As the veil gets thinner, the voices of our ancestors get stronger and stronger. Now is a good time to remember and honor our spiritual ancestors, those who blazed the trail we currently walk. They were teachers, guides, and innovators. A few were charming eccentrics. Some were all of these things and more.
In this second part of a series, I offer links to a collection of pagan podcasts that bring you the wisdom, and sometimes the voices, of those who have crossed over. May their wisdom continue to blossom within us.
Isaac Bonewits passed away only recently, and his voice is available on two podcasts that I am aware of. You can hear him discuss ritual structure on Druidcast’s Episode 20.
Bonewits was a lively speaker and a creative nonconformist. He was, for example, probably the only person who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in magick from an accredited university. His wily, humorous nature is on full display in Episode 18 of Standing Stone and Garden Gate, where he gives a detailed, entertaining talk on magickal ethics – and it may have been the last lecture he ever gave.
Velma Nightshade also paid tribute to Bonewits in Episode 24 of her excellent show, Witchesbrewhaha. Also in that episode, Velma takes on the topic of dying responsibly – an appropriate topic for this 
Episodes 6 and 7 of Druidcast feature OBOD’s chief, Philip Carr-Gomm, discussing the life of his friend and mentor, OBOD founder and neo-pagan pioneer Ross Nichols. Also on Druidcast, host Damh the Bard reads his unofficial biography of the Horned God in Episode 28. This may not count as a departed ancestor, but the biography does explore the legend of the God’s suppression and slandering by the Church, so I’ll call that a kind of death.
The best resource for a detailed education on our spiritual ancestors is The Infinite and the Beyond, hosted by Christopher Orapello. One of the regular features on the show is a segment called “A Corner in the Occult.” In this segment, Orapello presents detailed research into a leading figure in occult history. The segments are scholarly in nature, presenting as many facts as possible without analysis.
Orapello does an excellent job linking together the various facets of each individual’s life from a large number of (probably spotty) sources. Some are household names, others are mostly known for their Chocolate Frog cards in Harry Potter. The Infinite and the Beyond is, without a doubt, the best place for a quick education on the men and women who laid the groundwork for modern paganism.
The occult figures who have been featured so far are:
Episode 5: Samuel Liddell Macgregor Mathers
Episode 7: Hermes Trismegistus
Episode 10: Dr. John Dee and Sir Edward Kelley (the topic of Episode 10 is “Death and Necromancy”- another good reason to listen to it this time of year)
Episode 12: Madame Helena Blavatsky
Episode 16: Father Giordano Bruno
Also in Episode 16 is an interesting audio montage featuring the recorded voices of occult figures, including Crowley and Gardner.
May the voices of the ancestors bless you this Samhain.