The Witch Wave

It’s The Witch Wave Season 10 premiere!! Shannon Purser (she/they) is an Emmy-nominated actor, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, and director. They’ve played such iconic onscreen roles as Barb in Stranger Things (Netflix) and Ethel Muggs in Riverdale (CW), and they’ve starred in the Netflix film Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Shannon has written and directed the forthcoming short film, Sisters, and she also writes and performs music as sister seer. They’ve also appeared onstage in La Cages aux Folles directed by Sam Pinkleton at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2024, and they’re about to make their NYC Off-Broadway stage debut alongside Marilu Henner in The Ask, written by Matthew Freeman. The Ask will be up from Oct 6 – Nov 22 at Theater 555, and tickets are available now.  On this episode, Shannon discusses their evolving witchly interests and gender identity, how tarot has guided their life, and the charmed magic behind her acting roles on stage and on screen.Pam also talks about descending into underworld, and answers a listener question about conjuring a more fulfilling career.PAM’S UPCOMING EVENTS: Sept 26: Pam at The Art of Fairy Tales Symposium in NYCSept 30: Pam & Janaka Stucky’s Descend Descend Underworld Rite online workshop (recording will be available after). Register now Oct 26: The Witch Wave with Pam Grossman LIVE! at Littlefield in Brooklyn!! Get tickets nowCheck 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 Weiser Books, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Blessed Be Magick, Feral Eye, and Horse Parsley ProvisionsWe 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

Our Season Finale guest is Rachel Dratch, a comedy LEGEND who was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999-2006, during which she developed and performed such iconic characters as Debbie Downer, “The Love-ahs” with Will Ferrell, and the Boston teen Denise "Zazu" McDenna. (And she still pops up there from time to time to play Senator Amy Klobuchar.) She’s appeared in countless TV shows including The King of Queens, Frasier, 30 Rock, and Broad City, and in films including Down with Love, Wine Country, and A Clüsterfünke Christmas which she co-wrote with her co-star and fellow SNL alum Ana Gasteyer.Rachel has starred in several Broadway shows, earning her two Tony nominations, the first for POTUS in 2022, and the second just this year in The Rocky Horror Show which she’s starring in now. She is also the author of the memoir Girl Walks into a Bar...: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle, and she’s the host of the supernatural podcast, Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch. On this episode, Rachel discusses the occult aspects of improv, the inspiration behind her most iconic sketch characters, and the importance of staying open to magic.Pam also talks about bewitching comedy guru Del Close, and answers a listener question about forging one’s own eclectic spiritual path.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 Witchspace, Weiser Books, Blessed Be Magick, BetterHelp, and Mithras Candle.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

Lindsay Mack is an intuitive tarot teacher, writer, and founder of Tarot for the Wild Soul, as well as the host of the popular podcast of the same name, which has been downloaded over ten million times. Lindsay’s new book Tarot for the Wild Soul: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Growth, Healing, and Grounding in the Present Moment is out now, as is their new tarot deck Soul Tarot, illustrated by Chelsea Granger.Through Lindsay’s beloved workshops, retreats, and online Tarot courses, they have taught Soul Tarot to many tens of thousands of students from all around the world. And as a queer, neurodivergent, and (now) joyful survivor of childhood abuse living with complex PTSD and chronic pain, Lindsay is passionately dedicated to honoring and helping to bring space, light, and healing to those who are experiencing any kind of suffering.On this episode, Lindsay discusses how to use tarot as a tool for understanding the present, why it’s OK to show up to your deck “messy,” and their gender-transcending interpretations of the cards.Pam also talks about seeking more tender tarot, and answers a listener question about magical support for a life-giving medical procedure.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 Weiser Books, Enchanted Heart Shadow Work Oracle Deck, Blessed Be Magick, BetterHelp, The Body Oracle Deck from North Atlantic Books, and Bridgette the StrangeWe 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

Sam Pinkleton is the Tony Award-winning director of Oh, Mary! and the 9-time Tony Award-nominated revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway at Studio 54. His work as a director also includes Josh Sharp's TA-DA!, Morgan Bassichis’ Can I Be Frank?, Noah Diaz’ You Will Get Sick, The Wizard of Oz, Elizabeth Swados’ Runaways, Head Over Heels (with Jenny Koons), La Cage Aux Folles, and UNTITLED DANCESHOWPARTYTHING (with Ani Taj). Highlights of his work as a choreographer include Stephen Sondheim’s final musical Here We Are, Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s Soft Power, and eight shows on Broadway including Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Tony Nomination), Macbeth, and Machinal. His film/TV work includes Dying for Sex and the musical The End, starring Tilda Swinton. His upcoming projects include the participatory Scottish dance musical Ceilidh and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.On this episode, Sam discusses the deliciously Dionysian alchemy of Rocky Horror, his blending of stagecraft and witchcraft, and why theatre is collective magic in action.Pam also talks about excavating both personal and historical roots of theatrical magic, and answers a listener question about conjuring supernatural support for a canine familiar.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 Wheel of Fate, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Blessed Be Magick, and Zouz IncenseWe 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

Aidan Wachter is an animist magician who has been actively involved in magical practice since the 1980s. His work reflects a wide ranging, eclectic, and non-dogmatic approach, with influences from many paths. His books include Six Ways: Approaches and Entries for Practical Magic; Weaving Fate: Hypersigils, Changing the Past, and Telling True Lies; and Changeling: A Book of Qualities. Aidan’s writings and extensive Patreon teachings focus on the practice of the craft as a learnable set of skills that can be developed rather than innate talents that must be inherited or granted to the seeker. His books are field guides rather than philosophy. He is based in the Pacific Northwest.On this episode, Aidan discusses his practice of “dirt sorcery,” the romance of animism, and how magic can help us conjure a better world.Pam also talks about how she’s making space for new energy, and answers a listener question about working with bird deities.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 Weiser Books, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Blessed Be Magick, and Zouz IncenseWe 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