Guest Appearance on Radical Elphame

Now this is more like it! Chad from the fantastic Podcast Radical Elphame was apparently quite smitten by the series of episodes here on What Magic is This? regarding Fairies and has produced a show of his own which dives deep on these interesting entities. Having listened to a number of episodes of Radical Elphame, […]

The Discoverie of Witchcraft

There are very few books within the Western Magical Tradition which have had an impact and legacy beyond the tradition itself. In 1584 a book appeared written by a country gentleman that was unlike anything at the time and unlike anything since. Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft was a massive work which saw Reginald […]

The History of Cartomancy

Playing cards have always been magical. While not as ubiquitous and long tenured as dice and other means of games and gambling, card games have been a part of western culture for over 600 years. Inevitably, as soon as something gets used for games, it immediately gets used for divination and fortune-telling as well. This […]

Pamela Colman Smith & The Tarot Deck which changed everything

If the western Magical tradition has one object which has bled into mainstream culture and seems like it is there to stay, it would be a pack of Tarot cards designed and released in 1909. Originally released as The Tarot, it would later be known as the Rider Waite Tarot, and for decades that is […]

Magical Treasure Hunting

If there is one thing that can put a fire into the heart of many a person over the last two thousand years, it is the enticement of buried treasure. Yet for centuries, buried riches weren’t merely just items of value placed in the earth for people to seek out, treasure and the spirits which […]