The mainstream of our culture believes itself distanced from the natural world, whether by a nonliving materialist view of reality or a religious dualist one. But insofar as Paganism is a “nature religion”, we cannot afford to distance ourselves that way. At the same time, our Craft cannot contradict physical facts and still maintain validity. Therefore, the better we understand the world from a scientific viewpoint, the better Pagans and Witches we can be. The Magickal and the Scientific are two faces of the same Goddess. Diana McCleery AKA Lady River is a Third Degree Priestess of 17 years, and a lover of the sciences since, so far as she knows, birth. She also makes arts and crafts, enjoys foraging for wild food, and in the summers has a job fighting children with cardboard swords in the woods, which is harder than one might think. A native of Memphis, she lives in Minneapolis. New episodes are uploaded every first and third Friday. See ya there!
So... my voice is still healing. Fortunately, there's enough material for a compliation episode! If you'd rather hear 45 minutes' worth of episodes a once, like a mini-binge but without hearing the theme song and stuff over and over, this is the episode for you. You'll find:45 -- Slide Me Some...46 -- No Planet B48 -- Dirty Seeds Done Dirt Cheap49 -- Weather Aboveground52 -- The Charge of Lady of Science54 -- The Auras of Stars59 -- Feathers60 -- These Are Not PlantsThis is also a great episode to introduce the podcast to a friend. Thanks, and enjoy!
Heya. I have been sick most of the week, with a lot of coughing, but did manage to record at least this much, for the folks who dont read descriptions. Basil and I will getcha an ep next weekend, and then we'll be back on the regular schedule. Thnaks for your indulgence, and I'll see you when I have more brain and voice.
There are more types of living things in the world than just plants and animals. There are some things that seeeeem like plants, but really aren't. Maybe one or two have fooled you? Our rituals often use flora and fauna (or Flora and Faunus even) as a source of polarity, but let's take this opportunity to talk about some other organisms as well.
Feathers this time! And OMG Y'all...this weekend has been a comedy of errors, some very time-consuming,and I'm only now getting this up. But it happened! Basil wasn't able to join us this episode, but he'll be back next month. I'm keeping this to a simple topic. Enjoy! And share with your friends if you do. :-)
Finally I have manged to get the guys who are Bumblng Fools Mead onto the show. You are in for a real treat; we talk about fermentation, but also roam from there into what does honey taste like without sugar, what was the first feremneted beverage, and a fascinating side bar about where mead does or doesn't fit into the law. Oh yeah, we talk about gods, too. ;-)Another treat is that we recorded in the brewing room/alchemist's lab at their meadery in NE Minneapolis, where you can stop in and try something delicious before you buy, and also play guinea pig for new recipes that aren't for sale. The people hanging out were clearly having a really great time, and they get a bit loud and rowdy -- but that just gives you a "you are there" experience, chatting in the backroom of the local pub. I hope it makes you want to visit.I'm very excited about this episode. Have a great time!
Hey, Labor Day still counts as "posted on the weekend", yes? Anyway, Basil is here and we're talking about rivers. It's crazy it took this long. I had more things I was gonna say but I just can't remember them now. It was super clever, too.... But hey, rivers are amazing!
Wanting to celebrate the Harvest but you don't have a farm, or even a garden? Well Basil's back, and we're talking about gathering wild food! How to get started, some tasty things, some caveats. I apologize for sounding rushed.... I was. Had a hard deadline on recording. Added to my enthusiasm on the topic, it's a very...energetic episode. Now I need to go have a snack and a nap.
Regular co-host Basil joins Lady River to talk about tea and Tea; why they are so useful, and why paring them with other preparations can be awesome or trouble. Some chemistry, some herbalism, some storytelling.
This episode is about one of my favorite pieces of tech, the spectrophotometer. It really is magic. Includes free and relevant bonus: a bit about the structure of atoms!
I've really gotta pick topics for the Basil episodes that we can't make naughty. This one might not be for kids...? Sorry Mimi. Give it a listen yourself, first.This episode's topic is flowers, which is seasonal because Spring, but also because Pride Month. Flowering plants have so many different ways to do gender. It's amazing. We're going to talk about at least some of that beautiful variety.
Something a little different this time. You're gettin' it rough and ready this episode. I am on a real time crunch this week, so the editing's not as picky as normal. It's still listenable though. We're in for a bit of history of the Charge of the Goddess, and the re-working of it that I did for this podcast waaaay at the beginning, but has been kinda lost in the shuffle since. Hope you like it!
Plants have all sorts of ways to figure out what is going on around them. Regular Guest-Host Basil joins us, and we manage to stay mostly on topic and clean-minded. Get ready to have your mind unexpectedly blown at what plants can do!
30+ minutes of collected material. More details later this evening, but its episodes 40-44. Gotta run, will update later!
Episode 50! To celebrate this milestone we're gonna be switching it up a bit with half of a format change. And by "we" I mean Basil will be joining me as a Regular Guest Host every first weekend of the month. Every third weekend will still be the old format. *Waves madly at Basil*In honor of Spring and new companionship on the podcast, we're going to be conversing about "companion planting", and if it really makes a difference at all what you plant with what.
Weather is all about the flow of energy, creating both patterns and results. That's pretty much what magic is, yeah? Weather is also just cool as a phenomenon, so come hear about why and how it does it's thing.
It's seed catalog time!! Since I won't have time to garden this year, I'll be living vicariously through... ok, I gotta have a coupla tomatoes by the back door to snack on as we come and go, but I'll be vicariously.... OK, and maybe some mini-cukes if I can find them, but that is it. Other than that I am all talk, and it's talk about seeds. What they are, how they sprout, why we care.
Heya folks! My BFF and Editor Basil and I had a great conversation about Salt when I visited this weekend. The audio quality: not so great. So I'm enbarassed about it, but like all good conversations it can't be repeated, so re-recording isn't an option. Also I forgot my music, so I had to post this once I got home. Experiment....not entirely a success. That said, it may sound a bit wonky, but we have some good stuff in here about that item we use so often in magical practice, salt. Get ready to adjust your vollume, and enjoy!
For those who like longer podcasts. This collection is comprised of Episodes 31-39 (but not episode 37, which was 30 mins), with a single intro and out-go.Episodes are:-- From Grrr to Good Boi-- From Grass to Cob-- Planet You-- Firewalking-- Schrodinger's Zygote-- Treeees-- The Universe in a Year, in Five Minutes-- The Earth in a Year, in Five MinutesThanks for all the support and suggestions! Share the podcast with your Paganfolk! See ya in 2 weeks!
I woulda had this out sooner, I swear, but my editor made me play Fallout76 all afternoon, instead of delivering you the witchy science you crave. Basil, you are a bad influence.Speaking of bad influences, our planet has a nasty case of People. Why don't we just.... go somewhere else? Here's how feasible that is.
Skin is just totally amazing! Come hear why, and why Magickckal folks would care. Love ya!
Sound quality is a little rough..... there was some unavoidable *hum* from outside; removing it made this sound a bit overprocessed sounding (it is...) but much more listenable than when I started. It's also a bit longer than usual, because there is so much cool stuff to know about THE SUN. It just made me sing.
So hey guys... uh.... no episode this week. I'd say why, but that would make the 45 seconds of audio irrelevant. Catch ya on the 20th!
This year's Autumn Color show has been especially lovely. It's been really hard to drive and accomplish things, when all I want to do is let it soak into my eyes in blissful worship. So, being obsessed, we'll talk about that. :-)
Sorry this is a day late: When I had time to record over the weekend, the next door neighbors decided it was Rock N Roll Share Time. *sigh* Nevertheless, here ya go, an episode about island formation and what the Hel does that have to do with polytheism?
Heavier this time on the Science than the Craft, following up on Episode 40 by talking a bit about what to look for when deciding if you want to take a science claim in public media seriously. I'll try to be more Witchy next time. ;-)
For those who like longer podcasts. This collection is comprised of Episodes 23-30, with a single intro and out-go.Topics are:-- An Episode of a Different Color-- Smell Ya Later--When Science Was Magic-- The Moon's Daughter-- Dances with Bees-- Geometry from the Sky-- Long Winter's Nap-- Where the Ocean Comes to YouThanks for all the support and suggestions! See ya in 2!
Our periodic review of what "Science" is, since we...talk about it a lot here. Re-recorded, so as to sound ya know, listenable, even given a little over-processing to remove the noise of airplanes that *had* to get all in my business. ;-) Have a fantastic coupla weeks my beautiful souls, and I'll be back next time with a new topic about how amazing Existence is.
Sorry it's a bit late in the day when I'm getting this up... our sweet old kitty Samson (we didn't name him) apparently is diabetic, so figuring out what was wrong and getting him treated on a weekend was a bit fraught. He's doing better now, and Bast willing he'll continue that way for a bit. But anyway...The earth's entire history, as if in one year. A different look at our beautiful Lady. Enjoy!
We're taking a stroll through the highlights of all the important (to us, as Humans of course) events in the Universe, from creation to now, as if they all happened in an easy-to-conceive-of year. Mapped onto the Wiccan wheel of the year where notable, and not just "...and even more galaxies formed...."Also! Submit your questions, either about past episodes or anything else science-y you're curious about, to gaiaunveiled@gmail.com to be answered in an upcoming episode!
Science is all about testing hypotheses, yes? In this episode, we test the hypothesis that recording an episode as a conversation about a topic with my good friend and editor Basil, would be fun. We recorded with my old USB Snowball mic in his AirBnB. rather than in my booth, so the sound is a little rougher than usual, but it was much more luxurious. So we settled in and really got going. Oh yeah, the topic is "caffeine".Did you like it? Want more? Want it never again? Submit your data points to gaiaunveiled@gmail.com
No episode this time; listen for a minute 17 seconds and find out why!
Get the lowdown on trees, every Pagan Treehugger's buddies. For example: Pines just leave their nuts out there just shakin' in the wind. Pine trees DGAF. I tried to work in the actual principle of Lammas Growth, when trees have a burst of late growth around the beginning of August, but I couldn't get it in the flow, so there's a bonus fact for ya.
Given the recent leak of perhaps immanent law events, and actual law events inspired by it, I am compelled to address yet another topic that will lose me some listeners, and one hopes, gain others. Here then is a brief and incomplete account of embryonic development. And Happy Mothers' Day.
You don't know how badly I had to resist making a Twin Peaks reference in this episode's title. We're of course talking about firewalking, or more accurately very-hot-coal walking. Usually. If you've tried this out, or even if you haven't, here is info about how heat works, and why this practice isn't miraculous. Usually...
Pssst... you may not know it, but you are an entire world to someone. About 100 trillion someones. Some are natives, some are alien invaders, and they all affect pretty much everything you do. EVERYTHING.
As many Gamers will tell you, there's satisfaction in grinding at a mine, or fishing hole, or farm, in order to Get Lots. That human drive led to a massive restructuring of human life when we gave up the easy life of foraging for plants, for the hard work but abundance of Agriculture. A follow-up to the previous episode on the domestication of animals, this is all about the domestication of plants.
When wolves adopted us, they changed the course of human history. Whether you approve of domestication or not, it had an impact on our lives and our Paganism in ways that can't be overstated. Come hear about domestication of animals happened, its benefits, and its drawbacks.
Ah, me children, come wi' me doon to tha sea....*cof* I mean, come to the sea: so friendly it will crawl right up on land and hang out with you. I'm of course talking about the wonders of Tidal Pools, magical habitats of Liminality. Yes, I will make this all make sense in under 7 minutes.
Man. The squirrels have the right idea. Make a big pile of food and just take naps in it all Winter. Come hear about Hibernation.
Get out your white paper and figure out how to fold it in sixths, because today we're talking about snowflakes! Think no two are alike? It's wrong! Also right. after listening to this episode, I recommend you go look at close-up photos of snowflakes, and your day will be at least 63% better.
Bees are famous for their dancing. No, really. Second only to honey. Come hear about how they dance and why, with a coupla details even bee fans might not know. Today only: free puns!
I just heard about this really awesome science thing, that has nifty implications for Pagans. The asteroid Kamo'oalewa apparently was one part of the Moon! Come hear me try to pronounce Hawai'ian as I explain why we think so.
For those who like longer episodes. This collection is comprised of Episodes 16-22 (minus19, which was a repeat), with a single intro and out-go.Topics are: -- Kipling's Second Worst Mistake (solstices and equinoxes) -- Union (eclipses) -- This Is Your Brain on Trance (neurology of trance) -- Fibonnaci and the Pentagram (mysticism of simple math) and -- You May Fascinate a Woman by Giving Her a Piece of Cheese (cheese and milk)Thanks for all the support and suggestions! See ya in 2!
Yes. I'm a Witch. Yeeesss I accept the validity of science. And then, the occasional response of surprise. But really, they have the same origin, you know...
Smells connect with us physically, leading to powerful emotional and mental effects. They can send us into memories on a visceral level. Of course this has ritual applications. Bonus: next time you buy a doughnut, you can explain how it told you to by petting the inside of your nose, and it was wonderful.
Do you ever wonder what color you should use for a ritual task? If there is more than just looking up color correspondences in some list? Maybe learning about what colors *are* will help you out! Also, allergies were bugging me so this episode is late and I sound like a stuffy toddler. Hope it's at least amusing. See ya!
You can fascinate *me*, anyway. There's a long history of magic in this ubiquitous food, and I'm gonna tell you as much about it as I can in 7 minutes and 42 seconds. Now I *need* to go make myself a grilled cheese.
Hiya! Come hear how some some simple addition leads to a trippy new POV on the pentacle! I really went down a rabbit hole and am very excited about this episode! But seriously, I can provide only a jumping off point, and some exploration on your own can being you some real insight. But start here!Bonus content: Watch Diana learn how to spell, real time!
For those of you who want longer episodes, here ya go! The entire Elements Series, plus a bonus episode, a bonus within a bonus! You won't hear the repetitive intros and closings every 5-10 minutes! Set it n forget it, except remembering it too.
Every experience we...experience...creates and/or is created by activity in the brain. That includes trance, and even the rudimentary level of present scientific investigation has some amazing implications for those of us who work in that state of consciousness.
For those of you who want longer episodes, here ya go! Episodes 1 - 8, with minimal transition: yes, you won't hear the repetitive intros and closings every 5-10 minutes! Set it n forget it, except remembering it too.