What if art was never just art? In this episode of Your Art Is A Spell, I'm taking you with me to the Humboldt Forum in Berlin — one of the most beautiful and complicated buildings in the world — to explore a question that has been living in me since I arrived in this city: What is art, really, and what happens to it when it gets archived?

Every culture that has ever existed on this earth has made art. And almost without exception, every culture that has ever made art has also practiced magic. These were never two separate things. They are one impulse — the human insistence that the invisible is real, that life is more than what you can touch and measure.

Art is living emergence. It's what happens when human intention enters into relationship with material and something comes through that neither the maker nor the material could have produced alone.

The Humboldt Forum holds thousands of sacred objects from cultures across the globe — objects that in their original context were never just art. They were portals. They were alive. And there they are, inside a reconstructed Prussian palace. I walk through this space not to perform outrage, but to feel what happens to living emergence when it gets archived. And what I find surprises me.

Featuring the Joliba Friendship Choir and the Pet Shop Bears performing live inside the museum on the day I visited — because life force finds its way through.

This episode 2 of Season 2: Tactical Magic.

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-art-is-a-spell/id1796481637

If this episode speaks to you, share it with a fellow magic-maker. Your art is a spell — and it is changing the world around us.

Time Stamps
00:00:00] Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell | Berlin Artist Residency Introduction
[00:00:24] Researching Wixárika Sacred Art at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin
[00:00:50] Introducing Season 2: Tactical Magic
[00:01:03] Every Culture Has Made Art AND Magic — They Are One Impulse
[00:01:28] Art vs. Western Regimentation: How Magic & Art Were Separated
[00:02:18] Defining Art as Living Emergence
[00:02:57] Heading to the Humboldt Forum: Sacred Objects in a Prussian Palace
[00:03:37] Arriving at the Humboldt Forum | The Palace Is the Message
[00:04:49] Colonial Collections: Objects from West Africa, the Americas & Asia
[00:05:07] Can You Feel the Life Force? Vibration & Residue in Archived Objects
[00:05:22] Surprise: Live Choirs Performing Inside the Museum
[00:05:40] 🎶 Joliba Friendship Choir Live at the Humboldt Forum Foyer
[00:06:39] 🎶 Pet Shop Bears Gay Men's Choir Live in the Americas Section
[00:07:25] Sacred Ceramics & Ancestral Altars from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala & More
[00:08:02] Art Is Living Emergence — Even Behind Glass, the Life Force Persists
[00:08:11] On Archival Practices & Repatriation at the Humboldt Forum
[00:08:44] Wixárika Yarn Paintings, Niericas & Sacred Shamanic Technologies
[00:09:06] The Artwork Is the Portal. The Making Is the Ceremony.
[00:09:09] What Does the Archive Do to a Portal? Interrupting the Circuit
[00:09:50] The Humboldt Forum's Colonial History Room — Naming the Tension
[00:10:20] Art Made with Intention Cannot Be Fully Contained
[00:10:44] Sitting Outside the Museum: Energy Fields & Tactical Magic in Berlin
[00:11:06] Using Your Body as Antenna — Resonating with Life on Earth
[00:12:13] The Creative Calling: When Inspiration Moves Through You
[00:12:31] Woken Up in the Middle of the Night to Create — Do You Know This Feeling?
[00:13:15] Your Art Is a Spell: Channeling the Divine Every Time You Create
[00:13:46] Tactical Magic for Witches Who Feel Untrained or Outside the Lineage
[00:14:06] There Is No Right or Wrong Way to Practice Tactical Magic
[00:14:48] We Are at a Crossroads: Why Tactical Magic Is Needed Right Now
[00:15:07] Your Presence & Body Hold All the Wisdom You Need
[00:15:22] Vibrate. Resonate. Channel. | Closing Invocation from Berlin

Welcome to Season 2 of Your Art Is A Spell. In this premiere episode, we introduce the concept of Tactical Magic, the use of ritual, art, and ancient wisdom as tools for survival and agency in difficult times. Join me on a journey to the Palm Springs Art Museum for the groundbreaking exhibition, Queer Arcana: Art, Magic & Spirit. Spanning over a century of work from 1909 to 2026, this show reveals how queer, trans, and gender-expansive artists have long used the esoteric to build worlds where they were once excluded. From the tarot of Rachel Pollack to my own social practice ritual, Give Us Home Spider, we look at how art functions not just as decoration, but as a technology of the spirit and a powerful act of political resistance.

Video Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell Season 2
00:30 – Reclaiming Sovereignty & Agency in Difficult Times
01:05 – Artist Residency in Berlin: The Human Machine
01:40 – Traveling to Palm Springs: Queer Arcana Exhibition
03:30 – Arrival at Palm Springs Art Museum
04:15 – What is Tactical Magic? Defining the Theme
05:15 – Magic as Resistance: Survival at the Margins
07:10 – Inside the Queer Arcana Exhibition: Art, Magic & Spirit
08:08 – Art as Spellcraft: A Technology of the Spirit
09:27 – The Q+ Art Initiative at Palm Springs Art Museum
10:00 – The Six Portals of Queer Arcana (Section Walkthrough)
11:53 – "Give Us Home Spider": My Social Practice Ritual (2017)
13:00 – Why Queer People Turn to Divination & Ritual
14:13 – Visionary Artists: Candice Lin & Hilma’s Ghost
15:15 – Honoring Queer Lineages: Clarity Haynes & Agnes Pelton
16:00 – Walter Mercado & Nao Bustamante: Latinx Astrological Legacies
16:18 – Remembering Ancestors: Genesis P-Orridge & Nancy Azara
16:50 – The Desert as a Place of Vision & Sanctuary
18:18 – Honoring Rachel Pollack & Austin Osman Spare
19:12 – Closing: Your Art is a Spell

Explore the Exhibition:

Queer Arcana at Palm Springs Art Museum: https://www.psmuseum.org/exhibitions/queer-arcana

The Q+ Art Initiative: https://www.psmuseum.org/art/q-plus-art

The artists included in this exhibition are:
Carlos Alfonzo, Steven Arnold, Nancy Azara, Judy Baca, Elijah Burgher, Nao Bustamante, Cameron, Tee Corrine, Jayne County, Frances Salomé España, Edgar Fabián Frías, Russell FitzGerald, Sergio Hernández Francés, Hilma's Ghost, Tamara Gonzales, Marsden Hartley, Sadao Hasegawa, Richard Hawkins, Clarity Haynes, Joseph Liatela, Candice Lin, Fred Lonidier, Billie Luisi-Potts, Daniel Correa Mejía, Mundo Meza, Genesis P-Orridge, Agnes Pelton, Naudline Pierre, Rachel Pollack, Eric-Paul Riege

To Watch / Listen to More Episodes from Your Art Is A Spell
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYKoNr4LjNV9yDajN-ILKNR&si=1WF6GkfQh2pGfrzl

To send me a voice note
https://www.speakpipe.com/YouArtIsASpell

To learn more about me and my art
www.yourartisaspell.com

To learn about my private practice Therapy With Edgar
www.therapywithedgar.com

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More Videos From Me
🎨 Artist Tips and Support
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dY9ZOIxCC4tKz2RFqeeyQIm
🖼️ Art Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKfUhzEPgGA&list=PLEVN8TPFy9daZcyxvJI316QxH4LYpwLY0
🔮 Tarot and Oracle Deck Reviews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H9DUFzmESA&list=PLEVN8TPFy9darQDzJpTGsp2PkXxTXDyCj
🎤 Interviews
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dZBa6n6gxN65YNKCgNn6syi
🤳🏼 Watch my VLOGs
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYRVmz-OVAbsEpRuh_ygZIX
🎵 Live Music Videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9da7xjyfY9Ca7foFWYaD9_Yd
🇲🇽 Videos en Español
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYpsBwEBGxIta0ovDeayZjp

Artwork used in cover is by Devan Shimoyama

Your Art Is A Spell
Season 1 Episode 21

You are not broken. You are becoming. This finale of Your Art Is a Spell reveals the sacred truth of mutation — how every act of art, imagination, and creation shifts timelines and transforms the world. Inspired by Octavia Butler, Mark Mothersbaugh, and cosmic astrology of 2025, this is your call to power.

Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to the Season Finale of Your Art Is a Spell
Gratitude and reflection on Season 1 of the podcast/video series.

00:28 – A Secret Message for Freaks, Weirdos & Mutants
An empowering invitation for those who feel different to embrace their gifts.

01:10 – Mutation Is Our Birthright: Art, Change & Liberation
How transformation and mutation are sacred acts of resistance and creation.

01:32 – Unlocking Psychic & Spiritual Gifts (Dreams, Intuition, Synchronicity)
Honoring our innate spiritual technologies and creative powers.

02:17 – Remembering Our Gifts Through Art & Ancestors
Stillness, creativity, and ancestral connection as portals of transformation.

02:44 – Octavia Butler on Change: God Is Transformation
Wisdom from Octavia Butler on becoming and collective mutation.

03:09 – My Story: East Los Angeles, Undocumented Roots & Resilience
Personal journey from systemic barriers to academic and creative success.

04:06 – Mutating Beyond Expectations: Art, Healing & Magic
How breaking cycles and choosing transformation creates new realities.

05:03 – Art as Counter-Spell & Sacred Technology
Art slows us down, heals, and reshapes our futures.

05:31 – Every Creation Mutates Reality: Portals & New Futures
Every artistic act shifts timelines and births new selves.

05:55 – Psychic Gifts as Antennas: Tuning Into Subtle Energies
Dreams, intuition, and guidance as tools for survival and creation.

06:17 – Freaks Will Change the World: You Are the New Story
Celebrating outsiders as leaders of change and new futures.

06:39 – Astrology 2025: Neptune & Saturn in Aries (Mutation & Fresh Starts)
How current astrological transits support courage, action, and transformation.

07:24 – You Are Becoming: Embracing Metamorphosis & Power
Affirmations of growth, evolution, and reclaiming gifts.

07:43 – Season 2 Sneak Peek: Writing My First Book on Art Spells
Invitation to co-create a new book on art magic and creativity.

08:29 – Stay Connected: Newsletter, Community & Future Offerings
Ways to connect, share with friends, and receive updates.

08:50 – Closing Blessing: Your Art Is a Spell That Changes the World
Final gratitude for Season 1 and a reminder of your creative power.

Links

💌 Sign up for my newsletter:
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To Watch / Listen to More Episodes from Your Art Is A Spell
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYKoNr4LjNV9yDajN-ILKNR&si=1WF6GkfQh2pGfrzl

To send me a voice note
https://www.speakpipe.com/YouArtIsASpell

To learn more about me and my art
www.yourartisaspell.com

To learn about my private practice Therapy With Edgar
www.therapywithedgar.com

🕊️ Follow Me on BlueSky
https://bsky.app/profile/edgarfabianfrias.org

Your Art Is A Spell
Season 1 Episode 20

In this second-to-last episode of Your Art Is A Spell, Edgar Fabián Frías reflects on the wild magic of Season 1, shares a collective two-card tarot reading, and answers listener questions about creative blocks, ADHD focus, and healing money shame. Along the way, Edgar weaves in stories of psychic gifts, ancestral medicine, and the importance of building underground, community-rooted spaces in times of fragmentation and surveillance.

This episode is a love letter to artists, witches, and dreamers navigating the messy, beautiful process of creation. It’s a reminder that your art is a spell—and that you have the power to reclaim joy, resilience, and freedom in your practice.

Some organizations to support during this time

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
https://www.chirla.org/

Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/donate/

Dahnoun Mutual Aid in Gaza
https://www.instagram.com/dahnounmutualaid/

Palestine Children's Relief Fund
https://www.pcrf.net/

Darfur Women Action
https://www.darfurwomenaction.org/

Watch this video on "Punk Damage"
https://youtu.be/gtElsOoQhWY?si=KEmNikDc3efC96OO

To Watch / Listen to More Episodes from Your Art Is A Spell
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYKoNr4LjNV9yDajN-ILKNR&si=1WF6GkfQh2pGfrzl

To send me a voice note
https://www.speakpipe.com/YouArtIsASpell

To learn more about me and my art
www.yourartisaspell.com

To learn about my private practice Therapy With Edgar
www.therapywithedgar.com

💌 Sign up for my newsletter:
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🕊️ Follow Me on BlueSky
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Your Art Is A Spell
Season 1 Episode 19

In this episode of Your Art is a Spell, I’m joined by drag artist, educator, and witch Uma Gahd (Canada’s Drag Race Season 5). We dive into drag as ritual, Dionysian magic, chosen family, queer resilience, and what it means to stay authentic in a commercialized world. ✨🧙‍♀️🎭

🎭 Follow Uma Gahd: @umagahd and houseofgahd.com
🌐 Learn more & join the newsletter: yourartisaspell.com
🔮 Subscribe for more episodes on art, magic & queerness!

Timestamps

00:01 – Welcome to Your Art is a Spell – Season Finale Intro
00:30 – Introducing Uma Gahd: Drag, Witchcraft & Education
01:52 – Uma on Being a Witch & Catholic Roots
03:24 – Greek Mythology & Discovering Dionysus
05:26 – Drag as Sacred Ritual & Personal Exploration
07:57 – Gender, Asexuality & Queer Spirituality
09:58 – Losing the Spark: Drag, Burnout & Rediscovery
11:01 – The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence & Activist Drag
14:06 – Rejection, Resilience & Building Queer Community
19:26 – The Origin of Uma Gahd: Character Building & Comedy
23:16 – Creating Safety in Queer Space Through Drag
29:03 – Returning to the Roots of Witchcraft
32:36 – Drag Story Time, Literacy & Teaching with Glitter
35:44 – Queer Family, The House of Gahd & Chosen Kin
42:38 – Facing Resistance, Trusting the Magic
47:42 – Advice to New Drag Artists: Go Big, Then Refine
50:30 – Tarot, Oracle Cards & Divination as Art
52:21 – How to Follow & Book Uma Gahd
54:44 – Final Reflections & Outro: Your Art is a Spell

To Watch / Listen to More Episodes from Your Art Is A Spell
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYKoNr4LjNV9yDajN-ILKNR&si=1WF6GkfQh2pGfrzl

To send me a voice note
https://www.speakpipe.com/YouArtIsASpell

To learn more about me and my art
www.yourartisaspell.com

To learn about my private practice Therapy With Edgar
www.therapywithedgar.com

🕊️ Follow Me on BlueSky
https://bsky.app/profile/edgarfabianfrias.org

Your Art Is A Spell
Season 1 Episode 18

In this magical episode of Your Art Is A Spell, Edgar Fabián Frías sits down with the incredible Opal Starlight (they/them), a queer hairstylist, witch, and healer based in the Bay Area. Opal shares how they transformed their journey from working in celebrity salons to creating Magic Spell Studio, a deeply intentional space where hair becomes a ritual, a portal, and a tool for queer and gender-affirming liberation. We explore psychic haircuts, reclaiming gray hair as sacred, and how self-adornment can be an act of resistance and spiritual awakening. ✂️✨

Opal is a transformational hairstylist, a multidimensional nonbinary artist and a witchy magic maker. Working in the realms of mysticism, visual art and adornment, Opal is fascinated by our earthly divinity and the way our souls enchant of our human forms. A firm believer in the unique magic that we all carry, their work orbits around the exploration of our ever evolving identity, seeing the art of hair and the way we decorate ourselves as powerful spell casting.

🌙 Visit Magic Spell Studio: https://www.magicspellstudio.com
💫 Follow Opal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicspellstudio
📍Book a session if you’re in the Bay Area or want to work with Opal

If this conversation touched your heart or inspired your creativity, please like, subscribe, and share this spell with someone who needs it. 🧿

Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell
00:27 – Introducing Opal Starlight & Magic Spell Studio
01:05 – Hair, Adornment & Clothing as Art
02:13 – Opal Introduces Themselves
03:06 – From Celebrity Stylist to Hair Witch
05:00 – Discovering Hair as a Magical Practice
07:20 – The Birth of Opal’s Magic Garden Salon
08:58 – Healing Through Haircuts & Sacred Space
10:11 – Systems That Diminish Art & Identity
11:19 – Liberation Through Pause & Psychedelic Healing
13:08 – Coming Out as Non-Binary & Releasing Gender Rules
14:37 – The Hermit Archetype & Shining a Light for Others
15:24 – Gemini Magic & Gender-Affirming Haircuts
17:15 – De-Gendering Hair Styling Practices
18:46 – Living Authentically as a Non-Binary Artist
20:28 – Adornment Without Gender: Decorating the Soul
21:48 – Hair as Expansive, Expressive Art
22:34 – Escapist Aesthetics & the Power of Color
23:59 – Creating Magic Spell Studio as a Portal
25:36 – Sultry Earth Spirit as Spatial Inspiration
27:04 – Nature as a Maximalist Inspiration
27:48 – Psychic Haircuts & Channeling While Styling
29:54 – Deep Client Relationships & Emotional Healing
30:51 – Dismantling Western Beauty Standards
31:24 – Reclaiming Gray Hair as Sacred & Wild
33:42 – Hair Dye as Ritual vs. Liberation
35:29 – Aging as Beauty & Gray Hair as Spellwork
36:56 – Activism Through Adornment & Self-Expression
37:42 – How to Connect with Opal
38:54 – Finding Opal Online & IRL
40:10 – Final Message from Opal (Channeled Incantation)
41:26 – Outro & Reflection by Edgar
42:04 – Key Takeaways from Opal’s Visionary Practice
43:30 – Connect with Opal + Share the Episode
44:05 – Cast Your Spell into the Algorithm ✨

To Watch / Listen to More Episodes from Your Art Is A Spell
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYKoNr4LjNV9yDajN-ILKNR&si=1WF6GkfQh2pGfrzl

To send me a voice note
https://www.speakpipe.com/YouArtIsASpell

To learn more about me and my art
www.yourartisaspell.com

To learn about my private practice Therapy With Edgar
www.therapywithedgar.com

💌 Sign up for my newsletter:
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Your Art Is A Spell
Season 1 Episode 17

In this episode, “The Power of Belief: Awakening Your Psychic Gifts in a Time of Crisis,” I explore how belief shapes our psychic capacities—and why systems of control are so invested in suppressing them. From interspecies communication to remote viewing, from being in the G.A.T.E. program to experiencing spontaneous synchronicity with an A-list celeb, this is a deep dive into magic, consciousness, and the urgent power of imagination.

📍 Timestamps:
0:03 – Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell + introduction to episode theme
0:20 – Personal update: injury + urgency of making this video
0:32 – Backdrop of state violence: National Guard & ICE in LA
0:45 – Leaving the materialist paradigm behind
1:24 – Introduction to belief, psychic skills, and consciousness
2:09 – Systemic suppression of imagination and intention
2:33 – Consciousness as the foundation of all life
3:21 – Dehumanization, objectification, and political spectacle
4:02 – Remembering our interconnectedness and psychic abilities
4:46 – Step 1: Expanding belief to activate magical potential
5:34 – Messages from plants, crystals, animals, and spontaneous communication
5:54 – Exploring remote viewing and psychic phenomena
7:01 – The G.A.T.E. program & psychic children theories
7:54 – The Telepathy Tapes and personal psychic validation
8:36 – Examples of animal communication and dream appearances
9:16 – Synchronicity with A-list celebrity and confirmation from the universe
11:18 – Abundance, rest, and returning to natural rhythms
12:39 – Tuning into imagination, intention, and collective change
13:21 – Guided psychic communication practice
15:09 – Invitation to reflect and share your own experiences
15:34 – Final thoughts: belief as the foundation of magical power
16:04 – Season 2 teaser and YouTube call to action

To Watch / Listen to More Episodes from Your Art Is A Spell
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVN8TPFy9dYKoNr4LjNV9yDajN-ILKNR&si=1WF6GkfQh2pGfrzl

To send me a voice note
https://www.speakpipe.com/YouArtIsASpell

To learn more about me and my art
www.yourartisaspell.com

To learn about my private practice Therapy With Edgar
www.therapywithedgar.com

💌 Sign up for my newsletter:
https://www.edgarfabianfrias.org/sign-up-to-my-newsletter

🕊️ Follow Me on BlueSky
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