Inherently connecting with the land of my mother’s family has led me to a place of deeper understanding about the magic that comes from my people. Assimilating into mainstream Wiccan culture means that much of my own own cultural magic became of little value within the larger construct. For years I focused on the magical practices taught to me by the teachers I have been grateful to have, and ignored the magic of my people that I had been distanced from. Read more
Thanksgiving is a traditional time for family gatherings, relaxation, charity walks, protests, pre-Black Friday online shopping, and gratitude. As a fall holiday, Thanksgiving gives opportunities to embrace the positive. It is also a good time to reflect on how to turn the negative into positive in one’s life. As a witch of color, a creative spirit and a loving daughter, I am grateful for my circle, my family, the good times and the hard times. As the calendar year of... Read more
Spirituality is a central component of who I am. It is at my mother’s core and so it was with my grandmother before her. Read more
This is all of our fight. Lift up their voices….. Say their names. And let’s not only care when people die. Let us all remember, connect and celebrate and protect the humanity and beauty of trans people in life, not just mourn them in death.Please join me in honoring this day by listening to the voices of the trans community... and lifting those voices up. Read more
I have recently been thinking about some of my past client’s, the work I do and my own sense of justice. The kind of justice that motivates me to continue the journey of such harsh work. I feel it appropriate to share something I wrote earlier this year…. a reflection of sorts. (Reprinted from Sage Woman magazine, #86.) The power of my ancestors runs through my veins, It is a power unknown to others, unseen to the naked eye, and beyond... Read more
This time of year breaths opportunity into the overwhelming feelings of loss that deaths leave behind. While Samhain turns the wheel once more towards the darkest time of the year, it is a reminder that the wheel continues to turn and the practice of release allows for healing and growth. Read more
While I will not link the article that pushed this piece from my mind and through my hands…. it IS all about that article and yet NOT about that article at all. The recent article by Tom Swiss is one example of how we use privilege within our own little society of Paganism to perpetuate harm and then continue to justify it in our practices. This must stop. Examples of this happen all the time within our larger society and within our small microcosm of Paganism. When we start to care about the impact we have on others, we will have to step outside of the places of comfort to say…. “HEY, that is not ok”. Not only do incidents like this reinforce misinformation, it erases real pain and creates microaggressions against POC in the process. Read more
All this context leads to something very important to me. I am Wiccan. And I am also a woman of color with a ancestral history and culture that is a part of my life on a everyday basis, just like my spirituality. Wicca became a foundation that I was able to build on, learn through, and expand to include all of me. Read more
I have not written any blessings or workings this year for the 30 Day Real Black History Challenge yet, and I am already nearing the end. (Thank goodness for encores). I have come to understand that my own blockage in doing this has to do with the intense amount of grief I am holding right now, for the loss of lives that continue to happen to Black people. It is hard to think of magic when death, sadness and hopelessness... Read more
Wicca needs people of color. Wicca needs Black people. There is so much racism, white privilege, Eurocentrism and plain ignorance in Wicca and Contemporary Paganism. Perhaps, this should make me want to leave the religion and not deal with all the trouble. However, it just makes me hold onto my Wiccan identity more strongly. By calling myself a Wiccan, and making Wicca work for me, I can hopefully create a more welcoming environment for other Wiccans of color. Read more
Daughters of Eve
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