Creativity, Competition, and Community

One of my thesis advisors in graduate school told me, as I was working up my proposal and trying to figure out exactly what I was going to focus on, that building a new argument is a lot harder than tearing down someone else’s. In other words, don’t use this opportunity to only dismantle something. …

Saying Hello to a New Year

Hi, Patheos readers! I'm not actually new here, but a lot has changed since I first came aboard back in 2015. I have a tradition that when I start a new journal or book of shadows, I always write an introduction, both to future readers (however imaginary they may be) and to my future self …

The Nature of the Gods

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZAbaHBanLQ&feature=youtu.be My personal theological position has moved as my Craft has grown and changed, and I find that it loops around. For a long time, I identified as a hard polytheist. More recent experiences make me less sure. But ultimately, I appreciate the paradox that presents itself in so many magical traditions: one can hold …

Moving, Materialism, and Finding My Feet Again

The collection of tarot cards is not my ability to divine. The books are not the knowledge I’ve accumulated. The journals are not the experiences I’ve had. The sword is not my power as a covenleader. The trinkets and greeting cards are not my friends and family. The altar is not my power as a witch.

“Plastic Witches,” Insecurity, and Witchcraft Alone

When there's no instagram, no community, no coven, and no one standing around to validate us, is our practice still worthwhile? Who are we when we're alone?

Working with Personal Cycles

I believe in True Will. I think I know what mine is. But is it possible to get there without overriding my own cycles? Or are our personal cycles in place to help us enact that purpose?

Conversion and Trauma

Religion can be profound and creative and enlightening and whatever else, but it also traumatizes. Some in our community bear deep wounds that will never fully heal.

A Look Inside My Magical Journal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT0cMEhtPbY&lc=z22xyn4i3xi3tnsukacdp4350adbfrzmwincqs1wsz5w03c010c Look! After almost ten years I finally learned how to make video thumbnails. Good for me. I get lots of comments on Instagram with folks asking about my the leather journal I'm using right now. It seemed to make the most sense to just make a video! You can find the link to the …

Finding Community on YouTube

I don’t know how many people are aware of this, but I got my start as a writer and Internet witch (that’s a thing, right?) on YouTube. I was studying French in Paris in preparation for beginning graduate work in religious studies, and I was miserable. Not because I was in Paris—Paris is amazing and …

Going Within, Going Without: Exploring Multiple Traditions to Deepen Practice

I confess to being one of those people who gets a little suspicious when interacting with people who claim to be initiates in multiples traditions. In traditional Wiccan spaces, it’s common to hear tales of wayfaring strangers out to collect initiations and titles for the sake of being able to assert more authority in their …