{"id":20406,"date":"2023-09-15T10:11:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T16:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resources2.soundstrue.com\/?post_type=transcript&p=20406"},"modified":"2023-09-15T10:11:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T16:11:44","slug":"crafting-a-wise-and-magickal-life","status":"publish","type":"transcript","link":"https:\/\/resources2.soundstrue.com\/transcript\/crafting-a-wise-and-magickal-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafting a Wise and Magickal Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_print\"Print Transcript<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Tami Simon:<\/b> Hello friends, my name\u2019s Tami Simon, and I\u2019m the founder of Sounds True. I want to welcome you to the Sounds True podcast, <\/span>Insights at the Edge<\/span><\/i>. I also want to take a moment to introduce you to Sounds True\u2019s new membership community and digital platform. It\u2019s called Sounds True One. Sounds True One features original premium transformational docuseries, community events, classes to start your day and relax in the evening, and special weekly live shows, including a video version of <\/span>Insights at the Edge<\/span><\/i> with an after-show community question-and-answer session with featured guests. I hope you\u2019ll come join us, explore, come have fun with us and connect with others. You can learn more at join.soundstrue.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also want to take a moment and introduce you to the Sounds True Foundation, our nonprofit that creates equitable access to transformational tools and teachings. You can learn more at soundstruefoundation.org. And in advance, thank you for your support.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this episode of <\/span>Insights at the Edge<\/span><\/i>, my guest is Jamie Della. Jamie Della is a priestess, a healer, a Xicana witch, and a creativity mentor. She\u2019s the author of 10 books, including <\/span>The Book of Spells<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>The Magick of Witchcraft<\/span><\/i>, and with Sounds True, a new book that chronicles her relationship and the many teachings she received from her mentor, Connie DeMasters. The book is called <\/span>A Box of Magick: A Guided Journey to Crafting a Magickal Life Through Witchcraft, Ritual Herbalism, and Spellcrafting<\/span><\/i>. You\u2019re about to feel Jamie\u2019s warm heart and intelligence, and you\u2019ll sense her courage to be public as a practicing witch in our contemporary world. Here\u2019s my conversation with Jamie Della.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jamie, you identify as a priestess, healer, creativity mentor and Xicana witch. And here at the beginning, I\u2019d love to know a little bit about how you became a witch and the process of claiming that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jamie Della:<\/b> Oh, thank you so much for having me here. First of all, Tami, I appreciate that. And that\u2019s always a really fun question. I think a lot of people are born witches, just like you\u2019re born a tree hugger or born as someone who cares about the Earth and wants to make a deep connection. So that\u2019s part of it. I also really give credit to the fact that my mother\u2019s mother crossed the threshold the month before I was born, and so that left open a portal to speak to the spirit world without it being strange, to believe that there are entities, energies, spirits that you can speak to even if you can\u2019t see them. So that was able to extend into, from persons who have died, to tree spirits, to the wind, to the river, to land itself. So that was one of the things that prepared the soul, my soul and the soil of taking on witchcraft as part of my practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then I had, my other grandmother was a psychic tarot reader, and so she taught us from a very early age about soul families and portal connections and listening to the spirit world. And also that, as humans having a human experience, we get to choose when that is an option for us and when we decide that we don\u2019t want to listen to our ancestors, we need to just put food on the table or something like that. So giving me that autonomy, even with the spirit world.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then finally, I was raised Christian Scientist, so I was raised with this concept of mental magic or the ability to focus mind over matter, and that it wasn\u2019t just about healing our physical bodies, but really healing our mental and emotional bodies with that focused mind. All of that prepared me for a witchcraft practice. And then it just became friends that we would do baby blessings and house blessings and read tarot cards for each other. And then I got into massage in the healing practice, and then I met more people and was invited to my first pagan sabbat and I began really celebrating the Wheel of the Year, otherwise known as the mandala of nature. So the religion of Wicca just made sense to me<\/span>\u2014<\/span>to follow the cycles of the seasons as guides. In fall, we let go; in winter, we rest; in spring, we birth; and in summer, we bloom. That just made sense to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>Interesting that you refer to it as the religion of Wicca. I\u2019m sure some people are like, \u201cWhat? It\u2019s a religion? I didn\u2019t know that.\u201d Tell me more about that.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD: <\/b>Wicca is a religion, witchcraft is not. So witchcraft is a lifestyle, a philosophy, a worldview. And one of those sects or one of those practices or traditions is called Wicca. And Wicca is a formally recognized religion in the United States brought here<\/span>\u2014<\/span>traditionally considered to have been brought here by Gerald Gardner in the 1940s or \u201850s, depending on who you talk to. But it became a recognized, and therefore, supposedly protected religion in terms of protecting religious beliefs.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>And I wanted to talk to you about that, because I\u2019m sure that when some people hear you say, \u201cOh, she identifies as a witch,\u201d all kinds of taunting occurs and fun making and ridicule. And I\u2019m curious, for you, what the journey has been to stand in being a witch and not necessarily create an othering with people, which is part of what I\u2019ve read in your writing<\/span>\u2014<\/span>this importance of creating a bridge and understanding, but also your own journey to be proud, loud, and tall in a world where people make fun of, many times, someone who calls themselves a witch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD: <\/b>Absolutely. And because my first book, <\/span>The Wicca Cookbook<\/span><\/i>, came out in 2000, that\u2019s when I began this journey of standing up and ducking the rotten tomatoes from people who were afraid of what you\u2019re saying. And so what I had the advantage of, in the early 2000s, in talking about Wicca and witchcraft in public places like a Barnes & Noble, for example, I would use the farm-to-table, farm-to-fork movement, and talk about how important\u2026 Because that was starting to grow, the idea of coming back to sustainability with our food, looking at architecture from Frank Lloyd Wright, and that whole idea of working with nature versus against. It began at our tables. So that was the first way I would explain to people. I would take them back to something that isn\u2019t as frightening. It\u2019s something we do every day. You could just say you notice the difference between a tomato you plucked from the ground and one that came from the grocery store.<\/span><\/p>\n

So that\u2019s part of what witches do, is align with what\u2019s in season. So the first thing was to pretty much talk their language. So I would say things like, \u201cSpells are prayers in 3D.\u201d And then using examples like <\/span>It\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/span><\/i>, when Donna Reed is saying here, \u201cThe salt, you may always know flavor; this bread, you\u2019ll never know hunger; this wine, you\u2019ll always know joy.\u201d That\u2019s a spell. And a spell is a word\u2014to speak our word, to cast our word, to write it out. That\u2019s all it is. We\u2019re doing spell work every day. We just don\u2019t call it that. And beginning to understand the languaging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then I studied public relations in college, so I know about propaganda. And so I could say, this is propaganda that has been embedded into our psyche and you have fallen for it. Do you want to continue to make a choice based on somebody else\u2019s marketing or do you want to make a choice for yourself based on what you experience?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And do I look scary? That would be the other thing. Do I fit your stereotypical witch? No. Well then, that\u2019s part of the expansion. And it was a long process, the first time. My mother was raised in Mexican Catholic\u2014raised in a Catholic church. She raised money for the pagan baby so that she could name them. That was, like you said, the thought process was so different. My grandfather stopped talking to me when an article came out in the <\/span>Orange County Register<\/span><\/i> about my witchcraft practices in 2006. So I\u2019ve had people make comments when I was in Barnes & Noble. And the reason I keep standing there is because I believe so much in the powerful healing of being connected to nature in a way that just runs so deep\u2014that she really is our mother and we have this energy to connect to and we\u2019re never alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I just keep pushing. And the last couple years, one of the books was in Target, and I felt like I had really broken through the glass ceiling. And now it\u2019s just a matter of people slowly coming. And I feel like all the other marginalized people, from African Americans, to gender fluidity and all these other aspects have actually started to help witchcraft, because people are starting to look at that closed-mindedness as something that is holding them back and also holding back a lot of people. And that\u2019s not fair. And moving towards that equality, even with witchcraft, it\u2019s happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>For the record, you look very friendly. You have a very friendly and warm smile.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD: <\/b>Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>What would you say, just to take this a little further though, for that person who says, \u201cI actually identify internally as a nature lover, as someone who works between the worlds, but I don\u2019t want to make this kind of claim in public because I\u2019m just afraid of how my family will respond, how other people will respond. So the truth is I\u2019m in the closet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD: <\/b>Of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> \u201cI\u2019m a witch in the closet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> In the broom closet.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> What would you say to that person?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> I\u2019d say, \u201cWe\u2019re in the broom closet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>Ah, there we go.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Yes, we definitely say, \u201cWe\u2019re the witch in the broom closet.\u201d And I feel that everyone needs to do what they can do. And it\u2019s not imperative that you call yourself a witch or a pagan or a Wiccan or any of the words that have triggers for yourself or triggers for people whom you love, that you feel like it might distance yourself. As a writer, I love etymology. So the word witch and word Wicca comes from the word wicce, W-I-C-C-E, which means wise. So this whole philosophy is about being wise, because you follow the cycles of the seasons and nature. And there is nobody who has more power over you to \u201ccast a spell on you.\u201d That was one of the first things that happened. I used to sign my books at Celtic festivals, because often the Irish and the Scottish are either pagan or Catholic or both. We just love our rituals.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I would go to these events. And one time I had a woman come up to me and say, \u201cOh, there\u2019s a teen spell book. Does that mean my daughter\u2019s going to cast spells on me?\u201d And my first question was, \u201cDo you deserve it?\u201d And she looked at me. And I said, \u201cYour relationship is more important than anything. And if she lights a candle to your demise, you can choose to take on that energy or you can choose tai chi to move around it and let the energy go past you and work with the communication. Because she has no more power than you.\u201d Those spells, you can choose.<\/span><\/p>\n

I personally believe that whatever you do comes back to you. When you point one finger forward, you have three pointing back. So do you choose to hex someone? Do you choose to harm, send energy towards them? You\u2019re really only harming yourself when we throw that anger out there in the world. And for people who just want to follow this practice and are witch-curious, I think you can continue to be witch-curious your entire life. There\u2019s no reason you ever need to go to a public ritual. There\u2019s no reason that you ever need to even cast a spell if you don\u2019t want to. If you just want to have a seasonal altar\u2014so that every spring you put that up and you have eggs and different things that represent what\u2019s happening in spring. Or fall, have leaves or pine cones because it helps you feel connected. Because to me, whatever\u2019s happening in nature is the collective consciousness. It\u2019s a flow like a river and a current. So you can step into that current and glide with it or you can fight against it. It\u2019s up to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>In the beginning of your new book, <\/span>A Box of Magick<\/span><\/i>, you write that underneath witchcraft is the fundamental belief in animism, that there\u2019s \u201ca consciousness in everything alive, whether it\u2019s animals, plants, weather systems, human handiwork, and even words and stories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So I wanted to talk to you about that some, because when I was reading a consciousness in everything alive, animals, sure. Plants, sure. Weather systems, OK, I am kind of with you\u2014the elements, nature is changing. But then we get to human handiwork, and even words and stories. And that\u2019s where I had a moment of like, I\u2019m going to need more clarification here. Because when I think of human handiwork, I suddenly, I\u2019m relating, for example, to my desk, the desk right here with me. And I\u2019m like, would Jamie Della say that this desk is alive? That there\u2019s a consciousness in everything alive? Is the desk alive?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Is it made of wood?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Well, the desk is not, but let\u2019s take the studio\u2014I\u2019m in here\u2014which is made of wood. It\u2019s a wood-constructed space.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> So I believe that that tree spirit is still there in some consciousness. So, my children went to a Waldorf school. So the pedagogy is that the children only play with wood blocks because it came from a tree, because they can connect to the spirit of the tree. They only play with silks because of the silk worms. So I believe that yes, something that has wood, it feels different. Straw bale homes feel different. Cob homes feel different, because they\u2019re being made from Earth material and not the plastic or the chemicals that are in most of our homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then to speak about words, just to look at the word \u201cgay,\u201d how that word has evolved over time. And does it have its own notion of itself that it is evolving over time to mean something else? It feels like it has a life. Stories have a life. In the book I reveal that my father left when I was very young. That story has changed over time. At first it was something about me. I did something wrong\u2014What I Did Wrong at Six Years Old\u2014I don\u2019t know. But that was what my thought was. And over time, that story itself has worked on me, developed at first a self-consciousness, and then eventually, moving into compassion for somebody who didn\u2019t feel worthy enough to even stick around for a child. And so that story itself has evolved. And I do believe that there is a certain consciousness in our stories, just like our constellations work on our consciousness and in the astrology or whatever it is. And I do believe that there is an awareness of themselves. And I realize that\u2019s a stretch for some people.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Well, I\u2019m stretching with you here. And what I want to appreciate is what it\u2019s like for you to live with this animist conviction, how it changes how you approach everything. How do you approach everything with this animism alive in you?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> OK, so when I step outside and I\u2019m feeling really uptight, and I look down and there\u2019s a feather. To me, that feather has shown up because I need to lighten up. I\u2019m also a body worker. So when I am working with somebody and I can feel the lavender calling to me, \u201cCan you please\u2014this woman, this client of yours needs to feel my calm, please use me.\u201d And I find that I am being pulled by different aspects. Even candles or my drum or a rattle or even a painting of a goddess, they are calling to me with their own consciousness, because of a desire to elevate the full consciousness of all of us. Because when humans, when we raise our consciousness to see ourselves as one member of community versus the keepers of the Earth, we somehow know better how to take care of Mother Earth than she knows how to take care of herself, recognizing that humility, but also that connectivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I do feel that pictures\u2014like today, prior to this meeting, my friend who would\u2019ve wanted to be a Sounds True author for so long, and she crossed over. Her picture\u2019s here. A picture of myself when I was that age, 33, with my young sons is here to remind me, to call me back into that part of me. There\u2019s also a picture of my mentor here, a candle, some tea. I wanted to make a red clover tea, because that is very empowering and strengthening, especially for women.<\/span><\/p>\n

And so bringing all of these elements around me so that I can stand in my fullest self, that\u2019s part of animism, just looking at everything around you as a potential ally, and it\u2019s a relationship that you develop with it. So this red clover, I picked myself. It\u2019s in our property, so that red clover and I have a relationship. And I never say \u201cusing herbs,\u201d because I would never say I used you for this podcast or I used my mentor to learn more things. We work together. And the same thing is with the herbs. And when we have that reciprocity of respect, the world opens up, so that there\u2019s so much more potential of healing for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Let\u2019s talk some about your mentor. Your new book, <\/span>A Box of Magick<\/span><\/i>, is actually a deep dive that chronicles the relationship that you had with this figure. Can you introduce us to her, bring her right here into our presence?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Absolutely. Connie. So I met Connie in 2001. So you talk about being out of the broom closet and maybe not always welcoming that attention. So at this point, I had two books out, and 9\/11 had just happened a couple of months prior. Like I said, this is December of 2001. So here I was, I felt like I was completely\u2014the doors had slammed shut. The Christian Coalition was getting really strong, and I felt very attacked and vulnerable. And yet that felt like what was really important for me, is to continue to be that presence in the world. It just felt like such a calling. So I was at the Universal Unitarian Church for this winter solstice women\u2019s spirit event. And she was behind me, a bigger woman. Same age as I am now, which is also a wonderful serendipity. So she\u2019s in her mid-fifties. And she was sitting behind me, a larger woman, cat-like eyes, a pixie haircut, and she giggled like a schoolgirl.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was just like water cascading over, trickling, a little brook or something, the way she would laugh. And she would just get so thrilled with herself. So she was watching this parade of bohos and people dressed in their goddess garb with just this huge smile, this grandmotherly energy. Pagans had a moment. Because we only had moments. We had the Pagan Pride Festival and we would have some winter solstice festival, so there\u2019d only be very few times where we could actually be ourselves. And this was one of those times. And she was watching us with such joy. She was sitting behind me and she was in one booth. If you think of a festival, she was in the booth next to me. And every time someone would stand up and decide\u2014do I want a book? I\u2019m not sure\u2014and talk to me, I would feel this rush of energy behind me. And the person would say, \u201cYou know, I think I really do need this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And it was amazing to be supported. I had the one grandmother who had crossed over, the other grandmother who was this psychic tarot reader, cruising Princess cruise lines as the resident tarot reader. I had no grandmotherly figure to really hold me. And she called me a couple days later and said, \u201cThe spirits tell me I\u2019m supposed to teach you.\u201d Now, this happens now on Instagram. People will say, \u201cOh, the spirits tell me I\u2019m supposed to give you a reading.\u201d But that didn\u2019t happen 20 years ago. People didn\u2019t just randomly offer to give all their energy and all their time to you. I asked Connie, I said I was so ready. I had young boys, I was struggling in that marriage, and I was just out of the broom closet with these two books. There was no way I was going to go back in.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I didn\u2019t know how to have that conviction, and I needed that guidance. And so I said, \u201cWhat can I bring?\u201d And it was a caramel macchiato and a maple nut scone. So every week, I would secure a babysitter and sit at her knee and ask her to tell me, how do I apply these principles of spirituality and the nature guides to my life. Getting my kid into the kindergarten I want, fixing the marriage. It\u2019s all well and fine if it\u2019s esoteric, but if you can\u2019t apply it to your life, it doesn\u2019t matter. It doesn\u2019t help. And so she would sit on her Barcalounger and she would light this white candle and we would just dive in. And she was so proud of me. So she would tell me how hard it was, what I was doing going out there in public. She was inviting people into her home.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was teaching out of the Eye of the Cat\u200e witch shop in Long Beach. She was with the people who spoke our language. I was trying to go out there and introduce, and wasn\u2019t trying to convert or anything like that, it was just, we\u2019re here. We\u2019re here and we want our own space in the sunshine. And so she was a Greek yiayia. She always was someone who was always proud of you. And even the days that I would show up and maybe I did something crappy and maybe not kind or whatever, she would never let you get away with it. She would look at you until you came to your own, \u201cOK, yeah, I did that thing.\u201d And would just be like, \u201cOK, how are we going to work through it now?\u201d So I felt like she was the mentor who saw in me the light that I didn\u2019t quite see in myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> You mentioned that you have a photograph with you of Connie. And one of the things I wonder about is, when we remember or invoke the presence of someone dear to us, and it\u2019s almost like we feel like they\u2019re with us. And some people are like, they are with us. And other people are like, no, I just feel like this person\u2019s with me. They\u2019re not actually with me. I just feel like they\u2019re with me. It\u2019s different. What\u2019s it like for you?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> For me, it\u2019s a presence in the room. So I do feel that they\u2019re with me, but I feel that their spirit is with me. It\u2019s not like they show up, especially people who have crossed over. Even if you\u2019re doing an astral projection, I feel it\u2019s more like their spirit. So it\u2019s not tainted by some of the human foibles that we have. It\u2019s pure spirit. Their reflection of the divine essence, their own essence that way. And so for me, it feels like a heaviness, like a density. Well, my nana used to say that the room would turn cold when the spirits were there. And they even show that in Harry Potter, where they go through the spirits and they\u2019re like, oh, that was cold. And so for me though, it\u2019s this sense of being held up, being held up by their presence, being supported in such a way.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then sometimes I can even feel how proud they are because of having bushwhacked through 20 years of people saying, \u201cYou\u2019re crazy to call yourself a witch. Why would you even do that? Just call yourself a tree hugger. Just call yourself\u2026 You love nature. Why would you push that envelope and say those words?\u201d For me, it\u2019s because it\u2019s reclaiming a word that someone has bastardized. It\u2019s important to reclaim the fact that this just means wise. Witchcraft means the craft of the wise. Just because someone else has interpreted it to be something different, doesn\u2019t mean we have to abide by those rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Now I can feel Connie\u2019s, how her love and her support and her affirmation of you, how healing and important that was in your own emotional life and your flowering as a person. When it comes to the actual witchcraft tools and techniques you learned from Connie, what would you say were the most important witchcraft lessons?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Thank you. I like that question. I think the most important witchcraft lesson is the first lesson, which is: you are always your own best teacher. For me, that\u2019s one of the hardest and most palpable lessons. You can ask people. What should you do? Someone was recently disrespectful, and do you continue a relationship with them? Whatever was happening, where do you go with that? Well, it was always finding your center, and that is trusting your intuition. And so, one of those first lessons was, know your yes\/no answers in your body. So when you walk into a room and people are being kind and loving, where do you feel that? Do you feel that in your heart? Is that what\u2019s tingling and opening it up? Is the front of the heart, the back of the heart? Where are you feeling that?<\/span><\/p>\n

Then if you were to walk into a room where you could feel the hostility, where do you feel that? Do your hands turn cold, because the energy is just contracting into your core? So the first important thing is to know your own self. Know what\u2019s the yes and the no. So that way, when you move forward with the mundane questions of your life, do you continue in business with someone? Do you take a job? Do you choose to have a second baby? If you know your yes or no internally within your own self, then you know how to step forward. And then the other lesson was that she gave me a beautiful meditation. And it\u2019s in the book. It\u2019s a protection spell where you imagine this silver light that encases your entire body like an egg shape. And this silver light is who you are. Maybe the you that not everybody knows, the quiet you. And giving that energy, that\u2019s like the moon and the lunar light, that it is its own entity, its own quiet nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

And you imagine yourself protected in this silver light. And then there\u2019s a golden light that comes up over that. And this golden light is what others see. It\u2019s the reflection. And there is this synergy that happens between the silver and the gold that forms this layer of protection that then encases you in the egg shape. And then the final layer is an astral plane or an angelic plane or your ancestors or your higher spirit or whatever you call that. Witchcraft was called \u201cthe nameless arts\u201d for the longest time, because we can\u2019t always put boxes of words around big feelings. And so this last is this angelic light, and it protects you so that you know that you are guided. Your soul self is not going to be harmed by whatever experience. Your spirit may be hurt or maybe not appreciate what\u2019s happening, but your soul self will not be hurt.<\/span><\/p>\n

And having this egg shaped layer, triple layer of protection is what I could take out with me to brave those conversations with people, to let them understand, what is witchcraft? Can you suspend your disbelief long enough just to hear that it\u2019s really about celebrating the cycles? And if someone goes, \u201cWell, that\u2019s not what I heard.\u201d Well then let\u2019s discuss what you\u2019ve heard. Oh, you worship the devil. That\u2019s the first one that usually comes up. You worship the devil. And that was a rumor that began, because as many pagans and people did long time ago, we personified aspects of the divine source. So we have Quan Yin that represents compassion, we have Thor with his hammer, we have all these different aspects of how we can look at the world. And I find that with witchcraft, it just gives us so many opportunities to feel into how we can express the divine self.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Now I just want to ask for a clarification about this visualization for protection, because I found it really exciting to be able to use. And I was with you with the egg shaped silver layer and then a gold layer outside of that around the egg. And then when we got to the third layer, the angelic level, I wasn\u2019t quite sure how to invoke or visualize that.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> I\u2019m sorry. I meant to say it was a light blue light. I apologize. A light blue\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> No, that\u2019s OK.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> \u2014like a glacier blue light. So that\u2019s more the angelic realm. I tell people, if you know the color larimar, like the stone, or a sky blue color, that\u2019s that final cover. And that allows you to walk out and know that that protection\u2014that protection is important for a job interview, for a difficult conversation. It doesn\u2019t always have to be talking about witchcraft or something.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> So many things in our lives that we feel are coming at us, that could harm us from other people or the world or just the violence of our times. So that\u2019s why I wanted to make sure\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Yes, I\u2019m sorry.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> \u2014that I understood it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Silver, gold, and pale blue or glacier blue. Like when you see a glacier and you see that iridescent blue that sparkles with different colors. That is so powerful as a protection, even if you\u2019re just feeling attacked by anybody in any circumstance or just even losing yourself or having to define boundaries and being really afraid of that. And I feel that it\u2019s so important, because it honors our internal self, our quiet self, the reflection, what everybody sees, and then our divine right to be protected and guided and supported by unseen energy that holds us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because Wicca also means to bend or shape the unseen forces. An example I gave for that is when I gave childbirth, I only used a lemon. I just scratched the lemon because that aroma cut the nausea so that I could then again center myself in my own internal strength. That nausea is an unseen force. The lemon shifts it. So it\u2019s not always about, I don\u2019t know, something negative. We can shift those energies. We can shift anxiety to calm with lavender. That\u2019s part of the witchcraft methodology, is finding ways to align our whole body\u2014mind, body, spirit\u2014with our highest good and with the direction that we choose because we are co-creating. Another aspect is that we do co-create.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> And you mentioned earlier in our conversation spellcasting. And I think many people have this notion of, OK, there\u2019s something that I want. And it could be a person, a partnership, an intimate relationship. It could be material goods, it could be something to do with their purpose, growing in the world and having more impact. What is an ethical, aligned way to use spellcasting for good?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Well, I believe there are four steps that you first need to ask yourself. First of all, have you done everything on the mundane plane? So whether you want to partner or if you want to be a professional soccer player or artist or whatever, are you getting yourself out there? Are you taking art classes or soccer classes? Are you applying yourself? Because magick isn\u2019t about magick tricks, it\u2019s about aligning your will with the forces of the universe. So that\u2019s the first thing you need to do is ask yourself, have you done everything?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then secondly, will it harm anyone, including yourself? Because you have to ask, if you want a job, you can\u2019t say, \u201cWell, I want that person\u2019s job.\u201d Hopefully, maybe, that person will move on. So it would be the highest good for that person. Maybe they\u2019ll get a promotion if you could step into their position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another question to ask yourself is whether or not it\u2019s a need or a want\u2014just trying to ascertain. And sometimes people, I know in our language today, we blend those two together, but really finding out what it is. So when I first wrote these spells that were for kids, so one of my examples is wanting an A in school, whatever it is. So maybe it\u2019s a good progress report from work or wherever, your yearly review or something, and you want to get top marks. And ask yourself, are you doing it for yourself? Are you doing it to impress somebody else? Are you doing it because you have to be an A+ student? What is the reasoning behind? What is the motivation? Is your motivation to meet with somebody because you want to share your life experiences or because you want intimacy, physical intimacy? What is it that you need?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then finally, are you willing to own the results? So for example, a very long time ago, I cast a spell. I wanted a New York publisher to call me and offer me a book deal. And so I went to a writing conference. I met an editor from Simon & Schuster, and she asked me to write a book on Santer\u00eda. And I knew nothing about this path. This was 20 years ago. There was not the Internet to look it up. Just because I\u2019m Mexican didn\u2019t mean\u2014I haven\u2019t had any relationship to this practice. So I got my wish. And New York editor asked me to write a book, but I could not write the book they asked me to write. And I was not willing to take on the backlash of writing about a culture that I knew nothing about.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I wasn\u2019t willing to accept those responsibilities. So I said, \u201cNo, thank you.\u201d And what happened was two years later, she ended up finding an offer for me to write a totally different book, a book that I could write, a young adult book about curanderismo and the Mexican culture with magick. That I could do. And so I think spellcrafting is very important to align with, making sure that you\u2019re taking the responsibility of co-creating. And you don\u2019t cast spells all the time, because I feel that for myself, I feel that\u2019s a selfish thing. I feel like once you put your energy out there, and it dilutes your focus. So if you\u2019re praying or if you\u2019re doing a spell for a best friend to get pregnant and to get a job and all these things at once, your attention is divided among those things and you can\u2019t fully focus on one of them to bring it to manifestation.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> OK, so let\u2019s say someone answers those four questions and they\u2019re able to say, \u201cI\u2019m aligned, I\u2019ve gone through that, and I\u2019m ready to write my spell and put it out into the world. How do I do it, Jamie?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> OK, so give me a desire. What\u2019s a desire? What\u2019s a spell?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Well, let\u2019s take one of the things you just said, to become pregnant.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> OK.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Let\u2019s just say that\u2019s what a woman wants.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> So to become pregnant. So what I like to do is work with three, the number of three. So three is usually, third time\u2019s a charm. It\u2019s a number that, from a numerology perspective, three is the number of manifestations. So I like to work with that because a collective consciousness, like a current of a river is already flowing in that direction in giving that number three a lot of energy for manifestation. So I like to come up with three symbols. So if someone wanted to become pregnant, you could have an egg. An egg is a symbol of fertility. So you would think, what are those things that you want? And part of it is fertility, so it could be anything that represents that. So it could be an egg, nuts, seeds, you get the idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then you might have an herb such as the red clover that is good for blood cleansing. So it\u2019s good to keep you healthy and prepare. So you take an herb that actually prepares your body to become pregnant. And then another symbol could be picture of a baby or a picture of the family, the family unit. It could also be\u2014what is that feeling? Yes, you want fertility, but maybe you also want motherhood. So maybe there\u2019s pictures of mothers from all over the world or yourself. So you could create this altar that every time you look at, it works like a visual affirmation to help attract the pregnancy that you want to actualize for your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then you might write. I like to write poems or chants or incantations. And the reason we write them in rhyme is because, like our dream mind, like our right brain, we just, is it right brain? Yeah, right brain creative, that when you\u2019re dreaming and suddenly you\u2019re flying, and then one minute you\u2019re in New York, and then you\u2019re in Paris, it doesn\u2019t matter. So when you write in these, \u201cI want to be pregnant today, I will find my way, the baby is coming to me,\u201d you just do this chant because then it speaks to that right side of your brain. It doesn\u2019t need the logical, \u201cWell, the doctor said your count was low or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah\u201d all these different things. It bypasses the logical brain and just gets on to the manifesting.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> I\u2019m curious, have you ever had an experience in your life, a time in your life where you thought, I really wonder if this stuff is, maybe just doesn\u2019t work.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Totally.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> It just doesn\u2019t work. I\u2019ve lost my faith, I\u2019ve lost my belief. And if maybe you could share how you got through that period.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> I think divorce was definitely how I lost my faith, because that wasn\u2019t what I wanted to happen. I wanted the complete family. And I had thought I was going to\u2026 It looked like for a while there that witchcraft was going to break through 10 years ago when it didn\u2019t quite. Now it\u2019s a lot stronger than it was 10 years ago. So I felt like the goddess let me down. Here I am advocating out there for you, taking the hits, living on the margins, because there\u2019s not a lot of us to feed the coffers. What did I do wrong? Where are you? And there was a lot of just trudging, just trudging through and not believing. And then someone said to me, it was a scientist who said, \u201cThis is all a load of hoo-ha. This is BS. And I\u2019d like to break your wand. I\u2019d like you to not believe in this anymore because it\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And I said, \u201cYou know what? At the end of the day, it makes me feel better to hug a tree. At the end of the day, it makes me feel better to know that the wind longs to play in my hair. And this is what feels good. This aligns with my joy.\u201d And so for me, it was a couple of years of living without and being frustrated by not being able to actualize the dreams that I wanted and the time that I wanted. But there is such a thing, I believe, as divine timing. And sometimes our dreams don\u2019t manifest when we want them to, because we\u2019re not actually ready to take them on. And so for me, it was really, honestly getting this box of magick in the mail at the beginning of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Tell us about that. Tell us what happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> OK. So I was on a book signing tour for <\/span>The Book of Spells<\/span><\/i>. And I went to a psychic reading, and the gentleman said, \u201cThere\u2019s a spirit here who wants to speak to you.\u201d And he started describing Connie. And she told the psychic, \u201cTell her to get a picture of me. I want to go on her next book signing tour.\u201d So when you get these messages, you just say, \u201cOK, I\u2019m doing it. I don\u2019t know what this is going to lead to, but OK.\u201d So I reached out on Facebook, and Connie\u2019s daughter Alexa responded with a picture of her mom. And then a couple months later, she asked me, the pandemic hit, and then she asked me, \u201cWould you like to have my mom\u2019s teaching curricula and her magickal education? The family has been consulted and we\u2019d like you to have it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And I said, \u201cWell, of course. I\u2019d love that.\u201d And then the snow is still on the ground in May when my mentor\u2019s life work showed up. And it was 23 pounds of paperwork. Things back from 1971, the ESP Institute newsletter, to things from the school of Wicca, to handwritten hand-fasting rituals. And I sat with it and I didn\u2019t know what to do. For the longest time, I just looked at this huge collection, I couldn\u2019t make any sense of it. And then one day, I heard Connie say in my head, I heard those messages. If anyone\u2019s ever had that resounding message from whatever spirit, your parent, mentor. And she said, \u201cTell them about us.\u201d But she said it in her sexy way, \u201cTell them about us.\u201d She said it like that. And so I said, \u201cOh yes, let me sit with it.\u201d And so for me, one of my favorite books was always <\/span>Tuesdays with Morrie<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

So for me, it was like <\/span>Tuesdays with Morrie<\/span><\/i>, but instead of being a professor and a student, it was a Greek yiayia and a Mexican mama, that was the two of us who sat down. And I soaked up her wisdom. I soaked up how to live this life and how important it is to share and how important the mentor relationship is. And that\u2019s why I really was so encouraged to write this book. It\u2019s a love letter to my mentor, but it\u2019s also a love letter to those of us who have magick within that we haven\u2019t actualized yet. The miracles, the beliefs that a box of magick<\/span> could come 15 years after my mentor had gone, at a time when I needed strong arms around me and I needed to believe again.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time the box arrived, I was menopausal, empty nest. I was already isolated, because I had moved to the mountains before the pandemic hit. I was a hot mess. So this box gave me this structure to channel my energy, like the Shiva and Shakti energy, like the energy of the female as this strong creative force. And like the river, the water of the river. And the Shiva is the sides, the river banks that help guide that water that would otherwise spill outwards.<\/span><\/p>\n

So this idea of chronicling our relationship along a structure of the hero\u2019s journey, which is what the book is also based on, this idea of answering a call of the wild within, our feral nature that we don\u2019t let out because we\u2019re afraid of it, that it might not be fine-tuned enough for society. But this idea of sitting with her and having her remind me of what it was like to teach others and help others and how good it feels to share our knowledge and to add to the community of magick makers, finding our herbal allies, facing our shadow self and looking at the stories that have harmed us over time that we keep repeating, the ideas we tell about ourselves, and utilizing my own story of coming to grips with being a teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

I told her at one point I said, \u201cI have mommy issues.\u201d How can I be still mad at my mom at 32 and say, \u201cI love the goddess.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> One of the things I wanted to ask you about was this section of <\/span>A Box of Magick<\/span><\/i> that\u2019s dedicated to shadow work. And in it, you do a lot of deep work that has to do with the healing of your relationship with both your mother and your father, using some of the principles of magick. And I wonder if you can share a little bit about that, especially for that listener who has some broken relationship in their life or unhealed relationship or relationship they\u2019d like to work on using some of these principles.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Thank you. I believe, again, like I said earlier, a spell is a prayer in 3D because of these things that we\u2019ve decided have meaning for us, the salt flavor, the egg, fertility. So if we have these things that represent what\u2019s important to us, ritual helps us move through that process. Because what\u2019s hurt is a smaller child, an inner child, or a very vulnerable part of ourselves that needs those ritual markers and that ceremony to move ourselves out of being isolated, alone, back into a feeling of belonging and community and connection. And so my mother and I are two powerhouse Latina women. And so we hit loggerheads. And we came to that point where we were just recycling old stories and repeating them with maybe a little nuance, but pretty much the same damn thing. And so I came to her after talking with Connie, and Connie explained to me that each of us, through our mothers, are little mothers. And that the Mother Earth is this great big mother and the goddess energy and the divine feminine. That\u2019s the full spectrum of motherhood and all the opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

And my mother, just like me, like myself, I am one aspect, one ray of light from the golden sun, one ray of sunshine expressing itself in the world. And my mother was doing her best and came into motherhood as a teenager, motherless. So it was very difficult. So to begin to look at her in that way, how can you shift that? Well, you might put a mirror, that reflection as part of your ritual. We used a bury-the-hatchet ritual. So I came to my mother and I said, \u201cI want there to be more peace between us.\u201d And she said, \u201cOf course. So do I.\u201d And I said, \u201cCould we create a ritual together? Could we create a ritual that we\u2019re both working on that gives us the tools to work through some of the pain?\u201d So I could say to her, I told her all the ways in which she had hurt me.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the only answer that anyone could say was, \u201cI hear you.\u201d Not, \u201cWell, that day was really hard.\u201d Or, \u201cRemember I was pregnant with your little sister at that time?\u201d There was no excuses. It was just being present. And then she got to express that same, \u201cThis is how I was hurt.\u201d And it\u2019s all on accountability. It wasn\u2019t, \u201cYou do this and this is why I\u2019m hurting.\u201d It was, \u201cThis is what hurt me.\u201d And there was no explaining it away. It was just being present for it so that the pain could be felt, aired out and released. And then we spoke about the relationship. We wanted to have the dream relationship with each other. And to be able to sit with someone and say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to fight with you. I want to go on vacation with you. I want to have dinner with you once a week. I want to have phone calls. I want you in my life.\u201d For someone to hear that is so validating.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then that symbol of the hatchet. So we took these words that we had written to each other, we dug out a hole in her backyard and we buried them as seeds of something we want to blossom. And then we buried the hatchet as a way of symbolizing, we\u2019re putting our arms down, our weaponry, we\u2019re no longer attacking each other, we\u2019re coming from love. And so it was such a powerful, palpable way to not stay stuck in the shadows of, \u201cShe just hates me, I know it,\u201d or whatever the story is, to recognize that she\u2019s a human with her own experiences. And she wasn\u2019t put on this Earth primarily to be my mother, but to have her own experience. And this is one aspect of her that she\u2019s willing to heal because it\u2019s one of the most important relationships in her life as well. And to see that.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> I notice as you\u2019re speaking, what I\u2019m reflecting on is a relationship in my own life that I would like to have greater healing in. And I\u2019m imagining listeners thinking about the same thing, and how bringing in these ritual elements, not just making it a conversation, but bringing in the ritual elements really makes a shift. And I wonder if you could talk a little bit, how do you see that working? That it\u2019s so powerful, that we did something, we took an actual physical sharp object and put it in the ground. That\u2019s different than saying to each other, \u201cLet\u2019s move on, let\u2019s forgive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Well, I think the easiest thing is to think of our rituals that we might have around Thanksgiving or other holidays. Sometimes, if you grew up in a family, for example, like I did with a lot of kids, there\u2019s always someone to trace their foot and write everybody\u2019s name on and make a place marker for everybody. There\u2019s always the fight over whether the mashed potatoes has lumpy or if it\u2019s smooth. There\u2019s always these different things that Thanksgiving isn\u2019t without. Thanksgiving or Christmas or your birthday or an anniversary isn\u2019t the same unless you go to the dock again where you met or unless you play that song. So if you recognize it in things that aren\u2019t magickal but mundane, then you can kind of move it over to the relationships in our lives and what we want to manifest.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I feel that even though my mom and I might slip up every once in a while, we know we had this ritual, we know that we\u2019re coming from love. And we have this visceral, kinesthetic\u2014that\u2019s the other thing, because rituals involve movement as well. So it\u2019s not like you said, just the talking head that maybe just doesn\u2019t go all the way through, but that it actually physically takes you to a place and you\u2019re physically doing something with somebody else so that it goes into your body in a deeper way. And so that I know that when my mom does something or whatever that sets me off, I can remember back to a time when she was just a person. I wasn\u2019t relating to her trying to heal that relationship as my mother. It was a person, a human being.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I think it\u2019s so important for us to see these people that we\u2019re fighting with as having their own contradictions. They\u2019re not living just to figure it out with us. They have their own things that are going on. And if we can step back and not just look at them as the role that they serve us, but as equal partners working through life and walking a parallel path together that we\u2019d like there to be more smoothness. I feel like it\u2019s really important to distance ourselves from the role we think they\u2019re supposed to play.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Important. Good point. Now, one of the things that moved me, several, so many things in <\/span>A Box of Magick<\/span><\/i>, but this one thing that you shared towards the end of the book about how in your own life you\u2019ve felt this focus on healing the pain of your ancestors. And I think that moved me because I\u2019ve also, I feel that very strongly in my life as a call. And I\u2019ve been like, \u201cWow, why is this so important to me?\u201d It\u2019s so important to me that somehow there\u2019s something I am supposed to create and do in my life that will have these reverberations back through my family lineage. And I wonder if you can share a little bit about how you used magick to help you with that.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Oh, thank you. So my ancestry goes back ten generations in Orange County, California. So my ancestors were the Spanish colonists who came and established the mission system in California, and established Los Angeles and got some of the first ranchos. So if you think of fandangos and you think of this Old California, riding horseback and whatnot, those were my ancestors. I used to be proud of that until it occurred to me, well, when I had grown up, I was told that the Indigenous people of California no longer existed. That was in the books, that the Spanish invaders had decimated their population. That wasn\u2019t true. The decimation was true, but the total decimation wasn\u2019t. There are many descendants from that time period. So feeling that huge rift of being connected to the Earth as\u2026 And my Indigenous roots go back to Mexico, so it goes back 7,000 years to Jalisco, Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

So that\u2019s where I feel like I feel very connected. It comes from something very old and in my line, but there\u2019s also this arrogance of coming into a place and saying, \u201cThis is ours now. And as a matter of fact, we\u2019d like you to be the slaves to this.\u201d I\u2019m not saying I felt responsible for it, but I felt the pain in such a way that it was almost as if nobody else saw what I saw. And so you live on that land, and if you\u2019re awake and maybe empathic, you can feel the pain of the land itself. And I think because I felt it, that\u2019s why I wanted to put whatever balm or salve that I could. And I also feel that there was a really big, there\u2019s evidence in our family line, because we can trace back these ten generations, of a lot of discord between the female, the mother and daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in some cases, I wonder if that isn\u2019t what started such a discord between women in Orange County, California. It\u2019s such a fight. Did it start early with those ancestors? Can we get rid of this? And again, I feel, because I can feel into both sides, I feel that desire, just like if you see someone who\u2019s in pain and you know you\u2019re holding an antidote, then you go and give it. So for me, that antidote is recognizing that pain. When my second son was born, I was able to take his placenta home from the hospital and I buried it in the dry river bed as part of an Indigenous practice. But also recognizing those ancestors that did build their own empire and feeling into the Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

I mean, not everyone\u2019s going to have a handy placenta, so that\u2019s not always something we can do, but there are other things. You can tie a small braid of yourself and bury that. A small braid of yourself, I\u2019m sorry. You can take a small braid from your hair, very tiny one. And your hair is very powerful, it\u2019s part of who you are. You can braid that, put that and bury that in the land. You can tend maybe native gardens that you see or visit the most raw part of that land or that place that you feel needs the love that you have to give.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Now, Jamie, just one dot I want to connect from our conversation. You said this box of magick arrived right at the beginning of the pandemic when it was also a dark period for you. And do you think that Connie was coming 15 years later and saying to you, \u201cHey, come on, girl\u201d or some version of that, by that box arriving at a time when your faith needed rehabilitation and reenergizing?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> I absolutely do. It began with that reading, because now she\u2019s coming on tour with me. We\u2019re talking about her. She would love this. She completed the cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Finally, if someone says, \u201cI wish I had a mentor. I would love to have some type of spiritual guide, mentor, that kind of relationship.\u201d You can\u2019t just necessarily dream it up or drum it up. How could I invoke that, bring that into my life if someone wants that?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> I feel that one of the ways to do that is, like I said earlier, I work a lot with nature and the elements. So we have earth, air, fire, water, and all of those have their own energy. So it gets back to, I want that mentor. Well, what do you want? Do you want a mentor who is going to challenge your brain, your magickal studies, help you study all the magickal correspondences, the herbs, the crystals, the gods, the goddesses, the mythology? Do you want someone who\u2019s going to tickle your brain? Do you want an earthy person who\u2019s going to hug you and be there with you? It is more cozy, and will sit and listen to your relationship stories and help you process through a very earthy way of doing things. Do you want someone who\u2019s going to help you with your emotional life? Or do you want someone who\u2019s going to invoke this fire and this drive in you?<\/span><\/p>\n

So whether they\u2019re one of those four elements, you can choose symbols that represent each one. So for example, a chalice represents a cup, is like the womb. It\u2019s like ocean that holds our emotions. So you could create an altar that looks like the ocean. If you needed someone who was going to help guide you through tough emotions on your magickal journey. If you wanted somebody who was going to help you with that mental aspect, you could put feathers or pens or pencils or other aspects that represent air energy. And so I believe in creating those altars again. And those altars can be anything. It could be part of a bookshelf, it could be a little section of your desk, it could be on the back of your toilet. Anything that you look at on a regular basis that sends a message to your right brain: we\u2019re co-creating this, we\u2019re going to create this. This is what\u2019s important to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then you could even put a mentor. And again, writing some kind of poem or chant, something that you could say an affirmation about this mentor who is on its way. And she\u2019s calling you as much as you are calling it. Just like Rumi says, those things are calling to us as much as we\u2019re calling to them. Mentors need to share, because they could die with all that information. But then where would it go? We have this need at the end of our life, regardless of what our spiritual practice is, it\u2019s to share with others what we know and what we\u2019ve learned. And it\u2019s just an innate human thing for many of us to want that. So there are mentors who want the mentee. So it\u2019s also important to remember that you\u2019re not taking from anybody. You\u2019re not pulling their energy away. They say a candle doesn\u2019t lose anything by lighting another candle. And that\u2019s what this is. So if we remember that and we remember that worthiness and we remember that the mentor is calling to us, because they need a student.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> Beautiful answer. Jamie, can we end with a blessing? Will you offer us some type of magickal blessing?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Oh my gosh. Some type of magickal blessing. OK. All right. It\u2019s another meditation. So a lot of us need that. This world is very frenetic. It\u2019s changing all the time. It\u2019s scary as anything right now. So I like to imagine us standing tall, standing, sitting, wherever you are, sitting, holding yourself centered. Imagine your spine is the trunk of a tree. And feel your roots going into Mother Earth and drawing up that energy of this earth energy, of this mother energy that is bigger than any mother you have ever met, because she is every mother that has ever existed. And that energy is coming up to us, up through our knees, up our body, our whole self, all the way up through our heart, to the top of our head. And then branches sprout out from the top of our head and come down almost like a willow tree or a big oak tree, whatever tree you like to see.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine those leaves going back down to the earth and then connecting to that source energy again and flowing up through us and out and up through us. And so that we are this continuum of an energy, a force field, a human body filled with Mother Earth energy, filled with the expression of the sky from our leaves and our branches that are coming up. And I have a\u2014we say source to source, \u201cFlow through me, above to below, turn to return, clearly face to grow. As I will it, so shall it be. Spell make it so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TS: <\/b>Jamie Della, she\u2019s the author of the new book with Sounds True, <\/span>A Box of Magick: A Guided Journey to Crafting a Magickal Life Through Witchcraft, Ritual Herbalism, and Spellcrafting<\/span><\/i>. Jamie, thank you so much. Thank you for all of your great work and your big, beautiful heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JD:<\/b> Thank you for having me.<\/span><\/p>\n

TS:<\/b> And if you\u2019d like to watch <\/span>Insights at the Edge<\/span><\/i> on video and participate in the after-show Q&A session with our guests, come join us on Sounds True One, a new membership community featuring award-winning original shows, live classes, community learning, guided meditations, and more with the leading wisdom teachers of our time. Use promo code PODCAST to get your first month free. You can learn more at join.soundstrue.com. Sounds True: waking up the world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"class_list":["post-20406","transcript","type-transcript","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nCrafting A Wise And Magickal Life - Transcript | Sounds True<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read the full transcript from this Sounds True conversation with Crafting A Wise And Magickal Life. 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