Betwixt And Between

Back after a LOOOOOOOOONG break, we catch up on what we've been up to, then discuss the teaching of Witchcraft. What is a Witch teacher? What purpose does having one serve? And what are the pitfalls of being one?  It's good to be back!   Info about cover crops (in case you want to expand the metaphor).   Chickens--the coolest/weirdest heads ever.   The NWW episode we referenced.   Isaac Bonewits cult evaluation.   Sarah Lawless's take on teacher evaluation.   Check out our Wordpress site for pictures.

What is a spell? When should you do one? What are the consequences? What are the mechanics? Betwixt and Between chat about their spell experiences, philosophies, and even foibles.  Check out betwixtandbetweennotes.wordpress.com for book references, pictures of the weeds discussed in the show, and other such tidbits.

Betwixt and Between take time this episode to describe their gardens and how creating and tending them contributes to their individual spiritual practices. The discussion touches not only on the tended spaces, but on the untended spaces as well, and finally veers into a brief take on the recent online dialogue around Apocalyptic Witchcraft. Check out our blog for pictures of parts of our gardens! Some gardening and Green Witchy resources: http://rueandhyssop.blogspot.com/ http://permacultureprinciples.com/  http://witcheskitchen.com.au/the-witches-kitchen-garden/ http://www.alchemy-works.com/witchs_garden.html http://www.tnps.org/ (or google your local native plant society)   For those interested in the Apocalyptic Witchcraft dialogue, check out the following links(this is just a sampling): http://scarletimprint.com/2014/06/rewilding-witchcraft/ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2013/10/apocalyptic-witchcraft.html http://sarahannelawless.com/2014/07/01/the-witch-and-the-wild/ http://thearrivalandthereu

Betwixt and Between talk with Mihika, a dear friend, scholar, practicing Hindu, and blogger behind OneHindu.net. This discussion asks what is cultural appropriation, why can it be problematic, and then turns to how to share another's culture in a (hopefully) non-problematic way. Together they explore power dynamics and privledge, aesthetics vs. deeper cultural meanings, and the role of guilt in approaching one's non-native culture. Thank you again to New World Witchery, the iPod Witch, and any other podcaster or blogger who has been supporting us. What a great community this is! See show notes for images of and a mantra to Saraswati. Resources that informed this show: onehindu.net Inciting a Riot, Episode 38: Inciting a Hindu Riot (and the latest episode, #88, is about privledge. Co-inkydink!) Devin Hunter's Modern Witch (Not Pagan Rapport, which is also lovely) Season 4, Episode 16: Pagans and Privilege Lamplighter Blues, Episode 10: Baucherei (Not Pow Wow. Sheesh! Not batting 1000 here with the references..

What is initiation? Who does it? How do you do it? Why should you do it? Is it necessary? Betwixt and Between discuss the purposes and elements of initiation in this episode, as well as sharing some personal updates and fielding more animal hilarity.

* Disclaimer: No drugs or alcohol were consumed prior to or during the recording of this episode, by humans or animals. It was just one of those nights.  After a brief review of what they've each been up to recently and how they celebrated the Spring Sabbats, Betwixt and Between discuss why the Eight Sabbats, and how they connect with each personally and augment with additional celebrations throughout the year. Hilarity ensues when sleep deprivation and one crazy little cat take their toll. 

Betwixt and Between are joined by "Glinda, the Witch of the North," in this discussion about returning to mudane reality after experiences of altered consciousness. If you have ever had trouble grounding after trancework, hedgecrossing, or even have just had one too many visions out of the corner of your eye, tune in to hear how three Witches bring it on back home.

Betwixt and Between discuss the process of getting to the next level of Witchcraft from pretty much wherever one is--anyone from newbie to advanced initiate can learn more--but especially when growing from the basics. They have book recomendations, practical suggestions, and of course skip down multiple bunny tails along the way.

How do you keep up with your practice, and can you see what you already do for what it is? Betwixt and Between examine their personal devotions and discuss overcoming obstacles to both engaging in integrated everyday practice and to pursuing more specialized work. Talk ranges from gardening to altars to hedgecrossing, complete with plenty of personal anecdotes.

Post holiday season (i.e. Samhian - Yule) Betwixt and Between recount their experiences of making the winter Sabbats personal and relevent to their own familes and small children (with a sidebar about Passover...). They also discuss involving community in their celebrations, and look ahead to the coming year.  

Show notes: In this first episode, Betwixt and Between introduce themselves and compare their histories as Witches leading up to the present day. Show Host Bios: Betwixt is a mother, wife, grad student, and witch living a stone's throw from Between in the American South. Her witch's cottage is a spirit-filled late Victorian farmhouse that is now smack in the midst of a city. A dog, two cats, sundry houseplants, and many, many houseplants also share her home. Betwixt is hopelessly in love with making new things and finding old things. Her craft is also informed by her ancestry in the British Isles, her travels, local ecology, and her childhood living here, there, and everywhere, but mostly beside the ocean. Between is a massage therapist, fiber artist, writer, mother of one amazing little daughter, and wife to one particularly Hobbit-like man, living about a mile as the owl flies from Betwixt in the rolling green hills of the American South. Her human family shares their mid-twentieth-century brick Tudor cotta