Salt & Sovereignty: Witchcraft, Hekate, Shadow Work & Spiritual Healing Podcast

Salt & Sovereignty: Witchcraft, Hekate, Shadow Work & Spiritual Healing Podcast

Video Podcast
di Ashley Pemble
Salute mentaleSpiritualità

How I Pray to Hekate: Ancient Greek Names vs. the Words I Say When It's Bad

Video
Most of us speak more than one language to the people we love: the careful voice we save for occasions, and the plain one that shows up at two in the morning. At the top of every ritual I write a line of ancient Greek, one of Hekate's (Hecate's) epithets, and I'm not confident I pronounce any of it right. So what is that line doing on the page? This episode follows that question through the old Egyptian spell books and her many names (Triodītis, Enodia, Phosphoros, Chthonia, Polyōnymos, the "many-named"), the strange "words that aren't words" in those prayers, and an ancient argument that the power was never in the meaning but in the sound. Then three honest answers about what ritual words are for, the one I don't like, and what I call the emergency voice: the one that shows up when there's no time to be heard properly at all. Chapters 0:00 Cold open 0:33 Two voices for the people we love 3:25 Talking to her like an old friend 5:17 One woman, two languages 6:09 What the oldest books say 9:07 Words that aren't words 11:31 Three answers 14:52 How do you tell which one you've been doing? 16:01 The emergency voice 17:33 Borrowed words and the workbook 19:54 The traffic between us 22:38 Something to try 24:14 What's still there when we haven't prepared Something to try: think of who you talk to when nobody's there. Notice which voice you use, and which one comes out when something is genuinely wrong. Then come tell me which voice showed up. Join the conversation in the Discord (free): Salt & Sovereignty Patreon: Salt & Sovereignty (spelled with the ampersand) Instagram & YouTube: Salt & Sovereignty The show is on video on Spotify and YouTube. If this meant something to you, following, rating and leaving a review really does help the next person who needs this find us. Until next time, honor the truth that keeps you sovereign. #hekate #hecate #witchcraft #prayer #deitywork #saltandsovereignty
E28
9 ott 2026
25:55

Road Opener Spell With Hekate: Honest Results and the Vow I Never Said Out Loud

Video
Two weeks ago I walked you through a road opener spell with Hekate (Hecate) in detail. This is the honest follow-up: what happened, what didn't, and the part I skipped. I changed the rite at the altar, the birthday candles went out in their own order, and every photo I took of the working came back as an even, unbroken field of brown. Then I look at the vow I was meant to speak aloud and only thought instead: why saying something out loud is different from thinking it, the one commitment I was protecting, social anxiety, choosing versus avoiding, the stranger who reached out mid-ritual and apologized before hello, and why the cheapest road opened first. If you're wondering how to know if your spell is working, this is what two weeks of watching one actually looked like, including the signs, the silence, and the prediction that didn't come true. Chapters 0:00 The photo that came back brown 0:34 What I did instead 2:04 The night the roads were lit 2:40 The brown photograph 4:11 The second half: a set of commitments 5:04 The vow I thought instead of said 5:42 Why you have to say it out loud 6:40 The room I was protecting 8:11 Choosing not to, or avoiding? 10:58 Did anything move? 11:54 A stranger, before hello 14:36 The arithmetic 16:23 Two weeks in, and tonight's full moon I recorded this on the night of the full moon, the final working of that spell, and it was time I said my vows out loud. If you've ever made a promise to yourself so softly that nobody heard it, come tell me about it. Join the conversation in the Discord (free): Salt & Sovereignty Patreon: Salt & Sovereignty (a free tier and three paid ones; new patrons-only show starting the week before Halloween: real paranormal stories, told properly, in the dark, every week) Instagram & YouTube: Salt & Sovereignty If this meant something to you, following, rating and leaving a review really does help the next person who needs this find us. Until next time, honor the truth that keeps you sovereign. #hekate #roadopener #witchcraft #spellwork #hecate #deipnon #saltandsovereignty
E27
1 ott 2026
17:50

Asking Without the Stack: Money Shame and Charging for Spiritual Work | Salt & Sovereignty Ep. 26

Video
Esplicito
I spent the better part of an hour in front of an empty box, unable to type a price. It wasn't my principles that stopped me. It was a much older sentence about the kind of person I am with money. In this episode I look at what I found when I went back to the thing I'd been building: layer after layer of extra promises, piled on so that nobody could say I was asking for too much. I've started calling it the stack. It's the favor returned in advance, the apology before the question, the explanation nobody asked for. It's everything we pile on top of a request so we never have to make it plainly. Along the way: money shame that got passed down without anyone meaning it to, the quiet rule that says being paid for spiritual work makes it less real, and why a lifetime of yeses we worked for leaves us with no clean evidence about our own worth. Chapters 0:00 If every yes came after you'd stacked something 0:29 Beliefs that sound like principles 1:39 An hour in front of an empty box 3:47 An old sentence about money 6:43 The scaffolding I built instead 9:20 The stack 12:08 Not one clean data point 13:07 When "free" is also a hiding place 14:05 When your principles and your wounds agree 16:05 The rule nobody agreed to 17:14 I want this to be my job 21:21 Something to try 22:21 What's changing, and what isn't 23:11 A much older habit Something to try: think of something you'd charge for if somebody else were doing it. Put an actual number on it, quietly, in your own head. Then notice what your body does, and whether you start stacking. I'd love to hear what happened. Not the number. That one's yours. The free feed stays free, and the rite I write each month still goes out to everyone. Join the conversation in the Discord (free): Salt & Sovereignty Patreon: Salt & Sovereignty Instagram & YouTube: @saltandsovereignty If this meant something to you, following, rating and leaving a review really does help the next person who needs this find us. Until next time, honor the truth that keeps you sovereign. #selfworth #peoplepleasing #moneyshame #spirituality #witchcraft #paganism #saltandsovereignty
E26
25 set 2026
24:45

The Truth About Mabon, Hekate, and Persephone's Descent

Esplicito
Mabon is younger than disco. The name for the autumn equinox was coined in 1974, and Hekate never kept this holiday at all. So why does the turn of the year still feel like hers? This week, Ash goes looking for the real thread between Hekate, the autumn equinox, and the myth of Persephone's descent, and finds something she didn't expect. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter doesn't say Persephone chose the pomegranate. It says she was tricked, and it says she was forced. That distinction changes what sovereignty actually means when the thing that happened to you was never a choice, and when it's set to happen again. Ash walks through what's genuinely ancient in modern witchcraft and what isn't (the answer is less than you'd think), why the Wheel of the Year is a 20th-century invention, and the equinox ritual she built once she stopped pretending she had a receipt for any of it: two slips of paper, two torches, and a pomegranate eaten on purpose. If you've ever felt like you had to find the moment you were "in charge" of your own worst chapter before you were allowed to call yourself healed, this one's for you.
E25
17 set 2026
21:10

A Friendship Spell for Two Adults With No Friends | Hekate's Deipnon

Esplicito
Tomorrow I'm casting a friendship spell for me and my husband, and I'm recording this before I do it... so I have no idea yet whether it works. On the drive home last Sunday we finally said it out loud: we don't have anybody where we live. My best friend is across the state. His is too. So I'm doing a three-night working with Hekate. A Deipnon clearing at the dark moon, three candles for three roads as the light comes back, and a sealing at the full moon. But this one isn't really about the candles. When I sat down to write out who I was asking for, almost all of it came out as what I don't want. Not fake, not surface-level, not somebody half-assing their own life. A full page of nos. And reading it back, I found myself in it asking for a friend who's honest about money while I struggle to talk about mine, asking for someone who doesn't complain constantly while I get stuck doing exactly that. In this episode: the history of Hekate's (Hecate's) Deipnon and why the ancient offering included the sweepings of your own house; why I'm keeping the words of the spell private; the ethics of asking for people without casting on anyone's will; and why the hardest part of a friendship working isn't magical at all. New this week: Salt & Sovereignty is now in video on Spotify and YouTube. Instagram, YouTube, and Discord: @saltandsovereignty Patreon: Salt & Sovereignty If the show has meant something to you, following, rating, and reviewing is most of how the next person finds it.
E24
11 set 2026
25:04

Letting Go Without Guilt: A Crossroads Release Ritual

Esplicito
What happens when a relationship, a belief, or a version of yourself hasn't done anything wrong, but it's stopped adding anything to your life? In this episode of Salt & Sovereignty, Ash sits with the guilt of outgrowing something you still love, the fear of becoming someone who abandons people, and the difference between fading away from a connection versus consciously closing the door on it. Drawing on Hekate as goddess of crossroads and thresholds, she talks honestly about why releasing doesn't require a villain, and why gratitude and grief can coexist in the same ending. The episode closes with an original ritual, The Release at the Crossroads, a gentler alternative to traditional cord-cutting that works for people, practices, or old versions of yourself, and is written to adapt to any spiritual practice or none at all.
E23
3 set 2026
27:49

The Ethics of Cursing: Baneful Magic, Consent & Personal Responsibility

Esplicito
What makes a curse unethical, and who gets to decide? In this episode of Salt & Sovereignty, Ashley explores curses, baneful magic, consent, protection, anger, justice, and personal responsibility through the complicated lens of witchcraft ethics. Ashley begins with something she has never tried to hide or soften: she has cursed someone before, she believed the working was justified, and she still stands by that decision. From there, the conversation moves beyond whether curses are simply “good” or “bad” and into the much harder questions underneath magical ethics. In this episode: Ashley shares the story of a mirror curse she performed and why she considers it both baneful and ultimately healing We explore the long history of curses, bindings, and defixiones in ancient Greek and Roman magical practice Ashley examines the Wiccan Rede, the Threefold Law, and why “harm none” is not a universal rule of witchcraft We look at consent, protection, revenge, justice, return-to-sender work, and the uncomfortable overlap between them Ashley reflects on anger, survivorhood, spiritual darkness, and the pressure to sanitize difficult emotions We question whether “light” magic is automatically ethical and whether “dark” magic deserves the assumptions placed upon it This is not an argument that curses are good, or that everyone should practice baneful magic. It is a reflection on what happens when spiritual ethics collide with real human lives, where harm, consent, protection, intention, and consequence are rarely as simple as we want them to be. If you have ever wondered where your magical ethics came from, what responsibility means inside your practice, or whether darkness and light are really useful moral categories at all, this episode is an invitation to become curious before becoming certain.
E22
28 ago 2026
49:33

Reiki Self-Attunement, Witchcraft, and Learning Energy Healing Without Rushing

Esplicito
In this episode of Salt & Sovereignty, Ashley shares her experience beginning Reiki through Brett Bevel’s self-attunement method after years of feeling unable to afford traditional Reiki training. She reflects on spiritual accessibility, the ethics of paid spiritual education, and the difference between receiving an attunement and truly integrating an energy healing practice. Ashley also explores how Reiki is beginning to coexist with her witchcraft, devotional practice, and relationship with Mother Earth, especially through a quiet morning walk using Choku Rei. This episode is a grounded reflection on Reiki, self-attunement, embodied spirituality, and learning to move slowly enough for a practice to become real.
E21
20 ago 2026
28:25

The Invisible Test: Fear of Rejection, Overthinking, and People Pleasing

Esplicito
What happens when fear of rejection, people pleasing, and overthinking turn every social interaction into a test someone is trying not to fail? In this episode of Salt & Sovereignty, Ash explores the constant self-monitoring underneath her long-held belief that she hates small talk, and how old survival patterns can quietly shape the way a person sees themselves. She unpacks social anxiety, fear of abandonment, emotional perfectionism, hypervigilance, fawning, and the pressure to perform the “correct” version of yourself around other people. She also explores how the same invisible test can show up in witchcraft, intuition, and spiritual discernment, especially when someone has learned to distrust their own instincts. This episode isn’t about forcing yourself to become more social or pretending every limitation is simply a mindset problem. It’s about questioning the identities and thought patterns we can start treating as permanent truths, and asking how much of ourselves we may have held back while trying not to get the answer wrong.
E20
14 ago 2026
40:52

What Does Divine Feminine Really Mean? Hekate, Masculine vs Feminine Energy, and Modern Witchcraft

Esplicito
What do we actually mean when we talk about masculine and feminine energy? In this episode of Salt & Sovereignty, Ash explores a question that began with a simple conversation and quickly turned into one of the deepest spiritual rabbit holes she's encountered in years. Why do we call Hekate a goddess? What makes a deity masculine or feminine? Are divine beings gendered in the same way humans are, or are we describing something entirely different? Together, we'll explore Hekate as a case study while unpacking some of the biggest questions surrounding the Divine Feminine, Divine Masculine, masculine and feminine energy, and modern witchcraft. Along the way, we'll examine ancient tradition, personal spiritual experience, the role of mythology, and whether concepts like intuition, strength, compassion, discipline, and wisdom truly belong to one energy over another. This isn't an episode about proving who's right. It's an invitation to question assumptions, deepen your relationship with your spiritual practice, and explore what these ideas actually mean in your own life. Whether you're a Hekate devotee, a practicing witch, a pagan, or simply someone interested in spirituality and consciousness, this conversation will leave you with new questions to carry into your next ritual and meditation.
E19
6 ago 2026
23:27
1 di 3