Magick & Alchemy

In episode 181 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew celebrate the end of their 6th season alongside Animal Oracles, the bat and the crocodile. Beginning with the bat, a creature that roosts in caves, on cliffsides, and within the hollows of trees, Kristin discusses the bat’s relationship to thresholds, mythical junctures, and initiatory landmarks. She highlight...

In episode 180 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby continue their series on animal oracles with the octopus and the dolphin. They begin with the eight-limbed octopus, a creature known as the sea alien. As a symbol of the strange, not only can the octopus alter the color and texture of its body on command, but it also uses tools, solves puzzles, and can escape...

In episode 179 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby track the footprints of animal oracles, beginning with the fox and the deer. Assigning meaning to animal sightings and chance interactions is called apantomancy , a form of divination with the wild. Through the lens of apantomancy, the fox might show up as a friend or foe, a fairy or a goddess. The fox is also...

In episode 178 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew conclude their series on Women in Art & the Occult by sharing the stories of Mary Wigman and Louise Bourgeois. As a dancer, Mary Wigman was an artist whose medium was not paint nor pen, but movement. She was the creator of the "Witch Dance," a performance that transformed her into a fluid, intuit...

In episode 177 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew consider the bewitching work of Stevie Nicks and Florence Welch. Standing at the crossroads of music, magic, and mystery, Kate and Kristin explore Rock & Roll’s occult muses before diving into Nick’s journey as a singer and performer. They discuss the inspiration for her first hit song with Fleetwood Mac,...

In episode 176 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew explore the creative lives of Ithell Colquhoun and Lucille Clifton. Colquhoun was an artist and author who combined surrealism with her interest in bodily landscapes, gender fluidity, ecology, mythology, transient states, and erotic alchemy. Both Colquhoun and Clifton believed their artistic practices were for...

In episode 175 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby continue their series on Women in Art & the Occult, dedicating this chapter to Georgie Yeats and Sylvia Plath. Georgie was an author and medium whose journey with automatic writing began during her honeymoon with the poet and author W.B. Yeats. Over the next decade, she channeled messages from spirits who...

In episode 174 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew delve into the creative lives of magical women for their new series, Women in Art & the Occult. They open with the story of Hilma af Klint, a Swedish artist who explored Spiritualism, mediumship, automatic drawing, and the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and Madame Blavatsky in her work and creative process. K...

In episode 173 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew investigate the folklore, superstitions, and astrological significance of eclipses. Beginning with the myriad of eclipse mythologies from around the world, they consider the stories of monstrous Apep and heavenly Selene. They contemplate eclipses as omens, bolstering agents for medieval magicians, and course c...

In episode 172 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew welcome back Shelby Bundy and Amanda Paulson! Shelby Bundy is the visionary and creatrix behind Tamed Wild, where modern magick meets ancient wisdom, and Amanda Paulson is a paranormal investigator and psychic medium based in the Pacific Northwest. In this conversation, the coven discusses the crossroads of ma...

In episode 171 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Charlie Claire Burgess. Charlie is a queer and trans-nonbinary author and artist working at the intersection of spirituality and queerness. In this conversation, they discuss queer deities, word witchery as devotion, tugging on the threads of stories, and working with fantasy as a portal. Charlie giv...

In episode 170 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew interview Sanyu Estelle. Sanyu is an author, artist, and Word Witch whose work challenges supremacist narratives while exploring the intersection of cultures, histories, and ontologies. In this conversation, Sanyu speaks about the magical lanterns of poetry and magic. Together, three witches discuss creativity...

In episode 169 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby welcome back Amy Torok and Risa Dickens! Also known as the Missing Witches. Amy and Risa are old friends, creative collaborators, curious crafters, big cacklers, howlers at the moon, grumpy old crones, and a couple of perpetual baby Witches living, writing, recording, and making magic out in the woods on unced...

In episode 168 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby interview Joanna Tarnawska. Joanna is an animist, folk practitioner, writer, and psychologist residing in the mountains of Lower Silesia, Poland.  In this conversation, they dive deep into Polish folk magic. Guided by Joanna, listeners explore her homeland, her ancestors' teachings, how she came to folk...

In episode 167 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew return to the realm of sacred numbers in search of 666, the Number of the Beast. In this conversation, Kate and Kristin share lore and superstitions surrounding this number, highlighting its connection to mystery and solar magick. They consider pre-Christian mythologies, in which 666 was not a symbol of sin bu...

In episode 166 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Pam Grossman. Pam is a writer, curator, and teacher of magical practice and history. She is also the host of the internationally beloved podcast, The Witch Wave. In this conversation, Pam considers creativity as magic and magic as creativity. She talks about the archetype of the magician and working...

In episode 165 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Rachelle Robinett. Rachelle Robinett, RH (AHG), is a writer, herbalist, educator, and life-long naturalist. She’s the founder of multidisciplinary companies dedicated to the art and science of natural wellness. Combining traditional medicine and current health insights with an understanding of indivi...

In episode 164 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Rosie Grant. Rosie Grant is the creator behind @GhostlyArchive on TikTok and Instagram, where she researches and re-creates recipes found on gravestones. In this conversation, Rosie guides listeners through archival work in the sacred setting of the cemetery. She speaks about the potency of working w...

In episode 163 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Jarod Anderson. Jarod is a nature writer, podcaster, poet, and erstwhile academic. In this conversation, Jarod invites listeners into the church of the forest, where the priests and clergy are heron, stick bugs, and squirrels. He offers us perspectives on poetry, on brain weather, and what magic mean...

In episode 162 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, Kristin Lisenby and Shelby Bundy interview Kate Belew. Kate Belew is an author, poet, and Witch whose work exists at the crossroads of creativity and magic. Inspired by a shared love of word witchery and books, Kristin, Shelby, and Kate discuss the intersections of ritual and creativity, and the importance of giving ourselves permission to follow...

In episode 161 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Melissa Madara. Melissa is an occultist, author, and educator who teaches magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. In this conversation, three witches discuss the goddess Hecate, her invocations, and how to work with her symbols through altars and offerings. Melissa shares their thoughts o...

In episode 160 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby interview Laetitia Barbier. Laetitia is an independent scholar, professional tarot reader, teacher, and author. In this conversation, Laetitia reminisces on her introduction to tarot during childhood and discusses her relationship with the cards today. She shares some of her favorite magical places in New York...

In episode 159 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby discuss auras with Eileen Lee. Eileen is a Detroit-based aura photographer and energetics researcher. In this conversation, Eileen shares her auric philosophy and considers the aura as a tool to manifest. She considers her experiments with aura photography and walks listeners through the colors of the aura. Sh...

In episode 158 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew discuss ritual and magick with Damien Echols and Lorri Davis. Damien is a bestselling author, martial artist, and spiritual teacher whose life and work embody the path of transformation. His wife, Lorri, is a former landscape architect turned author, magickal practitioner, and public speaker. In this conversat...

In episode 157 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew bid farewell to season five and welcome in Prophetic Girl Summer. In this conversation, they revisit the stories of priestesses, nymphs, and clairvoyant baddies who have historically said, “I told you so.” They meet Helice and Cassandra, contemplate yearning as a spell, and consider the influence of internet a...