The Nephilim Rising

Lux in Tenebris Lucet

Posts tagged with Witch

BOOK REVIEW: Spirit Work Primer

November 16, 2022

I receive a lot of messages, comments and the like asking all kinds of questions, but mostly they’re from folks seeking advice.

By far, the number one question I receive is: Where do I start on my journey to Spirit Working?

I find that people are confused about how to find a Deity.

Let’s pause and address THIS.

-You do not need a Deity

-In my humble opinion, They find and choose you

-Your journey will lead you to them (Examples: S*xual A*sault, death and pain led me to Hekate; Asanas and practicing the 6 Branches of Yoga fully committed as a Hindu led Kali to me who paved the way for Shiva through Her dance of destruction)

Carrying on..

Folks don’t know how to Evoke or Invoke and when to do which; I personally do not engage in the latter because of a pact I made with another Spirit.

We each have our own paths to walk and Practices to well, practice.

Spirit Work itself is a broad term, but it means working with Spirits.

This could be anything from a God, Goddess, to a Daemon, or an Angel.

There are many classes of Spirits and different definitions depending on Tradition, individual opinion and personal, lived experiences.

So where do you begin? How do you start?

It’s really overwhelming and not something that can be summed up in a blog or fb post.

Jason Miller recently put out an excellent book called, Consorting with Spirits: Your Guide to Working with Invisible Allies. I will be reviewing it in the future.

The thing I must say about Miller’s book (he’s one of my favorites and most influential Authors) is that he wrote it for people that already have a Magickal foundation established and honestly?

I really appreciate that.

I think it’s incredible to have books that appeal to novices and adepts alike; I like that there are books for novices only; I like that there are books for adepts only.

They can all exist, and they are all (mostly) worthy.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with writing to experienced Practitioners. I started reading it and was like, “Oh, oh, thank f*ck”.

That said, there is a book that has kind of slipped through the cracks and I believe it’s noteworthy.

I had not heard of it before, and when I did and I started reading, even though it is specifically for NEW PRACTITIONERS, I found it exceedingly interesting, and it helped refresh some things for me. Not in a redundant way, either.

I never felt like I was being spoken to like a child, and I found the entire thing educational and that, my friends, is why I am here.

The Spirit Work Primer: A Beginner’s Guide to Streamlined Spirit Work by Naag Loki Shivanath, published by Crossed Crow Books. This is a revamped, second edition from the original 2017 publication.

Image Source: Crossed Crow Books/fb

I highly recommend it if you are interested in working with Spirits but have no clue where to begin.

Covered topics are:

The Basics of Spirit Work, The Nature of Offerings, Spirit Senses, Magickal Invocation, Magickal Evocation, The Nature of Spiritual Pacts, Spirit Possession, Familiar Spirits, Spirit Keeping, Isolated Spirits, Created Spirits, Spirit Houses, Spiritual Self-Defense and Cleanup, Grimoire of the Thorn.

Publisher describes it as follows:

“Invocation, Evocation, Possession

These words conjure forth feelings of unease and confusion for many magical practitioners, even today. This book, however, is a fantastic guide intended to shed some much needed light on these often misunderstood subjects. Within these pages, spirit worker and necromancer Naag Loki Shivanath serves as guide and teacher, taking all readers through a sophisticated yet highly practical system of spirit conjuration. If you’ve been interested in learning how to sharpen your spirit senses, safely practice spirit possession, work through spirit invocation and evocation, then this tome is the book you’ve been waiting for.

Whether you are a follower of the more ritualized manifestations of the magical arts or a Witch looking to deepen your practice with the spirit world, A Spirit Work Primer will prove to be a valuable resource that is referenced time and time again.”

This is a book that is not specific to any one Tradition or path, and the Author never shames the Practitioner for the path they walk.

This is an informational guide on Spirit Work.

I will say, and this may be my only critique, the Author brings up Gender in Practice, and the way it’s worded could’ve been better. I don’t know if I agree with associating give and take (in pact work) with the masculine and feminine manifesting.

“The Principle of Gender

At last, we reach the final law, stating: “Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles: gender manifests on all planes.” This law speaks to more than just your anatomy, however. This law speaks to the fact that nothing is without balance, and that everything that is generated or regenerated consists of both masculine and feminine energies: light and dark, fire and water, air and earth, and so on. To see how this principle applies to pact working, consider that for every desire you create a pact for, you have to give something up. You have to balance the scales, or else Spirit will not deliver on their end. This forms the circle of give and take, the manifestation of male and female.”

I agree the scales must be balanced. I agree that in pact working for it to be successful you must sacrifice something; as mentioned above, I don’t agree that it is masculine and feminine manifesting.

All in all, this is an excellent book and should be talked about more.

Most importantly, it should be read.

You want this in your collection.

Lessons in Magick: The Dangers of Shadow Work

November 14, 2022

 

I have been wanting to write this as a blog or Facebook post for a long, long time; the urge has increased over the last few months, and finally I am sitting down to write after a long hiatus.

I feel like people don’t read blogs anymore. They want bite sized information, they want quick read memes with cute font, they want 30 second Reels and TikToks.

People don’t want to take the time to read anymore, or so it seems.

The thing is, that’s the only way you will learn anything, from me at least.

I am a writer. I bleed on the screen for the world to see and that will never change; I bleed on pages, too.

My pen is my sword, my words are my fire.

Back to the topic at hand, and I am just going to get right to it:

Shadow Work is dangerous, and I wish more people would talk about this.

Don’t take that statement and think I am suggesting avoiding it, no, no.

NO SPIRITUAL BYPASSING ON MY WATCH.

Shadow Work is 100% necessary. The integration of Shadow is 100% necessary.

Did you know that I consulted a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist when creating my Shadow Work Course for The House of Twigs? For reasons I learned from them I didn’t dive too deep when giving assignments because I do not know where someone is on their journey and real, irreparable damage can be done.

I had to be sure that I was not leading folks to danger, or worse to the or a space where they re-traumatize themselves.

I see the term Shadow Work thrown around like it means not a goddamn thing, and I am perplexed because it is NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY.

If you want me to be honest, like really honest: Shadow Work is more dangerous than Evoking Spirits.

Why is this conversation not being had more?!

First, let us define Shadow Work for folks who may not be familiar.

Shadow Work is a Jungian (Carl Jung) Psychological concept that our Persona is who we strive to be and show to the world, but our Shadow is who we are, or at least what makes up most of who we are.

Like the moon has a hidden side so do we.

That is the Shadow.

The hidden aspects of ourselves.

In Jungian Psychology it is our Persona first, our Ego is center, Anima/Animus and Shadow last.

The Spiritual World, not just the Witchcraft Community, have taken this concept and morphed it into their own thing.

Therein lies one of the main problems.

You can’t tweak the concept of Shadow Work.

Regardless of your opinions of Jung himself as a person, his work remains a masterpiece and masterpieces are not altered. They are especially not to be altered to fit some narrative the creator had no intention of it being used for.

Jung was a Psychoanalyst and he did nothing, NOTHING in the shallows; this is deep, deep, heavy work.

Then there is the whole issue that Shadow Work itself is an Egregore and taps into a Collective Unconscious that cannot be altered. There is also the Personal Unconscious.

Archetypes exist in the Shadow and they are: Sage, Innocent, Explorer, Ruler, Creator, Caregiver, Magician, Hero, Rebel, Lover, Jester and the Orphan.

Intense, right?

Shadow Work is alive, it’s constant motion.

Ever changing and evolving as we add more experiences and information to the Collective Unconscious.

It’s not just your Shadows, it’s not just your work.

You are tapping into immense power, and immense emotion.

Then there is the end goal which is the integration process and that is a whirlwind.

Do not diminish these dangers.

Working with Shadow is extremely beneficial, but it brings up a lot of shit that you have buried, things you might not even be aware of (there’s that Unconscious part); it can bring up and stir up Collective emotions that are not even yours to unpack.

There are so many variables, so many potential outcomes.

Be mindful when suggesting Shadow Work as if it’s a walk in the park.

It is not.

Be mindful when venturing down the path to Shadow Work.

It is full of perils.

Know your limitations, find a support system of some kind, and do not push yourself.

Your psyche is powerful and it’s strong, but it is not unbreakable.

Be gentle and fierce. Be aware and alive.

And don’t take yourself too seriously, or your Shadows.

You can laugh, you can love, you can ease your way into the Work and don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Lux in Tenebris Lucet

Basics of Botanicals: ACONITE

February 23, 2022

Aconite

Occult:

Associations: Feminine, Saturn, Water, protection

How to use:

Consecration of tools or spaces

Incense

Invoking Hecate

Amulet “Invisibility” earthwitchery.com states you can, “wrap the seed in a lizard skin and carry to become invisible at will.”

Please use caution handling this plant, wear nonpermeable gloves (Grandmont 2017), make sure you have no open sores/cuts or wounds, and do not submerged yourself or any appendages in its water during consecrations or washes 

Medicinal:

Aconitum napellus

There is a very low margin of safety between therapeutic and toxic doses of aconitine. is considered POISONOUS.

Also known as Wolfsbane (Aconitum napellus) & Monkshood (Aconitum japonicum) (Britannica 2022); over 200 species within the Ranunculaceae (Britannica 2021). Please do not eat any part of these plants. Introductory; will not be listing the homeopathic uses here despite their existence.

Aconitum napellus (A. napellus, also known as monkshood or wolfsbane) is a perennial herb often grown as an ornamental plant due to its attractive blue to dark purple flowers. All parts of the plant, especially the roots, contain toxins. Aconitine is the most dangerous of these toxins. It is most noted as a heart poison but is also a potent nerve poison. Raw aconite plants are very poisonous. (Poison Control)

Example of attempting homeopathic remedy that went negatively and caused a young adult to be sent to the ER for self-treating anxiety. More is not typically better, unfortunately, the individual thought increasing his dose would serve him quicker effects. He took 3 capsules, as opposed to his single capsule dose, of his homemade blend of dried up root matter. Went to bed, but awoken to symptoms of:

. . . generalized numbness, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, chest pain, shortness of breath, and defective color vision (he was seeing purple).

…He spent 48 days in the hospital.  (Poison Control n.d.)

 

Citations:

Link to photo source:

https://pixabay.com/photos/monkshood-toxic-poisonous-plant-5449413/

 

Poison Control (n.d.). aconitum napellus (monkshood): A purple poison. Poison Control. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.poison.org/articles/why-is-monkshood-considered-a-poison–174

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, September 22). aconite. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/aconite

Britannica. T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022). Monkshood. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/plant/monkshood

Jean-Pol Grandmont ( Jan. 31, 2017). Plant profiles in Chemical Ecology. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://sites.evergreen.edu/plantchemeco/wolfsbane-fictious-plant-contains-very-real-dangers/

Witchery, E. (n.d.). Monkshood aka Wolfsbane. Monkshood. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from http://www.earthwitchery.com/monkshood.html

 

DISCLAIMER:

I AM NOT A DOCTOR

I AM NOT A PHARMACIST

Please seek the appropriate healthcare professionals to answer medical/drug-related questions. This information is for knowledge purposes only and not meant to replace any advice or care provided to you by your Health Care Team Providers. ANY INFORMATION WITHIN ‘BASICS OF BOTANICALS’ LITERARY WORKS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS MEDICAL ADVICE NOR SHOULD IT REPLACE ANY MEDICAL SERVICES. ‘BASICS OF BOTANICALS’ IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE COMPILATION; It is meant to be a spring-board type guide to getting individuals into searching in-depth further on their own. If any information is incorrect/missing, please email hwsbotanicalsemporium@gmail.com with the following:

  • Citations missing or incomplete
  • Inaccurate information
  • The specific post/article in question

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LESSONS IN MAGICK: INITIATIONS & WITCH BLOOD

September 10, 2019

Light

“We take spiritual initiation when we become conscious of the Divine within us, and thereby contact the Divine without us.”

Dion Fortune

This topic has been on my mind for a super long time, but I was taking a hiatus from writing and I wasn’t sure how to appropriately discuss this.

Here goes nothing.

I do not want to come off pretentious, elitist, or as a gatekeeper; I want to smash those ideologies, in fact.

I DO want to speak some personal truths and share observations in hopes that we as a community can grow, discussions can start, and we can change some of our negative patterns (both action and thought).

So, I might say things in here that are going to offend you, or annoy you, and make you roll your eyes, depending on your journey and path—I implore you to please read my points, and this piece in its entirety before forming an opinion.

There’s this large group within the greater Witch community who wants to see the Craft become accepted, mainstream (as far as not being considered completely taboo and Satanic) and open.

Then there is another group who wants the Craft to stay underground, to remain Occult (hidden) and let the muggles think what they want about us.

There is a final group forming of people who fall somewhere in between.

I have always been the latter.

The fear a lot of folks have with the Craft becoming mainstream is that it will lose its Mysticism, it will lose its Saredness, it will lose all that it means to be a Witch; to walk among the unseen and exist in Liminal Spaces.

What these folks fail to realize is that no matter how mainstream we become, there WILL ALWAYS be secrets to the Craft, there will always be things that can only be understood if they are truly experienced.

Light 4

 

The Witch must experience their Craft subjectively and, on their terms, in their time.

The Craft is a consciousness of its own, dare I say Spirit—far beyond an Egregore at this point.

The Craft will weed out those who are not worthy of all it has to teach, if they prove their Will is not true.

That is not for any person to judge; that is for the Craft, the Spirits, and the Ancestors to judge.

We are not gatekeepers, and I appreciate some of the sentiment behind this; the Craft is Sacred to me, too.

But it is not our job to be Keepers of this Gate.

The Craft keeps and tends to its own Gate.

Light 3

We each hold keys that we earned to access the Spirit World; my experience will be vastly different from yours, as will all the newer Witches coming up. We must make space for them, and allow them to earn their keys, too.

With all of this said, I want to discuss two specific aspects of gatekeeping that have become huge pet peeves of mine.

 

Myth: You must be initiated to be a Witch.
Fact: No, the fuck you do not.

The other day I was reading a thread of comments and it was kinda heated, and as I read one person was being ganged up on, so of course I clicked to read more and see what all the fuss was about.

The topic doesn’t matter, but what really bothered me was that people (more than 10) were hounding this person:

“Are you initiated? What titles do you hold? What Coven do you belong to? None? That’s what I thought.”

“You are not a real Witch if you have not been initiated, therefore your opinion doesn’t matter.”

And so on, and so on.

I was dumbfounded.

When did this become who we are?

I am not initiated by any group or person: THE GODS INITIATED ME.

Covens, Temples, Sects and Organizations have their place and for so many people they are a cornerstone of their practice.

But, for a lot of Witches, Solitary Practice is the only way, and, of course, there are a plethora of reasons as to why this might be.

Maybe they can’t practice in the open; maybe they live in a highly religious area; maybe they don’t play well with others; maybe they just prefer to Practice alone.

I think we should all read the works of those who came before us, listen when our Elders speak (that DOES NOT MEAN blindly follow, it just means listen as a form of respect) and accept Mentors if they cross our path or the opportunity presents itself and feels right.

However, I do not think initiation is the end goal, or at least, it doesn’t have to be.

Personally, your titles don’t mean shit to me or my Gods; we only care if your heart and your Will are true, and that you are living your authentic truth.

I am proud of every single friend of mine who has been initiated and holds titles, and props to building some amazing communities but please for the love of all that is holy and unholy, stop telling people that they must be initiated to be a Witch.

It simply isn’t true.

Light 2
Myth: Witch Blood makes you more powerful.
Fact: No. Just no.

When titles and initiations don’t make someone feel special enough, they must pull the Witch Blood card, and it makes me fucking cringe.

C R I N G E

If you don’t know what Witch Blood is, it means just what you think: a Hereditary Witch, or someone who was born and raised in the Craft or a specific Tradition.

I come from a line of Witches, Eastern Stars & Masons, and was raised by a Pagan Mother and Aunts in the Granny Tradition. My other Grandparents taught me Slavic Traditions.

None of that makes me any better than anyone else.

None of it.

We all have access to the same Power Source.

Read that again, let it burn, let it sink in, let it burn some more and accept it.

Your titles, secret books, pacts and oral traditions do not divide off a part of the Universal Source of Magick.

WE ALL HAVE ACCESS BECAUSE WE ARE ALL THE SOURCE.

lIGHT 7

After all, we are what we come from.

I certainly believe that some folks are predisposed to excel in certain areas of the Craft, and there are *soooo* many factors that play a role in that.

I equally believe that we are all Magickal beings trying to remember who we are in a world that is forcing us into cages and prisons of definitions and divisions.

The Witch and Pagan communities are supposed to be the one place where the weirdos, the outcasts, the shunned, the misfits are welcome and are free to be whomever they want to be.

Let’s not take that from them because the Egos of a few have poisoned minds.

Be the cure.

Be the balm that combats the poison.

Be the voice that raises other voices.

Blessed Are The Witches.

RANTINGS OF A MAD WITCH: Gatekeepers Be Gone!

April 10, 2019

GK1I urge anyone reading this to read the piece in its entirety before commenting or passing judgment.

I write this knowing full well the backlash that I will face, but at this point it’s go hard or go home, and what I am about to say is going to be hard for many to swallow.

The inspiration for this blog is this delightful gatekeeping bullshit meme that has been making the rounds:

FB_IMG_1554898997334

I want to make a few points and cause a few waves.

I am the first person to admit that humor is a key to life, and the Craft.

We must be able to laugh at ourselves, otherwise, the world will laugh at our expense.

Does that make sense?

The more you learn to have a thick skin and laugh at your own mistakes and the fuckery of life, the more you will be able to handle the world’s criticism.

And, trust me, the world always something to say.

Especially when it comes to someone else’s opinion or way of life.

Ah, the fucking irony.

I don’t think the above meme is funny though, I think it only further divides us and makes our community look completely uninviting.

It was for me—uninviting, I mean.

The community DID NOT accept me, and I was forced to create my own space.

Covens can be intimidating to Witches that are inherently Solitary; not everyone wants to be part of a Coven, or group.

So, the division this meme creates is issue number one.

Again, I am in favor of making fun of ourselves but this is gatekeeping.

You can have that.

GK3

The second thing is that this meme doesn’t consider accessibility.

This issue came up when the whole Sephora Witch Kit shit show went down, and people were up in arms.

Not everyone has access to buying things on the internet.

Maybe they don’t have a bank account yet, or they live with parents/family and can’t have packages sent to their house because their mail is opened (illegal or not, shit happens).

Then there are the people who are hearing the collective call to wake up, but they don’t quite know what that means yet, what it looks like, or how it will manifest.

A Sage bundle at Whole Foods, a crystal at TJ MAXX, or a tapestry at Pier 1 might help them on their journey—might trigger something in their memory.

The Witch IS the tool, I know that, many of you know that, but that knowing comes with time and practice.

Heck, even after all my years of practice, I still like using tools; ambiance, and focus and all.

Overharvesting of herbs, and ethical sourcing of minerals is a concern, and a valid one; not only the effects it has on Earth, but HOW the crystals are mined.

You would be surprised to hear that many of the big chain stores do ethically source their products; other’s do not.

You must research anything you buy, that’s your responsibility as a consumer regardless if we are talking Witch tools, or food you feed your family.

Obviously, in an ideal world we would be able to trust all sellers, but that simply isn’t the case.

Do your research.

GK2

The next point is something that so many Magickians are missing.

The use of herbs/botanicals, gemstones, Sacred Geometry and the like are all forms of Low Magick—not everyone aspires to be a High Magickian, not everyone is about ceremonial Magick; some are about dirt and bone, blood and earth.

Some are all of these and more.

Magick, and the Craft—how we experience them and how we practice is so vast, so unique that it almost cannot be quantified or individualized.

We all have our own experiences, our own reality and we all found our way to this path some way, somehow.

I think the further we go into the Abyss, and the longer we walk our path, we forget how we started.

We forget where we started and how we stumbled.

I was raised with my Mother teaching me the Old Ways to wash out the Catholicism my Father was attempting to teach me.

But it wasn’t until I was 12 and watched The Craft that I willingly approached my Mom with real interest, and at that point was gifted my first Tarot Deck, and my whole world changed.

As they say, the rest is history.

Not everyone has supportive parents, and with the boom Witchcraft is experiencing in Hollywood, you can expect a lot of young Witches to start waking up.

Also, the collective is breeding rebels.

That’s another post entirely though.

These baby Witches could benefit from having tools accessible in big chain stores.

GK4

Another point, someone commented on this meme saying that “having the girls who bullied, tormented and threatened to burn them alive in high school now call themselves Witches is a slap in the face”.

That is a valid point, and a valid wound.

High School fucking sucks.

It has sucked for everyone since the beginning of time.

And, yes, it is super irritating to see the people who taunted you for being authentic back then, claim to be a Witch now.

I get it.

Maybe we should approach with a bit of compassion though, instead of pain.

Maybe they grew as a person and they really are a Witch.

Maybe they are using the aesthetic as if it’s a trend.

That’s not for you to judge nor is it your weight to carry and it’s only a slap in the face if you give that hand power.

Witchcraft, and Spirituality in general have become trends, they are commodities for sale; they have been for decades now.

Read it again, and let it fucking burn because it DOES BURN.

It fucking sucks to see our Craft become watered down and commercialized to make it more palatable for the masses.

But, on the flip side, it’s empowering to see it become mainstream and hopefully, slowly, breakthrough the lies and stigmas told about us.

I see a new wave of Witches waking up, and I embrace them with open arms.

We all must start somewhere, and who cares where that starting point is?

When did we become so rigid about who we allow in our ranks?

Last time I checked Witchcraft is a personal practice.

And, an individual’s personal practice is not open to public interpretation, or prosecution.

Live and let live.

And for those who want to proclaim that their path is Sacred, so is mine.

I have put blood, sweat and tears into my Craft and it’s my lifeline; I don’t think it is something that is free for the taking, and that’s the beauty of the Craft.

Yes, people may find it buying Sage at Whole Foods, but the Craft itself, the Magick and egregore that Witchcraft carries, will weed out the real over the fake, you needn’t worry.

There will always be parts of the Craft that will remain hidden, and known only to those who truly walk the path of the Old Ways.

We cannot bring down this patriarchal system, these misogynistic religions unless we are unified, and we cannot be unified if we are distracted gossiping and judging each other and where we buy our tools.

We’re better than this.

Blessed Are the Witches.

LESSONS IN MAGICK: The Plutonian Healer

November 15, 2018

Pluto

 

“Each of us has his own way of emerging from the underworld, mine is by writing. That’s why the only way I can keep going, if at all, is by writing, not through rest and sleep. I am far more likely to achieve peace of mind through writing than the capacity to write through peace.”

Franz Kafka

Spirituality is a commodity sought high and low by people of all socioeconomic statuses, gender and sexual identities, race and so on.

And, it has been this way since the beginning of time.

Many people still cling to monotheistic religions, billions in fact, but there has been a wave, an uprising of non-traditional (they were once traditional) philosophies and practices being adopted by people all over the world.

Just like people feel let down by their Government and desire to break the two-party pretend democracy we have been living in, hence the rise in Socialists, Communists and Anarchists; people feel let down by their religions of youth and/or culture, so they are turning to Witchcraft, Nihilism, Atheism, Paganism, Wicca, ATR (African Traditional Religions) and every other path that is not the “big three”.

The psychological breakdown is that people want to be shatter the status quo in the most extreme ways possible. Which is, sadly, why there has also been an uprising of hate groups, and far right extremists pushing nationalism.

When people break free, or as I say, wake up, they are often wounded by their past and carry deep trauma from having to suppress certain aspects of themselves to fit into the box society, and in this context, religion put them in.

A Spiritual Awakening is a process of dying and coming back to life over and over again, it’s grueling work and not for the faint of heart.

As with all other areas of Spirituality, there are those who wish to romanticize the process, make it all love and light, unicorns and butterflies, and I can’t speak for all 7+ billion people on this planet, but I know I speak for a good chunk when I say, for many of us, it’s everything BUT love and light.

There are gurus galore who want to take you on a retreat to Bali, Costa Rica, Joshua Tree or India for an extraordinary amount of money, and through Tantric, Shamanic journeys, or whatever, they connect with the Source of love, Divine light and *poof* you are healed.

You will feel lighter.

Your trauma will melt away.

Your vision will become clearer.

You will become Spiritually Enlightened and Awakened.

While I am sure these retreats and this process may help some people, and/or perhaps may even be part of the overall journey, there are a great many folx who don’t need love and light, they need darkness.

They need the comfort and discomfort of the Womb.

They need a journey to the Underworld.

They must dive into their psyche and collective conscious (and unconscious); dangerous places for someone in recovery from religion and indoctrination.

Enter the Plutonian Healer.

Skull

Pluto is the God of the Underworld in Roman mythology.

In Astrology Pluto is death and rebirth (renewal), it’s the journey of going beneath the surface—it’s transformation, change, and the key to our inner most secrets; some secrets that we may have locked away from ourselves without even knowing.

Pluto, like Saturn, is a brutal but necessary teacher.

And, often it’s an energy that many people cannot, or don’t want to tackle alone and that’s valid.

It’s okay to need or want help.

It doesn’t lessen your personal power—you’re still doing the work, you still must face those Shadows and Demons, and traumas, no matter if someone walks with you, they can’t do the deep Plutonian work for you.

“You can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink” comes to mind.

We can show you the way, but we can’t do the work for you.

The choice is always, always yours.

The power is always yours.

I have a love/hate relationship with the word “healer”.

What does it even mean?

Does it mean this person is superior?

*ego talking here*

“No one rules over me! Ahhh!”

*raises fists*

But, seriously, sarcasm aside, what does it mean to be a healer?

For me, as I have grown on my path, grown as a person, as a practitioner and shed my skin only to truly enter my skin, I have realized I am a healer, and superior to no one.

My experiences allow me to be a buffer for people to bounce ideas off; they can look to me, and others like myself, and say, “they made it through the darkness, they immerse themselves in Shadow Work, and I can, too.”

Maybe someone needs me to hold their hand while we navigate the dark together, maybe they need my torch to help them find their way, or maybe they need me to help them ignite their own torch by reminding them of their inherent personal power.

Pluto 2

The Plutonian Healer is the dark mirror embodied: we reflect deep abysmal truths.

Just like some healers (and people) find comfort in the blissful energy of light and love, I find comfort in the depths of darkness, mysteries and shadows.

I don’t “heal” in any kind of traditional manner.

I take people on a journey to the Underworld.

I exist in the shadows, inside liminal spaces so that I may understand them better and pass the lessons along. Again, not doing the work for anyone, but being a guide, a map, a path, a light in the dark.

A torchbearer.

And in these times of unrest, unknowns and uncertainties, it’s more important than ever for people to understand not only their own darkness, but the darkness of the collective.

With so many focusing on love and light, things have become unbalanced and it’s time to reign the darkness back in by understanding it better; thus, mastering it.

And, the only way to understand it is to journey through it.

Remember, you are the light, it is the darkness that you seek.

Lux in Tenebris

RANTINGS OF A MAD WITCH: I Will Not Submit, I Will RESIST

October 2, 2018

Chains

“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Dylan Thomas

**TRIGGER WARNING**

I do not speak for all Women, but for myself and those closest to me, the last 10 days have been profoundly painful; I did not realize how triggered my own trauma would be.

I watched in awe as Dr. Christine Baisley Ford testified and told her story of survival.

I watched in shock as Brett Kavanaugh testified by throwing temper tantrums, losing his composure, putting on the fake tears, justifying his predatory behavior (“boys will be boys”) and trying to be a victim.

I watched in horror as Congress voted 11-10 to confirm him through the first process of nomination.

I watched as our Government told myself, the females in my family, the Women, girls and Femmes around the world, that we do not matter.

Our voices do not matter.

Our stories do not matter.

Our pain does not matter.

But, I am here to say that

I do matter.

Our stories matter.

Our pain matters.

We matter.

The Divine Feminine is more than waking up, She is here and She is GROWLING WITH RAGE.

Lioness

Humans have raped and pillaged this planet, its animal inhabitants, and people through genocides, crusades, white supremacy and all-out war for eons.

Men have raped and pillaged Women since the beginning of time to place their superiority over us; to place their superiority over all things.

Side note: I do not hate Men. I know that not all Men are predators. I know that there are good Men out there. We are not here to discuss them, though, we are here to call out the predators and discuss how we got to this place as a country, and world. If your initial response to this blog is “not all Men!” then you have missed the point entirely.

I have not met a Woman, in my life, who has not been sexually assaulted.

Read that line again.

And, again.

For the Men who follow my page/blog: your Sister, your Mother, your Grandmothers, your Aunts, your Female/Femme Cousins, your Nieces, your Daughters have or will be sexually assaulted to some degree in their lifetime.

This is not to say that Men do not experience sexual assault, too—they do.

But not in the way Women do, and to compare the two is a false equivalency that helps nothing.

Let’s look at statistics:

  • One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives
  • In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
  • 51.1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance
  • 52.4% of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger
  • Almost half (49.5%) of multiracial women and over 45% of American Indian/Alaska Native women were subjected to some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
  • 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and nine percent are male
  • In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator
  • Eight percent of rapes occur while the victim is at work.

Source

How can you look at the next generation and not feel despair in your heart for what they will experience? How can you look at them and not want to change their fate?

I can’t do nothing. I can’t remain silent. I can’t accept this.

I won’t.

The world will hear me roar because:

I have experienced (multiple) sexual trauma in the form of rape and molestation. I have experienced sexual (and physical) trauma in abusive relationships. I have experienced sexual harassment in every workplace. I have had men pleasure themselves in front of me on public transportation. I have been stalked (and fought off an attempted kidnapping, twice). I have been verbally threatened and physically abused on more than one occasion when saying no to a man’s advances. I have been spat on (by strangers) for speaking my mind. I have been sexually assaulted by partners for saying no to sex; relationship rape is real.

And that’s the abbreviated list.

Nude

The unrest so many of us are feeling lately is not just the cosmic fuckery going on, it’s the collective.

It’s our trauma coming to the surface.

It’s our Sisters’ trauma coming to the surface.

It’s every single word we have swallowed when biting our tongue’s coming to the surface.

It’s every Woman/Femme to have ever existed finding her/their voice.

And, it’s magnificent to watch.

A few days ago, a prominent Herbalist and Witch posted a blog about sexual abuse in the Pagan community; it was illuminating and heartbreaking. I support you, Sarah.

On Social Media I saw Women, and Men, showing solidarity with Dr. Ford by using #WhyIDidntReportIt and telling their stories.

More recently there was the “blackout” to represent how Women do not matter; a cool concept, but poorly executed. (The idea was/is to change your profile picture to all black.)

I will not give the Patriarchy what it wants; I will not give them my silence.

I will not give them the satisfaction of thinking for one split second that they have won.

I will not shrink myself.

I will not make myself invisible; the world tries to do that already.

I am here to make noise.

I am here to make people uncomfortable.

I am here to rebel.

I am here to RESIST.

Hex the Patriarchy.

Fuck the Patriarchy.

Don’t give up, keep roaring.

PAY ATTENTION, WITCH: 3 Pitfalls of Witchcraft

September 2, 2018

Water 2

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
Mary Oliver

There is so much that I love about the Witch community, but there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved, too. In an ideal world I would like to see more unity, and less divisiveness but that doesn’t look like it will resolve itself anytime soon; mostly because that’s a human issue, not solely a Witch issue.

I am not naïve enough to believe we will attain some kumbaya status, but there, at the very least, should be respect for other’s traditions, experiences, and practices.

I have been guilty in the past of making fun of Wiccans, for example, mostly in a light-hearted way because I was being attacked from every direction by superiority police whom happened to be Wiccan.

I’m not saying all Wiccans are like this, but all the people who felt the need to judge my way of life and practice have been Wiccan.

It was hard at first to make the distinction, so I lumped them all together; in a very similar fashion they seemed to lump me in with the LHP, Luciferian and Occult communities.

I try to take a more diplomatic stance on “the shit I talk” because everyone is entitled to *their* experience; if they decide to become self-righteous, then I will handle it how I see fit.

Otherwise, live and let live.

Rolling your eyes when necessary helps, too.

I also try hard to educate when and where I can, it’s imperative as a public figure to not feed the fire *all the time*.

Sometimes, we must learn to neutralize the fire and save our energy for bigger fights.

This blog is one way I hope to combat some of the main issues plaguing our community.

Do I believe I am the solution? Not at all.

Do I believe this blog will suddenly solve the problems in our community? Nope.

I do believe this will start an important conversation, debate and reflection.

Which is a win I will take.

I have compiled a very abbreviated list of the main issues I have observed playing out within our community, and in many cases, the Spiritual community at large.

Blind

Spiritual Bypassing: This is the idea that you use Spiritual ideas to avoid handling/healing/confronting emotional wounds, trauma and conflict. A clear example of this is the love and light only crew; this is a group of people who completely deny the existence and necessity of the darkness, or Shadows.

Conversely, there is a large group of people that are darkness only, and they completely avoid the higher vibrations of love and light.

Yes, there are many people who are so accustomed to their pain that they fear being happy; they don’t know who they are without their trauma.

Ebonee 2

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I know this to be true because I used to be one of those people; you don’t get to know the dark as intimately as I do without having immersed your mind, body and soul in it while dismissing all aspects of light/perceived light.

Spiritual bypassing also takes the form of denying ego—something we all have, and an aspect of ourselves that should be fed, not starved; a starved animal is dangerous.

Anyone who teaches their way as being the only way to attain (insert Spiritual promise here) is lying to you.

There are a million different roads that all lead to the destination of Spiritual Enlightenment and the reason so many roads exist is because we must pave our own way, using those who came before us as guidance.

This isn’t a contest, this isn’t a race; this is a winding journey that will take you to highs and lows you never imagined possible, and a reward you never knew existed.

Remember, the essence of the Spiritual journey comes from within, not without; while people and our outer world are great teachers, they are not and should not be our compass.

Our intuition is our compass, use it freely.

Angela

You need a Coven: This is probably one of the most annoying pitfalls within the community, and it trips a lot of people up. The idea that one needs a Coven to be taken seriously is not new, and if you choose to get into a debate with someone over it, I bet it will turn heated rather quickly.

Not only does this effect the Witch community, but it effects the Occultist community, too.

I have met people who introduce themselves by their name, and then the list of secret societies/organizations they are part of or worked with and by the time they are done listing their pretentious titles I have lost interest because honestly, who the fuck cares?

I mean, of course I care but not when I meet you.

You should be proud of your accomplishments and accolades, but to lead with that?

To have that be your introduction?

It’s arrogant as fuck.

You know that saying that wealth is quiet? And, how I have said in the past that truth is quiet because it’s truth and there is no need to boast?

Power is quiet, too.

Real power, real Magick is quiet because it knows the strength it wields, it respects itself enough to know the damage it can do.

We should be like that.

We should respect ourselves, our Power and our Magick enough to shut up occasionally and let them do the talking for us without using any words.

Covens can be an amazing tool, and asset but in my experience, they are often lead by power hungry individuals who do not see their fellow members as equals but almost like slaves.

I have seen disastrous Witch Wars come from Coven fallouts, and most of the time all because they denied their ego. The irony? Their ego is what killed them.

And, yes, there are people out there who genuinely get something from being in a Coven, and yes there are even a few Covens in existence not plagued by ego, power struggle and hierarchies, but they are few and far between, and they do not define you.

THEY DO NOT DEFINE YOU.

You define you; the company you keep can be an indicator but not a definition.

COVENS DO NOT HOLD ALL THE POWER.

You hold the power.

You decide how to use it.

Make sure to use it wisely, or it will use you.

Stormy

Your expertise is based on the number of followers you have: This is real ya’ll.

THIS IS REAL!

This obviously pertains more so to those like me, who are in the public eye, but it’s important to address all the same.

It’s probably one of the biggest issues in our community right now.

In the age of Social Media, and Instagram Witches we are being judged by the number of followers we have; we are not taken seriously unless, across all platforms we have a huge following.

I have been all but snubbed in the Instagram arena because the following I have on Fb doesn’t translate over; mostly because I wasn’t and still am not super active on Instagram.

The heavy hitters on that platform won’t support baby pages like mine, and honestly?

It makes me fucking laugh.

Their worth is put into numbers and an algorithm.

What happens if IG were to disappear tomorrow? Or Fb for that matter?

What would they do then?

I have a Shop, Courses, Published Books and a blog where my heart and Soul live outside my body.

What do they have when it’s all gone? When the filters fade? When the pretty pictures are no longer considered pretty?

I have missed opportunities with Magazines because of this; only for them to see my Fb and blog and suddenly they come back with, “Oh, sorry, we didn’t know your reach as an influencer. We would love to have you!”

That’s an actual quote.

And, this happened not once, but TWICE.

I have been dismissed by some people in the community, only to be given a stamp of approval later because someone, considered more prominent, gave me a shout out.

What a herd mentality.

The numbers on Social Media are essentially arbitrary; meaning, you can’t do anything with them.

You can’t live off them, you can’t cash them in at a bank, you can’t put them on a resume.

They have meaning in the sense that (in my case) 45 thousand people have resonated with my work, and what I share, and they have chosen to include me on their journey; to use me as inspiration and motivation to keep going.

They have chosen to learn from me and my experiences, and that’s a great honor.

I will carry that with me forever.

At the end of the day, I do this because it’s needed; because the Soul cry deep within tells me that people need to hear my voice.

So, in that regard the numbers have meaning on so many emotional levels, but not in the real world.

Even still, we are judged because of them.

Another way we are judged is who we are friends with.

It’s like, in a professional sense, if you are not friends with other high caliber public figures, then you aren’t taken seriously.

For this reason alone, it makes me want to keep to myself even more than I already do.

Don’t judge me based on who I am friends with. Don’t judge me based on numbers on a screen.

Don’t judge me based on anything other than the words I write, and who I am as a person.

I do not seek approval. I do not beg to be seen. I do not need to be loud.

I am who I am, and you either take it or leave it.

Numbers don’t define me, or my power because truth is quiet, and I am truth.

LESSONS IN MAGICK: How We Block, Curse, and Jinx Ourselves

August 7, 2018

Woman 2

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“If you celebrate your differentness, the world will, too. It believes exactly what you tell it—through the words you use to describe yourself, the actions you take to care for yourself, and the choices you make to express yourself. Tell the world you are a one-of-a-kind creation who came here to experience wonder and spread joy. Expect to be accommodated.”

Victoria Moran

This blog is long overdue, and I have talked about the topic a few times here and there throughout the years, but I have never sat down to write a piece solely on what it means to block ourselves.

We can also curse and jinx ourselves.

“No, we can’t. That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!”

I hear you saying it right now.

Hello, denial.

As you can imagine I get an array of messages and engage with all kinds of comments; I see a lot.

What I see the most of, especially lately, is people saying they hear nothing from the other side; they are saddened that their Spirits are silent, or that they disappear when needed most.

So, clearly this is a complex issue (ie. Our Spirits being silent) and too many variables come into play to write here in the blog.

AND

Our Spirits (Ancestors and deities alike) DO TEST US and yes, the lessons often are hard.

*HARD*

I have personally had certain Spirits go quiet, or step back to teach me something.

BUT

If *ALL* my Spirits went silent, if I could suddenly no longer even feel the other side, my Witchy senses would tell me something else is going on; something more than a lesson.

People will point fingers everywhere, everywhere and not for a second stop to think, “Did I cause this?”

Previously, I have talked about needing to Feed Our Spirits but this, this is something else entirely.

We are powerful beings; Witches are benders of reality.

Why do so many fellow Witches and Magickal folk think they can’t bend their own reality?

I mean, they believe in manifestation, right?

Bringing in the positive shit, right?

*looks at the good vibes only crew*

So, then why do they deny being able to bring in the negative shit?

Like attracts like.

We attract what and who we are and, what and who is needed in that moment.

Think about it.

You can curse someone else, you can curse yourself.

You can heal someone else, you can heal yourself.

You know that saying, “Your vibe attracts your tribe”?

Well, your vibe also attracts your life.

Here are some common ways we block ourselves and don’t even know it.

Woman 3

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NEGATIVE SELF TALK: This is something that every single person struggles with, and anyone who says they don’t are lying to you.

Negative Self-talk can be simple, like when you make a mistake and immediately say, “Oh, I should have caught that. How stupid of me.” Or, “I am so stupid for missing that. Sorry.”

This immediately becomes our reality.

We become victims.

We become prey.

We define ourselves as stupid, so “stupid” things will continue to happen.

How we talk to ourselves, and about ourselves are some of the most important words we speak.

We must be aware of what we are speaking into existence, and when we catch ourselves talking negatively ABOUT ourselves, we must ask, “Where is this coming from? What is the root?”

And, rip that shit out.

The world is quick to cast people out who show strength and are different.

Witches, Mystics, misfits in general exude strength by daring to be different; even if being different isn’t by choice.

Love your weirdness because the world will not.

Remember, negative Self-talk is casting spells on ourselves.

Be mindful of the words you speak.

Areas affected: Throat, Heart, Crown and Solar Plexus Chakras. These blockages can cause problems communicating, loving, connecting and doing (actions). Crystals to help: Lapis Lazuli (any blue stone), Rose Quartz, Unakite Jasper, Prehnite, Emerald, Herkimer Diamond, Clear Quartz, Optical Calcite, Citrine, Orange Calcite, and Peach Aventurine.

Follow through

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FAILING TO FOLLOW THROUGH: This is a lesson when I bring up to other people they are mind blown.

Okay, so, backstory, I can be a bit a people pleaser; I have struggled with it my whole life.

I am either “fuck off, get out of my face, get out of my space” or I am “yes, yes, yes, yes” to please everyone around me, only to leave myself depleted.

As with everything, I am one extreme or the other.

I have learned through experience, when I couldn’t follow through with something my Will, Magickally speaking, seemed to weaken.

If I said I would do something, even the tiniest thing like going to the store, or cleaning my room and Altars and didn’t follow through I noticed a tangible dip in the strength of my Will.

I didn’t understand that I was breaking vows.

When we say we are going to do something we are creating a contract of sorts, a vow.

And, when we don’t follow through with that vow, it ripples back.

This is not some threefold, karmic Law, it’s simple consequence of action.

We must be impeccable with our word (one of The Four Agreements).

And, yes, that means following through when we say we are going to do something.

Areas Affected: Root, Heart, Throat, Third Eye Chakras. This causes problems with feeling grounded/safe/secure, loving, communicating and living our truth, and intuition. Crystals to help: Garnet, Red Calcite, Mahogany Obsidian, Black Tourmaline, Moldavite, Green Aventurine, Angelite, Blue Calcite, Aqua Obsidian, Amethyst, Rainbow Moonstone, and Phantom Quartz.

Water 2

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COMPARING YOURSELF TO SOMEONE ELSE: I think we are all guilty of this to one degree or another, and often it’s done on a subconscious level.

In Western culture particularly, from childhood we are forced to compare and/or compete with our peers.

In many ways this is healthy because the world is indeed a competitive place, but it can also be negative and have adverse, long lasting affects not known or shown until adulthood.

The majority neglects to see that each one of us are on our own journey, no matter how many similarities we may have with another person, we’re all different.

We’re all creating and forging our own path.

Our experiences, outcomes, journeys, will all be different; our methods, and techniques will be different as well.

This does not mean one is better than the other.

I see a lot of comparing and competing in the Magickal world, and often the comparing turns into an ego driven Witch War.

And, what for?

Because someone has better tools? Because they experienced a Spirit differently? Because their Altar looks better? Because they have a “cooler aesthetic”?

Because they didn’t have the same experience as yourself?

These questions are based on actual conflicts I have seen.

We can do better, we are better.

Stop comparing and competing; we are all subjectively experiencing our own reality, and you should compete with no one except yourself.

Areas Affected: All Chakras. This causes problems is every area of your life. Crystals to help: Jet, Labradorite, Selenite, Pink Tourmaline, Kambaba Jasper, Lepidolite, Herkimer Diamond, Black Moonstone, Garden Quartz, Hematite, Opal, Fire Agate, Blue Apatite, and Pietersite.

In a world of Spiritual gurus, and self-proclaimed teachers, nobody wants to talk about the negative aspects of spirituality and how that negativity affects us as Practitioners, and in our everyday lives.

Everything we do is Magick; it’s so very, very true.

That sentiment must be understood when dealing with ourselves, our needs, our desires, our dreams and our boundaries.

We create our reality.

So, when shit hits the fan, we really have no one to blame but ourselves.

WILD WOMAN WAR CRIES: Howl for Humanity

June 16, 2018

Ivy

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“Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that. The river does not dry up, we block it. If we want to allow it its freedom, we have to allow our ideational lives to be let loose, to stream, letting anything come, initially censoring nothing. That is creative life. It is made up of divine paradox. To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down.”

Clarissa Pinkola Estés

For the past decade, peaking in the last 3-4 years, there has been an uprising of the Wild Woman Archetype; people are waking up to their true nature and they are honoring that place within themselves by letting their wild run free.

What is it about this Wild Woman that gives us all the permission to be ourselves?

What is it about her that resonates with so many people, across so many cultures?

Why are we hearing her calls now?

Her howls echo and dance through the night like a serpent coiling its body through the Earth’s crevices.

The Wild Woman lives within us all, not just those of us who are or identify as Women; the Wild Woman is the voice deep inside of us that refuses to be silenced, or tamed.

She is the rumbling thunder in our chest, the fire burning in our Soul; she is the voice of reason and intuition, our connection to Mother.

Wild Woman, howl for me so that I may follow your voice back home.

If the past couple years have not proved to you that we are in midst of chaos, and mass change then you are not paying close enough attention.

Recent years have kicked our ass, and taken names.

I applaud the Universe for its ruthless approach; Kali would stand in glory at the destruction that’s leading to rebirth and change.

Years like these are catalysts for change within ourselves and the collective.

If you have not witnessed this change, if you have not felt this change within you then you should move out of the way because a wave of angry, awakened people is coming and we are going to be the ones kicking ass and taking names.

Illusions are being destroyed, divisive lies are becoming evident, false narratives are being blasted with truth and those of us aware enough to feel this shift are craving a simpler way of life; a re-wilding of sorts.

 

Earthing

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We are craving the dirt in our hands and Earth beneath our bare feet; we are craving the oceans, lakes and streams washing over our bodies—cleansing, purifying, baptizing us.

We crave to live like the Wild Woman; to heal our bodies and listen to the wisdom in our blood.

We crave to stand unapologetically in our power against a system that wishes to erase and belittle us.

We crave freedom.

We crave redemption.

We crave justice.

I first heard the Wild Woman’s call when a book was suggested and that book forever changed my life; Women Who Run with Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés became a bible for me.

The text was like a holy scripture of fire and I was in desperate need; that fire was the spark that ignited my flame.

Reading page after page became cathartic; it was like a voice from beyond reminding me who I am, and what I am capable of.

Our society is structured in a way that it oppresses certain groups of people, and if you happen to be in one of those marginalized groups, you forget who you are; they make sure you do.

It reminds me of how circus animals, or other show animals are broken so they “obey their master”. But, if you look closely even in the most desperate of cases and saddest of eyes, you can still see the wild glowing inside.

Wolf 3

That’s exactly how we are, and that’s exactly what’s happening.

The re-wilding has hit so many people that it is now effecting the collective and there is no way to stop it.

If I had to compare what I am seeing and feeling spiritually to something scientific, I would say this is like herd immunity: “general immunity to a pathogen in a population based on the acquired immunity to it by a high proportion of members over time.”

Except the pathogen we are becoming immune to is bullshit.

We will not be tamed, lied to, categorized, divided or beaten in to submission.

After such a long stretch in the darkness with seemingly no hope in sight for humanity, it is amazing to see the waves of enlightenment and illumination taking over.

We hit rock bottom and now Wild Woman is going to bring us home; back to a place we are meant to be, a place where we can run wild and free.

No master, no slave.

Wild Woman, howl for me.