That time a witch got the better of Tucker Carlson
Amanda Yates Garcia is a professional witch based in LA. She–very cleverly, in my opinion–markets herself as the “Oracle of Los Angeles” taking a cue from Pythia, the Delphic oracle who was said to deliver prophecies from Apollo. She’s also the author of terrific book, Initiated: Memoir of a Witch. I don’t think Initiated has gotten the attention it deserves in the occult community. It’s very deftly structured to explain to the reader how life events–both good and bad–can be seen in retrospect as necessary occurrences for an occult practitioner to gain a deeper understanding of what they’re pursuing. Of course it’s true to say that everyone is forged by their life experiences, but it’s vastly different process when one is as self-aware of such emotional and intellectual growth as a witch would be. It’s a great book–her prose is superb–and the reader comes away with a nuanced understanding of what a magical initiation is. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s an important book.
When I was putting together the list of who I wanted to interview on camera for Magick Show, Amanda was one of the first people I thought of. I first became aware of Amanda after her somewhat unlikely appearance on Fox News, specifically The Tucker Carlson Show, crashed into my Twitter newsfeed dozens of times right after it aired. She was there to discuss the Trump binding spell that was originally proposed by Michael M. Hughes. I don’t want to describe it too much as you can just hit play on the clip posted below and see for yourself, but it’s a master class on how to handle a vile shit of a man like Tucker Carlson. Obviously aware of the viper pit she was about to walk into, Amanda’s strategy, which she heroically doesn’t waver from, was to simply refuse to allow this squeaky-voice baby-man bully to make her angry. It’s a bravura performance, I’m sure you’ll agree, in how to handle a vicious rightwing prick and it’s made even funnier by just how utterly flummoxed the host appears to be when he first sees what she looks like! Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to watch this vile motherfucker’s show knows that he doesn’t tend to react this way to “opposition” guests. Clearly from his deer-in-the-headlights, almost puppy dog expressions, something else was going on in his mind.
Amanda tells the story of how this appearance on Fox News became a springboard to there being a greater awareness of her work in the wider culture in amusing detail (including her Fox News-watching father’s reaction) during her interview for Magick Show, which I hope you will support on Kickstarter as TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
In the meantime, watch this classic clip for an amusing look at a witch’s glamor in action: