Creative Magic

Sophie Messager bridges worlds that rarely meet. A former reproductive physiologist with a PhD, she traded her microscope for a medicine drum after experiencing the transformative power of an empowered birth. Her decade-long journey as a doula, birth educator, and author of Why Postnatal Recovery Matters deepened her exploration of the rhythms surrounding women's transitions.

Now a holistic life transition mentor, Sophie guides women through significant life thresholds—from birth to perimenopause and beyond. Her unique combination of scientific expertise and spiritual insight allows her to serve as a compassionate space holder for those seeking to harmonise their analytical and intuitive selves.

Her new book The Beat of Your Own Drum: the history, science and contemporary use of drumming as a path for women’s wisdom, health and transformation is published by Womancraft Publishing and available everywhere now.

Her podcast The Wisdom Messenger

www.sophiemessager.com

We talked about:

Drumming as nervous system regulation

Drumming and birth

Bridging the intellectual and spiritual worlds

Wearing many hats

Intuitive drum and intuitive dance

Women’s life transitions

Reclaiming childhood joys

Neurodivergence and regulation

How we have lost regulation in contemporary patriarchal society.

For a deeper dive, join us for the Extended Episode – just $3/ month, exclusively on www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce - where we discuss

Schuman Resonance

Microdosing – drumming and psylocibin.

Resources

The Beat of Your Own Drum

Burnout – Amelia Nagoski

Come as You Are – Emily Nagoski

Jane Hardwicke Collings

The Emerald – The Revolution will not be Psychologized

Jeff Strong

Peter Levine

Women Making Noise conversation series

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Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) is the internationally renowned and award-winning author of over twenty novels, plus novellas, cookbooks, scripts, short stories, libretti, lyrics, articles, and a self-help book for writers, TEN THINGS ABOUT WRITING. In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Sheffield and Huddersfield, is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

She performs in a live music and storytelling show with the #Storytime Band.

She also has a form of synaesthesia which enables her to smell colours. Red, she says, smells of chocolate.

www.joanne-harris.co.uk/

Author image credit - Kyte Photography

We talked about

• The film adaptations of Chocolat that didn’t happen
• Her cover artwork
• Developing her voice as a writer
• The different forms of magic in her books
• On discovering magical realism
• Imposter syndrome
• Writing and motherhood
• How she writes
• Food as a love language
• Moving beyond the archetype of the white male writer and the assumptions that go along with that.
• Belonging and being an outsider
• Her advice for writers

In the extended episode just $3 on www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce we talked about:

• Her great-grandmother who was a witch
• Cosy books, current book trends in fantasy and armchair murder mysteries and reading for comfort in a world gone mad
• How she researches her books
• Her current creative rabbit hole
• Plus some of her thoughts on magic from her most recent books – The Moonlight Market, Chocolat and Vianne.

Resources

Chocolat (book)

Chocolat (film)

The Five Love Languages

The Moonlight Market

Vianne

10 Things About Writing

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Victoria Firth is a writer, theatre maker and performer based in Yorkshire. Her work is concerned with embodiment and connection, exploring things lots of us feel but don’t really talk about. Her one-woman show, about childlessness and reinvention, ‘How to be amazingly happy!’ toured nationally; she curated a collection of writing on the presentation of the body – inspired by her live art performance ‘The Butter Piece’; her poetry has recently been published in Northern Gravy's anthology. She is now producing her second play 'Batty!' exploring witches as role models for women othered by social norms and our reciprocal connection with nature. She can be found walking on the moors or wild swimming with her dog Blaidd.

Website: https://www.victoriafirth.co.uk/

BATTY! Information and tour dates: https://www.victoriafirth.co.uk/batty/

Instagram: @msvhf 

Facebook @msvictoriafirth

We talked about:

·      Her new show – Batty, about a midlife woman reclaiming her wildness

·      Making space for our creativity as women

·      Redefining success…and failure

·      The three stages of creativity

·      Becoming a performer in midlife

·      Navigating the inner battle between the creative drive and the need for inner safety

·      “the bell that keeps ringing”

·      The invisible economy of the arts

·      Creativity, magic and being highly sensitive

In the extended episode, just $3 on www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce we talked about:

·      Perimenopause

·      Structural divergence and patriarchy busting

Books Mentioned

Burning Woman

The Highly Sensitive Person – Elaine N. Aron

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Sarah Detweiler works out of her home studio undulating between her art practice and motherhood. She explores beyond the traditional boundaries of painting by including various hand embroidery techniques and mixed media materials into her work. Motherhood, nostalgia, and themes that touch on the universality of the human experience all have significance in her work.

An award-winning artist, Sarah has shown her work in solo and group exhibitions in galleries across the country and virtually. She exhibits regularly at Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia where she has had 2 sold out solo exhibitions.

www.sarahdetweiler.com

www.instagram.com/SD_Artifacts

www.paradigmarts.org/collections/sarah-detweiler

We talked about:

·      Hidden Mothers

·      The shame umbrella

·      Weirdness, feralness and domesticity

·      The Creative Rainbow Mother archetype

·      My book The Rainbow Way – the Artist’s Way for creative mothers

·      Creative evolution and getting bored

·      Her definition of success

In the extended episode just $3 on www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce we talked about:

·      The crossover between ADHD and Barbara Sher’s Scanners and Elaine M. Aron’s highly sensitive person

·      Creative rabbit holes

·      The feral forties and perimenopause and Women Who run with the Wolves

·      Her ADHD puppet alter ego

Books Mentioned

The Rainbow Way: cultivating creativity in the midst of motherhood

Creatrix: she who makes

Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom – Christiane Northrup

Lynn V Andrews – Jaguar Woman

She of the Sea

Big Magic – Liz Gilbert

The Creative Act – A Way of Being – Rick Rubin

Burning Woman

Women Who Run With the Wolves 

Nightbitch – Rachel Yoder

Weaving Our Way Beyond Patriarchy – A Womancraft Compendium

Refuse to Choose – Barbara Sher

The Highly Sensitive Person – Elaine N. Aron

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Join Lucy and special guests as they celebrate the magic of the sea in an atmospheric episode weaving prose, poetry, music and musings on how the sea can inspire, heal and transform.

Featuring extracts from the new audiobook of Lucy's She of the Sea and many special guests including:

• Sarah Robinson - bestselling author of Yoga for Witches and Kitchen Witch sharing a folktale from the Faroe Islands www.sentiayoga.com
• Molly Remer - author of 13 books, including, Walking with Persephone sharing some of her poems and stories celebrating the everyday magic that can be discovered on the shore. www.brigidsgrove.com
• Clare Beloved reading sea-salted poems from her new book Somewhere Between Derelict and Divine - www.clarebeloved.com
• Eleanor Brown - singer-songwriter shares her Selkie Song https://eleanorbrown.bandcamp.com/
• Stella Tomlinson - author of several soulful books for women, sharing about selkies www.stellatomlinson.com
• Jaine Rose - visual artist reflects on why she is a sea witch www.jainerose.com
• Listener stories - Suzanne Brewer and Annette Vaucanson Kelly on selkies and the sea.

Join us for a deeper dive in the Extended Episode, available on www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce for $3/month to unlock:

More from the She of the Sea audiobook

Extended contributor pieces including

Molly’s incredible ancestral connection to US maritime history as well as hear some of her newest and as yet unpublished sea poems

Extra poems from Clare Beloved

A brand new Eleanor Brown song, not available anywhere else

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A solo episode from Lucy looking back on this season's guests and looking forward to Season 4.

Lucy's book She of the Sea is now available in audiobook

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Ingrid Sanchez, also known as CreativeIngrid, is a Mexican-British artist based in London. Celebrated for her vibrant, nature-inspired paintings, Ingrid uses her art to explore the connection between the natural world and the human spirit. Her work reflects a deep appreciation for color, movement, and the organic beauty of flowers, foliage, and celestial motifs.

Ingrid primarily works with watercolors, inks, and acrylics on paper, using bold, expressive brushstrokes to bring her vision to life. Through constant experimentation, she reinterprets the elements found in gardens and forests, creating artwork that invites viewers to see the world from a fresh perspective—one where nature and spirit converge.

Since 2016, Ingrid has been painting professionally, selling her original artworks to collectors worldwide and licensing her designs for a wide range of products. Her watercolors have been featured in art prints, stationery, home décor, textiles, and more, with collaborations including brands like Tervis, The Happy Planner, Makers Collective, and Moonpig.

Ingrid has led workshops in the USA, Mexico, and Europe, sharing her unique approach to watercolors and mixed media. In addition, her published works include contributions to Watercolor Techniques for Artists & Illustrators (2019) and her own book, DIY Watercolor Christmas (2021). Her dynamic style has been spotlighted in leading publications, including Artists & Illustrators Magazine

https://ingridsanchez.com/

Online school: https://watercolorfoundations.com/

@creativeingrid on Instagram

We talked about:

Her childhood experiences of creativity – and magic.

Her techniques including brush dancing

Creative evolution and the different media she works in

Her passion for the moon

Women’s circles

Magic, intuition and playfulness

Teaching and learning – and how one often becomes the other

Intention and ritual at every part of the creative and selling process.

In the Extended Episode just $3/ month on www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce we dive deeper into:

Watercolour technique and her innovative use of masking fluid

Water as a living thing and how she infuses the magic of water into her paintings

Her experience creating a book

We mentioned:

Burning Woman

Creatrix: she who makes

Dr Masuro Emoto – The Hidden Messages in Water

Full Circle Health

Gather: A Celebration of Women’s Circles

Cyanotype

Sun print paper

DIY Watercolor Christmas

The Beat of Your Own Drum

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Jacqueline Wild aka Glitter and Earth, creates whimsical illustrations inspired by the Cornish landscape and coastline. She lives in a 120 year old granite miners cottage close to Land’s End where tales of mermaids, witches and pirates fuel her imagination.

Born in Greenwich, London, her holidays to Cornwall created memories of dancing along the shoreline and swimming in rockpools, which acted as a constant reminder to return.

After gaining a degree in English at Worcester, Jacqueline and her husband- to-be packed all their belongings into a VW camper and made their way to Newquay to live a more holistic lifestyle and learn to surf.

Jacqueline pursued a career as a freelance writer for many years but it wasn’t until the birth of her daughter that she really embraced her calling as an illustrator. Working on her iPad while her daughter slept enabled her to hone her skills and start to pave the way to a full time career as an artist.

We talked about

How and why she started making digital art

Creativity in early motherhood

How we came to meet

She of the Sea

Having her art seen

What the sea means to her

Underwater joy

In the Extended Episode www.patreon.com/lucyhpearce we talk in more detail about

Digital art and Procreate and traditional vs modern techniques of draftsmanship

The full story behind our collaborative She of the Sea project

Freediving

How to get your work printed and published as an artist

We mentioned

Phosphorescence – Julia Baird

The Rainbow Way: cultivating creativity in the midst of motherhood

She of the Sea

Ivy Newport

Ithell Colquohoun – listen to the Creative Magic episode all about her

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Ep. 37 Coco Oya Cienna-Rey - Heeding the Call

My guest today is Coco Oya Cienna-Rey, author of Digging for Mother’s Bones launching this week from Womancraft Publishing. Coco is a UK based mother, grandmother, creative, mystic, soul guide and writer. Her creativity is informed by her journey as a devotee of the Tantric path (an embodied path of self-liberation) and her personal journey with trauma. She has always felt a call to channel the Voice of the Divine Feminine and is published in several bestselling anthologies. Often thought provoking, yet always heartfelt her work speaks of the sacred wisdom stored in the body, the non-linear nature of trauma and the embodiment of soul. She believes that our innate connection to the natural world can heal humanity. Her podcast ‘Sirens of The Mother’ is receiving growing recognition. As a deeply sensitive, highly empathic gifted intuitive Coco can be found weaving her soul-coaching embodiment work at www.creativelycoco.com

Her Sirens of the Mother podcast 

https://open.spotify.com/show/5Bsau0nYAk0tozjjYZQiK3?si=e4bdf418de754486

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/creativelycoco/

We talked about:

-Creative birth and mothering the creative baby.

-The challenges of having too many creative ideas.

-Creativity as a holy order.

-The Mother and the Cosmic Womb.

-Trauma – writing from the scar and not the wound.

-The impact of her Near Death Experience.

-The sensuality of creativity.

Join us for a deeper dive in the Extended Episode – available on Patreon for just $3

-We venture deeper into transmuting trauma through creative expression and healing our ancestral lineage – TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of suicidal ideation and abuse.

- A deeper dive into the challenges and gifts of dyslexia and her journey to becoming a writer.

Links for you

The Launch Event for her book, Digging for Mother’s Bones, 27th June 7-8pm UK time https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83909212570

Digging for Mother’s Bones – signed copy

Digging for Mother’s Bones – Amazon

Descent & Rising: women’s stories and the embodiment of the Inanna myth

Burning Woman

Gather: a celebration of women’s circles – the second Womancraft Compendium – pre-orders open Sept. 5th on Womancraft Publishing

Gina Martin’s Episode – The Somatic Magic of Writing

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A special episode on all things magic, to celebrate the launch of my new e-course - Writing Nature + Magic, co-taught with best-selling author of Kitchen Witch and Yoga for Witches, Sarah Robinson. Between us we have written over 20 books!!

In this episode we reflect on:

What magic is

Learning to switch lenses from the mundane to the magical

Ways of entering magical writing consciousness

Words as spell craft

Nature as mirror

Shifting from observer to creative collaborator with the process

About the E-course

Writing Nature + Magic - 4 glorious weeks of creative classes and oodles of magical resources.

Starts 9th June.

Sign up now at https://womancraftpublishing.com/product/writing-nature-and-magic/ 

-Study the classes at your own pace. 

-Engage with us on the Facebook group and final sharing circle on Zoom. 

Writing Nature + Magic is a soulful, elemental journey through earth, fire, water, and air — blending creative prompts, readings, meditations, and practical gathered wisdom from bestselling authors, to deepen your connection with the natural and the mystical. 

Whether you’re a complete beginner or experienced writer, or anywhere in between, this course is for you. We will help you to connect with your creativity, activate your imagination, engage with the wonder of the natural world and add sparkle and precision to your language.

This course explores the practical magic of:

-Developing a nature-inspired writing practice rooted in the four elements.

-Learning to see the natural world through a magical lens.

-Working with prompts to unlock creativity and deepen intuition.

-Discovering sensory writing and seasonal storytelling techniques.

Co-created by Womancraft award-winning author and founder Lucy H. Pearce and bestselling author Sarah Robinson, this brand new 4-week e-course invites you to write with the wild, remember the sacred, and awaken the magic in the everyday.

Get the Masterclass recording over on Patreon

Sarah’s website

My website

Crow Moon

She of the Sea

A Spell in the Wild

Kitchen Witch

The Kitchen Witch Companion

Yoga for Witches

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