Episode Details

Welcome back to the Create Podcast. Just in time for the fall season, I am joined by Pam Grossman, a writer, curator, teacher, and practicing witch whose work beautifully bridges creativity, culture, and magic.

Pam is the host of The Witch Wave podcast (called “the Terry Gross of witches” by Vulture), the author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power, and co-editor of Taschen’s Witchcraft volume in the Library of Esoterica series. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and more. She has also organized exhibitions such as Language of the Birds: Occult and Art at NYU and spoken at institutions including MoMA and Columbia University.

Her brand-new book, Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity (Penguin Life & Hay House UK, October 14, 2025), is a guide to connecting with the creative force through ritual, history, and practice. It explores how artists and visionaries such as Hilma af Klint, David Bowie, Octavia E. Butler, and Leonora Carrington have used magic as part of their creative process, and how you can do the same in your own life.

• Pam’s creative roots and how she began merging her artistic and magical practices

• Misconceptions about witchcraft and how the archetype of the witch has evolved

• How Magic Maker links art and magic, showing that creativity itself can be a spiritual practice

• Practical rituals to protect your studio time and invite inspiration, from lighting candles to leaving offerings or simply asking for guidance

• The idea of “low frequency” and “high frequency” desires in art and business, and how to balance material needs with higher intentions

• Pam’s experiences speaking at institutions like MoMA and casting a love spell on stage at Carnegie Hall with Jinkx Monsoon

• The role of research, fascination, and intuition when writing a book

• Artists who inspire her including Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Hilma af Klint, Max Ernst, and Kurt Seligmann

Books by Pam Grossman

• Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity (Penguin Life & Hay House UK, 2025) → Pre-order here

• Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power (Simon & Schuster, 2019)

• What Is a W