The Folk Magician's Notebook - January 2026

Summary: We're back with some familiar magical advice and some new segments to add more magic to your year! Please check out our Patreon page! You can help support the show for as little as a dollar a month, and get some awesome rewards at the same time. Even if you can’t give, spread the word and let others know, and maybe we can make New World Witchery even better than it is now. Producers for this show:Blake at Crossed Crow Books, Kayla, Anna, Elle, Victoria & Keifel of 1000 Volt Press, Lauren, Sierra, Lisa, Mark, Kels, Benjamin, MissV/Vee, Donna, Pretty Poisons Witch, Heather, Jonathan, Christopher, Ralph of the Holle's Haven Podcast, Jamie, Catherine, Achija Branvin Sionach, AthenaBeth, and Conjured Cardea! Our sincere thanks to everyone supporting us!Sources We highly recommend that you find an almanac or lunar-oriented datebook to help you with planning out your own magical year. Some we can recommend: The Witches AlmanacLlewellyn's Astrological Pocket PlannerWritual PlannerOr your local Farmer's Almanac!You can find a transcript of this episode at our Transcripts page.SectionsLunar Forecast - Our monthly rundown of lunar astrological informationIn the Cards - Divination through cartomancy, tarot, and folk methods. This month: glossolalia (speaking in tongues)A Witch's Words - Proverbs, folklore, and book reviews. This month: "The Witch of Treva" and a review of Cunning Folk by Tabitha StanmoreMateria Magica - Magical artifacts and crafts. This month: Incantation bowlsCreature Corner - Folkloric creatures, beings, and entities. This month: Tomte and nisse (with recommendations to read Linda Raedisch and Claude Lecouteux)Listener Email - We read and respond to your questions! If you have one you'd like to submit, mail us at [e-mail] or [e-mail] out Cory’s book, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic! (also available from Amazon). We also have a new book, Conjuring the Commonplace: A Guide to Everyday Enchantment and Junk Drawer Magic (1000Volt Press) (also available from Amazon). If you are interested in playing card divination, you can check out our Cartomancy post or pick up Cory’s book, 54 Devils.Image via Cory Thomas Hutcheson (CC 2.0)Keep in touch and follow us through our Find Us page!Promos and Music:Title and closing music are “Runaround (AM Radio),” by Aaron Solomon, and is licensed from Audio Socket. (License #1273). Additional incidental music Kevin Macleod and Daniel Birch, from Free Music Archive and used under a CC 2.0 license.Sound effects from Freesound.org and in the Public Domain. Additional "rooster" sound effect from Darina Evstafeva from Pixabay.Please consider supporting us by purchasing our promotional items in the New World Witchery Threadless shop or by joining our Patreon supporters.If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers! You can also check out Cory's folklore show, Chasing Foxfire, where he explores the intersection of folklore and topics like history, medicine, science, nature, literature, pop culture, and more!