Winter Solstice Story Magic

This post originally appeared in my November/December 2024 newsletter.

At the start of the year, I pulled The Fool in the tarot. The message was clear: time for a new adventure. I wasn’t sure if that meant a new job, a move, or what. But I’d forgotten what a trickster the deck can be! Often, the message is more poetic than the brick-and-mortar answers that we want to ascribe to this divination tool. At any rate, this has very much been a year of trying to relearn myself and all the joys life has to offer.

Somewhere around March, I discovered what The Fool had been trying to get me to see all along. I didn’t need a location change. I didn’t need a new job or even a new haircut. What I needed was a change in perspective. I need a deeper appreciation of my life and all I’d done to make it an abundant one—and the knowledge that I could keep growing and bringing light into the spaces of my life that needed more nourishment.

The stress of the pandemic—personally and professionally—had narrowed my vision and made me tight and tense, always looking for the next battle or foe. Worse, the stories I told myself about my life got rigid and hard, like some highly-touted but thoroughly depressing piece of literary fiction…in other words, it was brittle and boring! It was time for a reset.

Enter The Fool who asked me to open my heart—and my eyes—to the wonder all around me. It was time, in other words, to rethink my story and get rid of the plot threads that weren’t doing a darn thing but bogging down my narrative flow.

There are precisely two ways to effect positive, lasting change in your life. Trust me. I’ve learned from experience. The first is through hope. I know it sounds trite, and perhaps what not many people want to hear with all the traumatic world events right now. But ACTIVE HOPE—where you firmly believe that there is a better way of being in the world and work towards that—is a powerful thing.

The second is through storytelling.

Stories give us hope. Stories give us glimpses into different lives and worlds and ways of thinking. They offer us medicine and wisdom. We find ourselves in stories—what we read, what we watch, even the stories we tell about ourselves. It should come as no surprise, then, that hope and storytelling go hand in hand.

I often ask myself, when I get stuck and my thinking gets rigid, “Is this interesting narratively?” Or, if it seems like there’s no solution to my problems, I ask, “What’s a good, generative plot twist here?”

This helps me get perspective and space from the doom and gloom that’s easy to sink into when old ghosts and negativity come knocking on my door. I wonder…is it interesting to be consumed by that darkness and end up like a long-suffering protagonist in a dry-as-dust but supposedly “brilliant” literary treatise on human suffering? No, not really.

I’m no stranger to the lure of darkness, but I’d much rather be a gothic heroine!

So here is another, more interesting narrative path: Take a beeswax candle. They are the best for warding off negativity and purifying the air, after all. Set it in an old brass candle holder. Light it. And use it to find your way down that darkened corridor beyond your door. Ideally, you should be wearing a long, flowing white gown, though you need not necessarily run through this haunted house.

Brave the darkness, certainly. Face those ghosts. But do not let them consume you. And for goodness sake, keep your heart open to brooding strangers with a mysterious past and a future that is as bright and loving as the one you wish to conjure for yourself. What is a story without romance? A boring one, and as my familiars will tell you, we simply don’t have time for boring.

Sound foolish? Perhaps. But The Fool says there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, we both think getting a little foolish now and then is a marvelous idea!

That’s why I’m indulging now in one of my favorite holiday pastimes: immersing myself in the world of storytelling. When the world seems dark and the way forward unclear, I sink into the realm of the imagination, a place where archetypal energies and mystic forces are always at work, showing us a more profound way of working magic in the world. Stories take us beyond the dust and build-up of everyday living and remind us that there is wonder all around us, endless possibilities, if we stay open and curious, like The Fool.

So this holiday season, whatever you celebrate and however you celebrate, may you leave room for stories that terrify and shock, that heal and cleanse, that revitalize and inspire. Indulge in the Christmas tradition of reading ghost stories. Find yourself in terrifying folklore and mistletoe-strewn romances. Revisit old friends (a Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon or a rewatch of The Holiday, anyone?) and find new ones (do yourself a favor and go see Wicked—I promise it is the magic we all need right now!). May you leave room for hope and light on these darkest nights, as well as good stories. Above all, tend your own story—what wild and vibrant plot twists would you wish for yourself in the coming months? Invoke that Main Character Energy! It’s all The Fool asks of us.

I will see you in the new year for more magic-making, tarot know-how, and bookish enchantments. Until then, remember, true magic is in the everyday…and a good story!

Image of a cozy reading nook with festive winter decor framed by a window that overlooks a snowy landscape. A book is open across a warm blanket.

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.

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Winter is for Sacred Simple Pleasures

It’s a cold and cloudy day, a perfectly cozy winter’s day, promising much-needed snow and quiet time. I’m sipping cinnamon and anis-laced coffee this morning, gazing out the window above my writing desk, and relishing the cozy warmth of my home. It’s strewn with twinkle lights and smells of beeswax and more cinnamon. It’s filled with books, herbs, and all the things I love, including my two familiars gazing out the window beside me. It’s a comforting and warm antidote to the brewing storm outside.

Truly, it is the perfect day to indulge in self-care. There’s something about this heavy weather that invites us to slow down and take care of ourselves. Maybe indulge a little.

Honestly? I’ve always said magic is a hard, gritty thing. It takes work. You can’t just light candles, say positive affirmations and then expect the universe to drop miracles into your lap. You’ve got to work for it. Stay grounded but hopeful—and always, always be proactive in cultivating a magical life. Self-care is like that. I mean, you can light candles (again), say positive affirmations (again), and…expect to feel reborn. Sure, light your candles. I love my beeswax candles because they cleanse the air, smell like honey, and are just plain pretty. Affirmations can be powerful spells that help you grow. Candle magic is a thing. You see, magic and self-care have a lot in common—I mean, we think of candles and affirmations for both, right? 

In fact, seasoned witches know that radical self-care is the backbone of magical living.

It means slowing down and feeling hard feelings. It means talking with those you love to find a way forward. It means pinpointing a place in your life where the energy is stagnant and then working through things so the energy can be free-flowing. Sometimes, it means you need to reimagine your life. Things that were once generative and inspiring for a time can become sour and toxic if we hold on too long. Energies change, and it’s time to move on—it’s life’s way of making sure you keep growing. It’s also about being able to acknowledge and celebrate the moments when your life is flourishing and where energy flows. And yes, self-care is also about exercising, eating right, sleeping well… basically treating yourself like a small child who needs a lot of TLC.

But here’s the thing I’ve discovered: that work can be exhausting.

It takes a lot to face hard things, to sit with those feelings, and to map a way forward. It can be hard, too, when you experience joy because sometimes you realize you haven’t allowed yourself to experience enough of it. Who hasn’t been stingy with their joy from time to time? All this to say that sometimes, as we stay steady, conjuring change through our routines as rituals, we need a breather. 

And that’s where the fun—and ever so important—part of self-care comes in. 

I admit it: I like my candles and positive affirmations. I’ve spent the afternoon making cinnamon, orange, and peppermint bath bombs so I can indulge in festive bubble baths and share them with loved ones. I’ve also become obsessed with “fussy” skincare routines of oil cleansing, honey face masks, and painting my nails. I’ve added touches of glitter to, well, everything. These silly things—so often the things we think of when we think of self-care—are just as important as all the other hard stuff you have to do to really take care of yourself. There’s nothing like brewing a pot of mint chocolate tea, curling up on the couch in a pile of blankets (and cats), and going down a Pinterest rabbit hole to learn about the best tips for face care or what the heck latte makeup is (what I normally wear, as it turns out). 

Or there’s the pure gothic delight of listening to ghost stories while knitting by twinkle light, or, yes, watching a cheesy holiday movie for a popcorn and pizza movie night. Sometimes, it’s taking a day to go to the salon and indulge in holiday shopping. Or cozy up by the fireplace and do nothing but daydream and snooze. See what I mean? It’s frivolous and fun…and so absolutely necessary.

Choosing joy is when we let the magic in.

It’s when we allow all we’ve worked for and conjured to settle and take root and manifest in the way that is healthiest for us. It’s the fallow time when we reset and rest and let nature do its work. We can’t always be go-go-going. In fact, it’s a good way to clog up your energy and inadvertently sabotage your conjurings! All good magic is a hard, gritty thing, true. But it’s also a soft thing, a thing that needs energetic flow and divine receptivity to balance out the dirty business of cleaning up our lives.

The holidays are the perfect time to slow down and indulge in sacred simple pleasures; the sillier and more joyful, the better. All the better, in fact, to conjure magical living this year and in the next…

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!