S11 E2: The Witching Hour

In this deeply personal and enlightening episode of *Heaven Bent*, host Tara Jean Stevens continues her exploration of religious trauma with guest Sabina Magliocco, a retired professor of anthropology and religion. The conversation centers on dismantling the myth of the 'evil witch' rooted in Western folklore, Christian doctrine, and historical persecution. Magliocco traces the evolution of witchcraft from ancient wisdom keepers—cunning folk who healed with herbs and rituals—to the demonization of women during the medieval and early modern periods, culminating in the mass witch hunts that claimed tens of thousands of lives. She debunks the visual tropes of witches (broomsticks, pointy hats, cauldrons) as products of early modern printing and urban fear, not reality. The episode also examines the psychological roots of the 'witching hour,' reframing it not as supernatural but as a liminal time when anxiety, grief, and isolation surface in the silence of night. Stevens reflects on how the term 'witch' is still weaponized today, particularly against women who challenge patriarchal norms, and explores the modern reclamation of witchcraft as a form of empowerment, especially within Wicca and neo-paganism. Ultimately, the episode becomes a meditation on reclaiming the body, nature, and ritual—elements suppressed by evangelical Christianity—and a call to heal from religious fear through embodied, mindful connection with the world.