0:01
Welcome to Demystify Magic with Molly and Madison.
I'm Molly, a former skeptic turned full time energy healer and teacher.
And I'm Madison, a born and raised witch running my family's crystal shop.
And we're here to explore all things woo through the lens of both science and spirituality, so that you can find the moments of magic in your everyday life and create an intentional spiritual practice.
0:20
So if that's what you're into, find a cozy spot, take a deep breath, and let's demystify some magic.
Howdy Doody friends.
A Howdy and a Doody.
I feel like we haven't recorded this podcast all year.
Strapping folks, it's going to be a long 30 to 45 minutes filled with that joke.
0:46
At least I'm going to say 7 different ways.
That's my conservative estimate.
All day yesterday it's like to Justin, I was like, do you mind flipping the laundry?
And he was like, dude, I just cleaned the kitchen.
I was like, I know, but you haven't done the laundry.
1:02
All year so bad.
Thanks.
I hate it.
Happy new year.
Every guy, Every, every guys, every, every guys.
Just the guys, this one goes out to the guys this.
1:20
One goes out to the guys and the guys only know.
For 3% of our listeners.
Literally for you, all 10 of you, you know, it's really trending to not being at the male gaze.
This podcast, we're turning that around.
This one's for the guys.
1:35
No happy new year, everyone.
I fear I can't recover.
No, yeah, there's no recovering from that.
Thank you for listening all through 2024 and I can't wait to see what shenanigans we get up to in 2025.
1:55
Yeah, so many shenanigans.
Friends, if you have been waiting to join Reiki one the Science of Self Healing, my online Reiki training program, the time is almost here.
Make sure you are on the wait list because February 9th we're going to be opening doors only to the wait list.
2:12
So last year sold out very quickly there quickly.
So if you want to get all the details, get all the information so that you are ready to hit join us on February 9th.
Make sure you join the wait list.
We will leave that link in Z show notes today.
2:29
We're going to be doing some magic myth busting.
Magic.
Myth busting.
We've been kind of playing around with the idea of like starting a few mini series, like not things that we do, you know, 3 or 4 episodes in a row, but just like general themes that we can go back to.
2:48
And I feel like myth busting has been something that you guys have requested a lot.
And so we have a list.
I know y'all are gonna slide into our DMS and let us know what we should add to it.
So feel free to do that.
But we're gonna start off with the common question that we get, which is do you have to be born with innate magical ability?
3:09
Do you need a superpower to be magical?
I'm gonna give you three tries to guess our answer, but first, while you do that, Molly, what was your magic moment this week?
OK, I'm really excited to share this magic moment because have you ever heard of the burnt toast theory?
3:26
I know that when you smell burnt toast, you might be having a stroke.
No, no, this is different.
As you say, that's not.
Really a theory.
The burnt toast theory is basically like if you burn your toast in the morning.
The theory is that was the universe like preventing you from an accident or something bad happening.
3:43
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've never heard it called that, but I know that general.
Ideology.
I am chronically online so I have heard it called that.
Myself aware, Queen.
So the thing, so the thing about the burnt toast theory is you never see the other side of it, right?
Like you never know what it was preventing you from.
4:01
I saw the full circle.
Burnt toast theory.
Are you ready for this and it involves you?
Oh Oh no.
Am I the toast or the car crash?
So kind of similar but different to the bird's toast.
4:17
You know, when you have like an intuitive nudge where you're like, logically it would make sense to do this thing.
But for whatever reason, my gut is like, don't do this thing.
OK?
That happened to me when I was packing for Florida.
Because something you should know about me, and this is going to surprise absolutely no one, is I have been wearing the same brand and style of sneakers for the last 11 years now.
4:44
OK, when I was running half marathons, I went to one of those shoe stores that, like, tests your gait and they told me Nike Pegasus would be the best option for me.
And so ever since that moment 11 years ago, I have been buying last season's Nike Pegasus, the one that's on sale, of course, forever.
5:03
It never lets me down, OK?
I walk in them all the time and so I have a pair of indoor Nike Pegasus for my walking pad and just around my house doesn't go outside and I have an outdoor pair and when the outdoor pair runs low I switch the indoor pair to my outdoor pair and I rotate.
5:23
OK, this is this is lore about me you need to know.
Yeah, this is very important.
Point today.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Molly.
I'm shocked it took 31 years for you to get diagnosed with OCD.
But so as I was packing for Disney, I had a new pair of Nike Pegasus and my outdoor shoes were, you know, getting worn out.
5:46
And I was like, OK, maybe I should just bring my new ones because we're going to Disney.
We're going to be walking a lot.
I should bring my new ones.
They never failed me before.
Logically, I'm like, yeah, I, I always do this when I go, and I know I'm going to walk a lot.
I changed a new Pegasus.
6:03
You're shaking your head.
Because that's a horrible idea.
No, no.
But when you wear the same shoe over and over and over, I know exactly how a new pair is gonna treat me.
I've never gotten blisters.
I've never had an issue.
It's always been.
You've never had to break in those shoes.
No, I that's why I love them.
6:20
I don't need to break them in.
They don't need to be broken in.
They're perfect.
Anyways this was my thought process and I did this for Disney before I bought new Nike Pegasus and then I wore them to Disney and it was great but something in my.
Head was like not sponsored by Nike Pegasus.
6:36
Though if you want to.
Like we will just do it.
Anyways, I hadn't even opened the box yet because I had ordered them and my indoor shoes hadn't, or my shoes hadn't run out.
I hadn't cycled them yet.
6:52
I always have a backup pair, of course.
And so I was like, yeah, this makes sense because I don't want to walk around to Disney with shoes that I know are going to hurt my ankles, so I'll just switch to the new pair.
7:08
And as I was going to grab the box internally, I heard this big no, don't do it.
And I was like, OK, sure, fine.
And I remember being in Disney and I even made a comment when we're walking into Animal Kingdom because you and Drew and Anthony were all wearing black and white shoes and my new Nike Pegasus were black and white and I was wearing white and yellow shoes.
7:31
And I was like, damn it, I should have worn my new shoes because we would have matched anyways.
Didn't know this was this was like my gut instinct didn't know what was what was going to happen.
It was fine.
You know, my feet hurt, but they were those because we walked a lot.
I put the new Nike Pegasus on the other day.
7:50
They sent me the wrong shoes.
They're not Pegasus, they're air zooms and they tore up my heels.
Oh no.
I walked a single mile on my walking pad in them.
Tore up my heels.
8:07
That's wild.
I know.
So if you're ever wondering, you have that gut instinct and you're like, I don't know.
And you trust it, and you wonder if it was all for nothing.
Just know in an alternate reality, in a parallel universe, I am walking through Disney right now, bleeding like with a trail of blood behind me all through Epcot.
8:28
And we are all suffering.
The picture on Dinosaur would not be the same.
It would not if I wore those shoes.
It would not.
What was your magic moment?
My magic moment is a little bit more boring.
You mean that was exciting?
8:45
My 10 minute rant about the way I buy shoes.
Fair.
My magic moment is that I I set some boundaries around Christmas.
Love to see it.
9:01
And I had a really great Christmas time.
It's giving energetic protection.
It's giving growth.
It is so I'm like in this new world and space of like navigating what holidays look like with like a long term partner where our families are both close by and like as like.
9:25
An.
Adult, like my only other like long term relationships have been like in college where everybody just goes home to their separate families for the holidays.
Like there's no discussion around it or whatever.
Yeah, yeah.
And so like, Drew and I's families both live locally, but like locally as in within an hour and a half of each other.
9:46
Like it's to drive from my mom.
Florida Local.
Florida Local.
Florida, one of the most densely populated.
States, but I feel like in.
Florida, you're like, oh.
Yeah, it's a day trip.
It's just 4 1/2 hours to Jacksonville or whatever.
10:03
Yeah, things I've definitely said to you, I've never been to Jacksonville, but we usually do Christmas at my mom's.
And Drew's family does Christmas at his aunt's house.
And those places are like an hour, maybe an hour and change away from each other.
10:23
And they were doing Christmas around the same time.
And so I was like, OK, last year, I don't know why it was different, but my family did Christmas in the morning.
And so it was easy.
And we just, you know, did my family in the morning, his family in the evening.
But at the end of the day, we're fucking exhausted.
Yeah.
I was gonna say that's too much for me.
10:40
So I talked to my mom, my mom, who is like the most chill, calm person ever.
Like could not care less.
We hang out every day.
Yeah.
And we made plans to see her and my stepdad on the 26th and did Drew's family on Christmas Day.
11:01
And I woke up in the morning on Christmas Day, went to the gym, came home, took a nice long shower, got back in bed in my robe with my tea.
Drew and I watched A Muppet Christmas Carol and still had time for a nap before we had to get up and get ready to like, go do Christmas time.
11:23
I love.
This for you.
Also, can we talk about a gym that is open on Christmas Day?
Is that a normal thing down there?
I think most like because I take classes like I I do.
I do solid core and so they had like two classes in the morning.
11:40
OK.
All right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
OK.
Yeah.
Around here, the studios, they usually do it as like a donation class I think.
Oh really?
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah.
No, it was just like, they just had classes and I felt kind of weird about it.
And then I got there and the coach was like, yeah, this is like a great way to get away from my family for a couple hours.
11:57
I was like, OK, cool.
Yeah, Yeah, yes, yeah.
I used to teach on Thanksgiving every year for the same reason.
Yeah, it made.
Me feel a lot better.
I was like, I want like, because I know that most often fitness coaches get paid based on how many people are in the class.
So it's like, I at least want to make it worth it for you.
12:14
Like, you know, I'll go so at least maybe I can like put you over the threshold to get paid a little bit more.
Yeah.
But she was like, yeah, like this is this is my me time.
I was like great, great crunch.
And then we did we like we just went over to my mom's the day after Christmas and it was just so nice.
12:31
And I think it really like healed something in me like, you know, you know, we're both children of divorce.
Like I feel like there's a frantic energy around the holidays even though like my dad didn't live near us growing up.
Like I wasn't splitting time between the houses.
12:50
But it was very much like a, there's just like still that weird energy around it of like someone's disappointed that you're not there and like making sure you call all the right people and do all the right things and so.
Just every year the routine changes, yeah.
Can't remember what you did last year.
13:08
And I was like, oh, this is how I'll do this forever, like.
Yeah.
This is the best.
And I had like a real realization of like, oh, you are 27 years old.
You there is agency here.
You're allowed to like.
Yeah, yeah.
We had everyone come to us for the holidays, which was really nice.
13:28
Oh yeah, very nice.
Because I was like, all I have to do is make sure my house is clean.
Yeah, I love that.
All right, did we do it?
And that's our podcast, folks.
Thanks for joining us.
13:46
By now, you probably guessed our answer to the question.
We don't even need to talk.
Don't even no.
So this idea of do you have to be born magical?
I feel like it comes up a lot and it's ingrained in like our subconscious because we see it everywhere.
14:02
It's like the superhero movies, every superhero movie except for Superman, as you know, because I went through a superhero phase in 2024.
What?
Every superhero was born Superman.
He was not born with superpowers.
He's just a guy.
14:18
I don't really know anything about superheroes.
I did know that he's like, I thought Superman was an alien.
OK, now I can't remember.
They are all blurring together.
It's like when you read a book and you're like, this book was really good.
And they're like, oh, what was it about?
And you're like, it was really good.
I'm Googling is Superman an alien?
14:37
So there was something to do.
Kryptonite is from the planet of Krypton.
OK, the fucking Google AI overview.
Yes, Superman is an alien, but he's also human.
OK, what does that?
Mean.
Really helpful.
14:54
I feel like this ties perfectly into the question OK of do you have to be born magical?
So true.
I think that we should actually pivot to being a Superman podcast.
Hi, my name's Clark.
And I'm Ken.
Anyway, I know, I know, you might be thinking.
15:14
Obviously Molly and Madison are going to say no, you don't have to be born magical, but I actually say yes and no.
No, you don't need any special superpowers.
But yes, you yourself are magical.
15:30
You are both alien and human.
I'm sorry you guys, I can't keep it together today.
No, we're keeping that in that was.
No, that was perfect.
15:46
That was so good.
Yeah.
It's like like, OK, so I think of like, you know, a lot of times we think of magical, like Harry Potter was quote UN quote, born magical.
He was.
The Boy Who Lived.
And then Sabrina the Teenage Witch, or that's still Raven, who we've talked about before, where it's like she had some sort of like superpower that no one else had.
16:10
And what's so interesting about all of these is often times there's this underlying current of secrecy, Like if you do have a power, you can't tell anyone.
You can't share it with the world.
Like you have to hide it, which I I think also is embedded in, like our feeling like we can't share our magical practices wide or feeling like we have to hide our abilities, hide our intuition or hide from our intuition.
16:35
So that's an aside.
But I also think when it comes to magic, I don't think you need to be special or chosen or a superhero or born with anything special because as we always talk about on this podcast, you inherently are the magic.
16:57
You are the reason any of the spells work.
Yeah, I like to really compare psychic ability and like magical ability to sports.
Notoriously Madison really into sports, Yeah.
One thing about me, I love sports, but when you go to like any high school gym class, you see the wide array of different sports ability, right.
17:25
Some people are born really into sports, like with a natural knack and talent for it.
But no one tells a kid who's like not perfect at soccer their first day at soccer practice like, oh, I guess you just like weren't born with it.
So you should probably just like stop playing soccer, you know?
17:44
And I think that like, because psychic ability and magic, it's like this thing that is kind of taboo.
We.
It's harder to compare it to like those quote UN quote normal skills, but they really are just like all skills.
18:00
Like some people are really great cooks right off the bat.
Like, they just have a natural, a natural talent to know how much seasoning something needs, you know?
Not me, couldn't be me.
And so it might be like, if you go to any sports team, like professional sports team, it would probably be like 75% of those people say, like, yeah, I've been playing soccer since I was three.
18:23
I just like, have always been like, I had a natural knack for it.
And the other 25% will say no.
I had to work my ass off to be good at soccer, but I loved it so I kept going.
I have a second analogy that might help those of us who are not sports minded.
Oh sorry I can't relate to you guys who are so non sports minded.
18:42
I'm.
This is a girl currently drinking a protein.
Shake, who's been forced by her circumstances to drink a protein shake.
So I like to compare it to any adventure based video game.
19:00
OK.
'Cause when you first start, no matter who you are, no matter if you've video games for your entire life or it's your first time picking up, you know, a Nintendo Switch or whatever, when you start an adventure game, you always start from the ground.
You always start from zero because you have to figure out what do these buttons do?
19:17
Where do I go?
What's the goal?
How do I get there quicker?
You probably have no money, you probably have no resources.
You have to like really hustle.
And then eventually it becomes more and more comfortable with time and practice.
But if you just pick up the controller and go, this is hard and then you put it down, then you're never gonna feel like you're, you're accomplishing that game.
19:41
And I feel like so much of developing a magical practice is in that second word practice.
It's in the exploration, the pressing the buttons, the trying different things out right when you're in an adventure game.
I, I got Dreamlight Valley for Christmas.
19:59
And so this is top of mind for me.
It's basically like Animal Crossing, but in the world of Disney.
So two of my favorite things combined.
And at first I was like, OK, what did these buttons do?
Where do I go?
How do I control the camera?
And now I'm like, oh, I know the best place to fish.
20:14
And I know if I bring Goofy with me, sometimes I'll get 2 fish and then I'll be able to sell them and I'll make lots of gold.
Like, you know, you just get really comfortable the more you play.
I'll get 2 fish.
But I think so much of like getting there, like to that place of understanding is letting go of that idea that you have to be born special.
20:43
I think also like this is something that I see on spiritual spaces online, which is where a lot of people, and not to say that you shouldn't do this, like it's cool when you have these experiences to share them, but a lot of people sharing things that happened as a kid, like things that their parents have told them.
21:03
Like, you know, it's like popular to share stories of kids talking about past lives.
I think that when you put a lot of stock and stuff like that and you know, it's like fine to consume those stories and like to share them online.
I think I love to watch.
So I think they're very cool.
But don't compare yourself to them.
21:19
But don't compare yourself to them, and don't use them as like proof that you don't have something that somebody else has.
I was just thinking, I don't think I have a single one of those stories.
Either my mom swears that I would talk about my past lives when I was a kid, but I'm like, OK, did you write it down?
21:38
Yeah, proof.
Where's your proof?
Did you record it?
Where's the VHS?
But I feel like if my kid was saying some weird shit, I would remember it.
Yeah.
Not to doubt you, mom.
I know you're listening.
My mom's gonna be like, you did say it, and I'm sorry that I had other things going on.
21:55
Christy's coming with the receipts.
She's like, I have a recording of it.
We're playing it on the next episode.
I wish but no.
And like I don't remember anything from my childhood.
Like anything weird?
I was gonna say too, I think the other thing that we often see in spiritual spaces, it's just like the big, huge, life altering examples of magic.
22:20
That's one of the reasons why we brought Magic Moments into the podcast from day one is because we wanted to give you real life tangible examples of like how small the fruits of your labor can actually be.
How magic can be wearing an old pair of sneakers to Disney World, how magic can be setting a boundary around Christmas and actually feeling like you could enjoy the holiday, you know, or like pulling ticks off your dog or finding termites in your apartment.
22:52
You know, and and I think that's that's one of the reasons why we love the magic moments is because they counteract that need to be big and life altering.
Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not gonna lie.
But often times I think so much of what's developed, my magical practice, which you all have been a part of over the last two years is look, starting to look for magic in the nooks and crannies of your life rather than trying to look at your life as like this magical life altering, you know, Harry Potter style quest that you're on.
23:31
Because the truth is like that's exhausting.
Like if you were having, if you are having those big life altering moments every single day like that sounds miserable.
That sounds awful.
That sounds like that sounds like going to Christmas at your family's house in the morning and then going to your in laws Christmas in the afternoon every day for your entire.
23:53
Life and then going to like your your friends giving Christmas in the everyday in the late evening.
And then staying up to watch the ball drop.
Because the ball famously does drop on Christmas.
I can't.
Imagine they made it.
They made it so.
24:11
Let's just get it over with.
It is so much more sustainable.
You know, that's a great point.
We'll start a petition.
It is so much more sustainable to start paying attention to like those little nudges in your stomach.
24:27
You know, like the the moment when you walk into a room and you meet someone new and that little voice in the back of your head says you need to be friends with that person.
Or that little voice in the back of your head says stay the fuck away from that person.
Yeah, and I think, I think when it comes to this idea that you have to be born magical, it prevents a lot of people from trying or it makes people feel like, OK, I tried and I didn't have a life altering experience the first time I did something.
24:57
So I'm not magic and I give up.
And I think again, like the magic is in the practice.
I think when we look at the word magical practice, the word that actually makes a difference in your life is the second word.
The magic comes from practice.
25:14
It doesn't.
Just like, you know, fart out of your butt hole.
Yeah, it doesn't come out anywhere.
Yeah, it's in that consistent perseverance.
And we know this because like, not to geek out about the brain, but that's why you're all here, is your brain literally creates new neural pathways with repetition, neurons that fire together, wire together.
25:37
And so if you just do something once, if you just meditate once, sure you might feel good in the moment, but it's not going to have a long lasting effect.
But if you do it over and over and over, say you take one mindful breath a couple of times throughout your day, that's actually going to create new neural pathways that make it easier to for you to stay in that place of mindfulness longer.
25:59
I love when you say something about the brain because I'm like, Yep, I got nothing and that's cats.
And that's cats.
OK, we're gonna give you some very easy practices, examples of how you can prove that you are the magic.
26:17
All right.
You ready for this?
I'm ready.
OK.
The first one is we are going to do a group manifestation technique.
OK, OK, Madison, I want you to think of an obscure object, one that you wouldn't normally see in your everyday life, but is very specific, like a garden gnome or a pink Flamingo or a leopard sweatshirt.
26:47
Oh, no, I'm on the spot.
OK, Do I tell?
You.
Yeah.
Tell me.
A bright blue sneaker.
Bright blue sneaker.
OK, we are going to collectively manifest seeing a bright blue sneaker.
27:04
So what I want you to do is say to yourself, say to the universe, I am going to see a bright blue sneaker and I'm going to see it in the next 48 hours, OK?
And then you are going to keep your eyes out.
27:20
Now, a reminder that this bright blue sneaker, it does not have to show up on your foot.
It could be on a stranger's foot.
It could be on a cartoon.
It could be in a magazine ad.
It could be on a TikTok you're watching.
But when you see that bright blue sneaker, I'm going to need you to take a picture of it, take a screenshot of it, and tag us in it.
27:36
Because we are going to prove to each other that we can manifest this little thing.
And that is how you build trust that you can manifest the bigger things.
Oh that is so fun.
I can't wait to see a blue sneaker.
I know.
Where do you think we're gonna find it?
27:53
Yay.
It's like a scavenger hunt.
It is.
It is.
OK, I have something that I do when I'm feeling disconnected from my spirituality, when I'm feeling like, when I'm not feeling psychic anymore.
28:09
Like sometimes I'll get into this headspace where I'm like, well, it's all, it's all done now.
It's all over.
I have this candle that I made that I will light before bedtime.
And it's like a signal that I am like ready and willing and open to receive information through my dreams.
28:30
I love that and it's you blow it out before you go to sleep though, right?
Yeah, of course.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
OK, alright.
Just wanted to make sure.
And So what I, I took like a seven day candle, which has like it's in glass.
And I literally like, I remember even making it being like I don't feel magic, like I don't even have it in me to make a sigil.
28:50
And I wrote in words.
I am open and ready and willing to receive information through my dreams when I light this candle.
This is an invitation like, you know, like light.
It laid it all out.
Yeah, yeah.
And it's the most low maintenance way.
29:08
And so then you're going to bed, like knowing that this is your intention.
And then I just get up in the morning and I write down what I dreamed about.
And sometimes, I'll be honest, I don't dream anything when I do it, you know, like, it's like sending an invitation to a dinner party.
Like, not everybody is always gonna show up just because you sent them an invitation.
29:25
That's OK.
Thank you.
But like, it doesn't happen every time in that case, Like, I just.
I light it every night until until it comes through.
And then, yeah, I get up in the morning, write about what I dreamed, write what I think it means, and then I know, like, what kind of imagery to look out for.
29:46
Could be a blue sneaker in your dreams.
Could be a blue sneaker in your dreams.
That totally counts.
Don't tell yourself I just made that up.
No, totally counts.
Send us a screenshot of your dream.
Yeah, Also, I want to put this out here that if you try these things and they don't work immediately, remember you're playing a video game and you're getting used to the controls, so you can continue trying these.
30:16
Maybe it's not.
Maybe you don't need to see the bright blue sneaker.
Maybe you need to see the pink Flamingo.
OK, you can try something different.
That's not cheating.
That's called exploring with curiosity, AKA practice.
Again, the most important word in the phrase magical practice.
30:34
So do not be discouraged.
I don't want to hear anyone be like, well, I couldn't find the bright blue sneaker or nothing came to me in my dreams.
So I guess I wasn't born magical.
No, you are the magic, my friend.
You.
You are the fucking magic.
OK, I'm going to tell you something that my teacher used to say to me.
Jackie Bonwell.
30:51
People, if anyone in the New England area knows her, you know what I'm going to say.
You were once the size of a tic Tac and you weighed as much of an as an eyelash, and now you're here listening to this podcast. 72 million bajillion things at any given second could have taken you out, and yet you are still here.
31:11
There's a whole lot of magic working on your side, don't forget that.
I love that.
Love that.
I think that's a great note to end on.
I love that for us.
Do we do it?
I think we did it.
All right, my friends.
Well, a reminder if you want to get some merch that reminds you that you are the magic.
31:31
We got T-shirts, we got crew necks, we got journals, we got mugs, we got stickers.
Demystifymagic.com.
And we love you.
We love you.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to Demystify Magic with Molly and Madison.
If you want to learn more about us, you can find all our links in the show notes.
31:49
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