Wayward Wanderer – Details, episodes & analysis

One term most people who have spent time in Pagan spaces has probably heard is UPG or unverified personal gnosis. Tune in for a wander with your host through what this term means, why it is essential to the modern Pagan movement, and the best way to handle UPG.

I'm hitting the conference circuit!  Find out more how you can help get me out to Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maryland this spring at this link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/spring-conferences-fundraiser--63344095
Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Check out my Patreon!
You can also help out by scheduling a rune reading with Ryan!

Hey everyone I have some big announcements for the spring 2025 conference season.  I've been accepted to present at Paganicon in the Twin Cities, Sacred Spaces in Baltimore, and will be returning to the Harvard Divinity School this April! 

I'm also going to need everyone's help to make all of that possible.  If you would like to help then please tune in, head on over to my Ko-fi and Patreon, consider booking a rune reading with me, and share this info far and wide.

Ko-fi link: ko-fi.com/ryansmithwfi
Patreon: patreon.com/waywardwanderer
Book a Rune Reading: https://calendly.com/ryan-fireandice/reading-appointment

Hey everyone I'm holding a special live online Q&A with Shane Burley this Thursday, October 31st at 5PM PST!


Join me, the author of "The Way of Fire & Ice" and "Spinning Wyrd", for a live Q&A with Shane Burley, co-author of "Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism" and author of "Fascism Today: What it is and How to End It", on antisemitism today, antisemitism in the Pagan community, and how Pagan and Jewish communities can resist the conspiratorial Right and rising Christian Nationalism through unity and solidarity.


If you would like to participate in this live, online event then please register now using the following form:


https://forms.gle/jwPSCqopmp4hCMd69

Many core Pagan and Heathen practices are often described as supernatural, but is that really the right word for what we do?  Join your host for a dive into the origins of the concept of the supernatural, what it implies, and how we could move beyond its logic of separation and isolation.

Click here to schedule a rune reading with Ryan!

Ancestor veneration is a major component of modern Heathen spirituality and many forms of Paganism.  Join your host for an exploration of veneration for the dead, the foundations of ancestor worship in modern Heathen practice, how to deal with awful ancestors, and more!

Click here to schedule a rune reading with Ryan!

I am taking a break from the usual programming to talk about mutual aid, disaster relief, and disinformation in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

*Mutual Aid
*It Could Happen Here
*Mutual Aid Disaster Relief
*Appalachian Medical Solidarity
*Appalachian Regional Commission Hurricane Helene Resources
*Is Chimney Rock Being Bulldozed?

It's Spooktober, so let's start the month off right with a little explainer about death, dying, and the dead in Heathenry!  Join Ryan for a journey into the why, how, and what of death, dying, and the afterlife in Heathenry.  Highlights of this episode include a short trip through the Heathen hereafters, attitudes towards life and death, and dispelling any notion that your afterlife is a reward or a punishment for how you lived.

Click here to schedule a rune reading with Ryan!

CW: Extensive discussion of Neo-Nazi ideology and history, terrorism, and other political violence

Joining us today is author and antifascist researcher Spencer Sunshine!  Spencer has a PhD in Sociology, has written extensively on the U.S. Far Right, and has a new book out with Routledge called Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism.  We talked all about the central figure of his work, neo-Nazi ideologue James Mason, Mason's influence on the modern far-right and connections to critical figures in the occult, Pagan, and Satanic far-right, and more!

Boyd Rice: Neo-Nazi Collaborator
Spencer's Patreon 
Routledge Discount Code: nntcf30

Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Check out my Patreon!
You can also help out by scheduling a rune reading with Ryan!

These days, it feels like everything is in a state of crisis.  Join your host for a dive into how Nordic myth addresses the question of systemic crisis through the myth of Ragnarok, our present polycrisis, and whether we can avert the horrors of the Wolf Age and the destruction it promises.

Hatian Community Support and Help Center:

https://www.haitiansupportcenterspringfield.org/

Sources and links:
*https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-22-ragnarok--53067190
*https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160419083247.htm
*https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/polycrisis-adam-tooze-historian-explains/
*https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/extreme-weather-climate-change-displaced/
*https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-statistics-2024/
*https://redgreenandblue.org/2024/09/03/klamath-dams-finally-come-freeing-salmon-liberating-indigenous-peoples/
*https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/dillon-ranch-graton-rancheria-land-back/

Joining us today is author Tim Rayborn!  Tim is a highly prolific author with a PhD from the University of Leeds who has published in history, mythology, and many other topics and has recently published a new book, Northern Mythology: Tales from Norse, Finnish, and Sami Traditions.   We talked all about it, what makes myth true and relevant today, and more!

Want to support this podcast and my other work?  Check out my Patreon!
You can also help out by scheduling a rune reading with Ryan!