Amanda Yates Garcia is a writer, socially engaged artist, public witch, and doctoral student in the World Arts, Cultures, and Dance department at UCLA.

Her popular substack Mystery Cult is a community of 20,000 witches, offering Live Full Moon rituals, Reading Groups, Tarot Studios and more.

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If you’ve always secretly felt like the world is full of magic, and that you are too, you’re right. In my work, I focus on helping you access the magic that already moves through you, awakening your capacity to thrive.

I’m a hereditary witch in the West Coast tradition of Reclaiming. My mother taught me to read tarot when I was 11. I’ve been reading tarot and practicing magic for decades, and have been re-enchanting the world with divination, trance healing work, public art-witchery and private ceremonies as the Oracle of Los Angeles since 2010.

(Fun Fact: I think of “Oracle of Los Angeles” as my band name).

Since that time, I’ve seen thousands of clients and led nearly 100 public workshops and ceremonies. My work has been featured on the front page of the LA Times, in the New York Times, the London Times, the SF Chronicle, on CNN, FOX, Glamour UK, GOOP, as well as interviews in literary journals like The Believer and Triangle House (scroll down to see the whole shebang).

In addition to training in breath work (with David Elliot), energy healing (with Tenzin Lama Sherpa) and shamanic practices (with Amanda Folger), and many other teachers, I have a background in somatic work (BFA in Dance from University College of London) and narrative theory (MFA in writing / critical theory / and film from Cal Arts).

I’ve lectured on witchcraft at UCLA, Cal State Pomona, UC Irvine, the Hammer Museum, the Getty Museum, MOCA, and many other cultural institutions.

In 2019 I published my first book, Initiated: Memoir of a Witch, with Grand Central / Hachette. Since then it’s been translated into six languages.

I also host the popular podcast Between the Worlds, which many of our listeners think of as a graduate program in tarot and magic (without the debt!), and also co-hosted another podcast called Strange Magic (which you can listen to on the same channel).

I have to admit that though I’ve been practicing witchcraft a long time, I didn’t come to this work easily.

I grew up frustrated and angry at the way power operated in the world, with no idea how to change it. As a young adult, I tried to escape into the world of the arts, where I hoped I would find the enchanted world I longed for. Eventually, I learned that there’s just as must injustice and greed in the art world as there is anywhere else. I realized there was nowhere to run.

It was at that point, right about when I hit my Saturn return, that I decided that if I wanted to live in an enchanted world, that I would just have to create myself — and that’s when the Oracle of Los Angeles was born.

Since that time I’ve come to understand that there are many others who are and have been doing this work for thousands of years. By “this work”, I mean recognizing and honoring the sacred in the world and within ourselves, and strengthening the relationships that hold us together.

Magic is both the art of changing consciousness at will, and the practice of honoring and engaging with the consciousness of the animate universe.

If you’re longing for magic, meaning, connection, beauty, and intimacy with the life force, you’re not alone. You have a community that needs and values what you have to offer the world. Each of us has something essential to contribute.

In my private sessions, we focus on empowering you in the present moment and connecting you with your own innate wisdom, intuition and magic. Together, we create clarity and a sense of direction. You’ll leave our work together with tools to help you show up fully in your life as you work through and honor your transitions.

If you’re interested in working with me, or in finding out more about my practice, you can:

I do this work because I believe that life on this planet is sacred, and I want as many loving, creative, egalitarian folks as possible to cultivate their power so that we can re-enchant the world together.

If you’re ready to get started, get in touch!

Initiated: Memoir of a Witch

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes meets Women Who Run With The Wolves in this haunting, mystical memoir about finding meaning, beauty, and power through a life in witchcraft.

Descending into the underworlds of poverty, sex work, and misogyny, Initiated describes Amanda’s journey to return to her body, harness her power, and create the magical world she longed for through witchcraft. Hailed by crows, seduced by magicians, and haunted by ancestors broken beneath the wheels of patriarchy, Amanda’s quest for self-discovery and empowerment is a deep exploration of a modern witch’s trials. Declaring oneself a witch and practicing magic has everything to do with claiming authority and power for oneself, of taking back our planet in the name of Love. Initiated is both memoir and manifesto calling the magical people of the world to take up their wands: stand up, be brave, describe the world they want, then create it like a witch.

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Between the Worlds Podcast

Join us Between the Worlds as we discuss tarot, psychology, mythology, pop culture, witchcraft, magic, art, and history with host Amanda Yates Garcia. Music and production by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs.

If you’re searching for Amanda’s former podcast, Strange Magic, which was created in a trio with producer Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and co-host, you can find it on the same feed under the acronym SM.

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