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PODCAST

What Magic Is This?

Douglas Batchelor

What Magic is This? is a topic based podcast about Magic, the Occult, the Esoteric, the Paranormal, the Supernatural and the Weird. Each episode revolves around one single topic in the hope that we can flesh out the important aspects one needs to know about it. From history to practices to important figures and more, What Magic is This? is for anyone curious about Magic and the strange world in which we live. If you"re looking for the best place to find out about any of these topics, you"ve found

religion & spirituality spirituality

All Episodes

03:05:31

The History of Cartomancy

What Magic Is This? ·

2026/04/18

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 form of divination has been called Cartomancy and since the 15th century it has an incredibly diverse and fascinating history, one which currently sees it as the second most popular

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02:43:59

Pamela Colman Smith & The Tarot Deck which changed...

What Magic Is This? ·

2026/03/06

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 what it would remain. Yet, this name negated perhaps the most important element of these cards- the artist herself. Pamela Colman Smith was an exceptional talent who lived a fascinating and tumultuous life

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02:31:54

Magical Treasure Hunting

What Magic Is This? ·

2026/01/31

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 guarded it had a long tenured lore all its own. What's more, treasure was a magical enterprise- looking for it, digging it up and even how treasure behaved while it was buried. To this day, treasure and its

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01:26:06

"Christmas. It's All Pagan Anyway." - A Holiday...

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/12/23

One must have their peculiar Holiday traditions. For me, being involved in the stranger side of life and culture, I always take note of a particular happenstance that occurs around this time of year. Every December without fail, you will hear the statement that Christmas is in fact Pagan, and that its symbols and customs have an origin that isn't Christian at all. Grab the Yule log, put up some mistletoe, we're going to go through all that such a statement entails!

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02:31:51

Past Lives & Reincarnation

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/11/26

One of the longest enduring afterlife beliefs that we have is reincarnation. The thought goes that once we pass away, some part of us is reborn into a new person; a new body, and that life continues again and again and again. Many cultures throughout the world and throughout time have held this belief to be fundamentally true. It has only been in the last 70 years, that certain scientists and researchers have been seriously investigating claims from people that say that they have experienced a life

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02:11:19

Spirits, Stories & the Supreme Secret of Sorcery!...

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/10/22

One of the oddest and least talked about aspects of the Paranormal and the Supernatural is something called fictional incursions. Simply put, this is when certain ideas, characters or details of narrative stories seems to in some way come alive, not only to their creators but to those who are familiar with the stories. As crazy as it sounds, in some way stories are alive and show themselves to us in certain situations. There is no other group of people that this occurs to more in Western Culture

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02:08:48

Solomonic Magic: Addendum

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/09/24

The interest in the history of magic, witchcraft and the occult has seen a discernible rise in the last 25 years. In many cases, our picture of its story through the ages has been made much clearer. This is certainly true for Solomonic Magic, a form of magic in which the magician takes their rituals from Grimoires in order to evoke spirits and bind them to do their bidding. However, new research and perspectives have urged us that we might need to revise our understandings of this powerful and

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02:24:10

Demonology

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/08/19

Simply put, Demonology is the study of Demons; what they do and how they interact with humans. While most cultures throughout time here in the west have had their own specific Demonology, from the middle ages onwards a particularly strong sort of European Demonology formed. This Demonology eventually lead to the hunt and persecution of tens of thousands of people for hundreds of years as witches and sorcerers. How this Demonology took shape is both fascinating and very telling of how our society

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02:14:23

Angels

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/07/10

We live in an infinitely complex cosmos, more alive and chaotic than any of us can ever imagine. Throughout human history, the great mystery of our existence has been rendered to us mortals through certain messages. These messages and the ones bearing them have seemingly been contextualized in many ways through many cultures. Here in the western world, we have given them a name- Angels. These figures have not lost any of their influence throughout the centuries; basically everyone knows what an

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10:43

Putting the Hamster Back on the Wheel

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/06/10

Excellent news, weirdos- The Great What Magic is This? Podcast Hiatus of 2025 is coming to an end! The show will be returning shortly with a newish presentation and new ambitions. It's a little bit of a restoration of the values and ambitions which started the show back in 2019. And why not share the news on the 6th Anniversary of the first episode of What Magic is This? being released. I hope you're excited!

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02:16:06

Doing Hermeticism & Magical Timing with Sam Block

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/01/08

One of the most asked questions that I get, is about something which has already been covered on the podcast previously but perhaps needs a bit more context. Hermeticism is hard to get one's head around already, but what does somebody who calls themself a "Hermeticist" actually believe and more than that- what do they actually do? Taking us through this form of mysticism, and as a bonus, how Magical Timing can help your magic is my favourite person to talk to about Magic- The one and only Sam

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15:15

Dad Jokes

What Magic Is This? ·

2025/01/01

Happy 2025 Humble Listeners! We made it! I thought that this would be an appropriate time to make a small announcement. Please be sure to have a listen to get some news regarding What Magic is This? Podcast, the What Magic is This? Patreon as well as me- Your favourite Podcast host for the last five and a half years. Stay Luminous!

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02:25:37

Runes with Siri Vincent Plouff

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/11/30

Not unlike the Celts, if you head to your local New Age Occult store you will notice that there is an overabundance of Runes. From necklace pendants, to books, to divination stones and more- Runes are seemingly overrepresented. But much of what makes Runes so special has been lost in the mix. Here to help us through why Runes are not always what meets the eye in both scholarly and New age circles, is Podcaster and author Siri Vincent Plouff!

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02:06:30

The Influences & Influence of Robert Anton Wilson...

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/11/18

It has been quite some time since What Magic is This? has had the chance to talk about one of the most important figures of High Strangeness in the last 100 years. Robert Anton Wilson was a phenomenon unlike any other, but he had a very particular mixture of influences all of which came through in his worldviews and his work. Discussing with Doug why Bob is still a fellow worth knowing and reading, is the one person who started Doug down this very particular path of Magic. We are beyond delighted to

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02:28:01

Ghosts?

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/10/31

As far as we can look back into our past, humanity has both interacted with and been haunted by the spirits of the dead. The tales of apparitions and hauntings pervade not only our most popular art but also our psyche; seemingly everyone has a ghost story to tell. While modern skepticism waves away ghosts as being merely the product of fear and imagination, many these days are saying that it is not so simple. Ghosts still have much to tell us, if we allow ourselves to be willingly haunted by the

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02:20:01

Magician's Workbooks with Alexander Cummins

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/10/20

Most Grimoires which are housed in the many museums and collections around the world are somewhat well copied documents that seems to have been done by professionals. Yet every once in a while what shows up like a bad penny in these collections are very obviously personal Grimoires that you can tell have been worked on and with by at least one but in some cases a few practicing magicians. What these astounding documents show us within their pages can tell us a lot about not only the times in which

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02:11:10

Blue Grimoires with Aaman Lamba

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/09/30

For over 200 years, France was inundated with small cheaply produced books, bound with blue covers, filled with some of the most amazing things. These were the Bibliothèque bleue. Lots of these books would be about food, or fairy-tales, or astrology. Yet the most notorious of the Bibliothèque bleue, were the books on Magic, charms and spells. These are called Blue Grimoires today. Helping us get our fingers inky with why these small chapbooks were so important to magic, is author and magician Aaman

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02:16:18

The Book of Saint Cyprian with José Leitão

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/09/16

After King Solomon, the legend of Cyprian of Antioch looms quite large in the Western Magical Tradition. A spirit conjurer and occasional summoner of the devil, Cyprian later converted to Christianity and became a Bishop before being martyred. This legend had quite some traction, as many grimoires evoked the name of Cyprian within their pages and in the title of the Grimoire itself particularly in Iberia. Taking the listeners through the Book of Saint Cyprian, is the scholar of Portuguese

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17:24

A Rather Bookish Announcement!

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/09/09

Have a listen and be sure to check out my What Magic is This? Bookshop, please! Hopefully all of the show notes book recommendations will be in place and updated by October 2024, but if you have any requests for books that you'd like to purchase that I have recommended through my show notes and I haven't had a chance to change yet, please be sure to email me and I will send you an affiliate link for that title. Happy Shopping, and thank you for keeping Independant Bookshops thriving!

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02:44:54

Thai Magic with Peter Jenx

What Magic Is This? ·

2024/08/30

Southeast Asia has always been a place with many magical and animistic cultures. Perhaps no other country in the modern age has such a sycretic and extraordinary Magical environment than the land of smiles- Thailand. From spirits and ghosts to tattoos and amulets to monks and ajarns, Thailand is a place which still lives and breathes magic. Helping us get an introduction to the vast Magical world of the Thai, is author and practitioner of Thai Magic, Peter Jenx!

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