Test Tubes and Cauldrons

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Welcome to Test Tubes and Cauldrons, a podcast where we talk about the science behind spirituality! Astra, Fel, and Han are three occult practitioners with a love of science who are trying to do what everyone else is…make sense of the crazy world around us and our purpose in it! Hop into the discussions and try not to blow up a test tube or two!

31 янв.

Episode 58: UFOlogy and ETs with Levi

Try to keep your feet on the ground as we dive into UFOs, extraterrestrials, and all things paranormal! From primordial soup exobiology and ancient myths reimagined as alien encounters to Buddhist world-systems and Crowley's cosmic pen pals, we're exploring how spirituality and UFO lore shift through time. We'll explore the paraUFOlogy debate, why some spirits absolutely aren't aliens (looking at you, Enochian angels), and how New Age UFO culture gave rise to starseeds, downloads, and a whole galaxy of grifters. Strap in and let us know if you believe in aliens by the end! Follow Levi on IG: @Saint.Vid Episode resources: Vital Dust: The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth by Christian de Duve (on the primordial soup hypothesis among other things) The Super Natural: A New Vision of the Unexplained Hardcover by Whitley Streiver and Jeffrey J. Kripal Newkirk Museum of the Paranormal Haunted Objects podcast Hellier The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers by Gray Barker
03.10.2025

Episode 57: Cults vs The Occult

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid just yet, we’ve got a new episode for you! This week we are diving into the world of cults. What defines them, how they intersect with the occult, and why high-control groups can be so hard to spot, especially on social media. From mystery cults of the ancient world to modern movements like Scientology, Jonestown, NXIVM, we unpack the psychology, power structures, and tactics that keep people hooked. Strap in as we talk about charismatic leaders, doomsday prophecies, brainwashing myths, and the BITE model. Episode Resources: Let’s Talk About Sects Podcast has many discussions around cults and high-control groups! Dr. Alexandra Stein - An authority on cults and totalitarianism, her work is crucial in this field! We really recommend her book “Terror, Love, and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems.” “Teaching New Religious Movements” by David Bromley (the chapter on Moral Panics is especially relevant to this episode) Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/9781442677302 Pseudoscience versus Minority Religions; An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4419-9094-5_9 The Cult of ISIS by Florence Gaub: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292675728_The_Cult_of_ISIS Combating the Cult of ISIS: A Social Approach to Countering Violent Extremism by Joel Day and Scott Kleinmann (available on Google) When corrections fail: The persistence of political misperceptions: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-08932-007 The Backfire Effect: https://daily.jstor.org/the-backfire-effect/
30.08.2025

Episode 56: Hypnosis

You are getting very sleepy…listen to our voices… Hopefully you haven’t fallen into a trance-induced hypnosis just yet as there is a new episode to listen to! This contentious episode explores both the history of hypnosis and its more modern understanding. There’s a surprising amount of science behind this favored Victorian party trick that also has roots in spiritual practices. Strap in as we discuss magnets, mesmerism, MRIs, and…The Pope? Episode Resources: What is hypnosis and how might it work: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6357291/ James Braid: https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2022/01/james-braid-the-father-of-modern-hypnosis/, How does this all work: Hypnotic induction decreases anterior default mode activity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19782614/ The neurophenomenology of neutral hypnosis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22579225/ Functional Brain Basis of Hypnotizability: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4365296/ Hypnosis for the management of chronic and cancer procedure-related pain in children: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22917107/ Hypnosis and clinical pain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12848218/ Review of the efficacy of clinical hypnosis with headaches and migraines: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17365074/ Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of hypnosis in adult irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24901382/ Use of Hypnosis Today: Where the imaginal appears real: a positron emission tomography study of auditory hallucinations: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9465124/ Hypnotic visual illusion alters color processing in the brain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10910791/ The brain under self-control: modulation of inhibitory and monitoring cortical networks during hypnotic paralysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19555654/ Mesmerizing memories: brain substrates of episodic memory suppression in posthypnotic amnesia: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18184572/ Hypnotic illusions and clinical delusions: hypnosis as a research method: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19866383/
28.05.2025

Episode 55: Science of Prayer Pt 2

Welcome back to part 2 of our 'Science of Prayer' series! Back in April we discussed prayer with Aiden the VVitch, with a focus on the use of prayer in a variety of spiritual and occult settings. In this episode, the hosts tackle the science behind prayer, investigating the mechanisms behind how prayer affects our brains as well as the controversial fields of faith healing and whether prayer can benefit our health. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lancet Review of religion, spirituality, and medicine which touches (heh) on faith healing: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(98)07376-0/fulltext Intercessory prayer for...COVID?! https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(23)09619-6 Some small benefits to health observed from a prayer practice: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.36 What happens to our brain during prayer? A review: DOI: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000232 Neural mechanisms of pain modulation during prayer - the 'Mr Hansen' study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5487465/ fMRI during Quran recitations: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-023-15588-3 How valid is neuroimaging during prayer, anyway? https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039124 The wild 'sutra is stored in the frontal lobe' story https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13554790903559689
16.03.2025

Episode 54: New Years Magic and Updates!

Hello from Hanne, Fel and Astra! It's been quite the year and we're excited to get back into it. In this episode we discuss some personal, practice and podcast updates as well as talk about what we're doing to start this year off magically. The next episodes after this one will be some back recordings. So excited to be back!!
10.02.2024

Episode 53: Epigenetics!

It's a science-heavy one this week, everyone! This week the hosts discuss the intriguing world of epigenetics, where nature and nurture collide. Can you change your DNA? What effect does the world have on our genetics, and on us as people? Does this have any spiritual consequences, as some people claim? Tune in this week to hear about the science behind epigenetics and our thoughts on how this somewhat contentious field has been appropriated by the spiritual world. RESOURCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY A great beginner page for genetics https://www.yourgenome.org/A deep dive into the history of DNA structure and function https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-dna-structure-and-function-watson-397/The classic 'smoking grannies' epigenetic study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41431-022-01081-2 && https://clinicalepigeneticsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13148-019-0631-3The Dutch Hunger Winter https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579375/Trauma and heritability https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6952751/Review article summarising how epigenetics can unify Lamarckian and Darwinian principles https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/7/5/1296/605886
14.01.2024

Episode 52: The Magnanimous Life of Dr. John Dee

We are back with a long-awaited episode of our Occultists & Scientists series focusing on the life of John Dee and his scryer Edward Kelley. A renaissance man in every right, Dee was a physician, engineer, theologian, astronomer, cartographer, and magician - working with the angels to develop a unique system of angelic magic now described as Enochian. But this tale of the great magician has dark secrets…imprisoned for performing astrology, rumours of being a spy, hooking up with others wives, oh my! Perhaps like most magicians of his time, piousness was just a rumour. Join us as we soar to the skies and explore the magnanimous life of Dr. John Dee. REFERENCES: The Scientific Spirit in England in Early Modern Times (c. 1600): https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/225631 The Magic and Astrology of John Dee: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057/9781137399472_8.pdf John Dee and the sciences: early modern networks of knowledge: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778877/pdf/main.pdf The Mathematicall Praeface to Elements of Geometric of Euclid of Megara by John Dee: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22062/22062-h/22062-h.htm At the crossroads of magic and science: John Dee’s Archemastrie: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/occult-scientific-mentalities/at-the-crossroads-of-magic-and-science-john-dees-archemastrie/9D21A2FB0A2E33D9F4D2C0F85A7787E4 BOOKS: The Queen’s Conjuror: The life and magic of Dr. Dee by B. Woolley Enochian Vision Magic by Lon Milo Duquette The Essential Enochian Grimoire by Aaron Leitch
01.04.2023

Episode 51: Prayer with Aiden the VVitch

This week, TTAC are delighted to be joined by a special guest: Aiden aka @AidenTheVVitch In this episode, the hosts discuss all things prayer. How is prayer typically applied across different occult practices? Do you need to pray to be an occultist? Why are so many people ‘afraid’ of prayer? Is there any scientific evidence for prayer as a health intervention? And what’s the difference between prayer & spells, anyway? We hope you enjoyed this special guest episode of TTAC - let us know if you’d like to hear more from Aiden in the future! REFERENCES: Reviews of prayer as a health intervention - the good, the bad, and the (mostly) ugly: 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10836918/ 2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12776468/ 3. The efficacy of "distant healing": a systematic review of randomized trials - PubMed4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11761499/ 5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16569567/ 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/

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Welcome to Test Tubes and Cauldrons, a podcast where we talk about the science behind spirituality! Astra, Fel, and Han are three occult practitioners with a love of science who are trying to do what everyone else is…make sense of the crazy world around us and our purpose in it! Hop into the discussions and try not to blow up a test tube or two!

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Test Tubes and Cauldrons