Enchanted: The History of Magic & Witchcraft

Mar 07 2025 62 ep. 22 mins 115
Enchanted: The History of Magic & Witchcraft Podcast artwork

Enchanted: The History of Magic & Witchcraft brings you the most fascinating stories from the history of all things magical. Produced and hosted by an award-winning historian, episodes of Enchanted feature atmospheric music, dramatic performances, in-depth historical analysis, and a deep connection to the people and events that shaped the past. New episode on the first Friday of every month.

  History  Religion & Spirituality  Society & Culture
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An Exorbitant Fire

Mar 07 2025 23 mins  
In seventeenth-century England, astrology hovered at the edges of learned society. That is, until one man predicted the Great Plague and the Great Fire, both of which would strike at the very heart of London. This episode brings you the story of the English astrologer William Lilly and his legacy. Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Pla

Founders

Feb 06 2025 18 mins  
In the summer of 1836, against a backdrop of economic instability and fervent religious revival, Joseph Smith, accompanied by his brother Hyrum, Oliver Cowdery, and Sidney Rigdon, set forth on a journey that would forever connect them to the notorious witch trials that took place centuries earlier in Salem, Massachusetts. This episode brings you the story of seer stones, witch tria

The Corrector

Jan 02 2025 20 mins  
A bishop, a scholar, and a moral arbitrator, Burchard of Worms was a man of many roles, but it's his monumental work of church law, the Decretum, that may reveal folk beliefs about magic that persisted well into the eleventh century. This episode brings you the story of The Corrector and the folk magic of early medieval Europe. Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben wi

These Festivals

Dec 06 2024 21 mins  
From ancient times to the present, cultures worldwide have celebrated the sun’s return following the winter solstice. In this episode, I bring you the story of the midwinter celebrations of ancient Rome, from Saturnalia to Sol Invictus and beyond. Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet. Episode sources Support the show EnchantedPo

Bonus Halloween Minisode

Oct 31 2024 14 mins  
Since ancient times Avernus, an ancient volcanic crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, has been the source of legend. In this special minisode, I bring you the story of Italy’s legendary gateway to the underworld. Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet. Episode sources Support the show EnchantedPodcast.net Facebook/ench

The Red Branch

Oct 03 2024 23 mins  
If there is one thing every reader of fairy tales can tell you, it’s that you should never, ever venture into the woods alone. From the whispering willows to the ominous oaks, this episode brings you the stories of the trees that loom large in our collective imagination, exploring their sinister attributes and the cautionary tales they inspire. Researched, written, and produced b

Fables and Impossibilities

Sep 05 2024 23 mins  
In 1584, Reginald Scot, a little-known English gentleman farmer from Kent, published a work that would shake the foundations of religious and legal authority in Europe. At a time when witch trials were sweeping through Europe, Scot’s book was a rare and radical challenge to the powers that be. This episode brings you the story of Reginald Scot and his The Discoverie of Witchcraft

Great Calamity

Aug 01 2024 23 mins  
Despite the inscrutability of his writings and the fact that he was only one of a number of court astrologers advising Catherine de' Medici, "Serpent Queen" of France, Nostradamus’s prophecies have found a dedicated audience in the centuries following their publication. How is it that Nostradamus and his writings have such a lasting legacy? This episode brings you the story of Ca

Goodwife

Jul 04 2024 21 mins  
In the last decades of the eighteenth century, Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the American Declaration of Independence, began collecting documents related to the history of the Colony of Virginia. Among them was a volume of early seventeenth-century case records from the Williamsburg Courthouse. During the American Civil War, retreating Confederate forces burned the archives

The Perpetual Flame

Jun 06 2024 26 mins  
As Europeans embarked on their colonial ventures in the Americas, they also forged new frontiers closer to their homelands. In Norway's far northern territory of Finnmark, settlers from the south moved into the ancestral home of the Indigenous Sámi people, and by the end of the seventeenth century, nearly five percent of the population had been tried for witchcraft. This episode t