Our first guest this week is Elizabeth Ruth, a Haitian Vodouisant, rootworker, Hoodoo practitioner, and diviner hailing from Ohio.  Elizabeth first talked about her childhood, growing up with a grandmother who was a practicing astrologer and necromancer, and what it was like in a home where ancestor spirits paid regular visits.  She went on to discuss the origins and history of Voodoo, addressing common misconceptions and outlining the differences between Voodoo and Hoodoo.  Social activism plays a large part in Elizabeth's practice and she spoke at length about how she blends the two.  She has several products and services available at Big Liz's Conjure Corner, and announced her effort to open a brick and mortar location in the Colombus area.  If you're interested in helping her achieve this, please visit her GoFundMe page!  Elizabeth talked about the problems we face as a society as she sees them, and offered solutions both mundane and magickal.

   Next, we spoke with Ringtail, a magician from the Pacific Northwest who designed and executed a rather ambitious eclipse ritual involving chaos dragons.  The full description of the ritual can be found in the  DKMU forums.  Ringtail, along with fellow chaotes Alice Hart and Ahava Ain Soph, journeyed to Idaho and continued the effort to subvert consensus reality, harnessing the unique conditions brought on by the eclipse.

   Please check out the show notes at ancientwisdomsalvageyard.com for all the links!

This week, podcaster, occultist, writer, and preternatural investigator Equanimous Rex joined us to discuss his serial fiction podcast The Witch Doctor. I've been a huge fan of the Witch Doctor since it began and I was excited to speak with its creator! Equanimous talked about the motivation behind creating the Witch Doctor and also about the use of fiction as a medium for communicating esoteric knowledge. Equanimous also writes non-fiction for the online magazines Disinfo and Modern Mythology, where he tackles topics like Materialist-Positivism and interviews popular personalities in modern occulture. We touched on other topics like lucid dreaming and the effects pop culture can have on uncanny and paranormal experiences. As usual, we delved into this fascinating fellow's history and learned how Equanimous Rex arrived at this point in his occult career. We played a few sample clips from the Witch Doctor, but I heartily recommend everyone head over to the podcast's website and listen to the story from the beginning! Active links are, as always, in the show notes at ancientwisdomsalvageyard.com.

Also in Episode 21's show notes are instructions for using the viral servitor Wingsblood, created during today's eclipse.

We’re joined this week by Artemis & Helios, the writers behind the brilliant – and hilarious – Heretical Oracles blog. The Divinatory Duo combine Tarot and Astrology for a unique and always thought-provoking view of human interaction, sociology, and world events. Artemis and Helios discussed their respective backgrounds with regard to the occult and how they formed their partnership. They addressed the lunar eclipse that took place on August 8th, as well as the upcoming solar eclipse coming up on August 21st, along with the effects these two events will likely have, Astrologically speaking. Addressing the complexity of Astrology, the Oracles spoke about the best ways for the neophyte to begin exploring the subject, and recommended some resources (see links below). No discussion on Divination and Astrology would be complete without predictions, and the Oracles commented on what we can expect to see with regard to the coming year. In a time of unprecedented polarization and political uncertainty, the future is on the minds of many as we march to meet it, and the Heretical Oracles offered up their road map based on what they see in the stars and cards. Artemis and Helios take the often murky and mysterious subjects of Divination and Astrology and, almost magickally, make them understandable and perhaps more importantly – FUN. In a time where so many see doom and gloom, it’s refreshing to see a more lighthearted approach and thoughtful perspective. The Oracles have signed on as official Court Astrologers to the Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard, and I look forward to having them pop in from time to time to offer their unique take on events as they unfold in these tumultuous times.

Author, medium, and paranormal investigator Exie Susanne Smith joined us this week to discuss her lifetime of experience with the paranormal. Exie talked about the dramatic experience she had with a malevolent entity at the age of twelve that catapulted her into a life of studying paranormal phenomena and ultimately becoming a medium and described how she receives her psychic impressions and talked about the different categories of discarnate entities. I found her to be unlike a lot of other mediums in that she is very pragmatic in her approach and dispenses with much of the New Age trappings rife within the discipline. The spirits couldn’t seem to stay away from this interview and caused a lot of disruption and audio issues…to the point that we had to stop, cleanse both locations, and start the whole interview over! Even then, a few managed to creep in and cause mischief. Currently, Exie offers her services pro bono to those in need who are experiencing spirit-related difficulties. You can also book Exie for telephone or in person readings, group events, or speaking engagements. If you’ve ever wanted to hear a frank and no-nonsense account of how a medium does their thing, this is the interview you’ll want to hear. Exie has written two books: Welcome to My Paranormal Life and When the Dead Come Calling. Exie’s third book, The Essence of Death will be available soon.

Doubtless, you’ve seen the many articles making the rounds concerning the Chinese experiment in which it’s being claimed that scientists have successfully teleported a photon from the ground to Earth orbit. I tapped the Salvage Yard’s science advisor Jason Luxon to explain just what happened. Jason shed a lot of light on the Chinese experiment and explained exactly what did and did not happen. We discussed both the scientific and magickal ramifications and where this new step could lead us scientifically and culturally.

Next up, I spoke with Roni Jean Neal who, coincindentally, happens to be engaged in her own extensive research and magickal experimentation along similar lines. Roni discussed her discovery of “keys” to open up portals to other realms that enable her to bring two or more resonances together. Roni spoke about the role quantum entanglement plays in her magickal paradigm and provided a lot of material to consider in such a short time.