The Witch Wave

Rebecca Artemisa is an artist and zine maker who calls herself “a bruja who paints spells.” Her works are extravagantly detailed and darling tableaux that incorporate myths and magic from her own Chicanx and Indigenous heritage, and each piece is customized with special symbols and ingredients meant to bless the recipient. Rebecca discusses the spellcraft that goes into her paintings and the ways in which her multiplicity of identities informs her work.

Pam also shares thoughts on appreciation vs. appropriation of different spiritual traditions.

Our sponsors for this episode are Sabat Magazine, Witch Baby Soap, Blood Milk Jewels, and Vanessa Tarot.

Judika Illes is an author, a teacher, and a longtime practicing witch. She has written over a dozen witchcraft classics such as the Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, and Magic When You Need It. As an editor at Weiser Books, she’s also put together anthologies of speculative fiction including The Weiser Book of the Fantastic and Forgotten and The Weiser Book of Occult Detectives. She discusses the art of spell casting, group magic vs. solo practice, and how she came to live the unconventional life of the witch.

Pam also discusses finding light in the shadows, and dark goddesses Dhumavati and Lilith.

Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books, Witch Baby Soap, Blood Milk Jewels, and VERAMEAT.

Louisianna Purchase is a witch drag queen extraordinaire who’s been crowned “Austin’s Best Drag Performer” by the Austin Chronicle for 2 years in a row. She’s the co-creator of the monthly horror-themed drag show called Die Felicia, a member of the drag troop, PooPoo Platter, and the host of a weekly RuPaul’s Drag Race viewing party at Austin’s Downtown Jo’s. As a practicing witch and artist, Louisianna incorporates dark and magical aesthetics into her performances. In this episode, she discusses drag as magic, as well as her boundary-crossing identities as a practicing witch, a fierce queen, and a queer creative soul with a penchant for the dark arts in all their forms.

Our sponsors for this episode are DeerWomen, Witch Baby Soap, Blood Milk Jewels, and Zouz Incense.

Jesse Bransford is an occult artist, a teacher, and an esoteric scholar. His drawings incorporate various magical systems and divine iconography, becoming visual spells in and of themselves. Bransford’s new book of Icelandic sigil drawings, A Book of Staves, is being published this month by Fulgur Esoterica, and many of the drawings will be on view at his solo show opening at Ortega y Gasset Projects in Brooklyn on April 21st. On this episode, he discusses his development as an imagery witch, his experience being the Professor Snape of NYU’s fine art program, and how he came to realize that art and magic are one and the same.

Our sponsors for this episode are Zouz Incense, Blood Milk Jewels, and Sudio Sweden

Rachel True is a tarot expert, wellness writer, and actor. As one of the stars of the 1996 cult film, The Craft, she has helped bring an interest in witchcraft and witch iconography to several generations. In addition to acting, Rachel currently runs the intuitive tarot business, True Heart Tarot, and the wellness site, Some True Things. On this episode, she discusses the transformative power of tarot, acting as Craft, the importance of intersectional magic, and her experience starring in one of cinema’s witchiest classics.

Our sponsors for this episode are Zouz Incense, Blood Milk Jewels, Hauswitch Home + Healing, and Mithras Candle.

Gabriela Herstik is a writer, fashion critic, and witch whose book Craft: How To Be A Modern Witch is out this month in the UK. Gabriela has written extensively about ritual, style, and spiritual culture for such places as i-D, Broadly, and HelloGiggles, and she runs the monthly “Ask A Witch” column at Nylon. On this episode, she discusses her own mixed brew of identities, the transformative magic of fashion, and the inspiring rise of millennial witchcraft.

Our sponsors for this episode are Zouz Incense and Mithras Candle.

Nicola Scott is the legendary comic book artist behind Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, Secret Six, and many others. She's also the co-creator of Black Magick, a new occult noir series from Image Comics about a homicide detective who is also a witch. On this episode, Nicola discusses superheroes, witches, feminism, and the magical state that she goes into when she's conjuring her own comics artwork.

Our sponsors for this episode are VERAMEAT, Zouz Incense, and Mithras Candle.

Matthew Freeman is a playwright and director whose work is often steeped in surreal and magical imagery. He has written numerous plays including That Which Isn't, When Is A Clock, and The Listeners. He’s a MacDowell Colony Fellow and a current resident playwright at New Dramatists. He also happens to be Pam’s husband. On this episode, he discusses being in spiritually mixed marriage, crafting a love ritual, and the relationship between theatre and magic.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Conjured Saint, Zouz Incense, Chase and Scout, and Mithras Candle.

Anna Biller is the acclaimed filmmaker of The Love Witch, a breathtaking, prismatic horror film about a femme fatale whose love magic goes terribly awry. A true auteur, Biller is responsible for virtually every aspect of its creation, from the script and direction to its costumes, sets, and score. In this episode, she discusses the spell craft of movies, her devotion to classic cinematic techniques, and why it's crucial to unfurl the feminine imagination on the silver screen.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Conjured Saint, Zouz Incense, and Mithras Candle.

Katy Horan is a painter of witches who has a penchant for intricate patterns, costumed creatures, and imaginary rituals. She's also the illustrator of the book Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers (Seal Press). In this episode, she talks about woodland lady magic, the importance of crones, and why female writers are their own sort of sorceresses.

Our sponsors for this episode are Chase and Scout, The Conjured Saint, and Mithras Candle.