Evan Doherty is the Toronto-based creator of Arcane Bullshit, a darkly hilarious, many-tentacled project with a cult following that encompasses weird merch, macabre memes, the Arcane Bullshit Oracle Deck - and now an upcoming book. Arcane Bullshit juxtaposes vintage found imagery from mythology, biology, and history with surreal, absurdist captions. The Arcane Bullshit Oracle Deck is Evan’s twisted send-up of tarot, with 106 cards designed by him, and he’s been making these cards since 2011. He’s run two successful Kickstarter campaigns - one in 2018 and another 2021 - and just launched his third for the forthcoming Arcane Bullshit book called Stop Looking at My Tiny Town. As Evan puts it: “Arcane Bullshit has you covered for all your cosmic confusion needs.”

On this episode, Evan discusses his evolving ideas about belief and skepticism, the inspiration behind his various satirical art projects, and how he maintains his foolish, nonsensical sensibility.

Pam also talks about the divinity of humor and answers a listener question about how to lift an ailing friend’s spirits.

Our sponsors for this episode are Rosarium Blends, Imbue Jewelry, Snowy Owl Tea, Heal the Witch Wound out from Weiser Books, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

And please consider donating to The Missing Witches fundraiser for Native women’s shelters

#108 - Evan Doherty of Arcane Bullshit

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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Christopher Marmolejo is a Brown, queer, and trans writer, diviner, and educator. They use divination to promote a literacy of liberation, and their new book Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy is an in-depth exploration of how tarot can be a tool of freedom, magical interrogation, and energetic support for anyone, and particularly for BIPOC folks. Christopher was born and raised in San Bernardino, California, among the pines, in community with the Serrano clan. 

With nine-plus years of experience as a trained educator focused on cultivating classrooms of emancipatory possibility, they work with students around the world to plant and nurture the seed of a divinatory practice, finely weaving tarot, astrology, and curanderismo with critical, decolonial Black queer feminist epistemology. They offer tarot readings and astrology readings, as well limpia cleansing sessions, per their ancestral folk healing practices. They also teach many online workshops and write a splendid Substack newsletter called The Red Read.

On this episode, Christopher discusses their project of decolonizing the tarot, their ancestral magic practices, and the intrinsic non-binary magic of The Temperance card. 

Pam also talks about entering her Empress phase, and responds to a follow-up message from an eclipse ritualist.

Our sponsors for this episode are Ritual + Shelter, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BetterHelp, Mithras Candle, Sphere + Sundry, and Snowy Owl Tea

We 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

#129 - Christopher Marmolejo, Author of "Red Tarot"

Ron Regé, Jr. is a Los Angeles-based cartoonist who began drawing and self-publishing comics in the early 1990s in Cambridge, MA. Though he came out of zine culture and the underground comics scene, his work took a distinctly mystical turn thanks to a spiritual awakening he had the early 2000s. From that point on, his comics turned cosmic, exploring ideas of the occult, esotericism, and magic all in his signature psychedelic style. 

Though whimsical and whirling at first glance, Ron’s work belies decades of rigorous research and devoted inquiry into the workings of the unseen world. His books include The Cartoon Utopia, Halcyon, What Parsifal Saw, The Weaver Festival Phenomenon, Skibber Bee Bye and many more. His newest book, Shell Collection, out this week from Fantagraphics, gathers many of his monthly mini-comics which he’s been sending out to subscribers and Patreon backers over the last 8 years.

Ron’s comics and drawings have also appeared in hundreds of zines and comics anthologies. His illustration clients have included Nike, Sony, Tylenol, McSweeney’s, and The New York Times. And if that wasn’t enough, Ron is also the drummer for the celestial folk rock band, Lavender Diamond. On this episode, Ron discusses his cosmological cartoons, his practice of creative channeling, and the many inspirations and influences behind his wondrous work.

Pam also talks about hermeticism and The Hermit, and answers a listener question about a big life decision.

Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Weiser Books, BetterHelp, Snowy Owl Tea, Sphere + Sundry, and Mithras Candle

We 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

#128 - Ron Regé, Jr., Cosmological Cartoonist

Jodi Wille is a director and producer of the critically acclaimed documentary The Source Family and her brand new feature documentary Welcome Space Brothers which is about The Unarius Academy of Science. Her work explores people whose extraordinary true stories and creations leave us with new ways of seeing, and she has a special interest in so-called outside artists, alternative spiritual seekers, and radical intentional communities.
Jodi has a background in commercial, editorial, and rock band photography, as well as music video direction, working with artists like REM, Sparks, and Vincent Gallo. She also cofounded the book publishing companies Dilettante Press (1998), Process Media (2004), and Otherworld (2022), to explore otherworldly and countercultural realms, and she has editing several award-winning books, most recently co-authoring the illustrated book Family: The Source Family Scrapbook (2022, Otherworld with Sacred Bones). 
Jodi has curated art exhibitions for The American Visionary Art Museum, Deitch Projects and others, and she’s curated numerous film festivals and cultural programs at institutions across the globe.
On this episode, Jodi discusses the radical visionaries behind the Unarius Academy of Science, the development of new religions, and how filmmaking has helped her explore mind-expanding ideas and experiences.
Pam also talks about the difference between cults and positive alternative spiritual groups, and answers a listener question about a group ritual happening during the solar eclipse.
Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Snowy Owl Tea, and Sphere + Sundry
We 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 bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

#127 - Jodi Wille, Director of "Welcome Space Brothers" and "The Source Family"

Penny Slinger is a Los Angeles–based artist whose work investigates the feminine, the magical and the erotic. In the late 1960s, her encounters with the work of Max Ernst initiated an enduring involvement with both the Surrealist movement and the medium of collage. Her groundbreaking publications such as 50% The Visible Woman (1971) and An Exorcism: A Photo Romance (1977) explore the image of woman through a series of often provocative photomontage self-portraits, and a new expanded edition of An Exorcism will be published by Fulgur Press later this year. Her studies of various divine feminine practices including Tantra led her to co-create The Secret Dakini Oracle deck in the 1970s, and the deck is still in print now under the name The Tantric Dakini Oracle Deck, and she has continued to work with dakini imagery over decades. 

Penny’s work is in many international museum collections, including Tate Britain, and was included in the Tate’s recent exhibition “Women in Revolt!” Other notable exhibitions showcasing Penny’s work include “The Dark Monarch” at Tate Gallery St Ives, “Angels of Anarchy” at Manchester Art Museum, and countless solo shows around the world. She also recently collaborated with House of Dior, and, as you’ll hear, has many more projects in the works.

On this episode, Penny Slinger discusses her self-celebrating surrealist art practice, her lifelong devotion to the divine feminine, and how she’s celebrating aging in her work and in her life.

Pam also talks about older witch archetypes, and answers a listener question about embracing the magic of middle age.

Our sponsors for this episode are Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Sphere + Sundry, BetterHelp, and Woodland Magic

We 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 bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

#126 - Penny Slinger, Surrealist Sorceress

Robin Ha is an award-winning author and illustrator of several graphic novels including the best-selling comic recipe book Cook Korean!: A Comic Book With Recipes and the illustrated memoir Almost American Girl which is about her move from South Korea to America when she was 14. Robin’s new graphic novel, The Fox Maidens is her first foray into fiction, and is based on the Korean folklore of her ancestors. 

Robin’s comics and illustrations have appeared in various publications, such as the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, as well as in anthologies highlighting Asian American culture, including Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now, New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei, and Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology. She is also a highly gifted fine artist, and she has a Seven Ladies of Tarot coloring book that you can download from her site.

On this episode Robin discusses fox maiden mythology, Korean folk magic, and the intergenerational shapeshifting power of women. 

Pam also talks about fox magic, and answers a listener question about a Witch Wave book club.

Our sponsors for this episode are Unquiet Arcadian, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, The Love Witch, BetterHelp, Woodland Magic, and Sphere + Sundry

We 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 bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam’s monthly online rituals, and more! That’s patreon.com/witchwave

#108 - Evan Doherty of Arcane Bullshit

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