Reconnecting with Your Lost Magick

If you practice magick, there will come a time when you feel less than magickal. When you feel that you have lost your magick completely. Whether this lasts for a week, a month, a year or more, one day it’ll arrive leaving many magickal folk confused as to what is going on.

But the appearance of magick’s absence is just that - an appearance.

See, magick is like the Moon - even though the Moon seems to wax and wane each night, disappearing from the sky altogether every month, She always remains whole. It’s simply our perception of Them that changes. So it is with magick that we can experience periods of disconnection in our practice that appear to us as if our magick is gone altogether.

image by annie spratt

At this point you might wonder why this happens. I don’t have that answer but what I have observed is that once we realize that magick, like the Moon, is never absent, we can begin to pay attention to what’s looming large in the place we usually expect our magick to be.

While your journey reconnecting with your magick after a period of fallowness will be uniquely shaped by your life and needs, here are some activities and tips to help you shift perceptions, open up to wonder, and cultivate enchantment. You’ll notice that many of these suggestions are similar to those I would make to someone experience burnout and that’s because burnout and feeling like your magickal fire has been extinguished often go hand-in-hand. In addition to trying one or two of the suggestions on this list, you might consider some seasonal self-care or connecting with herbal allies that are especially suitable for sensitive or overwhelmed folks.

image by annie spratt

Do nothing.

I know, what a way to start off a list of how to reconnect with your magick. But sometimes we try and do all the things in a mild but meaningful panic to attempt to reconnect to our magick. Rather, take a look at what it is that’s driving you to do something instead of just be. Even if that being feels decidedly unmagickal. It’s ok to be a bit confused and not knowing where to go next in your practice. Use your discomfort as a tool of discovery. Practice a bit of slow magick.

image by annie spratt

Go back to basics.

It can feel too easy to rush on to the next great thing when it feels like our magick has left us. If I just master Enochian magick, I’ll find my spark again. And while learning something new can help us to reconnect to what we love, it can also create a cycle of always seeking something else that exists out there to give us back our magick. Instead, I suggest returning to the basics of your craft and, in particular, a practice that has significantly shaped you but you now no longer practice or, if you do, it’s infrequently. That will mean something different to everyone reading this. I might, for example, pull out the very first book I used for casting circle and do that same rite. Returning to basics creates a touchstone for your magick - your modern self is revisiting an important point in your magickal development. During this act of returning, pay attention to what is happening in your body and your energy field - interesting revelations often arise and we begin to remember who we are as magickal beings.

image by annie spratt

Talk about it.

I find it strange that the magickal community doesn’t seem to talk much about the very common experience of not feeling magickal. Let’s change that! Connecting with another magickal practitioner and sharing with them that you’re struggling to find your flow and connection in your practice can be incredibly healing and rewarding. You’re not less of a witch or magick maker if you don’t feel magickal - you’re just at an important transition point. No shame required, but reach out to others for encouragement and inspiration. If you don’t have someone to talk about it to at the moment, try journaling or free writing. Ask yourself questions like:

I don’t feel magickal, I feel…
I’m afraid that…
I feel my most magickal when…
When I think of magick…

image by annie spratt

Work with allies.

Gods, herbs, stones, ancestors, tarot cards, spirits, pets, strange shaped gourds, best friends, lovers, therapists… Connect with your allies! As suggested at the start of this post, the absence of magick often marks the arrival (or, really, exposure or revelation) or something that requires our attention. But that something isn’t always easy to give our attention to or understand for various reasons. So just as I’m encouraging you to talk about where you’re at in your magickal practice, I’m also encouraging you to connect with your allies in whatever form they come in. No one can give you back your magick, but your allies can help you remember and return to it. Don’t know which allies to start with? How about connecting with your stars. If tarot or oracle cards are some of your favorite allies to turn to, this spread is my go-to when I need some extra love and support.

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Feeling like you’ve lost your magick is never easy, but you’re not alone. We’ve all been there and soon it shall pass. In the meantime, be kind with yourself, celebrate what does inspire you, and let the rest be.

Remember, the Moon is always full, and your magick remains. Soon you’ll remember just where that is…

Tarot as Your Best Friend : A Simple Guide

I recently taught a mini class on self-care with the tarot.

I shared one of my favorite techniques for accessing a powerful and personal sacred space at any time and any where through the tarot. The class started off my early spring teaching season (I’m teaching again in person - yay! - be sure to reserve your spot) but it also got me thinking on other easy self-care tarot techniques that I could share with all of you, my amazing far-flung internet family. Because, apparently, I’m just writing about self-care these days (even my tarotscopes are checking in with me about it). Actually, a lot of folks are writing and teaching and sharing about self-care these days and I love it. It is so much easier to take back the streets and topple empires when you’ve had some lunch ahead of time. I thought about how else tarot can be used as a tool of self care and, thus, the following spread was born.

The Best Friend Tarot Spread is the you-affirming, pep-talk, I-love-all-of-you, empowering, weirdness-adoring and sovereignty-recognizing sort of hug-in-a-spread we all need right now.

It’s also really easy to cast because, bless, I don’t always have the energy after a long day to pull out my cards and tell myself an in-depth story. Which brings me to another element of my self-care tarot magick - ease. Let’s make it easy for ourselves for no other reason than we deserve things to be easy sometimes.

The easy part of the spread comes from the fact that it uses a mad-libs or fill-in-the-blank style interpretation guide which allows the cards to deliver their message as your esoterically-inclined best friend. So let's begin!

Make yourself some tea, coffee, hot cocoa, iced lemonade or delicious drink of choice. Put on something comfortable and find a cozy spot to cast cards. Center yourself and shuffle your deck in the usual way. 

For the Best Friend Tarot Spread you’ll be casting three cards. Instead of the cards answering a particular question, they will be filling in the blank of the following sentence (aka best friend style pep talk):

You have the incredible gift of {card 1}.
Remember to {card 2},
so that you can {card 3}.

Now, you can choose the cards at random or you can turn the deck face-up and choose whichever three cards jump out at you (If choosing face up scares you a bit, you should go for it. Get your vulnerable on and sink into your power). I also suggest only using the Major Arcana for the spread if you’re experiencing some big life feels and need deep support. For those of you on my Magick Mail list, you’ll receive a keyword guide for the Major Arcana next month that you can use to help you complete the sentences.

If you have a friend that needs some cheering up, offering to do this spread for them can be a tender way of showing support. 

That’s it. Sweet, simple, and you-affirming. If you're looking for more tarot inspiration, head this way. Be sure to share the pep talks you received in the comments below and remember to be gentle with your heart - just like your best friend would.

My Favorite Tea for Easy Evenings + Self-Care

January was rough.

It’s been a time of tense muscles, street noise, and fight-back racket against the inhumane and unjust demagogues who’ve taken over the White House. I’ve been finding myself run ragged not just from work but from the constant little siren that’s been going off in my head saying “This is not normal. This is not ok. You and your loved ones are in danger.” I know that a lot of folks in my community are feeling the same and, of course, those feelings are valid. But as my wise friend Maria says, “The world is on fire but you still need to eat lunch.” 

(Do yourself a favor and click on that link for a “go the f*ck to sleep” style poem on why you need to eat lunch even when things are rough. I’ll wait, don’t worry.)

Last week, I wrote about the necessity of self-care not just as an invitation to all of you to love on yourself, but a reminder to myself. Since then, I’ve been taking better stock of what it is I need to be doing to take care of myself so that I might continue to fight the good fight and care for my community for the long haul (because, praise Goddess, Witches will always outlive their oppressors if we protect our magick).

When I'm feeling out of sorts, my self-care reassessment includes the following:

Acknowledge you're probably running on some false narratives.

Case in point - if I take 30 minutes to stretch and meditate I will let down the entire radical movement attempting to overthrow the patriarchy. Guess what? That’s just not true.

image via vee o

Ask yourself if there is another option.

We need to release those false narratives but then we need to fill that space with a new story. If I take 30 minutes to stretch and meditate I will be revitalized and better able to do the work that I want to do (which in the long run means the patriarchy is still coming down).

Slow down.

General life advice, right? It is not just about slowing down physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. An example of switching over to slow would be moving from scrolling through your social media feed nonstop to sitting down and reading a book. Or instead of searching for the "right" crystal that'll make your fear go away, simply sitting and connecting with the crystal core of heart of the earth.

Drink water and eat good food.

Let’s continue to fight to protect our sacred water and keep hydrated. Let’s continue to fight to protect our right to healthy food by eating food which makes us feel good. Rather than a “don’t eat that” restriction, imagine how much clearer your investment in protecting water and food would feel like if you had a better relationship with both in your daily life.

Self-care and healing and attention
to the body and the spiritual dimension
- all of this is now a part of
radical social justice struggles.
- Angela Davis -

My rejection of false narratives, reaffirmation of more kind ones, slowing down, and commitment to drink water and eat good food all led me to thinking, “Wait, why haven’t I been drinking that tea I love so much?”

That tea which I love so much is Bliss Blend. While I’ll drink it day or night, it is one of my favorite teas for bringing in a feeling of ease in the evenings. Bliss Blend was one of the very first teas I sold in my shop (and by shop I mean on the cold autumn streets of Portland, ME during the last of the farmer’s market season as well as online) and I’ve been using it in my personal and professional practice ever since. Since I often work in the evenings, I like a tea that is relaxing but won’t make me overly drowsy. While Bliss Blend is useful as a pre-bedtime tea, it’s not meant to be a super-sleepy sort of brew. I originally created it on the fly when a friend came over and started to have an anxiety attack, so if your stress manifests as anxiety, Bliss Blend might be a great brew for you.

Bliss Blend features three herbs (two of which are on my indispensable herbs list) and a mellow flavor. We'll take a quick look at each herb individually and then I’ll share with you my Bliss Blend recipe. I've also made suggestions for how to replace an herb with another if you don't have the following three on hand.

image via natalie collins

Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) is a fantastic nervine. Actually, all three herbs in my Bliss Blend are nervines of different varieties. Lavender has a lovely softening energy (it might be a good herbal mascot for the radical softness movement actually) and acts like a gentle massage to the nervous system. It’s really useful for headaches brought on by nervous tension and has the added bonus of protecting the body from infection (which we’re more prone to be impacted by if we’re stressed out). If you’re looking for a Lavender alternative I would recommend a cooling nervine.

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) is another nervine but of the definitively relaxing variety (one of its common names is Blisswort so you know it’s good stuff!). Skullcap helps relieve feelings of being overwhelmed and quiet the nonstop anxious chatter that can go on in our heads. The herb actually produces more endorphins in the body because its a rich source of scutellarin. Skullcap is one of my favorite herbs to help relieve muscular tension (hello, tight shoulders!) and, as the name, implies, helps with those tension headaches. If you’re looking for a Skullcap alternative I would recommend a relaxing nervine.

My final herb is Sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum or tenuiflorum) and its another nervine, but of a more warming and stimulating variety. I run cold, so when I have two cooling herbs like Lavender and Skullcap in a blend, I like to warm it up a bit with a herb like Sacred Basil so that I do not overly cool my system. Now, don’t get concerned seeing that I have an herb labeled as stimulating as part of my brew. First of all, Sacred Basil is mildly stimulating, and second, it’s an adaptogenic herb which has the amazing ability to energize or relax body systems as needed. If you’re looking for a Sacred Basil replacement seek a warming and gently stimulating nervine.

image via john-mark kuznietsov

Bliss Blend

• 2 parts Lavender (Lavandula officinalis)
• 2 parts Sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum or tenuiflorum)
• 1 part Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

Brew 1 teaspoon of herb per 8 ounces of water and steep for 5 - 15 minutes. For a medicinal strength brew, use 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces of water and steep for 30 minutes to overnight. I like adding in just a touch of honey, but it is equally delicious without any sweetness added. Now, if drinking herbs are not your cup of tea (ha! funny!) you can always make Bliss Blend into a healing foot bath.

So now you know what I’m drinking tonight. If you haven’t already, check out my post on why self-care is a necessary and revolutionary act. Then unplug, make yourself some tea, untangle some tension, and practice softness and ease.

Self-care is a Necessary + Revolutionary Act

 

darling,
you are much to whole
to be loved in halves
- pavana -
 

I'm invested in a lot of things, dear readers, including good tea, the downfall of the patriarchy and the rising up of a more kind and just world, lurcher pups having enough couch space to sleep on, chai that inspires politically dissident discussions, and unicorns. One of the biggest most important things that I am invested in is making sure that you (yes, you) don't burn out in a crunchy ball of flame or drown in your sorrows or lose all sense of groundedness in order to (circle one or all) make change, live your dream, raise your family, be a "good" person.

What we need right now is longevity and communities who have created sustainable and long-term ways of thriving. We need to understand that self-care is a revolutionary act (of course it is because it is associated with softness and womyn and the anti-puritanical which are all dangerous to the powers-that-be). It is especially revolutionary to those who have been denied the space to do so - poor folks, folks of color, disabled folks, queer folks, immigrants, survivors (and current experiencers) of abuse, and more. Because to perform an act of self-care is to say that you are worth being cared for.

Self-care is an act of love. It is choosing to love yourself and renew that love of yourself. Self-care can be done in many ways and there is no right way. Your self-care will be different from my self-care. And, self-care isn't meant to enforce the hyper-individualism that some cultures promote (ahem, USA) because self-care doesn't happen in a bubble (unless it's in a bubble bath, but the point remains) and, in fact, is all the more powerful and easy when your need self-care is honored by others (and for us to do the same in turn).

California Mugwort (Artemisia californica)

So then, if I go on and on about self-care, I must have a pretty amazing and consistent self-care practice. Ugh, if only. I do practice self-care far more regularly than I used to, but damn if I struggle to allow myself to take a day off of work a week (please, please do not aspire to this, my entrepreneurial readers). And yet. I do meditate each morning and practice my devotional arts. I drink water. I allow myself to laugh freely (sadly, this was not always a given in my life). I am getting better at letting myself cry freely. I take really amazing herbal baths. And while self-care wasn't even on my radar a decade ago, it is something that I now consider to be essential to my wellbeing and ability to create change in the world.

Look, if self-care feels like an altogether too touchy-feely endeavor (but, I don't want to cry freely), than let me be real pragmatic about it. Without self-care folks burnout, drop out, and are unable to pursue that which they most desire. We're not going to change the world in a year or two - we need folks who are able to be around for the long haul. And to do that we need to practice and uphold self-care as a sacred right, not a privilege. 

Where are you when it comes to self-care?

A devotee? A skeptic? A newbie or seeker? Take a moment to answer the following questions:

• How do I practice self-care daily?
• How do I practice self-care weekly?
• How do I practice self-care monthly?
• How do I practice self-care annually?

It's useful to approach self-care on a spectrum as opposed to having to do it all at once (which can be burdensome and discouraging). A daily self-care practice might be giving yourself a short foot massage as you roll out of bed. A weekly self-care practice could consist of a coffee date with your favorite book. Monthly self-care practices might be a massage, visit to your local Goddess temple or sacred site, or a completely tech-free weekend. Annual self-care practices might consist of a solo retreat, a vacation or staycation,  or taking a class or course that is purely for pleasure not business. If you don't have answers for any of these questions - Congrats! - you get to create some. I hope you do, too, because paying attention to the way we care for ourselves is one of the ways we learn how to care for others. And if you're unable to choose to do self-care for you right now, do self-care for yourself on behalf of your ancestors who deserve healing kindness (because, remember, healing isn't linear). Then, when you're ready, do self-care for you and you only. You'll quickly realize what a dissident and radical and profoundly healing act of magick self-care is.

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Friends! I'll be teaching a quick class on tarot + self-care magick at Love Yo' Self! The event is being hosted by the very magickal botanical bruja known as Lola Venado of Branch + Bone. She's invited a number of amazing folks to offer their insight on magick and medicine for self-care during these tumultuous times. Space is limited - so get your tickets today! and the event is being held in my shared office space. And it's across the street from an ice cream place (with vegan options!), so overall we're looking at a pretty sweet evening. Heck yeah!

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You are worth all of your healing - so make time for it.

Like the self-care as revolution message? Click here to download a free wallpaper for your computer and to remind yourself of the power of self-care.

You know what else you're worth? The collapse of the overculture. Just sayin'. And if you're a sigil magick sort of healer, I recently posted a sigil of mine to help conjure the collapse of the overculture and bring about a more just and kind world. I also wrote about my 2017 motto: Witch Up! Hex Back!

The post was so popular that I'll be sharing more on creating your own sigils on the blog very soon. In the meantime, take care of yourself and let us together continue to take care of the most vulnerable in our communities.