells and ceremonies in a way that would feel hollow in any other way.

I don't personally identify with the Christian current – Catholic, protestant, or Orthodox, respectively. I was raised in what I like to call "suburban Christianity," which was a shallow form of spirituality that was either a victim or beneficiary (depending on your take) of Reaganomics and the prosperity gospel. That said, for many guests I've had on this show over the past year, there is a very live wire of power to be tapped into within the Christian current, which cuts through the artifice and limitations of my own experience with this religion. 

Robert Peter is a perfect example of this. His "current shifting" and Chaos Magic approach to Christianity both subverts the preconceived notions of how the practice operates and opens paths to unlocking syncretism with a diverse arsenal of magic. 

I'm excited to welcome Robert back to the show, as we explore his unique perspective on incorporating a wide range of influences into his "plug and play" approach to Christian magic.

SHOW NOTES:

No Hand Path: Robert's Substack

IG: @robertpeterservices

Art: Christ in the Desert by Nicholas Roerich, 1933. 

To celebrate Beltane we're welcoming back to the show Morgan Daimler, who just released a new book about love and sex in Fairy belief called Paid with a Kiss. We explore notions of gender expression and subversion in the fairy realm, and whether or not the 80's hair metal scene was secretly fairy-pilled. We also chat about the complicated nature of spirit marriage, and trends in popular witchcraft that seem skeptical of spirits altogether. I'm always grateful for a chance to chat with Morgan, and I think y'all are in for a treat.   

SHOW NOTES: 

Morgan's Books: Author Page

Paid with a Kiss: Moon Books

Feed the Fairies Podcast: Spotify Link

Morgan's Patheos Blog: Patheos Pagan

Morgan's Classes: Irish Pagan School

Morgan's Instagram: @morgandaimler

MUSIC:

"Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress" off the album Fable & Fire by Andrew Marlin - https://www.andrewmarlin.com

Today on the show I'm thrilled to share a chat I recently had with Fio Gede Parma. Fio is a  writer, teacher, and witch whose voice and perspective I really vibe with. Fio has an exceptional knack for diving headfirst into the kind of dense and complicated philosophical territory we love on this show, and effortlessly encapsulating their ideas in an intuitive and accessible way. On the show we explore Fio's experiences as an initiate of the Feri Tradition, as well as diving deep into his recently re-released book: Ecstatic Witchcraft. Fio gracefully and confidently describes the complicated word "shaman," its relationship to Witchcraft, and by extension to ecstacy. We chat about some of the more novel approaches in Fio's book to some tried and true ritual techniques, and how Fio defines deep concepts like "deity" and "faerie" for themself. This is hopefully the first of many conversations we can bring you with Fio . . . enjoy!

...................................................................

SHOW NOTES:

Fio's Site: Fiogedeparma.com

Ecstatic Witchcraft Book: Crossedcrowbooks.com

Fio's excellent Youtube Channel: @Fiogedeparma

IG: @Fiogedeparma

-MUSIC: "Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress" by Andrew Marlin off the ablum Fable & Fire. https://www.andrewmarlin.com/

For those of us drawn to the mysterious realm of Faerie, we're often led to folklore to dive deeper into the subject. While you know how Emma Wilby-pilled I am, there's something novel and exciting about stumbling upon an unpresented series of channeled texts ostensibly written by a faery woman named Fiona Macleod, through the faculties of a middle aged man (William Sharp). Steve Blamires has written extensively on this peculiar case, and in his most recent book: The Confessions of Fiona, he combs through the texts of Fiona Macleod for clues of an esoteric Faery Tradition of magic, as well as Gods and Goddesses particular to the Faerie realm. We also go into the mysterious figure of Dalua who inspired the opera The Immortal Hour, and his relationship to the Folkloric Devil, and explore Steve's writing on the Ogham script.   

SHOW NOTES: 

The Confessions of Fiona: Book

Celtic Tree Mysteries: Book

Steve's Site: Inchanted Journeys

MUSIC:

"Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress" off the album Fable & Fire by Andrew Marlin - https://www.andrewmarlin.com

I'm so excited to have Reverend Janglebones back on the show. He's one of the rare guests that makes me feel like hitting the record button without a list of questions or an outline for our conversation mapped out in advance. The result is a very fun and casual conversation about the Christ-like aspects of the Devil, and the Luciferian aspects of Jesus — amongst other things. We also talk about the importance of humor in spirituality, the bizarre experience of having a relationship with a spirit who also encapsulates some aspect of the fundamental fabric of our reality, and the reverse dualism that is somewhat prevalent in the Traditional/Folkloric Witchcraft community these days. I can't recommend checking out Reverend Janglebones' recent substack series (Hillock & Holler) on Jesus & Lucifer enough. 

...................................................................

SHOW NOTES:

Hillock & Holler: The Rev's Substack

-The Good Reverend's Writing, services and materia: Hillock & Holler

-Soapbox Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soapbox/id1628906671

IG: @reverendjanglebones

-MUSIC: "Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress" by Andrew Marlin off the ablum Fable & Fire. https://www.andrewmarlin.com/

Today on the one year anniversary of Radical Elphame, we invite back the guest who helped us kick off this peculiar experiment: the delightful Briar of The Greene Chapel. We explore a recent essay she published on her Greene Chapel site: "The Lady with a Mead Cup," which dives into the primordial image of a virginal Cup Bearer, and how this mythopoetics relates to divinely inspired poetic inspiration and prophecy as a sacred ritual. We untangle the labyrinthian mystery of the Celtic "imbas forosnai," and its relationship to the lady of the day: Brighid. We do some UPG mind melding as well, exploring the relationship between Brighid and her theorized Mothers: The Morrigan AND Boann. It was such a blast reconnecting with Briar, and getting to celebrate Imbolc with someone who can capture and crystalize the essence of Brighid better than anyone.

SHOW NOTES:

The Greene Chapel - https://www.greenechapel.com

Briar's Patreon: Briar of the Greene Chapel

Briar's Chapbook: The Beheading Game

Briar's Course: Working With Joan of Arc as Saint of the French Fairy Faith

Briar's IG: greene_chapel

MUSIC:

"Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress" off the album Fable & Fire by Andrew Marlin - https://www.andrewmarlin.com

We welcome back to the show the seership super group that is Rose Auroras, B. Key and Sfinga for a scryers round table: Unsolved Mysteries edition. We chat about the philosophy behind the practice of scrying, and what it's like to teach the technique to others. We also go through a greatest hits of the weirdest shit they've ever scryed — from Unsolved Mysteries, to paranormal hotspots and infamous people — and what insights they were able to glean. We also chat horror movies, cursed films, and summon good ol' Bobby Eggnog.   

SHOW NOTES:

Sfinga and Key's website: With Cunning and Command Website

Sfinga and Key's Podcast: The Frightful Howls You May Hear

Rose's Website: Readings with Rose

Salem Witchfest: All of our guests today will be presenting in 2025

Sfinga's IG: Dragoncunning

B. Key's IG: Barnowl.key

Rose's IG: RoseAuroras

Horror Film Recommendation: In the Tall Grass (2019)

MUSIC:

"Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress" off the album Fable & Fire by Andrew Marlin - https://www.andrewmarlin.com