Is It a Spiritual Path or a Cult? Mitch Horowitz Helps Us Break It Down

This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re getting a little mystical—with our eyes wide open. Historian and occult scholar Mitch Horowitz joins us to explore the space where spirituality meets personal growth, and how easily it can slip into culty territory. His latest book, Practical Magick: Ancient Tradition and Modern Practice (https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Magi...) , helps make sense of mystical ideas while encouraging intentional belief. We dig into the red flags to watch for on the seeker’s path, from peer pressure and time abuse to isolation and guru worship. We also talk about money, emotion, and how performance culture can sneak into spiritual spaces. Mitch makes the case for private exploration, critical thinking, and walking away when something doesn’t feel right. Whether you’re deep into the woo or just woo-adjacent, this one’s packed with insight on how to stay curious without giving your power away. For more of Mitch and his work, visit his website (https://mitchhorowitz.com/) or follow him on Instagram @mitchhorowitz23  Also… let it be known that: The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad. **PRE-ORDER Sarah and Nippy's newest book here (https://checkout.square.site/merchant...) Check out our lovely sponsors (https://alittlebitculty.com/sponsors) Join ‘A Little Bit Culty’ on Patreon (  / alittlebitculty  ) Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag (https://my-store-c9bd2a.creator-sprin...) Support the pod and smash this link (https://donorbox.org/support-a-little...) Cult awareness and recovery resources (https://alittlebitculty.com/resources) Watch Sarah’s TEDTalk (https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_edmon...) CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Amphibian.Media (https://amphibian.media/) Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Writer: Kristen Reiter Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media (https://amphibian.media/)    Audio production: Red Caiman Studios (https://www.redcaimanstudios.com/) Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell....