Missing Witches - WF： Veronica Varlow - Sometimes The World Will Trick You And You Think You Are Alone.

00:00:00.340 We've been missing you. Do you want to find the witch friends you've been missing? Do you want 1.00

00:00:04.480 to participate in these conversations live? And do you want to support the work of recovering

00:00:09.080 a true history of feminist ideas about magic? Do you want to hang out? Do you want an invite to

00:00:15.440 Zoom together with Amy and myself, every new moon, along with our hilarious, diverse, wise,

00:00:22.600 queer creative anti-racist science and awe-loving coven you must join the missing witches patreon

00:00:31.200 it's pay what you can and we can't wait to meet you there patreon.com 0.97

00:00:37.180 slash missing witches you aren't being a proper woman therefore you must be a witch 0.95

00:00:41.700 you must be a witch i am so feeling it it is so good to see you 0.99

00:00:51.100 you too love oh my gosh i really love your voice you have such a beautiful

00:00:58.300 voice for sound spells and it's just so beautiful to see you in person oh that's so kind i'm so

00:01:06.220 excited too here's amc hi veronica how are you i'm i'm excited i was like your book is like

00:01:15.420 sumptuous that's what i was thinking that is such a good word thank you yeah i was trying

00:01:24.840 to decide on what word to use and that's what i love it so much oh my goodness look at that

00:01:33.820 wallpaper behind you oh my goodness yeah love it love it I could afford only afford to do one wall

00:01:41.880 so there it is in all its glory love it it's freaking beautiful um so I didn't warn you in

00:01:49.140 or I maybe I did I don't remember but you did I did okay so our coven mates are here they will

00:01:54.060 waft in and out like the powerful spirits that they are I kind of love that I love the idea that

00:02:03.400 we're doing this podcast and there's like spirits that move in and out through the room

00:02:08.540 come out of pictures that are like painted on the walls and things like that can we do that

00:02:13.760 can we pretend that's what's happening I mean that's it the portal's open and you see their

00:02:18.320 smiling faces sometimes they light us up yeah pretend that's happening I love it

00:02:28.260 so good um i'm so excited i'm gonna just take a deep breath and do an official

00:02:37.020 like podcasty opening yeah

00:02:40.500 and just

00:02:44.840 say welcome witches welcome windstorms welcome ghosts welcome opening portals of all kinds

00:02:54.140 and smiling sexy faces it's minus 40 I think outside my doors today I can hear the snow

00:03:01.940 shaking down and the ice is booming on the lake and the world feels uh heavy and sad and exhausting 0.92

00:03:10.500 and fucking dark and then I got to curl up with this sumptuous sexy joyful rock and roll kind of

00:03:20.360 magic and it was such a pleasure for me and such a gift and the book itself tells you it's a gift 0.97

00:03:27.680 and that it's going to walk with you and be with you on boats in the night and so now we just get

00:03:33.440 to be with the witch who sent us out on those night boats and we're here and it's a great gift

00:03:38.560 and a joy. Welcome to the podcast Veronica Marlow. I am so grateful to be here and I think that was

00:03:47.760 the most beautiful introduction I've ever heard so it's it's a beauty to be here among you and

00:03:54.500 your coven and all of the beautiful people that are tuning in on the sound waves right now to join

00:04:01.200 us on this beautiful evening oh you feel it I feel it I feel the joy of it it's really great

00:04:09.680 and I love I didn't know until I read your book that you wear the feathers in your hair as this

00:04:17.660 relationship that you have with the birds and with your grandmother would you start by telling

00:04:23.140 us that story because i see them now they're here i i'm so happy to tell you that story uh

00:04:30.820 my grandmother helen is the inspiration for my book bohemian magic and the defining cross

00:04:40.860 roads moment of my childhood was I was like six or seven years old and my grandmother um you know

00:04:52.460 I was going to my grandmother's house after school and there was all sorts of just you know

00:04:59.460 kids making fun of you you know when you're like seven years old that's what happens I think it

00:05:04.060 happens to us all because we're different because we march to the beat of a different drummer and

00:05:09.820 So there was a lot of people making fun of me and I came running home crying and my

00:05:17.120 grandmother Helen took me out to this beautiful dock with a lagoon and she brushed my hair

00:05:23.980 and calmed me down and asked me about what happened and I told her everything and I cried

00:05:30.440 and I got it all out and when I was done she took the hair from the brush and like just

00:05:38.440 the hair that had come out as she was brushing my hair and calming me down. And she took a tiny

00:05:44.820 rock, like a pebble, and put it on the corner of the hair and set it down on the dock. And it was

00:05:53.360 springtime. And we waited there for probably maybe 15, 20 minutes. And all of a sudden, this little

00:06:01.480 brown bird came swooping in and grabbed a piece of my hair and took off came back grabbed a piece 1.00

00:06:09.420 of my hair and took off and my grandmother said that little bird is making a nest out of your hair

00:06:19.060 and baby birds are going to grow up singing their first song nestled in your hair why

00:06:28.300 do you care what other people think about you and that was the moment when you're you know in that

00:06:39.260 seven-year-old time where you believe in magic and you believe in good and kindness and then

00:06:45.820 some of the kids at school start saying crazy stuff to you and you're like wait a minute what

00:06:50.380 what where is this coming from and then my grandmother brought me back to who I was

00:06:56.960 and she made me believe that I was this magical creature and that we all can have this connection

00:07:04.140 with nature and the birds and how important that is and so in my hair my grandmother also would

00:07:12.800 say that your spirit side is this is old school bohemian magic the the your non-dominant side of

00:07:21.560 your body is your spirit side because you have less control over it so she would say the spirits

00:07:29.040 are the ones that you know if you're picking tarot cards and you wave your hand above the cards

00:07:34.880 when you're you know casting spells if you want to pull the spirits and ancestors and use your

00:07:40.500 non-dominant side so actually when I let my hair down all of the feathers are on the left hand side

00:07:48.120 of my body for my grandmother and for for the spirits of the birds that have grown up

00:07:55.560 making their nests and singing their first song in my hair. I love it so much. Did you feel more

00:08:03.480 did you feel like your relationship with your grandmother changed as you wrote this book?

00:08:08.240 that's a really good question I think that because she's been in spirit for 30 years

00:08:20.280 she passed when I was 12 and I think that when she because she's been in spirit we have a very

00:08:33.400 regular connection so I feel like she comes to me in dreams and I'm very clear we have a very clear

00:08:41.840 love together so I was just using this book as a love letter of her stories and her rituals and

00:08:51.640 and that's a very good question I don't think it changed I think that it was a very sacred thing

00:08:59.180 of writing down her rituals because I love occult books I love witchcraft books and I love reading

00:09:08.020 them and I never saw anything that was like what my grandmother did and practiced and because I'm

00:09:15.640 the last one in my line it was very important for me to write bohemian magic so that my grandmother

00:09:22.320 could continue on and the beautiful rituals that I feel like have helped change my life for the

00:09:27.900 better and have brought me so much happiness and love and positivity in my life I wanted to share

00:09:32.820 them with everyone else because I feel like it really does make a difference one of my favorite

00:09:38.740 parts was the midnight library me too and and maybe maybe we'll we'll let you uh tell the

00:09:47.720 what that is um but my sense was that we can create rituals to help us process traumas

00:10:00.860 can you speak to how and why that is yes is is as best as i can and please feel free to

00:10:11.260 also you know you can you can answer this with me and i'm so i'm so grateful that you connected

00:10:17.100 with that because I wrote this idea about this beautiful midnight library that kind of appears

00:10:27.260 that has all of these you know memories of you and all of these different things of your life

00:10:34.420 that fall around you like snow and they're all there and they're all a part of you and they can

00:10:41.960 be you you take the beautiful things with you and I wrote the midnight library the idea for it

00:10:49.080 because my own house in real life had burned to the ground and I felt like I lost my history

00:10:57.160 like my grandmother is in spirit and I can't hold her in my arms and the physical things that I had

00:11:05.740 were very important to me and when I lost all of them it was this very traumatic thing in like two

00:11:11.660 seconds like I'm somebody that like really keeps things and and and treasures them like these

00:11:18.740 objects these you know her some of her adornments my journals writings and things like that and they

00:11:27.660 all got you know destroyed in the in the fire many of them and so I came up with a spell of

00:11:37.100 doing lighting a candle and when I lit the candle I imagined the house appearing once again

00:11:46.840 and giving me the time to go back through there to be there in that space to have that moment

00:11:55.160 of those memories and when the candle burned down it was time for me to go like I had to move on

00:12:00.920 from it and knowing that like I say in bohemian magic your memories are the lyrics of the song

00:12:09.860 of you and this is something that is extremely powerful of what you want to bring with you

00:12:18.000 and how you want to move forward in the world and know that all of your stories and these objects

00:12:26.840 and these lost things in the past or things that might be sad, you know, you can bring up the best

00:12:33.200 things because they make up the part of you that is strong and solid and here today. Because when

00:12:42.300 we go through something like that, when we keep continuing through that, and when we can really

00:12:49.640 like be strong and and move forward and feel all the feelings and and do it and and know that we

00:12:56.860 have all those beautiful things inside us we can be also an inspiration for other people that are

00:13:03.560 going through those things and letting them know that they're all of their beautiful memories are

00:13:09.900 inside them and nobody can take that away ever and so how how does this creation of rituals

00:13:18.180 help us process like what what do you think is like the mechanism at work there

00:13:25.160 that's a really good question let me think this is a great question I think that when we do

00:13:33.220 ritual and we make it physical and we also bring our mind into it at the same time I think it it

00:13:42.960 it goes I think it's it's far more powerful than if it's just in our minds alone like also another

00:13:52.200 there's another spell in the book called search and destroy because every single one of the spells

00:13:56.920 in the book is the name of our rock and roll song so the chat table of contents is kind of like a

00:14:02.700 jukebox if you want to and you pick what song you want and then you can flip to it and search and

00:14:08.680 destroy that's another one where uh what i do in witch camp it came from uh my work um teaching

00:14:17.760 witch camp and like having witch camp every year and what i do is that in the beginning the very

00:14:23.320 first night everybody shows up we eat together and i have them clear their plates and then i hand

00:14:29.560 them a sharpie marker and i say write everything on this plate that is keeping you from having your

00:14:36.460 best time this week any mind obstacles any things that are getting in your way like write them down

00:14:44.280 on this plate and say them out loud if you want to so we'll be writing and we'll be like on I might

00:14:51.400 I'm not cool enough or I don't know enough magic or I don't know this or like maybe they don't 0.98

00:14:57.120 think I'm like fun enough or like I don't feel like I belong whatever the fuck it is that you 0.96

00:15:02.800 feel like is holding you back you're right on this plate as we speak them out loud we laugh 0.95

00:15:08.160 we laugh at these things because like you know out of like the 13 of us like pretty much 13 people

00:15:15.600 just sort of the same damn thing on their plate and our fears are all the same thing and when you

00:15:21.040 realize that your fears are all the same thing they get really small when you say it out loud 0.91

00:15:25.960 and you realize everybody else is thinking the same thing you're like oh okay it's not that bad

00:15:30.600 and then we all go outside and I have a thing called the glamour hammer and we put it on a

00:15:36.900 stump in the woods and we take turns bashing those plates and we break it up and the girls

00:15:45.940 howl like all the women behind us howl while we're doing it and it feels so good

00:15:52.800 to not only write those things and make them smaller also my grandmother Helen used to say

00:15:59.020 fear stands for forgetting everything is all right. And we smashed it. And then when we smash

00:16:06.340 it, it is like the physical aspect also because as women, we are taught to fix things, not break 0.99

00:16:17.700 things. And it's a very big deal for people to go out there and be like, they're like, I I'm allowed

00:16:24.780 to smash this plate, but like, this is a plate. I'm like, smash the fuck out of it. It's a plate 0.97

00:16:29.420 with all these bad things about it. And it's this release and this howling and cheering each other

00:16:35.680 on. And as soon as those plates are smashed, we throw them in the garbage where they belong.

00:16:40.100 I take them to the dump and leave them away. And then we walk into that home once again to start

00:16:46.320 witch camp and we really feel cleared and that is how you can get rid of some serious you know 0.86

00:16:55.240 trauma or bad thinking or you know negative thoughts going on or doubt you can just do

00:17:01.680 something physical and then you know take care of it put it away start it anew and it really

00:17:08.860 it's it's some it's some of the most powerful magic that i've seen and it feels really good

00:17:14.560 fuck yeah so can you talk about you know I don't know if this is gendered or if this is like a

00:17:24.920 class and capitalism thing but the feeling of like needing permission like needing permission 0.99

00:17:31.400 to be magic needing permission to be big needing permission to fucking speak you know like 0.69

00:17:37.220 needing permission so who gave you glorious one permission to start which camp or like how did 0.99

00:17:47.100 you take it or and who gave you permission to write this fucking book and make up your own 0.88

00:17:50.740 spells or how did you take it you know that is an excellent question i'm loving this so much i just 0.98

00:17:58.400 have to say and for for the listeners right now i just want to tell you i'm looking at this whole

00:18:04.900 crew of beautiful coven members that are floating in and i'm just i'm feeling the love so much i'm

00:18:11.580 feeling so supportive this whole time and um i would say one of the biggest things

00:18:17.400 giving yourself permission is one of the biggest magics there is because ain't nobody else going

00:18:30.360 to give you permission to do what you want to do in this world. And when you, that is actually in

00:18:37.000 my, in the book, there's this whole section of the Spectaculous School of Spellcasting. And

00:18:43.280 Spectaculous is my form of witchcraft. That's my branch of witchcraft, what I call this rock and

00:18:50.840 roll magic and my grandmother's bohemian magic all wound up together. And the very first step

00:18:57.840 of casting a spell because I've been casting them since I was a baby so like I've I've fucked up a

00:19:04.580 lot you know I've I've realized like how not to cast a spell so the five things the very first

00:19:10.940 thing that I do every single time is give myself permission and I wrote this thing in the book

00:19:19.360 that where I talk about what the permission slip looks like and it's so important because when we

00:19:27.240 do spell casting. Let's admit it. Most of the time we are showing up to that spell with our

00:19:33.560 eyeliner running down our face, freaking out, being like, oh, I got to do this right now. I got

00:19:38.960 to like all this crazy stuff is going on. I need to cast a spell. And we're stressed out. And in

00:19:45.440 our grimoires, which magical books that I encourage everyone to have a magical journal,

00:19:52.300 just to write your experience to honor your own magic and I write this permission slip

00:19:59.740 and it is the permission I write things like I give myself permission to call my full power back

00:20:07.280 to me I give myself permission to call back all of my past lifetimes those known and unknown to me

00:20:15.260 I give myself permission to tap into the wisdom in my bones, in my DNA.

00:20:24.100 I give myself permission to tap into my own divinity, to stand strong in everything,

00:20:33.820 every thought of all the beauty and the good things that I've ever been.

00:20:38.740 I call that in.

00:20:39.940 And so I write this down on a good day.

00:20:44.360 because it's easy to forget who we are sometimes if we're having a really bad day

00:20:52.520 and the world's getting us down i might forget who i am and then i go to my grimoire which p.s

00:21:01.540 is like a three dollar and 99 cent notebook that i cut out a bunch of pictures from that i love and

00:21:09.520 I taped to the front so I really discouraged the idea of like these big like um leather bound

00:21:17.820 like grimoires that are uh so perfect and you have to like you're afraid to like spill something on

00:21:23.460 them like I put a mug of coffee like in the corner and there's a ring on the corner because I'm alive

00:21:31.260 like I'll like put my lipstick on it if I'm feeling really good because it's our magical 0.98

00:21:37.000 tools are alive as witches you know they're alive like I don't want them to be fucking perfect 0.78

00:21:42.120 I want people to be able to see them and be like look at this messy beautiful beautiful story of 0.90

00:21:50.200 life and it feels so good and that's what I wanted to do in Bohemian Magic and why the book looks

00:21:58.980 like duct tape together you know that it actually looks like it's got duct tape on it and there's

00:22:05.460 all these things taped in and from my own grimoire I ripped out that page and I put it in

00:22:12.560 bohemian magic my permission slip and when I'm feeling down I read that permission slip out loud 0.87

00:22:19.620 three times and I always remember who the fuck I am after the third time I read that and then I'm 0.78

00:22:25.560 like okay solid foundation now I can cast the most incredible spells because words are wands 0.96

00:22:33.460 and our spells are stories and when we remind ourselves who we are it is just that's like step

00:22:41.300 number one know how beautiful you are know how badass you are and know that there is only going

00:22:48.780 to be this one you in life period so celebrate them celebrate them and so on a beautiful good

00:22:57.080 day I want you to write a permission slip to yourself and a $3.99 notebook with your dreams

00:23:04.160 taped on front and I want you to remember about how powerful and beautiful you can be with your

00:23:12.320 mind with your story and with your spells sending them out to the world so that is all the permission

00:23:20.280 you need you give it to yourself preach I mean what's what's it what's a witch version of preach

00:23:29.440 we're trying to like renovate our language from these like church traumatizing pieces do you have

00:23:36.900 anything I yes I do I guess I do it is how how so your head back and how how and me yes how is a big

00:23:50.520 word for us around here so I think we can adopt that super super easily yeah I did just want to

00:23:57.800 say like that's like such a great thing about the book is it really does feel constructed you know

00:24:03.180 it looks like a scrapbook and there's one page I was thinking about you tearing a page out of your

00:24:08.440 grimoire and putting it in this book and one page that I wanted to tear out and put into my grimoire

00:24:14.020 and then I was like thinking about this sort of like herbace you know of grimoires eating each

00:24:19.920 other but um the page was your life is the greatest spell you will ever cast

00:24:26.240 please expand on that idea well I have got to say that I believe that how you live your life

00:24:37.740 how you go out in the world every day how you speak every day how you treat others every day

00:24:44.160 is a spell and even if it's just going and getting coffee and talking to the person behind

00:24:50.480 encounter and treating them like a god goddess ancestor that is delivering you this beautiful

00:24:59.240 thing and just feeling really good about that feeling like treating people everybody that you

00:25:05.100 meet in that way and just creating that spell of your life and I will tell you that in my story of

00:25:13.640 creating spells in your life I will say that I have wanted to write a book for over a decade

00:25:21.060 and in 2007 I'm here in New York City and I really wanted some magical friends and you know the 0.87

00:25:28.900 internet was okay back then but it wasn't like full-blown it was like some MySpace shit or

00:25:34.120 whatever I'm like where is my magical people where are they at and I always wanted to have this what's

00:25:41.300 happening here right now. I'm like, want to hug every single one of you. And I reached out to a

00:25:47.820 bunch of people that really inspired me. And I said, listen, I want to do a coven. And I want

00:25:54.500 us to inspire our creative work. And Spectaculous Witchcraft is about art is magic, and magic is

00:26:01.300 art. So it's all these creative, beautiful people that I knew. And I was like, do you want to get

00:26:06.740 together and support each other? Can we do spells together? And then we can talk about our dreams

00:26:12.240 and we can all lift each other up and boost the magic even brighter and bigger. Cause all of us

00:26:17.500 can do a spell for each other, each one's project. And there was this one amazing person. Her name is

00:26:23.100 Carolyn Turgeon. She's an author. And at the time she was a struggling author and she had such

00:26:28.920 beautiful work and she's so talented. And I really believed her in her. And the two of us would do

00:26:34.940 these spells all the time. I was like, I want this book so bad. I want this book so bad, 2007.

00:26:40.720 Now, the thing is, I have to interject my own self for a second, is that people will be like,

00:26:46.440 maybe if I cast a spell and it doesn't come true right, right away, it wasn't meant for me.

00:26:50.980 Obviously, that is not true because now in 2021 slash two, I've finally got this book,

00:26:57.980 but I cast a spell back in 2007. However, I was supposed to go on tour with this band,

00:27:03.720 all this other crazy stuff happened I'd met all these people from all over the world so that when

00:27:08.360 this book came out there was all these people that were waiting this book in 2007 witchcraft

00:27:13.620 wasn't it was like a hush hush thing like people weren't talking about it now everybody's talking

00:27:19.380 about it so it wouldn't have been it wasn't the right time I believe that our spirits and our

00:27:23.440 ancestors are doing the things at the right time so fast forward to this beautiful woman from 2007

00:27:31.260 this author writes the fairy handbook, the unicorn handbook, the mermaid handbook,

00:27:37.860 these beautifully bound with gold on the insides and like, you know, engraved in these beautiful

00:27:45.180 lush pictures on the inside. And she created all this beautiful stuff. She has a thing for Harper

00:27:50.900 Collins and she's got this beautiful deal. And she contacts me and says, Hey, so they said to me

00:27:58.180 that they want me to write the handbook of witches. And I told them that if I was going to

00:28:06.460 do that, it would just be a book report of all the things I learned from you. And so I'd love to take

00:28:12.320 you down to HarperCollins. And I was like, what? And she was like, who does that? They were going

00:28:19.220 to give her another deal. And she was like, this is not my deal. Like she is so right in her path

00:28:27.020 that she's like, I know what's for me and what's not for me. She's like, this is yours. And she

00:28:31.660 walked me right in there. I told my story. I don't have an agent. I didn't even have anything

00:28:36.460 about a proposal or anything. And they were like, well, we're interested. So write a proposal. And

00:28:41.540 I was like, I want it to look like this grimoire right here. And I want these crazy pictures. And

00:28:45.780 then I want it to be a rock and roll magic thing. And they're like, cool. Sounds great. Done.

00:28:50.480 And that is what I mean by your life is the greatest spell you will ever cast. Because

00:28:56.160 had I known she said to me you know I may have given up parts of my writing stuff if I didn't

00:29:02.600 have that crew of people that believed in me so much and that really kept me going and she found

00:29:09.080 other writers after that crew kind of dissolved because I was gone and touring and stuff she kept

00:29:14.700 up with the writing partners and she kept going and her dream came true and so that's what I mean

00:29:20.460 when I say your life is the greatest spell you will ever cast because we're casting this spell

00:29:26.660 right now. Like right now, as we're talking together, we are crossing paths. We are part

00:29:32.520 of each other's lives. And there's something that might happen in the future that changes one of

00:29:38.480 our worlds because we met each other right now. So you never know. So you just got to like cast

00:29:46.260 the good things every day so with that said i i want to invite members of our coven who are here

00:29:53.580 if you have a question if you have a response if you have some magic you want us to call in for you

00:30:01.360 let's leave it together here friends if you just want to say hi that's cool too okay hello um okay

00:30:09.740 uh so veronica i was so excited about tonight's interview because i'm a regular reader of

00:30:17.460 enchanted living and i read your column all of the time and um i just joined this coven i was

00:30:24.620 looking at my little date book in july of last year and so you're the first person that they

00:30:30.300 interviewed that i already knew about so i'm just so honored to share this virtual space with you

00:30:36.380 and you you know in in the previous column you talked about the book coming out and then in the

00:30:43.340 last uh column you talked about how it was out and so I didn't have the book yet because I have

00:30:50.540 like five books already about witchcraft but I'm going to order it tonight I'm just so energized

00:30:57.300 and charged and you're such a wonderful person I'm just so glad that you're even better in

00:31:04.320 than what I imagine you being from reading your column and what I would like to call in uh Risa

00:31:11.000 since you invited us to do so is that um Amy and Risa know I'm a poet and um I'm editing my first

00:31:19.400 book this year so I want to call that into the circle to bring that into fruition so I'm putting

00:31:26.260 that on on our altar for tonight and what is the name of this book does it have a beautiful name

00:31:32.080 yet i i haven't decided on a final title yet okay well please let me know and i would love to hear

00:31:40.840 about it and your process like as it's like coming together because who knows like maybe i can set you

00:31:48.720 up with some good people too that would really see you and appreciate what you have to offer too so

00:31:54.500 you can always yeah so we'll have to connect i am so grateful for you and i love seeing your

00:32:00.960 beaming beautiful face this like time during this like moment that we're having together

00:32:06.360 is beautiful thank you since we're manifesting books in this circle um the book I I spoke to

00:32:13.100 Kristen Soleil about this and you're both rock and roll New York witches so in my mind you know

00:32:20.640 maybe Risa and I are part of it but maybe it's just the two of you but I I need there to be a

00:32:27.280 book about rock and roll witches and rock and roll witchcraft specifically not like the the

00:32:34.940 notion of rock and roll as like an adjective but the noun of rock and roll as a thing you know

00:32:42.000 there was there was one book that Risa and I read um about uh rock and roll in the occult and there 1.00

00:32:47.780 were no women in it zero and we all from having lived in the world know that like women are a

00:32:55.740 large part of the uh witchcraft hi we exist yeah and it's some it's something that I'm I'm touching

00:33:05.800 on in my own writing and obviously in my life I I consider myself a rock and roll witch as well

00:33:11.740 yes I noticed that your your song titles um that are your your chapter titles are there are a

00:33:20.420 couple pop songs in there but like heavily leaning towards 60s and 70s rock and roll

00:33:25.100 so yeah it's not really a question so much as like I don't know if that's something that you

00:33:32.840 and Kristen uh you know I could maybe send an email to let's put books on the altar

00:33:39.000 let's weave speaking of weaving we have a weaver here with us too putting yes and weaving new

00:33:45.460 ideas and new art on the altar yes I would love that and I love the idea of us like stirring all

00:33:52.780 of these things in the cauldron together for us because it feels so juicy to be on here with other

00:34:00.440 word witches because and poetry as well I have to say what you were talking about as well with

00:34:08.560 your poetry like poetry is so beautiful for incantation and speaking things into existence

00:34:17.700 and I think that that's I'm just loving the idea of that too so and rock and roll witches of course

00:34:25.260 yes we're trying to finish our second book now our deadline is February 15th so we keep like

00:34:34.140 breaking ourselves out of that mode to get to sort of dip into these conversations

00:34:40.640 and it's like incredibly I don't want to say healing because that word can be sort of difficult

00:34:50.920 if you don't feel like you're broken and if you don't feel like you'll ever quite be healed you

00:34:55.240 know like that word doesn't feel really right Sophie Strand was talking about that as someone

00:34:59.820 with chronic illness and so I'm thinking maybe you have another word too you can help me it's

00:35:04.520 not church and not not the medicalization like the fixedness of it all but but it does feel

00:35:10.960 incredibly like juicy maybe sumptuous yes we do that yes we love that sumptuous word for sure

00:35:20.620 for sure well you'll have to um my my husband David Varlow is also an author and he's he just

00:35:28.160 finished an incredible children's book that's um that's really powerful and we have been working

00:35:36.560 on in the book there's a spell for for those of you know for those of you listening and out there

00:35:43.380 in the world um there's a spell called magic bus and it's one of the things that i did to help

00:35:50.120 manifest this book and help me with my writing process because I don't know about how it is

00:35:58.480 going for you right now and how you're feeling about it but some days I would be like this is

00:36:03.440 the best thing I've ever done and then some days I'd be like naked in my shower like crawling in

00:36:10.940 a ball and sobbing. So, so I would, um, I would highly recommend, um, the magic bus and the magic

00:36:22.260 bus idea is who do you want on your bus? Who would you like to journey with you and this process?

00:36:29.900 And I picked six supernatural people, people on the other side who really resonated with me

00:36:38.200 as far as writing heroes of mine who really spoke to me and I put their pictures all together I

00:36:48.060 printed them out I took my favorite pictures from the internet printed them out down the street and

00:36:53.980 put them on a poster board and I put a picture of me in the middle and the reason that I do that

00:36:59.960 is because not because of like ego and being like oh I've definitely earned my place among them

00:37:06.500 it's coming from a place of, I need to imagine that we're all chilling out together because

00:37:13.760 these are beautiful people that inspired me. And these are people who have already on this magic

00:37:19.380 bus, gone down the journey of their fantastic books and creating and have this beautiful,

00:37:27.540 like got their works out there to everybody and spoke to so many people and raised up so many

00:37:32.880 people. And I want to go on the bus with them. I want them to show me the way and that seeing me

00:37:42.640 with them, you put your picture in the middle and then put three on either side of you. And I have

00:37:47.880 an incantation that you say in the book and you write, you know, you, you leave a little present

00:37:52.700 for them for inspiration. And then you light candles in front of them and then you write

00:37:57.100 and you work on your art, you work on whatever the art is. And you feel like I'm telling you

00:38:02.700 when I would do spells with the magic bus and I was stuck I would within like 10 minutes my

00:38:09.520 I would just my fingers would be flying with like magic coming out of them so I highly recommend

00:38:16.560 whatever art it is that you do and this worked especially for writing magic bus is a great spell

00:38:24.780 to do so hi Veronica I don't know if you remember me we met when I took one of your classes two of

00:38:31.660 classes in 2015 oh my god and then in person at shindig i met you and david um and i told you a

00:38:40.000 story so i wanted to when when risa said that their book is due on the 15th i was like okay

00:38:45.960 i have to i have to say hi and tell the story because talking about how life is a spell and

00:38:51.660 keep things keep spiraling back and you don't know where the connections will be so in 2015

00:38:56.680 I took a class of yours where you were going to lead us on a journey to find our secret magical

00:39:03.560 name. And then you invited us to come back the following week to share about that. I thought

00:39:09.500 that's what the class of the following week was going to be about, but it wasn't. And it was on

00:39:12.860 Valentine's day. And we did talk about our magical names, but then you cast a spell to bring love

00:39:19.200 into our lives and I had never been in an online I hadn't really taken many years were the first

00:39:27.240 magic classes that I took online but you cast a circle and I could feel it and I was so moved by

00:39:33.620 how you did it online and had us all feel included you cast the spell I had done some other things

00:39:39.920 in my own life to be ready but the next day the day after valentine's day somebody asked me

00:39:46.860 something and my immediate reaction would have been to say no but I said yes later that day

00:39:54.260 I was asked out to coffee by somebody else who's sitting on the couch over here

00:40:02.520 and he was brave and he asked me out to coffee and I was brave and I said yes and that was on

00:40:13.680 february 15th we sent amy so i just feel like this weird synchronicities although they have

00:40:18.200 nothing to do with your book but uh so we both said yes and we're really brave and for all

00:40:23.240 intents and purposes we've been together ever since anyways this is nothing to do with almost

00:40:29.100 anything except my excitement it's everything it's everything with everything

00:40:34.420 Rachel what a beautiful story about celebrating love and the power of your own unique magic

00:40:47.640 because sure we did this thing and we did a circle but the truth of the matter is sure you

00:40:57.380 felt it but what my grandmother said when I was a little girl she said you are the mirror and you

00:41:03.980 are the reflection of the best parts of people. And it's very important that you tilt that up so

00:41:11.080 they can see all their beauty and own all of that. I mean, you own that. Your magic is what

00:41:20.880 opened that portal of love for you. I mean, you saying yes, you making fear mean forgetting

00:41:31.540 everything is all right and saying hell yeah I'll go to coffee with you and do this thing

00:41:37.220 and like how beautiful that the two of you are sitting there on the couch together and the last

00:41:46.240 time well not the last time but the time before we saw each other was online and you know now you've

00:41:52.980 manifested this incredible thing like you're a powerful badass witch like that's a great story

00:42:01.480 I left out one key part, but thank you. So what got us, my partner and I talking that day was he

00:42:08.860 had posed a question online, which was, how do you know, or tell me a time when you know someone

00:42:15.720 really loves you? And what got us talking was my response was about your class. So I had responded

00:42:22.640 that I had been in a class the day before, and it was very clear to me that our teacher loved us.

00:42:29.200 it came through the internet, came through the screen. So that was important. I should

00:42:34.480 add that to the story. You're giving me so many goosebumps. I can't even tell you. I just like,

00:42:40.500 see, you're, you can feel, you can feel, well, I think many of us are empaths and we can feel

00:42:49.380 those things. And you are all of you here. And those of you listening are the dream of my

00:42:58.060 childhood come true of finding magical friends that were these beautiful people all over the

00:43:04.680 world that had their heart open to magic and would believe in it just as much as I did and not think

00:43:11.500 it's weird but actually use it to be these strong badass beautiful people and the fact that you took

00:43:19.780 this class and you took your own power back and you said yes and you stood in your power and

00:43:29.800 recognized all the beauty that you have inside of you I'm sure put a spell on your partner because

00:43:39.240 you were standing in your power and I think if that's what I mean that's the sexiest thing there

00:43:44.940 is. And so what a beautiful story. And I was just, I was not expecting this tonight. So thank you

00:43:52.080 for that story. And like, I, I'm kind of blown away by that. So congratulations and like seeing

00:43:59.140 you happy and seeing like, just seeing you look at him two seconds ago, when you looked over at

00:44:06.380 him with so much love, like I'm celebrating for you that you allowed yourself to open the door

00:44:12.960 to love with your magic like that's what this is about and that is your life is the greatest story

00:44:22.080 spell you'll ever pass like I think it was the first question I asked like how how do rituals

00:44:29.700 help us and I think that that's the answer like you made our coven mate feel loved and good and

00:44:40.680 then when she was presented with an opportunity she said yes and maybe like at at its ultimate

00:44:47.860 ultimate core whether we're creating the rituals ourselves or you know we're we're having them

00:44:52.800 done upon us by a leader upon is definitely the wrong you know we're guided whether we

00:44:58.880 create them ourselves or we're guided by a leader such as yourself like feel better

00:45:03.580 encounter an opportunity and because you feel better and because you feel loved

00:45:09.420 you're more likely to say yeah there's something in there about what your your grandmother said

00:45:13.720 too I wrote it down to think about later about being a reflection of others there's something

00:45:19.420 in there about a ritual circle or a ritual that's a personal circle that's sort of making a

00:45:26.180 reflection relationship with the universe I think I agree I think that it's funny like about like

00:45:34.060 what you're like, we were all just talking about. I think that I think that, man, when I when I hear

00:45:42.120 people, you know, say, like, I don't know anything about magic, or I just started witchcraft, and I

00:45:48.280 don't know what I'm doing, or I'm a baby witch or this and that. I was like, listen, if you were a

00:45:53.840 little kid, you're the most badass, which there ever was. Because when we were really little,

00:45:59.160 but we didn't speak language yet we got around on our intuition we figured out how to speak

00:46:06.360 language through intuition and looking and being aware so the thing is is that when we were like

00:46:16.500 you know six seven and we walk in on our parents fighting and we feel the energy of the room and

00:46:21.620 we're like is everything okay and they're like oh no no no everything's fine everything's fine

00:46:25.360 everything's fine to protect us but our inch and then we go wait maybe my intuition was wrong

00:46:31.060 that's so weird I thought that they were something was weird going on and then that and then we start

00:46:36.640 to doubt ourselves and then life happens and we have to get jobs and like put our roof over our

00:46:42.900 head and we step away from this magical world and then the thing is is as adults if we can tap back

00:46:50.140 into that moment from when we were little kids again with the knowledge that we have now

00:46:55.320 then we're good and I think that the thing that the connection of Rachel and myself and her feeling

00:47:04.380 my love is Rachel and I were little kids together through little kids in this circle you know it's

00:47:12.940 not about like all the stuff that you know it's not about I want to really shy away from the idea

00:47:20.120 of like because I grew up with magic because I don't think that matters I really don't I think

00:47:24.740 it's beautiful I appreciated it but I don't think it matters I think that all of us are magic and I

00:47:31.820 think that if we're little kids together and we say are like playing with magic and we see each

00:47:38.140 other with that beauty you know when Flora was talking about like reading the article and like

00:47:44.460 about how she she really connected with it and talking about her own work we're having a

00:47:50.240 communication through poetry through words we're being little kids together we're passing each

00:47:56.660 other poetry notes you know and it's like I I see I see that you know that spirit I see that

00:48:04.820 ancestor in you I recognize you for and I recognize you Rachel from like all you know all of us here

00:48:11.140 together like I feel like it's all about just being little kids again and and having that beauty 1.00

00:48:18.920 and no competition and fuck that shit and just like when it comes down to it the real thing is 0.99

00:48:25.060 like the friendships and the love that we had in our lives that's the most abundant and beautiful 1.00

00:48:32.160 thing that there is and I just like deeply feel that because I had like you know two friends when

00:48:38.580 little and now I have all of you guys and the world and like it means a lot to me it means

00:48:46.220 like it really does mean a lot to me and the love energy that I can feel from all of you too

00:48:50.940 bouncing back to me is it has a lot yeah I've often been known to cry at our coven meetings

00:49:02.680 it's um you know not a requirement but it's definitely and most most of our interviews

00:49:09.820 because it is so it is it's to feel so seen and to feel um like your your pain is as welcome

00:49:21.680 as your play this is a really special gift we give each other and um yeah I'm really really

00:49:29.760 thankful for these moments I really connect with what you're saying about kids and that moment

00:49:35.140 where they feel something is wrong and if you tell them it's not they're broken from their sense of

00:49:44.200 their own sense of of reality like as a mom to a three-year-old that's something that I'm like

00:49:49.820 bumping my head against all the time in a time of of you know mass death and stuff it's like she

00:49:57.240 she feels very concretely when things are not right and it moves through her body slowly so

00:50:04.640 it's not like you get an immediate response so you have to pay attention an hour later 20 minutes

00:50:10.680 later she's not having a temper tantrum about whatever it is she's feeling she's slowly the

00:50:16.940 waves are moving through her body and her mind of what those feelings are so to try to like stay

00:50:21.980 with her and honor that is anyway that's not a question that's just something I'm going through

00:50:27.800 that's beautiful I get I imagine that your daughter is is a magical creature and it's

00:50:36.060 so lucky to have you as a mom and being raised in magic is such a beautiful thing yeah she's good

00:50:42.380 she right these days when I suggest something that she like she says oh that would be wonderful

00:50:47.880 a little wonder so that's magical I love that

00:50:54.460 yeah she's good oh so what's next what's how are you feeling you released your book

00:51:05.720 in COVID era how are you feeling how are you I didn't even start with that

00:51:13.580 I am I tell you I've gotten really really emotional because this this past month has been

00:51:24.020 really emotional and it's funny because I think about putting things on Instagram and saying like

00:51:30.340 thank you and I've tried and it's so hard to express in words how grateful I am for all of

00:51:38.120 the people and like people are writing these amazing things and just like just like it's just

00:51:48.220 so beautiful to wake up in the morning and and read something from somebody and being like i found

00:51:53.160 your book and i was just randomly in the store and it called to me and like i want to tell you

00:51:58.480 that this meant something to me just having that mirror that reflection is so uh phenomenal it's

00:52:06.680 this is like as magical creatures and humans here in this world the thing that we want more than

00:52:16.900 anything is love connection to be seen to be heard and to share our experiences back and forth like

00:52:25.440 that and i feel like it's been happening in this huge way in the past month and um from being in a

00:52:35.400 in a time that we're away from each other that we can't you know run over and hug each other and be

00:52:43.840 around each other the power of words the power of connection the power of writing of these

00:52:52.960 beautiful things that people have sent to me feel so full and um and it's yeah it's been it's been

00:53:04.580 it's really emotional. It's like a dream come true. I kind of like, don't even, yeah, I don't

00:53:09.940 even know how it happens. Like, it's just like, it's, it's really beautiful. And I'm so grateful

00:53:16.120 to be here with, with all of you and have this moment of connection together. And I just want

00:53:22.120 to say on that note, I'm really grateful for what you're doing and for, you know, all of you

00:53:28.980 together doing this doing the show and putting yourself on a sound spell on the airwaves out

00:53:37.860 there in the world because there are people that are listening to this right now that can't be out

00:53:43.360 as witches or they can't you know they can't talk about it and you both and all of you all the coven

00:53:52.000 are acting as a lighthouse to them through the darkness and especially in this time when we

00:53:59.380 can't be around each other what you're doing and the work you're doing is vital so thank you for

00:54:05.420 all that you're doing and this podcast and your you know this amazing coven that's here together

00:54:14.460 because it makes a difference oh good we got to the crying part

00:54:19.840 no I can't oh thank you thank you for saying that we are we are in that part like you talked about

00:54:31.100 where it's the it's we still we're we still are in these moments of waves of connection of feeling

00:54:37.480 that that love and meeting these lights like meeting like we're in the we're in the city of

00:54:46.680 lights we're in the city of candlelight that your grandmother told us about you know we have these

00:54:51.580 moments where we're like we get to meet you and you've been out doing the work making the light

00:54:57.840 gathering the circles for a long time and we're getting to meet those people you know like we're

00:55:04.100 feeling like oh man because we you know we work in the woods alone like it feels very very distant

00:55:10.880 sometimes so so yeah I bet but we're also in that part you're talking about the the part where

00:55:16.120 you're like often curled up in the bathtub freaking out so so it's nice it's hard the

00:55:24.220 the word witch part is hard you know the the research trying to say something that balances

00:55:28.860 um what comes from instinct or comes from spirit and then feel coming that feels justified in

00:55:37.760 in a rational discourse or from an academic background trying to walk that line it's hard

00:55:42.940 Do you have any advice for those people who haven't started their books because of imposter syndrome or, you know, all of the things that Risa and I, and I'm sure you and everybody and Fleur and anyone who ever tries to make anything deals with, you know, and flows, but what do you say to people who haven't started because they're afraid?

00:56:09.500 That is an excellent question. I think the best way to deal with that is to think about your favorite author. I know that one of the stories about Dr. Seuss, when I was little, Dr. Seuss was a big deal.

00:56:33.080 and you know you hear these stories of writers having these you know like eb white and charlotte's

00:56:41.640 web or you think about you know all of these different stories that um that they fought so

00:56:49.320 hard and got rejected by every single person and there are books that i consider ancestors

00:56:57.780 because my take on ancestors is if it changed your life and if a book a piece of music piece

00:57:06.140 of poetry whatever it is if it changed your life it is an ancestor if it raised you up it is an

00:57:12.520 ancestor and I feel like the best way to think about this is imagine if your favorite author

00:57:21.040 who gave you that beautiful book or that piece of music or whatever it is that you're going to do

00:57:28.220 that you're afraid of doing, imagine if they didn't do it. Imagine what a loss you would feel.

00:57:37.280 Imagine what a loss that would be in the world if that person didn't do it.

00:57:43.400 now imagine in the future your big beautiful book changing people's lives

00:57:53.760 changing how they look at the world how they see the world and that is why you got to keep going

00:58:04.420 if you can't do it for you and a lot of us have a hard time doing it for ourselves if you can't

00:58:11.120 do it for you. Do it for the 12-year-old version of you who needed the information that you now

00:58:19.160 has. Do it for them. Do it for the people out there that will benefit. You have to walk through

00:58:28.780 writing a book, writing a song, painting a piece of art. Sometimes this thing, it can be like a

00:58:36.300 Lord of the Rings journey. The thing about Lord of the Rings is that there's moments where you

00:58:42.260 are battling dragons. You think you might die any moment. You are like dealing with all this stuff.

00:58:49.440 But the thing is about the Lord of the Rings is that like, that's what makes it a journey.

00:58:56.200 That's what makes an adventure. That's what makes the beauty of it. So when you get in that

00:59:01.680 naked crying in your bathtub moment. Be like, this is me battling the damn dragons in Lord of 0.99

00:59:08.480 the Rings and I will not lay down and die. I will take a break for a moment and then I will go back 0.98

00:59:15.420 and battle because it is so vital to continue our beautiful work in the world. And there is somebody

00:59:26.580 whose life you are going to change.

00:59:28.820 If it was so easy to do all of these things,

00:59:32.360 if Lord of the Rings was just them drinking margaritas

00:59:36.000 from the Shire to the end,

00:59:37.760 we would be bored out of our minds.

00:59:40.380 That's not a story.

00:59:42.200 So you are powerful and beautiful.

00:59:45.720 And so if you've got fear in the beginning, that's cool.

00:59:48.520 They had fear leaving the Shire too.

00:59:51.580 You are in a hero's journey.

00:59:54.080 So do it for the greater good because your work in the world and your voice in the world

01:00:05.640 makes a difference, is unique, can change the world. So don't you dare take that voice away

01:00:15.040 from me because I need your experience and your voice and your story and your spells

01:00:22.500 to help enrich my world. So don't you dare take that away from me. And that is what I would say,

01:00:32.040 switch it that way. So I would guilt trip them.

01:00:43.660 Don't you dare take that away from me. Don't you take your sweet art and beauty away from me.

01:00:49.340 home I need it in the world I need it in the world this is what I need more of right here

01:00:54.720 all that you have to offer right here and less of you know the angry things going on out there

01:01:01.440 you know what I'm saying like our voices right here the voices of the people listening the voices

01:01:08.220 that are here in the coven this is what I need to paint my world with so don't you dare you can cry

01:01:16.040 I'm in the shower, but take a moment. I'll make you some tea. I'll think about, you know, I'll

01:01:22.320 come, I'll come through like spiritually. I'm making you some tea and then, and then get back

01:01:27.280 to the journey and like, you know, pick it up, go back and go back to the journey. You know,

01:01:33.000 it's important. I took a lot out of that. I laughed really, really hard. I'm my two of my

01:01:38.940 main takeaways were like, if you, you can take a break and you can have the margaritas, but if you 0.98

01:01:44.740 only have the margaritas there's no fucking journey

01:01:48.820 and I mean I like a margarita yeah I'm not being sad have a margarita it's a good part of the story 0.85

01:01:59.420 I want to pull up a piece from the book um I just want to read this one piece really quickly

01:02:10.040 if you'll allow me sometimes we ask um guests if at the closing or closing of the circle as we

01:02:21.700 we don't close a circle but we sort of spiral this one out and we'll spiral back together

01:02:27.200 if there's something they can offer to our listeners that's giving them strength right now

01:02:33.660 a ritual a practice you've given us so many already so I won't ask you for another one but

01:02:39.000 if you have one, throw it in the cauldron. But I did want to read this piece because it is such

01:02:46.540 a gift. And I referred to it in the beginning because it was ringing in my mind. So I'll read

01:02:51.680 this. And thank you for being here. And thank you all for being here in the coven we make in the

01:02:56.400 dark between our ears, just lighting our lights and drinking our margaritas and going on our

01:03:01.520 powerful heroic journeys so veronica varla wrote in bohemian magic the road goes ever on and on

01:03:11.900 this book is a love letter to you to your magic to your wild to the electric that sizzles in your

01:03:18.340 veins to the grand mysteries of the secret powers that you hold within you walking the path of

01:03:24.160 witchcraft in the wild is a revolutionary act it is so easy to feel alone in our journey and our

01:03:30.480 experience. My heart longed for the witches, for the magic makers, for the cosmic cult of wild

01:03:36.720 visionaries and alchemists to arrive. I knew there was more of us out there, scattered all over the

01:03:42.320 world, people who lived magic, who felt it in some unexplainable space in their soul.

01:03:49.080 This book was my call out to you, that your hands might hold its covers,

01:03:54.560 that your eyes might move across these words. You are not alone.

01:04:00.480 i have to say that was so beautiful to hear coming out of your mouth and that is the first

01:04:13.300 time i've heard somebody else read my book out loud and it's so beautiful to hear your beautiful

01:04:20.640 voice is saying those words and it's so what i was talking about about you know that was

01:04:28.180 that's the last chapter and I sobbed the entire time I did that chapter because I imagined that

01:04:37.700 you know passing this on and passing this on to future generations and being able to get out to

01:04:45.680 the witches and the magic makers all over the world and letting them know that you know there's

01:04:51.820 a light on over here just like you all have a light on out there where you are you know it's

01:04:57.780 like we're fireflies in the night and we find each other and it's really beautiful because

01:05:03.560 sometimes the world will trick you and it's a trick and you think you're alone or you think

01:05:09.560 that you're the only person going through this moment or you get depressed and you forget who

01:05:14.740 you are and it's so important and I that's why I wanted to write bohemian magic as a companion

01:05:21.680 and why in the beginning of the book you actually enchant the book to you and you tape your hair in

01:05:29.420 it and you do these things because I want the I wanted a book to be a friend and this book to be

01:05:37.680 your living enchanted companion that'll always be with you and that part of me is in there and

01:05:43.580 part of you is in there and part of every single witch all around the world that is doing this

01:05:50.100 is in there too and it's a portal in the pages so we could find each other

01:05:55.300 thank you for reading that it was really beautiful to hear i feel really uh electrified by the

01:06:02.240 knowledge that i am the first person to have gotten to read that back to you that feels very

01:06:06.700 in keeping with our realization about the interweaving the projections and reflections

01:06:14.080 and interweaving that that we're doing today you're my mirror you're my mirror that was

01:06:21.860 really beautiful thank you thank you yeah thank you for your words I was really emotional reading

01:06:26.240 them thank you I was too it really all of you who are listening it really is a wonderful book

01:06:37.180 to use May's word it is full of wonders it's a wonderful book it's it's we can't recommend it

01:06:44.920 enough it's truly a wonderful book yeah thank you thank you so much and and I'm so grateful for you

01:06:52.960 both and the coven and I'm so grateful to be here with all of you and um I can share um because it's

01:07:01.460 New Year's or I can share a quick spell if you would, if you would like that might help your

01:07:07.780 listeners and the coven. And it's also one of the many and bohemian magic, but I think it really

01:07:13.980 applies to what we're doing today and like what we're talking about and reflections and juicy

01:07:20.600 words, especially for word witches. It's a spell that's called walk this way. And the idea of it

01:07:30.560 is I want you to imagine with your beautiful artistic word witch minds I want you to think

01:07:38.380 of nine adjectives that you would give say the editor of Rolling Stone owes you a favor 0.99

01:07:47.040 and they're writing an article about you it's a feature you're on the cover you're fucking

01:07:52.640 fabulous and you're on the cover of Rolling Stone and so what happens is this editor says

01:08:00.420 listen, you can slip me nine adjectives about you that you want me to put in here. You don't need

01:08:07.420 to feel that way about yourself yet, but there are adjectives that you aspire to and that you want

01:08:16.060 everyone in the world to read and read its truth. Okay. So that's like, you know, you're creating it,

01:08:23.700 you're putting it out there and spectacular witchcraft. At the end of every spell, we say,

01:08:28.660 see it be it so be it and the idea is you see it in your mind first what are those words that you

01:08:36.280 want to weave into your name and wrap around yourself and then you become it you be it and

01:08:43.360 then it's it's done so be it and so the idea of this spell is choosing nine adjectives you get

01:08:51.620 your $3.99 notebook grimoire with your art taped on the front. And then you write all these juicy

01:08:59.040 adjectives that you love and any kind of just, you just go crazy, write like 40 of them, pick your

01:09:06.180 nine favorite. Then you are going to get nine taper candles. I like to use like the seven inch

01:09:13.220 ones, the skinny seven inch ones. You get a switchblade or you can get a carving tool. You can

01:09:20.780 get clay carving tools they're like these little wood pencils and from vertically from the top of

01:09:27.420 the candle going down in each one of the nine candles you will write one of your adjectives

01:09:35.360 so each candle has a different adjective on it and they're all come up to nine what i do is i get a

01:09:43.380 plate uh like a terracotta plate that's uh underneath plants you know like a big one those

01:09:49.180 are great for spells so you just get the bottom of plants plate pot things you know what I'm talking

01:09:55.300 about you put them there and each one of the candles when you're going to light them you say

01:10:03.260 my name is because your name is an abracadabra your name is a spell you say it powerfully and

01:10:10.860 you say my name is first name last name and I am and then you say the candle the the the word on

01:10:22.580 the candle and then you light that candle and you do this for each one of the nine because my

01:10:30.660 grandmother in bohemian magic and spectacular witchcraft my grandmother believed that candles

01:10:37.220 as they burn down on this side they appear on the other side that's where candles go

01:10:45.120 so on the other side suddenly there's an altar that's happening and they're like whoa whoa 0.99

01:10:53.000 there's something going on she's doing some shit down there she's doing some wishcraft let's see 0.76

01:10:57.520 what she's writing and it's like a love letter so it appears your candle starts to appear on the 0.97

01:11:03.720 other side and it's got a word on it so then your spirits your ancestors they know what to do for

01:11:11.320 you they're like okay yeah she wants to be this okay we got her we we will support that also on

01:11:18.680 some next level thing i just have to say my grandmother believed that their time is not

01:11:23.540 linear which means that you are right now five years old 20 years old 50 years old 80 years old

01:11:31.980 and on the other side so one of your main spirits perhaps your guardian angel is you

01:11:42.280 on the other side now we're going deep right here but you can handle it we can strap in here

01:11:47.860 together so you on the other side who would know what's where you want to go the best who knows

01:11:55.000 you better than you so beautiful you on the other side you can also connect with her with these

01:12:03.180 candles and be like girl this is what I mean right now so you light those candles all together

01:12:09.120 and there's a beautiful incantation in the book and you can say or say any incantation that you

01:12:17.460 want saying that every single time as those candles are lit you are those adjectives it is

01:12:24.340 being sent over to the other side and mirroring back down on you as those candles burn and I burn

01:12:31.200 them for about 10 minutes every day 20 minutes half hour for like nine days straight and then

01:12:37.980 you burn them all the way down and the bottom of the wax my grandmother would say you put underneath

01:12:43.880 your mattress so when you're sleeping and dreaming all that beauty will rise up through you all the

01:12:50.060 time and then you own those nine adjectives and they are a part of you so that is a beautiful

01:12:57.720 spell for this beautiful new year that we're walking into it's a great spell to do at your

01:13:03.000 birthday and it's a great spell you know words are a compass for us so if you think what words

01:13:09.160 nine words you want to be your true north to direct you on your lord of the rings journey

01:13:15.540 you know that is that is uh that is a helpful and beautiful spell and one of my favorites so

01:13:24.540 i mean yeah you had full body nods from the craft you had you had amy's hands clasped in prayer as

01:13:32.780 she saw the truth of what you're saying i'm furiously writing notes you're answering

01:13:39.480 questions about space and time while you're giving us like fucking fun magic so that's good that'll

01:13:46.920 go in the book um just thank you you're so lovely it's like Rachel said I love you more than I even

01:13:54.460 thought I was going to from having read your writing which is really a nice treat thank you

01:14:01.360 oh my goodness I'm so grateful to be here with all of you and having together and and having this

01:14:07.020 beautiful moment of reflection and beauty with all of us together i feel like we would make an

01:14:11.820 awesome band too just saying from like all the ones that i'm seeing here like i just like yeah

01:14:16.540 yeah this is this is a crew right here for sure this is a heavy heavy art band

01:14:22.220 i was just actually gonna say that when we leave this conversation i'm going to honor it by

01:14:30.240 listening to i'll be your mirror by the velvet underground so i i propose that as our first

01:14:35.080 cover song I I I'm ready to do it I'm ready to do it it was one of the first songs that I learned

01:14:41.960 on guitar so I'm here for that I'm ready to go and I I noticed the guitar behind you too so I'm

01:14:48.160 like I'm already loving you so much I'm like you are like my super girl crush yeah seriously I'm

01:14:53.880 like this like you don't even understand people that are listening Amy's like the best like

01:14:59.360 it's like wallpaper records she's in the studio yeah yeah studio i'm loving it i'm obsessed

01:15:07.600 total girl crush it's out of control come visit yes come visit we'll record our our punk band

01:15:14.500 that we make up as we go along i'll be there in five minutes i don't do this let's do this

01:15:21.940 thanks veronica thanks for understanding this vibe and being part of this and such a light

01:15:27.640 in all of this for all of us um yeah and for this book that casts the light out for so many

01:15:34.480 in such such strange times and thank you to all of you listening all of you with the lights in

01:15:45.140 your hearts and your ancestors that are you standing on the other side um I hope that you

01:15:53.140 take some time right now to write down a spectacular list of who you are of how

01:16:02.660 Veronica sees you and she's beaming love at you which that she is beaming love at all of us

01:16:08.760 the way that she sees you in all your glory and all your sexy fabulous comfortable

01:16:16.880 ease and pleasure whatever that looks like for you and whatever the story is that is in you or

01:16:24.320 the art that is in you that you have that 12 year old me needs to hear I hope that you feel us

01:16:32.280 rubbing our hands with that hot hot heat like Veronica's grandmother taught her and when you

01:16:36.820 get the book you'll know what I'm talking about and casting it into the lines of your palm I did

01:16:40.720 it at the table with my partner and my kid today and it feels fucking rad and magical so i hope

01:16:49.900 that you know that you have the power to cast spells in your own hands and that we are with 0.99

01:16:54.840 you on that journey and we love you and bless the fucking bee how you must be a witch 0.99

01:17:05.320 the missing witches podcast is brought to you by the missing witches coven 0.99

01:17:11.720 join us right now on patreon.com slash missing witches blast if I can be

Missing Witches - January 20, 2022

WF： Veronica Varlow - Sometimes The World Will Trick You And You Think You Are Alone.

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