When I first started this blog, oh, almost ten years ago, I got in the habit of starting each year with a new year’s resolution, something to meditate on for the year. I did everything from slow living, radical self-care, and thinking about living more sustainably. After a while, many of these things became an integral part of my life. Then the pandemic happened and I felt a decreased desire to focus too hard on another goal, even if it was rooted in my desire for cultivating a more magical life.
There’s nothing wrong with making resolutions—in fact, I rather like the idea of choosing something to gently meditate on throughout the year. It’s like my daily tarot card reading. It’s nice to have something to help you get clarity on what you want to manifest in your life or help you explore your inner world. Intention setting is one of the most mundane forms of magic-making and all the more powerful for its simplicity.
That said, when I took a pandemic-inspired step back, I realized that I’d gotten better (despite a few bumps in the road), at integrating things like self-care and energetic awareness into my daily life. Part of it came from years of practice. The other part, from writing Practically Pagan ~ An Alternative Guide to Magical Living. Writing that book helped me return to the fundamentals of magical living, ways of being that are intuitive and seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. Writing has always been one of the most powerful forms of spell-crafting for me.
In the process, I got rid of the things cluttering up my life: complicated exercise regimes, things that made me feel bad about myself, the constant need to apologize or over-explain things, saying yes to too many demands, self-doubts, and anxieties that lead to bad habits in an effort to self-soothe. I got rid of people, too. I have no room for pandemic-deniers and performative allies in my life, and joyful hex bigots out of my space.
In their place, I created more space for unexpected magic. I cultivated my relationship to the tarot and to seeds—soul seeds and turnip seeds, aggressively joyful hollyhock seeds and the seeds of dreams I hope to nourish in the coming year. I gave into my inner kitchen witch and bought a pizza stone—then rigorously tested the best ways to make a pizza (wink wink). I stopped reading books that bored me and binge-read series that brought me joy. I trusted my intuition more even when it seemed to go counter to the surface of things. I lit beeswax candles and made time for cat cuddles at the end of the day. I learned the gentle art of divine receptivity.
I grew things. I made things. I dreamed about a lot of things. And I conjured some things, too. I listened. At times I spoke. I let my body—the ripples of pleasure and coils of tension—tell me what I did and didn’t need in my life. Mostly I embraced my deeply introverted need for solitude and the healing revelations that can only come with time spent in silence.
In other words, I allowed myself to embrace my full witchiness. In my own way and via my own path. The past few years have been hard in so many ways that I’ve had to make a conscious effort not to harden my heart or shut down as I pour all my energy into trying to maintain important boundaries. Don’t get me wrong, boundaries are essential! And I do keep my heart safe from the people who would abuse my kindness and empathy. But my inner-bruja has also helped me remember that I ferociously maintain those boundaries so that I can have the space and safety to nourish joy, Eros energy, and sacred simple pleasures.
Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves is to trust in our ability to keep ourselves safe from the proverbial demons of the world so that we may hold space for the divine. It is no small thing to allow our energy to flow, welcome in divine receptivity, and make room for unexpected magic.
So this year? My new year’s resolution is to be witchier than ever.
What magic are you hoping to conjure this new year?
Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!