Posts in Critique
Why I'm Breaking Up With Chani Nicholas and Other Woke Astrologers | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast episode 190

I've followed astrologer Chani Nicholas' work for over a decade, and travelled to LA to meet her in 2019. After being such a loyal supporter and fan of her work for so long, it's time for me to switch gears and divest my attention from her and other woke astrologers. In this episode, I critique some of Chani's recent content, as well as her need to re-record her astrological content once her candidate lost the American presidential election. I talk about why this behaviour paints spiritual people in a bad light, and why wokeness and political ideology have no place in contemporary astrology.

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Discussing Politics Across Difference: Illogic and the Importance of Openness | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 188

In this era of political polarization and a very interesting lack of empathy and intellectual openness, it's especially important to examine our own rhetorical styles as well as that of others. What typical appeals/arguments do people use? Do they appeal to extreme emotion, or to their own identity? In this episode, I use a recent dinner I had with two lefty New Yorkers as a jumping off point to discuss effective (and ineffective) ways of discussing ideas. I provide critiques, offer suggestions, and end with a provocative challenge to my listeners.

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Witchcraft Isn't Inherently Feminist | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 186

Yes, that's right! Contrary to popular belief, witchcraft doesn't actually have anything (inherently) to do with feminism. Can you be a witch and a feminist? Of course. But being a witch doesn't mean you have to have certain politics, or even have political inclinations and opinions at all - let alone work with them in your spirituality and magic. This episode was inspired by an experience I was very blessed to have recently: being asked to comment upon a book up for potential publication. I'm not naming names (and never will, that's not the point; also, these ideas are widespread), but it has become taken for granted in many spaces that witchcraft and far left politics are one and the same. In this episode I explain why that's not true. Also, a little update on my new poetry book, Rapeseed, and the successful Bodymagic Kickstarter campaign!

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The Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking In Witchy and New Age Spaces: Keep Yourself Safe, Just Say No | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 180

Hi friends! I really wish I didn’t have to make an episode on this topic, but I’ve seen a wave of specifically witchy influencers engage in apocalyptic and doomsday thinking. I’m not naming any names, but these are some big accounts. That, and we just had a woman who was an astrology influencer engage in family annihilation over the eclipse. As this line of thinking, unfortunately quite common in some fringes of the new age, becomes more common in witchy, pagan, astrology, and occult circles, I thought it would be a good idea to break this down a bit and give y’all some tips for things to look out for and pay attention to. Stay safe out there folks, and remember: trust yourself above all else.

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Final Thoughts on Love Is Blind Season 6: Not Everyone Is What They Seem | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 174

A slight detour from our normal programming - let’s chat about the final episodes of Love Is Blind season 6! I know not everyone here will care about reality TV but as a total sincere sappy person who loves authentic love… I can’t help myself. Spoilers galore, be warned!

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CBC’s “Coven” Documentary Isn’t About Witchcraft At All | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 172

Yes, another witchcraft documentary! This time, here are my thoughts - I could not help myself as someone who absolutely loves documentaries! I even wrote a paper about the representation of witches in documentary film back in my undergrad - the short version is, at the time, back in probably 2009, witches were presented as either silly or sexy. This documentary falls into neither trope, but still completely misses the mark with its focus on identity and reincarnation, rather than witchcraft and magic itself. In this episode I give my full thoughts on the documentary “Coven” which you can watch for free on CBC Gem.

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It’s Okay to Keep Your Witchcraft and Spirituality Local | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 171

Guess what? Despite the self-important activists thumping around on social media, virtue signalling in every which direction, you are absolutely NOT a narcissistic and self indulgent spiritual bypasser if your witchcraft is undoubtedly local instead of global. A lot of witchcraft - including the kind I practice - has always been rooted (literally and figuratively) in the unabashedly local: healing ourselves, undoing inter generational traumas, protecting our homes and families, and cultivating deeper connection with heritage, land, and environment. If you wanna do global political witchcraft, go for it - but stop shaming any witches who are keeping their practice closer to home.

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Spring Cleaning, March Reset, and Movement Away From Radicalism | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 170

Hi friends! I hope you’ve enjoyed these first few days of March. It’s sunny as hell here in Toronto, and I’ve begun by doing a complete reset and reorganization of my space. In this episode I talk about spring cleaning as a form of magic and energetic refresh and reset, and I also get into a little of what disturbed me so much last week that I couldn’t do my weekly tarot over on YouTube. The TLDR, radicalism and the celebration of hurting one self has disturbed me so much, and I share some thoughts on that as well.

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Palestine Has Become a Rage Room for Leftists (and How I Changed My Mind on Israel) | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 168

Since I was 17, I was pro-Palestine, largely due to the work of my still-comics-hero, Joe Sacco and the graphic novels he made about that region and that conflict. However, with what has come to light around Hamas, tunnels, UNWRA, and the vitriol and hatred on the left, the ignoring of mass rapes and extreme violence against women - and learning more about what’s been happening on the ground now - my opinion has shifted, become more nuanced and complicated. Back in the first few months of this conflict, back when I was still pro-P, a 5 years long friendship ended because I wasn’t in the streets rabble rousing and waving flags. Since then, I’ve seen the most insane vitriol online, and insanely hateful things thrown about by leftists. What the hell is that about? What is with this mass excuse making for bullying and hatred? In this episode I discuss not only my own shift in perspective but how the left has come to treat the Palestine topic/issue as a “rage room” of sorts - smashing everything and everyone around them, with no regard for complexity, reality, or other people.

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Spiritual Experiences and Psychotic Breaks are Two Different Things | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 152

Hi my friends! In this episode of the podcast I talk about a trend that has been disturbing me lately… women in their late thirties and early forties positioning their paranoid delusions and psychotic breaks as genuine spiritual enlightenment. That don’t fly with me. Listen to the episode to hear about what I’ve observed and why I think it’s dangerous for the spiritual community and society as a whole.

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I’m Not Your Mom, and Why Coaches Who Claim to Be Are Shady | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 141

This is a niche episode, especially for my fellow coaches and people hiring coaches and anyone who spends a lot of time online. Let’s use our critical thinking skills. I explain the psychology of “let me be the mom you never had” marketing, why it’s predatory, and what coaching can be instead.

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Not All Online Courses Are Cults: Initial Thoughts on the Twin Flames Netflix Documentary | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 133

Have y’all seen that insane new Netflix documentary, Escaping Twin Flames Universe? It’s an insane whirlwind of an online spiritual cult and shares some testimonies of people who have escaped it. Unfortunately, this group operated online. In this episode, I talk about the cult and how fucked up and crazy it is - that isn’t really something to doubt - and I also talk about how these folks give a bad name to online courses, online course creators, and online coaches like myself and many others who do good and honest, authentic, heart felt work in the spiritual space. This will probably be the first episode of a few where I talk about this. I share a bit about how online communities were life changing for me both as an adult and a suburban teen, and how every industry has its insane people, scammers, and charlatans.

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No More War Porn: It’s Time To Opt Out | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 132

We are in an era of war. The violent images are endless and, in this episode, I argue that none of it does any good at this point. I’m sure my political opinions are no surprise to folks who have been here for a while, but whatever your political stance, it’s important to consider what the point is of sharing violent imagery. Is it really to raise awareness about the conflict at hand, or is it to raise awareness of ourselves as highly woke and moral?

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The Munk Debate on Liberalism, and the Triumph of Shame and Insult Over Reason and Logic | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 126

I hate to be that person who is like, “but LOGIC!” I feel like I sound like a 13 year old boy who just took his first philosophy class, lol. But alas, I am someone who is finishing up my PhD in Philosophy of Science, and who found myself shifting over the years from politically far left to being more conservative and on the right. I noticed a left steeped in identitarianism and tribalism, who mobilize emotions like shame, embarrassment, and fear: fear of being wrong, fear of being called this or that, fear of being contaminated by perspectives that are framed as evil or bad, just because the left says it is. In this episode I share my experience of attending last night’s Munk Debate on the Crisis of Liberalism, held at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. I talk about my impression of the speakers, what they had to say, their rhetorical style, as well as who “won” the debate by swaying more people in the vote, as well as my troubled reflections and observations on why I think they won, and how the winning rhetorical style is, unfortunately, becoming more and more common. A reflective and political discussion.

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Why You Should Read Heretical and Banned Books: Challenge Yourself and Open Your Mind | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 104

Hi friends! In today’s episode of the Secrets of a Witch podcast, I talk about the importance of reading books we are a little wary of reading, whether that’s because they’re banned, or because we may think or be afraid that the content is heretical or offensive. I’ve observed so much fear in the past few days around certain ideas, and the idea that being around or in contact with certain books/ideas is contagious in a bad way, infecting the ideologically “pure.” I think it’s important for all of us to explore, experiment, expand our minds, and challenge ourselves to experience a diversity of perspectives. Only then are we really able to figure out what we ourselves actually think! Listen to this episode to learn my perspective on all this, and I share a few recommendations to get started on what is currently “heretical.”

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Can You Tell Intelligence By Someone’s Accent? Nope! Response to a Hater | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 98

In this episode I riff off of a nasty review of this podcast, where someone basically said I sound like a dumbass due to my “valley girl accent.” Topics of discussion include: code switching; voice, class, and regionality; the performance of intelligence and how that intersects with respectability politics; and of course, I discuss my first book Witchbody and why it was (and still is) so important for me to make academic ideas accessible to every day people.

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Identity and Identity Politics are Boring. Who Are You Really? | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 96

In this episode, I share a bit about how and why I am extremely over the age of identity politics. Over the last decade, the focus on identity has shifted from inclusive and positive, to nasty, essentialist, and exclusionary, with an emphasis on rewarding victim mentalities and with identity being a fast-track to being right, and also as a replacement for any actual argument. I talk a bit about what I’m interested in right now instead of identity: character and values.

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The Barbie Movie and the Scapegoating and Hatred of Beautiful Women | The Secrets of a Witch Podcast with Sabrina Scott episode 95

Hi friends! In this episode of the Secrets of a Witch podcast, I discuss some of my initial thoughts about the Barbie movie (I know, I’m also shocked I watched it)! A lot of analyses have been circulating but in my own commentary I focus on the widespread scapegoating and hatred of beauty, and symbols of beauty, whether they be dolls or real life human beings. I also discuss triggers, and how strange it is that people will deal with their own triggers or insecurities by hating a doll or by hating women they are threatened by or would like to be. I discuss a few other elements of the film as well. I hope you’ll listen, and that what I say will be at least somewhat thought provoking!

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