Magick & Alchemy

In episode 131 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby interview Heather Greene. Heather is a freelance writer, journalist, editor, and author. In this conversation, Heather considers witches in film, the witch as a rebel, and what it means to live in the places society has abandoned. She shares what she loves about being an acquisitions agent at Llewellyn, and...

In episode 130 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby honor the Beltane season and the Patron Saints of Spring. In this conversation, they seek out old stories and the ghosts who guard the wildwood. They meet Faunus, an ancient forest spirit who speaks through the trees, and his companion, Fauna, a keeper of mysteries. They discuss ornithomancy (bird divination...

In episode 129 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby talk springtime hauntings with Amanda Paulson. Amanda is a paranormal investigator, researcher and medium based in the Inland Pacific Northwest. In this conversation, Amanda shares some of her haunted collection and contemplates what it means for an object to be haunted vs. cursed. She considers spirits as c...

In episode 128 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby contemplate seasonal archetypes and the magick of spring. They discuss eclipse season, dandelions, and the goddess Kybele, the celestial Mother who rules our roses, caves, and mountains. They welcome back the light half of the year by building a fire from the wands in their tarot decks and inviting the self-de...

In episode 127 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew celebrate the Spring Equinox with their favorite trickster tales. In this conversation, they discuss the divine psychopomp from Greco-Roman lore, Mercury or Hermes. They discuss his planet, his metal, and the god’s role as a mythical messenger and Scribe of Saturn. They contemplate Mercury as a playful travele...

In episode 126 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby discuss building community and finding your coven. Joined by Tamed Wild creatrix Shelby Bundy, three witches gather around the virtual fire to talk about shedding winter’s skin, entrepreneurial shapeshifters, and eclipse season. Shelby introduces Tamed Wild’s latest offering, the Coven, and reflects on build...

In episode 125 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby discuss elixirs of life and transformative potions. They talk about the goddess Maat and mythical brews laced with justice. They consider Gorgon blood and pomegranate juice, and how we ingest ancient wisdom. They contemplate kitchen witchery, milk and honey, and consuming the nectar of the gods. Sources: Sea...

In episode 124 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby contemplate the power of three. They discuss triform deities, triads, and holy trinities, both modern and ancient. They gather triplicities from folklore and myth, including stories about the Graces, the Gorgons, the Fates, and the Erinyes. In this conversation, they address three-faced Hecate and Baba Yaga,...

In episode 123 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew & Kristin Lisenby interview Danielle Dulsky. Danielle is a heathen visionary, painter, and word-witch. In this conversation, three witches discuss stories as spells, medicinal archetypes like the trickster and warrioress, and our academic wounds around writing. They contemplate fairy tales as prayers, and Danielle shares what...

In episode 122 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew contemplate the Witch & the Bitch. Following in the footsteps of Artemis, Hecate, and their sacred hounds, this conversation draws listeners into the Underworld. There, the wolf goddesses Leto and Lupa speak about guardianship, kinship, and reclamation. Medusa arrives next, followed by Asteria and the othe...

In episode 121 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew follow 13 wintery threads, superstitions, and symbols, crafting a tapestry of story with these Yuletide yarns. Weaving together conversations about reindeer, snow globes, caroling, and winter plants, they contemplate the origins of these seasonal rituals and effigies. They also discuss The Nutcracker, snowmen,...

In episode 120 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby & Kate Belew journey to the symbolic Underworld. In this conversation, they discuss the practice of wintering and ‘hanging on for the bees.’ They forage for seasonal reflections and wintertime initiations. They contemplate the River Styx, the Heroes and Goddesses who have traveled there, and Styx herself. They also talk...

In episode 119 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kristin Lisenby & Kate Belew interview Perdita Finn. Perdita is an author and the co-founder of the feral fellowship, The Way of the Rose. In this conversation, Perdita discusses connecting and honoring the unseen, trusting our intuition, imposter syndrome, and writing a book in collaboration with the dead. She speaks about the earth as...

In episode 118 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby welcome back Green Witch Robin Rose Bennett. Robin Rose is a storyteller, author, herbalist, and teacher. In this conversation, three witches discuss bibliomancy, word witchery, and the moments when writing and magick intersect. They also consider messages from the plants, the archetypal Elder, and Robin intro...

In episode 117 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby share spooky tales from their hometowns. They begin in the hills of California, exploring mountain magick and contemplating stories of The Dark Watchers and Lemurians. Kristin introduces us to the legends of Mt. Shasta, and then Kate takes us on a journey through the haunted streets of Michigan. There, we meet...

In episode 116 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby pierce the thinning veil. In this conversation, they contemplate this mystical shroud and the veil’s relationship to textile magick, tarot, and veiled goddesses and spirits. They weave in lace and folktale traditions, the origin of bridal veils, and the tools of the weaving craft. They also answer a listener q...

In episode 115 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby talk Wild Medicine with Shelby Bundy. Authored by Tamed Wild Creatrix Shelby Bundy and Kate Belew, the Wild Medicine book is an illustrated guide to the magick of plants. In this conversation, Shelby and Kate discuss being initiated into the world of plant witchery and following the threads of herbal lineages...

In episode 114 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby celebrate Mabon and the start of Season 4! In this conversation, two witches harvest tales from corn. They discuss corn mazes, scarecrows, and the history and making of corn dollies. They talk about harvest spirits, crop circles, and deities of corn and grain. They also consider the fields of Midharvest as an...

In episode 113 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby talk resistance and re-enchantment with Amy Torok and Risa Dickens. Amy and Risa are the witches, activists, and storytellers behind The Missing Witches project. In their second visit to the podcast, Amy and Risa remind us that telling the truth is a spell. They discuss the magnificence of difference, rock ‘n’...

In episode 112 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby discuss the Golden One and Queen of the Dawn - the goddess Aphrodite. Inspired by their recent travels, in this conversation, Kristin and Kate highlight Aphrodite’s connection to roses, Sappho, Barbie, and the color pink. They consider Aphrodite’s many names (She Who Rises from the Waves, Gravedigger, She of t...

In episode 111 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby talk planetary magick with Shelby Bundy. Shelby is an astrologer, business coach, tarot reader, and the visionary behind Tamed Wild and Magick & Alchemy. In this conversation, three witches discuss working with the cosmos and their relationship to planetary correspondences like plants, mythologies, archety...

In episode 110 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby bid farewell to season three with a conversation about Feral Girl Summer. In this discussion, they contemplate the word ‘feral’ as a reclamation, an act of resistance, and a prayer. They reflect on wildness as an archetype and a doorway to the divine. They also discuss The Amazons, Artemis, Hippolyta, and Wond...

In episode 109 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby conclude part 2 of their Mythical Creatures Series. In the final installment of this three-part conversation, they discuss the Anzu bird and the Basilisk. Beginning with the Anzu, they contemplate the stories of this giant bird and its role as a deliverer of storms and chaos. While the Anzu is associated with...

In episode 108 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby continue part 2 of their Mythical Creatures Series. In the second installment of this three-part conversation, they consider the Furies and Harpies as personifications of sacred rage. They discuss the Furies as maidens (or monsters) of divine punishment and their relationship with Demeter, Medusa, hounds, and...

In episode 107 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby begin part 2 of their Mythical Creature Series. In the first installment of this 3-part conversation, they contemplate the magick of satyrs and centaurs. They discuss the satyr Pan’s wild woods, his panic-inducing yell, and his overlap with trickster spirits like Hermes and Dionysus. They also visit the famed...