Down at the Crossroads

Latest Episodes:

DatC #101 - Psychic Witch with Mat Auryn May 24, 2020

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I welcome blogger, teacher, and now author Mat Auryn back to the show to discuss his new book, Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick, and Manifestation. During the episode we talk about his recent participation at PantheaCon and being a presenter as well as workshop etiquette and being an attendee. His experiences on being a professional witch in Salem, Massachusetts during the month of October. Some tips and tricks on how to keep oneself from psychically burning out as well as his thoughts on extra sensory perception, the spirit of place, and more. Chronologically, this conversation occurred at two different times, but we'll get into that later. This was a fun and unexpected chat and we hope that you enjoy it. (Click here for the full show notes for this episode)

DatC Film Club 3 - Suspiria (2018) Apr 19, 2020

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we usually cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers, but tonight that's not happening because it's film club time. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I turn our eyes and minds to Luca Gaudagnino's (Gau-Duh-Nino) 2018 remake of Dario Argento's 1977 film Suspiria. That's right, make some popcorn, secure your copy, lower the lights, sit down, get comfortable, and join us as we watch and discuss tonight's movie, in which "The Women are up to something" LOL. Please be aware that this episode does contain spoilers and the audio for this conversation might sound roomy at times due to whatever setting we accidentally had on the microphone. But despite that, we're happy to bring this long overdue conversation to you and we hope you participate with us in our viewing of the film. (Click here for the complete show notes)

DatC #100 - Hanging Out with Matthew Venus Mar 15, 2020

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I welcome witch and folk magician Matthew Venus to the show to talk about witchcraft, his work, and more. You're definitely in store for a very lively and energetic discussion full of anecdotes and insights as we touch upon his background as well as his thoughts on witchcraft; witchcraft and politics; his distinction between hoodoo, rootwork, and conjure; his business Spiritus Arcanum, magical correspondences, the upcoming Salem Witchcraft & Folklore Festival happening in Salem Massachusetts, and more. Matthew was a great guest and very happy to share his perspective on a variety of topics. (Click here for the complete show notes)

DatC #099 - Witchbody with Sabrina Scott Feb 26, 2020

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I meet with author and artist of the graphic novel Witchbody, Sabrina Scott. During our discussion we talk about her background growing up as a Spiritualist as well as how she got into witchcraft, how she defines witchcraft, cultural appropriation, the hierarchy of being, purity politics, world views in witchcraft, and more. Sabrina was a great guest and as you can tell we really touch upon a variety of topics in this episode. (Click here for the complete show notes)

DatC #098 - Traditional Witchcraft with Shani Oates Jan 12, 2020

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I meet with author and Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain herself, Shani Oates to talk about her thoughts on Traditional Witchcraft. During our discussion we go into how she got started on her path as well as debunking the myths about her background, her thoughts on the differences between Traditional Witchcraft and Wicca, Her avoidance of using the term witch, Robert Cochrane, the Clan of Tubal Cain, being a women in Traditional Witchcraft, and more. Shani was a great guest. We were very honored to have her on the show and we look forward to speaking with her again in the future. (Click here for the complete show notes)

DatC #097 - Getting Witchy with Elizabeth Graham Dec 22, 2019

Show notes

(Click here for the complete show notes for this episode)

DatC #096 - Transformative Witchcraft with Jason Mankey Nov 17, 2019

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I meet with Jason Mankey to learn about his book Transformative Witchcraft: The Greater Mysteries available from Llewellyn. And along with that we discuss his Pagan witchcraft journey and what caused him to move away from his Christian background, his early Goddess practices and experiences as a witch, his thoughts on witchcraft and how it has changed over the years, the modern origins of witchcraft, inclusivity in Traditional Wicca, the future of modern craft, and more. Jason was a great guest and this conversation has great anecdotes and personal stories as well.

"The rites and rituals of Witchcraft are life-changing experiences, but they are also steeped in mystery. Transformative Witchcraft delves into some of the most persistent mysteries of the Craft and provides insightful guidance for raising and directing magickal energy in accordance with your desires. Jason Mankey distills his decades of experience as he shares practical wisdom for raising a cone of power and detailed insights into creating powerful rituals for dedications, initiations, and elevations. In his chapter on drawing down the moon, he provides a vivid exploration of invocation and the subtle nuances in preparation and execution that can take the ritual to its most magisterial heights. This book also discusses one of the most mysterious of all the magickal rituals―the Great Rite. Whether you're interested in the Great Rite in token or in truth, there is much to be gleaned from the experiences related here on a topic that is frequently treated as taboo in much of the magickal literature."

"Direct experience with the divine and the potent energies of magick are defining experiences in a life of Witchcraft. Filled with compelling personal stories, a fascinating brief history of modern Wicca and Witchcraft, striking original rituals, and a wealth of tips and techniques, this book provides the beginning or intermediate Witch with the practical and theoretical keys they need to unlock the mysteries of the Craft." - Transformative Witchcraft (back cover)

Featured Music:

"The Golden King" by Witchwood
"Hymn to Herne" by S.J. Tucker
"Green and Grey" by Damh the Bard
"The Battle of Evermore" by Finvarra
"Pollen Path" by Elana Low
"The Call of the Mountains" by Eluveitie
"I Was Here When the Sea Was Young" by Ill Wicker
"A Rose for Epona" by Eluveitie

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DatC #095 - Southern Cunning with Aaron Oberon Oct 27, 2019

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I meet with Aaron Oberon to learn about his book Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft In The American South available from Moon Books. During the discussion we touch upon Christianity and witchcraft, social media, his thoughts on witchcraft, initiation by spirit, the necessity and limitations of initiation in general, and his ideas surrounding folkloric witchcraft. This was a fun conversation and like we say by then of it, if your spirits don't have a sense of humor, then you need some new spirits.

*Visit official show notes for further show information

DatC #094 – Y Mabinogi (Second Branch) with Damh the Bard Sep 02, 2019

Show notes

Hello and thank you once again for joining us down at the crossroads for some music, magick, and Paganism. Where witches gather for the sabbath, offerings are made, pacts are signed for musical fame and we cross paths with today's most influential Pagans, occultists, and deep thinkers. I am your bewitching, bald headed, host Chris Orapello and tonight Tara and I welcome Damh the Bard back to the show to discuss the second branch of his Y Mabinogi albums. During the discussion we talk about myth versus story, materialism, Science and Paganism, re-enchanting the world, his thoughts on how paganism exists in the UK and how it differs from the USA, and more. This is definitely an unexpected discussion, but it was certainly a great one to have. Admittedly we get a little political in the episode, but what do you expect with the bullshit going on in the world and damn it, sometimes, you got to get yelly. So, consider yourself warned.

*Visit official show notes for more info

DatC #093 - Talking Persephone with Wendy Rule Jun 16, 2019

Show notes

*Visit official show notes for further episode information.

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