Join us in this episode, for an intriguing conversation with Witch, Author, and Tarot Card Reader: Judika Illes! Judika is a lifelong student, lover and practitioner of the magical arts. She is the author of several books on Witchcraft, spells, and spirits, including the best selling: Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells and Encyclopedia of Spirits, Pure Magic, Daily Magic, Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and her latest book: Witches, A Compendium. Judika is a professional tarot card reader as well as an Aromatherapist. She is a native New Yorker and Judika teaches in the US and internationally online and in person.

Judika tells us how she grew up being a magical person and an avid reader. She learned to read at age 3 as an only child. Her family read quite a bit too. Her mother loved fairy tales and read them to her. Judika always identified with the Witch. Her mother also had admiration for the Witches. We chat about TV shows such as Bewitched and The Adams Family and some of the shows that Judika watched growing up. She was impressed with the TV Witches such as Samantha and Morticia. They were contemporary Witches that fueled Judika’s passion and interest for Witchcraft. Juidka remembers reading Sybil Leek’s “Diary of a Witch” and seeing Sybil on TV and she made a big impression on Judika when she was young.

Eventually Judika started looking for a publisher. One of them liked her chapter on magic spells but turned down her manuscript. Judika expanded this into what eventually became “Earth Magic” , her first of many published books. Her book Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells changed everything for Judika.

We discuss Judika’s newest book: Witches A Compendium and how she describes it as a love letter to Witches and Witchcraft. She explores the diversity and celebrates historical, famous, literary, movie/TV Witches with this amazing book. Clearly, the word Witch means a lot of different things to different people. Judika believes that a Witch is ultimately about power and independence no matter what type of Witch a person is.
Tune in and be enlightened!

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In this episode, I am delighted to be one of the featured presenters in the Return to the Mother Online Global Summit 2024 created by my friend Frances Billinghurst. The topic that I will be speaking about is: Healing the Damage of Patriarchy Through Moon Circles.

In the Return to the Mother Summit, we will be creating a safe and sacred space where a global community of soul-aligned change-makers and visionaries can be inspired as to how to create a new future direction for ourselves, our human collective and for our beloved planet.

All presentations included in this summit are designed to offer ways to include the divine feminine back into our spiritual practices.

Each and every one of us is connected to the Mother in all Her forms: as our physical Mother, as the Goddess, as Feminine Consciousness, and even as our planet. In this summit; we explore the interweaving threads between the Divine Feminine within mainstream culture, present day society, Mother Earth, Nature and Goddess consciousness.

During this interview with Bridget you will learn:

• Why Moon Circles can heal women of the damage caused by patriarchy.
• Inspiration behind Goddess Meditations.
• Why is it important to elevate the Sacred Feminine in present day Goddesses who are doing the work in the here and now
• What “The Oracle of Luna” podcast is all about.

Bridget’s links:

Website: https://circleofluna.wixsite.com/bridget-engels

Podcast Website: https://circleofluna.wixsite.com/the-oracle-of-luna-p

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07RV6MZ2G?ingress=0&visitId=27dc43cc-c556-47e4-8f67-d19200cb4d21

Instagram: @bridgetengels

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Return to the Mother Online Global Summit:

Discussions about the Divine Feminine, Mother Earth and Goddess Consciousness

*Click here to register (free) for Return to the Mother. [Link to: https://www.return-to-the-mother.com]

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Join us in this episode, for a conversation with the Author, Priestess, and Tarot Deck Creator: Leeza Roberston! Leeza Robertson is an international bestselling author with Llewellyn Worldwide. She has created and published several Tarot Decks since 2016. She is passionate about exploring the connection between the Goddess and the Priestess path. Leeza is from the Aussie bush and is living her best life in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Leeza tells us she is not a spiritual person as much as she is a researcher. Her wife influenced Leeza with opening up to her up to Reiki and alternative healing when she was sick and it helped with her healing. Leeza got into Tarot when she lost her eyesight for a while due to a sinus infection. She dreamed of Tarot cards in the darkness. When that was healed she attended an event by Barbara Moore, one of the matriarchs of Tarot. And afterwards Leeza took a lesson with Barbara.

In 2016 Leeza published her first Tarot Deck, Animal Totem Tarot and she has published over 7 more Tarot Decks since then. Leeza chats about the process of publishing a Tarot deck with her publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide. We also talk about one of her books: Tarot Priestess. Leeza identifies as a Priestess and not as a Witch. She noticed that there was not much information or literature for those who are on the Priestess path but much more on the path of the Witch. The Priestess lineage for Women has been somewhat neglected or misunderstood. Leeza struggled with the Divine Femininity theory as a Queer woman and she began looking for the Goddess in Nature as a sacred space of growth, success and building. She started to drop my biased walls of belief and open herself up to building her own personal unique relationship with the Goddess.

Leeza feels that divination and cartomancy is a devotional and ritualistic practice to the Goddess and definitely part of the Priestess path. Leeza wants to communicate and explore how the path of the Witch is very different from the path of the Priestess. If we can create space with communication with the Goddess through our Tarot or Oracle Cards; that can slow us down, center us and open our receptivity to the teachings and wisdom of the Goddess. Tune in and be enlightened!

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Join us in this episode, for a thought provoking conversation and with Rev. Angie Buchanan. Angie is a Founder and the Spiritual Director of Earth Traditions Church(since 2008), and of Gaia's Womb(for 26 years), an interfaith spirituality group that has been producing women's spiritual retreats since 1998. and a Certified Death Midwife; having developed a program that provides hands-on, intensive training for compassionate end-of-life care, and information about ecologically sensitive funerals.

She is a life-long Pagan animist with over 40 years of experience as a speaker, officiant, and ritualist. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Parliament of World Religions from 2002 – 2010. As a Certified Death Midwife; Angie developed a program that provides hands-on, intensive training for compassionate end-of-life care, and information about ecologically sensitive funerals.

Angie is a life-long Pagan animist and believes that the Earth is a living sentient being. Mother Nature is the force of always giving birth to itself with the Elements, the cycles and the seasons. Angie talks about her Influence with Nora Cedarwind Young and the Death Positive movement. Nora died in 2014 but expressed that Angie continue her work. Angie then became certified to teach.

Angie believes that Death is the Final rite of passage and a very much overlooked and neglected rite of passage deserving of as much dignity as any other significant rite of passage. She discusses how we live in a Death Denying culture and most of us die alone without prior Death planning. She sees her work as a sacred calling. Death Midwifery also deals with Death from an emotional, spiritual and practical place. She believes that Death has been taken from us by industry (medical, funeral , academia). She encourages families and loved ones to spend time with the beloved dead that have recently passed on. Angie explains that we have over-medicalized and over-industrialized Death so that it has become an incredibly toxic and unsustainable industry.

Angie, as a Death Midwife, is reclaiming the caring for the Dead and their loved ones and family. Our culture doesn't give us the tools to grieve or mourn the 3 days of workplace bereavement leave doesn't cut it. Other cultures and countries continue to do forms of mourning. Angie’s Death Midwifery practices include a strong consideration for Eco-Friendly body disposition options. She tells us about how embalming fluid (Formaldehyde) is one of the most dangerous carcinogens known. It leaches into soil & ground water, etc. Angie says that there are many options and resources for Eco-Friendly natural burials, green cemeteries, green burials and water and earth cremation processes that are available and are carbon neutral. Burials and body disposition do not have to be toxic.

It's Angie's hope that she opens up new ideas and alternative traditions around Death and Dying to the public and to be open to talking about these for ourselves and our loved ones. More about Angie at: www.deathmidwife.org and www.earthtraditions.org. Tune in and be enlightened!

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Join us for some Witchy fun and compelling dialogue with 4 Witches! Madame Pamita, Monica Crosson, Mael Brigde and myself discuss our Animal Familiars. Witches have a long history of partnering with Familiars for spellwork and magic throughout the ages. Here, we chat about how we met our Familiars, what makes our relationship with our Familiars special to us, explore who they are and how we have formed trusted magical partnerships with our Familiars. So, let’s Introduce the magical 4 Women on this show:

Madame Pamita is a Ukrainian-American witch, teacher, author, candle maker, spellcaster, and tarot reader. She is the author of The Witch's Guide to Animal Familiars (January 2025), Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, The Book of Candle Magic, Magical Tarot and co-author of Cancer Witch. She is also the proprietress of the online spiritual apothecary, the Parlour of Wonders and lives in Santa Monica, California. You can find her online at the: www.parlourofwonders.com
Madame Pamita’s Familiar is the Cat: Glinda

Monica Crosson has been a practicing Witch, Master Gardener and Educator for over thirty years and is a member of Evergreen Coven. She is the author of A Year in the Enchanted Garden, The Magickal Family, and Wild Magical Soul and is a regular contributor to the Llewellyn annuals as well as Enchanted Living Magazine and she lives north of Seattle, WA in the forests. Her website is:www.authormonicacrosson.com Monica’s Familiar is the Cat: Zelda

Mael Brigde is a devotee of Brigit and founder of Daughters of the Flame (Imbolc 1993). She is the author of Sun Among Stars: A Brigit of Ireland Devotional and was a featured performer at the 2024 Brigid of Faughart Festival in Dundalk, Ireland. Mael lives in Vancouver, Canada. Her reviews, blogs, classes, etc. can be found on Linktree at https://linktr.ee/maelbrigde# Mael’s Familiars are the wild Birds (Starlings) in her backyard

Bridget Engels is the Host/Creator/Producer of The Oracle of Luna Podcast, Author of The Oracle of Luna: Meditations with the Moon Goddess Volumes 1, 2, & 3 , Narrator/Producer of the Audiobook versions her 3 books, Ritualist and Founder of the Circle of Luna. As a Priestess, Bridget has led many public rituals, events and ceremonies that provide spiritual connection with the Divine Feminine, Goddess archetypes and the Moon. Her websites are: https://circleofluna.wixsite.com/bridget-engels AND
https://circleofluna.wixsite.com/the-oracle-of-luna-p
Bridget’s Familiar is the cat: Romeo

Tune in and be enlightened!

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NEW! Join us in this episode, for a spellbinding conversation with Alice Markham-Cantor! Alice is the Author of: “The Once and Future Witch Hunt-A Descendant’s Reckoning from Salem to the Present” and the Film Co-Producer of ​​”A Witch Story”, an award-winning documentary film about Salem and her research. Alice is a descendant of Martha Carrier, one of the Women accused and hanged at Salem. Her work has been published in New York Magazine, Scientific American, The Nation, and elsewhere. She serves on the working committee of the International Network Against Accusations of Witch Hunting and Associated Harmful Practices, and spoke at the first and second Feminist Conferences on the Witch Hunts hosted by the Campaña por la Memoria de las Brujas in Spain. She is from Brooklyn, New York.

We begin by delving into why the Salem Witch Hunts took place and the build up of the socio/economic/political circumstances and unrest leading to the Salem Witch trials. There is unease and lack of leadership in Massachusetts Colony at that time. The Puritans were also at war with Algonquin native American Indian tribes which was a stressful issue too. Puritans had the viewpoint that the Native Americans were allied with the devil. There was no governor or local Magistrates at that time either. There was also friction between Salem Town and Salem Village. Samuel Paris became the new Salem Village minister in 1689. Like a wildfire all the circumstances have been escalating and then the flame is lit. In this case; the flame is Samuel Paris’ 2 girls living in his household that started having “fits”. Tituba was a slave in that house and she was one of the first accused of being a Witch also.

This unrest and suspicion made Salem Villagers feel like the devil was out to get them. They needed a scapegoat and at that time period Women were thought of as spiritually weaker and more likely seduced by the devil and thus likely to be Witches. Especially the women who diverge from Puritan behavioral norms and therefore are more vulnerable to attack. All these factors contributed to the Salem Witch Hunts.

Alice tells us that Witch Hunts are not a thing of the past. Currently, we see this with the Republicans party in the USA attacking illegal and undocumented immigrants. Alice believes it's exactly mirroring what happened with the Puritans using fear and hysteria to create the Salem Witch Hunts. Alice explains that over 20,000 people have been killed in Witch Hunts over the last decade worldwide. It is common to happen in places that are experiencing economic upheaval.

Alice leaves us with her discovery that one of the reasons why Martha Carrier (her ancestor) was killed in Salem was that the 19 people who were hanged in Salem were those that refused to confess to Witchcraft because they did not identify as Witches. Alice thinks that ultimately the Salem Witch Trials are a lesson in fear. And the lesson of Salem Village is how fear works and how accusation works. Martha Carrier was extremely clear to her accusers in the Salem Witch Trials that she was not a Witch. Alice believes this is an important thing to remember as we participate in the season of Halloween and Samhain. Tune in and be enlightened!

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Join us in this episode, for a captivating conversation with Photographer, Artist, Author of “Goddess on Earth: Portraits of the Divine Feminine” and Oracle Deck creator: Lisa Levart! Lisa’s lifelong personal assignment is to celebrate contemporary Women while drawing upon ancient stories to elevate their life journeys. She photographs archetypal imagery that is made to inspire Women to be their most powerful selves. Levart’s iconic photographs have appeared in numerous publications, including: New York magazine, The New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Time magazine, and The Washington Post. She lives in the Hudson Valley, New York area.

Lisa tells us that she was called by the Goddess to photograph Women as Goddesses after attending sacred circles led by Gina Martin (my previous podcast guest on The Oracle of Luna). She weaves her love for the sacred feminine in with her visual art and photography. And from her growth in the Goddess spiritual world Lisa developed her Goddess portraits. Her portraits combine different techniques such as collage, textures and mixed media which create depth to her photographs. She collaborated with all the Women that she photographed and asked them to choose which Goddess they wanted to portray and what elements water, air, earth, fire or spirit that they felt deeply connected to. The Women wanted Lisa to see them in this unique way. Her award winning book: “Goddess on Earth - Portraits of the Divine Feminine” reflects her passion for Goddess spirituality and her visual art.

Lisa photographed and collaborated with indigenous women and this work evolved into her epic immersive large scale photography installation project called: “Still Here: Women of the Ramapough Lenape Nation”. The Ramapough Lenape are the indigenous peoples who lived in what is present day New York, Hudson Valley, New York city areas. This magical larger than life art/photography outdoor installation interplays with the cycles and seasons of nature and also honors the indigenous Women expressing their sacred stories on ancestral land.

Lisa also photographed and published the: “Goddess on Earth Oracle Deck and Guidebook”. She loved the idea of creating an interactive divination deck with Women embodying Goddess archetypes combined with the elements. Each of the Women photographed in Lisa’s Oracle Deck also offered a message from their own perspective of the Goddess on the card that they portrayed. The images were used from her Mythica series. The subtitle of the companion book is: “A Divination Guidebook with Spirited Wisdom from your Sisters”. Tune in and be enlightened!

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In this episode of the Oracle of Luna; we will go on an October New Moon meditation journey with the Slavic Goddess Baba Yaga. I will be your guide, as we align with the current cosmic energies with the New Moon/Solar Eclipse in Libra and take a mystical journey to the deep woods and mountains of Eastern Europe to connect with Baba Yaga. I recommend that you listen to this episode with your eyes closed, being totally present, so you allow yourself to go on this inner journey.

Baba Yaga is the Slavic Wild Witch of the Woods and so much more! Baba Yaga lives in a remote hut that walks through the forest on chicken legs with a fence of human bones and skulls, and she flies in the air in a giant magical mortar and pestle. She usually appears as a hag or crone with a bony leg, and she is known as a shamanic trickster to challenge those who are in need of lessons and transformation.

Baba Yaga appears in Slavic and Russian folk and fairy tales over hundreds of years. In these stories, she represents a powerful shape shifting feminist crone archetype that is both heroine and villain, protective grandmother and horribly fierce, and acts as a Shaman or gatekeeper between the living world and the world of spirit and and a guardian of heroes/heroines. Baba Yaga is omniscient - she knows all things. She resides in the domain of the supernatural and holds secret knowledge, which she sometimes reveals to those whom she deems to be deserving of it.

Baba Yaga is associated with the deep woods and forests, and the wildness of nature. A force of nature herself, she symbolizes the unpredictable and untameable nature of the female spirit, of Mother Earth, and the relationship of Women to the wild. There are indications that Baba Yaga was once an ancient Pagan Earth Goddess in Slavic mythology that morphed into many complex interpretations throughout the years.

Baba Yaga reminds us that we are also ferocious, untameable, wise and capable of our own powerful potential and honoring both the dark and the light within us. Tune in and be enlightened!

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