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Episode 51: Fall Equinox (Live At Pagan Pride)Sun, 10/11 12:09PM ? 58:59Intro music 00:0320 years ago, three young friends realized they were witches. They scattered to different parts of the world, following magic 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.Kanani 00:48I was just going to introduce to everybody. I am Kanani and I am joined by Hilary and Courtney and we are the three hosts of the local Portland podcast That Witch Life and we were just going to come on today to do an episode and talk about the Fall Equinox.Courtney 01:09Yeah. our listeners. Hi, I'm Courtney, by the way, for listeners who are not here, where are we Kanani? and what are we doing? Kanani 01:15What are you talking about? Courtney 01:16We're at Columbia, Willamette Valley Pagan Pride.Kanani 01:19Well, no, we're at Columbia Willamette Pagan Pride. Courtney 01:23Oh, the valley. That was my... .Kanani 01:25 You're adding words. So now I'm confused. Okay. So, okay, I'm assuming so you're saying we're gonna play this later? Which Oh, yes. Okay. So we are at this year's Columbia Willamette Pagan Pride, which happens typically in Portland, Oregon, at Oaks Park. This is my eighth year of helping to put this event on. So we were very, very excited that despite the pandemic, we were able to have all of our workshops done virtually and we have a list of all of our vendors with their websites, on the website, as well as the Columbia Willamette Pagan Pride day Facebook page. So this has been actually kind of exciting for me, because this is the first time I have ever actually attended a CWPPD workshop that I wasn't actually hosting. So I've been listening to the workshops all day long, which has been amazing, because usually I'm at the event helping to coordinate it and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So we're really excited that we were able to host this event virtually. And, and yeah, so we're, we're still doing a workshop. We actually did a workshop last year at CWPPD, and it rained. I can't say it rained it poured buckets all day. And I believe you can hear the rain in the background. While Courtney 02:54Yeah, we were worried they would drown out our measly voices but turned out actually sounded kind of nice.Kanani 02:59Yeah. SoHilary 03:00atmospheric. It was great, right? Kanani 03:03So, it was, but yes, this is our second that witch life CWPPD and yeah, so I'm excited. And what are what have you guys been up to?Courtney 03:14Ah, well, I just finished speaking at the Nine Folds Festival. By the way, this is Courtney, y'all for listeners who are catching this episode tomorrow on the Equinox. I just did my keynote for the Nine Folds Festival. And it went really well, except they had this weird PowerPoint glitch, like it kept popping up in what looks like Greek, which I don't know how I'm gonna blame it on Kanani, but I will just, I don't know what the deal was. But it wasKanani 03:42because of my my new love of Persephone.Courtney 03:45Oh, that's what it was. Kanani 03:47We're totes besties nowCourtney 03:48 and you dragged her down to the she dragged her down to the underworld, Kanani 03:52that's what I doCourtney 03:55 So anyway, there was a little bit of drama there. So I fully expect there will be more technical drama on this because it's already started and the things are following me around. But I'm so thankful this, the smoke has cleared for breathing fresh air for the first time in Oregon. And the sun was actually out today. And we saw a full blue sky. Just absolutely miraculous. And it was really beautiful. It happened right on the new moon on Thursday. That's when the rain started coming down. And I went out on the porch and watched it and I just cried and then went back in the house and did a new moon cleansing and normally would mop the floors. But because we couldn't vacuum because there was so much particulate matter in our homes, that was actually going to make things worse for us in a respiratory way. And so um, I couldn't really mop because all you would do is basically move dirt around. So what I did, and I also didn't want to use like a smoke clearing because I was just really done with smoke, even if it was something that was like rosemary or lavender But no, I don't need any more smoke in my house. I just was not going to do it. And so last year, a friend of mine had made me like a cleansing spray that she had turned I think she'd actually made on the dark moon and I just went and sprayed all the rooms in my house. And I would tell you the dreams I've had in the last few nights were so beautiful and just full of people I love and then the air cleared just, I feel I was actually messaging a friend of mine, who's what I would call a Christian witch she is a Christian, but she also practices witchcraft. And she said that she had been praying for us and I said, Listen, we got so much more rain in the forecast, that I felt like every drop of rain held someone's prayer or magickal spell. So everybody that was sending rain to the west coast, we felt that so thank you so much. It has been such a blessing.Hilary 05:47Yeah, it was really, I mean, as soon as that I got woken up, I mean, I got woken up because the wind was blowing so hard with the torrential rain that it was, like, started pounding on my window, and I was like, Oh my god, and then it was followed by the lightning and the thunder and I like ran outside and I stood in the rain and I just cried. I was like, This is I'm so grateful that this is happening because it had been so bad and like even even like doing everything we could to try and keep the air inside manageable. It was really really hard to do. So being able to to just like have that relief and know that more relief was coming in. And today like yesterday, I took my dog for a walk and I was like this is the greatest thing ever. And and then today I like sat in the sun. I was like there's a blue sky. There's a sun. This is awesome. So yeah, super, super, super grateful for that.Courtney 06:41Yeah, Hilary, your makeup looks fabulous by the way.Hilary 06:43Thanks. Kanani 06:44Always looks fabulous.Courtney 06:45I know she always looks fab did you go see your makeup artist friend?Hilary 06:49No, I did this this morning.Courtney 06:50Oh, let me like, oh my god, Kanani, we did not tell you what Hillary did.Hilary 06:55Oh, yeah, I like I so I sold Courtney to get makeup lessons.Kanani 07:00Good for you. Courtney 07:00I know. She totally sold me.Kanani 07:04See, my influence is rubbing off. That's what's happening.Hilary 07:08So the thing is, is Courtney called me and she was like, Hey, your makeup always looks good. I need like, what should I get? What do I need to buy? I want to like up my makeup game. And of course, like, yes, I'm obsessed with makeup. So I was like, Okay, well, you want to get this, you want to get this product and you want to get this eyeshadow and you will. So we went through the thing. And then and then she was like, I'll do... well, we can swap. If you give me makeup lessons. I'll do your reading. Not that I am going to force you to do that. Anyway, obviously we both do. But I was like, yeah, of course we'll actually give you something in return this time. And then a really good friend of mine. His wife is a professional makeup artist. And I was talking to her and I was telling her about that. And she's like, I could give you.. do you guys want tutorials? And I was like, I mean, yeah. And she's like, I would totally take a tarot reading for that. And I was like, cool. So you can teach us both this class, and Courtney will read your Tarot.Courtney 08:00What happened was at first, Hillary was telling me, she goes hey, you know what, my friend is a makeup artist said she would totally give you a tutorial in exchange for a tarot reading. And I said, that's great. Hilary said yeah and she said I should join too. And then I'm just I said, So wait, you're saying you're getting a free makeup lesson in exchange for me doing a tarot reading and there was this all knowing... I went yeah. Kanani 08:23Here's my question. Why are you guys getting a makeup tutorial when both of you know that I don't know what half the shit is in my bathroom right now, where it goes, or how to use itCourtney 08:33Hillary actually brought him in and said that no, the three of us will get the tutorial. I will do the laborKanani 08:39I'm down! I'm not mad anymore. I'm all good. I'll calm down. I won't know what she's saying or the word she's using. But I will I will watch intently.Courtney 08:49Oh, there will definitely be a video we'll do this by zoom. And Kanani will be like, wait, what? What am I doing? I don't know. Maybe I'll have to explain things to her two or three or four times Kanani 08:56Well, I told you a couple of this makeup sponges I had; my nine year old told me what they were because I didn't know what they were for.Hilary 09:01Oh! My God. Kanani 09:03Yeah. She watches the tutorials. She explains to me like oh, no, this is the brush for that. I'm like, What does that mean? I don't knowHilary 09:09What are we talking about??Courtney 09:12 Yeah. Yeah. So that's it's pretty, pretty typical. Yeah, . Yeah, Kanani 09:17I was. I don't know. I feel like I mean, for our listeners that have listened to kind of my I feel like a slow downward spiral over the last eight weeks. Of just anxiety. Yeah, anxiety and depression and just like getting completely wigged out and then we couldn't breathe and I couldn't even open a window even though it was nice and cool outside. And I was I just I actually woke up Saturday morning, and I was telling Hillary this yesterday I woke up Saturday morning, and I was like, feeling calm. And I was like, You can't feel calm right now. Stop it. I don't Stop, you cannot be calm right now you've no idea what's about to happen. And then within an hour, I get start getting messages from people about how RBG passed away. And first of all, let's represent. Courtney 10:12It is the sequin pillow with RBG space on it. the sacred altar to rbg. Kanani 10:23So, I just broke, honestly. I feel like I just, I didn't cry. I didn't I just, I just literally deep down just was like, I, I, there's nothing left. I can't break more than I've broken right now. And somehow from that, I, I let it go. And I'm like, I can't I can't be this anxious anymore. I can't be this fearful. Shit is gonna work out. I don't know how I, I'm gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay. This is going to be okay. You know, she did so much. This was her time. Yeah, she deserves to be at peace. It's our time now. You know, she faced adversity we've never known. I just picked myself up. And I just I turned off all the news. I didn't go on the internet. I went outside. I did a couple errands, hung out with my kids, watched some movies had popcorn, focused on some family time. And, and just kind of started feeling a peace that I have not had in such a long time, like the night before I got in a big fight with my husband. And I had to make up with him that morning, because he pretty much pointed out because he was so upset that pretty much I was being a giant butt face. And I had to own up to that. And so we had a great family day. And then last night, so I have not smiled in a long time. I have not laughed. I have smirked when I've tried to watch funny movies and I'll kind of smirk and I'll kind of be less depressed. So I had a really good day yesterday. We went to bed I slept lay down next to my husband. And I flip flop. It drives my husband bat crap crazy because he called he called me when wrestling the splashers people that climb up on the pole and then splash down on someone. That's what he calls me as he says I just splash in bed. It's just this huge wave of just movement Courtney 12:29wave of Kanani crashes into the bedKanani 12:34 I've run into exes and they're like, I don't remember that. And I'm like my husband swears that I am like WWE wrestler in bed.Courtney 12:41You found your full power after your last breakup, you're like, you know what, you know what? In this episode F this!Kanani 12:49I had a great day I was feeling I was I was feeling calm. I was like, okay, maybe I'm actually not gonna have horrible dreams tonight. So I kind of am flipping over. And the combination of the fact that I was trying to yawn, and I was, I was twisting my body. Right in his face. I let out the loudest strangest sounding belch I have ever heard. And he physically jumped up in bed with his hands like this. Like he's gonna just start throwing fists like, and the look of terror and panic in his eyes. Caught me laughing I'm laughing now. I was hysterically laughing to the point that I was snorting. I had to. I couldn't stop laughing. Because just that look of terror in his eyes. "What's happening?? what's going on?? OH OH"!! And it was the first time I have laughed, in I cannot remember how long I had to get up after about 10 minutes of not being able to stop hysterically laughing and go to the bathroom. I had to wipe my eyes with tissues. I had tears in my eyes. I'm snorting. It was the best end of what I feel like was an incredibly trying time that I'm just like, okay, I feel like I'm, I'm on a different road now. But it was absolutely hilarious. Just like I said the look on his face of OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING was just, I could not stop laughing. It was absolutely hilarious.Hilary 14:33Sometimes you just need those moments I know. So like I got the news about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I was so I was in a meeting and my phone was like going off it was like, message message notification notification Facebook. Well, you know, it was like one thing after another and I was like, What the hell and I'm like trying to have a conversation with an employee and like, I'm trying not to get distracted. And finally I finished this meeting and I'm like, Alright, seriously like, what is going on. And I looked at my phone and I scream, and I threw it. And I started, like threw it on the floor and just started crying. And I was like, can you like, Can we just have one day? Like, I mean, it's like, we it's like, I had this moment of like, such gratitude for this rain. And then I'm like, okay, things are looking up, things are great. And then it was like, whack this, like, smack right in the face. And I was like, Oh, my God, I just, yeah, I mean, I have, I don't think there's there. I don't know that there's anyone on the planet that I have as much gratitude for as that woman. I mean, like, seriously, she deserves the rest. I mean, like, she should have been able to retire forever ago. And she didn't so that we could all be safer, you know, and so, so much gratitude for her. And, you know, I don't I it was a it was definitely a rough one. I was just like, oh my god, you know, and there's been so many ups and downs because she's been in and out of the hospital before. So I was like, you know, I kind of told myself like, Oh, no, she's gonna be fine. She's invincible. And then I was like, wait, what!??Courtney 16:10Well, I think there's also something that we should note is that years ago, Hillary had the premonition about princess Di dying. And I remember, we were at the bowling alley, and you had this and then Kanani had the vision of something happening and that RBG passing so it's like huge, and then I had the premonition about Brian Dennehy. I want to know, why they got Princess Diana, Hilary 16:43You're like, I'd like to know why I got Brian Dennehy Courtney 16:47when they were passing out premonitions I got Brian Dennehy died and then he did?Kanani 17:04You're welcome.Courtney 17:06and then I feel bad because I'm laughing at a person's deathKanani 17:15If it makes you feel better. I don't know who Brian Dennehey is. So if that helps. If that helps you. Courtney 17:22He was one of the great actors that you've never heard of. He was in Tommy Boy. He played Tommy boy's dad.Hilary 17:29You definitely saw Tommy Boy.Kanani 17:31Okay, I yes. I vaguely recollect thatCourtney 17:35 No, he was in. He did. One of themHilary 17:37He was actually a really amazing actor.Courtney 17:39A most incredible actor and he does some of his Death of a Salesman was like one of the most phenomenal shows that was ever produced. But yeah, that's that's the premonition I got. So I'm not feeling too cool about my abilities as a psychic while I'm sitting next to my two friends who are getting great world leaders and I got Brian Dennehey. No offense Brian Dennehey, but yeah. Anyway, um, yeah alright, Kanani, what are we doing next?Kanani 18:01 Alright, so we are going to talk about fall Eq. So, um, fall Eq, goes by a lot of different names. I would call it fall Eq, fall Equinox is the full term. In mid September each year, we have the fall season, and we have the arrival of the fall equinox, otherwise known as the autumnal equinox. I don't actually believe that's a word By the way. It is literally a word though.Courtney 18:05 Just because you don't use it. I'm so tired of every time I bring a new word in she goes that's not a word Kanani 18:28I don't actually think it's a wordHilary 18:34Just because you've never used the word doesn't mean that it is not one.Kanani 18:40FINE I'll read it, even though I actually don't think it's real. But it's the moment when the sun crosses the equator. And for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, we begin to see more darkness than daylight. You're making me say it again, the autumnal fall equinox, marks the turning point when darkness begins to win out over daylight, and our hours of daylight the period of time between each day between sunrise and sunset, has been growing slightly shorter each day since the summer solstice in June. So summer solstice is the longest day of the year, meaning it has the most light and then we go to the least amount of light in the day, which is the winter solstice and we are now directly in between summer solstice and winter solstice. So for the next three months, our hours of daylight continue to grow shorter. I'm just gonna replace it. I'm just gonna say at the fall equinox,Courtney 19:43fine. This is what happens when you guys poll me and ask me to do the research for you, which is exactly what you did.Kanani 19:50But then you throw in these words that aren't real words. The name Equinox comes from the Latin word, aequis. Really?? that's Courtney 19:57I don't speak Latin language whichKanani 19:59So this is a family friendly podcast by the way?Hilary 20:03How is it spelled?Kanani 20:04It's because she likes to say YOUR ANUSCourtney 20:04 A E Q no. A U Q U I S. so she's making me say aqueef No.Hilary 20:14Equis Are you sure it's not Equis? cuz usually if it's.. anyway Kanani 20:18probably Equis U S or U I S?Hilary 20:21no it's just U U S. U U S you're right thenCourtney 20:24 it's in the Google Docs that willHilary 20:25You're correct then Kanani 20:26you couldn't make me say your anus. So she's making me say aquis meaning equal and NOX meaning night, so an Equinox occurs twice a year. There's the fall and the vernal. Really? Really??Hilary 20:41vernal it's it's a word.Kanani 20:42 It's not a word. So there's the fall and the spring equinox. I'm not going to say these words. Hilary 20:46Did you read this before right now??Kanani 20:48many civil uh blah many civilizations have celebrated a harvest festival around the equinoxes in the 1700s. The Bavarians began a festival that starts in the last week of September, and they call this festival Oktoberfest. Sure, this is awesome. So Oktoberfest is still celebrated in Bavaria today, and many cultures around the world see this celebration as the Second Harvest after the first harvest of lammas, and Equinox as a time for giving things this time of year is when farmers know how well their summer crops did and how well fed their animals have become and this determines whether you and your family would have enough food for the winter. That is why people use to give thanks around this time, thanks for their crops and animals and their food. And the original American Thanksgiving was celebrated on October 3rd, which makes much more sense with the harvest times. By the end of November, there's not much left to harvest and the name mabon comes from the Welsh God who is the son of the Earth Mother Goddess. However, there is evidence that the name was adopted in the 1970s and the holiday was not originally a Celtic celebration, it wasn't to celebrate this holiday. pagans might pick apples. apples are a common symbol of the Second Harvest. They may use the apples in an apple harvest ritual that thanks to God's for the bountiful harvest, and others might perform a ritual to restore balance and harmony to their lives. As this holiday celebrates a day with equal light and day. Another common ritual a set up an altar with symbols of the season such as apples, grapes, and other seasonal harvests and he said it would not be complete without a feast for family and friends. So let me just say that for those who usually attend CWPPD in person, it is the last the weekend following CWPPD every year is actually oaks Park, Oktoberfest. It is typically the event that closes out their their amusement park season and that's the last event that they have. And I would usually go every year with my family and the kids and we would enjoy all the different vendors and foods and my kids love it because they would do wiener dog races. So Long live Oktoberfest. That's how I'm gonna close out Fall Eq.Courtney 23:11You literally did not look at that until just now did you?Kanani 23:15I looked at some I looked at the dirty words you made me say I saw those because they were bold. Oh my god. dirty words. So we're just gonna take a quick break here to remind everyone that if you would like to support the podcast, we are on Patreon. And for as little as $1 a month you can get access to all kinds of bonus content and crazy fun exclusives. This week we released a guided meditation led by Robin Korok, the author of Persephone, Practicing the Art of Personal Power. And tomorrow we'll be releasing the video of our cracked out conversation at Columbia Willamette Pagan Pride. We want to give a special shout out to Sarah who has joined us and Sarah who has joined us at the Kanani girlfriend level at $25 a month. And so Courtney is going to pull a tarot card for Sarah.Courtney 24:06I would do it anyway for Sarah but I'm definitely going to do it because she joined at the Kanani girlfriend level. Anybody who's willing to be Kanani's girlfriend deserves a lot of love. So here we go, or boyfriend or envy friend or your boyfriend or envy friend, okay, yeah, we are we are inclusive. Alright, so Sarah's card is oh my god, she got the chariot, the chariot is full steam ahead, all things are a go. But it also reminds you that you're in control. One of the mysteries of the chariot is that there's two very different creatures that are pulling the chariot. And they actually aren't tethered to the chariot. So nobody really knows how the chariot is moving. So when we get this card, it's saying, Just move forward. You know where you're going. You don't need to obcess about how it's going to work along the way. You just need to get in the chariot and go it's a very good card and it's so if there's something that you're ready to move forward on, go ahead and move forward even if you're not entirely sure how all the pieces are going to work. So, thanks again, Sarah. I hope you liked your tarot card.Kanani 25:19Awesome. And thank you to Sarah and all of our Patreon supporters. And if you want a shout out and tarot card pulled for you, please consider joining us at the $25 level a month or over, but any amount will give you access to all the cool stuff that we have going on. If you can't do a monthly donation, totally understandable. You can also buy us a coffee or three or pick up that witch life merchandise on Etsy. You can also consider becoming an episode sponsor. It's a great way to promote your business or event to thousands of people in the magical marketplace, or even propose marriage to your favorite witch!Courtney 25:55which is we are hoping would happen me will happen. I'm just hoping somebody will do this for us. You know, let us be a part of your life. I know. That's what I'm hoping for. Come on guys. Great way to do it.Kanani 26:04And find out more on our website at . And between now and the end of September, we are donating 10% of all of our proceeds to United Way of Central Iowa for their storm relief efforts and Habitat for Humanity of Los Angeles who is addressing housing needs across all of California after weeks of fire damage. I think it's time for a word from our sponsor. I think So believe it or not you will is just around the corner. And what better place to get handmade magically charged candles, incense burners or altar cloths for every witch on your holiday list than from real witches making real magic and supporting a better world. If this sounds like you, then check out the witches resistance. The Witch's resistance was an idea born out of the anti liquid natural gas movement starting at an action in Tacoma Washington. They're more than just a name. Proceeds from their handcrafted art and spell candles help support a variety of causes as well as their ability to go to events and actions. In addition to handcrafted candles, they offer a carefully curated selection of all of your witchy needs, including altar tools with everything from cauldrons to mortars and pestles engraved with pentagrams and pagan knotwork. I have purchased from them multiple times myself and I am always thrilled. I have bought many altar items including altar cloths, small cauldrons and I love their Guiding Light candle. Courtney can't be the only one repping the witches resistant swag, so I bought myself the tank top last year and I love it. I am always excited to not only be supporting a family owned magical business, but also supporting causes that I care about. Visit today and enter code THATWITCHLIFE at checkout to receive a 10% discount for all purchases made between now and October 31. Thank you to the witch's resistance for being an episode sponsorCourtney 28:01I made an apple pie in the fall and I gave it to this hot guy and he ate it and then I married him. So apple pie in the fall is also a Love Spell Just so you know, FYI, thanks trademark cocoa.Kanani 28:14Funny, funny tidbit about the Solstice's. My current husband, his birthday falls on or around within a couple days of summer solstice. My ex husband's birthday is on winter solstice.Courtney 28:29And you are basically an Equinox baby. Kanani 28:31And I am basically an Equinox baby. So yeah, I am I don't know what it is. But I have always been very..uh.. and I kind of feel like maybe that's also what kind of helped to turn my mood is I've always been very kind of balanced and with the equinoxes more so than lunar energy. I kind of always am seasonally, a part of whatever is going on there. So fall Fall EQ. That's what I call it is absolutely my favorite. It's my favorite time of year has the favorite. It's close to my favorite holiday which is Samhain and the leaves are turning and the air is crisp and I just I absolutely love everything about fall so I couldn't love it more.Courtney 29:15And because it's your birthday, you won't come out untilKanani 29:17And it has my birthday in it. And it has Columbia Willamette Pagan Pride day, which I have done for eight years now and absolutely adore it's one of my favorite days in the fall. So yeah, I'm a huge. I'm a huge fall Equinox fan.Courtney 29:31Hey, Kanani. I made a decision and you're gonna get really mad. I'm going to tell you here. I'm going to bring you your birthday present and you're gonna open it on the show, but it means I have to drop it off in advance and you're not allowed to open it early.Hilary 29:42Oh, what is that like? What does that feel like?Kanani 29:44You're gonna you're clearly gonna have to give it to my husband because if you give it to me and I see it, I will open it. You know this?Courtney 29:52Well, I say that it won't, it won't. Yeah, I'll probably have to give it to your husband Kanani 29:56You're gonna have to give it to him Hilary 29:56Or you can give it to me and I'll just hold on to it and drop it off to her on her birthday. Kanani 29:56There you go.Courtney 30:00That's a good idea. Kanani 30:01But let's be real.Courtney 30:02We'll open it on the show. We're recording two episodes that day. So you know. So it's a thingKanani 30:09I'm very excited.Courtney 30:11Yeah, I'm sure you should be. It wasn't cheap. Kanani 30:15Well, then I'm even more excited.Courtney 30:18 I'm a really good friend.Hilary 30:21I'm a really good friend.Courtney 30:25That line from Mean Girls is what has followed me throughout my whole life.Kanani 30:32well, then it must, it must mean there's that it involves some type of baked good, thenCourtney 30:36maybe,Kanani 30:37although although I don't know that, that would be super expensive. ButCourtney 30:40your cupcakes last year are expensive because I had it liquor in them. Kanani 30:43Yeah, those were really good. Courtney 30:44Those were not cheap cupcakes they made the frosting with Bailey's Irish cream, so yeahKanani 30:49My favorite. My favorite birthday cake actually was one that my husband had made for me. It was I want to say was the I don't know if it was the year before we got married or the year after we got married. But it was this bakery we loved that isn't around anymore, sadly. And I told him, I wanted all my favorite things on it, or just put my favorite thing and he couldn't figure out what to do. And so they essentially took the cake and they cut it in quarters as far as the decoration. So one quarter had pumpkins and a fall scene. One quarter had berries on it. One quarter had flowers, and then the other quarter had footballs. And it was like all my favorite things about about fall, because a lot of people people may not know, I'm actually huge sports fan. So we watch. We watch sports all the time. I was like, I've always been like this, when I was married to my ex husband, he didn't know anything about sports. So his friends would hear sports in the background and be like, Oh, you're watching the game, and they start talking to him. And he's just, I have no idea what you're talking about. He's like, my wife is watching it right now, I don't know any of the words that are coming out of your mouth and they're like what?? So, um, so yeah, fall is Fall is definitely a time of year I feel most kind of grounded and connected. And. And I feel like it's helped snap me out of a pretty crappy last last few months. So I'm very grateful for that. And I plan on I actually have now put on my my phone calendar, new moons, the full moons, and what I want to do so that I'm kind of like holding myself to task to do these things. And I've just realized, like, if I want to keep feeling better, I need to lean into my magic. And so I'm just that's kind of where I've been at. And so I'm, I'm excited to celebrate the solstice and, and, and get on with the year. Yeah, what are you gonna do? get on with it.Courtney 32:59I finally I finally stopped like the Gods and I have had our reunion. And so I'm starting to sit with them every morning, had a really powerful moment in which I realized I needed to let go of my old altar and happened after we uh we realized that we weren't going to be fleeing the fire. And so I no longer was asking myself what magical supplies I would bring in which ones I would leave behind. And I realized that my old personal altar is no longer it's no longer for me, it represents a time when I was younger, and I was very transient. And I've had a hard time connecting with it the last few years and I finally realized it's because my work is now with my husband in my home. And so the altar we use is on a very sturdy table in the center of our of our home. Whereas my my old altar, which I've done so much magic on was two wine boxes, wood-glued together with an Ikea shelf on top. That worked great for me when I was you know, a young witch living in New York City. I remember dragging home those wine boxes and putting it together. Um, but that's not how I practice anymore. So I'm actually giving it to a young witch who doesn't have an altar, and hope that it's good for good for her. Um, and I I'm now I've got a new practice with sitting with the gods every morning and had breakfast with my ancestors. It was lovely. I made themHilary 33:00I love doing that.Courtney 33:02Yeah, I made them coffee and I made myself a plate of eggs and sat down and had had breakfast and just told them everything that was going on in my life. And when my husband woke up, I said I just feel really good today. Um, I just feel like everything is going to be okay. I mean, pandemic fire, potential civil war and revolution. I'm fine, we will be okay. SoKanani 35:03I'm currently kind of on the hunt for where I want to place my new Persephone altar. So she she is getting oneCourtney 35:13she'll tell you she'll let you know when she comes inKanani 35:15kind of peeking around like where is it going to go? But yeah, I I did a lot of altar tending, I did a lot of kind of getting, I'd already kind of stocked up on some of my magical items, but kind of started going through some others and I just realized that I just need to start leaning into the magic because it's I feel like that's kind of what helped get me out of my funk. And so I feel like now I just have to keep rolling with it because I feel like if I don't, I'm gonna get back in my funk.Courtney 35:48And what is so weird is that when we're in a funk, well, the last thing you want to do is oftentimes the last thing witches want to do is practice magics Yeah, when you're in that crappy space is the time when you really should, but that's the time when leaning into magic is going to be the most helpful. SoHilary 36:10yeah, I totally I mean I feel like when I get in a funk I also struggle it's like I'm like my altar is getting dusty but you know, like I just am paying no attention to my magic and it's every time without doubt when I go okay hold on like (claps) pull it together like go to your altar. You I mean like you have these tools available to you to manifest what you want. Why are you not doing that? And I do and I feel like immediately better and yet every time I get in this same situation where I'm like I'm where I'm like where I'm like okay but if I if I would have just done this from the beginning so I'm actually really trying to get in the habit of that be of like retraining my brain to be that be a go to, you know to when I'm in crisis rather than like just finding just going to comfort but actually go because what I think what we sometimes define as comfort isn't necessarily what helps us like you know, I might be like you know what's come from sounds like comfort like a pint of ice cream and stupid movies and like not doing laundry in the shower. And all things are like like sound really comforting to me but in their practice they're actually not right like I actually feel better if I like have some like really nice soup I know that makes me feel better like clean my altar and create like, like do some magic work a spell sit and center myself ground myself all those things actually make me feel way better than ice cream and a movie but it's so easy to get sucked into ice cream and a movie like it's so easy. So I'm really trying to create an intention this you know, moving forward this year and into the new year of just really trying to have that be my default like default setting when I'm in crisis because I think it serves us so much more. Kanani 37:56Absolutely and Courtney, you were gonna tell us about the astrologyCourtney 38:01I am I also think you probably need an episode on ice cream magic so if there's any ice cream witches out thereHilary 38:08Oh God please no because I'm trying to get away from ice cream is what I do when I'm sad (laughs)Courtney 38:13talking about is different than I know it's hard for someone to come and talk to us about ice cream no no actuallyHilary 38:19I mean uh food magic would be an amazing episode actuallyCourtney 38:23food magic episode coming up just before Thanksgiving Hilary 38:26Oh that's right right before Thanksgiving.Courtney 38:27 Yeah, with Dawn, the kitchen witch anyway, so yes. Oh good lord. If I can get through this astrology talk I don't know that I can do it guys. Some of this stuff is going to make me laughHilary 38:37Courtney has a really hard time saying some of the words in thisCourtney 38:40I know I'm going to focus because Kanani, Kanani says that when I laugh too much it sounds silly. So I'm going to try really hard to be focused.Kanani 38:46Are you going to keep saying your anus is that what's going on?Courtney 38:49STOP IT! (laughs) Okay, so this year the autumn equinox falls on a waxing moon which means a growing them. So although this is a time for reaping blessings, the uh which means you know taking in the harvest. This astrology also favors growing things that can be reached later. So while the energies of this holiday really encouraged harmony and comfort, the hallmarks of Libra this year which the equinox occurs Oh God help me um (laughing)Hilary 39:25you're in so much trouble. You're never really do you need me to say it?Courtney 39:28No, no, I got this. The Moon is quincunx uranus (laughing) Hilary 39:38She's the moon is quincunx uranus. Courtney has a really hard time saying this collection of words. What happened is she mispronounced it slightly on an episode and it just went awry. It's one of those moments where like, it's I mean, I remember this many many performance performances and choirs and stuff like this. Like there's something that was funny at one point. And then like forever when you get to that thing, it's funny again Well, this is Courtney's meltdown funny. I've said it for you. So just move on to the next portion. Courtney 40:14I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm a professional Kanani 40:15Quincunx Uranus and...Courtney 40:18bringing together the opposing qualities, which involves changes in food unsettling all patterns. The moon is also trying Venus, which is about embracing beauty. (laughing) Sorry, one of the things that might be good to focus on in this Equinox is how to bring beauty into your life. I keep seeing booty and toes.Kanani 40:46And she's gone.Hilary 40:47Should we go on to talking about magical plants.Courtney 40:53I can usually edit out my meltdowns. This will be harder today since we're LIVE, okay? This might mean beautifying the home or beautifying yourself. As always, taking a base oil perhaps spiked with essential Rose basil oil and putting it on your altar while doing your Fall Equinox ritual will make for excellent glamour spell. If you want to draw positive attention to your physical beauty, or simply feel more or simply feel more beautified. Nice job, Hover, , whatever my name is, because this energy is about unsettling old patterns, this is a really good time to come (starts laughing again)I'm watching Hilary laugh!Hilary 41:32Then don't look at me justCourtney 41:36you're not you don't exist I'm covering the screen. Okay? Yes. Because this energy is about unsettling old patterns. This is a great time to break through insecurities about your appearance. So we all have them, it doesn't matter. You know how how often you hear that you look fabulous. No matter who you are, we have moments when we don't feel as good. And this is a really good time to break through those insecurities about that. So on a technical level, it is also a really good time to declutter your living space, get a haircut, or have your podmate give you a pedicure. So if you've gotten kind of sloppy in dress or your appearance because of the pandemic, this is a really good time to shed the sweatpants and start putting on clothes that really look good and make you feel good and start coming back intouch with your body. I know I've been super inactive, and I'm starting to feel the feelings of lack of yoga. So this is what I'm gonna be trying to embrace this is to get that as part of my routine. So if you take this time to get into a new beauty or housekeeping routine routine, you are likely to stick with it. Also, if you are thinking of applying for a new job, or selling a home or your car, this is a good time to do it. This kind of work as you will be considered even more your product or your resume will be considered even more attractive by prospective employers, homeowner car buyers, etc. So I did it. YES!Hilary 43:08You did it.Courtney 43:10I did it. I win.Kanani 43:14I think it's interesting that you talked about how now is a good time to be kind of focused on decluttering and stuff because I actually just went through my daughter's entire room and I started part of it, I think is just the the need to declutter, but also kind of with all the madness of people having to evacuate and things I actually bought totes, and all the little things of my children's that we're keeping for sentimental reasons, or what her old dance costumes, her old t shirts from activities she's participated in. So things we don't use, but we have, I've started, I started putting them all in these totes, so that they're all in one place instead of just kind of scattered throughout the house. And so I've actually been going through closets, pulling all of the things that we are keeping that we want to keep. But they're kept strictly for sentimental reasons, and they don't actually need to be out in our space. And I've actually started kind of decluttering, all of that. And it has felt amazing to know like all of these things are just here. And so if we wanted to take them, we could just grab this, grab this tote, and this is all those little sentimental pieces of clothes or whatever. So that was very cool. And Hillary, you were gonna talk to us about some magical uses for bay leaves.Hilary 44:30Yeah, so it's actually awesome that Courtney was talking about, you know, using this as a time to bring confidence in because that is one of the I mean, literally bajillion things that Bay can be used for. So we usually refer to these as magical herbs Bay is actually a tree, but it can be treated the same. So I love using Bay I use it and I mean I'd say like, at least 80% of the things that I do, because it has so many purposes. Um It is great for confidence. So if you are trying to up your confidence, a little trick is you can actually put a bay leaf in your shoe. And it'll help you walk with confidence. Like if you're going into an important interview, if you are going into, you know, to try and sell something to someone, if you're trying to convince someone that they need to hear you, if you want to feel better on a first date, like Bay in your shoe is a great way to like boost your confidence and just feel really good in your skin. Courtney 45:26I'm gonna use that in our next business meeting to get Kanani to listen to me. Hilary 45:30Oh my god. So yeah, we should just like constantly have it actually, I should have put one in my shoe for this, you know, so that Kanani would listen. She's like, not gonna work. She's like, my magic is too strong, I will reject the bay leaf. Um, so it's also really good. It's good for protection. It can be used in a number of different different ways for protection, you can put a leaf in each of the corners of a room. Again, if you have pets, please be wary of any herbs. Many plants are poisonous to pets or at least will give them the gastro distress that you probably don't want to deal with. So if you have pets, maybe put it elevated, but you can put them in the corner of a room to protect your space. You can you can burn them and smoke them and use them to kind of to protection charge your space. So you could use it the way you would with smoke cleansing. You can you can put it in incense blends. And it's it's great. It's easy, pretty easy to grind up with a mortar and pestle. So you can put it in blends and it when you're doing money, magic success or good fortune magic. When you're doing healing, healing or strength magic, it's also really good for divination. It's another herb that's good to put underneath your pillow if you're trying to get prophetic dreams. Or if you're having dreams that you're having trouble clarifying. It's another good herb to put under there. Um, one of my favorite, favorite favorite things to do with bay is if you're trying to, if you're trying to manifest something, and you really want it to come true, if you write your intention on a bay leaf, and you burn it, and you watch the whole leaf go up. So your whole intention is being burned, and it's going up in smoke. That is a really good way to manifest the intention you have. So I've done that before in ritual. I've done it as just as a wish. And I've also used it as a part of a spell. So like to close off a spell. Um, let's see, do um, yeah, I mean, oh, you can also you can also put it um, you can also. So if you so this is actually I actually read this one online, and it was one that I had not heard before, but I love it. So people used to sweep their doorsteps of the of the footprints of unwanted guests and then rub bay leaves on the doorstep to prevent them from returning. So that's a method that I mean, I had heard it in protection, I've heard it laid across a threshold before. And this was a new one to me. Um, so yeah, you can put it if you're if you if you if someone came to your house, and you're like, Oh, I don't ever want them to come back, or you're having a hard time to get rid of someone. after they leave. If you sweep your doorstep really well. And then you rub Bay across the doorstep, it'll it'll help prevent them from wanting to come back.Courtney 48:19I am definitely going to keep that there. The next time somebody comes and asks, excuse me, have you ever heard of our Lord Jesus Christ, I'll be like, I have bay leaves motherfucker get outta here!Hilary 48:26You're like I got bay leaves for you!Courtney 48:30I'll make them stand there and be like, Come on, tell me. Tell me about it.Hilary 48:35You know, I really it's it's a it's an herb that I think is has is so multi. So it's so multi purpose. So I really, it's something that I think I use in the majority of the work I do because it because it can be harnessed in so many ways. They're also really easy to find you can get them at literally any grocery store. And most if you have a local witchy shop, or metaphysical shop, you can go most of them will have bay leaves that you can buy in bulk there. But yeah, you can order them online. But yet, you can just go to the grocery store. They'll have them in like a little spot in there. In the spice section. They're usually in a jar and they're the full. They're the fully they're the leaves that people online thought, I don't know, this is like a very funny anecdote about Bay. But I don't know if anyone saw this meltdown on the Internet of. So Chipotle uses bay lea ves to season things like many people do. And they, I don't know who these people were, but people were finding them in their food, and just having a meltdown on the internet about how there was a tree that fell into their chipotle and it was so gross and so dirty. And everyone's like, you mean that thing we use? It's actually considered a spice instead of an herb, but that spice we use. Yeah, it's not a tree. I mean, it is a tree but it didn't fall from the sky when Chipotle was making your. Kanani 49:05Yeah, people are special! Hilary 49:49Yeah it was really funny. I was like, What and it was just so, like literally seething review after seething review about Chipotle, you know, being furious that people are being furious at Chipotle that there was a leaf in their food,Kanani 50:12we actually we actually have a really good listener question which I think kind of goes along with kind of some of the things we've already touched on. But it was "Do you have any magical suggestions for home office spaces to aid in focus, productivity, concentration, communication and other such things to aid in working from home, which I think many, many, many, many of us are now"?Courtney 50:37Yeah, um, I certainly have have had this being a challenge. I've worked at home for about three and a half years now at this point. And my, my witchcraft life and my day job tend to intersect a little bit because I work in an interfaith organization. So a lot of times, things tend to get pretty blurred. And what I have learned to do is, I have to create specifically, I call. I do, nine minutes in the morning, I set a timer to sit at my altar, and clear my mind. So if a thought comes into my head, I let it go. And I don't actually close my eyes, because I find that closing my eyes, my mind wanders more then but I light a candle, I stare at the candle on my altar with these Gods. And every single time a thought comes into my head, I just acknowledge it and let it go. And doing that every morning for nine minutes, helps my brain focus on the next thing I'm doing. So then it's like, Okay, the first thing that I after my work is at the altar is done. The next thing I'm going to focus on is making breakfast. And so I no longer I used to like check my email while I was making breakfast, and then also listen to our podcast from the night before I don't do that. So I make breakfast, that is my task. And then when I get to focus throughout the day, I'm finding better to compartmentalize my, my working. And I think also if you can dedicate one area of your house to your work, that's going to be a lot easier for you than if you just work anywhere, because then it is harder for you to 1.) focus on your job, but then also leave it and then like go hang out with your spouse and watch a movie because you're gonna be watching movie in where your mind was just working. So um, that's what I do is just training my mind that this is the time for this, this is the time for staring at the candle. This is the time for making breakfast. This is the time for email, and I schedule breaks in as well. And it sounds a little maniacal at first, but you get the hang of it and it gets easier.Kanani 52:44I also think I also think that it's important, one of the things I've had to do is actually set like like for myself, I don't naturally have this but like work hours, because otherwise I'll start checking my work email, if I wake up at six o'clock 630 in the morning, and start working on things and then I'll do something else. And then I'll find myself still doing things at seven o'clock at night. And so I've started trying to kind of give myself hours, so that I'm not just kind of working all day long, in the evening, in the early morning and and just kind of popping in and out. So that it just helps me to kind of feel like I have a morning. And I feel like I have an evening. Because I'm not I don't have to do that I don't have to be answering my emails at 8 at 630 in the morning. And so just kind of trying to pair myself down to what is reasonable office hours and work within that time. Because I feel like that's one of the difficulties sometimes when you're working from home is the home-work-life just kind of starts blending. And it's just really easy to be you know, see an email and answer it no matter what time of day it is. And sometimes I feel like you need to set those hourly boundaries.Hilary 54:00Yeah, I think that all of that, certainly, I found I found the same thing that like setting, setting a schedule for yourself that you stick to is really helpful. I also think, you know, for me, it's like the ritual of doing something different. So it's like if on a non work day, I might get up and like, you know, hang out in my pajamas and like, laze my way. So on a work day, I have a specific ritual. It's like I get up, I make breakfast. I go, I come I like I've gotten dressed, I'm ready to go. And then what I do is I come in and for me it's making a pot of tea. So I'll make a pot of tea. I'll bring it into my work room, I sit down and it's like I've then signified that I've like shifted my energy into work energy. There are herbs you can use to help with uh with focus. So like alertness. Black pepper is really good for alertness. So if you want if you want to create like an herb blend that you can have in your, in your space that you can put you can even create like a little like career altar, that's like all career focus energy on the corner of your desk or a little like next to whatever area you work on. So black pepper basil is really good for job energy, basil, sandalwood and hawthorne. So those are all good herbs to to use when you I mean black pepper is a spice but use to, to kind of bring that focus in. So if you want to create something, I mean, obviously, I wouldn't grind a bunch of black pepper and put it in your workspace because you'll start sneezing. But if you have some like peppercorns that you could throw in or set on the altar, with some basil or with hawthorne, sandalwood and you and you kind of I really like having I have like a little mini kind of, I mean, it's not like a full on altar, but kind of a little magical space on my desk. And I think that that really helps too one of the people one of the people on the call said for focus, they keep citrine amethyst and aquamarine by the computer. Um, so yeah, I think that anything that you can do that really keeps you from, I think the biggest thing for me is like, yeah, I like having this little space of magical things that I have that or that its intention is to be work focused. And then to really like find something whether it's pouring a glass of water and sitting it down, it's like you want to create a pattern in your mind that, that triggers like I'm working now. Right? And so for me that's making a pot of tea, sitting down, touching or putting something on my magical area. And, you know, and then and then starting to work.Kanani 56:41I think that's a really good suggestion to have a magical area at your desk.Hilary 56:44Yeah, it's like, I mean, it's literally just a corner. So I mean, I call it an altar, but it's like such a small group of things. It's a mini altar. I'll call it altar, but like this little tiny altar just of stuff. That is all of that is all focused around work really helps.Kanani 57:02That's awesome. Well, um, this has been awesome. We've had now our second that witch life podcast at a Columbia-Willamette Pagan Pride day. So thank you for joining us. Thank you for supporting Columbia-Willamette Pagan Pride day, we will hopefully have this event next year back at Oak Park. Yay. I know I'm I'm super excited and hopeful. This has been I don't know, this is this day has a special place in my heart. So even though it's it's virtual this year, I've still been super excited. And in a lot of ways it's been so much easier for me because I've actually been able to enjoy it from home. So that's that's been pretty fantastic. Thank you all so much for listening and a special thanks to Other Worlds of Wonder and Columbia-Willamette pagan pride for hosting us today. If you want to support the show. The best way is to subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes. You can also buy us a kofi. check out our merch on our Etsy store, become a supporter on Patreon and we are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for shownotes audio transcripts or to become an episode sponsor, or to ask us a question to answer on a future episode, you can go to to contact us until then keep moting that shit and we'll talk to you next week.(Exit Music) 58:21Find us at for archived episodes or to ask your burning questions for us to answer in a future podcast. So mote it be.Hilary 58:37You've never seen us before, well, this is what we look like.Courtney 58:41Yeah, we always look like this we always put on makeup and a pretty outfit before before we record.Hilary 58:45Even in my sleep well actually, sometimes I get lazy and sleep in my makeup but and then if I'm really if I've done a really good job putting it on and have a really really good setting spray, sometimes I wake up and it looks good. ................
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