The Sacred Necessity of Hope

Every May, when Beltane rolls around, I want to stop and smell the lilacs, wear flowers and ribbons in my hair, and bask in the heady softness of spring. I feel brand new again—like a young girl eager to meet the world.

There is something about this season that softens me. The air is fragrant with the smell of growing things. The trees dance, their leaves impossible shades of green. My garden begins to hum with life again. Borage and salvia burst from their seeds, and tender sugar peas climb their trellises.

I sip hibiscus and rosehip iced tea as I write and buy flowers simply because they delight me. I don softer colors and softer clothes. I find myself in the kitchen cooking meals inspired by my garden hauls—radishes, turnips, carrots, and tender lettuces, to name a few. The world itself seems to sigh awake after sleeping all winter.

And every year, around this time, I find myself thinking deeply about hope.

Not the hollow, copy-and-paste optimism peddled by toxic positivity culture. Not the insistence that everything happens for a reason or that pain can simply be overcome through the proper mindset. That kind of forced positivity has always struck me as profoundly disembodied—an attempt to bypass the very real grief, exhaustion, and uncertainty that come with being alive.

No…the kind of hope I mean is something older. Stronger. More sacred. I’m talking about the bone-deep belief that life continues to grow in beautiful and unexpected ways.

It’s important to know that after periods of loss, stagnation, or unrequited longing, something tender can still bloom. That joy and grief can coexist. That delight remains possible even after heartbreak. That our stories are not over simply because we have suffered or because certain chapters remain unwritten.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons I love romance novels so deeply.

I just wrapped another semester teaching my historical romance course, and once again I found myself thinking about the importance of happily-ever-afters (HEAs). Romance novels are often dismissed as frivolous and escapist. They face the most terrible critique, at least in academia, of being UNSERIOUS. But I think it’s a mistake to dismiss a genre rooted in joy. In fact, I think romance understands something profoundly important about human survival: we need pleasure, and we need hope.

The happily-ever-after is not a denial of suffering or real-life stuff. Romance novels are filled with grief, longing, vulnerability, alienation, and fear. The characters suffer. They lose things. They misunderstand each other. They struggle against social systems that attempt to constrain who they can become and who they are allowed to love.

And yet, the genre insists on hope anyway.

It insists that connection remains possible. That tenderness survives. That people can evolve. That intimacy and joy are worthy goals.

In a world that often feels shaped by cynicism and exhaustion, I think that insistence matters.

Lately, I’ve noticed a cultural hunger for stories filled with delight and beauty. People are ecstatic over the announcement of The Devil Wears Prada 2. (It me. I am people.) We swoon over films like You, Me, and Tuscany with its gorgeous landscapes, emotional sincerity, and unapologetic softness. The protagonist in You, Me, and Tuscany, in particular, feels significant because she shows that women of color are allowed to be messy and complicated and yet still capable of loving and being loved. The Devil Wears Prada 2 gives us an Andy who has aged, lived, and gone through things—and yet still manages to be glamorous and capable even as she doesn’t have it all figured out yet (except for a better wardrobe). We crave stories that allow us to imagine lives shaped not only by struggle but by pleasure, beauty, belonging, and joy, now more than ever.

I don’t think this is accidental.

I think people are tired of irony. Tired of doomscrolling. Tired of narratives that insist survival alone should be enough. Or maybe it’s just me. (It’s definitely not just me.)

I want stories that remind me that life can still surprise us. What’s more, I think there is something deeply spiritual about that desire.

And why shouldn’t there be?

Working on my latest book, The Bruja’s Guide to Tarot: A Contemplative Guide to Conversing with the Cards (more on that soon), has only deepened this feeling for me. Tarot, like romance, is ultimately rooted in possibility. The cards aren’t there to tell us what terrible thing awaits us or forecast a picture-perfect future. Instead, they ask us to explore what transformations are unfolding beneath the surface of our lives right now—what we aren’t seeing in the daily hustle and bustle, but what is no less important than making our way through our perpetual to-do lists.

Tarot invites us to explore our lives symbolically, to cultivate a deeper relationship between our inner and outer worlds…and to see what magic comes of it.

These different ways of cultivating hope—reading romance, reading the tarot, living with an open mind and an open heart—remind us that life moves in cycles. That endings become beginnings. That growth is often nonlinear and surprising. Even the most difficult tarot cards contain movement. Possibility. Change.

That, too, is a kind of hope.

And maybe that’s why Beltane feels so emotionally resonant to me every year and why I celebrate it all May long. It is a holiday of becoming. Of sensuality and aliveness. Of stepping fully back into the world after the long inwardness of winter. The flowers bloom shamelessly. The earth insists on beauty again. The world does not apologize for its abundance.

Neither should we.

For those of us living under systems that profit from our exhaustion, cultivating joy can feel quietly radical. Especially for marginalized people like myself, delight is often treated as frivolous or undeserved. We are taught to focus on survival, productivity, resilience, and endurance. Rarely are we encouraged to pursue pleasure, softness, beauty, or ease.

But survival alone is not enough for a meaningful life.

We deserve wonder.

We deserve rest.

We deserve tenderness.

We deserve futures worth imagining.

That is why I believe HEAs matter. Not because life is perfect, but because hope itself is necessary to living. We need stories that remind us that transformation is possible. We need reminders that our lives can continue unfolding in joyful and surprising directions.

And perhaps that is the true magic of Beltane.

Not simply ribbons and flower crowns—though I love those things dearly—but the sacred invitation to believe in life again. To trust in becoming. To remain open to delight.

So here, at the end of May, I invite you to lean toward softness. Buy the flowers. Read the romance novel. Dance under the moonlight. Wear colors that make you feel alive. Let yourself imagine a future shaped not only by survival, but by joy.

After all, hope is sacred work, too.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational collection of musings touching on life’s simple pleasures, everyday fantasy, and absolutely delectable recipes that will guarantee to stir the kitchen witch in you.  If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is the everyday, subscribe here.

Want even more inspiration to make your dream life a reality?  Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and  Instagram.  Thanks for following!

How to Cultivate a Witchy Garden

It’s that time of year when I’m dying to get my hands dirty.  I’ve been collecting seeds all winter and have started prepping my garden space by turning the soil, cleaning up the debris that protected it over the colder months, and thinking about where I’ll put my plants. I’m dizzy with the promise of a summer in my magical garden space where my biggest concern is harvesting and drying my medicinal herbs fast enough—the hard years of pandemic teaching forgotten under the sun’s nurturing gaze and the pliant soil beneath my feet.

This is a feeling that is always with me, even in the winter, warming my soul when it’s too cold to be outside.  You see, I grew up in a magical garden.  My mother was the original kitchen witch who grew so many herbs and plants in our backyard that stepping out there was like entering this secret garden of enchanted things—it still is!  

I remember when I learned that the licorice and lavender and lemon verbena she planted had medicinal properties and that you could steep them to make delicious and healing tisanes. I was obsessed with collecting these plants, brewing with them, and drying them to store in cool jars I’d collected over the years.  Yeah…I think it’s pretty clear that I was always kind of witchy!

Even when I left home, I made it a point to bring a little bit of that garden magic with me wherever I went. Sometimes it was just a few plants on a windowsill in my grad school apartment.  Other times, it was a magnificent patio garden, complete with vermicompost, where I grew all sorts of culinary and medicinal herbs.  Or it was an open space where I could sneak away to plant early spring leeks and onions or the Pinterest board where I pinned everything I wanted in my dream garden, the place I’d cultivate when I lived in my forever home (yes, it will closely resemble the house in the movie, Practical Magic, naturally). 

Plant magic is so much a part of my being, especially as a bruja, that I’ve come to think of my garden as an enchanting space for conjuring.  I have a natural affinity for plants and have often sought solace in their company when the outer world gets to be too much (truly, plants and cats are much more sensible than humans, at least that’s what my familiar says, and I tend to agree with him). 

Sometimes, though, it might seem like a daunting task to create a witchy garden full of medicinal herbs and magical plants.  Where do you start?  How do you maintain it?  What plants do you use?  The most important thing to creating a magical garden is your intention—that desire for a more magical life—and taking enjoyment in learning as you go.  

So, if, like me, you’re looking to be witchier than ever this year, here are a few tips, in no particular order, to cultivating a witchy garden.  It goes without saying, however, that any witchy tips you get here are general guidelines—see what resonates with you and then make your own magic as you develop your relationship to the space you’re working with and the plants that speak to you. 

Don’t get too manictured! I quietly cringe at the perfectly manicured gardens in magazines.  I can practically hear the plants screaming to be free! A garden should be a sanctuary where you let your hair down, walk barefoot, and forget about the world for a bit.  Where you plants can thrive and grow wontonly.  Sure, tend your garden, but don’t turn it into the environmental equivalent of those airbrushed models on a magazine cover—they’re not real and should not be images of beauty we aspire to. Instead, embrace the wild messiness of growing things.  It’s good for the soul.

Remember that all plants are magic. Who didn’t spend afternoons as a child gathering roots and twigs and leaves and stirring them up to make potions and mudpies? It’s as if we all instinctively knew there was something magical to these living breathing things. (If you are one of those rare and strange creatures who never did that…I feel sorry for you.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy that kind of fun now—go get your hands dirty and collect plants that call to you!).  As you go about cultivating your garden, learn about the flowers, herbs, and produce your plant. They all have lovely magical, medicinal, and, yes, even mundane histories.  Each of them has stories and there’s something powerful to learn more about them. You’ll be surprised how much of their stories

Talk to your plants…and don’t be surprised if they talk back. Oftentimes, the plants we are most attracted to have the medicine we need.   For example, one year, I was deeply drawn to Juniper, the seeds, the leaves, and the sharp smell of its essential oils.  I later learned that Juniper is a deeply healing plant that is specifically known for taking negative energy and turning it into light.  As it happens, that was the exact magic I needed as I was healing from some toxic situations and learning to find my own happiness again.  And, yeah, you should check on your plants and talk with them as you tend them.  My mornings aren’t complete without a cup of coffee in the garden and a good chat with growing things before I draw the tarot.

Leave those weeds for the birds and the bees. Okay, I know that we don’t want a garden that’s overgrown with weeds but some are seriously important! This goes back to not being too manicured.  The garden is a living ecosystem so leave those dandelions to help our pollinators, just as wildflowers attract birds who help keep pests in line. Some plants that are so aggressive they become like weeds (I’m talking to you, mint!), so do what you have to do to make sure you keep your unwanted plants in check but allow your garden to be a joyful wild ecosystem that isn’t hemmed in by hospital-like tidiness. The wildlife and your mind will thank you!

Embrace composting. There is nothing more magical than taking scraps and other discards and turning them into pure gold.  It’s positively alchemical! Composting is a fairly easy thing to learn how to do and one of the cheapest and most eco-friendly ways to nourish your plants--seriously, ditch the chemical fertilizers and other junk that’s bad for the environment.  I also like to think of all the energetic junk I’m composting for future fertile soil as I feed my vermicompost or turn the heap.  It makes me feel like no experience, piece of writing, or feeling is wasted.  Even if it’s something I have to let go of, it has done its part to help nourish my inner garden.  It’s very cathartic!  

Know your local ecosystem.  I love my local medicinal plants like globemallow and yerba mansa, not to mention the drought-hardy Hollyhocks.  Part of cultivating a witchy garden is knowing the land around you and the plants and animals that thrive there.  When you garden in harmony with the environment around you, you produce better yields, have happier plants and wildlife, and embrace your inner wildflower. 

I suppose if there’s one last bit of advice to give you as you cultivate your witchy garden, it’s to listen to your intuition. Plant the plants that make you happy. Design your space in a way that soothes the soul. Go slow. Enjoy the sacred simple pleasure of time spent with growing things. And always, always make a little time each day to get your hands dirty.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Celebrate Naked Gardening Day

Yeah, it’s a thing, at least according to the World Naked Gardening Day official website. Established fifteen years ago, WNGD (for short) is celebrated on the first Saturday of every May. Why, you ask? It’s a pretty wonderful concept: to move towards a healthier acceptance of our bodies that isn’t always in a sexualized context and to recognize that we are, in fact, animals, deeply connected to the natural world. It also strikes me as a wonderful and playful way to enjoy Beltane, get in touch with nature, and our natural cycles…even if you don’t want to actually garden in the nude.

It’s about shedding our fear of naked bodies, tuning into our corporeal needs, and celebrating this divine season of fertility and new beginnings. Some people dance around May poles. Others hunt for dyed eggs, gifts from a magical bunny. Others garden naked. Personally, I’m kind of a fan of all three and any other spring celebration that asks us to go outside and find joy in this new season. Spring reminds us to be playful, silly, casting off our heavy winter thoughts and turning to the more immediate pleasures of this passionate season.

Full disclosure, however: I have a lovely patio garden and am nowhere near a place where I could plant seeds in the nude without the threat of photos ending up on the internet! Still, I love the concept of shedding our cool-weather skins, letting our bodies be kissed by the sun, and getting a little dirty. So if you’re like me—not ready to give your neighbors an eyeful, but want to celebrate the essence of this day—here are five simple ways to honor the spirit of Naked Gardening Day without the threat of itchy plant matter getting into your tender bits.

1. Garden without gloves. Sure, there are times when you need your heavy duty gloves to pull weeds and turn soil. But then there comes the seed planting, which is actually easier to do with your gloves off. I love the feel of fat fava and thorny beet seeds in my hands as I bury them in the soil. My direct connection to the earth and the seeds that will later become delicious produce remind me that each intention, soul seed, and thought I plant now will eventually bear fruit. It’s tangible proof that magic is real.

2. Garden barefoot. Again, there are times when shoes come in handy, especially when you’re doing the heavy duty work of prepping your garden. But then there are the times where it is lovely to go barefoot in newly turned soil as you plant your tender shoots and young plants. The technical hippy metaphysical term for walking barefoot is called earthing. Literally putting your bare soles on the earth grounds, relaxes, and maybe even boosts your immunity. Let your toes wriggle in soft soil and your heels sink into the compost-enriched dirt under your feet. There’s no better way to reconnect with nature.

3. Simply spend time in nature…in as few clothes as possible. Don’t tell me you don’t love the sun’s first warm kiss of spring on your back. Don’t tell me you’ve never been tempted to skinny dip or sunbath nude—or that you’ve never done either. If you’re in a position where naked isn’t comfortable or possible, just get as naked as you can—think short shorts, bikini-tops or even a bathing suit. Trust me. You will love the way the sun caresses your skin and how the breeze tickles your bare arms and legs. Just don’t forget the SPF—as a desert woman, I know all about wearing protection so I can enjoy the great outdoors without the sunburn souvenir!

4. Make a conscious effort to feel comfortable in your own skin. Even if you can’t get naked or wear a filmy dress and ribbons in your hair as you dance around a May pole, take this day to simply love your body and all that it does for you. Garden. Go for a nature walk. Do yoga. Forget about your perceived flaws and take your cues from nature—after all, the butterfly doesn’t compare itself to the dragonfly or the ladybug. It merely goes about its business. Take this day to marvel at what a beautiful animal you are.

5. Relish the sensuality of gardening. It doesn’t matter if you’re coated in sunscreen, jeans and a t-shirt, or merely a daisy crown and a smile, gardening is sexy work. We get to strip things down to basics—planting seeds, getting dirty, relying on sunlight, water and hard work to produce nourishment. Gardening is a sensory experience, from feeling the soil and seeds in your hands, to hearing the birds sing and the bees buzz around with their enthusiastic pollination duties. We get sweaty. We relax. We forget to check the clock and instead rely on the passing clouds and shifting sun to let us know a full day has passed among our plants. We remember our powerful connection to the earth and our profound capacity to live in harmony with it.

So here’s to spring. Here’s to honoring our powerful connection to nature. Here’s to enjoying our bodies. Happy gardening!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

5 Things I Learned from My Year of Buying, Using, Wasting Less

My Year Long Journey to Be a More Conscious Consumer

Last year, I committed to a year of buying, using, and wasting less because of environmental concerns and an intrinsic desire to live more and more in union with nature.  I’ve been increasingly concerned about climate change, especially after the shocking reports that came out in the second half of 2018.  The reality is, we all over-consume and waste resources.  We’ve been conditioned as a society to value conspicuous consumption and retail therapy.  Big companies and countries certainly play a large role in climate change, and it is wonderful that the U.S. recently elected many government officials that care more about climate change than in previous elections—ones that will aggressively protect our planet.  It is essential that we hold big businesses and governments accountable for their part in the fight against climate change.  I am beyond excited to see the news stories about cities banning one-use items (including my hometown Albuquerque!), states building plans to go 100% sustainable, and lawmakers shutting down loop-holes for big businesses trying to get out of new green initiatives (I’m looking at you Exxon).

Living a Greener Lifestyle

I also think we, as individuals, need to hold ourselves accountable for our role in climate change.  After all, big businesses continue to produce one-use items and fast fashion because it is profitable.  Why?  Because we buy their products.  In that context, it becomes clear that the individual has a tremendous amount of power in healing the environment.  Our money—what we choose to spend it on and what we refuse to purchase—can shape the market and shift the economy away from disposable consumerism towards a sustainable future.  This requires us to be hyper-conscious about what we need and how we spend money.

So how to you unplug from mindless consumerism and live more consciously? 

It was an interesting journey.  First, I had to be completely honest with myself about what I purchase, use, and waste…and how to scale back.  That meant resisting the quick high of retail therapy, thinking about ways to repurpose household items, and taking an honest look at what I actually use each day and what quietly gathers dust on a forgotten shelf. 

Many people think that trying to live more sustainably makes your life more complicated and costly.  I found that it actually simplified my life and helped me save money.  Now that I’ve finished my year of using, buying, and wasting less, I plan to continue going more and more zero waste.  Frankly, we should all be aggressively moving towards greener living given our current environmental crisis. This decision has also transformed other areas of my life in ways that surprised me.  Using, buying, and wasting less meant I was taking better care of myself, saving money, and engaging with my local community in more meaningful ways.  Talk about conjuring positive energy!

5 Things I Learned from Living Sustainably

1. Sustainable living is a form of radical self-care.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sustainability is a spiritual practice. Tuning into the needs of the earth helps me stay grounded and connected to myself.  It’s easy to start moving too fast and become disconnected from ourselves in this go-go-go world.  When I committed to a greener lifestyle, I had to slow down and consider what I really needed.  I found myself enjoying what I had more, skipping needless errands in favor of an afternoon walk, and happily rejecting impulse purchases in favor of money in the bank. Instead of indulging in retail therapy, I had to find other, healthier ways to destress.  I did yoga.  I meditated.  I read.  I knitted.  I no longer used shopping as a bandaid for coping with stress. Instead, I allowed myself to feel what I needed to feel and change what needed to be change for a better sense of wellness and balance in my life.  Plus I realized fairly quickly that if something wasn’t good for the earth it wasn’t good for me!

2. I don’t need as much as I think I do—so my life got a lot simpler.  This year, I decided to stop (okay, severely limit)  buying packaged goods, especially those items that came is wasteful plastic packaging.  It only takes one video of a helpless sea creature killed by eating discarded plastic to make you hate our wasteful culture. As a result, I stopped shopping at Trader Joe’s (except, real talk, for the occasional trip down the wine aisle).  Practically everything in the produce section there was  covered in wasteful packaging.  Suddenly, all the stuff I used to buy there made me think of polluted oceans…no thanks!  I got used to mainly shopping at my local co-op (the bulk section is my new BFF) and a few other stores where could get affordable, package-free goods. I ran less errands, bought less stuff, and generally saved money and time by nixing out anything that came in excessive packaging. 

I’ll admit that that didn’t work so well when I had to make online purchases.  One of the few new items I bought was tights for work after the ones I’d had for years ripped beyond repair.  The Amazon image showed me the tights I wanted and they seemed minimally packaged.  Then I got my order and found that each and every pair of tights in the set was double wrapped in non-recyclable plastic.  My worst nightmare!   So I learned my lesson.  I have have to actively seek out eco-conscious producers who make an effort to include limited packaging (PACT Apparel is a good start to this).  And, to make things even easier, I stick to my basic rule: I don’t buy wastefully packaged goods. Period. See? Simple!

3. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. There’s a lot of panic around living a green lifestyle—it’s too expensive, too difficult, too time consuming to be practical. In truth, I’ve found the opposite to be true.  I got used to bringing my own reusable bags and jars to stores, buying less and using what I have. I fell into a routine and many of the changes I made were micro-adjustments that had a huge impact., like walking when I could instead of driving. The funny thing is, the more changes I made, the more I wanted to make. I’ve spent more than a few afternoons down a Pinterest rabbit hole, learning about how to go zero-waste. The real shocker? Much of the advice I found was pretty basic—use less, buy less, and be a more thoughtful consumer.

4. Other people are incredibly helpful…and curious about easy ways to be more sustainable. I can’t tell you how many times someone has stopped me in the grocery store to ask where I got my reusable produce bags or to tell me that using my own tupperware for my deli purchases is a good idea (I don’t eat a lot of meat but I like my cheese—just not the plastic wrap it comes in). The stores I shopped at were beyond kind when I brought my own items to fill. I even inspired a few people to make their own shopping routine less wasteful by bringing their own bags. I brought my own containers everywhere, from generic grocery stores like Smiths, to local markets like Keller’s and the co-op. I even brought them to The Herb Store (my all time favorite bulk store in Albuquerque) to stock up on my usual bulk herbs and spices. Each and every time, people were inquisitive, supportive, and excited to see someone shopping more mindfully. I’ve had more than one person tell me that I’d inspired them to start doing the same. Woohoo!

5. You learn to be honest with yourself about what is truly sustainable—in all meanings of the term. Going to three different grocery stores in one week to get everything you need without packaging (none of it available in one place) is not achievable.  Yup.  That was a lesson learned the hard way.   It’s the end of the week and you’re tired.  You finish work late or simply don’t feel like a string of errands at the end of the day.  Real talk: Not gonna happen.  No longer shopping at Trader Joe’s because everything is wrapped in packaging?  Totally achievable.   Never buying anything again ever? Nope. Investing in thoughtful purchases when needed? Yup. Saying no to one-use items? So easy to commit to. In short, to keep my greener lifestyle sustainable, I had to keep it simple, otherwise it was only a matter of time before I would backslide into old less environmentally friendly habits. I might not be able to make all my own goods and give up my car (my job is a twenty-minute drive away and the bus system here is pretty sketchy), but I can invest in quality products by ethical businesses and drive less.

Building a Better Future

The climate change news is pretty scary, no doubt about it. But I also believe that we got ourselves into this mess and we can get ourselves out of it. It’s easy to get disheartened with all the apocalypse-like stories flooding the media. Then I started reading more about people finding ways to clean the oceans and protect endangered species, countries banning one-use items and protecting vast amounts of natural spaces, and individuals lobbying for sustainable colleges and cities. Together, we can do so much. It starts with giving up one-use items and only grows from there.

I like knowing that I’m part of healing our planet and committing to a more thoughtful lifestyle. How do you plan to be part of the change?

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!