In episode 175 of the Magick & Alchemy podcast, hosts Kate Belew and Kristin Lisenby continue their series on Women in Art & the Occult, dedicating this chapter to Georgie Yeats and Sylvia Plath. Georgie was an author and medium whose journey with automatic writing began during her honeymoon with the poet and author W.B. Yeats. Over the next decade, she channeled messages from spirits who called themselves the “Instructors,” producing 50 notebooks and thousands of pages of writing and geometric designs on the occult nature of reality. Meanwhile, fellow author and mystic Sylvia Plath preferred the Ouija board to communicate with the spirit world. Although she was fiercely private about her magical interests, she relied on astrology, ‘homemade talking boards,’ and tarot cards as tools to guide her pen.

CW: Mention of Suicide

Sources & Shoutouts:

A Vision, W.B. Yeats

“The Vision of W.B. Yeats,” Gary Lachman

“Yeats and the Golden Dawn: Occult Poetry and Automatic Writing,” Nicole Lau

“The Tower,” W.B. Yeats

“Exploring The Occult Sylvia Plath,” Kalenna Fraga

“The Haunting Story Of How Sylvia Plath Died And The Tragic Events That Led Up To It,” Kaleena Fraga

“Uncovering Sylvia Plath,” Emanuela Borgatta Dunnett

Magic Maker, Pam Grossman

The Occult Sylvia Plath, Julie Gordon-Bramer

“Sylvia Plath And The Occult,” Terri-Jane Dow

“How Black Magic Killed Sylvia Plath,” - The Guardian

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