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From Floppy Disks to Emoji Spells: The Evolution of Techno Witchcraft image

From Floppy Disks to Emoji Spells: The Evolution of Techno Witchcraft

S1 E33 · The Bell Witch Podcast
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254 Plays4 months ago

Episode 33  

Witching in the 21st Century. 

Welcome to another enchanting  Solitary Witch episode of "The Bell Witch Podcast" with Swailes the Friendly Green witch🌿✨

Today, we're diving broomstick-first into the spellbinding world of techno paganism and digital witchcraft. But before we get our cauldrons bubbling, I have a tiny favour to ask. If you love what we do here, please consider showing your support by voting for us in the British Podcast Awards. Your votes are like magical pixie dust that keeps this podcast flying high! Here is the link- Voting - British Podcast Awards

Alright, let's get into the good stuff! Have you ever wondered how technology has become a part of modern witchcraft? Well, grab your wands and smartphones because we're about to explore this fascinating blend of the mystical and the digital.

First, let's take a trip back to the 90s. Remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Ah, the good old days when Willow Rosenberg introduced us to the concept of techno paganism. She was the ultimate witchy hacker, blending spells with coding. Fast forward to today, and you'll see that the world of witchcraft has evolved even more, thanks to social media, apps, and online communities.

From casting spells via Zoom to using apps for moon phase tracking, technology has truly woven itself into the fabric of neo-paganism. It's like having a magical toolkit right in your pocket! But with great power comes great responsibility, right? So, let's chat about the cultural impact and potential risks of casting spells in the digital age.

One thing to keep in mind is the importance of intention and authenticity. Just because you can cast a spell with a few taps on your phone doesn't mean you should skip the traditional practices that ground us. And let's not forget about privacy and consent—two crucial elements in both the digital and magical realms.

So, what do you think about this techno-magical fusion? Are you a fan of digital witchcraft, or do you prefer the old-school ways? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Drop me a message or join our online coven to keep the conversation going.

Until next time, keep your crystals charged and your Wi-Fi strong! Blessed be! 🌙🔮

Made with love and magic by Swailes the Friendly Green Witch https://linktr.ee/friendlygreenwitch

Want to be a guest? Got a topic suggestion? then Email [email protected]

Trailer swaps welcome

Follow TBWP on Instagram.com/the_bell_witch_podcast

Sponsered by Pagans of the North- pagansofthenorth.co.uk

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Transcript

Introduction and Podcast Awards

00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, dear listeners. I'm coming to you with a bar brand new posh microphone from Shaw, an MV7 on an arm and everything. I feel proper professional. Anyway, I have popped on early just to ask for a favour, really. As you know, I worked really hard on this podcast. I love doing it. I'm absolutely obsessed with it. It's all I think about. And I have taken a chance and entered a bunch of podcast awards. But for one of them in particular, I need your help in the form of magical witchy votes. If you'd like to help me.
00:00:42
Speaker
please visit www.britishpodcastawards.com forward slash voting and type the bellwitch podcast into the little bar. It's very important that you put the bellwitch podcast because if you just put bellwitch you won't find it for some reason. It has to be you verified with a email address meaning you can only vote once but if you add multiple email addresses you know there's no stopping you. If you're pulled to do that I would be eternally grateful to you for supporting me through all this 18 months of hardcore podcast learning but as well as that hardcore internal healing.
00:01:29
Speaker
And I'm so grateful that you choose me to listen to every two weeks, that you've just found me and you're binging through me. People in Australia, people in America, a little bit in China, quite a lot in Europe. It's really lovely that I'm being discovered. I am just so grateful for you choosing to listen to the Bellwetch podcast, Witching in the 21st Century. I shall add the link in the show notes for ease of finding it.

Exploring Techno Witchcraft and Digital Paganism

00:01:58
Speaker
And without further ado, enjoy the latest solitary witch episode.
00:02:34
Speaker
Today we are diving into the fascinating world of techno witchcraft and digital paganism. Now I've been thinking about this topic quite a lot and when I thought about covering it for a podcast episode I wasn't really sure if there were much in it, if it was just such a new topic, a topic that's quite kinda blase really, I guess because we're all just so used to technology being around us, using it for everyday life. Was it really gonna

What is Techno-Paganism?

00:03:06
Speaker
be worth covering it?
00:03:07
Speaker
but I thought I'd have a look into it and the stuff I found was just so amazing. It has got a relatively new history but it went back further than I actually thought it would. The more I researched, the more obvious it became just out in twine technology with witchcraft today really is and with the rise of the wellness industry and witch talk on tiktok booming in lockdown i realise the force is strong in this area of witching in the 21st century and so i've been writing a few notes and doing a bit of research and i hope i do it justice i found some incredible resources which i will credit at the end because i couldn't have done it without them but anywho let's dive in witches
00:03:57
Speaker
Techno-paganism is the merging of neo-paganism and magical rituals with digital technologies of the day and age. This may be through the use of technology merely just as an aid such as video conferencing for example, Or it may be a worship of the technology itself. I mean, that kind of blows my mind a little bit. But then I was thinking, when you put so much love into your tablet immobile, we do really worship technology in the 21st century.
00:04:36
Speaker
How lost are you when you lose your mobile phone? People worship their mobile phone and they trust it with so much insider information. When I read that quote, it was from an older text and I don't think that's what it meant. I think it was probably referring to how, I don't know, the microwave or something really mundane. I don't think they realized how much we actually do worship technology today in 2024 the internet for instance may be seen by some as having spiritual significance because you know we ask questions on google or whatever and we get an instant answer how lucky we are to have that relationship with technology
00:05:24
Speaker
kind of becomes a bit human maybe not human but it has a presence doesn't it and we all ask it for advice and guidance on an hourly basis never mind a daily basis don't get me started on skynet and all that it's going that way isn't it witches So techno paganism. ah Techno music may also be involved in techno paganism and connections with modern tribal and urban primitive movements such as cyberpunk, urban shamanism, rave culture, all associated with electronic dance music and the roots of techno paganism which began in the early 90s.
00:06:11
Speaker
digital paganism and cyber slash techno witchcraft no that's not right I'm getting it mixed up so it's techno paganism and digital witchcraft I think that's it yes that's it do indeed seem to be a little bit different in these two practices I find when I were researching digital witchcraft tends to refer to the use of technology in witchcraft with rituals and spells such things like using apps, social media even virtual reality to connect to the spiritual realm whereas on the other hand cyber paganism tends to be kind of like a pop culture subculture lifestyle with the music and the dance and the computer aesthetic I guess it probably is a bit deeper than that but from what I was
00:07:09
Speaker
researching it seemed a lot more broader whereas digital witchcraft is literally the tools we used to learn and cyber paganism is kind of like cyber goth cyberpunk I do struggle to keep them separated but I think that's the dyslexia thing again. I found this fantastic quote from Dr Alex Ketchum who is an assistant professor at MacGill's University Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, IGSF. She's also the director of Just Feminist Tech and Scholarship Lab there, so ooh, she knows stuff, proper brainy. The term techno-paganism tends to be more of a figure of the 1990s alternative culture with a bit of neo-paganism mixed in with rave-a-culture, rave-a-music, whereas cyberwitch, aka digital witchcraft, doesn't have that same kind of overlap.
00:08:14
Speaker
The cyber witch seems to be the kind that hearkens back to longer traditions of witchcraft, covens and then this is taken up in popular culture like reimagining the figure witch in today's modern consumers.

Origins of Techno Witchcraft in the 1990s

00:08:29
Speaker
So when I looked into it the origins of techno, witchcraft and digital paganism can be traced back to the rise of the intent in the early 90s because more and more people began to connect online and witches and pagans found new ways to practice crafting a digital space and their world of possibilities opened, you know, for those looking to x explore spirituality in a modern context. One of the most amazing earliest mentions of techno witchcraft in popular culture can be found in the hate TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer
00:09:12
Speaker
Now, loads of people loved Buffet. It was a massive pop culture following in the 90s. I hate to say it. I wasn't really that into it. I i guess I was just a bit young. I don't know. It just didn't really ever get to make my sister-in-law absolutely adores Buffet her vampire slayer though. She watches it even today. But in this one episode that aired in April 97, I Robot You Jane series 1 episode 8 for those Buffy geeks. The story goes a demon is accidentally unleashed from a book that has been scanned into the computer and in this episode explores the dangers of technology and the ways in which it can be used for both good and evil in the world of witchcraft.
00:09:59
Speaker
How amazing is that? They were just so far ahead of the times. I bet they didn't even realise how spot on they were. It just blows my brain. So there's a ah character in this episode called Jenny who I think is a teacher. And she identifies herself as a techno-pagan, which means that she is able to cast certain spells and use technology to her advantage, but doesn't have the power of a true witch. She ends up helping Giles several times and eventually starts a bit of a relationship with him after Jenny makes the first move, oooh! You might

The First Online Coven: Jaguar Moon

00:10:37
Speaker
know the episode I'm talking about, I haven't seen it but I bet it's a right cult classic.
00:10:43
Speaker
So that was the first ever time, I think, techno witchcraft and cyber paganism was referred to at the time modern context of a computer. At the same time, there was a notable movement growing online in terms of coming together in a chat room and trying to create magic. A notable group of this movement was called Jaguar Moon. This is the first ever online coven that started in May 2000 on the World Wide Web. And it's still live and kicking today. I think it's in America and it has coven members all over the world. It's going really strong. The founder, Lisa McSherry, considers cyberspace as like an astral space.
00:11:36
Speaker
So when she acts as cyberspace through the computer she says it's like touching the astral realms you know between the witches and that's where they do their work as a cyber coven and even to this day they still do cyber coven work I think that is absolutely bloody brilliant it is well cool There was also a rather spiffing book ahead of its time that came out in 2002 called The Cyber Spellbook Magic in the Virtual World mixing modern technology with witchcraft by Cyrone Knight
00:12:16
Speaker
and patriciate telescope it says although thousands of wicker enthusiasts use the web for daily research and to meet people they may not realise their computers witchcraft related properties For example, a keyboard can represent a creative flow with a delete button, instruction which could be seen as an instrument for banishing and the shift key, helping ones to shift between the ordinary and the magical worlds. The authors explain ways to integrate technology
00:12:53
Speaker
from cell phones to lawnmowers with spells making this a truly up to date resource. Now it goes without saying this will no no longer be up to date because technology has come a hell of a way. since 2002. I did look into buying this book and it was really expensive and probably not a good spending of money because it'd be just so out of date. I think it talks about the use of a floppy disk to save files on.
00:13:28
Speaker
floppy disks. I didn't know them when they were floppy but I knew them when they were small and hard plasticky but apparently they used to be like record sleeves and flop about which is why they were called a floppy disk but I remember saving shit on floppy disks when I were a kid you know like one or two word documents took ages and if you put it too near a fridge or somewhere it'd delete it wouldn't it? It'd clear its madness. but apparently in this book it states if you haven't got something in your house that you need for magic you can save clipart
00:14:04
Speaker
onto a floppy disk like say for a herb or a crystal and then that could stand in for the herb which i think is really bloody cool i mean even today you could you could make a digital representation of an altar you know that you could print out that it's just symbols and then you could have a pocket altar then couldn't you in your wallet or something Another thing the book mentions is other technology around the house at the time. This is in America as well so things such as an air conditioner could be used to cool the air around a spell to help you cool in motions. You could use a calculator or a bread maker or a digital camera in all your workings.
00:14:52
Speaker
CDs to represent mirrors to scrying and I think there was mentions of a microwave to I don't know maybe heat up water instead of boiling it or something I think some of it were probably a bit like that But they were just trying to be ahead of the times, which is ahead of the times. That wasn't it. You could microwave a spell to speed up the outcome. But then my mind just goes, well what's going to happen to the spell? You're kind of using harmful energy nuking it. That's what you're doing.
00:15:26
Speaker
i don't know it just made me go like well that doesn't feel right i mean people must have done it at the time but i don't know about you i try and use my microwave less ah not more i use it just as a timer mostly for my boiled eggs and to do popcorn it's like a ott popcorn maker that takes up large amounts of my kitchen space anyway back to the subject of digital witchcraft It seemed to have just hung around in the background of the early 2000s, trying not to be noticed and only being noticed by those in the know. But then, between the years of 2012 to maybe 2016-ish,
00:16:10
Speaker
When Tumblr and blogging and internet profiles started to become a thing and more and more people started getting used to having the internet available in the pocket at a good faster rate, enabling us to do things quickly without that air-splitting, horrible dial-up noise that used to use the phone wires. Can you remember that? oh God, it were nasty. Like some kind of robot howling. More like screeching than howling. so Facebook and people were having online profiles and being vocal on the internet. I mean, I remember being at college and being in um chat rooms. God, what were they called now? Not chat roulette. That's something completely different.
00:16:58
Speaker
I don't know, you know, like Myspace and ASL, ASL. And maybe people would write spells together and stuff. I used to just quite like writing the words, you know, and they'd just travel up the screen. God, their them days were brilliant. Microsoft Messenger and Yahoo Chat, AOL and all that. Golden days. In June of 2016, digital witchcraft and cyber witching and all that got brought back into mainstream media when a user on Tumblr called Birdie Witch posted an emoji spell with the word Trump bookended by a crystal ball of red X
00:17:39
Speaker
and a downward stock symbol and a red pushpin. And they wrote, quote, a spell to take down Donald Trump. Likes, charge it, re-blogs, cast it. And this post went viral because a lot of people obviously felt the same and wanted to hex Trump in 2016. so really this turned masses of people to partaking witchcraft for this topic that everybody felt so passionate about and the post has about 60 000 notes which is a combination apparently of all the re-blogs likes and replies posted on this emoji spell i think emoji spells are quite a big deal today
00:18:24
Speaker
I've never used one but I can see why they kind of work because it's just like an updated way in my mind of using sigils or basic symbols that are drawn. So that apparently got quite a lot of traction in the world of internets.

Digital Witchcraft on Social Media

00:18:41
Speaker
I don't know if it worked, probably didn't work because bloody hell we had him didn't we? And then Pany D as Cult Mother refers to it lovingly. Beautiful lockdown came along and I think TikTok was in full swing by then.
00:18:58
Speaker
a witch talk, hashtag witch talk became a big deal. It's been viewed more than like 30 billion times as witch talk. But it's amazing you can go on and search for witch talk and there's all these people sharing their craft. But I think in 2020, because we were all bored and locked down, didn't allur a load of baby witches try hexing the moon? Tons of people got on with it and hexed the moon. And I remember reading about this and thinking like, what the hell is this? It's just silly. But a lot of people got quite scared because I always say, you know, witchcraft for me magically works so much better with numbers of witches all over the world cast a spell to hex the moon. What's going to happen?
00:19:42
Speaker
does kind of scare me because I think you have a bit of respect and knowledge as a witch when you live this magical life. Everybody has the same intention which is underlying in magical workings, kind of creates a cone but then maybe the moon just can't be hexed because it's the moon and it's above us billions and billions of light years or whatnot away from earth or perhaps the hex hasn't even got to it yet it's still traveling at the speed of light and it might just boink off the moon like a spring hitting my head when my kids throw a toilet or something hello lovely listeners i just wanted to stop the podcast for a moment and tell you about this wonderful new online community i've discovered just recently the pagans of the north online magazine
00:20:32
Speaker
is a network for pagans, witches, heathens and others on similar paths in and around the North of England, providing a free online magazine, a blog, a directory and other resources on the website as well as online courses, offering free advertising for businesses and sellers, highlighting the North of England but read by people nationally and internationally. It's a great place to find magic in different businesses or connect with like-minded souls. Speaking about being a pagan and a witch in the 21st century as well as all the centuries ago. Every shoe is unique and absolutely beautiful. You can subscribe at Pagans of the North
00:21:15
Speaker
.co.uk for early access to the magazine, news and events coming up as well as other little sneak peeks and easter eggs. This is a free magazine so it's entirely run by volunteers who would love to connect with you, got a business you want to advertise then give us an email. You can email us at pagans of the north at gmail dot.com And we're always looking for people to write stuff in, from poetry to a subject you're passionate about, to a blog post and all kinds of magical subjects. Come aboard, join our little community, make friends and unearth some more magic in your beautiful pagan life.
00:21:55
Speaker
After I'd done all this research about the history of online paganism, techno, witchcraft and all that jazz, I had a right good think on the many ways you can identify and use cyber witchcraft and online witching in the 21st century because that's what this is all about right? I ended up with quite a few examples just to briefly mention and I thought you might enjoy it. So I suppose it's the obvious stuff like typed up book of shadows instead of written in the cloud or on a memory stick that's pretty good for fast access and saving the trees but I can't help but think a lot of beauty of the written word is lost within technology I think there's a place for both of them in your witchcraft
00:22:53
Speaker
I do have a lot of books and stuff saved that I found and I have in a little folder called my witch shape that I can access when a I like. There is a lot to be said about how you save your work. Does it even get printed out? Does anything get printed out anymore? Is that the right direction to go? And then there's the virtual rituals with the rise of video conferencing platforms like Zoom, many witches are now way able to gather virtually from all over the world to perform rituals and spells together there's less barriers about coming together with people who you get on with they can be celebrated in real time creating a sense of community and unity despite physical distances but then people argue the internet can make us feel more connected when in fact we're less
00:23:50
Speaker
connected and i kind of agree with both things if i'm honest i do like to meet in person if i can but it's not always doable is it and the whole point of technology is it makes our life easier more time to do things be convenient the internet makes life so convenient with all that comes digital spell casting all together online Zoom circles like Jaguar Moon. I always remembered, you know, in Back to the Future where Matt is grown up and apparently old and he's looking at a big screen with all these people shouting at him and calling him a chicken and he gets right across because he hates being called a chicken. It just amazes me how on point the word back then, I mean, because that is a Zoom conference.
00:24:42
Speaker
Back to the future successfully predicted Zoom conferences. I mean, we haven't got hoverboards or laces that tie themselves yet, but we do have 3D hologram adverts, don't we? I'm pretty sure. So it's not that far-fetched. witchcraft apps there is an abundance of witchcraft apps out there right now from spell libraries to moon phase trackers and tarot reading apps to meditation guides
00:25:15
Speaker
You know, these apps make it easier for practitioners to access information and tools to enhance their practice on the go when they've got a moment on the bus, you know, to take a breather. I use the Moon app a lot. I love Moonology. It's one of my absolute favourite witchcraft apps. It's so beautiful. They've got their own tarot deck as well, which I absolutely do own and don't use. It's a pip deck. but just the style, the like the gradient of it all, it's just wonderful and they do a rune of the day and a tarot of the day and they do a little tarot spread and they've got amazing little bite-sized information of all kinds of spirituality related topics. It's a really good app, I'm always on the verge of buying it. I know there's apps that create digital sigils for you that you can do on your phone and then use them as a screen saver
00:26:13
Speaker
That's pretty cool as well. It isn't as good as a drone sigil, of course it isn't. But like anything, if you're in need of something fast, digital sigil creating apps are pretty bloody brilliant. Then you can put that on your screen lock, your manifestation board. You can create that on Instagram and manifest on the go. And every time you look at your phone, you'll see your manifestation board as a screensaver, which I absolutely just love. I mean iPhone have had an update aren't they now where they've got free form. You can put pictures and tags and yellow memo pads and all that jazz it's pretty brilliant to create a manifestation board on the go. I do this really cool thing where I
00:27:01
Speaker
put all my apps in folders and I call my folders different titles that I want to manifest so the one with all my social media in is labeled I am connected the one that's got all my bank stuff is called I am rich all the apps to do with my children are labeled all over my kids I am in control that's my work stuff and time and my period trackers. I love to run which is couch to 5k and strata. I am witchy which is all the witchy apps I love to travel which is like my bus apps and my train apps.
00:27:37
Speaker
I've always done that and I think I might have read it in a witchcraft book. I use my folders to help me have a bit of a manifesting nudge every time I go to my phone I will automatically read, I am connected. The phone is quite essential to cyber witchcraft these days because we just use it so much don't we? We put so much love and luck into it. It's like a black mirror, I mean you can use your phone as a manifestation mirror, the black mirror when it's locked. You know, you hold this every day and you pour your heart and soul into it. If you're gonna get any divinational material or content from higher realms, it's gonna be in your black mirror of the phone which you carry on your persons all the time.
00:28:25
Speaker
it's fascinating. Another one is manifesting passwords. I've got to thank Connie Crystal's the podcast for this. Matt mentioned in a recent episode that I listened to that he changes all his passwords to something he's trying to manifest so every time he Goes to login. He has to type, you know, like 30k and probably a load of numbers So you can't hack him because it's repetitive and you do it so many times It's like the three six nine, you know reading it every time and that helps you apparently to enhance your manifestation of the life you want to leave so that's another way technology can aid you in manifesting
00:29:08
Speaker
emoji spells covered that already briefly but there's a huge movement of emoji spells from what i read apparently the best way to start an emoji spell is the crystal ball placed at both the beginning and the end of the spell the caster would often choose emojis that represents their selves like a girl with a raised hand is common signaling the call out to the universe I mean I use the witch one quite a lot in my social media presence because it represents me as a witch the happy face if you're trying to be a positive person after this the body of the magical request should follow so it might be I want to be a musical superstar so you'd put yourself
00:29:59
Speaker
and then maybe the star emoji and then maybe some music related emojis or perhaps I want to adopt the perfect cat soon it's not for me and you know there's that arrow that says soon you could put that to a cat with some stars next to it or a magic wand apparently the reason why they work is to cast them you need to send them so It's not really obvious where you send them to, but I guess the more people that read them, the more it'll help affirm the magic of the emoji spell. I'm going to try emoji spells. I'm going to put it on my list of magic to do because they're finally really fascinating. Seems like such a youngins game though.
00:30:47
Speaker
digital pets apparently could be magic to again manifest a pet i don't even know if they're a thing in anymore do you still get tammy gotchis that can live in your phone and digital divination do they still have that inspire me where you can be inspired i think bing have it inspire me and it's just like whatever you come to first you could use it as an oracle or something maybe it comes to you and you can Because you can divine in anything. Everybody knows that you can divine in water, you can divine in smoke, candles, fires, bones, ribbons, photographs, anything. If you see a pattern in your screensaver at work, it's absolutely a message.
00:31:35
Speaker
I really like the idea that e-shrines and altars can be created, you know like on Pinterest and Instagram. When you look at inspiration and you make a Pinterest board that could be an altar or a the manifestation board, a dream board. The things you see and visualize help you to cast spells and manifest. When I create an altar I always upload it to Facebook and then I put one of the pictures as a cover photo on my Facebook page so it's like my alter is in cyberspace on my personal profile too
00:32:18
Speaker
I don't know why, it's just it helps me. It's like I've got it in real life and I've also got it on my own cyberspace life protecting me and representing a moment in my life. It's all images, isn't it? Using it to represent sympathetic magic. I loved what we said earlier about printing out something. If you need a certain herb and you just don't got it and you can't get it, you could find a picture of this herb. title it on word print it out and then there you go that can be a standing to represent that herb and its properties as you cast the spell why wouldn't it work I swing like a pendulum it can't work but then why not because a lot of this witchcraft is about
00:33:02
Speaker
representing, finding objects and giving them a purpose and giving them representation and intention. A tallies man is just usually a found or made object that you've given it something to do. Why can't an image of the internet printed out in your hand do the same thing? It's just a right mind boggle. Oh God, I'm so into it. I love the idea of it. think of what's inside of your technology it's got crystals in it and it's got gold and coppers from the earth metal dug from the earth is currently sat in your phone that you're holding in your hand ah along with glass
00:33:45
Speaker
Quarts, they enhance our life through technology as well as spiritual practices. So there's a lot of little overlapping ideology and thoughts there in terms of what we do as magical practitioners and also technology today uses some of the same materials we use to spiritually enhance our life.

AI's Role in Modern Witchcraft

00:34:11
Speaker
both cyberspace and magical space are purely manifested in the imagination quote from mark perc is it p-e-s-c-e i can't say it love that it is i mean where is cyberspace it's just so instant it's we think of it and it is a bit like imagination
00:34:36
Speaker
it appears in our mind appears in no man's land you can't physically hold it but you can imagine it and you can make it do stuff and give us answers just by typing a word and then you've got chat gpt which is the most current thing at the moment as i'm doing this podcast That's one step further where it's got a mind of its own. You know, it's AI. It can write you a book on how to be a witch. It can write you a manifestation script. It can tell you how to meditate if you can't think of how to meditate. It can talk to you. It can read meditations out to you with a background bed image. Bing can create images from your mind. You tell it what to make.
00:35:27
Speaker
I tell you what that's good as well for. If you have a dream and the dream has got some kooky stuff in it, I think I did it recently. I had a dream. I was in a a desert and there were a box and a black snake and I was stood and the snake was coming towards me to strike me and I think my horse was in the background as well. I typed all this into being AI and it gave me a few options of images and one of these images was like Jesus Christ, that's my dream. AI images has ability to create my dream in a JPEG format. How mind blowing is that? Oh my God. And then of course, podcasting, dear listeners, podcasting for me is absolutely a form of witchcraft.
00:36:23
Speaker
Podcasting enhances my craft, my magic, no end. I have learnt so much and people are being drawn to want to come on the show, talk about magic stuff, share knowledge. I think it always, for me, comes back to sharing knowledge online. making it accessible for people who look not who just fall across it although some of that does happen people who are looking actively looking they're going to find what they're looking for because of the beauty of the internet am i inner healing has been huge since podcasting since editing my own voice
00:37:02
Speaker
gaining traction and a little following of people that come here to here. What I've got to say on topics such as digital witchcraft and cyber paganism. So I'd like to think I've come full circle on the topic. There's no denying witchcraft is amazing. witchcraft online has helped witches become less anonymous and more respected, acceptable, and that has got to be a good thing. There are those who don't like online witchcraft, don't really like solitary witchcraft, say it's not what it's all about, that's okay, they can have their opinions, but ultimately, I think paganism and witchcraft
00:37:50
Speaker
is about connecting to the earth connecting to the seasons and remembering real life not getting lost out there in the sea of technology and the internet keep it as a tool like you do your wand and your candles and your altar it's an important tool don't get me wrong it absolutely does have a place and is needed and it's only going to speed up the last 100 years has been scare really fast in how we've grown how modernization has taken off into the sky just try and keep grounded don't lose yourself on the internet find stuff on the internet bring it into real life listen to the birds take your earphones out and just have silence while you wash up you don't always have to be learning you don't always need
00:38:47
Speaker
podcasts in your ears or the non-stop scrolling on tiktok hashtag baby witch or witchtok. Save are the beautiful moments in real life that ground us as well as them amazing moments in cyberspace.

Balancing Technology with Real-World Spirituality

00:39:09
Speaker
I do hope that has been alright. I did find myself getting a bit swept up in the conversation I had myself and myself that you're listening to right now. It was such a really cool topic. I really enjoyed researching it but I have to credit the fabulous websites I came across. zoeelderton.medium dot.com emoji spells as modern witchcraft wbur.org forward slash endless thread slash 2022 this was a fabulous podcast i found on wbur endless threads and it was a really engaging conversation between the hosts
00:39:54
Speaker
on cyber witches from zoom rituals to casting spells of emojis that's where i discovered jaguar moon coven history and stuff like that i didn't find it anywhere else so i really recommend you having a listen to that amazing podcast endless threads jaguar moon dot org forward slash about they've got a fantastic website on their own coven, the history, a really inclusive coven which speaks proudly of its diversity and its belief system. I kind of want to join if I'm honest after all my reading. I quite like to do an episode just on them because everything I read it was just absolutely fascinating and then they were a fantastic read from
00:40:39
Speaker
witchcraftandwitches.com forward slash type of witches forward slash cyber techno witch and that was a little brief blog about cyber techno witches by Wise Witch I got a lot of the Buffy stuff from Wikipedia, digitalwitchcraft.net and then of course buffet.fandom dot.com slash wakey slash iRobotYouJane. That was just fab to read. Our little trip dad, memory lane.
00:41:18
Speaker
You have been listening to the Belle Witch Podcast. Witching in the 21st Century. Created with a love and magic by me, Swales, the friendly green witch. Official podcast photographer is Beverly Thornton. Intro Music is by Jeff Harvey of Pixabay. The podcast is made on Wave of Padmaster and distributed via Zencaster. If you have your own little witchy spooky podcast, feel free to message me for a trailer swap. Fancy being a guest on the show? Or have you got a desired topic you'd like me to cover? Then please email me.
00:42:01
Speaker
on thebellwitchpodcastatyahoo.com. If you are enjoying the show, please leave me a review or a rating and follow The Bell Witch Podcast wherever you listen. It really does help the podcast to survive. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great day and stay magical, witches! and
00:42:36
Speaker
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