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TWL78: Via Hedera- Bonding with Plant SpiritsFri, 3/26 8:15PM ? 1:14:54SUMMARY KEYWORDSmagick, plant, witch, spell, people, witches, poppy, cherry blossoms, fucking, courtney, herb, thought, friends, episode, day, ryan gosling, husband, growing, folklore, magicSPEAKERSKanani, via, Intro music, Courtney , Hilary, All Three, Via Hedera, (Exit Music)Hilary 00:00Courtney, Kanani, and I want to express our sorrow for the lives lost in both Atlanta and Boulder. We stand firmly against all acts of white supremacy, hate crimes and acts of gun violence. For all of those impacted directly or indirectly we are with you in heart and spirit and continue to manifest a world where these incidents no longer happen.Intro music 00:3320 years ago, three young friends realized they were witches. They scattered to different parts of the world following Magick and Spirit. Now, they're back in their hometown to share what they've learned. Welcome to That Witch Life Podcast. Your home for living as a Witch in today's world.Hilary 01:09Are we ready?Courtney 01:10We're ready.Hilary 01:11Are we recording?Courtney 01:12We're recording?Hilary 01:14Are you recording? Courtney 01:15I'm recording.Hilary 01:16Are you a record?Courtney 01:17I'm a record. Hilary 01:19No, you're not.Kanani 01:22This is where my selective listening kicks in.Hilary 01:25Kanani's like, like shopping on Amazon right now. Okay. Hello, everyone, and welcome to That Witch Life Podcast. I'm Hilary. I'm your host today.Courtney 01:37I'm Courtney. I'm your record today. I guess I don't know. I'm here, and I'm supporting my podcast.Kanani 01:43I'm Kanani, and I'm not really here.Courtney 01:48So it's the same old same old welcome back!Kanani 01:51Same old...Hilary 01:53I almost I was like trying to quickly cue up Kanani's favorite song because that was a perfect opportunity for it. But then I couldn't find it. Anyway,Kanani 02:01do you know what my favorite song is? Right? Move bitch Get out the way by Ludicrous. 100% that's my favorite song. I had a friend. This is a really good friend who knew me well. I was on a road trip. I was so stupid. I was eight months pregnant. And I went on a road trip to Utah for a crafting convention. Because that's what I do. Courtney 02:21Sounds about right. Kanani 02:21And uh yep, Courtney's uh sounds about right..she would leave town 8 months pregnant goes on a crafting convention in Salt Lake City! So anyway my friend texted me and he's like hey here's some road trip music for ya and it was it was Move Bitch Get Out The Way.....by UKELELE! (LAUGHING) it was EPIC!! It was the best ever it was played on ukelele I listened to it like a thousand times. It was insane! I just kept playing it and laughing hysterically!! Hilary 02:56Are you sure that's your favorite song? Because I thought it was no,Kanani 03:00it's not that that's Courtney's favorite song because she doesn't have friends that's why she doesn't have friends! Dance party. We're gonna have to find the ukulele version to put a link on on our website. Because it's so good. There's nothing better than Ludicrous via ukulele.Hilary 03:20Hello, listeners. We have a podcast and today, we should shut up. And today we actually have Via Hedera coming on to discuss bonding with plant spiritsKanani 03:34She's cooler than all of us. Yeah.Hilary 03:36Yep. So that is you'll have that to look forward to. Courtney 03:39So if you skip ahead, 27 minutes, you hear something intelligent until then, we promise nothing.Hilary 03:45Via is amazing. So yeah, just skip ahead. We're sorry. Um, so I you know, I was everyone was like, Hillary. So would you have any cool stories for this week? And I was like, I mean, I moved in my house, which is a cool story, but not really an interest, but not really an interesting for others story. So, uh, Courtney has a story to tell.Courtney 04:10I do have a story to tell. So what is about living as a witch in today's world in which you totally blow off Ostara because it was raining. So yeah,Hilary 04:18I mean, it sounds right.Kanani 04:20Sounds right. What if you blow it off because you're just a grouchy bitch because you have so much going on that your brain is melting out of your ears.Courtney 04:29Oh, you know, honestly, when you're a grouchy bitch and your brain is melting out of your ears. That is the best time to go do the ritual, at least a simple way because it can break that flow of wanting to kill everybody.Kanani 04:41Oh, well, I didn't I didn't choose that path Courtney 04:43Yeah you didn't choose that path..I mean, I know that's the path that's more difficult to take well for me. My husband and I were planning on going to the ocean and doing a cleansing you know, ritual and we didn't it we just didn't we we ended up doing something else. We had a really good time. We were away for the weekend for his birthday. We had all these intentions of doing some magick at the beach and we didn't. And you know what? Honestly, now that I am a, you know, cranky old witch, I have started to understand that sometimes when you have those moments, where you just honestly forget to do the ritual or forget to do the working, it's supposed to happen at a different time. And when you and also when it comes to the sabbats, you've got a grace period of sometimes like up to two weeks after the "official date", you're still imbibing in these energies. And sometimes they're even stronger. I actually feel like, like seven days after the "calendar date" of the Sabbat is actually with a better time to do it. So he and I are probably going to do it this weekend. But that just goes to show witches, if you didn't do your Ostara, right, it's okay. You still can and you're not a terrible witch, you're a normal witch, and that is what witches do. Umm andKanani 05:52TrueHilary 05:52oh, yeah. I mean, the thing is, is we like to be, we like to tell ourselves that, like we're gonna do all you know, I'm gonna do everything by the book. I mean, that's just not possible. Like I you know, what I did, I fucking moved, I didn't have any energy to do anything.Courtney 06:05It was a new beginning. It wasn't every It was a new beginning.Hilary 06:08It was a new fucking beginning. And so I'm gonna call this move, which I mean, moving is like a special kind of hell. So I feel like I endured hell to get to a new beginning. And so I'm just gonna call that my ritual.Courtney 06:22You know, spring is a special kind of hell because we talk about like new beginnings. It's so bright and sunny! New Beginnings are always accompanied by tears and wanting to burn everything you own. That is part of what happens with a new beginning. And that's part of what happens in springtime. Like I see all these images on Facebook of spring the "spring maiden" being so sweet and like she's a cranky hormonal teenager and she hates everything that is Spring. That is, the spring maiden is a crazy bitch that you just want to leave her in her room to chat with her friends on whatever app teens are using. I don't know I don't have kids. And I don't. I'm too far removed from teenagers to know what they doHilary 06:58emotions her emotions fluctuate way too much. She makes my sinuses and my eyes itch. AndCourtney 07:06I watched Kanani like Yeah, my child's not yet a teen, but she already does that. She makes my sinuses itch.Kanani 07:11Yes. Yes. No, I it's kind of funny. I'm having this because we're prepping our we're prepping our condo for sale. And we know we're gonna have to stay somewhere in an in between we have we've got let lined up like it's fine. But um, we have so little, so much of our belongings have been packed. The one thing that is completely intact minus, I think I have packed a few of the books and stuff that were on it. The one thing that is pretty much completely intact and untouched is my altar. So I'm starting to have anxiety about because I light a candle on it every single day on on my spell jar. I light a candle on my spell jar every single day. And so I'm starting to have anxiety at the fact that the point of which like, how am I gonna go How am I going to pack this? How am I and so I've already like figured out how I'm going to have like a traveling altar for when we go to our next place because I've just gotten it's just funny. It was never I've always had an altar. I guess I never I think probably because I use it daily now it is part of my daily practice. And it's it's in my room and such a focal point for me that the idea of not having one is now starting to freak me out. I think which I don't think I don't feel like I've ever had an attachment to one before. But somehow I clearly am attached to this one. And so it will become a traveling altar.Hilary 08:40I had a total freakout because I couldn't find the box that I packed 99% of my altar in and I was like, oh, oh my god. Oh my god, it's it's gone. Like it's either. Like somehow I was like, it got left somewhere. I mean, like I literally had it. It was like a blanket. Like, I was like, Oh my god, everything sacred to me is gone!!!Courtney 09:09and you put it under a blanket (laughing)Hilary 09:13I had moved like a bag that had blankets and pillows because like I had someone come in Patch. Like there's there was this very small, like seal that had to be replaced around one of the vents on the roof so that it wouldn't leak. And so I like I move something out of the way and I just I was like, Oh my god, I've lost my entire, like I literally had this likeCourtney 09:35you were at that place..you're at that place in your new beginning stage where you lose your object permanence. And you're like, ah,Hilary 09:48and I was like, I mean like earlier I was like, I don't know, I don't know where anything. I don't know where my knives are. I was like I literally open something earlier with like that. Like, you know, there's like a wine key that has that knife that's like a centimeter long. I was like, something open with that earlier. I was like, where my fucking knives I don't even know. And like I always have a pocket knife don't know where that is, like don't know where motherfucking anything is, I couldn't find the box with this recording equipment. And I had to dig through a bunch of boxes to figure it because like I was like, it was one of the last things I packed. So it was one of the few things I didn't label like a fucking idiot. And so I was like, Fuck, so I'm like digging through stuff trying to find it. I mean, you know, I hate moving. I am not I don't ever want to ever moe again!Courtney 10:33You are where you are forever. Speaking. Speaking of spell jars. So as you all know, I keep a spell jar going by my front door, which is meant to bring us prosperity and luck. And for some reason, this always happens. Or it happened again, when I was doing some work to manifest luck and money into our house, okay, because we got like, the tax man came and took a giant shit on us. And so we were like, oh, fun. So then, um, I've been burning my green candles on top of that, like bringing the luck bringing the money bringing the luck bring in the money. So all last week, my husband worked until like eight o'clock at night. He's supposed to be finished by four. But he works at the hospital and they wouldn't let him leave. And so he worked late, like work 12 hour days, five days in a row, and was just tired and burnt out and exhausted and so unhappy until he got his paycheck. And that overtime pay came in. And I said to him, Well, I did do all those money spells. He goes, thanks, honey. Thank you. Thank you for a lot of like, well, I brought them it did what it was supposed to do. It just brought it in the form of you working more, which I feel like it's something my ancestors totally sent that so then being like, well, honey, you know, we're gonna bring you some good fortune your man's gonna have a lot of work to do and then you're all going to have some good money come in. I'm like, well....I was kinda hoping it'd come through book sales because I've already done that work. But no, they thought it just you know make the husband work more is the is the way to bring the lucrative down.Kanani 12:11I'm down. I agree.Courtney 12:12I agree. Well, except the fact that you all know. And our listeners have experienced it too that the dog has a meltdown. As soon as the sun the light starts to Hilary 12:22He freaks out. Courtney 12:24Noooo...he can't handle it. If the light changes outside and my husband is not home. He comes and alarms me and he's like listen, listen, the pack is not together. Daddy's not here Something terrible has happened. And he does the Husky ah sounds like a dragon roar. And I try and get anything done. Teaching virtual classes recording with YouTube or anything like that wasn't happening because my dog was having a fucking conniption because my husband wasn't home. But you know my ancestors help. So thank you. I give praise. I give thanks to adoration. Yay.Hilary 12:57Yay, Courtney 12:58that's how it works sometimes that you you do a money spell and you just get lots of hours at work.Hilary 13:03Yep, yep, I've definitely done that. where it's like, oh, wait, now I'm Oh, okay. So yeah, more money, more work, but more money. So win! so Kanani, you are going to review you're going to review The Littlest Witch is that right? Kanani 13:18No, no, I'm not.(laughing) Hilary 13:20No? You don't? Kanani 13:22No. Hilary 13:22What? Kanani 13:23no Hilary 13:23whatKanani 13:25I was supposed to Courtney 13:26but then you didn't.Kanani 13:27But instead, I ate a mcflurry and....ran away to my parents house for three days.Hilary 13:35Oh my god. Why are you like this? Kanani 13:37so...I'm at my mom's house Hilary 13:39why are youKanani 13:41on the bed with a belly full of mcflurryHilary 13:44WhyKanani 13:44and that was my choice? Hilary 13:45Why is kananiKanani 13:49and..for those who don't know what a mcflurry is? It's like the sad stepchild of a blizzard! it wants to be a blizzard. It looks like it should be a blizzard. But it's very much not a blizzard.Hilary 14:08Oh my godKanani 14:10The listeners feel me they get it. They know. It's not a blizzard. It's not. Okay. They want you to think it is it's not. So that's what I did. instead. I did not watch the movie. I did not do another review because I am doing everything I can to stay fucking sane. While I am trying to sell one place to purchase another. Courtney 14:31Why are you both moving at the same time?! Kanani 14:36while I have two tiny humans that run around and want to eat three meals a day and snack 20 times a day and interrupt me during work meetings to bring them Cheerios. And I tell them mommy's in a meeting. She's not going to bring you Cheerios and they look at me and go well, I'm in class. So they're class trumps my work meeting. And luckily my boss just thinks it's hilarious. So it's not a problem, but I'm just like, I'm just oh my god. Yeah, that's what they look at me like work meeting. I'm in class right now. I need Cheerios. I need Xanax and no one's here helping me out. So ya know what?! We're running to the beach to grandma's for three days and I'm gonna let her give you Cheerios!!!Hilary 15:33Oh my god. Courtney 15:34Okay, I need to say this for the record. This has been on my chest for a while. It is not fair. The two of you are lives go through all this chaos and turmoil at the same time and I'm the one who is expected to hold this shit together when you know I don't aim so I don't have much of a bandwidth for keeping things calm.Hilary 15:55Oh my god. But you know what, though? You know what, though? Like, at least it wasn't exactly at the same time. Could you imagine if we were placing bids at the same timeCourtney 16:05I would replace both of you I would find new friends and I'd be reaching out Hilary 16:10oh my god you get like.. you get likeKanani 16:14what is wrong with you, like seriouslyHilary 16:16you'd get like Najah and Remy to just replace us temporarily? Because you know,Courtney 16:20I don' know...that's what our listeners would want, but you know who you know who the universe would give me who I deserve which would be LimonHilary 16:26Limon Flanco lives very close to me now. I'm stuck with Limon and his lovely wife.Courtney 16:36Limon. Limon has a very lovely wife who's a death doula and she's absolutely amazing. LimonHilary 16:41She's amazingCourtney 16:42Limon’s the one who taught us to smoke weed out of a pop canHilary 16:47which was really the only bad part about that story.Kanani 16:51Oh my god. Okay, onlyCourtney 16:54you go back about four months to the gratitude practice episode. Oh, yeah,Hilary 16:59the white oh Yeah.Courtney 17:00Would tell the white man's story. Hilary 17:02I've had like, you know, I've like, I mean, like, when his co workers have been like, hey, oh, you have a podcast and I'm like, I'm an HR director by the way. So like, and I'm like, Yeah, I do have a podcast if you want to know you want to know a lot about me listen to the gratitude episode. In which in which I talk about which we have a complete meltdown about about me smoking weed and being paranoidKanani 17:34and I am 24 years ago again heart as I am now completely indifferent to your completely indifferent to your pain.Hilary 17:46A fucking like soulless. Kanani 17:48I can't even pretend to care I'm right now. I can't even pretend to care like oh my god.Hilary 18:16Okay. All right. Look. Our poor fucking listeners are like we've we like we just lost like 30 listeners because we'reKanani 18:28doing something really cute though. So I did. I did run away very much to my mother's and I'm making her care for the children because you're done. I don't want to so I'm in my room where we stay. There's it's a little two bedroom place. It's adorable. So I call the guest room. This is my room. And so I'm in my room. And my mom who has we've talked about before like buys all of our spell kits. It's super cute. Like I can't even give her one she buys one like this as soon as we release one!Courtney 18:55the first one to orderKanani 18:56and she always pays for shipping and I'm like old woman. I'm gonna see you in like three days. I could have brought it to you. Anyways. So she got she did our Oh, just escaped me. What's the Brigit one we did? Imbolc God okay. So she she got bought the Imbolc the Imbolc one is the no, the winter solstice one is the one that she wrapped in a bunch of our family members and had them buy them and ship it with him which is really totes adorbs and then she also bought the Imbolc one and it came with this straw. And you were supposed to put the straw in a high place. And so I just looked up and she has a sign and it says follow the yellow brick road. It's a little wall decor sign. And I just noticed that the straw is on top ofCourtney 19:45and this is where my mind is when we said you said straw I forgot I had a piece of wheat stock in there. And then I was like yes straw?? Are we still using plastic straws. It's kind of passe. I'm envisioning her with the Flexi straw that she's putting up there with that sign. And so yeah, I can't make fun of you for not remembering Imbolc because I was thinking you were talking about a plastic straw for like, Kanani 20:07you're not well Courtney 20:08you're not well! HELLO?!Kanani 20:10anyways, because my mom listened, and she puts a little wheat stock on top of her highest piece of wall decor and it's just chillax in there and it's adorable. So see,Courtney 20:22fuckin hellHilary 20:23fuckin what?Kanani 20:24I don't know where I was going with that. It was just cute. I noticed it. It's happening. It's what we're doing. Anyways. Now our listeners know the difference between a sad, sad mcflurry and a blizzard is the only education you're going to get until Via comes I'm just letting you know.Hilary 20:43Well, speaking of things people that probably are not excited with the fucking episodes we're having right now. Thank you to all of our podcast supporters no. Thank you to all of our Patreon supporters last week Kanani told us a bonus story about Ostara, which you should definitely check out if you haven't already. Or if you haven't joined, definitely join for as little as $1 a month you can get access to that and other witchy content. higher level higher levels get you access to our private Facebook page, live virtual events, early release episodes, longer ad free episodes, and boxes of magickal goodie goodies, including your very own screaming goat. Our next live event will be April 11. And we will be doing house blessing. So make sure to join us on our Patreon at the screaming goat level or above in order to participate, it's gonna be a really good one.Courtney 21:32And if you don't join us at that level, there's lots of other cool stuff too.Hilary 21:35There is lots of other cool stuff. So speaking of cards that we pull for our Patreon subscribers. Today, Courtney will be pulling for Courtney 21:46I am pulling for Lorelei, who has been with us for a really long time and she recently upped her pledge to the Kanani girlfriend, boyfriend NB friend level, and so she her card. Oh, wow. Okay, so Lorelei is getting Justice. All right. Justice means that it is time for you to get what you deserve. So be that means how people treat you treating you with respect. If it means getting paid what you are owed for work you have done being recognized for you know, just being an outstanding person in all the ways it's a matter of you know, the thing about justice is that it's um, it's not a passive card, it is a card that calls for a certain amount of action that's saying stand up and make sure that you are, you know, you are, are making your you are asking for what you are owed, and for what you deserve. It's also definitely a card of balance. So make sure you're not putting out more energy into specific projects or people that aren't giving that back to you, you know, and it's different between like, putting your energy into a business or into a new relationship that has room to flourish. It's about looking at what you're putting your energy into and saying has this reached the end of its course. So, anyway, thank you for joining at the Kanani girlfriend, boyfriend Nb friend level which gets you access to our extended ad free episodes of the show. Yay!Hilary 23:10fantastic. Other ways to support the show. If you can't do a monthly donation, you can buy us a coffee or buy That Witch Life merchandise on Etsy. Also, consider becoming an episode sponsor. It's a great way to promote your business to 1000s of witches. You can also purchase a shout out let people know about your virtual event or just send love to your favorite witch. Find out more on our website at . Are we ready for a word from our sponsors?Courtney 23:35You all know that we are all obsessed with herbs around here. All three of us lost our minds when we discovered Fox and Elder. Fox and Elder is a small farm just north of Nashville, Tennessee, run by Sarah Schuster, who was an herbalist herb farmer and plant witch. Their work not only offers a variety of herb based products, but also offers education on homesteading and herb cultivation. Fox and Elder's products include teas and tinctures including a line of Tarot teas based on the major arcana. Their Empress tea draws in a variety of floral notes, herbs and peaches, which includes calendula, Hawthorn leaves and flowers, lavender, plus other delicious herbs. I'm totally particular about my teas. I'm super picky, and so I'm super stoked that they offer custom tea blends working with clients to blend something wonderful and delicious just for you based on your needs and desires. Fox and Elder also offers a monthly xine called Full Moon Philip, which offers Tarot spreads, herbal profiles, and recipes. The Samhain issue will have a focus on ancestral work, a tarot spread for the full moon in Taurus and an herbal profile on skullcap. Fox and Elder also offers a podcast called Tending Seeds, which covers a variety of homesteading and herbalism topics. Available on all major platforms or directly on their website, so be sure to subscribe and add Tending Seeds to your listening rotation. Their episodes follow the seasons, and do deep dives into gardening and how to find powerful magick and healing in different herbs you can find in your yard or just along the road. As a witch who does a lot of work with "weeds", I was fascinated by Episode 29 Exploration of Golden Rod. I know I will be listening as my husband and I finally start growing our own garden! To receive 15% off your first purchase of teas, tinctures, or a full moon zine subscription, go to and enter code THATWITCHLIFE at checkout. Fox and Elder, meeting you where you are offering a variety of ways to step onto the plant path. Thank you to Fox and Elder for being an episode sponsor.Hilary 25:51Well, we are super excited to welcome Via Hedera to the show Via Hedera is a California-born, Pacifc Northwest-based sculptor, folklore enthusiast, writer and occult practitioner operating a blog dedicated to folkloric witchcraft in the Americas, modern animism and sacred art. Growing up in a multicultural and spiritually diverse community, she dedicates her time to the study of traditional witchcraft practices, ancestor veneration, and all things magical. Her newest book, Folkloric Witchcraft and the Multicultural Experience: A Crucible at the Crossroads is one witch’s love letter to the presence of animism and magic in the Americas and details not only her personal relationship to folkmagic, but her love of shared magical experiences between diverse peoples. Via, we're super excited to have you on the show. Welcome.Via Hedera 26:43Thank you so much for having me. Excited to be here. Nice to meet you all.Hilary 26:46Nice to meet you as well. So yeah, the first we're gonna start off with the first question that we ask everyone that comes on the show. And it's it's one of our favorites to ask, which is how did you first know that you were a witch or a magickal person?Via Hedera 27:03Well,27:04I always understood myself as a magical person. It was an ever present part of my life growing up and it was a large aspect of my family, magical practice. Specially folk magical practices were sort of inherent even among people of really diverse religious backgrounds, the same sort of folk magic existed in the Lutheran side of my family as the Catholic side as, as the other practitioners of magick and even witches themselves. So I grew up sort of supported by this whole idea that there is a world inhabited by otherworldly spirits, that words have power that the things we speak into existence can come to be that we are protected and guided by our ancestors and by totemic and tutelary deities by familial deities. All this was super normalized to me growing up and I didn't really realize that this was not completely normal for most people growing up. To me, I thought that's how most large families operated was with a lot of superstition and folklore, tied to our culture's and spiritual beliefs. So to me, it was normal. And by the time I had heard the word witch, and understood what that character and that narrative was in history, I automatically considered myself a witch. I was probably just running around calling myself that at eight or nine years old. It was it was just very normal and not heavily dissuaded by my family at all. So to me, that was that was sort of life.Hilary 28:27That's so awesome.Courtney 28:28I am really fascinated by this idea of Lutheran magick, because, you know, we've taught we've had a lot of either former or current practicing Catholics and of course the saints and the different rituals around the different the 1000s of holidays Catholicism has, but I have never heard of anybody talk about Lutheran magick.Via Hedera 28:47Oh, yeah. Lutheran is you know, I'm not sure if maybe it's it's a part of Lutheranism, or if it was just in my family, but there was so much superstition tied to it. Um, you know, my sister, she's, she's also a practitioner, and she's a devout Catholic, but magick is a huge part of her life. And she she grew up Lutheran, and attended a Lutheran University and still harbors a lot of the idea of that biblical magic. A lot of the you know, I don't think a lot of Christians would consider some of their folk charms or saint worship and prayers and novenas to be folk magical, but they are in there, especially that magic is very prevalent in the southwest, especially in California, New Mexico, Arizona river harissa, cranberries, most very popular. That's where we grew up in California, and we grew up around that a lot. So I think, I think it's more present in Lutheran and in really any kind of Christian family than they like to talk about, you know, the blessed metals and sacred talismans and sort of, you know, assigning a very divine quality even to their statues of Mary to non deities, ascribing divine worship to that, and it's magic, and it may not be it's not witchcraft, but it is certainly magical.Courtney 30:00Hmm,Hilary 30:02that's so true. I feel like we've I think that we sometimes forget how much magick is in other traditions sometimes. You know, we've said before that some some of the strongest magick sometimes comes out of the back of churches you know, so it's I think it's Courtney 30:16Oh, totally! The scary little ladies in the back row praying. I mean, come on. Yeah,Hilary 30:20that's Yeah, likeVia Hedera 30:23laying on the touch. Hilary 30:25Yeah, but those are the people not to fuck withVia Hedera 30:31definitely therefore, any magic is really you know, when grandma starts spanking you with a with a birch twig or starts rubbing it with cobwebs, which you know that to me that was that was actually pretty normal. The whole eye cobwebs on the eye and, and rubbing an egg on your stomach when you're sick and breaking the egg behind your head. That was all I thought. That's how people got rid of colds as a kid, so that folk magic is everywhere.Hilary 30:53Wait, wait, wait, wait, what is the cobwebs? I've never heard that one. I've heard the egg before.Via Hedera 30:57Oh, the cobwebs, you know, cobwebs. Um, I thought it might have been just my family. But I recently started looking more into southern folklore. And I've been seeing it pop up a few places like in the Frank c brown collection of North Carolina folklore. So I was pretty astounded to find out that other people have this notion that you're supposed to put cobwebs on an eye to get rid of a sty infection or pink eye and I used to get those all the time as a kid so my mom would just put cobwebs on the eyes and I used to think okay, she's doing this to be comforting. But it was just this normal part of folk magic was like, Oh yeah, you put cobwebs on the eye where you go to Tias house and she'll give you corn silk tea for your tummy ache and she'll probably break an egg over your head while she's praying to many different saints.Hilary 31:39I love that. I love that. I love that. Um, can you can you describe to us what plant magic is? So we I know that you use a lot of plant magic and work with plants in your in your practice. Can you talk to us about what plant magic is?Via Hedera 31:56Well, shucks I suppose that would just depend on the witch you ask, but for me plant magic is one of the expressions of green witchcraft and animism that exists for me. It's a way of generating the land through the worlds of plants, which are the first witches the first teachers, the first sorcerers before the first healers. So much of witchcraft itself seems to be learned from plants from their incredible healing and medicinal and poisoning qualities. And, you know, before we witches became famed for our ability to be poisoners, I think, you know, we sort of learned those secret arts from the poisons themselves. And we seen a lot of ancient cultures like in Rome and Greece, this tie linguistically, between witches and poisoners, and plants. And I always enjoyed that connection, this idea that animism is so present in plant life in the green world, in natural green and growing things that to me, it seemed like well, that's the first church. So plant magic would be the the very basis for where I go to do my worshiping.Hilary 33:01Can you What does the term animism mean?Via Hedera 33:05So animism is the belief that the world and the things within it are inhabited by a spirit or a soul or a distinct quality or essence. It is one of the earliest forms of human belief and transcends cultural and religious boundaries. It is this belief that these distinct essences and personalities permeate the world around us even the cosmos that things like plants, and minerals, and places and objects are intrinsically connected to a magical or spiritual self, that they are inhabited by these qualities. And it lends a lot to magical practice, through sympathy and contagion and spells, where you need connections where you need to sort of connect to the spirit or the soul or the meaning of a thing or give it power to do its work. And that's where animism plays such a deep role in my witchcraft, at least,Hilary 33:59sure. I mean, I think that makes sense that I mean, I certainly I work a lot with plants also. And I certainly feel a specific connection to them, like more than just like, Oh, look, that's a nice plant, or that's a thing that I it's like, I definitely feel an essence or a spirit to each of those plants, and they're very different. And I think that that was something that as I grew as a witch and started to get to bond more and more with plants, I started to realize like, oh, wait a minute, each plant has a very different feel like it has a very different energy. And the the interaction I have with even plants this even like two different Rosemary bushes, very different, you know, like they each have their own spirit, you know. And so I think that that's something that I love about your work is how, how much you talk about that bond and how important that bond is with those plants.Via Hedera 34:53Oh, thank you. It's it's incredibly important. I feel the same way as you there's so much personality per plants in for, you know, for witches, green witches that get their hands on a seed that they grow from that very start, and they watch it evolve and grow and go through its process of life and death and decay and, or, you know, if it comes back, that's even better. But you know, witches who take that time, you really get a sense of the personality, and you start to see that, that personality is everywhere, everything has a distinct, individual, diverse personality and combined, it makes something so beautiful, so magickal.Courtney 35:31And I think that when we you slow down, and you start to listen for that, and then trust that your trust that what you're feeling experiencing is real and valid, because so often people wonder, am I putting myself on this and, well, we, on this interaction, when we do that with human beings too like the way one person says hello to you, we're going to put our own imprint on what that Hello means. And in a way, you know, and it's so I, I feel like I've been experiencing that recently, as some of my listeners, as some of our listeners know, and as Via has mentioned before we got started, I've been trying to get rid of heavenly bamboo that somebody planted alongside of our house many years ago,Hilary 36:11some, some fool decided that bambooCourtney 36:15it was going, why it's not a good plant. It's poisonous for animals, though the red berries are poisonous to a lot of birds in North America. So it's, it's not a good thing to have around. And it looks like when it's growing, it reminds me of the bushes that took over the abandoned farmhouse next to my elementary school. And I'm like, Oh, that's this kind of thing. I see where you're going, and I see what you want to do. And as I've been hacking it down, like it first I felt like it was trying to seduce me into letting it stay it released all this fragrance, it's like, you don't really want to cut me down.Hilary 36:51Look at how lovely I am lovely...Courtney 36:55And I'm so gentle. And I'm so soothing. And it was trying to like, get me to chill out and like, now I know why they're called Heavenly. And I'm like, I will not fall for your wiles. And I started explaining the situation I'm like, listen, we're having an ecological crisis. Like plants like you are messing things up for a lot of native species. And I need my husband and I need the space to plant some native plants to try to give back to this environment. So you're gonna have to go and they're like, we understand. You know, we're really pretty like, like, showing up and looking at me like batting its eyelashes. And I'm sitting here just like, no, it's not gonna work. But it's funny and part of it's the rain and the ground is softer. So it's almost like it's starting to surrender, like, Okay, well, let you think we're getting rid of you. And then actually our friends over at The Witch's Resistance messaged me saying, Courtney, you realize it's just gonna come back. And I'm like, NooooVia Hedera 37:57see? personality.Courtney 37:59THEY DO! And I'm just like, invasive plants aren't that's why I actually I like using invasive plants in magick because they are fine anywhere you put them. So they were they'll set into any kind of magick you put to it, but I'm like, I'm not we're not working magickally. You got to go. Okay, just go go. And I wish you an incarnation come back as a honeybee, and I will feed you feed you and feed youHilary 38:22you're like forever. You'll be my best friend.Courtney 38:24I'll be my best friend. Yeah, so anyway, yeah, that's a side note. Yes. I've been seduced by the heavenly bamboo.Hilary 38:33It's totally true, though. I mean, I mean, we've said this so many times, I use also use invasive plants a lot. And I think it's because they're so resilient. So if I'm trying to do something to boost my own resilience, or if I'm trying to cast a spell that is like that, I want to stick forever. Like, I'm like, yeah, this thing that never goes the fuck away. I'm gonna put that in there because that thing's never gonna leave. Like Yeah. Oh, lemon balm. Oh, yeah. Lemon balm. So I can't remember who we're talking to. That was like, oh, lemon balm. And they were like, from an area where it's not super invasive. I was like, Oh, no, like, three quarters of my yard is fucking lemon balm. I'm like, are you kidding me?! Courtney 39:12No, no, no, no, no, put it in a pot, put it in a pot.Hilary 39:15They were like, Oh, you can plant some Yep, lemon balm in your yard. And I was like, not in the Pacific Northwest. You cannot like Courtney 39:20no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Hilary 39:21do not do that. Pots onlyVia Hedera 39:24Yeah, that happened to me with creeping night shade. I kept wishing for it and wishing for it. And now that is everyhere!!! Choking the life outta me.Hilary 39:33Yeah, they are. I had a Yeah, I had like a creeping night shade. And they're super poisonous to animals. And they're like, you gotta be careful even touching them, some of them. And I was like, I was like, why? And it's like, no matter I pulled it up and I like I literally had I mean, I thought I got it out. And then there it was next spring. It was like Hello. Hello. I missed you. I've missed You and you're like, I didn't fucking miss you.Courtney 40:06the Himalayan blackberry out here, it's like, but my berries are starting to ripen. Do you really want to get rid of me?Hilary 40:12You're like, yes, I want you to go forever. I know it's like it is really it's messy. But again like I use blackberry all the time in magick, like the leaves the thorns! For protection magick. For protection magic. I put that shit I make wreaths. I've made wreaths out of it. I put it over my door before ThanksgivingCourtney 40:29through this Bramble?Hilary 40:30Nothing. Not unless you want to get a lot of wounds, flesh wounds.Courtney 40:35I am completely convinced that when Walt Disney's little minions were writing Sleeping Beauty, somebody was dealing with a Himalayan blackberry bush in their yard. Because you know when Maleficent's thorns come out, like you cannot get through this. But I'm looking like this reminds me very much of the scene with Sleeping Beauty because it's like ripping on Prince Philip's cape and stuff like that. And it has a mind of its own. I'm like, I know, it's supposed to be like connected to the Briar Rose and yada, yada, yada, but like, no, this looks like Himalayan BlackberryHilary 41:06is definitely like blackberries, which I love to eat and hate to pull out of my garden. Like, I've had so many, so many like skin casualties from that plant for sure. So can you talk to us about so I mean, I know. We all obviously use plants a lot. But you know, I think we do have a lot of listeners that are newer to witchcraft. You know, why do you believe that plants are such an important tool for a witch to use?Via Hedera 41:35I would say they are so important because they are just an absolutely basic component to an incredible amount of traditional spells and charms. They play a really deep role in some of my favorite magicks, which are love fortune projects and tricks from Western Europe and early America. I really love lemon and Apple magick. Apple counting magicks. I love midsummer folklore, I feel like it plants sort of permeate every aspect of magick, if you look for it. If you look at witchcraft, through history, plants play this incredible role in the narratives. And I don't think it can be fully separated from magick itself. Because it's part of animism, it's part of the creation of magick part of the correspondences of spells. I think it's sort of impossible to have witchcraft as the way I do it as a green witch without plant magick. And it's so important to know at least some basic things about these spirits that we share so much magick with.Hilary 42:42Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that I, even before I really started using plants as like a regular part of my practice, even then I I like utilized them to some extent, right, whether it was to whether it was for, you know, Rosemary for a smoke cleansing, whether it was you know, growing certain plants to attract certain things. It's like, even before it was such an integral part of my magick, it was there. And it's it's some of the first things that and they are you're right, it's like in so many spells. I mean, we all of our spell kits have herbs, plants in them, and I and and it's something that I think is, is so it's like such an important and kind of like, foundational part of practice. And I think that when you start to realize, I mean, we I think people know all the basics, but when you start to realize like, how many plants do can do so many different things. You realize that like the world is your oyster when you have that knowledge, you know, it's like wow, there's so many different elements that you can call in with various plants.Via Hedera 43:54Absolutely, it is a it is a world inhabited by spirits. And each of these plants has so many incredible qualities that are discovered and undiscovered that even on a symbolic level. Just the presence of these plants lends so much to our magicks just the smell of fresh roses can really alter your perception of a love spell. A simple sense can make you melancholy the texture of a leaf can take you years back in the past and can be a key for you when you are in the midst of your ecstatic flight. These plants can act as keys that draw you home that act is as beacons and reminders just on a purely symbolic level and then when we ascribe so much divine qualities to them through personification ism, you know we personify apples a lot as this spring summer harvest. Delicious loving reminds you of femininity and warmth and tastes and pleasure and flowers. And just even having all of that in your head can really put you in a mind frame in magick. I'm so I use I use a lot flowers in my magick, just symbolically, especially when I'm doing love spells or love adjacent spells. And I think just the power of their presence can be enough.Hilary 45:13I also think they can be such an amazing offering as well. Like, I often use plants as an offering on my altar.Courtney 45:19You know, it's funny, um, I mentioned this to, at least our listeners here in the United States may have this connotation. I asked somebody really early or maybe more on the east coast and on the west coast, but I would say to people, so what do you think of when you think of cherry blossoms? And they said, Washington, DC, because it's such a big thing when the cherry blossoms are all in bloom, and people go to DC? And I said, so yeah, there's a cut. There's a connection between the cherry blossom and political power here in the United States, we have that association. Now historically, or in folklore, that may not have always been the case. And I'm sure there are plenty of stories in which they're not. But when you're looking at like, as are contemporary stories cherry blossoms are great for if you if you do need to exude political influence in one way or another, right. Or if you're trying to do some magick on the crazy ass things that are happening in DC. Cherry blossoms are a great way to do that. Because it's a connection right to that source. Just say I have a big cherry tree in my front yard, by the way.via 46:19Oh, you do? Yes. I've been doing the cherry blossoms bloom on the U dub campus. I'm so jealous. I haven't been able to go over and actually see them in person because it's all you know, kind of shut down. But I love I love that connection so much. I absolutely do use cherry blossoms in political magick. That's awesome that you brought that up?Courtney 46:37Yeah, just kind of like, who do I need to influence or who do I need to destroy? a cherry blossoms will help me? Yeah, aren't my cherry blossoms are blooming yet? And I'm really jealous that you're getting to see them.via 46:47Yeah, they're gorgeous.Kanani 46:49One of the things I actually saw online, I can't remember if it was like, if it was like a meme story or something that someone had posted that I read, but I thoughtCourtney 46:58it was probably at about the length of your reading as a meme.Kanani 47:01I know, it had to have been that length. I mean, minimumCourtney 47:04it was not an article. Kanani doesn't do articles, but it's all about the memes.Kanani 47:09So no, especially if Courtney wrote them. And then I just bypass bypass. And it was it was really interesting. It was a woman talking about how she had a different plant in her house for each of her friends. And she had named each plant after her friend and then she would care for them. And then she would if she noticed that one of the plants was not doing well. She would check in with that friend. And almost always there was something that had happened with that friend that, you know, they were in need of some sort of help or something like that.Hilary 47:47Interesting.Courtney 47:48I'm going to do that. But I'm going to get an angel plant to represent Hillary I'm going to get some kind of spiny death cactus that represents Kanani A venus fly trap! You're gonna get a venus fly trap!Kanani 47:58My first thought was... Goddess help anyone who has a tree.. a plant of me? Because it's gonna be like, one day it's dead. And then it's fine. And the next day it's dead. And then the next day, it's fine, and you're just like, what was happening? I don't know what's happening.Courtney 48:12Now I'm gonna get a carnivorous plant. One that's that's super super pissy that eats flies. And that's gonna be the Kanani plant because that's the one that represents you! Kanani 48:20and then one day your cat will be missing and you're like, wait,Courtney 48:29Audrey 3! Audrey 3, the Kanani versionHilary 48:34Oh, my God.Courtney 48:36One day my husband's missing.Hilary 48:37I am gonna have I am 100% gonna have someone Photoshop Kanani on to an Audrey 3 make an Audrey 3 Audrey version 3. Audrey version 3.Kanani 48:54To make it more likeCourtney 48:58they try to make a musical about it. When they start the opening Little Shop of Horrors Then Kanani's like no, we don't do musicals. This is no longer a musical. This is just gonna be a 45 secondKanani 49:09I told you that I almost what was that musical? That was really popular. That oh my god newer one. Hilary 49:14I mean, what do youKanani 49:16you know? It's the most recent one that had Ryan Gosling in it. Courtney 49:20Oh, La La Land?Hilary 49:22Okay, that was okay. Right.Kanani 49:26I tried to walk out of Lala land don't because the intro is a musical. And I I got up and my husband looked at me and he's like, we are with friends. You cannot leave. And I'm like, I I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about. Because at first it was like there was singing and I thought it was like one of those horrible Coca Cola commercials that happens before a movie starts and I'm like waiting for it to end and I'm like, okay, fine, sit. It's just a commercial. It's just a commercial. And then all of a sudden I saw Ryan Gosling and I'm like, what the fuck?! that is not. This is not a commercial. This is the movie. And I look at my husband and I start to get up. He's like, sit down. Sit down. We can't leave. We're here with friends.Hilary 50:11Oh my god, you were gonna leave your friends your fucking terrible.Kanani 50:15I'd be outside. I'd go get an ice cream. I'd be outside when the movie was over. Oh, I was it was horrible. I was so angry. Oh, I just sat there. I stewed for like 30 minutes. I was just like, what is what is happening right now? This is not right now. Why would anyone First of all, if they were my friends, they would not have taken me to that movie. So we'll just start there. It's really not my fault for walking out. They should have known better. Oh my god. That's where wevia 50:41You guys are awesome. Plant magic.Hilary 50:44Why can't we? Yeah, I'm like, they're kind of they. He's like a plant.Courtney 50:50what plant would Ryan Gosling be? and what kind of magickal powers would it have Oh,Hilary 50:54why did you smell I? Why did I not? That was my next. That was my next question. And you ruined it. No, I'm just kidding. But let's answer. Yeah.Courtney 51:04What plant would Ryan Gosling be and what magickal powers would it have?via 51:09What is the sexiest most sincere plant you know? Oh, sexy and sincere.Kanani 51:17Sexy. I had one pop in my head. But then he said sincere and I'm like, Oh, no, that bitch liesvia 51:22oh no. Ryan's mad sincere. He's got those eyes that just look into yours. Kanani 51:27He is. No, he Oh, it would have to be sexy. It would have to be sensitive and would have to be sincere.Courtney 51:32I am feeling bleeding hearts bleeding. Hilary 51:34Oh, that's such a good one.via 51:36I was going with Lilies of the Valley.Courtney 51:39But those are very deadly. I would associate that with Breaking Bad.via 51:43That's true. I mean, Drive was a great Ryan Gosling movie and he was mad murderous in it.Hilary 51:49What about? I'm gonna go I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna go with honeysuckle.via 51:53Oh, honeysuckle. Courtney 51:54Oh, that's a good one. Kanani 51:54Ooh, that's a good one. Yeah,Courtney 51:57it's a little sturdier than bleeding hearts. Bleeding hearts. If you sneeze on them. They die. But I hadKanani 52:02that's Ryan Gosling he seems stable.Hilary 52:04I know because like I had I had a genuinely beautiful bleeding heart and then I and then I looked at it and it just died. I didn't even do I was like I just glanced at it was like don't look at me and then it just died.Kanani 52:15that would be me as a plant. Like you think I'm gonna What? No. Oh my god. You gave me Ah No.Hilary 52:25Via via is never gonna come back on the show.Courtney 52:28We're thinking honey suckle for Ryan Gosling. What are the magickal properties of honey suckle?via 52:33magical properties of honey suckle? Well, let's see I've got a book here it is masculine. ruled by Jupiter. It's Element is Earth. All right. It rules over money. Protection psychic powers in in summit. Let's see in some local lore. It's used in love spells I say that works for Ryan Gosling. Yeah,Courtney 52:55okay.Kanani 52:56I think that would work Courtney 52:56Yeah, but he would definitely be a love spell. He would be a Love Spell plant for sure. Hilary 53:00Yeah, for sure. in money.Courtney 53:01Cuz he's like, and moneyHilary 53:03that's all accurate those are I feel like that's I feel like that's a good one. We're gonna take him in this and be like, come listen to us analyze you as a plant.Courtney 53:12My god What if he makes pictures of our faces and he wears it?Hilary 53:16He's not gonna he's not gonna do thatvia 53:18that's not the kind of thing he would do?Hilary 53:20I don't know. I don't think so.via 53:22He's really sweet. He's a really sweet person. What if he does what if he's like shout out ladies Hey girlCourtney 53:29Hey girl! You're living your best witch lifeKanani 53:32He'd get a text from my husband being like you have no idea what you're getting into just run. Buddy run.Courtney 53:42My husband will be like this. I don't like him. Can you get a boyfriend? That's not him.Kanani 53:46He wants your boyfriend to be like a superhero or Lord of the Rings character. Yeah, he wants via 53:52Oh, I mean I would marry Legolas.Courtney 53:56Yeah, oh, well, I was much more of I was much more of a Aragorn you know Viggo Mortensen girl when LOTR came out? I mean, right now I'm pretty committed to Jason Momoa as my as my movie star boyfriend. Oh, yeah, no. Yeah, I mean, I'mvia 54:10yeah, I'm back on Bruce Campbell.Hilary 54:13Oh, that's a good one.via 54:14I just need him in my life and the more Evil Dead I watched the more I realized that I really pass up a chance. I mean, I know he's like 30 or 40 years my senior but still.Courtney 54:22So what what plant would he be and what are his magickal powers?Hilary 54:25Oh my god, you'revia 54:27Bruce Campbell would be Courtney 54:28this is important. via 54:30What is the tastiest food I've ever eaten?Kanani 54:37Ah, I like that.Hilary 54:38What is the tastiest food I've ever eaten?Kanani 54:41I like thatvia 54:43Yes, since that's my favorite food I've ever put in my mouth. I'm gonna say the Bruce Campbell's a peach.Hilary 54:49Oh my goodness. I love where this is going...Kanani 54:54I think you and I are on the same page. Yeah. I like that.Courtney 54:59Well This is like you know this is important magickal stuff to know what does it mean what? YeahHilary 55:04yeah it's it's it's crazy look this is this is the stuff people listen to us for okay? They want to know if we can plant analyze their celebrity crush okay? Absolutely that's you know totallyKanani 55:17that's a lot easier than plant analyzing me because like I said I'll you'll do something wrong or put me in the wrong pot and I'm just dead I'm just done I'm just over it not going anywhere.Hilary 55:28Oh my god. Okay so Via, what is your favorite plant to use and why?via 55:34Oh, I am a poppy person who I love. Yeah, that is my family plant that is the most beloved and venerated plant by my mother and my sister and well I suppose all my siblings and I it is important to us the papaver somniferum. It is so incredibly powerful and present in my life. I have the best time growing my many many varieties of papaver and I've got to say I resonate with the poppy more than any other plants. Definitely very me. I miss. I miss, I miss parts of California so much. It's where I grew up. And I love seeing the California poppies. They're so beautiful. How much I love poppies. And when I started to go to a an institution that had a horticulture program and I started taking some of the classes there. I got introduced to the horticulture of papaver and it is incredible it has changed me magickally to work with it on that level. It has so much power over dreams and love and sexual magick and that is right up my alley. It is so seductive it's oil is useful in every kind of instance I make it seeds are great for all sorts of different kinds of divination methods, especially smoked divination, I'd say poppy poppy is where it's at for me.Hilary 56:57I love to actually have poppies tattooed on the side of my head.via 57:00Oh excellent.Hilary 57:01Yeah. Courtney 57:02Oh, that was those are. I remember seeing those I've never asked you Hilary 57:05I have pansies on one side and poppies on the other.via 57:09I live poppy is very spiritually connected to me. It's definitely the favorite statue I've made so far. It's my poppy one.Hilary 57:17I love that. What does poppy do? What does poppy do magickally? Like what does it represent magickally?via 57:26Oh so much it is it is just rife with magic. A lot of its folklore includes anti witching and pro witching properties that peddle washing your hands in the petals of poppy seeds was reported in some folklore to break witchery while inhaling the smoke of poppy seeds was said to induce witchery it's used in dream magick, in most that's what I use it for is in dream magick, love and beauty spells as offerings to Hekate, the mother of witches of course. I pretty much use it for everything but on a just purely magickal level it's definitely most known for its its ritual uses in love spells and dream spells, which is where I think it really has the most power.Hilary 58:11That's amazing. Courtney 58:12I think about Wizard of Oz when I think of poppies. Absolutely.Hilary 58:15Yeah, the field of poppies. Yep, that's exactlyKanani 58:19where they rained asbestos on the actors. Courtney 58:22Exactly. Kanani 58:24Yeah. Hilary 58:25Wait, what? Kanani 58:26Yeah, the snow they use they use asbestos. Oh, my god, that was knowing that was knowing that it was cancer causing, but it was, it was cheaper. It was cheaper than artificial snow.Hilary 58:42Wow,via 58:43Asbestos- they lit that lady with fire. They did all sorts of crazy stuff. But I did find out that the whole Munchkin hanging himself in the background thing wasn't true. That's just an emu. Kanani 58:54Interesting....Courtney 58:57Well, it's like I'm old world Old World Hollywood, you know? Yeah, no, no, there's a reason there are unions. Now.Hilary 59:06There's a reason that we have structure and people to make sure that we don't get cancer from cheap snow.Courtney 59:14One day the Goddess invented CGI that saved a lot of lives. Hilary 59:18Yep! saved a lot of lives. Are there outside of obviously poisonous plants that people should be very cautious of? Are there any plants that you feel people should should be wary of using from a magickal perspective?via 59:33Yes, I would say I cannot possibly fathom how anyone might ever need to use hogsweed in magick. Okay, I'm not sure if anyone knows what hogsweed is, but it grows. Courtney 59:44I don't know what hogsweed, I never heard what it isvia 59:47Oh, it's a it's also known as you know, like Satan's plan or pure evil or Doom incarnate. Because if you get within like, Courtney 59:55Oh now, it sounds like the most badass plant. It sounds like people with the most badass plant.Hilary 1:00:01Oh my god, I totally I just looked it up and I know,via 1:00:04you know what I'm talking about then yeah,Hilary 1:00:06yeah, I looked it up and I was like, Oh my god, I fucking know what this plant is and it's the worst.via 1:00:12It's evil. It's horrific. It causes the most disgusting boils in bruising and pustules. And it is horrifying! Hilary 1:00:23It's the most deceptive too, because sometimes people think because it looks when it flowers it can look from a distance at least a little bit like Queen Queen Anne's lace.Courtney 1:00:33I was just saying that it looks like Queen Anne's lace and like, Oh my God, have I been messing with this the whole time??Hilary 1:00:37It's not, it's different. But it's like very easy to Yeah, it's like cuz I remember like think when I first saw like, this is poisonous. The flat. It's, it looks so similar. But it is like a nightmare plant. It's like also, it's also very hard to get rid of. It's just No, nope.via 1:00:56it's horrible. You got to wear a full full clothing to get rid of it really like a protective suit. You know, just being in the sun and touching it. It's far worse than putting your hands on digitalis in the sun, it is just going to be boiling blisters, and pain and regrets all wrapped into one and it looks so much like Queen Anne's lace and it gets really really tall. It looks so similar to that and to poison hemlock that sometimes when people walk right up to it thinking they're about to go interact with a safe herb umm magical herb in this one, you don't even have to ingest it. It's just got to look in your general direction. And it's coming for you. Hilary 1:01:33Yeah, it's reallyCourtney 1:01:34sounds like this might be Kanani's plant. You found your plant afterallKanani 1:01:38I have so many plans.Hilary 1:01:39Oh my god.via 1:01:40pure evil.Kanani 1:01:41I'm looking. I'm like picturing how beautiful this would look in a bouquet. I might want to leave on someone's doorstep.Hilary 1:01:48oh my god. via 1:01:49Right? Hilary 1:01:49Yeah, but then you'd have to get closer. You know, the thing is, is like,Kanani 1:01:53I'll get a beekeeper suitHilary 1:01:55is like Kanani's gonna try and like do this to someone. But what's really gonna happen is she's gonna call your husband Courtney and she's gonna be like, I need a nurse.Kanani 1:02:04Yeah, exactly.Hilary 1:02:06I'm covered in boils, blistering boils all over myselfCourtney 1:02:09he'll be sensitive until I tell you what you did. And he's gonna be like, Kanani, that was really, really, really foolish and you shouldn't have done that!Hilary 1:02:16Yeah. And then he'll be like, why are you? Why would you do something like that? And you're like, have you met me? Exac? Right? I mean, thank you. So we have a listener question. And it says, "I just got turned down for a promotion, I really, really wanted and I'm there for having a bit of a sulk. I had done a honey jar spell to attract the job I wanted. So I guess I'm still holding out hope for something better to come of this. I would really love to hear stories anyone would like to share about how magick brought them what they needed, rather than what they thought they wanted". Well, I mean, that's what happened with my house. I was like, so fixated on this, the first house that I look at, looked at I really, really liked and I was like, all of the magick I was doing. Unfortunately, I was I was like, you know, I want to be in the home. That's for me. And I believe that, that that that was what was for me. And there were a number of offers I made on houses and I kept thinking like God dammit, like, I'm never gonna get a fucking house. Like, that's it. I'm stuck. Like, I've done this magick. None of it worked. And I remember calling Courtney. And I was like, I've done all this magic. And I just feel like it's not working. She's like, just wait. I mean, those houses weren't for you. And I was like, yeah, whatever, whatever. Courtney, whatever, whatever. Courtney, I don't want to hear that shit. But then it did. You know, but then Courtney 1:02:45when they make a movie about me, it's gonna be starring Kathryn Hahn, who will play me, it's gonna be called Whatever, Courtney.Hilary 1:03:38And the thing is, is like, you know, there have been many instances that this has happened to me The house is the, you know, the most recent example, which is that when you ask for a promotion, or an opportunity, right, sometimes, you know, you get, you don't get the thing that you had your, your eye on, or the thing that you had you thought you needed, because something bigger comes down the pipeline. And it can be really frustrating. And I've definitely had it happen in, you know, in, in success spells around jobs as well thinking like, Oh, God, I lost this job, or like, I got laid off. That's terrible. I mean, like, but every time that that has happened, and I've been working magick around it, something better has come down the line. And it's been it's been the best for me. So I'd say hold out, hold some, you know, keep the faith. hold out hope. It doesn't mean that this isn't the it may be that something else is there. It may it may be that there is something I think sometimes when we get hyper focused on one thing, and all we can think about is that one specific thing, we stop looking at other opportunities because we're so focused on that singular thing. And so I'd say you know, You know, keep an eye on your periphery, maybe there is something better there.via 1:05:04I have to agree with you, I'd say some of my most successful spells have come from when I stopped being as inwardly focused, which seems sort of counterintuitive to when you're trying to do a spell to help yourself, but sometimes just putting the spell or the charm out there, and let in for me, I mean, almost, sort of forgetting about it, just letting it exist as it was as a as a place in my life, usually giving that that magick a form like a conjurer bag, or a different kind of talisman or amulet, some sort of reminder, sort of, sometimes I'll let those things go and then go focus on service to the spirits or service to other people, something that wouldn't be very inwardly focused. And I've noticed that when I, for me personally, that when I contribute to other people's magickal well being, and when I form connections, I sort of let go of the anxiety and the tension that kind of blocks me from receiving what it is I need, and I constantly sabotage myself. I wish for the good things and put all my intention and will towards it towards something specific. And then I will speak into the universe, all of my anxieties, all of my worries, every little ill thought I've had every scenario that keeps me up at two in the morning, while I'm sitting there going, why did I write that? Why did I do that? What am I doing with my life?Courtney 1:06:21Oh, my God, via you and me both.Hilary 1:06:23I was like, I was like, I think we're the same people.Courtney 1:06:26Yeah, mine's so bad that I start worrying about like, what if I go back in time? And I go left instead of right, what if I had done that? Like, I worry, often, you know, what if I had eaten the wrong thing on my wedding day, and like puked on my wedding dress, in front of everybody, like I worry that that's going to happen that I will like slip through the bandages of time and will ruin my own wedding.via 1:06:49Absolutely. I will re-remember scenarios as far worse than they were in the worst possible light. And go. I feel like that actually happened. And I'll sit there and I'll cry and I'll be like, why God and I'll cringe I'll nearly die from the cringiness of shit that's all like from high school. And I mean, I graduated. This is a long time ago. I'm talking like class of '05. So I'll remember shit from Courtney 1:07:19(laughing) "class of '05 a long time ago" Hilary 1:07:21Like, I'm like, uhhhh.... Courtney 1:07:22we're a 90s babyHilary 1:07:23I was like.....Courtney 1:07:25we graduated before the millennium.Hilary 1:07:28I', like... oh, Yeah, yeah. Yeah. '99- '98 over here.Courtney 1:07:35'99. Yeah.via 1:07:37oh, what?! All right. All right. All right. Well, I did not know,Hilary 1:07:42we're just, we're just incredibly immature. So it's okay. I understand why you would think... Courtney 1:07:48we're misleading. Hilary 1:07:49You're like you're like these people must bevia 1:07:50older than me. I know that. He would. And I just, I was like, Oh, cool. peers, fellow 34 year olds. Whoo.Hilary 1:07:59Oh, yeah. You can't see me right now. I mean, I muted my camera, because actually, my internet is slow at the moment. But like, if you could see me like, there's like cobwebs in my hair, like pulling stuff out of a garage. And like, I look, I look a fucking mess. You'd be like, what is that hag doing here? Like, what the fuck? Anyway, person, ICourtney 1:08:19would say, give it the turn of the moon. Don't assume your spell didn't work. Don't go back in there and start messing with it. It's kind of Evo Domingos jr has often used this analogy that maybe not getting the specific symbolism, right, but it'd be close enough. It's like when you're worried the cakes not going to rise. So you open the oven, you know, and you check it that's gonna mess up the cake. If you just left it alone and checked it at the right time, then you wouldn't have that issue. So I would say definitely give the spell the turn of the moon. And then if you're if you if you don't see any movement at all, then um, you know, do divination on it just once. Don't do a bunch of don't do a bunch of divination that's that's just as bad as opening the oven to look at the cake. Pull a few cards or bring out the pendulum whatever it is you use. Be like, does this spell need anything? And probably it's gonna say No, leave it alone. And then give it one more turn of the moon. right and then if you feel like if this if the spells like yeah, I could use a little umph this, that and the other than then you can look at it and start to see what to see what happens. But it just sounds to me like it's just best to give it time. I have so many examples of spells I cast that started out looking like holy shit. That's not what I wanted. But then when it finally manifests like, Oh, ah, that would that was surprising. Yeah,Kanani 1:09:34there's a lot of times, you know, my, I think the most powerful one I did was was a relationship one where I was trying so hard to get my partner this job because he he needed it. He needed a career he needed, you know, something that he could really excel at and be successful in. And I did all kinds of magick and I knew because the job involved moving. And I was open to the concept of moving, but I knew that this was going to be a huge change. So I knew that the prospect of this job also meant the prospect of the end of the relationship, I by no means wanted the ends of the relationship, there was a lot of confusion in the relationship as to where it was going. And so part of the spell was also that I wanted, I wanted them to get this job, I wanted them to be successful in this job. And I wanted the job to also include a conclusion for the relationship, meaning this was an amazing job, and we move forward and we started a life together. And this job created that, or this was the thing that helped them and they got, and it was the end of the relationship. And it was very, it was the end of the relationship. And I was devastated. But so it was by no means what I wanted. I mean, I was devastated. But it was the right thing. And so I am a firm believer in, you're not always going to get what you asked for no matter how much that SUCKS, sucks. It doesn't mean it didn't work, you know, and it doesn't mean that that something totally amaze-balls isn't coming, that that is going to bring you in a totally different direction that maybe you never would have expected, which is what what this situation did for me and did for them. Which by the way, they're still doing that career. They have rock starred in that career, and it's taken them to insane heights and they love it and I'm so happy. So I mean, ultimately it was like it really was like a wonderful end but at the time that was not what I was looking for. So so just take some breaths and and have faith that this is going to roll your way even if you don't see it yet.Hilary 1:12:04Agree agree. So Via, before we go, I want to make sure that we let our listeners know where are they what your if you have anything coming up soon or where they can find you.via 1:12:16Well, can Well first you can find me You can find me on the Viahedera Instagram and Facebook right now I am working on a contribution to some work with Corey Hutchison from New World witchery I am working onCourtney 1:12:32YES! a great podcast by the way!via 1:12:35Yes, yes. And he's just such a marvelous marvelous human being and I I'm loving working with him so much. I'm working on some new Commission's of statues. I've got some really interesting stuff coming up. And I'm working on book number two, which has to do with a witchy familiars of a particular kind that I'm very fond of.Hilary 1:12:58Amazing.Kanani 1:13:00Do I get a guest? Is it cats?via 1:13:02Nooo I'm not a cat person. Kanani 1:13:06Via! We were doing so good.via 1:13:08I'm a bunny! sorryKanani 1:13:11We were doing so goodvia 1:13:14I'm a little fuzzy bunny person.Hilary 1:13:16Yeah, bunnies. I loveKanani 1:13:19they have the cutest little butts. The little fuzzy buttsvia 1:13:21I love their butts and don't get me wrong. I love cats. It's just that it's hard to keep cats and my little scrumptious looking bunnies seperateHilary 1:13:28Yeah, yeah, who would not definitely mixKanani 1:13:31don't make no friendly situation. No, noHilary 1:13:33friendly. Well, everyone that's it! Make sure you go check out Via's website and find her on Instagram. Via we've just loved having you here today. (Exit Music) 1:13:40And Thank you all so much for listening! If you want to support the show, the best way is to subscribe and spread the word. Please also consider leaving us a rating and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can also buy us a coffee or check out our merch on our Etsy store. For bonus content, become a supporter on Patreon. We are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For show notes, audio transcript, or to ask us a question to answer on a future episode, go to . Until then, keep moting that shit! Talk to you next week! Courtney 1:14:15ByeAll Three 1:14:19So mote it be! Kanani 1:14:27that wasn't me.Hilary 1:14:28Somebody come rescue me.Kanani 1:14:29So, that's my review of The Littlest Witch.Hilary 1:14:35I can't do this podcast anymore(laughing).Courtney 1:14:40Wow. Hilary 1:14:41All I do is hear Courtney all I can hear is Courtney like we wheeze laughing in the background which is like making me laugh. Oh my god.Courtney 1:14:50(laughing)Oh god. ................
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