Phantasmaphile

October's Not Over!

I intended to write this post a few weeks ago, but that did not happen. October is always busy season for us witches, and this one is busier than ever with travels and projects. I am literally on an airplane as I write this, and it's the first free moment I've been able to snag all month. Not sure how long wi-fi will last up here, so I'm going to make these sky-words quick:

• My friend Shannon Taggart's book SEANCE is finally out from Fulgur, and it's a masterpiece. It contains 300 pages of her photographs of mediums, Spiritualists, and other liminal figures, plus essays by such otherworldly visionaries as Dan Aykroyd and Tony Oursler. This is a truly groundbreaking and gorgeous monograph, and it's a must-have for any occult art collection.
  
  
• MOMA will be showcasing several magical early prints by art legend Betye Saar, as well as her iconic assemblage work, Black Girl's Window, from Oct 21- Jan 4.
  
  
• The William Blake show up at Tate Britain looks tremendous, and I sincerely hope I can get to the UK before it closes on Feb 2.
  
  
• The new Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series on Netflix may be the most exquisite show I have ever seen (and the making-of documentary is astounding as well). Very excited to see this exhibition of puppets and character designs currently at the Museum of Moving Image, up through Feb 23.
  
  
• Like the rest of my magic pals, very into the AMC show Lodge 49, which is about a secret society in California, and is rife with alchemical references. We're still making our way through season 1 though so NO SPOILERS.
  
  
• Music: the new Chelsea Wolfe album, Birth of Violence, might be my very favorite of hers. It's more mellow and melodic than her last few, but perhaps even heavier from a content-perspective as it deals with the shadow-side of the divine feminine. Utterly beautiful. Also loving Derek Schmidt's Major Arcana album of shimmering tarot songs, and eagerly anticipating the new FKA twigs album (the videos have been stunning so far).
  
  
• I should have mentioned: the reason I am on an airplane again is because my book tour heads to California right now. I've got 5 juicy events in the SF and LA areas, some ticketed, so free. Please do join me if you're near.
  
  
• I'm also very honored to have been featured in this New York Times profile, as well as to have received some extremely kind words about my book in the Times Literary Supplement.
  
  
• The Witch Wave season 3 launches on Oct 30, just in time for Halloween. I've got some astoundingly stellar guests lined up, so do make sure you're subscribed in whatever podcasting platform you prefer.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but I blame it on the altitude. Here's hoping you also fly high for Samhain, and that all of your witches come true!

Doubling Down on Twin Peaks

Greg Ruth "#6 This is the Water..." 2017

HellooOOooOoOoooOOOoo!

If your household is anything like mine, you've been living in your own little Twin Peaks lodge of late, and loving every second of it. We're over halfway through the season now, and I still can't say enough good things about it. It is even more beautiful, more astonishing, and more fully realized than I could have hoped. One of my favorite quotes is from Tom Stoppard: "Let your imagination run riot." Big bravo to Showtime for allowing David Lynch and Mark Frost to do just that.

With that said, I thought I'd share a few other Twin Peaks-adjacent items which have been flipping my log of late:

First up is this glorious series of graphite interpretations of several of the show's key elements and characters drawn by the seemingly unstoppable Greg Ruth. (Incidentally he is also doing the covers for another of my favorite stories: Akata Witch and its forthcoming sequel, Akata Warrior, by the fabulous fabulist, Nnedi Okorafor.)

I'm also currently addicted to Diane, a Twin Peaks podcast that examines each new episode with an esoteric eye. It's created by a group of exceptionally smart and good-spirited siblings from Brighton, and the juxtaposition of their warm voices and their unsettling content is as delicious as a damn fine cup of coffee being sipped beneath a shroud of mist. (And shout-out to my friend Rachel for turning me onto it!)

Have also been in sonic thrall of this fan-made Spotify mix, Nighttime at the Roadhouse, which features music that's either on the same wavelength as, or featured on, the show.

Been desperately trying not splurge on any of the David Lynch designed merch from the official Twin Peaks shop, but my gods it's difficult. I mean COME ON. (Though I did, I confess, buy his beans.)

Lucky for me, this excellent Interfaith Voices interview with Lynch conducted by my friend and occult scholar, Mitch Horowitz, costs nothing to listen to, but is rich in wisdom.

Lastly, I imagine many of you have read Lynch's book, Catching the Big Fish, already, but if not I recommend you remedy that posthaste. It's a spare but weighty tome on Transcendental Meditation and creativity, and it truly changed my life when I first read it a number of years ago. Unmissable for anyone interested in the relationship between art and the unconscious.

NONEXISTENT!!!

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Comings, goings, and beyond

Lots bubbling in the cauldron at the moment, so I figured I'd just list everything out here. 

First off, I'm excited to announce a new workshop I'll be leading at Observatory next Friday at 7:30pm.  Please email me if you'd like to attend, as space is limited:

Witches’ Thanksgiving: An Autumn Equinox Workshop

Remedios Varo “Still Life Reviving” 1963

A Class and Celebration with Pam Grossman

Date: Friday, September 21st
Time: 7:30-9pm
Admission: $20
Presented by Phantasmaphile

***You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as space is limited

The Autumn Equinox  – or Mabon -  is a time of harvesting and celebration.  Often called “Witches’ Thanksgiving,” it’s a prosperity holiday which asks us to gather with one another to count our blessings, connect, and re-balance.  The nights are about to become longer, and soon we’ll be turning inward.  But first, let us reap the rewards of summer and manifest future good fortune.  Tonight, we’ll do ritual and spellcrafting to give thanks for what we have, attract even more positivity and possibility, and ready ourselves for the upcoming shadow season.  And of course, we’ll end with some feasting!

Please bring:

-A bit of food or drink to share

-Any altar objects you like.  These can be decorative (Thanksgiving and autumnal decor of any kind is welcome), and/or personal objects which you’d like to have charged

-A candle and holder

-A cushion, pillow, or fabric, as we will be sitting on the floor (chairs will be available for those who need).

Note-taking is welcome.  This workshop is open to men and women, novices and advanced practitioners alike.

 

And don't forget about Amy Hale's fantastic presentation coming up at Observatory in October:

Dawn’s Left Hand: The Art of Ithell Colquhoun and Mid-20th Century British Occulture

Ithell Colquhoun

An illustrated lecture with Amy Hale
Date: Friday, October 5th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Presented by Phantasmaphile

Until recently, Ithell Colquhoun was a footnote in the history of the Surrealist movement, but her enormous body of art and writings show her to, in fact, be one of the most prolific and unusual occult thinkers of the twentieth century.  Her dedication to the Hermetic arts brought Colquhoun into contact with some of the most important movements and key occult thinkers in Britain during her life, including Thelema and the OTO, Witchcraft, Masonry, Golden Dawn, alchemy, Martinism, and Druidry.  This illustrated talk will show how the key trends and figures of twentieth century British occulture directly influenced and intersected with the body of work of an important artist and seeker.

Amy Hale is an Anthropologist specializing in contemporary Celtic cultures with an emphasis on Cornwall and esoteric cultural history.  She is the co-editor of New Directions in Celtic Studies (2000) and Inside Merlin’s Cave: A Cornish Arthurian Reader (2000) in addition to writing over 30 other articles ranging in topic from Neo Druidry to politics and occult culture.  She is the past co-editor of the Journal of the Academic Study of Magic (with Susan Johnston Graf), and is working on a biography and several other projects related to the life and work of Ithell Colquhoun.

On a completely unrelated note, Channel Thirteen is airing The Met's entire Ring Cycle this week, every night at 8pm.  My sweettart and I watched the making-of documentary last night, and it was absolutely fascinating and totally inspiring.  Robert Lepage's stage design is stunning, an incredible testament to the power of technology married with unfettered imagination. 

Lastly, I'm polishing up my Occult in Modern Art 101 presentation which I'll be giving at the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle this weekend.  I hope to see some of you there, it looks to be an exceptional gathering.

Pushing Daisies

...was even better than I hoped!  Heavenly art direction, clever dialog, quirky characters, humor, sweetness, and style.  It airs Wednesdays at 8pm on ABC.  You can watch last night's episode here. 

Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies looks like it will be a gorgeous and delightfully odd - if potentially frustrating - show. You've gotta give ABC credit for trying to include innovative programming (hello, <3 LOST <3) in their line-up.