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The Witch Wave

#146 - Mitch Horowitz, Occult Historian and Practical Magic(k)ian

The Witch Wave

Pam Grossman

Arts, Visual Arts, Spirituality, Other, Religion & Spirituality

4.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2025

⏱️ 101 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mitch Horowitz is one of today’s most literate voices of occultism, mysticism, and the unexplained. He has bylines in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Time, and The Wall Street Journal, and appearances in Sundance-premiering movies, popular TV docuseries, and award-winning documentaries, as well as on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, NPR’s All Things Considered, and other major media. Mitch also worked for many years in publishing, including as a vice president at Penguin Random House where he was editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin, an imprint dedicated to metaphysics.

He now hosts the Discovery/HBO Max TV series, Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction, and he appears regularly on seasons one and two of History’s The UnBelievable with Dan Ackroyd and in numerous docuseries including MGM+’s BEYOND: UFOs and the Unknown. He is also the host of the podcast series Extraordinary Evidence: ESP Is Real out from SpectreVision. Mitch also hosted, cowrote, and produced a feature documentary about the occult classic The Kybalion directed by Emmy-nominee Ronni Thomas and shot on location in Egypt.

Mitch is a former writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library and the PEN Award-winning and wildly prolific author of many books including Occult America, One Simple Idea, The Miracle Club, Modern Occultism, and his newest offering, Practical Magick: Ancient Tradition and Modern Practice which is out on March 25th and available for preorder now.

On this episode, Mitch discusses his dual roles as an occult historian and practitioner, why self-expression and true desire are the keys to effective spellcasting, and how his belief in “anarchic magick” has led him to a happier and more fulfilling life.

Pam also talks about the magic of wishes, and answers a listener question about staying protected as a public witch.

Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you’re at it!)

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Our sponsors for this episode are The Witch Summit, Ritual + Shelter, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and The Alchemist and the Academic podcast

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.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode of The Witch Wave is brought to you by The Witch Summit.

0:05.0

The Witch Summit is a magical conference happening this year on October 4th in Phoenix, Arizona.

0:12.3

It was created to curate immersive experiences that foster community, nurture magical education,

0:20.2

share transformative witchcraft from all cultures,

0:24.0

amplify activist voices, and elevate small businesses. There will be speakers, authors,

0:31.8

hands-on workshops, a marketplace, and a bewitching ball. Speakers include Maria Minnis, Mavis Lynn, Iami Age, Marcella Kroll,

0:44.3

and yours truly. Yes indeed, I have the great honor of being the keynote speaker this year,

0:52.0

and I just can't wait. So come join us at the Witch Summit in Phoenix,

0:58.0

Arizona on October 4th. Tickets are on sale now at the Witchsummit.com slash tickets. See you there.

1:08.0

This episode of The Witch Wave is brought to you by Ritual and Shelter. Looking for a

1:14.6

magical place to shop and hold space. Check out Ritual and Shelter in Homewood, Alabama. Brows through

1:22.4

their bookshelves covering topics of magical history, theory, and practice, as well as tarot cards and

1:30.0

oracle decks from well-known artists and even decks created by local witches in Alabama.

1:36.3

From teas, tonics, and tinctures to toad skulls and termoline towers, you can find all of these and so much more on their

1:45.8

witchy website, ritualshelter.com or in person. So lather up that flying ointment and travel down

1:55.1

to ritual and shelter in Homewood, Alabama, or check them out online at ritual shelter.com.

2:02.6

Did you run out of flying ointment?

2:04.9

Well, they have that too.

2:07.6

Hello, my friend.

2:09.3

I am often asked about how people can get even more Witchwave and more magic in their lives

2:15.1

overall, and I have the answer.

2:19.7

You can join me over on the Witch Wave Patreon. This is how you can hear from me and my other magical guests on a weekly

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