The Witch Wave

It’s the Season Finale of The Witch Wave! Tia Cabral is a Bay Area-based musician who performs under the magical moniker SPELLLING. She released her first moodily mystical full length Pantheon of Me in September 2017 to rave reviews including being Bandcamp’s #4 record of that year, and she followed it up in 2018 with her critically acclaimed darkly sparkling album Mazy Fly released on Sacred Bones Records. On both of these albums, she draws from dream imagery and esoteric symbolism to tap into the ethereal realm of emotion and spirit all spiraling from a synthy sonic palette.

Her brand new album, The Turning Wheel, marks a symphonic expansion for SPELLLING, with lush orchestral production that utilizes 31 musicians, and celebrates macrocosmic themes of “human unity, the future, divine love and the enigmatic ups and downs of being a part of this carnival called life. ” It feels very much like a Magnum Opus, and heralds a brilliant and bewitching music-maker at the height of her powers. The visuals for the album are maximalist as well with SPELLLING and co. donning elaborate costumes and metamorphic makeup. SPELLLING has toured with Boy Harsher and Amen Dunes and her live performances are regarded as revelations of spell and spectacle.

On this episode, Tia discusses her magical music theories, divine influences from Kate Bush to Sun Ra, and how occult practices like tarot and alchemy helped conjure her new album, The Turning Wheel.

Pam also talks about the sacred symbolism of the wheel, and answers a listener question about meeting the felines of her dreams.

Our sponsors for this episode are Moon Dust Press, Witch Baby Soap, Motherland, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle, and Maude’s Paperwing Gallery

Haylin Belay is a sex educator and health promotion professional with a focus in reproductive justice and intersectional, holistic strategies for healing and care. With over a decade of hands-on experience developing award-winning health education programming and providing professional development for clinicians, educators, and activists, she has dedicated her life to teaching people of all ages practical skills for a healthier, more pleasurable life. In addition to her classroom work, she’s also a yoga instructor and spiritual coach, offering workshops, trainings, and one-on-one coaching from a trauma-responsive, integrated mind-body-spirit perspective – and as you’ll hear in our conversation two of her witchcraft workshops, Abolitionist Witchcraft at Catland and Pleasure Magic & the Inner Shadow at Seagrape Apothecary, are coming up soon.

Haylin is the creator of the projects Sex Ed For All, My Feminism Involves Witchcraft, and Femiwitch, and she is a professional tarot reader and practicing witch. She also co-hosts a podcast, Emotional Labor, and is the host of Cosmopolitan web series How To Sex Toy.

On this episode, Haylin discusses the power of pleasure, abolitionist witchcraft, and how shadow work can be the antidote to shame.

Pam also talks about the solar magic of Summer Solstice, and answers a listener question about a disturbingly bewitching dream.

Our sponsors for this episode are Moon Dust Press, Ritualist, Motherland, The Spiral Bookcase, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle and Seasonal Steep

Simon Costin is the Director of Britain’s Museum of Witchcraft and Magic as well as the director of the Museum of British Folklore. He has been at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic for nearly a decade, and the museum itself is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Simon is also a world-renowned set designer, who has worked with such luminaries as Alexander McQueen and Tim Walker, as well as clients including Valentino, YSL, Lanvin, Hermes, Coach, Tiffany, and that’s just the tip of the glittering iceberg. His work has also been shown in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the ICA, and many other places, and he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Arts by the University of the Arts London for his outstanding contribution to fashion and design.

On this episode, Simon discusses the odd delights of running a bewitching museum, why to respectfully preserve the energies of supernatural objects, and the gifts of having a life in the arts (dark and otherwise).  

Pam also talks about the magic of museums, and answers a listener question about the alleged evils of witchcraft.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Four Elements book by Ivo Dominguez, The Pretty Cult, Maude’s Paperwing Gallery, BetterHelp, and Mithras Candle

Natasha Khan AKA Bat for Lashes is known for her critically-acclaimed songs about otherworldly love and witchy revelations. She has released five studio albums starting in 2006 with Fur and Gold, followed by Two Suns (2009), The Haunted Man (2012), The Bride (2016), and her most recent, 2019’s Lost Girls - and she has been nominated for the Mercury Prize three times. Natasha also released an album under the moniker Sexwitch in 2015, which is a collection of reinterpreted psychedelic 1970s folk songs from around the world, and is a collaboration between herself and the band Toy. She also has composed the soundtrack for the television show Requiem. In addition to her mythic and supernatural symphonics, she is also a filmmaker, fashion and costume designer, and visual artist, who brings her unbridled imagination to her videos and shorts, and has been brewing some feature-length projects as well. Be sure to check out the brand new Bat For Lashes Patreon where you can get all kinds of bonus materials and magic direct from Natasha herself.

On this episode, Natasha discusses the importance of staying connected to childhood fascinations, the powerful pull of witches, and other inspirations for her sonic spells.

Pam also talks about maintaining the wonder of witchcraft, and answers a listener question about how to complete a working of maternal magic.

Our sponsors for this episode are Temperance Home and Bar, The Four Elements of the Wise book by Ivo Dominguez, Mithras Candle, Tarot for the Wild Soul, BetterHelp, Luna Lux Botanicals, and Seraphina Capranos

Elissa Washuta is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a nonfiction writer. She is the author of White Magic, My Body Is a Book of Rules, and Starvation Mode. With Theresa Warburton, she is co-editor of the anthology Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers. She’s a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship recipient, a Creative Capital awardee, and an assistant professor of creative writing at the Ohio State University.

On this episode, Elissa discusses her examination of Native American and white culture in her work and magical practice, how to approach life like a mystic detective a la Twin Peaks’ Agent Dale Cooper, and why writing is the ultimate spell.

Pam also talks about balancing belief and skepticism, and answers a listener question about the revelations and risks of paying attention to synchronicities.

Our sponsors for this episode are Tarot for the Wild Soul, Witch Baby Soap, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, and Hag Swag

Dori Midnight is a Jewish mystic, herbalist, artist, and teacher of magic. She also practices intuitive healing, weaves collaborative, liberatory ritual spaces, makes potions, and writes liturgy, spells, prayers, and poems. For over 20 years, Dori has been teaching workshops on ritual and remedies for unraveling times, Jewish Plant Magic, community care work, and queer magic and healing.

Dori’s work is supported and inspired by a web of teachers, dreamers, and co-conspirators in Disability and Healing Justice work, queer liberation, and earth based, multi-rooted/diasporic Judaism and is in service to more love, more healing, and more freedom for every body.  

On this episode, Dori discusses the witchcraft of Judaism, ways to reconnect the seemingly broken links of diasporic traditions, and Jewish protection magic against demons of all kinds.

Pam also discusses her journey of weaving together her Paganism with her family’s Judaism, and answers a listener question about Jewish folk magic resources.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Spiral Bookcase, BetterHelp, and Maude’s Paperwing Gallery

Liza Fenster is a life long Witch who works as Reiki Master Teacher, tarot educator and reader, and ordained minister. She combines her intuitive gifts with 20 years of extensive spiritual and metaphysical practice and study from places including the Morris Pratt Institute, Southeastern School of Neuromuscular Massage, and more.

As a Reiki Master Teacher, she offers attunement classes as well as individual healing sessions. Her background in neuromuscular massage therapy also provides comprehensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology – and lend itself to her integrated approach to gentle somatic therapy and healing in both the physical and spiritual realms. She’s also an ordained minister who sacred life events and sits for spiritual counseling sessions.

Acting in this way as community servant, she is committed to both ecological and community healing on local and global levels - and with that, deeply committed to social justice and the healing and reparation of BIPOC communities and to the decolonization of wellness. She works in service of the Crow Mother Kachina.

On this episode, Liza discusses how to combine divination practices of the body and the spirit, recent magical messages from the tarot, and her journey to reconnect with her Indigenous roots.

Pam also talks about witchcraft and the body, and answers a listener question about rituals for transitioning out of an old home and into a new one.

Our sponsors for this episode are Lindsay Mack’s Rewilding the Tarot workshop, Mithras Candle, Luna Lux Botanicals, BetterHelp, and the Magic Monday podcast.

Dylan Thuras is the cofounder and creative director of Atlas Obscura, an online and in-person portal to over 20,000 of the world’s most weird and wonderful places and experiences. He is co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders and the New York Times bestselling kids book The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid. He is also the host of the fabulous new Atlas Obscura podcast. Dylan has appeared as a host on NPR’s All Things Considered and a guest on Science Friday, and CBS Sunday Morning, and has been featured in the New York Times and The New Yorker, among others.

On this episode, Dylan discusses his favorite witchy travel destinations, the ethics of visiting sacred sites, and how to cultivate more wonder whether journeying far away or in your own neighborhood.

Pam also talks about balancing wanderlust with domestic magic, and answers a listener question about connecting with deities.

Our sponsors for this episode are Lindsay Mack’s Rewilding the Tarot workshop, BetterHelp, Marvel + Moon, and Seasonal Steep

Taisia Kitaiskaia is a Russian-American poet and writer of witchly words. She is the author of two books of experimental, enchanting advice from the infamous Slavic witch, Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles and its follow-up, Poetic Remedies for Troubled Times from Ask Baba Yaga. She has also written The Nightgown and Other Poems and Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers, the latter of which is a collaboration with artist (and former Witch Wave guest) Katy Horan that celebrates magical women writers - and was an NPR Best Book of 2017. Together they also released a divination deck, The Literary Witches Oracle.

Taisia has received fellowships from Yaddo and the James A. Michener Center for Writers, and her work has been published in journals such as A Public Space, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles Review of Books, StoryQuarterly, Fence, Guernica and more. She has written for The Hairpin, Electric Literature, Jezebel, and Bitch Media, and her work has been nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize.

On this episode, Taisia discusses her favorite witchly writers, the fairy tale aspects of her Russian childhood, and the wild wisdom of Baba Yaga.

Pam also discusses the crone archetype, and answers a listener question about changing direction in her academic study of death.

Our sponsors for this episode are Temperance Home and Bar, Mithras Candle, Seasonal Steep, BetterHelp, Hag Swag, and Sarah Faith Gottesdiener’s Moonbeaming online course

The Brujas of Brooklyn are Griselda Rodriguez-Solomon and Miguelina Rodriguez. They are identical twin PhDs who are professors of the Social Sciences within the City College of New York (CUNY). These brujas merge the magic of ancestral medicine with sharp intellect, combining the physical, the mental, and the spiritual to help people become more fully integrated beings. Their platform provides the balm to help folks heal from internalized oppression, particularly women. As certified kundalini and hatha yogis, these Black Dominican sisters design multi-sensory workshops that provide sacred space for women of color to heal from womb imbalances. They’ve both authored academic pieces on the effects of racialized oppression on communities of color, Dominicans in particular. And their work has granted them has been featured in such places as Univision, Google, Buzz Feed’s Pero Like, and Facebook to name a few. And they say that “Joy is their ultimate form of resistance.”

On this episode, the Brujas of Brooklyn discuss their modern spin on brujeria, the importance of feminine bodily healing, and why the spiritual and political are intertwined.

Pam also discusses the misogynist history of the witch hunts, and answers a listener question about magic and pregnancy.

Our sponsors for this episode are The Flower Essences Deck, Witchy Washy Bath, The Spiral Bookcase, BetterHelp, and the Magic Monday podcast.