The Witch Wave

Staci Ivori is an extraordinary circle leader and ritual facilitator for women and feminine folks throughout the world. Her mission has been to create brave and sacred spaces that foster growth and re-connection with one’s true essence of self. She teaches and leads workshops, moon ceremonies, and other magical gatherings, and she also an intuitive guide, tarot reader, reiki practitioner, and herbalist. In addition to all that she is a representative for the nonprofit organization Woman Within International. Though many of her circles and workshops take place in Brooklyn where she’s based, she can also be found teaching and holding space at such renowned gatherings as Spirit Weavers, Origins, and many many more.

On this episode, Staci discusses how to cultivate magical community, the importance of shadow work, and how white witches can be better allies for witches of color.

Pam also talks about Mercury retrograde, and answers a listener question about smoke cleansing rituals and appropriation.

Our sponsors for this episode are Blessed Be Magick, Foxglove Pharm, and BetterHelp.

Chelsea Selby is the creative visionary and CEO of Witch Baby Soap, a witchy bath and body care company with a cult following. Her line of soaps, bath bombs, body creams, and spell boxes are infused with magical ingredients and adorned with magical symbols. Not only is Witch Baby Soap lauded and obsessed over via their online shop and their massive social media presence on Instagram and TikTok, but Chelsea recently opened the Witch Baby Soap store which one can visit in Cranford, NJ. Chelsea and Witch Baby Soap have been featured in such publications as Allure, WIRED, TeenVogue, and Bustle, and her beloved products sell out consistently as demand for the brand grows.

In this conversation Chelsea discusses why she combined her love of alternative medicine, beauty, and witchcraft; her favorite bath magic and self-love spells, and how she’s a building an enchanting and compassionately-run and bath and beauty empire.

Pam also talks about Valentine’s Day and the magic of roses, and answers some listener questions about how to bring some witchery to their upcoming wedding ceremonies.

Our sponsors for this episode are Hag Swag, Mithras Candle, and BetterHelp

Benebell Wen is a writer and practitioner of many Western and Eastern esoteric systems including tarot, astrology, numerology, Feng Shui, and I Ching. She’s author of the books Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth and The Tao of Craft: Fu Talismans and Casting Sigils in the Eastern Esoteric Tradition. She’s also creator of the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot deck and her annual Metaphysician’s Day Planner, and she has also taught many classes on a plethora of occult topics both online and at such varied spaces as the Omega Institute, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, and PantheaCon. In addition to all of that, she’s also a full-time lawyer.

On this episode, Benebell discusses the ways one can work with the cosmic energies of 2020, how she balances her moonlighting magic with her corporate vocation, and her philosophy on bringing Eastern esoteric knowledge to a Western audience.

Pam also talks about the integration of science and magic, and answers a listener question about conducting energy through her hands.

Our sponsors for this episode are Blessed Be Magick, The Conjured Saint, Hag Swag, Mithras Candle, and HausWitch Home + Healing.

Augusten Burroughs is the author of many best-selling books and memoirs, including Dry, Magical Thinking, Lust and Wonder, and the literary behemoth, Running with Scissors. Despite his consistently confessional approach, Burroughs’s latest book, Toil & Trouble, explores a subject he had yet to broach: the fact that he identifies as a witch, and has been practicing witchcraft throughout his whole life. On this episode, he shares some of his spell casting techniques, discusses how magic has affected his marriage and career, and talks about why this newest book was the scariest one for him to write.

Pam also talks about the concept of manifestation, and answers a listener question about casting spells with words vs. images.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Magic Monday Podcast, Lindsay Mack’s Inner Voice course, Hag Swag, and Mithras Candle.

Dianca London is a writer whose articles about witchcraft, literature, and black occulture have appeared in such places as VICE, Bitch, Glamour, The Washington Post, Shondaland, SELF, Nylon, Electric Literature, and more, and her memoir PLANNING FOR THE APOCALYPSE is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster’s 37 Ink. She is a Kimbilio Fiction fellow, the former online editor of Well-Read Black Girl, and the former prose editor of Lit Magazine. She also teaches writing at The New School and Pratt Institute.

On this episode, Dianca discusses the magic of her favorite poetry witches Audre Lorde and Lucille Clifton, the importance of shedding light on historical “outsiders,” and how she integrates Christianity and witchcraft in her spiritual life.

Pam also talks about the balance of light and shadow during the winter holidays, and answers a listener question about how to tend to their inner garden.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Sacred Space Conference and The Between The Worlds Conference, Cat Coven, and Mithras Candle.

Amanda Yates Garcia is a writer, artist, professional witch, who is also known as the Oracle of Los Angeles. Her book INITIATED: MEMOIR OF A WITCH has gotten glowing, starred accolades from places like Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus Review, and she and her work have been featured in The New York Times, The LA Times, The Believer, CNN, and via a viral appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight. She has led classes and workshops on magic and witchcraft at institutions including UCLA, Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, The Hammer Museum, and The Getty, and she’s also the co-host of the beloved Strange Magic podcast.

On this episode, Amanda discusses her own magical initiations, how she navigates the media as a public witch, and the ways she uses witchcraft to help transform creative blocks, personal struggles, and global challenges.

Pam also discusses underworld journeys, and answers a listener question about feeling stuck in a spiritually draining job.

Our sponsors for this episode are Blessed Be Magick, She Owl, and Mithras Candle.

Twin Temple bandmates – and real-life couple – Alexandra and Zachary James describe their music as Satanic Doo-Wop. Their classic 50s and 60s rock 'n roll sound is an irresistibly catchy contrast to their deliciously diabolical lyrics about witches, magic, sex, and liberation. As occult practitioners, Twin Temple also draw from their magical beliefs to create provocative and irreverent rituals on stage and on screen, and their albums have garnered praise from such outlets as VICE, NYLON, and The Los Angeles Times.

On this episode, Twin Temple discuss how they use witchery to craft their music, why radical politics and magic are sexy bedfellows, and some lessons they’ve learned from the Dark Lord.

Pam also discusses the historical relationship between witches and the devil, and answers a listener question about how to tame his shadow.

Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books, The Pretty Cult, Mithras Candle, HausWitch Home + Healing, and Lindsay Mack's Tarot for the Wild Soul.

Dorothea Lasky is a poet who has published five full-length collections of poetry including Milk, Thunderbird, and Rome and a new book of essays called Animal, as well as appearing in various literary journals and illustrious publications like The New Yorker, Paris Review, and American Poetry Review. She and Alex Dmitrov together are the Astro Poets, and their phenomenally popular Twitter account of poetic horoscopes and salty astrology insights has led them to writing the newly released book, Astro Poets: Your Guides to the Zodiac, as well as their own Astro Poets podcast.

On this episode, Dorothea talks about slipping between the so-called “high” and “low” realms of poetry and astrology, the occult aspects of her writing, and the ways in which creativity can be a magical and revitalizing process.

Pam also discusses other otherworldly poets and answers a listener question about how to utilize the magic of dreams.

Our sponsors for this episode are Magic Monday and Mithras Candle.

Chelsea Wolfe is a musician with six critically acclaimed full-length albums under her belt. Though her sound spans various genres from goth rock to electronica to folk melancholia, what remains consistent is her romantically dark witchy vibe and lyrics that seem sprouted from a surreal and mysterious mindscape.

On this episode, Chelsea talks about her technique of channeling songs, the ways she uses place as muse, and the part witchcraft plays in her creative practice both onstage and off.

Pam also discusses the importance of costume and alter egos whether on Samhain or year-round, and answers a listener question about being a skeptical witch.

Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books, Modern Women, Dr. Oristano, Sacred Wheel, and Sacred Space Foundation.

Surprise! It’s a Witch Wave bonus episode to tide you over until our Season 3 return on October 30th.

This is a live episode: a conversation between Pam and Spolia Tarot’s Jessa Crispin and Jen May, recorded at Catland Books this summer.

Jessa Crispin is the founder and editor of Bookslut.com and Spolia magazine. She is the author of The Dead Ladies Project (The University of Chicago Press), The Creative Tarot (Touchstone), and Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto. She has written for many publications, some of which are still in existence.

Jen May is an artist whose illustrations and collages have been featured in such outlets as New York Magazine, Catapult, and The Toast.

On this episode, Jessa and Jen discuss the tenuous relationship between creativity and magic, the ubiquity of the terms “witch” and “feminist,” and their collaboration on the Spolia Tarot and their new zine, Screaming Women.

Pam also reads an excerpt about art witches from her new book, Waking the Witch.

Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books and the Mystical Menagerie Market.