Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within - Juliet Diaz 2019
What is Magick?
Root Work
Magick is very real: it does exist. My confidence and belief in Magick are the reasons it’s abundant within and all around me. Magick is also very alive within and all around you — you might just need to turn up the power a little. Even if you’ve never believed before, Magick is still there; it never goes away. It’s a part of you. It’s who you are.
Every entity in our world — the ocean, the trees, the mountains, animals, and people — is just one aspect of reality. Most are used to the physical workings of our presence here — what we see, feel, and hear. However, we miss the mark on what’s beyond our physical perceptions: energy, spirits, ghosts. We’re all an embodiment of energy, of power. Everything we do sends a command, created from our intent, into the collective web we weave, the single reality which together we all mold. This is how we create Magick — and make Magick work for us.
I want you to take a moment to think about what Magick means to you. Never mind definitions made by others; its presence should be unique to you, its meaning and feeling one that only you can explain — with your own heart and from your own experience. Everyone feels it differently and this is why it’s so important that you start to pay close attention to self. We have become so programmed to find answers outside of ourselves that we end up feeling confused, disconnected, and lonely. Remember that you’re Magick, and this has shown up before, even if you don’t remember it. Once you start to reconnect with who you are and acknowledge that power within, your Magick will show up every day.
For me, Magick is unconditional love. It’s shown up for me whenever I’ve needed it most. I suffered a childhood of poverty, fear, and abuse. The only memories of this time that are dear to me are the ones where Magick was present. I remember the first time I experienced Magick. I was sitting on the kitchen table, my pale and dirty bare legs hanging over the edge. I was two years old and my throat was so sore I could barely bring myself to speak. My mother was deep in the realm of her best Magick. Kitchen Witchery was her enchanting gift. I’ve never seen her more beautiful than when she was in the kitchen with her plants and herbs, giant pots over burning flames. The lace curtains were dancing in the wind and the smells of basil, lemon, and cilantro were swirling through my hair, her hips swaying to the sounds of the drums playing on the radio.
She is making soup for me, her own recipe. The smells are enchanting my being even before I have tasted the healing waters. Here she comes with a spoonful. I feel the Magick beaming from within the steam rising over the spoon, her love for me escaping her lips as she blows the heat away for me. ’Mmmmmm. Delicious, Mama.’ ’Not too salty?’ ’No, Mama.’
To this day, my mother’s Magick is at its best in the kitchen. She still blows the spoon just before she makes me taste something and asks me the same question. I want to tell her it’s never over-salted, that she doesn’t need to ask anymore, but then I’m reminded of how Magick can appear anywhere and in the subtlest of ways; that Magick is present every time my mother blows her love. If that’s how it shows up, I should accept that and welcome it. We must all pay attention to these delicate moments in life that are so often overcast by harsh realities. Accept them as Magick showing up when you need it and giving you a warm embrace.
Magick isn’t always about wielding power and manifesting your desires (though we will cover this sort of Magick later in the book). You need to learn to recognize it in all its different shades and realize that it exists in every detail of life. Magick is a walk in the woods and greeting the rays of sunshine pushing through the treetops. It’s my youngest son’s little fingers intertwined with mine when we walk to the car before I take him to school, and my older boy’s beaming eyes as he tells me stories from his day. It’s the soft kiss my husband places on my forehead before he leaves for work. Magick is experiencing pain, brokenness, and difficulty yet somehow seeing the light in that darkness.
MAGICK IS UNIQUE TO YOUR
PRESENCE. IT IS YOUR OWN — A
LOVE AFFAIR THAT IS WICKEDLY
SACRED IN ALL WAYS.
Be mindful of your life; take notice of the Magick flowing through it. Learn to be still, to observe with all your senses. Notice those moments that make you feel something, the moments that stop you in your tracks, even if it’s just for a second.
For instance, while writing this a delicious wind reached for my flesh, transporting me to another realm. My mind quieted and I stopped writing immediately to give it my full attention — my full being — as my body indulged in an act of passion between Magick and self. I acknowledged the Magick and it will continue to make love to me in all the ways it can. Have you ever made love to your very presence? To the sounds of the night or the warmth of the Sun? To the soft voices in the winds or to roaring thunder? Actually you have, though you may not have noticed it yet. It’s our innate gift to connect to all things in this way. Making love isn’t purely physical; it’s an act of spirit so powerful that it floods the gates of our flesh. It’s connection.
CONNECTION FEELS ORGASMIC
WHEN YOU ALLOW YOURSELF
TO WONDER IN STILLNESS.
Record these moments, write them down, and explain exactly what you felt. With time, they’ll become much more powerful and come around more frequently. Believe me, if you’re experiencing them in this way, you’ll want them to come as often as possible. All it takes is for you to notice.
