This is Five and Nine, a podcast and newsletter at the crossroads of magic, work and economic justice. We’re in the midst of Season 5, on the theme of Generation, but we wanted to take a brief look back at Season 2 with a “retro” episode originally published September 2022.

Summary

How can everyday magic helps us navigate change?

Five and Nine talks with artist, designer, and witch Helen Shewolfe Tseng. They share their work on growth spells, drawings made over an extended period of time for personal healing and transformation, and their Coyote Portals series, inspired by the fission-fusion adaptations and mythos of these often misunderstood animals. We also talk about what we learned in nature during lockdown and how to find grounding in uncertain times, from petting our plants to working with free ballpoint pens.

Season 2 is about transitions. As fall sets in in the northern hemisphere and spring int he south, Five and Nine looks at change in all its forms — leaving jobs, changing industries, starting new paths, and the wisdom that tarot and magic have to offer in a world that seems to be ever in flux.

Resources

From Our Guest

* Helen Shewolfe Tseng

* Growth Spells

* Coyote Portals (prints available here!)

* The Man Who Could Move Clouds, by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Music

* Episode: Bow Wow Blues, performed by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, 1921.

* Outro: Ain’t we got fun, composed by Richard A. Whiting and performed by the Benson Orchestra of Chicago, 1921.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fiveandnine.substack.com/subscribe

🌚 Retro: Magic in the Everyday, with Helen Shewolfe Tseng (2.02)