Open minded

But there are a lot of people who think there is a right and wrong way to ask questions, and a good and bad way to use tarot. Sometimes it can be really confusing too, because every person has their own opinion of what is good and bad. One person could swear doing yes or no questions is wrong, while another person loves only doing yes or no questions.

My point is: Your practice is your own.

That’s what spirituality is all about. Even more so, that’s what witchcraft is about: crafting a way of life with rituals that are personalized and unique to you.

And no you don’t have to be a witch to read Tarot, and reading tarot does not make you a witch, either.

Tarot and Witchcraft live separately, it’s just that people associate them with each other because they each have qualities that benefit the other.

So why do people feel so strongly about there being a good and bad, right and wrong way of practicing tarot?

Long story short, it’s their personal beliefs which can be based on limiting beliefs, misinformation, or a lack of esoteric knowledge and studying.

Now, I’m not perfect, I don’t know everything. I’m still young, I am still learning of the esoteric world and I plan to always be learning. But from what I know in my personal practice— in what I’ve learned from reading tarot, channeling spirits, studying the craft and meditating— I know that good and bad are relative terms and that in the art of divination the only good or bad there is, is if you’re being respectful or not.

All the other rules that people make for tarot are unnecessary.

So let’s debunk a few of the most spread beliefs around tarot:

“you’re not asking the right question.”

This gets thrown around so much, it can make you doubt yourself when trying to read tarot and no one seems to offer any explanation or guidance around what they think is the “right” question that you should be asking.

So here’s what they think it means,

Some people think Tarot is like a Genie, with a trickster energy that likes to play with you. They think you have to ask super clear questions, with zero room for mistakes so you get the right answer.

Like how Genie in Aladdin tells him to be careful how he words things because he can “make you a prince” but he’ll really just make a new person who happens to be a prince.

Tarot isn’t like that. Tarot understands what you mean because Tarot knows your intentions. Tarot will answer the question you mean to ask, even if it’s not what you asked with your words. So you’re allowed to ask a question however you feel like asking it.

Here’s what it actually means,

The idea of it being a right or wrong question isn’t about morals, it’s usually about whether the question is clear to understand or if it can be misinterpreted by the deck.

When someone is worried that tarot isn’t going to answer them correctly, it’s because they have this assumption and this fear that they have to be perfect and clear while asking it or else Tarot will answer them wrong.

This becomes true for them because of their belief.

But this is what’s actually true:

Tarot understands everything about you it understands what you want to ask before you even ask it.

Yes, some spirits attached to the decks are comedians and they like to give roundabout answers or “wrong” answers or speak in riddles. This isn’t Tarot though, this is just spirits that haven’t been given boundaries or rules to follow.

This is why it’s important to set an intention with your tarot deck {and all divination tools} so you can create those boundaries and rules.

The intention I like to set for my divination tools is “Please give me honest and accurate answers only, that are clear and easy for me to understand quickly.”

This way, no matter which deck I’m using, which spirit I’m asking, I always receive quick and easy, true and accurate answers. And I’m able to ask questions however they come to mind, I don’t have to agonize over the grammar, intent or if it makes sense context wise. I also don’t have to worry if it’s too broad or detailed enough to get the answer I’m intending.

“don’t make the questions too broad.”

Here’s what they think it means:

Some people think if you ask a question that’s broad, it’ll leave too much room for uncertainty, like the deck will respond with an answer like, “I can’t understand what you want me to say, please narrow it down for me.”

But it won’t. Tarot meets every one where they are. It’ll do it’s best to answer you in a way that you can understand, while sharing information that sometimes may be leagues above your capability of understanding.

Tarot, at the center of what it is, is a database for gathering information that belongs to the divine. Information we can’t understand unless we expand our minds and let go of limiting beliefs.

You can make a question super broad, like “What is happening next year?” And it’ll still answer you.

Now you’re probably wondering how that’s a super broad question, but it’s because there’s about 10 to a million ways you could be asking about next year. Are you asking about what will happen for you? for your dog? in the government? Are you wanting to know about the weather? or are you asking about a basketball team and if they’ll make it to the playoffs next year. But guess what? Tarot knows what you mean even if you don’t. And it’ll answer the question you intended on asking.

Here’s what it actually means:

When people warn you about making questions too broad, they’re more so worried that you don’t understand what you’re asking and therefore you won’t understand what the answer is answering.

They’re just warning you to be clear about it, and narrow it down so 1) you know how to read the cards in relation to your question or 2) the cards don’t go on a frenzy and throw 25 cards out at once and answer you in a spider web of every possible direction you could’ve meant with your question… but again, that’s their personal misconception about how Tarot works and how it answers questions. To them, it may answer in a million directions, but only because that’s their belief and their subconscious’ intention when they asked their broad question.

And here’s the truth:

I ask both broad and detailed questions all the time. Honestly, I prefer broad questions when I need clarity on a situation and I don’t know what I want to know I just know I need an answer to give me direction for my next question.

Tarot, like spirituality and reality, will *always* conform to your own beliefs of how something works. If you assume that Tarot needs clear specific questions or else they’ll throw up a 404 Error Page Not Found sign, then they will.

But if you assume that Tarot is divine, omniscient, and willing to answer all your questions to help you on your quest to enlightenment, no matter how you ask the question, then it will.

If you put limitations on what Tarot can do, how it can or should operate, Tarot will function according to those. The reason being, that contrary to popular belief, the universe doesn’t want to overwhelm you or scare you by giving you knowledge that you’re not ready to accept. Knowledge like, if you’re afraid of thinking Tarot is an all knowing, super intelligent tool with access to every thought, emotion, and event you’ve ever had, then Tarot will show itself to you as a lesser intelligence so it doesn’t scare you.

“don’t ask yes or no questions with tarot.”

What they think it means,

This could be in 2 different ways, some people believe 100% that tarot isn’t made for yes or no questions, going so far to say it can’t answer accurately. And other people just think it’s a waste of time or an insult to ask tarot a question that can be answered with a yes or no.

What it really means,

So some people think it’s an insult because tarot is crafted in a way that offers long form answers. It works to tell a story. The way I view asking tarot a yes or no question is like you’re asking a snow cone vender to give you a single ice cube.

They can give you the ice cube, but they could offer you so much more if you let them. Same thing with Tarot. It can give you a yes or no answer, but it could also give you an in-depth explanation for why it’s a yes {or no}.

And the people who think Tarot can’t accurately give a yes or no… it’s just a limiting belief. Tarot hasn’t shown them that it has that capability yet.

The Truth,

Tarot is a divination tool, you can ask it any thing. In any way. It will always *alwaysss* reply with an answer. Its accuracy is up to your beliefs and whether you have set the intention for the answer to be accurate.

“tarot is for self improvement not for being nosy about other people.”

Here’s what they think it means,

This is what people say when they believe that ethics and morals play a big role in divination, and that they can be punished for how they use tarot.

More specifically, this is when someone is afraid that “spying” on someone else’s energy is evil, or wrong because you’re doing it without the other person’s consent.

The truth is, You don’t need anyone’s consent to look into their energy.

It’s just polite to ask first, but it’s not wrong. And if you aren’t supposed to see their energy, it will be clouded, it will be protected and shielded so you don’t see it and the cards will convey that with their answer.

This goes hand in hand with the idea that love spells are evil because they “take away the person’s free will” but, no it doesn’t. I’ll do another post on debunking love spells but the gist of it is the spell wouldn’t work if it wasn’t meant to. Everyone has protections set up, whether they are aware of it or not, no one can do anything they don’t want to just because a spell was cast on them.

Tarot, is meant to be used in a myriad of ways. It’s a tool, not like a hammer with only one function, but it’s like a swiss army knife. It can do 20 things at once, and that’s just the ways we’ve discovered so far.

Tarot can be used to look into your past, past life regressions. To look into your future, future predictions. To look into your love life. Look at your shadows. To talk to spirits. And it can be used to see the energy of other people. What’s going on in their life, what their future holds, what their past was like, who they will fall in love with, etc.

And you can’t be punished for how you use tarot.

The ONLY way you can abuse Tarot and be punished for it, is if you are disrespectful to the deck or a spirit you’re communicating with through the deck, while practicing. And even then, it’s a matter of how disrespectful you were and to whom, and if the spirit you offended is one that enjoys teaching lessons through punishment.

Other than that, how you read Tarot is really not a big deal, or anything to be afraid or concerned about 🤍

What it actually means,

Meanwhile, other people mean well when they say not to use tarot for snooping into other people’s business. It’s not a warning from them, instead it’s their way of saying you should use tarot to be productive instead of to indulge in gossip and ego.

And while I agree, that tarot is “better” used when we focus on improving ourselves and learning esoteric information, I don’t agree in telling people how to use tarot. I prefer educating and allowing yall to decide how you want to do things from an educated perspective. I think it’s best for yall to have the freedom to do whatever you want while being aware of what’s out there.

The truth,

One of the most beneficial ways of using tarot is to look into the energy of other people.

There’s actually an important part of spirit work in witchcraft or mundane spirituality, where a practitioner needs to “vet a spirit” to make sure the spirit they’re communicating with is who they say they are, and trustworthy… trustworthy may not be the right word but it essentially is what we use vetting for.

And the only way to, in my personal opinion, accurately vet a spirit is by doing so from a sideways approach. By asking another spirit {or the deck itself} about the spirit in question. Because you can ask the spirit in question if they are trustworthy, and they could lie to you… But if you ask a spirit you already know is trustworthy, about this new spirit, they’ll tell you the truth.

And obviously, you aren’t going to get the new spirit’s consent to look into their energy if they’re a malicious spirit or an imposter. So you have to do it without their consent. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Now, for those of you who dont want to speak to spirits, this works for the living too. I’ve personally have had so many people in my life who have lied to my face about who they were, went behind my back, and talked shit about me. And there was no physical proof of it, but I felt the energy so I did readings on it. And that’s when I learned who was being fake with me and I was able to confront them and get the physical evidence I was looking for.

I think people worry about consent because they equate every kind of consent to being as important or punishable as abuse, but when it comes to energy and checking on it either astrally or with divination, it’s not a sin.

It’s essentially looking at someone with your third eye. You’re not violating them in anyway, you’re simply seeing them the way they truly are, in their true energetic form and you’re seeing the energy around them and that includes their future, past and present because time is not linear, it’s all happening at once so you’re allowed to see it.

The only time you’re not allowed to see someone’s energy is if their spirit team or they themselves don’t want you to see it. They’ll have protections set up, to cloak their energy but it’s not because what you’re doing is wrong, it’s because:

they are either a super important person to the divine, and the divine has extra security around them to protect them and their destiny,

or the person is malicious and doesn’t want anyone to know who they really are.

Understanding How Tarot Answers

All right, so now that you know the reasoning behind the popular misconceptions, and that you can use tarot however you’d like to, let’s get into understanding how Tarot answers questions!

Getting answers from Tarot can happen in a myriad of ways.

Sometimes it can be direct, you can take the cards at face value and the answer is clear as day. Other times, the answers can come thru abstractly, where you’ll need to study the cards and hone into your intuition more than usual to really understand the answer.

What determines how the answers come through depends on a few factors.

your intention

the question asked

the energy answering

your intention

You can set the intention that your divination tool, a tarot deck in this case, will only answer you in a clear, easy-to-understand way, and then it will. I have a few decks where I have this intention set, then I have other decks where I let them do their own thing, because sometimes it’s nice to get advice from the deck itself.

Some people skip this step and that’s what causes a lot of problems and misconceptions around tarot.

the question asked

Without an intention set, some questions can interfere with the simplicity of the answer. As frustrating as this sounds, and may be, it can happen.

Sometimes the way the question is asked can give you a different answer than you intended for it to. But the deck understands what you meant to ask but has to answer the question you actually asked… so it kinda throws both answers at you at once and that can sometimes be confusing to read if the answers contradict each other because of the question.

I’ll give an example for this. Let’s say you are reading for yourself and you’re wanting to know if you/your partner will get pregnant soon… The question you ask is: How soon will I/we become pregnant?

It seems pretty straight forward, you’ll get a timeframe and that’s exactly what you want to know… However let’s say you/your partner are already pregnant, it’s early days, yall don’t even suspect it yet… The cards that come out could probably be the Tower, the Ace of Wands… or Ace of Swords… Moon, 7 of cups, 4 of cups… bonus points if you get the Empress card thrown in there too! And suddenly it all looks a little confusing. Half the cards are saying it’ll happen soon, suddenly.. a matter of days to weeks. While other cards appear to say it’s an illusion and you’re not seeing the situation clearly, that it could also take months.

Suddenly, you’re back to the drawing board trying to figure out what question to ask next to clarify this.

Especially if you aren’t in tune with your intuition or if your anxiety around the situation is clouding your intuition, it could be hard to see that the cards are actually saying: “You are already pregnant (tower, ace of wands, empress) you’ll find out in a few days, (tower, ace of wands/swords) you just don’t know it yet because it’s hidden from you, (moon, 7 cups, 4 cups, ace of swords) but if you listen to your intuition you’ll know.”

This is just a communication issue, and the way to solve this problem is by asking the question we really want the answer to, first, and then trickling down into more details. If the first question you asked was “Are we currently pregnant?” the answer would’ve been straight forward Yes. Then you wouldn’t need the question about timing. Now, if the scenario was different and you weren’t pregnant but you asked this question first, it would’ve said No, but it would be a nudge in the right direction, now you know you can ask about timing and the answer will be direct, and clear.

That’s what we want. We want to ask questions that we can be sure will give us clear and direct answers because there’s zero room for misinterpretation.

the energy answering

Now, we come to the last possible issue, the last pillar where things could go wrong. The energy answering the question.

I talked about who could be answering your questions in part 3, and I explained a little about trickster spirits and imposters… but the other thing to be aware of is, the deck’s personality.

This is only an issue if you haven’t set boundaries and set an intention with your deck.

The deck, or spirits can have a bit of a humor when answering questions, and sometimes they will give you wrong or confusing answers in hopes to have you loosen up a bit. I have a few decks that did this when I was just starting out and I was really anxious and felt like the situation was super serious. They helped me realize no situation is ever that serious and I don’t have to worry about the answer.

Now if you’re not using the deck to channel spirits, and you’ve cut off the deck’s spirit and you’ve infused the deck with your own energy and it’s fully your intuition, your higher self answering your questions, you don’t have to worry about this too much.

However, sometimes, the universe, your spirit team, the deck, and even your own higher self think it’s best that you don’t know everything right now.

There’s divine timing for everything, it’s a law in the universe and divination abides by that law. It’s there to surprise you with something good, or to make sure you’re able to comprehend something that’s shocking, to make sure you can process it, handle it and not feel like your entire world imploded. And so spirits can hide things from you purposefully.

Even if you ask the question in a clear way, even if you did set up intentions, sometimes the cards will lie to you, to protect you from knowing something too soon. And they will make it seem as if it is the truth. You can pull clarity cards, and it’ll all say it’s true.

I know this can be really frustrating to hear, especially when just starting in your divination journey, but there is good news!

There is a surefire way to get accurate and honest answers, no matter what, but it takes a lot of effort on your part. I’ll get into that in a little while. Right now, we need to understand why this could happen, even if you don’t have any spirits involved in your practice except your highest self.

First you need to understand what divination is. And what it isn’t.

Divination is by definition : Finding out secret, hidden, or esoteric information by consulting the divine, spirits, and higher powers.

This means divination can’t be separated from the universe, from the divine. . . and that means it can’t fully be separated from spirits.

Divination isn’t something that exists outside of the universe or outside of the divine’s highest interest for you BECAUSE Divination exists within the system that the universe operates in, and that means operating on divine timing and working for your highest benefit. Which is a good thing.

See, even if you set up boundaries and don’t allow other spirits to talk through the deck, your spirit is still involved. Your highest self. And your highest self is part of the divine, part of the universe. It operates on the same field and wavelength of knowing what is good to know right this moment, and what needs to wait to be known until later. There’s no escaping that.

However, before you run away thinking divination isn’t worth it, let me say that, the more aligned you become with your highest self, the more and more you will always get told the truth by the cards. No matter what.

This is because the more aligned you become with your highest self, the more relaxed you are towards the answers and hard-to-hear truths that would usually be hidden from you if you weren’t balanced in your acceptance of it.

So there is a way to get the truth no matter what, but it’s a journey into yourself, and that isn’t easy. So just be aware that if you want the full, unbiased truth from divination {be it tarot or oracle or shuffle~mancy or any type of divination} you’ll be put on a journey of self discovery and alignment with your highest self.

Which is honestly what divination is all about 🤍

Crafting Questions

So now that we know there’s no right or wrong way to ask a question, I’ll give you the basics to asking a clear question so you know you’re always receiving an answer you can decipher 🤍

The main thing about tarot, and divination in general is: it’s a mindfulness practice, first and foremost.

It’s a practice to help center yourself in the present moment, bring you into yourself, and tune you into your intuition.

Which means the key to asking questions comes from calming your mind, taking your time, and looking within first, to understand what you’re really wanting to know is.

Here are the basics to crafting a clear question:

Set the intention~ so the deck and yourself have a clear understanding of what to expect when you draw cards. Ask for clear, easy to understand answers, that are honest and accurate.

Meditate~ calm your mind, worries, fears. Let go of bias and expectations. Allow yourself to be open to receive the truth even if it isn’t what you want to hear. In the calm, most of the time you will find out what question you want to ask.

but if you still don’t know what to ask…

When in doubt: Zoom out, when you dont know what question to ask, ask yourself “what answer am i hoping for?” This will give you the question it answers, (Most likely, it may be a yes or no question) and now you can ask that question.

Reminders:

Yes or No questions are useful, and there’s nothing wrong with asking a yes or no question in tarot. I do it all the time. The only reason why we want to ask open ended questions more than yes or no questions, is because tarot is built for going in depth, and telling a story. Confining tarot to say a yes or no answer is kinda like asking a snow cone vendor to give you a single ice cube. They can do it, there’s nothing wrong with it, but they could do so much more for you, if you let them.

Yes or No questions are great for clarity, this is what makes it okay to ask them in tarot. And usually when you need to zoom out and look at what answer you really want to know, it’s usually an issue on clarity. Which is where the yes or no questions exist. So don’t be afraid of asking a question that starts with Is, Are, Am I/they, etc.

At the end of the day, Tarot is a tool for gaining insight into your own intuition, and finding answers to questions that haunt you, so you can find peace and comfort. While asking a clear question is useful to you in divination, at the end of the day, the answer will come to you regardless of how you asked the question.

The universe, tarot, your intuition, it responds even when you are desperate. And if you are desperate or struggling with how to ask a question, even after meditating, you can simply talk to the deck. Tell them what you’re thinking about, what you’re struggling with, what question you want to ask but you’re not sure if that’s detailed enough to give the answer you intend the question to answer for you, and then ask the deck to tell you the truth. I do this when I need clarity on days where astrologically my mind is a mess and clarity is no where to be found. And it works every time.

People like to think of divination like it’s something out of reach, something like a higher power that only understands us if we ask a question in a super simple, direct, way— like making a wish to a genie. But that’s not how divination works at all. Divination understands your intention, and it understands your question. It’ll answer your question and it’ll answer your intention, even if both require different answers. Even if the answers contradict each other. That’s why asking a clear question is for your benefit, it’s for giving you clarity, not for making sure the deck answers correctly.

It’s for your benefit so you can have complete clarity on the situation and get that clarity quickly. But there really isn’t a wrong way to ask a question.

At the end of the day, tarot is a tool to help you. So of course it’s going to answer the question you intend to ask no matter how you worded it.

That’s all for this post! If you have any questions or want me to elaborate on something in this post please reach out, either with my asks “Owl Desk 🦉” comments or DMs. 🤍

The next post will be on cleansing and charging decks {since i forgot to write a post on that 🙈} and then we’ll dive into how to read the cards! 🥳

💌 i m p o r t a n t n o t e 💌

I will never message you first asking for money or about booking tarot readings with me, so please be mindful of impersonators!

You can only Book a Reading with me through my Etsy Shop and my Ko~Fi Shop and I only have one of each, all linked here.

❤︎ Follow @loveastridtarot for collective readings

Witchcraft Practices

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 Host Trae Dorn discusses the ongoing debate over whether or not it’s okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There’s so much misinformation in New Age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it’s hard for some witches to get a clear picture. It’s common to run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and we’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – we don’t think you should.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 106 - Lilith, the Phantom Maiden November 22, 2022 Host Nathaniel Lloyd explores the evolution of the figure of Lilith, from Mesopotamian demon, to the first woman created by God, and back to a succubus mother of demons. It’s a tale of syncretism, superstition, forgery, and a dubious interpretation of scriptures.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 55 - Lucky Girl Syndrome and the Law of Attraction January 28, 2023 Trae takes a look at one of New Age spirituality’s most toxic philosophies - The Law of Attraction. The history of the idea is discussed, where it came from, and how this dangerous combination of prosperity gospel, purity culture, and victim-blaming has come back in a major way to a whole new generation as “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” 

Hex Positive, Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope.

This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Stuff You Missed in History Class - A Brief History of Tarot Cards Oct. 26, 2020 How did a card game gain a reputation for being connected to mysticism? Tarot’s history takes a significant turn in the 18th century, but much of that shift in perception is based on one author’s suppositions and theories.

Hex Positive, Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Our Curious Past, Ep. 20 - The Curious History of the Ouija Board August 18, 2023 Host Peter Laws explores the history of the “talking board,” which was wildly popular in the early 1900s, until something happened that would tarnish its’ reputation for good. 

Ridiculous History - Brooms and Witchcraft, Pt. 1 & 2 Oct. 13-15, 2020 Most people are familiar with the stereotypical image of a witch: a haggard, often older individual with a peaked hat, black robes, a demonic familiar and, oddly enough, a penchant for cruising around on broomsticks. But where did that last weirdly specific trop of flying on a broomstick actually come from?  Could the stereotype of witches on broomsticks actually be a drug reference? Join Ben, Noel, and Casey as they continue digging through the history and folklore of witchcraft - and how it affected pop culture in the modern day.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 116 - The Key to the Secrets of King Solomon  May 02, 2023 Host Nathaniel Lloyd continues his occasional series on the history and mythology of magic. In this installment, he looks at the development of the story that the biblical King Solomon was actually a flying-carpet-riding, magic-ring-wielding wizard and alchemist who bound demons to do his will. The origins and content of the legendary Key of Solomon are also discussed.

Holidays

Hex Positive, Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Host Bree NicGarran puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter  and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first  – the bunny or the egg?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 28 - A Very Historically Blind Christmas Dec. 18, 2018 An exploration of the origins of Christmas traditions, with special guest Brian Earl of the Christmas Past podcast. (There is also some mention of Christmas witches!) Further installments of this series explore additional Christmas traditions and iconography which have been falsely claimed to have pagan origins. (Eps. 47, 63, & 84 in December of subsequent years)

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Ed and Lorraine Warren

You’re Wrong About…Ed and Lorraine Warren w. Jamie Loftus November 8, 2021 Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle fame). Topics of interest include Connecticut as a locus of scary happenings, New England uncles, and psychic communication with a tearstained Bigfoot.

Dig: A History Podcast - The Demonologist and the Clairvoyant: Ed and Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigation, and Exorcism in the Modern World Oct 3, 2021 In the 1970s, Lorraine and Ed Warren had a spotlight of paranormal obsession shining on them. In the last decade, their work as paranormal investigators–ghost hunters–has been the premise for a blockbuster horror franchise totaling at least seven films so far, and more planned in the near future. So… what the heck? Is this for real? Yes, friends, today we’re talking about demonology, psychic connections to the dead, and the patriarchy. Just a typical day with your historians at Dig.

"Paranormal" Literature

You’re Wrong About…Winter Book Club - The Amityville Horror, Pts. 1-3 Dec. 20, 2021 - Feb. 6, 2022 Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and buying murder furniture might not be such a great idea. Further highlights include Jodie the Demon Pig, poor insulation and terrible parenting as evidence of a haunting, lots and lots of sunk cost fallacy, and how the book kind of debunks itself.

You’re Wrong About… - Michelle Remembers, Pt. 1-5 March 26, 2020 - April 30, 2020 Intrepid hosts Sarah and Mike delve into one of the foundational texts of the Satanic Panic - “Michelle Remembers.” A young woman spends a year undergoing hypnosis therapy, which uncovers repressed memories of shocking and horrifying abuse at the hands of a Satanic cult. The book became a foundational text for both mental health professionals and law enforcement attempting to grapple with an alleged nationwide network of insidiously invisible child-abducting cults. The only problem is…none of what Michelle remembered ever actually happened.

You’re Wrong About…. - The Satan Seller, Pt. 1-5 June 28, 2021 - August 9, 2021 Sarah and Mike return to Camp You’re Wrong About for another Satanic Panic story hour. This time, the summer book club explores Mike Warnke’s 1972 “memoir” about joining a demonic cult, rising through the ranks of Satan’s favorite lackeys, his sudden downfall and redemption, and the California hedonism that made him do it. This is followed by a discussion of the Cornerstone Magazine exposé that brought the facts to light and thoroughly discredited Warnke’s story.

American Hysteria, Eps. 64-66 - Chick Tracts, Pts. 1-3 March 20 - April 03, 2023 In his own lifetime, Jack Chick was one of most prolific and widely-read comic artists in history. His company, Chick Tracts, published hundreds of millions of copies of pocket-sized bible comics, filled with lurid illustrations of cackling demons, wicked witches, and sinister cults, all hell-bent on corrupting any hapless mortal they could get their hands on. These tracts were meant to be left where they might be found by a sinner in need of salvation, with a scared-straight morality-play approach to Christianity that contributed in no small part to the period in the late 20th century we now call the Satanic Panic. (There’s also a follow-up two-part episode about one of Chick’s “occult experts,” who claimed to be, among other things, a real-life vampire.)

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

Secret Societies and Antisemitism

Historical Blindness, Ep. 14 - Bloody Libel December 12, 2017 An exploration of one of the most destructive myths in history - the blood libel, or the false accusation that Jews of the Middle Ages and beyond ritually murdered Christian children, a lie that host Nathaniel Lloyd traces back to its’ roots in medieval England and the murder of one Young William of Norwich.

Historical Blindness, Eps. 56-57 - The Illuminati IlluminatedSeptember 15-29, 2020 A contemplation of the modern conservative conspiracy theory of a “deep state” leads host Nathaniel Lloyd back to the dawn of the modern conspiracy theory, the Enlightenment, when the ultimate conservative conspiracy theory was born as an explanation for the French Revolution: The Illuminati!

Historical Blindness, Eps. 38-40 - Nazi Occultism, Parts 1-3 July 2-30, 2019 An exploration of the dark roots of Nazi occult philosophies, from a neo-paganism preoccupied with the Nordic Pantheon, to a folksy back-to-the-land movement that evolved into a nationalist sentiment, to an ideology of racial supremacy all tied up with contemporary myths and pseudoscience. (The host is careful to note with clarity and vehemence at the start of each episode that this series IN NO WAY approves of, promotes, or supports this ideology and Nazism is roundly condemned at every turn. It’s not an easy listen, but understanding how and why this bigotry continues to be a problem in pagan spaces and how to recognize it is very important.) TL;DR - Fuck Nazis. No tolerance for genocidal fuckwads.

The Satanic Panic

American Hysteria - Satanic Panic, pt 1 & 2 Dec. 10 2018 - Jan. 07, 2019 This two-part episode covers perhaps the most mystifying moral panic in US history, the 1980s and early 90s ‘Satanic Panic.’ For this episode, Chelsey covers the rise of organized Satanism beginning in the late 60s, as well as the adversarial countercultures of the hippies and the metalheads, and their apparent Satanic crimes that would be hailed as proof of their evil, as well as proof that teens, as well as children, were in serious moral peril. Satan was allegedly hypnotizing the youth with secret messages in backwards rock songs, teaching them occult magic in Saturday morning cartoons, and causing suicides through a popular role-playing games, all while helping religion blur into politics for good.

For part two, Chelsey will cover what came next, a serious investigation into an imagined network of Satanic cults ritually abusing children in daycare centers all over the country. Chelsey will try to understand this shocking decade in history, why it really happened, and the cultural issues it was really about.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 10 - The Satanic Panic April 27, 2019 The Satanic Panic of the 70s, 80s, and 90s shaped the Modern Witchcraft Movement in a lot of unexpected ways. Its effects still ripple through a lot of our sources, so in this installment of the podcast we’re digging into this extremely weird part of American history. It’s a bit of a doozy, after all.

BS-Free Witchcraft - Ep. 32: A New Satanic Panic? February 27, 2021 A couple of years ago, we did an episode on the history of the Satanic Panic of the latter half of the twentieth century, but recent events have led us to ask - could it be happening again? It’s very possible that we are at the start of a new wave of satanic panic, and QAnon is just the latest symptom of a larger problem.

Occultae Veritatis, Case #014: Satanic Panic of Martensville Jan. 28, 2018 Today the hosts cover one of the various Satanic ritual abuse scandals that happened close to them. Is it full of hot air and false allegations? Yes. Yes it is.