Test Tubes and Cauldrons: Recent Episodes
Astralogical
Welcome to Test Tubes and Cauldrons, a podcast where we talk about the science behind spirituality! Astra, Fel, and Han are three occult practitioners with a love of science who are trying to do what everyone else is…make sense of the crazy world around us and our purpose in it! Hop into the discussions and try not to blow up a test tube or two!
It's a science-heavy one this week, everyone! This week the hosts discuss the intriguing world of epigenetics, where nature and nurture collide. Can you change your DNA? What effect does the world have on our genetics, and on us as people? Does this have any spiritual consequences, as some people claim? Tune in this week to hear about the science behind epigenetics and our thoughts on how this somewhat contentious field has been appropriated by the spiritual world.
RESOURCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
- A great beginner page for genetics https://www.yourgenome.org/
- A deep dive into the history of DNA structure and function https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-dna-structure-and-function-watson-397/
- The classic 'smoking grannies' epigenetic study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41431-022-01081-2 && https://clinicalepigeneticsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13148-019-0631-3
- The Dutch Hunger Winter https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579375/
- Trauma and heritability https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6952751/
- Review article summarising how epigenetics can unify Lamarckian and Darwinian principles https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/7/5/1296/605886
We are back with a long-awaited episode of our Occultists & Scientists series focusing on the life of John Dee and his scryer Edward Kelley. A renaissance man in every right, Dee was a physician, engineer, theologian, astronomer, cartographer, and magician - working with the angels to develop a unique system of angelic magic now described as Enochian. But this tale of the great magician has dark secrets…imprisoned for performing astrology, rumours of being a spy, hooking up with others wives, oh my! Perhaps like most magicians of his time, piousness was just a rumour. Join us as we soar to the skies and explore the magnanimous life of Dr. John Dee.
REFERENCES:
- The Scientific Spirit in England in Early Modern Times (c. 1600): https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/225631
- The Magic and Astrology of John Dee: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057/9781137399472_8.pdf
- John Dee and the sciences: early modern networks of knowledge: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778877/pdf/main.pdf
- The Mathematicall Praeface to Elements of Geometric of Euclid of Megara by John Dee: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22062/22062-h/22062-h.htm
- At the crossroads of magic and science: John Dee’s Archemastrie: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/occult-scientific-mentalities/at-the-crossroads-of-magic-and-science-john-dees-archemastrie/9D21A2FB0A2E33D9F4D2C0F85A7787E4
BOOKS:
The Queen’s Conjuror: The life and magic of Dr. Dee by B. Woolley
Enochian Vision Magic by Lon Milo Duquette
The Essential Enochian Grimoire by Aaron Leitch
This week, TTAC are delighted to be joined by a special guest: Aiden aka @AidenTheVVitch In this episode, the hosts discuss all things prayer. How is prayer typically applied across different occult practices? Do you need to pray to be an occultist? Why are so many people ‘afraid’ of prayer? Is there any scientific evidence for prayer as a health intervention? And what’s the difference between prayer & spells, anyway? We hope you enjoyed this special guest episode of TTAC - let us know if you’d like to hear more from Aiden in the future! REFERENCES: Reviews of prayer as a health intervention - the good, the bad, and the (mostly) ugly: 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10836918/ 2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12776468/ 3. The efficacy of "distant healing": a systematic review of randomized trials - PubMed4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11761499/ 5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16569567/ 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/
In this episode, the hosts dive into the science of smell & the odiferous side of the occult Why is incense such a popular offering? Does an oil's odour reflect its properties? And what on earth does a saint smell like?! This episode features four case studies across different traditions to explore the seemingly-ubiquitous - but surprisingly diverse - role of fragrance in the occult. You can also expect to hear about science of smell & how odour can interplay with cognition.
smell ya later x
REFERENCES
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Brief summary: the science of smell! // Sell, C. S. (2006). On the unpredictability of odor. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 45(38), 6254-6261.
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Amazing book on the chemistry behind perfumery // Pybus, D. H., & Sell, C. S. (Eds.). (1999). The chemistry of fragrances (Vol. 17). Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Olfaction and memory - how odour interplays with PTSD & emotion // Vermetten, E., & Bremner, J. D. (2003). Olfaction as a traumatic reminder in posttraumatic stress disorder: case reports and review. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64(2), 202-207. && Zald, D. H., & Pardo, J. V. (1997). && Emotion, olfaction, and the human amygdala: amygdala activation during aversive olfactory stimulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 94(8), 4119-4124.
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Tapputi, one of the world's first chemists (and perfume makers)! // https://arkeonews.net/the-3200-year-old-perfume-of-tapputi-the-first-female-perfumer-in-history-came-to-life-again/ - Odour in antiquity // https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/17556/GrantG.pdf
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The role of scents in traditional Chinese religion // Habkirk, S., & Chang, H. (2017). Scents, community, and incense in traditional Chinese religion. Material Religion, 13(2), 156-174.
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Osmogenesia & sensing the saints Saucier, C. (2010). // The sweet sound of sanctity: sensing St Lambert. The Senses and Society, 5(1), 10-27. && Harvey, S. A. (1998). St Ephrem on the scent of salvation. The journal of theological studies, 49(1), 109-128.
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Amusing paper on 'oilers' with a lot in there about MLMs // Kieffer, K. G. (2021). Smelling Things: Essential Oils and Essentialism in Contemporary American Spirituality. Religion and American Culture, 31(3), 297-331.
This week the hosts dive into the intersection between conspiracy theories and the occult, all the way from the wacky to the outright terrifying. This episode explores the basis of the psychological concept ‘magical thinking’ and how it relates to spirituality, as well as how this mode of thinking might help or hinder one’s practice. It also features a discussion on why conspiracy theories are unfortunately so prevalent in the occult world, how to spot them, and the potential dangers they pose if left unchallenged.
REFERENCES:
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Some degree of magical thinking is normal: Peters, E. R., Joseph, S. A., & Garety, P. A. (1999). Measurement of delusional ideation in the normal population: introducing the PDI (Peters et al. Delusions Inventory). Schizophrenia bulletin, 25(3), 553-576
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Stress might pre-dispose us to magical thinking: Keinan, G. (2002). The effects of stress and desire for control on superstitious behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(1), 102-108. && Keinan, G. (1994). Effects of stress and tolerance of ambiguity on magical thinking. Journal of personality and social psychology, 67(1), 48.
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The ‘dual model’ hypothesis of magical thinking & superstition - system 1 vs system 2: Risen, J. L. (2016). Believing what we do not believe: Acquiescence to superstitious beliefs and other powerful intuitions. Psychological review, 123(2), 182.
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The basics – LSU’s guide to conspiracy theories: https://faculty.lsu.edu/fakenews/about/rumors.php
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Historical connections between conspiracy and esotericism: Asprem, E., & Dyrendal, A. (2018). Close companions? Esotericism and conspiracy theories. In Handbook of conspiracy theory and contemporary religion (pp. 207-233). Brill.
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You might also want to check out our earlier episode on bias!
In this episode, the hosts explore the crossover between spirituality and sustainability. What does it mean to build an environmentally sustainable spiritual practice? How have environmentalism and spirituality historically crossed paths? And why DO people keep burying jars, anyway? Join us this week for a topic very close to our hearts. Thanks to Kelsey from our Discord (https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc) for suggesting this episode.
REFERENCES:
Environmental challenges associated with vegan diets https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/23/the-environmental-dangers-of-veganism && https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200211-why-the-vegan-diet-is-not-always-green
Interactions and collaborations between environmenal scientists & local spiritual practice - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/1540-9295%282007%295%5B332%3AEOTFC%5D2.0.CO%3B2 && https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195631648.pdf-
Monkey conservation in Fiema & Boabeng supported by local spiritual practice - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08873630709478212?journalCode=rjcg20 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195631648.pdf
Religion's proposed relation to 'earth stewardship - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/120322 && https://www.academia.edu/7961945/Environmental_Stewardship_Critical_Perspectives_Past_and_Present_Edited_by_Robert_James_Berry
WITCHBODIES podcast https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/29535/ You can keep up-to-date (ish) with our podcast on (Instagram)[https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/].
We're baaaack! Please enjoy as Hanne, Astra and Fel expand and dive deep on research practices and how to incorporate what you've researched into practicality. And again, thank you all so much for your continued support.
Check out our discord!: https://discord.gg/NfefwYePyP
Notes:
- Owen Davies Grimoires: A History of Magick
- Magic in Medieval Manuscripts by Sophie Page and Esoteric Archives
- Grimoire archive: http://english.grimoar.cz/?Loc=aut&Lng=2&New=374
- Explaining p-values: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.2019.1583913
In this episode, the three hosts (Astra, Han and Fel) discuss personal experiences with as well as research surrounding spirituality and Mental Health, positive impacts, negative impacts and how the community discusses (or avoids discussing) it. Reminder: None of the hosts are mental health professionals, all advice is not a replacement for medical treatment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/RESOURCES:
- Nap Ministry
- The role of religion and spirituality in mental health
- Mental Health, Religion, and Spirituality
- Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research.
- Unusual but sound minds: Mental health indicators in spiritual individuals
- Steps for Working With Delusions
- Nature and mental health
- Mental health benefits of nature-based recreation: a systematic review
- Distribution of vitamin D status in the UK: a cross-sectional analysis of UK Biobank
US Based Hotlines: https://www.pleaselive.org/hotlines/
UK Based Hotlines: https://www.therapyroute.com/article/suicide-hotlines-and-crisis-lines-in-the-united-kingdom
It's another Fel and Han special today, with the hosts discussing a subject very dear to our collective hearts: Trees! In this episode, the hosts discuss how seemingly universal tree-lore is and why so many themes might be shared across cultures. We also explore the science behind how trees 'talk' to one another and how this fascinating phenomenon might translate to a spiritual context. Finally, prepare yourself for chaos as we test the definition of hedge witchcraft to its limit. hope you enjoyed us branching out this episode.
For this episode, we drew heavily upon the books Finding The Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben for our research.
TW: discussion of drug use in this episode
In Part 2 of the Afterlives and Past Lives series, the hosts Astra, Hanne and Fel explore the mystifying and perhaps mystical world of near-death experiences. Tune in to hear our scientific deconstruction of what a near-death experience actually is, how they correspond to spiritual traditions across the globe, and how some of our personal experiences have shaped our attitudes towards death and the afterlife.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/RESOURCES:
-Tibetan Book Of The Dead
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Near-death experiences might change your attitude to life: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022167819892107
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...or you might even experience hallucinations after the fact: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022167804266281?journalCode=jhpa
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The Greyson NDE scale, and how near-death experiences remain consistent over time: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6854303/ && https://www.resuscitationjournal.com/article/S0300-9572(06)00669-1/fulltext
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What goes on in the brain during death? An EEG offers clues: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.813531/full
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Review of potential mechanisms for NDEs:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-019-0983-2
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A staggering 12% of cardiac patients in this study experienced NDEs: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673601071008
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'Real vs imagined' memories https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23544039/ && https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.03.003
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Meditation-induced NDEs: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-018-0922-3
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NDEs can occur independently of death: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00490/full
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Review of NDEs and their characteristics, with some great case studies https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12582
It's a Fel and Han takeover! This week, two of the hosts get together to discuss a synthesis of mysticism and medicine in the ancient world: the Cult of Asklepios. Tune in to hear about who Asklepios really was: the ascent of a revered medic to god-hero, his relationship to Paian Apollo, and his influence on the development of modern medicine via a cult that dominated the ancient world for centuries.
Resources:
• A timeline of Asklepios: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-124-2-199601150-00011
• Medical historians the Edelsteins discuss the historical evidence for the worship of Asklepios: Kirchner J, ed. Inscriptiones Graecae. In: Edelstein EJ, Edelstein L. Asclepius: A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies. Baltimore: John Hopkins Pr; 1945:374-5.
• Asklepios in Rome: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25609491
• John Scarborough dissects Theophrastus’ Enquiry Into Plants with a modern lens: https://philpapers.org/rec/SCATOH-2
• The Hippocratic ideal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263393/
• The evolution of medicine in the ancient world – how rationalism developed: https://aacnjournals.org/ajcconline/article/23/6/437/3976/From-Asclepius-to-Hippocrates-The-Art-and-Science
• Hippocrates, the “father of molecular medicine”: https://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/23/4/507.long
• Hans Dieter Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation (ISBN: 9780226044477)
• Lindsay Watson, Magic In Ancient Greece and Rome (ISBN: 9781788312981)
• Did it actually work? Placebo effects in the Asklepian sanctuaries: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/tc-2021-0004/html?lang=en
• Frederic Grant, Hellenistic Religions
• Luther H. Martin, Hellenistic Religions
You can still follow us on Instagram @testtubesandcauldrons, or join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM) 👾
We’re delving into worlds unseen this episode, as we explore the various spiritual models of the afterlife, as well as how these models play a role in spiritual practice across the world. We also delve into the sticky world of ‘past life regressions’ and how much we can rely on testimonies like these.
In part 2 (coming in 2 weeks!), join us for some more scientifically styled discussion on near-death experiences.
RESOURCES:
- ‘The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/04/11/the-boy-who-came-back-from-heaven-now-wants-his-day-in-court/
- Decidedly dodgy studies discussing hypnosis to induce ‘past life regressions’: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2019.1626949 && https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.1999.10404243
- What criticisms have been made of hypnosis? https://bfms.org.uk/memory-and-hypnosis/
Thanks for bearing with us as we switch schedules from weekly to fortnightly releases! You can still follow us on Instagram @testtubesandcauldrons, or join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM) 👾
This week, Fel and Han drag Astra along for a riotous exploration of creatures, cryptids, and folklore. Is there any truth to these most mysterious of beasts? What kind of historical or scientific explanations might we have for cryptids? Is Bigfoot real?! Tune into this episode for our thoughts.
RESOURCES
- Pliny’s Natural History: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+toc (A specific link to his dodgy explanation of other peoples can be found here
- mentions Blemmyae: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=5:chapter=8&highlight=)
- Visualising the biomass on Earth: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/all-the-biomass-of-earth-in-one-graphic/
- Mythical’ creatures sometimes turn out to be real: https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/yamuti
- of mammal species may be undiscovered https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5901171/
- Controversial study estimating the number of species on Earth https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127
- Which cryptid are you? https://uquiz.com/quiz/X0fZIl/which-cryptid-are-you
LINKS
Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/) & join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM)!
In this episode, the hosts (Hanne, Fel and Astra) take a step out of the hard sciences and into linguistics, sociology and psychology—pulling examples from history, personal experience and studies to try and find the differences (if there are any) between the three and why they might develop in the way they do.
RESOURCES:
- The Story of Myth by Sarah Iles Johnston
- What They Say in New England by Clifton Johnson
- The 'good luck' snack that makes Taiwan's technology behave, BBC: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210414-the-good-luck-snack-that-makes-taiwans-technology-behave
- The Case Against B.F. Skinner by Noam Chomsky: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1971/12/30/the-case-against-bf-skinner/
- Ancient Origins of Modern Superstition, British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/membership/events/ancient-origins-modern-superstition
- Half-belief and the paradox of ritual instrumental activism: a theory of modern superstition by Colin Campbell: https://www.jstor.org/stable/591121
- The Science of Superstition and Why People Believe in the Unbelieveable: https://theconversation.com/amp/the-science-of-superstition-and-why-people-believe-in-the-unbelievable-97043
MORE FROM TTAC:
Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/) & join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM)!
Alongside a few spats over the appropriate spelling of colour (it does have a u), in this episode the hosts discuss all things bright and beautiful. We chat colour physics, biology, and how our cultural understanding of colours may be less solid than you think! We also examine how this interplays with occult ideas of ‘colour correspondences’ - Jung’s internal alchemy, The Golden Dawn, Feng Shui, and Kabbalah to name a few.
RESOURCES:
- The human eye can ‘see’ infra-red: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141201161116.htm
- Ancient Greek statues - their true colours: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors-17888/ & https://buntegoetter.liebieghaus.de/en/
- The Black Arts, Richard Cavendish (alchemy primer)
- Colours of The Golden Dawn & Kabbalah: https://www.daneel.franken.de/tarot/GoldenDawn/Coloring%20the%20Classic%20Golden%20Dawn%20Tarot.pdf & http://www.lelandra.com/tarotbook/TreeofLifeColors.htm & http://www.billheidrick.com/tlc1995/tlc1295.htm#iq
- Polyphanes’ wonderful post on the planetary colours: https://digitalambler.com/2019/12/04/colors-of-the-planets/
It is no secret that witches across the world are fascinated with the moon both from pagan and witchy literature to its importance in ancient civilizations as the luminary that rules the popular monthly cycle. Join us for this weeks episode where we investigate the moons evolution from ancient society to modern times and discuss the science of the moons gravitational pull and how it controls the waters of earth among many, many other topics!
*NOTE: We spoke on a wide range of belief systems, some of which we are unfamiliar with ourselves, so if we said something wrong, please correct us and we'll make a note in episode descriptions!
RESOURCES:
Review of the Study of the Moon and Lunacy: https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1986/01/22165335/p35.pdf?_ga=2.80741470.812012145.1645618604-743710252.1644883191
Overview | Inside and Out of the Moon from NASA: https://moon.nasa.gov/inside-and-out/overview/
MORE FROM TTAC:
Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/) & join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM)!
In this episode, the hosts discuss the weird and wacky world of dreams. What kind of spiritual significance was historically assigned to dreams? How does one practice the mysterious art of oneiromancy? How does sleep work on a neurological level, and what even is a dream? Tune in to hear the hosts' thoughts, and strap in for our increasingly unhinged ramblings on the nature of consciousness. Goodnight, listeners!
Happy Black History Month! Celebrate the underrated ingenuity of Black inventors with this book on African-American inventions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0275966747?ie=UTF&tag=todayinsci-20&link_code=as3
RESOURCES:
- Aelfwine's Prayerbook (bibliomancy/oneiromancy) - https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781870252331/aelfwines-prayerbook/
- 'Serial awakening' experiments to understand sleep phases -https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00542/full
- MRI investigating neurophysiology of sleep - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-008-1579-2
- EEGs investigating neurophysiology of sleep - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5462120/
- Great review article on the neurophysiology of sleep and dreaming - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814941/
We're back! In this episode, the hosts answer yourquestions. We discuss telepathy, how we met, stigma against occultism in the workplace, the intersection between science & spirituality in our practice, sins against cereal, and more...
BOOKS WE RECOMMENDED:
- Entangled Life - Merlin Sheldrake
- Bad Science and Bad Pharma - Ben Goldacre
- The Hidden Life of Trees: Discoveries from a Secret World - Peter Wohlleben
- The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean
- E=mc^2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation - David Bodanis
- Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive - Phillip Detmer
- Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History - Jay Burreson and Penny Le Couteur
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
RESOURCES:
- fMRI study of a mentalist (in an extremely obscure journal...) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3144613/
MORE FROM TTAC:
Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/) & join discussions on our Discord (https://discord.gg/rfJ4eb2DAM)!
A very happy Solstice to you all! In this episode, the hosts (Astra, Fel and Hanne) were joined by the wonderful Olivia (a.k.a. @thewitchofwonderlust) to discuss the role of cycles in spiritual practice. Which ones are useful, and which ones might be a little outdated? How do we adapt to cycles in a changing world? Tune in to hear us discuss a whole plethora of topics including calendars, climate change, lunar cycles, planetary magic, death cycles, mythology, alchemy...and (gasp!) even a little biochemistry...
See more of Olivia here:
instagram: @thewitchofwonderlust
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thewitchofwonderlust
twitter: https://twitter.com/wonderlustwitch
In this episode, the hosts explore the topic of auras. Do they hail from an ancient spiritual tradition, or is the truth somewhat more…colourful? Do we have an existing explanation for why some people see auras? How does aura photography work? And how might we use & apply these ideas within an spiritual practice? Tune in this week to hear us discuss these topics and more.
RESOURCES:
- Milán, E. G., Iborra, O., Hochel, M., et al. (2012). Auras in mysticism and synaesthesia: A comparison. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(1), 258-268.
- Albrecht, D. S., Mainero, C., Ichijo, et al. (2019). Imaging of neuroinflammation in migraine with aura: A [11C] PBR28 PET/MRI study. Neurology, 92(17), e2038-e2050.
- Hadjikhani, N., Albrecht, D. S., Mainero, C., et al (2020). Extra‐axial inflammatory signal in parameninges in migraine with visual aura. Annals of neurology, 87(6), 939-949.
- Kilic, K., Karatas, H., Dönmez‐Demir, B., et al(2018). Inadequate brain glycogen or sleep increases spreading depression susceptibility. Annals of neurology, 83(1), 61-73.
- Jordan, N., & Trimble, T. (2008). Is the use of auras and chakras in new age practices related to synaesthetic experience. The Irish Psychologiest, (November), 75-80
- Mills, A. (2009).Kirlian photography. History of Photography, 33(3), 278-287.
Join the discussion on our Discord server: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
How often have you heard terms thrown around and thought they meant one thing only to realize within a specific space they mean something entirely different? While different meanings in specific fields is not a problem, a larger issue begins to arise when terms are misconstrued and taken from the original context and then expanded to try and fit additional concepts they aren't suited for. Join us in this episode as we talk about some common spiritual buzzwords like "quantum," "statistical significant," "microbiome," "patron," and more! Might be a good idea to grab some calming tea while you are at it!
Follow us!
Link to the TTAC discord: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/
Resources:
Occultism in the Mirror of Late Classical Physics -https://www.academia.edu/1493764/Pondering
Eleutherococcus senticosus as an adaptogen (critique of the term) - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378874100001811
Reign of the P-value and other possibilities- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0174
Welcome back to the lab everyone! This week we are continuing are Occultists and Scientists series by discussing the thrilling and dangerous life of Jack Parsons. We’ve invited Georgina Rose, known as Da’at Darling across platforms to join us in discussing how Parsons passion for both Thelema and science impacted his life. Lots of super interesting information so grab some jet fuel for yourself and lets launch the episode!
Resources:
- History of Solid-Propellant Rocketry: What We Do and Do Not Know: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/pdf/88635main_H-2330.pdf
- Religion: California Cults Time Article from the 1930s: http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,738983-1,00.html
- WIRED Article about Parsons: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jpl-jack-parsons
Books:
- Strange Angel by George Pendle
- Eloquent Blood: The Goddess Bablon and the Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism by Manon Hedenborg White
- Liber 49 by Jack Parsons
- Freedom is a Two Edged Sword by Jack Parsons
- A Rose Veiled in Black by Robert Fitzgerald
Follow Georgina (Da’at Darling)! Follow Georgina!
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daatdarling/
- Twitter:https://mobile.twitter.com/daatdarling
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daatdarling?_...
- Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/daatdarling
Link to our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
In this episode hosts Astra, Fel, and Han explore ancestry, the importance of DNA in determining eligibility to participate in closed practices and other traditions alongside issues of biological essentialism. Do DNA tests such as 23 & Me actually give you accurate and useable data? If so, how, if at all, does that translate to occult practices? Or is a practice defined by the spirituality of location and not through biological inheritance?
Want to discuss these topics with us more? Join the discord here: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Low Coverage of Whole Genome Sequencing: https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-019-0682-2
History and Current Approaches to Genome Sequencing: https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2001037019303277?token=E13A38288C654F65E0304EA37B1108BF2348D197EC9AC225338DCF7E210A65FC87FC4D1588C854C5FD51884F7DFE04E1&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20211120003753
Personalised Medicine and Whole Genome Sequencing: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2019.00049/full
Ancestry: Understanding Genetics (good summary of science in English terms): https://genetics.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/same-dna-different-ancestry-results
Defining signal thresholds in DNA microarrays: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC117791/
Black Death Left a Mark on the Human Genome: https://www.science.org/content/article/black-death-left-mark-human-genome
In this episode, we explore the torrid and confusing history of astral projection. From its origins in mystic thought all the way down to its use as a magical tool - what is astral projection & how did we reach today’s understanding? Tune in to hear how the concept of the astral ‘body of light’ was born, and how it evolved in the midst of cultural fetishisation and the development of modern physics. We also discuss how out-of-body experiences might be explained by science.
Come discuss your thoughts on our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
- On Neoplatonism, the soul, and Christian theology: Parnell, J. B. (2009). The theurgic turn in Christian thought: Iamblichus, Origen, Augustine and the Eucharist. University of Michigan.
- Evolution of the concept of ‘astral’ during the development of physics Asprem, E. (2011). Pondering imponderables: occultism in the mirror of late classical physics. Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, 11(2), 129 - Blanke, O., Landis, T., Spinelli, L., & Seeck, M. (2004).
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin. Brain, 127(2), 243-258 - Brugger, P., Regard, M., & Landis, T. (1997).
- Illusory reduplication of one's own body: phenomenology and classification of autoscopic phenomena Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 2(1), 19-38. - Asprem, E. (2017).
- Explaining the esoteric imagination: Towards a theory of kataphatic practice Aries, 17(1), 17-50. - Luhrmann, T. M. (1991).
- Persuasions of the witch’s craft: Ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press (also see Luhrmann’s other work!)
- Liber Null PJ Carroll -
- The Black Arts - R Cavendish
- Astral Atlas: http://astralatlas.tumblr.com/
This week, the hosts explore the concept of ‘clairs’, terms used to differentiate all sorts of diverse psychic experience. From Jainism to Spiritualism, second sight to seances, psychic experiences have been a core tenet of the occult and spirituality for thousands of years. But how well do these historical accounts line up with our modern definition of ‘clairs’, and is there any benefit to viewing these experiences through a scientific lens?
Link to our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
- 1998 (dodgy!) meta-analysis assessing studies on clairvoyance and precognition: Steinkamp, F., Milton, J., & Morris, R. L. (1998). A meta-analysis of forced-choice experiments comparing clairvoyance and precognition. Journal of Parapsychology, 62(3), 193–218
- Testing the psychic Olof Jonsson in a ‘forced choice’ experiment: Don, N. S., McDonough, B. E., & Warren, C. A. (1992). Psi testing of a controversial psychic under controlled conditions. The Journal of Parapsychology, 56(2), 87
- The Mind Machine - massive British experiment testing ESP in the general public: Wiseman, R., & Greening, E. (2002). The Mind Machine: A mass participation experiment into the possible existence of extra‐sensory perception. British Journal of Psychology, 93(4), 487-499
- Neuro-imaging of clairvoyant pairs: Moulton, S. T., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2008). Using neuroimaging to resolve the psi debate. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(1), 182-192.
- What is ‘normal’ experience? Powers III, A. R., Kelley, M. S., & Corlett, P. R. (2017). Varieties of voice-hearing: psychics and the psychosis continuum. Schizophrenia bulletin, 43(1), 84-98.
- Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn
- Les Miroirs Magiques by Paul Sédir
- Lectures by Rudolf Steiner
- Extrasensory Perception (yogi-pratyakṣa) in Jainism and Its Refutations http://www.balcerowicz.eu/indology/balcerowicz2016c.pdf
- Clairvoyance in Jainism: Avadhijñāna in Philosophy, Epistemology and Literature https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4760&context=etd
Happy Samhain! This week we discuss ghosts, what they are, if they differ from spirits, and how their descriptions have varied across cultures and centuries. Is the way we currently view ghosts different than in the past and if so what has influenced the change? Be sure to tune in to the end as well where we share some of our own ghost stories or frightening paranormal experiences!
Link to our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
- High Energy Ghosts: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-28902-7_6
- The Sixth Dimension and Gods Helmet: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7966009/
- A critical test of the EMF-Paranormal Phenomena Theory: https://www.proquest.com/docview/1537381235?fromopenview=true&pq-origsite=gscholar
This week hosts Astra, Han, and Fel dissect the science behind intuition and deja vu! Do these experiences have a scientific mechanism behind them and if so, what is it and how does it work? Or are they as mystical and immeasurable as people like to claim? Plenty of questions to answer and a few funny interludes (hint, we talk about some hilarious quantum findings)...grab some tea and pop into the lab....or come back? Do you get the feeling this has happened before?
Link to our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Dèjá Vu: Possible Parahippocampal Mechanisms: https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/jnp.14.1.6
Déjà Experiences in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy:https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/jnp.14.1.6
Intuition vs. Insight: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01195/full
Control of mental activities by internal models in the cerebellum: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2332
Meta-analytic Investigations of the Relations between Intuition and Analysis: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bdm.1903
Neural processes underlying intuitive coherence judgments as revealed by fMRI on a semantic judgment task::https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811907006118?via%3Dihub
Intuition: A social cognitive neuroscience approach: https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2000-03445-005
Intuition, Telepathy, and Interspecies Communication: A Multidisciplinary Perspective : https://sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net/10.14704/nq.2011.9.1.399 **Please do not take any of this seriously....this is the paper that we reference when discussing the insanity of quantum entanglement
Role of intuitive knowledge in the diagnostic reasoning of hospital specialists: a focus group study: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e022724
Think rationally rather than intuitively to avoid diagnostic errors, doctors are told:https://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6705
State of Science, “Intuition in Nursing Practice”: A Systematic Review Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800548/
Philosophy and WEIRD intuition: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/abs/philosophy-and-weird-intuition/153A4771E2C1631DB37D01859D3D6087
Welcome back to the laboratory and to the second season of the podcast! This week hosts Astra, Fel, and Han travel back to medieval times and discuss magick during a time of heavy catholic influence, metallurgy, and medicine among many other topics including influential scientists, occultists, leech books, witch hunts!
A delightful historical concoction to explore that won't blow your head off.
Social Media Links:
Discord: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/
Resources:
The Genius of Medieval Science: https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/medieval-science-medicine-dark-ages-discoveries/
Brief Biography of Jabir-ibn-Hayyan: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-Musa-Jabir-ibn-Hayyan
Leech-Book Experiment: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4542191/
Brief overview of the Hortus deliciarum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortus_deliciarum
Discussion of potential scientific bias of medeival remedies: https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/9-weird-medieval-medicines
Alchemy Digital Occult Library (a great starting point): https://digitaloccultlibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu/alchemy/
Tune in for our last episode of season one! We'll be back in about a month, though, so don't fret it.
Bias is human and helps us make decisions, but it can also hold us back and lead to some very serious ramifications. Tune in to the three hosts (Astra, Hanne and Fel) to discuss bias, what kinds of bias exist and how it shows up in both the occult and scientific community.
Links:
Discord: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testtubesandcauldrons/
Poisons are a natural wonder and phenomena, one that should be handled with care, but have so much use within and outside of the occult. Yet, as with many things falling under the umbrella of left hand path, it is often demonized, seen as dark, ill-willed, and incapable of doing good. Join the hosts today as we discuss what the poison path is, misconceptions surrounding it, and how it actually requires having a hand in the benevolent and baneful realms.
Come discuss in our Discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Articles and Papers:
Poison as medicine: https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/the-power-of-poison-poison-as-medicine
Animal Toxins and Therapeutic Treatment for Neurological Disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5829052/
A Constructive Approach on Lethal Plants for Medicine: https://toxicology.imedpub.com/a-constructive-approach-on-lethal-plants-formedicinal-use.php?aid=23639
Books:
The Witches’ Ointment by Thomas Hatsis
The Poison Trials by Alisha Rankin
Viridarium Umbris: the pleasure garden of shadow & Veneficium: Magic by Daniel Schulke
Witchcraft and the Poison Path by Daniel Schulke.
Pharmakognosis trilogy by Dale Pendell
Want to learn more about separations? See the links below!
Introduction to Chromatography: https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/ProvidenceCollege/CHM331AdvancedAnalyticalChemistry1/11%3AAnIntroductiontoChromatographic_Separations
Introduction to Mass Spectrometry: https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Purdue/Purdue%3A_Chem_26200%3A_Organic_Chemistry_II_(Wenthold)/Chapter_11%3A__IR_and_Mass_Spectrometry/11.06%3A_Introduction_to_Mass_Spectrometry
Mass Spec applications in biological research: https://iubmb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bmb.2004.494032020331
Do goldfish have spirituality? What are the correspondences of genetically modified ingredients? Are color correspondences different for people who are color blind? What if we could see beyond the visible spectrum? Join us for our third installment of the spiritual shower thoughts series where we dive into crazy spiritual questions, but this week....under the influence of mugwort! We get a little loose in this episode, but that's what made it fun!
Come discuss in our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Welcome back to the lab! In this episode the hosts dig into a hidden influential scientist turned mystic who had a huge impact on both our understanding of modern-day science and traditional witchcraft practices. Emanuel Swedenborg was a prodigy and striking example of a renaissance man with varying interests. He was the first to propose the proto-neuron theory, the structure of an atom nearly a century before its discovery and coined the term correspondence that is so widely used within the spiritual community today.
We fell across Swedenborg during a previous episode and found him incredibly fascinating, so please join us as we dig into him further, unpacking his influences and trying to understand the cosmology he lived by.
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Swedenborg Foundation Website: https://swedenborg.com/emanuel-swedenborg/
A System of Occidental Occultism: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4046&context=ocj (has some unique insights into Swedenborg)
Swedenborg: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas: https://www.amazon.com/Swedenborg-Introduction-His-Life-Ideas/dp/1585429384
The three hosts (Astra, Fel and Hanne) discuss the science and history of entheogens in spiritual practices, how scholarship has changed and how it differs from other trance inducing practices. A general content warning for this episode, there will be a discussion surrounding drug use and its effects.
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
- Effects of Ayahuasca
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/193993/ayahuasca-compound-changes-brainwaves-vivid-waking-dream/
- Speculative ethnobotanical perspectives on the Norse berserkers
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31404578/
- The “Vine of the Soul” vs. The Controlled Substances Act: Implications of the Hoasca Case
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.2008.10400630
- Quasi-Experimental Elicitation of the Differential Report of Religious Experience among Intrinsic and Indiscriminately Pro-Religious Types
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1387425?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents
- Psilocybin and mystical-type experiences
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5
- Of Roots and Fruits: A Comparison of Psychedelic and Nonpsychedelic Mystical Experiences
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022167816674625
Welcome to the first episode of our new series where we take a look at the relationship between science and the occult through the ages. In this episode we take a look at the Classical Era, contemplating the words and ideas of many influential philosophers such as Thales, Anaximenes, Aristotle, Pythagorus, and Empedocles, and many more! We touch upon fundamental theories of how the world works such as the elemental theory, the cosmic cycle of Empedocles, and the humors, which played a key role in the development of medicine (by arguably doing most things wrong).
There are no resources for this episode as everything we talk about is publicly available, but we encourage you to do further research on a philosopher or theory that catches your interest!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
In the modern era, spirituality seems to have an overarching idea that technology inhibits one's ability to do magick. While the buzzing of notifications and constant flow of information can be a distraction to many people during ritual, that doesn't mean it is inherently bad or not useful in our practices! This week, the hosts are joined by Warrior Witch Nike to discuss tech magick, what it is, ways to use it, and some common misconceptions this paradigm often encounters!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Technomancy Blog: https://technomancy101.com/technomancy/ (this is a blog and not a peer-reviewed resource, but it has good information and would be an excellent place to start!)
AI to Generate Magical Symbols: https://ladvien.com/magic-symbol-generator-using-generative-advesarial-networks/
Science and mysticism have been intertwined for centuries, but in many ways, science has also been used to perpetuate bogus spiritual experiences by charlatans and grifters within the spiritual and spirit community. Ghost hunters use thermal energies and electro-magnetic devices to decipher spirit interactions and charlatans used a wide variety of tricks to prove their abilities including magnets to show telekinesis among others! In this episode we touch on psychics, the paranormal, and scientific validity of both and the potential issues these can pose for our community.
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
CIA Reports - please read these with a critical eye!
Certain Problems in Biological Electrodynamics and Psychoenergetics: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000500090004-6.pdf
Psychic Warfare: Exploring the Mind Frontier: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R001001420001-3.pdf
Summary Analysis of Remote Viewing: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R000900870001-8.pdf
Scientific Articles
Neuroimaging during Trance State: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500298/
Failure to Replicate Precognition: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0033423
Precognition and Alternate Mind States Ganzfeld Study: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/testing-precognition-and-altered-state-of-consciousness-with-sele
Difficulties of studying psychic ability (Journal of Parapsychology): https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-18747-002
Accuracy and neural correlates of blinded mediumship compared to controls on an image classification task: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278262620302414?via%3Dihub
Electromagnetic Field (EMF) studies:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2490801/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3494709/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2490801/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cpr.12142
Blogs/Websites
Science of the Paranormal: Can You Trust Your Own Mind? https://www.livescience.com/52641-science-of-paranormal-ghosts.html
Symbols have an important role in the development of language throughout the centuries from hieroglyphics to the alphabets we know today, but within the occult community they also take on other meanings. Join the hosts as they talk about the science behind words and symbols in the occult. How accurate is the suggestion that a sigil is most effective when you destroy and forget? Is it possible to ever truly forget? Get lost in the murky waters of the unknown with us because its complicated.
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Perceptions of perceptual symbols: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/abs/perceptions-of-perceptual-symbols/3F4B2D65B7685F18BF2C840E77761574
Amodal/modal dichotomy of concepts (Review): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-020-09678-y
Biological abnormality of impaired reading is constrained by culture: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02865
Brain mechanisms linking language and action: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15959465/
Language in context: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15809000/
Parallel memory systems...: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16828565/
From symbols to sounds: visual symbolic information activates sound representations: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15318877/
Neurochemical and neurological localization of semantic processes: https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1364-6613%2813%2900122-8
Uses, misuses, new uses, and fundamental limitations of resonance imaging in cognitive science: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003851/
Neuroimaging during trance state: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500298/
The Demonstration of Short Term Consolidation (a concept similar to the burn and forget sigil activation): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010028598906843?via%3Dihub
We are delighted to welcome a close friend of ours to the podcast for this episode! Kapt is a chaote, planetary magician, yoga instructor, and fantastic astrologer who was willing to sit down and talk to us about chaos magic. We discuss its origins, some of the key tenets, ways to go about engaging in this eclectic tradition and common misconceptions about chaos magic in the witchcraft community. Grab a drink and sit for a spell as we discuss philosophy and experimentation within this paradigm!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
The Neural Basis of the Dynamic Unconcious: https://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/papers/BerlinTreatment.pdf
Are there levels of consciousness? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466131630002X
Book Recommendations:
Hands on Chaos Magic: Reality Manipulation Through the Ovayki Current by Andrieh Vitimus
The Chaos Protocols by Gordon White (full disclosure, I [Astra] am still reading this, but thus far it has been interesting. As always, read with critical thought!)
Our last shower thoughts episode was quite popular (and we had a blast recording it), so we figured we'd do a second one with some thoughts we weren't able to talk about last time. The hosts discuss the possibilities of animals practicing magick, what happens when you eat a binding spell, whether or not you can work with the genius loci of certain architectures or large scale structures like a subways and more! Lots of fun discussion, so pop into the lab and join us!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
First recording during Mercury retrograde and it was a doozy, but thanks to Fel for cleaning it up and producing a great episode! This week the hosts discuss divination, its history, some of our favorite types, and how we use it in our own practice. We also touch upon the scientific validity of divination and astrology by looking into some specific studies. Grab your teacup and join us at the table for an enlightening discussion!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
References and Resources
Divination
M. Fortes Thesis on Divination used by the Tallensi people: https://www-jstor-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/stable/pdf/2416753.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Af3f04f65d9c804a7889cc0beb6062c0c
Theories of the Evolution of Divination: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338593433
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodsofdivination
Divination and Scientific Prediction: https://citationsy.com/archives/q?doi=10.1163/15733823-0186P0002
Pythagoreanism and Number Symbology (an overview): https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism/Pythagoreanism
Theory of Motor Control in Conscious and Unconcious Movement: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03333809.pdf
Relationship between Scientific Knowledge and Fortune Telling: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260561710
Astrology
A Double-blind Test of Astrology: https://www.nature.com/articles/318419a0
Personality Differences between Twins as Predicted by Astrology?: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0191886996001122
Astrology Predictions on Marriage and Divorce: https://genus.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41118-020-00103-5
The terms frequency and vibration are thrown around a lot in the witchcraft community, especially amongst New Age practitioners, to describe people in certain states, explain the magical properties of crystals, and suggest that by controlling these frequencies we can reach our highest self. The hosts take on this topic and attempt to explain what these terms actually are, how we empirically measure them, and address their misconceptions in magic. This is going to be a fun one, so grab a wine glass and bring it to the lab where we'll try to break it with the resonant frequency! ;)
Come join our discord!: https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources/Additional Material:
Basic Understanding of Frequencies and Vibrations: http://w3.ric.edu/faculty/PSCI103/waves/waves_notes.pdf
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves (this is a really good introduction to this topic from a physics point of view)
History of FRET: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0898656820302461
Binaural Beat: A Failure to Enhance EEG Power and Emotional Arousal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5694826/
Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysis: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-018-1066-8
Musica Universalis image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musica_universalis#/media/File:The_music_of_the_spheres.jpg
Musical Modes and their mystical meanings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(music)#Use
Books:
The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish (mentions pneuma, a concept historically related to this discussion)
Early Music Songs that Make Felicity Cry:
Fortuna Desperata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCS9I8NLvuA
Stella Splendens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x25mD35ZDm0
Miserere mei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9unphfi0
A chantar m'er: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiv3_nW-2M8
Dido's Lament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOIAi2XwuWo (song that makes Astra cry)
In this episode, the hosts discuss the New Age Movement, its origins, history, and evolution over time in addition to common practices within that are scientifically unsound. The definition of "new age" is incredibly hard to pin down, but hopefully this provides some useful insights!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources from the episode:
Perspectives on the New Age: https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonne0000unse_m6u6/page/n5/mode/2up
Category Formation and History of the New Age: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01438300302814
The Victorian Supernatural: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-victorian-supernatural
The Fashionable Science of Parlour Magic https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-fashionable-science-of-parlour-magic
Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler
A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/187390
We are delighted to welcome our first guest to the podcast - Ruby is a Scottish folk practitioner and solitary Wiccan pursuing a career in occupational therapy. Ruby joins the hosts to talk about epistemology, ontology, and the different ways of knowing and how this relates to the occult. We discuss different paradigms and how they fit into different traditions and discuss our own thoughts from our personal practices! Grab those spectacles and some coffee because its time to get philosophical!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Humanity and divinity go back centuries and it leads to the classic philosophical debate of which came first - humans or the divine? Do we have an innate lure and connection to the divine and is there a biological basis for the strong beliefs people have? Religions have been created, destroyed, and transformed through the ages as integral parts of our society all with the desire to connect to something larger than ourselves. Join the hosts as they discuss this from a scientific point of view and ponder if such a connection is quantifiable!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Scales developed relating to magical or religious experience
Magical Ideation Scale: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6841765/
Religious Experience Scale: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197485/
Intensity of Religious Experience Scale: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-020-01084-7
Neurological papers related to the brain and spirituality
Post-traumatic Growth and Spirituality after Brain Injury: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/brain-impairment/article/abs/posttraumatic-growth-and-spirituality-after-brain-injury/A871DC2434004F24F8CDDBB671DC4A21
Biological and Cognitive Underpinnings of Religious Fundamentalism: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5500821/
Right Parietal Lobe "Self-lessness" as the Neuropsychological Basis of Spirituality: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10508619.2012.657524?journalCode=hjpr20#preview
Commentary on the "God Spot" in the Right Parietal Lobe: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/god-spot-in-brain-is-not-n1440518
Mystical Experience from Psilcybin: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3050654/
Mechanisms of Psychedelic Visionary Experiences: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5625021/
The God Gene
The God Gene Experiment: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2262126/
Original Book: The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes by Dean Hammer
One of the best parts about spirituality is being able to make your practice your own and people are incredibly creative when it comes to spellwork! In this episode, the hosts discuss some wacky spiritual shower thoughts like whether bacteria have spirits., can you do plant necromancy on your furniture, or whether spirits evolve over time. It's going to be a great time - so grab a drink from our bubbling cauldron and join us for a wild ride!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Last week the hosts discussed herbalism through a scientific lense, but it plays a very key role in the practice of many pagans, witches, and some occultists. Hosts Astra, Hanne, and Fel discuss herbalism from a magical point of view - discussing how herbs are commonly used within magic and their own practices.
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Drug interactions due to grapefruit juice: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17077528/
Pharmacologic effects of lactone: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19889337
Protoanemonin in plants: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0731708520312565
Old Thesis on Heat Induced Inhibitory Agents from Processed Fruits and Vegetables: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1486467544555553&disposition=inline
There is a constant discourse between herbalist and the scientific community...neither of which seem to see the side of another, but is there a place for herbalism within healing? Hosts Astra, Hanne, and Fel discuss what herbalism is and the place they feel is should occupy within the scientific world of drug development. What are the benefits and limitations of herbalism vs. synthetics? Fair warning, this episode goes deep into some science, but it's fascinating stuff!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources:
Derivation of drugs from natural products (NPs) and current screening methods:
The Story of Aspirin: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjh.14520
NPs as a Source for Drug Design: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3560124/
Review of the role of NP in Drug Design: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd1657
A Historical Overview of NP in Drug Design: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901206/#B30-metabolites-02-00303
NP in Drug Design: Advances and Opportunities: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-020-00114-z
Dried-leaf Artemesia annua: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4323188/
Whole Plan Artemesia annua as antimalarial therapy: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052746
Molecular Mechanism of Thalidomide: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7281272/
Psychedelics being re-engineered for clinical therapeutics: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03404-z
Drug Discovery Process
Stages of Drug Discovery: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341097009
Drug Discovery and Development - A story: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5725284/
In this episode we explore meditation and mindfulness from a scientific point of view. What is meditation and mindfulness and how are they distinguished? Is there any physiological basis behind those practices and what is the current research on this topic? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions aren't as simple as they might appear! Grab a beaker full of coffee and let's discuss!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
The discussion of safety in witchcraft is neglected, but extremely important! Hosts Astra, Hanne, and Fel discuss the different realms of safety within the craft, suggestions, warnings, why crystals shouldn't go into water, dosing of salves and tinctures, and cross reactions of herbs with prescription drugs among other topics. We also touch upon some of our own "oops" moments to show that we all need these reminders!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Sources/Resources:
Cross-reactions of herbs: https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/pdf/10.1055/s-0031-1298331.pdf (this is a really good read if you are curious!)
Link to a free textbook on mineral chemistry: https://opengeology.org/Mineralogy/4-crystals-and-crystallization/
In this episode we talk about research in multiple facets! How do we define it scientifically and can we apply a similar rigor to our occult research? We talk about the different types of sources, their reliability, and our own personal tips on how to be an effective researcher. Try not to crush any glassware under that stack of books!
*Apologies for some mic feedback - we were in a different recording location this week!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Since this episode is mostly opinion, we have opted to list a few books below that may be useful in helping you be a more effective researcher and critical thinker!
How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre (a great book on recognizing fallible science)
Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd edition) by John W. Creswell
The Craft of Research (4th edition) by Wayne C. Booth, Joseph Williams, and Gregory G. Colomb
Join the hosts as they discuss the placebo effect in magick! We cover what placebos and nocebos are, how blinded trials work and why they are useful in study design. The hosts touch upon areas of magick they consider to be placebo effects and discuss why. Do you think the placebo effect plays a role in magick? Let us know where!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Resources from the episode:
Pill color and drug efficacy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2359128/
Cultural effects on the placebo effect:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/acps.12422 and https://sci-hub.se/10.1177/0020764015591492
Asthma and placebo...how not to kill your patients: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/asthma-placebo-and-how-not-to-kill-your-patients/
Join us as we talk about shadow work...where it came from, how it became popular, and the cultural and scientific issues with the term and application of the practice.
References/Resources
Bias of Carl Jung Toward Eastern Spiritual Practices: https://taileaters.com/depth-psychology/jungs-bias-toward-spiritual-practices-of-the-east/
Gnosticism and Individuation: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27510698?seq=1
Limitations of Psychoanalysis in treatment of mental illness:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/wps.20235
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735811001863?via%3Dihub
https://journals.lww.com/hrpjournal/Fulltext/2013/05000/TheCurrentStateoftheEmpiricalEvidence_for.1.aspx
Myers-Briggs
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543063004467
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/26554264.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232494957CautionarycommentsregardingtheMyers-BriggsType_Indicator
Biological Essentialism
A Neurologists perspective on subcortical systems reflecting unconscious archetypes: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424/full
Jung and Racism: https://www.britishpsychotherapyfoundation.org.uk/insights/blog/jung-and-racism
**Archetypes: Culture or Biology? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22444357/
Additional Resources:
Link to workshops mentioned
DISCLAIMER: These workshops are not affiliated with or recommended by the podcast, but included if our listeners wish to explore the subject further themselves.
Twitter Announcement: https://twitter.com/becomingethical/status/1368598601346220035
Fairy Tales and Therapy Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fairy-tales-and-therapy-introductory-workshop-tickets-143404852775?ref=eios
Greek Myths and Therapy: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/greek-myths-and-therapy-introductory-workshop-tickets-144792705881?fbclid=IwAR3Z_VvFCwLePAWgiuAeExWvfY7lTAdc9fZMfxpj6Krqp75SWDojE9-9u6Q
Welcome to our first episode of Test Tubes and Cauldrons, a podcast where we talk about the science behind spirituality! In this episode, the hosts discuss whether attempting to view spirituality through a scientific lens lessens the magical nature of it. Hop into the discussions with us as we talk and try not to blow up a test tube or two!
Come join our discord! https://discord.gg/kJthJyxTBc
Books/References Mentioned:
The Basic Code of the Universe: The Science of the Invisible in Physics, Medicine, and Spirituality by Massimo Citro (Astra)
Synchronicity: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind by F. David Peat (Astra)
Thirteen Pathways of Occult Herbalism by Daniel A. Schulke (Hanne)
Cailleach's Herbarium: “https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2017/09/communications-with-plants-animism-genius-loci-terroir-phenomenology/
COVID-19 Paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7488171/
Additional Resources:
New study on Terroir if you are interested: https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2021/02/research-shows-terroir-in-whiskey-does-exist/