Burnt Sage & Blunt Truths

 There’s this quiet assumption people carry around—that if they’re close to you, they know you. Not just “know of you.” Not just “know your habits.” But know you . As in: the full landscape. The whole map. Every hill, every back road, every strange little side path you wander down at two in the morning when the rest of the world is asleep. And that assumption is… wrong. Not in a cruel way. Not in a disappointing way. Just in a very human, very ordinary, very unavoidable way. I started thinking about this the other day when it hit me—if I lined up the people closest to me and asked them to list my interests, my obsessions, the things I spend my time thinking about when no one’s watching… They’d all give me answers. And they’d all be incomplete. Not one of them would be wrong. But not one of them would be whole either. Let’s start with my mom. She’s my ride or die. The one who knows the real stories, not the polished versions. The one who has seen me at my worst and d...

There’s a particular kind of expectation that comes with a forty-year tradition. Longevity implies structure. It implies refinement. It suggests that whatever is being done has been tested, shaped, and carried forward with intention. Add “sold out” to that equation, and the assumption is simple: this is an event that knows exactly what it is doing. So when I walked in, I expected weight. Not perfection. Not spectacle. But presence. Cohesion. A sense that the container had been built with care and was being held with equal care. What I found instead was… uneven. To be clear, not everything missed the mark. Some of the altars were thoughtfully constructed, layered with intention rather than thrown together for appearance. There were moments—brief, but real—where the space settled and something deeper moved through it. And there were individuals present who were clearly grounded, aware, and engaged in something beyond surface-level participation. Which made the rest of it stand out all th...

   Let’s stop pretending. There is a very loud, very performative strain of “witchcraft” right now where people in their early thirties are claiming nearly two decades of teaching the craft —and expecting that to land like authority instead of comedy. It doesn’t. Because time alone doesn’t make you seasoned. It just makes you older. What matters is what you did with that time. And there’s a world of difference between: decades of grounded study with covens and experienced practitioners , and a long stretch of calling yourself a witch because it sounded good and got attention. Those are not the same road. Not even close. Real experience is built in rooms where you are not the most knowledgeable person there, and you’re not allowed to pretend you are. It’s built under people who will correct you, challenge you, and shut you down when you start believing your own hype. It’s built in Friday and Saturday nights given to the work , not handed over to bar crawls aro...

Let’s get one thing straight—being broke is not a personality trait, and it damn sure isn’t a spiritual badge of honor. Somewhere along the way, a narrative took root in pagan spaces that says: if you’re truly spiritual, you should be struggling. That money somehow taints the work. That abundance makes you less authentic. That if you’re not cobbling together tools from thrift stores and dollar bins, you’re doing it wrong. That narrative is tired. And it’s wrong. Paganism, at its core, is about power. Personal power. Agency. Sovereignty. And you don’t build sovereignty while constantly scrambling to survive. You don’t deepen your practice when your energy is spent stressing over bills, debt, and scarcity. You don’t honor the spirits, the land, or your own path by staying stuck in lack. Let’s call it what it is: poverty isn’t sacred. It’s exhausting. There is nothing inherently noble about being underpaid, underselling your work, or refusing to charge what your skill is worth. Especially...

I had a great conversation this past weekend where practitioners of color and culture were discussing this very thing.  Let’s quit pretending this is confusing. It isn’t. What it is , is inconvenient—especially for people who’ve built a brand, a following, and a tidy little income stream off something they barely understand but know how to market. So here’s the line, carved clean. Appropriation vs Assimilation (No Hand-Holding Edition) Appropriation is taking. Assimilation is adapting a practice because you were taught it, because it was what was there where you were taught. It is done with respect and recognition. I point specifically to African slaves who hid their religions in the saints and the songs of what appears to be a Christian religion. They did it to survive. Then there is Appalachian magic and it's cross over into multiple disciplines. There was always trade between nations just as there was always a sharing of knowledge. Now when it comes to cultural appropriation ver...

 Paganicon 2026 came in with a venue change, and as expected, that shifted the energy in ways both good and… let’s call them “educational.” Let’s start with what worked—because quite a bit did. The Good (And There Was Plenty) The presenters this year were, overall, solid. Engaging, knowledgeable, and worth the price of admission—exactly what Paganicon has built its reputation on. There’s a reason this event still holds the weight it does in the community. Some standouts: Laura Tempest Zakroff delivered a fantastic talk on runes and the Tarot—smart, funny, and genuinely insightful. Not fluff. Not recycled nonsense. Actual substance. Lady J Griot brought depth with The Blues is Magic You Can Use . The reminder that magic lives in the silence—the liminal spaces between notes—was one of those moments that sticks. And then there was Celia Farran on Friday night—pure light. Whidbey Island magic at its finest. Her set wasn’t just music, it was an experience. Grounding, expan...

Every once in a while, someone wanders into a space that isn’t theirs and decides they’re going to poison the well. You know the type. The sideways comments. The passive-aggressive whispers. The subtle little digs meant to make people doubt themselves. It’s the oldest trick in the book. If you can’t build something meaningful, you try to rot what someone else built. Here’s the funny part though. That strategy only works when the person on the receiving end is insecure, isolated, or desperate for approval. I am none of those things. I see the behavior. I see the pattern. And I see exactly what it is: insecurity dressed up as cleverness. Let me say something clearly for anyone who might need to hear it. Communities are not built by people who lurk in corners throwing shade. They’re built by people who show up, do the work, create things, support others, and keep going even when the path gets messy. That’s the difference. You can throw all the little barbs you want, but the reality is s...