The Witch Wave

Phantasmaphile LLC
The Witch Wave

The Witch Wave is a podcast for bewitching conversation about magic, creativity, and culture. On each episode, host Pam Grossman speaks with a leading visionary about art and Craft.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    #145 - Vera Sola AKA Danielle Aykroyd, Spirited Songstress

    Danielle Aykroyd is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who performs under the name Vera Sola. Sometimes called the "lost love child of Leonard Cohen and Nancy Sinatra," Vera Sola’s smoky vocalization and searing, soaring songs have a cinematic aspect to them, and would feel equally at home in a David Lynch film or a prairie full of phantoms. A trained poet, her lyrics are twisting and imagistic, marked alternatively by restrained mystery and a resplendent, wild-eyed rage. Her 2018 debut LP, Shades, which she plays every instrument on, is a study in shadowy Americana and mesmeric incantation. Her sophomore album of 2024, Peacemaker, is a more expansive extravaganza with lush orchestration, dark dreamscapes, and tales of vengeance, heartache, and haunting. Vera Sola’s new EP, Ghostmaker is a pared-down resurrection of Peacemaker tracks, and features a brand new song, “The Ghostmaster’s Daughter.” On this episode, Danielle discusses how spirits guide her music, her relationship to ghosts, and the liberating power of finding her voice. Pam also talks about the feminist history of Spiritualism, and answers a listener question about a precarious prediction.  Vera Sola’s songs featured in the audio version of this podcast episode are as follows: “Circles” from Shades “Bad Idea” from Peacemaker “The Ghostmaster’s Daughter” from Ghostmaker “Blood Bond” from Peacemaker “Instrument of War” from Peacemaker Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you’re at it!) Our sponsors for this episode are Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and Dear Antigone. 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

    1h 14m
  2. 19 FEB

    #144 - Matt Marble of the American Museum of Paramusicology

    Matt Marble is an artist, author, audio producer and director of the American Museum of Paramusicology ("brilliant and humbling," The Paris Review). Both creatively and through historical research, his work explores the inspired intersections of art and metaphysics and the intuitive disciplines they mutually employ. Matt is the author of Buddhist Bubblegum: Esotericism in the Creative Process of Arthur Russell ("groundbreaking work," New York Times), and the producer/host of Secret Sound, a podcast exploring the metaphysical biopics of American musicians, and The Hidden Present, an audio interview series exploring intuitive discipline and spiritual imagination. Additional works have been featured by the California Festival, Warp Records, and the Philosophical Research Society. His writing, research, media production, and personal archive constitute the American Museum of Paramusicology (AMP), through which he also publishes the monthly AMP Journal.  Matt's visual art and music are often rooted in his own dreamwork divination practice--the Astramira or "Wondering Stars." This work has been featured as a solo art exhibition at Greensboro Project Space, as well as through releases of instrumental guitar music and dream songs. His album of solo acoustic guitar music, The Living Mirror, was released by UK label The Crystal Cabinet in 2021. Matt holds a BA in speech & hearing science from Portland State University, a PhD in music composition from Princeton University, and a black rattlesnake from his dreams.  On this episode, Matt discusses the relationship between music and mysticism, favorite musician-magicians, and how dreams influence his own sonic and visual art.Pam also talks about casting her love spell at Jinkx Monsoon’s Carnegie Hall show, and answers a listener question about witchcraft and entrepreneurship. Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you’re at it!) Our sponsors for this episode are The Witch Summit, The Crystal Ballers podcast, BetterHelp, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and The Alchemist and the Academic podcast. 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

    1h 14m
  3. 5 FEB

    #143 - Leila Taylor Returns! Author of "Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread"

    Leila Taylor is a Brooklyn-based writer, speaker, and designer whose work focuses on the intersection of history and horror and the gothic in contemporary culture. She’s the author of Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread (out Feb 11, 2025) and Darkly: Black History and America’s Gothic Soul, her essays have appeared in Us: The Complete Annotated Screenplay, The Repeater Book of the Occult, The New Urban Gothic: Global Gothic in the Age of the Anthropocene, and the graphic novel Bitter Root.  On this episode, Leila discusses the captivating power of haunted houses, the aptly named Brutalist architecture movement, and the irresistible appeal of the “witch house.” Pam also talks about apotropaic house magic, and answers a listener question about amulets and talismanic jewelry. Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you’re at it!) Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, Dear Antigone, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, 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

    1h 21m
  4. 22 JAN

    #142 - HausWitch's Erica Feldmann Returns!

    Erica Feldmann is the owner and founder of HausWitch, a company devoted to helping people heal their spaces and love their homes. She holds a Master's degree in Gender and Cultural Studies, with a research concentration in Witches. Her innate interest in the connection between home spaces and wellness led to the creation of HausWitch in 2012, and what started as a “micro budget + magick = makeover” interiors blog would eventually become a thriving brick and mortar shop and online community based in downtown Salem, MA. In 2019, Harper Collins published her first book HausMagick: Transform Your Home with Witchcraft, and her new book, Intention Obsession: Rituals and Witchcraft for Every Season is out now. She has also been featured in such places as Nylon, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Refinery 29, Apartment Therapy. On this episode, Erica discusses the how to cultivate an accessible practice of “low-lift magic for burnt-out witches,” ways to work with Aquarian energies, and why the witch is the perfect figure to meet this tumultuous historical moment. Pam also talks about Martin Luther King Jr. and David Lynch’s teachings on banishing darkness, and responds to a listener’s question about meeting one’s matron goddess. Please consider donating to the GoFundMe Wildfire Relief Fund and/or to those on the GoFundMe LA Displaced Black Families Directory Register for Pam’s Artemis, Arise! Ritual Workshop on Jan 27th (recording available for up to 30 days after) Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BetterHelp, TU·ET·AL, and Snowy Owl Tea 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

    1h 17m
  5. 8 JAN

    #141 - Astraleyes, Publisher of Bibliomancers and Artistic Abracadabbler

    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

    1h 11m
  6. 18/12/2024

    #140 - Lykanthea A.K.A. Lakshmi Ramgopal

    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

    1h 21m
  7. 04/12/2024

    #139 - Laura Tempest Zakroff, Sigil Witch

    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 Tea 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

    1h 30m
  8. 20/11/2024

    #138 - Damsel Elysium, Intuition Musician

    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 Vessels and 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 Vessels Damsel Elysium “Whispers from Ancient Vessels – Nyokabi Kariuki Rework” from Whispers and Speakings Damsel Elysium “Wide Eyed Bird Sings” from the GLINT Soundtrack Our sponsors for this episode are Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Rue and Vervain, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and Snowy Owl Tea 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

    1h 24m

Hosts & Guests

4.9
out of 5
96 Ratings

About

The Witch Wave is a podcast for bewitching conversation about magic, creativity, and culture. On each episode, host Pam Grossman speaks with a leading visionary about art and Craft.

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