The Witch Wave

Astraleyes is a Los Angeles-based occult collage artist, archivist, and curator. He is also the publisher of Bibliomancers, an independent press dedicated to exploring vintage print design and its ties to cultural movements, with a special focus on the esoteric. Through Bibliomancers, Astraleyes seeks to uncover the connections between historical design, mysticism, and the hidden stories within visual culture. The Bibliomancers series has 5 books and counting, from SPELL BOUND, which is a book of images of vintage witchcraft paperback covers, to OCCULT EYE which focuses on imagery and ephemera from the new religious movement. Each tome is a celebration of pop occulture and an archive of the ways in which occult iconography has shapeshifted over time. Astraleyes also has a massive following on Instagram under his @astraleyez handle where he posts his favorite vintage occult imagery, and you can follow his Bibliomancers series via his @bibliomancers handle.On this episode, Astraleyes discusses his evolution as a psychedelic icon maker, his obsession with vintage occult paperback design, and the power of magical community-building.Pam also talks about new year intentions and synchronicities, and responds to a listener’s comment about integrating witchcraft and mental health.Our sponsors for this episode are Wheel of Fate, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BetterHelp, TU·ET·AL, and ZOUZ Incense. We also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.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

Lakshmi Ramgopal is a musician and dancer who performs under the name Lykanthea. Her electro-mythic debut EP, Migration, received much-deserved praise from such outlets as The Chicago Tribune, Noisey, and Public Radio International’s The World (and listeners will recognize its track “Hand and Eye” as The Witch Wave theme song). She’s collaborated with Savage Sister on their sundrowned EP, and she’s been creating and performing music via sound installations and performances for spaces such as The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and Chicago’s Lincoln Park Conservatory. Her new project, Some Viscera, marks a shift in instrumentation, drawing more heavily on her training in South Indian classical (or Carnatic) music, as well as organic sounds from analog instruments, bird song, and lullabies. It touches on atavistic questions of motherhood and personal legacy. When performed live it is an evening-length work of sound and movement that explores childhood, nostalgia, and kinship in the Indian-American diaspora in the wake of India’s independence, while questioning the boundaries of classical forms. Embracing the warmth of the sruti box, unprocessed vocals, and strings, Ramgopal’s ensemble draws on a wide range of influences to create a work that is as expansive as it is intimate. Some Viscera premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on September 26-27, 2024, and the music of Some Viscera is now available in a standalone album.In addition to that, performing both solo and with her ensemble, Lakshmi has done site-specific, immersive shows in spaces like Chicago’s Edgar Miller’s Glasner Studio and Garfield Park Conservatory, and in the middle of a freshwater stream. In 2018 she showed A Half-Light Chorus, which a sound installation commissioned by Experimental Sound Studio, and In 2020 she and visual artist Nancy Davidson showed a site-specific sculpture and sound installation, at Krannert Art Museum. The museum acquired it in 2023. Lakshmi received her PhD in Classics from the University of Chicago, and she is currently Assistant Professor of History at Columbia University, with a focus on the Roman Empire. On this episode, Lakshmi discusses her sonic shift from electronic to analog, music as ancestral offering, and the reincarnating power of love.Pam also talks about the secret magic of lullabies, and responds to a listener’s comment about reconciling witchcraft with one’s religious upbringing.Songs featured in the episode are all from Lykanthea’s new album, Some Viscera:“Bird Song”“Garuda”“The Nightingale”“Cremation”Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, TU·ET·AL, UBU Skills, BetterHelp, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Grimsby Hollow Meadery, and Open Sea Design Co.We also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.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

Laura Tempest Zakroff (she/they) is a professional artist, author, performer, and Modern Traditional Witch based in New England. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Her work embodies myth and the esoteric through her drawings and paintings, jewelry, talismans, and other designs. Laura is the author of several bestselling Llewellyn books including Weave the Liminal, Sigil Witchery, Visual Alchemy, and Anatomy of a Witch, as well as the artist and author of the Sigil Witchery Oracle, Anatomy of a Witch Oracle, and The Liminal Spirits Oracle. She is also devoted to magical activism through her sigil offerings and other work. To that end, Laura edited The New Aradia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance, The Gorgon's Guide to Magical Resistance, and Serpents of Circe: A Manual to Magical Resilience from Revelore Press. Laura is the creative force behind several community events and teaches workshops online and worldwide. Her site WeAreAradia.org is a hub for magic and activism, and lauratempestzakroff.com is where you can learn more about all her other art witch offerings. On this episode, Laura discusses the importance of magical resistance in tumultuous times, the art of crafting sigils, and the power of embracing the embodied divine.Pam also talks about the centering magic of stars, and answers a listener question about what to do with a loved one’s old spell jars.Our sponsors for this episode are Woodland Magic, the Many Moons 2025 Lunar Planner, TU·ET·AL, BetterHelp, ZOUZ Incense, Grimsby Hollow Meadery, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and Snowy Owl TeaWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.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

Damsel Elysium is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and experimental sound and visual artist who uses double bass, violin, and original recorded sounds to explore alternative communication and connections with space, nature, and the unseen world. Their performances combine improvisational music-making, ritual, costume, and fantastical worldbuilding, giving the audience a sensation of being transported to another realm while staying rooted wholly in their bodies. Damsel’s EPs include 2024’s Whispers from Ancient Vesselsand Whispers and Speakings, as well the score to the short horror film GLINT. Their LP softfalling will be out in 2025, and they are currently developing it in part via a multimedia exhibition at London’s Stage Gallery which is up now through November 27th.In addition to that, Damsel has collaborated with and performed for FKA twigs and V&A Museum, they’ve created work for Tate Collective, they’ve created glass instruments for IITTALA, they’ve been commissioned by fashion brands such as Gucci and Simone Rocha, and they’ve composed for films which have entered Sundance film festival.On this episode, Damsel discusses performance as ritual, the animism of instruments, and their intuitive approach to making music.Pam also talks about seeking the light in dark times, and answers a listener question about how to change one’s luck.Featured tracks in the episode:Damsel Elysium “Shoreline” from Whispers from Ancient VesselsDamsel Elysium “Whispers from Ancient Vessels – Nyokabi Kariuki Rework” from Whispers and SpeakingsDamsel Elysium “Wide Eyed Bird Sings” from the GLINT SoundtrackOur sponsors for this episode are Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Rue and Vervain, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and Snowy Owl TeaWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.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

Robert Shehu-Ansell is a publisher, curator and independent scholar. Through his publishing company Fulgur Press he has represented esoteric artists in book form since 1992. These books are exquisitely produced, highly collectible, and deeply magical. From grimoires to artist monographs to tarot decks, everything Fulgur publishes is meticulously crafted with eye towards elegance and deluxe beauty. Their most recent publication is the first English language edition of Surrealist founder André Breton’s visionary 1957 art survey, Magic Art (L’Art Magique). They’ve also published the work of such art mages as Austin Osman Spare, Leonora Carrington, Ithell Colquhoun, and Jesse Bransford, to name but a few, and they have conducted numerous symposiums and exhibitions about occult art. Robert is also the publisher of several series publications, including Black Mirror and Abraxas Journal, which has been described as ‘today’s pre-eminent voice for the serious study of occult and esoteric expression.’ Robert has been interviewed for such varied outlets as the BBC Culture Show, Dazed and Confused, and Boing Boing, and as an experienced public speaker, he also lectures on esoteric art of the 20th century, with a specific focus on Austin Osman Spare. On this episode, Robert discusses the delights and challenges of publishing a legendary occult art survey, the magic of Surrealism, and how he came to specialize in talismanic books. Pam also talks about her magical excursion to England, and answers a listener question about following the Wheel of the Year down under.Our sponsors for this episode are Open Sea Design Co., BetterHelp, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, ZOUZ Incense, and Mithras Candle.We also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.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

Joanna Ebensteinis the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy, which is the world’s leading community that focuses on, among other things, the culture and contemplation of death. Morbid Anatomy has taken many forms since its founding in 2007. It’s been a wildly popular blog, a library, a museum, a project-in-residence at Green-Wood Cemetery, just to name a few, and it’s currently both an in-person gathering space in Brooklyn’s Industry City, as well as a thriving online community that features lectures, workshops, and merch, as well as in-person experiences including field trips, conferences, and other events.An internationally recognized death expert, Joanna is the author of several books, including Anatomica: The Exquisite and Unsettling Art of Human Anatomy, Death: A Graveside Companion, and The Anatomical Venus. Her newest book is Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life. She is also an award-winning curator, photographer, and graphic designer, and the teacher of the many times sold-out class, Make Your Own Memento Mori: Befriending Death with Art, History and the Imagination.On this episode, Joanna discusses the value of ancestor veneration, her research on varying cultural attitudes about grief and loss, and how befriending death can lead to a better life.Pam also talks about Samhain as time to contemplate the divinity of death, and answers a listener question about activism and the Goddess.Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, TU·ET·AL soap and skincare, BetterHelp, Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling out now from Weiser Books, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, 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 all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.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

Judika Illes, a seasoned author and practicing witch, shares her insights on the multifaceted world of witchcraft. She discusses her latest work, 'Witches: A Compendium,' focusing on both historical and cultural portrayals of witches. The conversation dives into pop culture representations, such as beloved movie witches and bewitching Egyptian deities. Judika emphasizes the empowerment that comes with embracing witchcraft, while also sharing practical advice for energy management and self-acceptance within the magical community.

Cécile McLorin Salvant, a three-time Grammy-winning singer and composer, shares her enchanting artistic journey blending mythology and magic with diverse music styles. She reveals her creative rituals for connecting with deities, emphasizing the power of art in spiritual expression. The conversation explores her latest projects, including the 'Ogress' and the themes of transformation in her albums. Salvant also discusses overcoming stage fright and the dynamic relationship between performer and audience, showcasing her unique perspective on art and empowerment.

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 GalleryWe 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

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 FundWe 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