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Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity
“Rich descriptions of creativity and magic are paired with a practical roadmap for making a life in devotion to both.” —Jessica Dore, author of Tarot for Change
A magical guide to enhancing your creative process, from “the Terry Gross of witches” (Vulture)
Creativity and magic are one and the same.
Creative people often speak of being channels for inspiration, while others refer to communing with their muse. For many, this is more than mere metaphor, as artists throughout history have employed magical techniques to tap into their creativity, express powerful messages, and make contact with the sacred. From the songwriting divination of David Bowie and the bewitching shapeshifting of Beyoncé, to the Ouija board poetry sessions of Sylvia Plath and the abstract painting séances of Hilma af Klint, to the manifestation method of Octavia E. Butler and the daily meditation of David Lynch, mystical practices have been responsible for generating some of the world’s most beloved creations. While there are many books on creativity out there, none of them examines the specific ways that magic has been embraced by creative visionaries throughout history, nor do they explore how makers can start using these methods in their own creative processes.
Magic Maker is the first. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Waking the Witch Pam Grossman shares how you can use magic to enhance your own creative practices.
Smart, captivating, and gorgeously written, Magic Maker is filled with stories of artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives throughout history who have applied magic to their process. Grossman shows us how we can tap into the same inspiration for our own creative pursuits, whether it’s writing a song, a novel, software code, or figuring out our path in life.
Delving into topics such as spellcasting, invocation, spirit communication, divination, and more, Grossman provides an enchanting and practical guide for anyone who wants to unlock their own creative magic and make whatever it is you’re meant to in this lifetime.
A magical guide to enhancing your creative process, from “the Terry Gross of witches” (Vulture)
Creativity and magic are one and the same.
Creative people often speak of being channels for inspiration, while others refer to communing with their muse. For many, this is more than mere metaphor, as artists throughout history have employed magical techniques to tap into their creativity, express powerful messages, and make contact with the sacred. From the songwriting divination of David Bowie and the bewitching shapeshifting of Beyoncé, to the Ouija board poetry sessions of Sylvia Plath and the abstract painting séances of Hilma af Klint, to the manifestation method of Octavia E. Butler and the daily meditation of David Lynch, mystical practices have been responsible for generating some of the world’s most beloved creations. While there are many books on creativity out there, none of them examines the specific ways that magic has been embraced by creative visionaries throughout history, nor do they explore how makers can start using these methods in their own creative processes.
Magic Maker is the first. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Waking the Witch Pam Grossman shares how you can use magic to enhance your own creative practices.
Smart, captivating, and gorgeously written, Magic Maker is filled with stories of artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives throughout history who have applied magic to their process. Grossman shows us how we can tap into the same inspiration for our own creative pursuits, whether it’s writing a song, a novel, software code, or figuring out our path in life.
Delving into topics such as spellcasting, invocation, spirit communication, divination, and more, Grossman provides an enchanting and practical guide for anyone who wants to unlock their own creative magic and make whatever it is you’re meant to in this lifetime.
374 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
105 people are currently reading
2380 people want to read
About the author
Pam Grossman
16 books418 followersPam Grossman is a writer, curator, and teacher of magical practice and history. She is the host of The Witch Wave podcast (“the Terry Gross of Witches” - Vulture) and the author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power (Gallery Books) and What Is A Witch (Tin Can Forest Press). She is also co-editor of the WITCHCRAFT volume for Taschen’s Library of Esoterica series. Her book Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity will be out on Oct 14, 2025 (Penguin Life).
Her group art shows and projects, including Language of the Birds: Occult and Art at NYU’s 80WSE Gallery, have been featured by such outlets as Artforum, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Art in America, New York Magazine, and Teen Vogue.
Pam’s writing has appeared in numerous mediums, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME.com, and Ms. Magazine. She has maintained Phantasmaphile, a blog that specializes in art with an esoteric or fantastical bent, since 2005.
She is also the co-organizer of the biennial Occult Humanities Conference at NYU, Associate Editor of Abraxas International Journal of Esoteric Studies, and co-founder of the Brooklyn arts & lecture space, Observatory (2009-2014), where her programming explored mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
Pam is a frequent lecturer on such topics as “The Occult in Modern Art 101,” and “Witch Pictures: Feminine Magic and Transgression in Western Art,” and she also teaches classes on spellcraft and ritual. As a featured guest on WNYC’s All of It, NPR’s 1A, HuffPost LIVE, and myriad other radio shows and podcasts, she has discussed the role of magic in contemporary life. She has also consulted for such brands as Charlotte Tilbury and Treadwell’s Books, as well as for film and television, including The Craft: Legacy (Blumhouse/Sony Pictures).
Her group art shows and projects, including Language of the Birds: Occult and Art at NYU’s 80WSE Gallery, have been featured by such outlets as Artforum, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Art in America, New York Magazine, and Teen Vogue.
Pam’s writing has appeared in numerous mediums, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME.com, and Ms. Magazine. She has maintained Phantasmaphile, a blog that specializes in art with an esoteric or fantastical bent, since 2005.
She is also the co-organizer of the biennial Occult Humanities Conference at NYU, Associate Editor of Abraxas International Journal of Esoteric Studies, and co-founder of the Brooklyn arts & lecture space, Observatory (2009-2014), where her programming explored mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
Pam is a frequent lecturer on such topics as “The Occult in Modern Art 101,” and “Witch Pictures: Feminine Magic and Transgression in Western Art,” and she also teaches classes on spellcraft and ritual. As a featured guest on WNYC’s All of It, NPR’s 1A, HuffPost LIVE, and myriad other radio shows and podcasts, she has discussed the role of magic in contemporary life. She has also consulted for such brands as Charlotte Tilbury and Treadwell’s Books, as well as for film and television, including The Craft: Legacy (Blumhouse/Sony Pictures).
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 26, 2025
My slam-dunk pitch for this book: it’s The Creative Act, add witchcraft. Grossman is a respected teacher of magical practice with a wildly popular podcast (The Witch Wave) and several lauded books about the subject under her belt. Her writing is both sophisticated and accessible—Grossman’s guidelines for weaving spirituality and magic into creative work are refreshingly intersectional and allow for plenty of modification and personal interpretation.
December 10, 2025
I could go on and on about Pam Grossman. I am such a huge fan, but I'll keep it to my review of the book itself.
The Enchanted Path to Creativity indeed. As an aspiring author myself, this piece of art gave me the inspiration to continue writing a novel I started earlier this year and have unfortunately neglected since the summer. Thanks Pam.
I absolutely loved this book, and per usual with any of her media, podcast, or work, I will listen over and over, take notes, add my own thing, and apply it. Even outside of being an artistic inspiration, this book is very informative and well researched.
The Enchanted Path to Creativity indeed. As an aspiring author myself, this piece of art gave me the inspiration to continue writing a novel I started earlier this year and have unfortunately neglected since the summer. Thanks Pam.
I absolutely loved this book, and per usual with any of her media, podcast, or work, I will listen over and over, take notes, add my own thing, and apply it. Even outside of being an artistic inspiration, this book is very informative and well researched.
January 31, 2026
Such an inspiring guide on how to incorporate witchcraft into creative practices! I really appreciated how beginner friendly it was with the witchcraft aspect!
I heard her talk about maker as magician in a podcast interview about this book and was instantly sold bc im trying to embody the magician card this year! Also had a crazy synchronicity happen while reading! I feel so seen and magical and my creative practices will forever be changed. Would give more than 5 stars if i could!!! Excited to read waking the witch!
I heard her talk about maker as magician in a podcast interview about this book and was instantly sold bc im trying to embody the magician card this year! Also had a crazy synchronicity happen while reading! I feel so seen and magical and my creative practices will forever be changed. Would give more than 5 stars if i could!!! Excited to read waking the witch!
January 23, 2026
I loved the idea of this book. I love the witchy themes of feminine identity. She tries to offer some practical ways to channel fresh ideas using magick. It didn't have the substance that I need. I didn't learn something new. Perhaps it's better for a beginner.
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December 16, 2025Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity by Pam Grossman explores creativity and magic as inseparable forces: spellcasting and invocation, divination and spirit communication, all in service of making whatever it is you’re meant to make. A song, a novel, a path through this strange world.
She writes about preparatory rituals and consciousness-shifting, about anointment and adornment and alter egos, about the tingly sensation of being “activated” when Big Inspiration strikes. About how chaos must shimmer behind the veil of order—the way the back of embroidered work is a riot of tangled threads and knots, what I call “the nightmare side” of any pristine creative surface. Her references range from Remedios Varo to Orville Peck, from Chelsea Wolfe to Beyoncé to Prince, from David Lynch talking about catching big fish in the depths to André Breton insisting that all art is magical in its genesis. She describes ekphrasis as speaking out about a piece of art and adding your own embellishments through unique interpretation, which made me sit up and think: that’s exactly how I write about art. Magic, she says, is an intentional means of collaborating with Creative Force to transform a state of being, and creativity is the truest expression of our magic. They’re the ouroboros eating its tail, the lemniscate looping forever—two sides of the same sparkling coin, flipped and spinning through infinite possibility.
I haven’t finished this book yet. Normally I would wait until the end before writing about anything, and there was that familiar pull to rush through it, to consume it all at once so I could discuss it properly and give you the full picture. But I think it’s actually more helpful to write about a book like this in stages because it is teeming with insight and revelations. There’s so much here to absorb and sit with. I can always come back and write more later. But I prefer to experience Pam’s books parceled out more slowly, letting each idea land and resonate before moving to the next, giving them space to breathe and bloom and burrow their way through my wriggly brain noodles, setting off sparks and lighting up pathways and making unexpected connections.
I’ve been in awe of Pam’s work for what feels like forever now; she’s been a continual source of inspiration, and what she does thrills me to the deepest gloops of my marrow. We’ve known each other online for nearly twenty years, fellow travelers on similar creative wavelengths, sharing the same fascination with where art and magic collide. Her words have this particular power to bewitch and transport, to ensorcell you completely, leaving you utterly immersed and somehow changed. I trust her to take me places both wondrous and magical.
Essential for anyone who’s ever felt that tingle beneath their skin when inspiration strikes, for those who understand that getting out of your own way means making space for something grander to move through you, for anyone who wants to see their tangled nightmare-side threads as proof of magic working rather than evidence of mess, and for those ready to remember that making and magic have always been the same shimmering, infinite thing.
She writes about preparatory rituals and consciousness-shifting, about anointment and adornment and alter egos, about the tingly sensation of being “activated” when Big Inspiration strikes. About how chaos must shimmer behind the veil of order—the way the back of embroidered work is a riot of tangled threads and knots, what I call “the nightmare side” of any pristine creative surface. Her references range from Remedios Varo to Orville Peck, from Chelsea Wolfe to Beyoncé to Prince, from David Lynch talking about catching big fish in the depths to André Breton insisting that all art is magical in its genesis. She describes ekphrasis as speaking out about a piece of art and adding your own embellishments through unique interpretation, which made me sit up and think: that’s exactly how I write about art. Magic, she says, is an intentional means of collaborating with Creative Force to transform a state of being, and creativity is the truest expression of our magic. They’re the ouroboros eating its tail, the lemniscate looping forever—two sides of the same sparkling coin, flipped and spinning through infinite possibility.
I haven’t finished this book yet. Normally I would wait until the end before writing about anything, and there was that familiar pull to rush through it, to consume it all at once so I could discuss it properly and give you the full picture. But I think it’s actually more helpful to write about a book like this in stages because it is teeming with insight and revelations. There’s so much here to absorb and sit with. I can always come back and write more later. But I prefer to experience Pam’s books parceled out more slowly, letting each idea land and resonate before moving to the next, giving them space to breathe and bloom and burrow their way through my wriggly brain noodles, setting off sparks and lighting up pathways and making unexpected connections.
I’ve been in awe of Pam’s work for what feels like forever now; she’s been a continual source of inspiration, and what she does thrills me to the deepest gloops of my marrow. We’ve known each other online for nearly twenty years, fellow travelers on similar creative wavelengths, sharing the same fascination with where art and magic collide. Her words have this particular power to bewitch and transport, to ensorcell you completely, leaving you utterly immersed and somehow changed. I trust her to take me places both wondrous and magical.
Essential for anyone who’s ever felt that tingle beneath their skin when inspiration strikes, for those who understand that getting out of your own way means making space for something grander to move through you, for anyone who wants to see their tangled nightmare-side threads as proof of magic working rather than evidence of mess, and for those ready to remember that making and magic have always been the same shimmering, infinite thing.
February 15, 2026
Magic Maker reframes creativity not as productivity, but as participation in something larger and more mysterious. It reads like a contemporary grimoire for artists, treating art as a form of magic: the shaping of symbols, language, sound, and materials to shift consciousness.
Drawing from tarot, surrealism, alchemy, poetry, and ritual, the book presents making as a cycle of receiving and transmitting, dissolving and reforming, bringing the invisible into form. The artist is less a genius than a conduit. The task is simple. Keep the channel open.
What stayed with me most was the shift from discipline to devotion. Creativity becomes reverence rather than grind. Play becomes sacred. Even the demons of distraction and scarcity are not enemies to defeat, but forces to recognize and move through.
Imagination, the book insists, is not indulgent. It is formative. We create to alter perception, to connect across time, to offer something back. The unknown is the only true destination for a maker.
Keep the channel open.
Blessed be.
Drawing from tarot, surrealism, alchemy, poetry, and ritual, the book presents making as a cycle of receiving and transmitting, dissolving and reforming, bringing the invisible into form. The artist is less a genius than a conduit. The task is simple. Keep the channel open.
What stayed with me most was the shift from discipline to devotion. Creativity becomes reverence rather than grind. Play becomes sacred. Even the demons of distraction and scarcity are not enemies to defeat, but forces to recognize and move through.
Imagination, the book insists, is not indulgent. It is formative. We create to alter perception, to connect across time, to offer something back. The unknown is the only true destination for a maker.
Keep the channel open.
Blessed be.
February 2, 2026
This book is exactly for this moment in time and completely unbound by it. Pam's writing has somehow reached new heights, making this a rich, decadent, and inspiring read. Her turns of phrase are as delightful and acrobatic as they are powerful and grounding. She clearly put so much time and effort into ensuring anyone could find a connection to this book and each page offers a gem to inspire readers to lean into creative practice (at any experience level). I am so grateful to be alive at a time to watch Pam shine.
If I could be so bold as to recommend a reading order other than what the author has presented: Read the afterward first. Let it be a call to arms. Let it be a call to out-create the pain and destruction of the world today. What's that silly line from RENT? "The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation."
So be it. See to it
If I could be so bold as to recommend a reading order other than what the author has presented: Read the afterward first. Let it be a call to arms. Let it be a call to out-create the pain and destruction of the world today. What's that silly line from RENT? "The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation."
So be it. See to it
December 9, 2025
This book traces the connection between magic, spirituality, and the making of art. This transcends culture, region, and time, and Grossman has done extensive research on how interconnected the world of spirituality and the world of art, truly are. This is not a "how to" or a "workbook" per see; it is an overview, a scope or lens, at how we can look at the act of creation as an act of worship of divinity or connection. I appreciated the section on the "demons" that set up back (perfectionism, imposter syndrome, lethargy, etc) as well as another section on how to release your work into the world. I read this book slowly, as I was also reading Word Witch by Kate Belew. These two books and voices became part of my morning ritual of dialog and growth.
March 28, 2026
What a gift of a book, a treasure! Thorough and well-researched, this book sings- full of love, both for the subject matter as well as for the reader. I could feel the enthusiasm vibrating off the page, magic itself; this excitement is backed by an abundance of well-researched history and resources to feed readers through our own creative practices. I flew through the pages because reading it feels like talking with a joyful, knowledgeable friend, but it's one to keep and turn to for support and inspiration during every stage of the creative process: from idea, through creation, to release, a guide and a tool helping us through all the murky bits in-between.
November 9, 2025
Came across this book at my fav book shop on the venice board walk, opened to a random page that said "I make a living as a writer and a witch" and immediately bought. Absolutely loved this book. I've read a lot of creativity craft book which often all highlight similar themes (blocks, how to get into creative flow, etc.) but finding one with a magical lens on it was so lovely.
The poetic language - flashlight vision & twilight vision, there was so much that felt like it was plucked out of my own head (<< scarcity demon, iykyk).
If you are a creative witch: a must read!!
The poetic language - flashlight vision & twilight vision, there was so much that felt like it was plucked out of my own head (<< scarcity demon, iykyk).
If you are a creative witch: a must read!!
February 6, 2026
This was a well thought out and easy to follow guide to expanding your creativity in a magical way. Whether you believe in witchcraft or not, there are a couple of things that help get whatever project you're working on started. Pam Grossman delivers a 5-part recommendation on brainstorming, creating, and releasing your work into the world. I would consider this an inspiration for anyone who is struggling creatively and would like help in their process to finishing their project.
January 4, 2026
Really enjoyed this and feel inspired to create. At times it was a bit too “witchcraft 101” oriented, but it was woven together really well with good intention. Especially enjoyed the examples of famous creatives and how they employed a lot of the creative rituals and practices mentioned in the book.
January 10, 2026
A fun, interesting read, but more an overview of creative people past and present with witchy tendencies than a traditional creativity manual (i.e., there are no prompts or exercises), as the author acknowledges.
I would have finished it on my own timeline, but it's due back at the library and I don't feel overly motivated to get back in line for it, so GUTGed, alas, at p. 120.
I would have finished it on my own timeline, but it's due back at the library and I don't feel overly motivated to get back in line for it, so GUTGed, alas, at p. 120.
February 15, 2026
A surprisingly enlightening book on the act of creating art. Great advice dispensed from the perspective of a witch but hardly given expressly to a witches practice. This is a great book for any creator, witch or otherwise. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone looking for guidance on creating art, even the least believers in the spiritual.
January 19, 2026
What a magical start to the new year! This really made me reflect on the value of ritual in creative practice- recognizing many I already do naturally and inspiring me to add more intentionally. I adore Pam; she’s both brilliantly intuitive and deeply well-read, truly inspiring. ✨️🔮
December 20, 2025
I loved this book! Will be rereading it throughout my life. Thank you, Pam, for being.
January 17, 2026
This is an excellent overview of how magic and creativity can and indeed do intersect as well as advice on how to meld the two.
March 20, 2026
This is more memoir than anything of substance, wherein the author documents her own process of writing This Very Line In This Very Book You're Reading Right Now. Not sure what was the purpose of writing this. The constant forced use of alliteration made me cry out in literal agony at times. Such an interesting premise…just wish the author would have spent more time exploring creative force and where it comes from, and less time on herself.
November 3, 2025
As with Waking the Witch, I am joyfully predisposed to love Magic Maker because I know and love Pam. But I am here to tell you that you are going to love this book too, especially if you are looking to invite more creativity into your life. The writing is hilarious and insightful, often in the same sentence, and Pam brings her deep erudition to the intertwining of spirituality and creation.
Bottom line: you finish every chapter inspired to pick up your tools and make something.
Bottom line: you finish every chapter inspired to pick up your tools and make something.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews