Episodes

  • #134 - Cécile McLorin Salvant, Enchanting Chanteuse
    Sep 25 2024
    Welcome to Season 8 of The Witch Wave!Cécile McLorin Salvant is a three-time Grammy-winning singer and composer, considered by many to be the Ella Fitzgerald/Sarah Vaughan/Billie Holiday/choose-your-own-iconic-vocalist of our time. The late opera legend Jessye Norman described Salvant as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.” Salvant’s style and repertoire are extensive and expansive connecting vaudeville, blues, theater, jazz, baroque, pop, and folkloric music. She’s known as an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Salvant is widely admired and decorated with such awards as being the winner of the Thelonious Monk competition in 2010, the MacArthur fellowship (known in shorthand as the MacArthur Genius Award), and the Doris Duke Artist Award, in addition to the aforementioned multiple Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In addition to her stunning singing, Cécile is beloved for her visionary visual style, as well as for the tropes of mythology, magic, and monstresses which often show up in her original songs and her interpretations of existing ones. Her two most recent albums, Ghost Song (Nonesuch Records, 2022) and Mélusine (Nonesuch Records, 2023) include songs about supernatural love and mythic transformations, and her forthcoming album and animated feature, Ogresse, is a musical fable she describes as both a biomythography and an homage to the loa Erzulie.Born and raised in Miami, Florida of a French mother and Haitian father, she started classical piano studies at 5, sang in a children’s choir at 8, and started classical voice lessons as a teenager. Salvant received a bachelor’s in French law from the Université Pierre-Mendes France in Grenoble while also studying baroque music and jazz at the Darius Milhaud Music Conservatory in Aix-en-Provence, France.Salvant is also an accomplished visual artist, and her fantastical drawings, embroideries, and papercuttings can currently be seen up at Picture Room in Brooklyn through Nov 3, 2024. She is also on tour now, and will be performing at Carnegie Hall multiple times over the coming months.On this episode, Cécile discusses how she learned to embrace her “weird” in her music and other work, her love of hybrid creatures and mystical monstresses, and her burgeoning interest in ancestral magic.Pam also talks about voting as a means of counteracting tired old tropes about “diabolical” outsiders, and answers a listener question about getting to know the goddess Athena.Cécile McLorin Salvant songs featured in this episode:“Ghost Song” from Ghost Song (Nonesuch Records, 2022)“Wuthering Heights” cover from Ghost Song (Nonesuch Records, 2022)“Fenestra” from Mélusine(Nonesuch Records, 2023)Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, The Vintage Storyteller, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BetterHelp, Blackthorn’s Book of Sacred Plant Magic out now from Weiser Books, Mithras Candle, and The Missing Witches Deck of Oracles out now from North Atlantic Books.We also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave
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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • #133 - Suranne Jones, Bewitching BAFTA-winning Actor
    Jun 26 2024

    This season finale of The Witch Wave features Suranne Jones, the award-winning English actor, producer, and series creator. She’s been nominated for several awards for acting and won a BAFTA for her starring role in the hit series Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned. Some highlights from her decades long television career include starring roles in Gentleman Jack, Vigil, and Scott and Bailey, and she’s also appeared in such British television intuitions as Coronation Street and Doctor Who. She’s currently in production on a new Netflix thiller series called The Choice, which sees her starring as the British Prime Minister opposite Julie Delpy’s French president, so look for that in 2025. Suranne also has an illustrious theatre career, and has starred in such plays as Frozen, Orlando, and Beautiful Thing.

    As producer, Suranne runs the TeamAkers Productions company with her husband Laurence Akers, and it’s this company that is responsible for the new docuseries, Suranne Jones: Investigating Witch Trials(which features our own Pam Grossman!) The series is currently airing in 2 parts on the UK’s Channel 4 on June 23rd and June 30th, and if you missed the first part not to worry as both will be streaming on the Channel 4 site as well.

    On this episode, Suranne discusses what compelled her to make a witchcraft documentary, her personal relationship to magic, and the shapeshifting abilities that she brings to the craft of acting.

    Pam also talks about why historical witch hunts are relevant to this present moment, and answers a listener question about revealing her witch self on a date.

    Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Nicole Marxen, BetterHelp, Snowy Owl Tea, Liza Fenster’s COMMUNION course, Sphere + Sundry, and The Queer Witches of Maude’s Paperwing Gallery

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

    And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • #132 - Cat Willett, "Women of Tarot" Author and Illustrator
    Jun 12 2024

    Cat Willett is a Brooklyn-based artist. She has written, illustrated, and published two full-length books. The first is The Queen of Wands: The Story of Pamela Colman Smith, the Artist Behind the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck. Her newest book, Women of Tarot, An Illustrated History of Divinators, Card Readers, and Mystics is out next week. Cat is fascinated by tarot as a facet of art history, and her work aims to elevate the women behind its evolution. She’s dedicated the last few years to telling these magical stories in her published books, both of which feature her own research and gorgeous artwork.

    Cat also makes illustrated comics about parenting, motherhood, gender, and animals, and she is a regular contributor to The Washington Post. Other clients and publications include The New York Times, Apple, Doc Martens, the Museum of Arts + Design, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and she is available for select freelance work and projects as well.

    On this episode, Cat discusses visionary tarot artists such as Pamela Colman Smith and Lady Frieda Harris, the illuminating power of illustration, and the divinely feminine history of divination.

    Pam also talks about tarot’s impact on the arts, and answers a listener question about witchly concerns regarding a religious pre-school.

    Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Sphere + Sundry, BetterHelp, The Queer Witches of Maude’s Paperwing Gallery, and Snowy Owl Tea.

    Please consider donating to Pam’s fundraiser for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

    And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • #131 - Kimberly Rodriguez, Author of "Incantations Embodied"
    May 29 2024

    Kimberly Rodriguez (@poetagoddess) is a first-generation Indigenous Mexican artist and writer based in the Bay Area, CA. Her art reflects her journey toward reclaiming her indigenous roots and exploring different forms of self-expression. As an artist, Kimberly is deeply committed to creating work that is inclusive and accessible to all. She believes that art has the power to heal, connect, and inspire and strives to use her platform to promote positivity and self-love.

    In addition to her art, Kimberly is also a writer and community activist. She is dedicated to using her talents and voice to create positive change and empower others to do the same. Her art and writing are a celebration of diversity, resilience, and the beauty and strength that can be found in all of us.

    Kimberly’s new book, Incantations Embodied: Rituals for Empowerment, Reclamation, and Resistance, is an offering that combines her writing, art, activism, and magic. Incantations Embodied invites readers on a transformative journey of self-discovery and empowerment. It seeks to dismantle the oppressive narrative that has been ingrained in our collective consciousness, urging us to question and challenge the colonized structures that have kept us disconnected from our own truth. This also happens to be the first book chosen to be published by Spirit Bound Press, an independent publishing house devoted to fostering diverse voices in the spiritual community.

    On this episode, Kimberly discusses her path to becoming an empowered and embodied bruja, the “undrowning” power of intentional words, and how we can all use magic to free ourselves from the capitalist colonial mindset.

    Pam also talks about the musical connection between enchantment and incantation, and answers a listener question about bewitching songs.

    Our sponsors for this episode are Mooonbody, Mithras Candle, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Alive with Spirits out from Weiser Books, BetterHelp, The Queer Witches of Maude’s Paperwing Gallery, and Sphere + Sundry,

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

    And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • #130 - Pati Dubroff, Glamour Goddess
    May 15 2024

    Pati Dubroff is an iconic, world-renowned makeup artist. She has worked with such glamazons as Margot Robbie, Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Olsen, Laura Dern, Christy Turlington, Priyanka Chopra, and Emma Watson to name but a few. She’s also collaborated with such photographic phenoms as Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, and Tom Munro, and her artistry has been featured on countless covers, red carpets, photo shoots, and brand ambassadorships. She is an ambassador for Chanel beauty, and she has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media thanks to her makeup tutorial videos which show that that glamour can be accessed and expressed by anyone at any age.

    Pati is also a lifelong spiritual seeker, and has been mindfully integrating her bewitching craft into her professional life. She honors the sacredness of beauty in all facets of her life, and has developed her own unique practice of glamour magic. She works bi-coastally in NY and LA, and often accompanies clients globally. She also teaches makeup masterclasses, most recently doing so in Mumbai.

    On this episode, Pati discusses the divine aspects of beauty, the secret to radiance at any age, and the power of manifesting childhood dreams.

    Pam also talks about the magic of glamour, and answers a listener question about receiving signs from across the veil.

    Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle, Sphere + Sundry, and Snowy Owl Tea

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

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    1 hr and 28 mins
  • #129 - Christopher Marmolejo, Author of "Red Tarot"
    May 1 2024

    Christopher Marmolejo is a Brown, queer, and trans writer, diviner, and educator. They use divination to promote a literacy of liberation, and their new book Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy is an in-depth exploration of how tarot can be a tool of freedom, magical interrogation, and energetic support for anyone, and particularly for BIPOC folks. Christopher was born and raised in San Bernardino, California, among the pines, in community with the Serrano clan.

    With nine-plus years of experience as a trained educator focused on cultivating classrooms of emancipatory possibility, they work with students around the world to plant and nurture the seed of a divinatory practice, finely weaving tarot, astrology, and curanderismo with critical, decolonial Black queer feminist epistemology. They offer tarot readings and astrology readings, as well limpia cleansing sessions, per their ancestral folk healing practices. They also teach many online workshops and write a splendid Substack newsletter called The Red Read.

    On this episode, Christopher discusses their project of decolonizing the tarot, their ancestral magic practices, and the intrinsic non-binary magic of The Temperance card.

    Pam also talks about entering her Empress phase, and responds to a follow-up message from an eclipse ritualist.

    Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle, Sphere + Sundry, and Snowy Owl Tea

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

    And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • #128 - Ron Regé, Jr., Cosmological Cartoonist
    Apr 17 2024

    Ron Regé, Jr. is a Los Angeles-based cartoonist who began drawing and self-publishing comics in the early 1990s in Cambridge, MA. Though he came out of zine culture and the underground comics scene, his work took a distinctly mystical turn thanks to a spiritual awakening he had the early 2000s. From that point on, his comics turned cosmic, exploring ideas of the occult, esotericism, and magic all in his signature psychedelic style.

    Though whimsical and whirling at first glance, Ron’s work belies decades of rigorous research and devoted inquiry into the workings of the unseen world. His books include The Cartoon Utopia, Halcyon, What Parsifal Saw, The Weaver Festival Phenomenon, Skibber Bee Bye and many more. His newest book, Shell Collection, out this week from Fantagraphics, gathers many of his monthly mini-comics which he’s been sending out to subscribers and Patreon backers over the last 8 years.

    Ron’s comics and drawings have also appeared in hundreds of zines and comics anthologies. His illustration clients have included Nike, Sony, Tylenol, McSweeney’s, and The New York Times. And if that wasn’t enough, Ron is also the drummer for the celestial folk rock band, Lavender Diamond.

    On this episode, Ron discusses his cosmological cartoons, his practice of creative channeling, and the many inspirations and influences behind his wondrous work.

    Pam also talks about hermeticism and The Hermit, and answers a listener question about a big life decision.

    Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Weiser Books, BetterHelp, Snowy Owl Tea, Sphere + Sundry, and Mithras Candle

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

    And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

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    1 hr and 28 mins
  • #127 - Jodi Wille, Director of "Welcome Space Brothers" and "The Source Family"
    Apr 3 2024

    Jodi Wille is a director and producer of the critically acclaimed documentary The Source Family and her brand new feature documentary Welcome Space Brothers which is about The Unarius Academy of Science. Her work explores people whose extraordinary true stories and creations leave us with new ways of seeing, and she has a special interest in so-called outside artists, alternative spiritual seekers, and radical intentional communities.

    Jodi has a background in commercial, editorial, and rock band photography, as well as music video direction, working with artists like REM, Sparks, and Vincent Gallo. She also cofounded the book publishing companies Dilettante Press (1998), Process Media (2004), and Otherworld (2022), to explore otherworldly and countercultural realms, and she has editing several award-winning books, most recently co-authoring the illustrated book Family: The Source Family Scrapbook (2022, Otherworld with Sacred Bones).

    Jodi has curated art exhibitions for The American Visionary Art Museum, Deitch Projects and others, and she’s curated numerous film festivals and cultural programs at institutions across the globe.

    On this episode, Jodi discusses the radical visionaries behind the Unarius Academy of Science, the development of new religions, and how filmmaking has helped her explore mind-expanding ideas and experiences. (Make a tax-deductible donation to help fund Jodi’s film Welcome Space Brothers here)

    Pam also talks about the difference between cults and positive alternative spiritual groups, and answers a listener question about a group ritual happening during the solar eclipse. (And you can check out details about the ritual here)

    Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Snowy Owl Tea, and Sphere + Sundry

    We also have brand new print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here.

    And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

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    1 hr and 22 mins