Southern Bramble: a Podcast of Crooked Ways Season 5, Episode 17: Working Out Our Kinks & Fetiches With Matthew Venus
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Sep 16, 2025 Join Matthew Venus, author and Salem's unofficial witch, as he dives into the world of effigies, spirit work, and magical ethics. They humorously dissect the cultural significance of his name and the power of words in magic. Matthew shares insights from his book and the often-overlooked importance of fetishes in witchcraft. Explore how to navigate spiritual relationships, advocate for coexistence with spirits, and discover the profound connection between breath and magic. It's a captivating exploration of the mystical and the mundane!
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Words And Breath Power Magic
- Matthew Venus argues spoken words and breath are core engines of magic, not just adjuncts to material practice.
- Declaring intentions aloud transforms internal concepts into world-affecting actions by expelling breath and sound into the world.
Reintegrate Spirit Work Now
- Read Insoling the Effigy to reintroduce spirit houses and inspirited objects into contemporary witchcraft practice.
- Use the book as a practical framework to reintegrate spirit work into your craft rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Crafting Objects And Spirits Are One
- Nkisi figures illustrate how crafting objects can simultaneously conjure or craft the spirit within them.
- Material vessel, materia magica, and ritual song together instantiate both object and spirit in many traditions.
