Astaroth in the Magic Kingdom: The Real Witchcraft of Bedknobs and Broomsticks

About this episode

The episode explores the connections between Disney's 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' and real witchcraft practices, including Goetic demonology and Rosicrucianism.

Hello Seekers! Oh man, I'm pretty fired up about this one (mostly because I feel I actually was there for a little bit of these Gardnerian, mysterious England vibes while I was visiting the King Arthur hot spots throughout the english countryside. Don't worry 0 I ramble on about all of it in today's intro - which you are free to skip if you can't deal with my double dose of word salad this week). So, back to buisness, not only is Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks one of my favorite classic live-action Disney movies of all time but after a rewatch this past week, it got me thinking: Why did a 1971 Disney movie feature an incantation using the real, toxic pharmacology of Hellebore, Henbane and Aconite, and what does it all have to do with Algol, The Demon Star? In today's OSP episode, we explore the possible involvement of Walt Disney in Rosicrucianisim and how the "Dark Disney" era of the 70s and 80s smuggled genuine 17th century Goetic demonology into a family friendly matinee. As always, I hope you enjoy and thanks for getting weird with us!

People in this episode

Host: Jessica Chobot

Topics covered

• witchcraft
• Disney history
• Goetic demonology
• Rosicrucianism
• 1970s cinema
• family-friendly films

Keywords

• witchcraft
• Disney
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks
• Goetic demonology
• Rosicrucianism
• 1971
• Hellebore
• Henbane
• Aconite

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Disney

Products: Hellebore, Henbane, Aconite

Books & works: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Goetic demonology, Algol

Places: England, King Arthur, English countryside

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