Home to Her
Multiplicities of Magic with Risa Dickens and Amy Torok
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Combining spirituality and activism is vital for creating positive change in the world.
- Language and conscious spellcasting can empower individuals and challenge the status quo in witchcraft.
- Recognizing personal agency and embracing the magic within oneself can make a positive impact on the world.
Deep dives
Collaborative Writing and Sacred Activism
The podcast episode discusses the collaborative writing process between the hosts and their exploration of sacred activism. They emphasize the importance of combining spirituality and magical tools with political activism, aiming to turn the focus beyond personal development and towards creating positive change within their communities and the world.
Reclaiming Language and Magic
The hosts delve into the power of language and the reclaiming of words and concepts in witchcraft. They highlight the ability to play with language, use sarcasm, and reframe words to empower oneself and challenge the status quo. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of conscious spellcasting and using language intentionally to rewrite narratives and create personal and collective transformation.
Embracing Multiplicity and Changing the World
The episode explores the concept of multiplicity by embracing different perspectives and approaches to activism, spirituality, and magic. The hosts encourage listeners to recognize their own power to change the world, even in the face of societal challenges, and to embrace the magic of ritual as a way to communicate with oneself and connect with collective power.
Embracing the Power of Magic
The podcast episode delves into the idea that magic is not about what you can buy, but about your belief in your own power and agency. The hosts discuss the importance of recognizing that everything you need to practice magic is already within you. They emphasize the role of personal agency and the ability to make a positive impact on the world. Examples of this are shared, such as a witch casting a spell with two young children and emphasizing that the magic comes from within them.
Navigating the Complexity of Historical Figures
The podcast explores the challenge of reconciling the contributions and limitations of historical figures. The hosts discuss the importance of acknowledging the biases and cultural limitations of the past while still recognizing the valuable gifts these figures brought to their respective fields. They emphasize the need to hold space for complex narratives and recognize how different perspectives and contexts shaped these figures. The hosts also highlight the significance of embracing both the strengths and flaws of historical figures in order to move forward and build a more inclusive understanding of history.
The witches are back! On the latest episode I'm joined again by Risa Dickens and Amy Torok, who first appeared on the show in 2021. They're back this time to discuss their latest book, "New Moon Magic: 13 Anti-Capitalist Tools for Resistance and Re-Enchantment." Risa and Amy are also the co-authors of “Missing Witches: Reclaiming True Histories of Feminist Magic”, both from North Atlantic Books, and the co-hosts of the podcast Missing Witches.
On the latest episode we explore:
- The nature of sacred activism and the constantly flowing journey between personal evolution and its outward expression in the world
- The importance of holding multiplicities and paradox, and how this work is essential to witchcraft
- Why differences shouldn't divide us but rather invite us to expand
- Risa and Amy's process for collaborating and writing their books together - and in doing so, how they've joined a lineage of powerful women who write together
- Our shared loved of dirt, and why it's much more than a metaphor for both the medicine we need AND what's ailing us
Show Notes
- If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
- You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
- Please check out Home to Her Academy, a school dedicated to seekers of Sacred Feminine wisdom! www.hometoheracademy.com. And while you're there, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date with upcoming classes.
- My book, “Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine,” is available from Womancraft Publishing! To learn more, read endorsements and purchase, please visit https://womancraftpublishing.com/product/home-to-her/. It is also available for sale via Amazon, Bookshop.org, and you can order it from your favorite local bookstore, too.
- Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review! For the podcast, reviews on iTunes are extremely helpful, and for the book, reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are equally helpful. Thank you for supporting my work!
- You can watch this and other podcast episodes at the Home to Her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@hometoher
- Got feedback about this episode or others you've heard? Please reach out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hometoher/ ), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hometoher)
- You can learn more about Amy and Risa's work at www.missingwitches.com. You can find them on Instagram @missingwitches and on Facebook at facebook.com/missingwitches.
- During this episode, we discussed Z Budapest. This article quotes Amy and provides a good overview of her life and work, including her stance on transgender individuals participating in ceremony. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-18/this-feminist-witch-introduced-california-to-goddess-worship
- Amy and Risa also mentioned the following resources: Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor, as well as New Age and Armageddon by Monica Sjoo; Surfacing, by Margaret Atwood; Witches, Midwives and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English.
- I mentioned the book Witches and Pagans by Max Dashu
- Risa mentioned the song Water Witch, by Secret Sisters. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXb1lxv9caQ
- I discussed the controversy around the book The Mists of Avalon in a prior episode. This article provides an overview (content warning: child sexual abuse is discussed): Content warning - these article refer to child sexual abuse. More context here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/27/sff-community-marion-zimmer-bradley-daughter-accuses-abuse
- Risa and Amy also mentioned several other thinkers during this episode. These include: Professor Donna Haroway; philosopher and anthropologist Bruno Latour ; writer and activist Sylvia Federici ; and artist and scholar WhiteFeather Hunter
Related Episodes
- The Portal of the Divine Feminine with Sophie Strand: https://hometoher.simplecast.com/episodes/the-portal-of-the-divine-feminine-with-sophie-strand
- Finding Missing Witches with Risa Dickens and Amy Torok: https://hometoher.simplecast.com/episodes/witch-finding-with-risa-dickens-and-amy-torok
For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher.
To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hometoher
To go deeper in your Sacred Feminine explorations, check out the course offerings via Home to Her Academy: www.hometoheracademy.com
And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!
Mentioned in this episode:
We Are Sovereign: A 9-Month Transformational Leadership Program for Women
We Are Sovereign is a 9 month transformational leadership program designed specifically for women who are ready to claim full authority and power over their own lives. The program includes a deep dive with: • Powerful Sacred Feminine figures, drawn from history and mythology, who will serve as our sovereignty guides along the way • Transformational practices rooted in creativity, play, energy work, ritual, ceremony and even magic • Embodiment practices, including dance, yoga, and other intuitive movement exercises to tap into the wisdom of the body • The Enneagram as a tool for understanding the human psyche and our individual personality types • Yogic philosophy, creative writing and journaling exercises, and much more • The power of the group field that we cultivate to dive deep and be witnessed fully for who we are, allowing the property of emergence to support our becoming The journey kicks off with an opening retreat on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii, September 12-15, 2024. From there, we’ll gather twice a month over the next 9 months via Zoom, and we’ll wrap up in June 2025 with a closing retreat at Hestia Magic Retreat Center, located in the shadow of majestic Mount Shasta, California. To learn more, apply, and/or book a discovery call, visit: https://www.hometoheracademy.com/course/we-are-sovereign
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