Phantasmaphile

Happy 13 Years, Phantasmaphiles!

Hilma af Klint "Group IX/UW, The Dove, No. 1" 1915 from the SUW/UW Series

Lucky 13! Just popping in for a bit to say THANK YOU for your continued support. This blog is where I first gained my confidence to start sharing my peculiar passions with the world, and it's very humbling and exciting to see where it all has led. I'm so grateful to have connected with so many incredible artists, projects, collaborators, friends, and readers through this space. While it's true that it also means my attention has been pulled in more directions, I plan to keep blogging over here about various wonders and occulture whenever I am able.

 

On that note, a few more things to add this month:

• Peter Bebergal's new book Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story of the Technological Quest for the Supernatural is out now! He's a dear friend and a tremendous writer. You're going to love it!
  
  
• Mitch Horowitz's new book The Miracle Club: How Thoughts Become Reality is also out now! I remember when Mitch first mentioned this title to me a few years back, and I got chills because I knew it was going to be something special. Can't wait to read it.
  
  
• I know I mentioned it already, but the Hilma af Klint show at the Guggenheim is truly, truly, TRULY unmissable. A game changer. A LIFE changer. Hear me: DO NOT MISS THIS. It's up until April 23rd, but if I were you, I'd go ASAP.
  
  
• Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is even better than I could have hoped. And as a bonus, I got to interview one of their writers (and a practicing witch!) Joshua Conkel as my first guest on Season 2 of The Witch Wave. It's a really juicy and illuminating chat, so have a listen.
  
  
• You're going to VOTE in the midterms on Nov 6, yes? Please join me in doing so. Do it for those who can't. Do it for those whose lives are being threatened by this administration's policies and rhetoric. Do it because there is always, always hope.

Thank you again for a truly magical 13 years. I'm looking forward to conjuring more witchery with you from here on out! 

October Splendor

It's the best month of the year! Happy October, folks. Lots of exciting news to share on the personal front, and loads of fabulous occulture to recommend as well.  Here goes:

• Thrilled to announce that my book, Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power will be winging its way into the world from Gallery Books / Simon & Schuster on June 4, 2019. Available for pre-order now!
   
  In it I explore the archetype of the witch throughout history and in pop-culture, with a dash of my personal story woven throughout as well. 
   
  If you're a fan of witches, feminism, magic, and/or art, this is the book for you! I can't wait to share this with you all.
  
  
• I've got two events coming up in NYC this month:    

  First up is “What is a Witch Without Her Coven” at The Alchemist’s Kitchen on October 23rd. Some of my favorite humans (Mallory Lance from Ravenous, Kristen Sollee, Dianca London Potts, and Staci Ivori) and I will be speaking about witchcraft, sisterhood, and our coven. Tickets available here.

  Second is “The Witches Are Here” at The Assemblage on October 30th. It will be a really special evening of discussion and magic performance with me and magicienne Belinda Sinclair. Tickets are here.

• And more exciting news: Season 2 of The Witch Wave podcast starts back up on Wednesday, October 24th! I'm so excited to kick things off with special guest Joshua Conkel, a writer on the new Netflix series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and a practicing witch to boot. 
   
  Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play, or listen on witchwavepodcast.com
  
  
• So happy the Hilma af Klint show has finally made its way to the states. Come see this Spiritualist master (and one of the earliest abstract artists ever, pre-dating Kandinsky). Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future is UNMISSABLE, and is up now through April 23rd.
  
  
• One of my very favorite art mages, Elijah Burgher, has his occult drawings up now at the Drawing Center, alongside the work of Toyin Ojih Odutola and Nathaniel Mary Quinn. Go see their colored pencil conjuring in For Opacity up now through Feb 3rd.
  
  
• Bridging Two Worlds: The Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead is up now through Dec 2nd at Green-Wood Cemetery's Morbid Anatomy space, and it's filled with intriguing art and artifacts about the afterlife.
  
  
• I already mentioned the Harry Potter: A History of Magic and Leonor Fini shows last month, but yeah. Worth reminding you.
  
  
• Heads up that Ken Russell's The Devils is available now through Criterion's streaming app, FilmStruck. It's only up through Dec 27th, so go watch if you haven't already.
  
  
• Countdown to Suspiria and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina!
  
  
• Looking forward to Hex Wives from Vertigo comics which is launching this month, and thrilled that all of the new Sandman Universe titles have started coming our way, too.
  
  
• Do you want to watch some anime about a skeleton who works in a manga bookshop? Thought so.

Wishing you a Happy Halloween and a Blessed Samhain!