Watch this episode on YouTube:

Or, listen right here:

About the Guest: Jen Mitchell Love

Jen of Boulder, CO, is a divorce attorney, but you might not guess that right away. Her relaxed and playful demeanor and paradigm-shattering spiritual worldview don’t exactly scream “I’ll see you in court.” But she will see you in the 5th Dimension.

Jen says divorce can be a transformation, rather than a painful ending. She specializes in 5th dimensional divorce mediation, which foregoes the hurt, chaos, and destruction of traditional divorce. Instead, divorcees shift into the fifth dimension—an intentional space of empowerment, growth, love, and peace. Jen believes this type of mindful separation benefits everyone, but most of all the kids. Nowadays, this intrepid Virgo offers all kinds of workshops and coaching, designed not to avoid divorce, but to help folks grow from it. You can learn more, sign up for a class, or schedule a free consultation at Jen’s website solacedivorce.com.

As of this writing, Jen has just published a book: Shine, Soul, SHINE!: 30 Days of Self-Discovery and Healing Through Divorce.

The Breath of Death

Jen taught us one of her favorite breathwork techniques to activate different parts of the brain. Remember not to get your medical advice from a ghost podcast, Hainted Loves, and don’t try this one in the sauna.

• Start with 7 deep, slow breaths.
• Take 14 medium breaths at a moderate pace.
• Take 21 quick, shallow breaths.
• Repeat 3 rounds of 44 breaths in a row.
• Don’t pass out!!!

Jen followed this up by telling a story about the time she didn’t follow that last instruction, and passed out in the sauna after doing breathwork. Oddly, she wasn’t really hurt. In fact, the fall not only changed her view on the way she looked at her life’s purpose, it also ended up fixing a congenital jaw issue, saving her $6000 on mandibular surgery.

Recommended Resources on the Fifth Dimension

Jen recommends Dolores Cannon’s book on the new earth and the fifth dimension. Our previous guest Jordan also recommended this author.

Becky’s New Animal Guide

Do you think alligators are beautiful, even though the Chinese word for alligator translates literally to American ugly fish? What do you think Becky has to learn from her new alligator guide? In this episode, she shares 3 unrelated experiences that have affirmed that this dead log-lookalike is her new totem.

For more true stories about divine inspiration, spiritual alligators, huffing mummies, and, of course, ghosts, check out the Homespun Haints archive of over 200 first-hand true story interviews. In the mean time, please don’t taste the mummies, and have a spooky day!

The post A Divine Divorce: Interview with Attorney Jen Mitchell Love appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Watch our interview with Joe LeDoux on our YouTube channel:

Or listen to the audio here:

When the curtain goes up, and the magician steps out, the sleight of hand begins. Even as you watch wonders unfold before you, your brain keeps telling you it’s all a trick. It’s not real magic. Or is it?

Because magic can be any unexplainable feat of spectacle, right? Aren’t the sensations you feel when you witness something awe-inspiring a form of magic? Don’t we all have the capacity within us not just to experience magic, but to make it as well?

Magician and artist Joe LeDoux brings magic to life through multiple means, and talking to him today will hopefully make you look at the world a little bit differently. And, of course he has a ghost story. Prepare to be amazed, today, on Homespun Haints.

About the Guest: Magical Artist Joe LeDoux

His whole life, Joe has been seeking something more than this mundane existence. After attending Massachusetts Art School for animation, Joe realized that he preferred live performance art. A meeting with Jeff McBride tipped him in the direction of performance magic, something he had always been interested in. Soon, Joe’s career as a professional magician entertainer was quickly growing. He even performed with Le Grand David for one memorable summer. Still, something was lacking.

Joe tells us about an epiphany he had that can be summed up as a quote from author Alan Moore: “It’s not the job of the artist to give the audience what the audience wants. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience. They would be the artists. It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need” (taken from GoodReads.com).

As it’s rather complicated and unique, he refers to what he does Art-as-Magic Experiences in Artistic Spaces. Comparing the terms “showman” and “shaman,” Joe proposes that one job of the traditional shaman was probably using performance (visible yet fake) magic as to demonstrate how (invisible yet real) magick works. Which reminds us of another Alan Moore quote: “Artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.”

If Joe’s words in this interview inspired you, you’d probably love his book, Muhachi’s Book of Wisdom for Artists: Drawing Real-Life Inspiration From a Cartoon. Catch Joe’s next live performance as of this writing: at Boston’s West End Museum Feb 8, 4-6pm. He’ll be talking about his art on exhibit, performing some magic, and giving a presentation on the Ashcan School art movement. If you’re not in Boston, you can watch clips from his performances on his Youtube channel @joeledoux67. Follow Joe on IG @joeledouxmagic, or on FB.

The Bridge Houdini Jumped Off Of

First, Joe tells us a story about standing on Boston’s Mass. Ave. bridge, looking down at the water that Harry Houdini leapt into in handcuffs in 1908. Joe was attempting to work out a challenging magic trick where he’d make a mermaid appear on the beach. He was thinking of how the old stories once talked of a sea serpent in New England. He was also musing on the first UFO sighting in the US in 1693, over the nearby Muddy River in Boston.

A plan began to evolve. In June of 2013, Joe placed an announcement in the newspaper. Under the heading “paranormal events,” Joe’s announcement read that he had placed a spell over the entire city. The spell, he claimed, would make people see UFOs, fairies, and sea serpents all over Boston for one month.

The poem Joe wrote for the announcement inspired many people. Several readers submitted accounts of their sightings of magical creatures to his website. Instead of attempting to prove or refute the stories submitted, Joe read both imaginary and potentially real accounts as equally interesting resuts. Whether the real magic was in making people think they saw incredible things, manifesting actual paranormal phenomena, or inspiring people to stretch their imagination muscles, Joe feels that his ForJune Teller Spell was a success.

It was a perfect example, as Becky said in the episode, of the power of art.

Learning Grammar from a Grimoire and Spelling Your Spells

Language itself is magical. What would those first hominids think if we plucked them out of their time and deposited them in a modern setting? Wouldn’t they stare in amazement at how easily and quickly humans are now able to share complex ideas with each other; how we all seem to share a synchronizing, mystical connection? Even time travelers from just a couple hundred years ago would be amazed to see so much literacy across classes, and those from 50 years ago would be shocked at the entire libraries’ worth of knowledge that we can access from our pocket devices.

Back when the masses weren’t so educated, humans of yester-year conflated the ability to read and write with the ability to mystically manifest one’s will. Joe furthered our etymology studies today by explaining that the term magic “spells” comes from the ability to spell (once meaning to recite written words either by reading aloud or by memory). Similarly, the term “grimoire,” meaning a book of magical spells, comes from the same Old French word from which we got “grammar,” meaning the study of the rules of language and writing. Fascinating!

Here at Homespun Haints, we have a long tradition of musing about the magic of etymology. Here are more articles in our Etymology for Goth Polyglots Series:

• Etymology for Goth Polyglots: Bats!!!
• Not That Kind of Speculum
• Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

Are Fairies the Anthropomorphic Essences of Plants?

We have several guests who’ve talked with us about the nature of fairies. Joe mentions in passing this theory about fairies, but it caught our attention. What do you think? Are fairies (other than dryads) just plant essences? Have you seen a fairy, in Boston or otherwise? Did you observe increased fairy activity in June of 2013, by any chance? Did you at least have a spooky day?

The post The Greatest Shaman: A Magical Interview appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Listen to part one on YouTube,

or right here:

The Only True Evil Comes From the Human Mind

Part two is all about manifestation, find it on YouTube:

Or listen here:

About the Guest: Dale Allen-Rowse

Dale is a shamanic practitioner who took the path less traveled into his practice. He grew up in a family divided into two estranged factions. As such, young Dale witnessed the contrasting worlds of stringent religious fundamentalism versus the comparatively liberated life of his Indigenous cousins on their ancestral land in British Columbia. His path wound onward—from ballet dancer, to professional theater performer, to real estate agent, to quilting cowboy—until a devastating medical diagnosis and a revelatory spiritual experience led him to discover he could channel books on shamanism through automatic writing.

You’re definitely going to want to check out his spiritual (disco) journey at YouTube.com/@DaleAllenRowse. Diana could really relate to the raw and vulnerable evolution he shows in his videos. His videos cover topics such as personal evolution, spiritual energy work, core shamanism, manifesting, and evolving.

Once you see his videos and get to know him, you’ll likely want to read some of his channeled works of fiction. You can find all of his books (including the one that just came out as of this writing) through his Amazon author page, or purchase signed copies from his website daleallenrowse.com.

What is Shamanism?

Dale tells us that shamanism is a large umbrella term for many spiritual practices. He lists communicating with the dead, channeling information, animal tracking, and ancient songs and drumming as some of the inherent supernatural skills that lead people to seek training as a shamanic practitioner.

Formal shamanic practitioner school focuses on training in the core principles of shamanism, gathered from around the world. Dale tells us he thinks everyone has a gift, his just happens to be Automatic Writing.

What is Automatic Writing?

Dale describes automatic writing as using his keyboard like a Ouija board. Here on Homespun Haints, we’ve spoken to other guests who’ve experienced automatic writing or automatic drawing. We’ve even tried automatic writing ourselves.

Dale considers automatic writing to be his inherent shamanic gift. He was surprised when he sat down to write a novel, and what came out was a piercing look into the nature of core shamanism. Dale had no formal training when he wrote the book, yet the accuracy of his writing was corroborated by a seasoned shamanic practitioner.

A Power Stack of Entities

In core shamanism training, students learn to work with their allies in the spirit world, as guides and protectors. These include a spirit animal, a body regulator, a regulator of material objects, and the Angel of Neutrality. He tells us that shamanic practitioners cannot hold opinions on world issues; it’s too costly to the soul. Especially so in 2020.

Dale’s body regulator resembles an Egyptian god; half-bird, half-man. He thought that entity was a private thing only he could communicate with. So he was understandably blown away when a 16-year-old reiki practitioner was also able to communicate with his body regulator at their first session. This experience led him to explore a concept he calls “the off-grid.” We delve into that in the second half of his story.

The post Lean Into Your Weird appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Tammy doesn’t go to haunted houses or ghost hunts on purpose, because she’s a scaredy cat. When she turned 44, however, she began consciously hearing and seeing spirits everywhere. That’s when she truly realized her life’s purpose: to be a healer. Her mother and youngest daughter have similar inherited gifts, although Tammy believes everyone has the capacity to develop clairvoyance. And John Lennon might be just the celebrity ghost to help you do so.

Here is part one of our interview with Tammy. In this episode, she discusses her famous dead friends and her journey into mediumship, along with the haunting of her float center.

Or listen to part one here:

Then, watch part two, where she tells us her experiences with shamanism, soul retrieval, and witch contracts.

Or listen to part two here:

About the Guest: Tammy Doublin

Tammy Doublin of Michigan practices as a contemporary shaman and psychic medium, and much more. More info about her practice is available at Tammydoublin.com. Follow her adventures on FB @TammyDoublin and IG @the.green.witch.33. If you live nearby, you can check out the float center Tammy talks about in this episode: Motor City Float in Clawson, MI. It’s not actually full of blood.

Ghosts of Celebrities

Ok, so the title is a little bit of hyperbole, because I suppose Jesus isn’t technically a ghost…but this story really got us wondering. Why do spirit guides tend to be ghosts of celebrities? Tammy tells us the first spirit she spoke to besides her son was John Lennon. Bob Marley, Prince, and Kurt Cobain soon joined her posse, and Jesus follows her around her house now for unknown reasons. All 6 of these figures continue to have a constant spirit guide type of presence in her life. When Diana heard this, the first thing she thought of was the Sheryl Crow lyric “She knows Jesus, John Lennon, and Cobain personally.”

It’s not all fun and games, though, channeling famous ghosts. Tammy has also spoken with infamous ghosts. Specifically, she has channeled notorious bad guys Charles Manson and Ted Bundy.

Are celebrities more likely to come back as ghosts?

We ourselves have noticed that it seems a lot more ghosts of famous people purportedly haunt public spaces. These specific celebrities appear quite a bit, although none of them were known (in life) for a passionate drive to communicate with the dead, or prove the existence of ghosts. Of all the people who have died on this planet, surely the percentage of hauntings attributed to celebrities wouldn’t naturally be so high?

Also, average ghosts tend to be seen mainly at one place, whereas celebrity ghosts are sometimes said to haunt various places simultaneously. Tammy herself says that the ghost of John Lennon gets around more than other spirits. In other words, he has ongoing (we’re guessing open) relationships with a lot of different mediums.

How can the ghost of a celebrity haunt two places at once?

We can think of many hypotheses that could explain this phenomenon.

For one, if ghosts can appear differently to different people, perhaps random ghosts tend to impersonate dead celebrities for attention. Perhaps we shouldn’t ask “why is Cobain so interested in ME,” but instead “what is it about me that these entities feel I’m more receptive to them if they appear as Cobain?”

On the other hand, if these really truly are ghosts of deceased celebrities, perhaps their ubiquity changes the way we think about the nature of ghosts. What if ghosts are actually somehow more visible if the person looking recognizes them? Or, what if ghosts are created or strengthened through acts that people place value on? Perhaps ghosts can haunt the location where they were most loved, instead of where they died? Celebrities are so widely beloved, that they might haunt many places.

Guardian Angel Appearance

Tammy sees them as black-hooded beings. We’ve heard a guardian angel described as looking like Popeye the Sailor Man (unlikely that was a celebrity ghost). A few of our guests who are mediums describe guardian angels as standing to one particular side in their visions. What do your guardian angels look like?

Repeating patterns that belie a haunting

Does painting your walls red or black attract ghosts?

Tammy tells us that a shocking amount of haunted houses have walls painted red or black. She says that sometimes, even if the walls haven’t been intentionally painted these colors, there’s a random red or black handprint on the wall somewhere. Diana’s bedroom walls have been red at 3 different times in her life, twice with a black ceiling. Do you think that could explain why Diana has so many ghost stories? Perhaps it does make sense, as these paint colors would be an extreme contrast to haint blue paint, which can repel ghosts.

Haunted houses also seem to have purple flowers in winter. Tammy interprets these purple flowers as symbols that she is currently where she belongs. Another thing Tammy sees repeating in several haunted houses is the negative faded space on a wall where a crucifix once hung. Do you think it’s the act of removing a crucifix, the nature of people who would hang a crucifix and then remove it, or simply the absence of iconography in general that results in the haunting?

Not that correlation necessarily implies causation. Maybe it’s the other way around, and ghosts cause the living to prefer red walls without crucifixes on them. Who can say for sure?

What is a witch contract? 

Tammy told us a story about a client whom she released from a witch contract. A witch contract may refer to a pact or agreement made between a witch and a supernatural entity, often for the exchange of services or power. In historical witch trials, accusations often included claims that the accused had made a pact with the devil. In the cases Tammy described, these contracts might be residual from past lives or the Akashic Records. 

The concept of a witch contract appears in various forms across folklore, mythology, literature, and media. Some common themes are exchange of power with a spirit/demon/deity, loyalty pact with a familiar, or placing a curse in exchange for a boon. One of the most common things traded by the witch is her soul. This creates a problem: the soul of the witch (or her descendant, or perhaps a person she reincarnates into) is stuck in the underworld, while the body remains on the earthly plain. The soul requires a shaman of sorts to retrieve it from that spooky place.

How to do a soul retrieval journey as a burgeoning shaman

Fortunately, Tammy tells us that everyone is a shaman, technically. Therefore, you shouldn’t hesitate to begin teaching yourself to do what she calls soul retrieval. In the second half of her interview, Tammy gives us some tips on how to train and prepare for this paranormal activity.

• Seek guidance from another experienced shaman or soul retrieval expert. Tammy skipped this step, possibly because she’s a natural intuitive and felt self-education would be satisfactory.
• Remain open-minded and meditate (Tammy used chakra music from YouTube) and wonder about the meaning of the things that come to mind. Drumming or chanting might help. Here is the audio clip of Tammy drumming that she mentioned in the second episode.
• Go on a journey for your own healing first. In this case, “journey” refers to a meditative trance. It can take one anywhere, from the inside of someone’s body to the Underworld.
• After successfully healing yourself, you can begin doing journeys for the benefit of others.

Do YOU communicate with the ghosts of dead celebrities?

Are your ghosts famous? Is your home painted red and haunted by dead celebrities? Do you have any personal experiences that would clarify why celebrity ghosts get around so much? PLEASE apply to come on Homespun Haints and explain it to us; we’re dying to know so we can have a spooky day!

The post My 5 Best Dead Friends Are Ghosts of Celebrities appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Listen to this podcast episode here:

Creepy stories from a haunted apartment

Creaking doors, creaking floors, and the feeling that you’re being watched may make you think you have a ghost in your home, but what would really convince you? What would it take to make you sit up and say “yes, this place is definitely haunted.”

Our guest today could almost dismiss all the signs of her haunted home until she saw something unforgettable. And you won’t be able to forget about it, either, after you hear her story.

In the Korean-American communities of New York, the culture is even more steeped in tradition than what you’d find in modern-day Korea. Sarah tells us how Korean-Americans hold on to and celebrate their cultural heritage, specifically around death and spirits. Expect some classic bathroom ghosts, virgin ghosts, polytheism, animism, Buddhism, Confuscianism, shamanism, superstitions, ancestors, and more. Then, she tells us her own creepy story of what happened in her 1930’s apartment.

Episode Promo

Today’s episode podcast promo is by The Salty Speculation Podcast.

About the guest: Sarah Jinee Park

Sarah is the executive editor of MochiMag.com, a writer for Peach Velvet Mag. She uses her journalism powers to advocate for and amplify the narratives of Asian-American women and other minorities. You can also find her on Instagram @fragile__things. Also, keep up with her writing via her website: sarahjineepark.com.

Korean death ritual: What is a bu-dung?

A bu-dung is a shaman that mediates the “passing-on ritual,” essential for successful reincarnation. They will also mediate communication and rituals between the spirits and the living. There are lots of these in Korea that you can call to cleanse a haunted space. Unfortunately for Sarah, she doesn’t know of any in New York.

Famous Korean folklore figures

Dokkaebi Creature

The dokkaebi or dokebi is equal parts ghost and goblin. It is created by an object tainted with blood. According to the books Sarah grew up reading, it also stalks and punishes greedy people.

Kumiho…is it like a Kitsune?

The Kumiho is a 9-tailed fox spirit that poses as a beautiful woman and eats the livers of men to gain longevity. This concept is also very gendered, and in Korean culture, calling a woman a fox is associated with slut-shaming. Feminists are reclaiming the term, as Sarah demonstrates in her short story, The Kumiho’s Song in Truancy Magazine.

Why are there so many creepy stories about bathroom ghosts haunting Asian schools?

School can be a scary place. Apparently, due to ruthless competition and pressure to succeed, Asian girls’ schools can be doubly so. There are plenty of stories of creepy bathroom hauntings and occurrences across Asia. In some stories, vengeful bathroom ghosts grab onto the long hair of young girls and kill them. Therefore, it’s traditional to cut one’s hair when a girl starts school. All of these bathroom hauntings have something to do with tradition and regret.

Death Days

There are incredibly elaborate rules and rites surrounding the observation of death days, or Gije. Like a birth day, a death day is an annual celebration commemorating the day an ancestor or loved one passed away. Gije is a private ceremony held on the anniversary of the death of a family member within 5 generations (anything beyond that would be a Sije, which are all observed at the same time). There’s also an intricate feast prepared the night before, including traditional dishes like tteok, jeon, and jeok.

Spooky Etymology

Do you love words? Do you love knowing the origin of words‽ Do you love comparing words in different languages‽ Do you know how to use an interrobang‽‽‽ Us, too. We had a lot of fun making up words for specific situations. Do you like our new words (wraithalaith, nobsquasher, and twabble) and plan to use them? If so, let’s build a conspiracy together: suggest them to Urban Dictionary with your own version of the definitions. Keep an eye on our blog for an ongoing series, Etymology for Goth Polyglots.

P.S. Thank you Podraland for introducing us to today’s guest Sarah! She had some truly creepy stories from a real haunted apartment, and really helped us have a spooky day!

The post Korean Folklore, Death Days, and the Haunted Queens Apartment appeared first on Homespun Haints.