Tarot cards have become a symbol of the occult and divination. Over time they have inspired, enraptured, and even aided defectors. So what exactly is tarot, and where did it come from? How does a simple pack of cards hold such sway over our imaginations? The answer is in the cards.

Aleister Crowley has earned many names—the Beast, Baphomet, The Wickedest Man in the World—and embraced all of them. This week we explore Victorian ritual magic, occult societies, and the modern culture wars. 

Astrology has become commonplace in modern culture, whether you check your horoscope in the newspaper or ask someone's sign while you're on a date. This week we meet one of the people responsible for astrology's popularity, Dr. John Dee, and examine his contributions, his life, and his legacy. 

In this episode, it's love spells and curses in ancient Greece, examining the Greek goddesses of magic, Hecate, Circe, and Medea, in epic poetry and drama. What's a girl to do when love becomes a curse? 

The king of Scotland has got 99 problems, but a witch ain’t one. This week, we dive into King James VI/I, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and the witch hunts of sixteenth-century Scotland. Can one king’s trauma cause a nation to go mad?