Episode 4 | What's The Devil Got to Do With It?

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Episode 04: The Devil & Witchcraft

Summary: In this episode, Kristal and Kate address the belief that the Devil is somehow associated with witchcraft and witches. They explore where that myth came from, the impact of it and the myth in the present day.

Show Notes

Intro & Invocation of the Horned God by Doreen Valiente (0:00-4:36)

Kristal and Kate open by sharing their early reactions to witchcraft. They describe the role of Satan as the adversary. The Bible and, therefore, the idea of Satan, is rooted in a Near Eastern and Abrahamic religion context. The concept evolved from Djinn trickster spirits to the earthy, horned gods of the Mediterranean and, eventually, those of Europe and the British Isles. (4:37-12:34)

The war on those horned gods led to the Medieval witch hunts, which was an excuse to target women, the keepers of old knowledge. This launched us into a spiritual dark ages. The Malleus Maleficarum (written in 1486) was obsessed with women’s sexuality and originally denounced, but later adopted as the definitive demonology resource. The impact has been the suppression of women. (12:35-19:40)

Christianity has removed duality from the trickster/adversary god concept and created a one-dimensional devil, giving it dominion over other people’s rights and freedoms. As a result, women today are trying to heal from this one-sidedness and bring the Divine Feminine back to equal standing with the Divine Masculine. (19:41-26:28)

So what’s the Devil got to do with it? Control. The concepts of evil, sin and shame load people down and compromise their agency. (26:29-28:24)

Kristal and Kate wrap up with a discussion about the current status of the Devil. They touch on Satanism, which is quite atheistic and humanist, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s, which was eventually debunked. The continued position of Satan in the world steals agency and underscores patriarchy, capitalism and white supremacy. (28:25-37:28)

Final thoughts and call-to-action:

Preview of next week's episode: Wards & Protection

Outro (37:50-38:34)

Resources mentioned during the episode

The Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer

Links to all our social media

@witchingoutloud

@theunveiledspirit

@priestessforhire

@starsandmoontarot

Transform Your Life with Mindset Coaching (theunveiledspirit.com)

Editor & Associate Producer:

Ash Black at Blackheart Media LLC

@blackheartmediallc on FaceBook

Links to all our social media
Witching Out Loud on Substack @witchingoutloud

Kate
Website: www.starsandmoontarot.com
Instagram @priestessforhire
Instagram @starsandmoontarot

Kristal
Website: https://theunveiledspirit.com/
Substack @kristalthomas
BlueSky @theunveiledspirit.bsky.social

Editor & Associate Producer:
Ash Black at Blackheart Media LLC
@blackheartmediallc on FaceBook

Audio Attribution
For audio attributions please visit: Audio Attributions

Chapters

1. Episode 4 | What's The Devil Got to Do With It? (00:00:00)

2. Invocation of The Horned God by Doreen Valiente (00:00:46)

3. Roots of Satan (00:04:37)

4. Witch Hunts and Its Impact (00:12:35)

5. Christianity's Role in creating the Devil (00:19:41)

6. What Does the Devil Have to Do With It (00:26:29)

7. Satanic Panic (00:28:25)

8. Outro (00:37:50)