Practical Magic

When I was 11 years old, I asked my mom for a deck of tarot cards for my 12th birthday. 

A little startled, she asked how I knew what tarot cards were. I replied, “I don’t know, but I know how to read them, and they should be given to you as a gift, so I need them for my birthday.” Being the best mom ever, she didn’t question me further. She simply bought me my first deck, and has bought me ALL of my other decks since then over the past 25 years. 

Tarot was one of the first true loves in my life. 

For me, learning to read wasn’t so much a learning as it was a “remembering.” I simply knew how to do it. Years after that first tarot deck was mine, my Nana casually mentioned, “You know, my Aunt Martha read those cards like you do and people said she foresaw her own death.”  It’s in the bloodline. 

Nothing calmed me when I was young the way that shuffling the cards did. It was always my quickest way to center my energy and one of the first ways I learned to work with energy. At 13 years old, that understanding led me to become a Reiki practitioner and began my work in energy healing. I was doing Reiki and reading for my friends while I was still in middle school. 

Throughout high school and the better part of my twenties, I was never without a deck of tarot cards in my purse. Like, ever. (I was also heavily covered in glitter in those days, so…) On my very first date with my now husband at age 23, we’d barely sat down to dinner before I blurted out, “I’m a witch and an energy worker and I read tarot.” #notsubtle

Throughout that period, I read for myself and others nearly daily and honed my intuition and practice with the cards. They were a natural extension of who I was and provided tools and a language with which to express my magical gifts and connect to others in a way that resonated with them. I taught classes on The Celtic Wheel of the Year and shared my process for creating ritual and tuning energy into the flow of the seasons. My natural empathy found expression through the cards and teaching others how to connect with universal energy.  

Sometime around the age of thirty, I found myself craving a quieter, more private practice of my magic in order to continue growing within it. This was a bit of a shift and for the better part of the past decade, my magical practice as well as my readings and teachings have reflected this need for quiet and greater privacy.

Recently however, I’ve felt another shift happening, a call once again to step back out of the “broom closet” and share these gifts more openly and publicly. I’ve had so many requests for readings and classes that I feel the time has come for me to once again formalize my offerings and make them available to anyone interested in learning with me.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite scenes from the movie Practical Magic, where Sandra Bullock’s character proclaims to a group of women, “Soooooo…I’m a witch!” 

And I am.

What does it mean to be a practicing witch and walk the pagan path?

For me, it means honoring the cycles of the moon and the cycles and transitions of the seasons, of nature. It means setting time for daily, monthly, and seasonal rituals no matter what else is going on in my life. 

It also means consulting cards, runes, and oracles when I’m looking for guidance. It means casting a spell for the perfect magical kitten to come to me by Litha (summer solstice), and then offering a ritual of gratitude for her arrival. 

My practice is incredibly sacred to me, and has been a source of peace, empowerment, and connection in my life. Now I’m called to share those gifts with others, to offer them in service to you, and to widen that circle of connection to include all who are interested.

Blessed be.