This week we are looking for the magic words, the right way to explain to a gatekeeper what you're experiencing so you can unlock the help you need. If you know, you know, so please send strength to Amy and all your magical strings of sounds.
The prescription begins with Meat Puppets - Up On The Sun:
A long time ago
I turned to myself
And said "You are my daughter"
I saw that the image I saw it was real
"So you are my daughter"
Well then maybe we've got something to talk about...
Lay down, you're on
The warmth that I'm weaving
For all of us in the position of re-parenting ourselves, this song is a spell. Turn to yourself, know that you will advocate for that kid in you, and you will meet her at the gate and battle all the gatekeepers by her side. You are a good parent, weaving warmth for yourself. This is ancestor work too. This is cycle-breaker magic.
And listen, cycle-breaker magic is exhausting, brutal, and kind of endless and we're not going to pretend that it's not.
Every turn of the wheel brings you back into confrontation with ingrained cycles, and you have to keep facing it all over and over again from new perspectives. We know you don't just play a post-punk song and it magically isn't that way. But songs come like rain from out of the sky of shared experience, and hearing ourselves in them can help us draw strength from the web to nudge the trajectory just enough to make the loop a spiral that brings us somewhere new.
The prescription is to remember the web. Remember that to reach out with love and especially to ask for help is not a mistake, though your reaching arms might not have been met with the kindness they deserve before.
It’s not a mistake to need rest.
Or seek help.
Or make secret pacts with household spiders.
Or find friendship in the dark beneath a log.
Or to think “hello” into the night sky and wait for a response.
Or sink your fingers into the soil to see if they take root.
Or, despite everything, to love this world.
- From the poetry collection Leaf Litter by Jarod K Anderson + check out his beautiful new memoir Something in the Woods Loves You. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The solar eclipse (in Aries, if you're into that sort of thing) this past week called out to our warrior selves, and the call is still echoing. Take some time to listen to the warriors present in your own cells: the warriors of immunity and white blood cells and repair, the warrior who battles the cruel lies of their own mind, the warrior who gets the fuck out and survives, the warrior who is a parent protecting their child and insisting upon their right to inherit a living world. The wounded healer who knows just how much it hurts to take those exhausting, repeated steps, pushing against the weight of entropy, and who does it anyway.
The prescription continues with Afraid of Heights by Lucy Dacus for boygenius, with thanks to the Missing Witches coven and especially Erin who invited us to sing these lines on a loop together on the night of the New Moon:
How it hurts to hope
Oh, it hurts to hope for more
Oh, it hurts to hope the future
Will be better than before
It hurts to hope and that's the truth, but you are not alone. We are, like the great bedrock of the Earth's mantle, everywhere. And we are singing in the future, together.
When you are listening for your warrior self this week, remember the way it felt to see one single other person be weird and brave. Shout out to Satleen in our coven who brought Bikini Kill to the circle this week and reminded us of the delicious, exponential power of one, single Rebel Girl:
When she walks, the revolution's comin'
In her hips, there's revolution
When she talks, I hear the revolution
In her kiss, I taste the revolution
Look for those grrls, and smile. Know that every small gesture you take to rebel against cruelty and domination is seen by a crowd that sees in you, the revolution.
This week, friend of the coven and Venusian curator, Tess Posner released her new single and wanted to share it with you, because she knew you'd understand:
You set me on fire
but now I’m burning so i will bring the light
and I will show you everything you want to cast aside
and bring your buried dead back to life
My body’s here to hold
Stories crying out just to be told,
So your flames will only turn me to gold.
Listen to You Set Me On Fire on Spotify and YouTube now.
Coven Invites
WEAVERS ONLY - Co-Working Cauldron with Risa + Amy
Monday, April 15th, 12:00 – 1:00 PM EDT
Let's help each other get stirred up, inspired, and resourced for the week ahead.
Interview Invite: Indigenous Futurism Part One: Granddaughter Crow + Christopher Marmolejo
Monday, April 15th, 8:00 – 9:00 PM EDT
Join us for our annual conversations with magical people helping to craft Indigenous Futures! Coven members are invited to participate live before the edited version goes out on the podcast.
Witchy Co-Writing
Tuesday, April 16th, 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT
Hosted by Aurelia: "We will come together, share what we are writing, write for an hour, and share at the end how it went. All writing welcome!"
Write & Share Group
Wednesday, April 17th, 8:00 – 10:00 PM EDT
Hosted by Deb: "Writing Share & Request: bring something you are working on to share and get only the feedback you ask for; problem-solving, critique, encouragement, whatever you need."
Astro Chat: Taurus Season
Thursday, April 18th, 8:00 – 9:00 PM EDT
Hosted by Killian: "The eclipse astro chat was great and I'd like to keep the conversation going. The Sun moves into Taurus on the 19th so let's get together and use all things Taurus as a starting point. But a starting point only. Any and all astrological thought and questions and struggles are welcome. Astrology is complex, so lets talk about it all."
Can you think of someone who might like.. all this? (She said, gesticulating wildly.) Forward them this email with all our love! Introduce your witchy friends to each other and let's give each other hope + community.
Blessed Fucking BE!
Risa + Amy
