On Summoning the Dead

Necromancy.

The dark art of summoning the dead.  Why not use those hollowed-out shells of life to divine the future?  Why not use them to piece together mysteries long-since passed?  Those ephemeral corpses would serve her best if they earned each slammed door and floorboard creak or their right to their shallow home beneath the earth with the information only the dead could give.  After all, necromancy is a craft that is strangely akin to the ancient practice of calling on your ancestors for strength.

...but there the similarities end, though she was too proud to admit it (the ghosts, however, knew the truth of it all too well).  Your ancestors are of you, blood of your blood, with you always in your bones and dreams.  They offer guidance and reassurance in times of need, hover over you in peace--on their own terms.  Always on their own terms.  

But the necromancer?  She calls upon energies not her own, summons up demons to twist fate for her own purposes; conjuring ghosts to glean secrets she was not meant to know.  She is a perversion of magic.  

Balance must be restored.  Slowly, one ghost at a time, this necromancer begins to give herself over to the world of the dead, to feed the souls she preys upon.  Soon the world she once hoped to bend to her will is no longer hers, and the realm she exploits will devour her whole.

And so she might feel powerful now.  She might win her small battles drawing on the shadows and forcing stories from freshly-awakened souls.  She might even reach a parody of contentment in her life, happy under her illusion of control.  But the dead are listening.  The dead are always watching.  And they will exact their price.

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!

On Paranoia

People make people crazy.  Or so someone once told you.  Experience told you it was true.

Humans are fickle creatures--first, they want you then they don't--then they want you again.  But not you, just the spark inside your chest.  So tasty, that life.  They can do all sorts of things with it, too, once they hold it in their hands.

They can fuel self-righteousness, for one (though that's an easy flame to keep going, hardly worth the added spark).  They can twist what was once your joy and use it for something wicked, spiteful for the sheer pleasure of putting another in her place.  They can conquer small kingdoms (even if that kingdom is just your heart)--and give you nothing in return, only the memory of something you once had.  Something you took for granted.

It is so tempting to ignore the wolf in sheep's clothing standing next to you in the grocery store checkout line so that you can maintain the illusion of peace and security.  Yet you are always willing to look for the shadow behind the man.  That is how you keep yourself safe.  At the end of the day, you have nothing to fear of bogey monsters and things from under your bed: it is humans you must watch out for.  Tricky, tricky humans.

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!

Witching Balls

I hang you above my doorstep and in the light of my windows, a perfect little orb of blown glass, glittering in the sun, reflecting bad energy back on itself.  You chase away evil, your history suggests, luring in witches with your beauty and sucking them inside your smooth shell; they are trapped, like a bug come too close to a flame.  They can harm no one.

That's one version of the story.  The other is from the witches themselves--harmless enough, they insist, no more prone to darkness than any human, as if that would reassure us.  Humans, after all, are culpable enough. This is the witches' story: 

I keep you on my writing desk, ready to peer into your opaque gaze, searching for a glimpse of my future, a peek at another world.  Divination, the true purpose of the witching ball.

But I wonder if the truth isn't somewhere in the middle, depending on the story, depending on the witch.  Perhaps these glass orbs do deflect darkness; perhaps they trap it within them, containing the powerful magic of a wayward soul--and it is this soul, this magic, that reveals the images you so desperately search for on the surface of the misty glass ball.  Perhaps a witch uses it on humans, to ward away their fear and superstition, to protect her home from those afraid of the unseen forces that guide our lives.  Perhaps it is just a glass ball, like any other trinket or ornament--though I doubt it. 

All I can say for sure is that when I see them stacked haphazardly in a dusty box or hanging on display windows in antique stores, now nothing more than used up superstitions, I can't help but wonder as I watch the dust float and drift over their surfaces, forming vague shapes.  I can't help but think be careful: don't mishandle them, don't break the glass. Who knows what might come out of it.

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!

Green Fairy Cocktail

Halloween is a great excuse to whip up a fun seasonal cocktail.  Unfortunately, most of those drinks are saturated with super sugary neon hued gunk in the form of cheap schnapps and other liquors that have less to do with a quality cocktail and more to do with getting the right Halloween-y looking drink drowning in artificial syrups. Horrifying!

And yet this dilemma presented me with a perfect challenge: making festive cocktails that are made from quality ingredients.  Personally, my tastes in cocktails run towards the classics--martinis, gimlets, old fashioneds--simple drinks with a few superb ingredients.  Now all I needed was appropriately spooky or mercurial twists on these standards. So, my challenge began.

The result?  This absinthe-based cocktail, for starters.  Absinthe, once banned in America for the purported insanity-causing properties of wormwood (one of its chief ingredients), struck me as the perfect base for a Halloween-inspired cocktail.  An insanity causing liquor with a shady history?  The sipper of choice among artists and writers ever in search of that elusive muse?  The green fairy that is said to emerge when this high-proof liquor is diluted with water and turns a cloudy green color?  Sounds to me like the perfect foundation for an inspiration inducing potion that mimics the seductive playfulness of the Green Fairy herself.

I used Mephisto Absinthe, rich with not only anise but herbs like sage and cinnamon.  These other herbs round out the licorices flavor so that it is not overly cloying.  The use of gin contributes to the herbaceous note of this cocktail, and the lime juice adds a pop brightness.  What you end up with is a faintly green glass of goodness--and maybe a little creative inspiration for that next project of yours.

Ingredients:

1/4 oz absinthe

2 oz gin

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

2-3 dashes grapefruit bitters (optional)

ice

In a shaker, combine ingredients and shake vigorously.  Let sit for half a minute, long enough for the ice to melt and dilute potency of the absinthe.  Pour into your cocktail glass and enjoy!  Serves one, so double the recipe and see if you and your friend have any other green fairy sightings!

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!

On Psychic Vampires

They seem so normal.  Just another friendly body in this great big universe, a shoulder to lean on, a warm smile you didn't know you wanted to fall into. And when you do fall in--who could resist the charms of such easy comfort?--

--the feeding begins.  It starts slowly at first, with some fawning, a soft compliment assuaging your suddenly tired soul and you start to relax under their gaze as they sink their teeth in--feeding on your energy, sucking out your light.  You are plied with the heady elixir of flattery and adoration until you are dizzy enough to forget this one crucial fact: you do not know this stranger, that there is no real bond.  You think only of how nice it is to feel the warm praise for which you didn't know you had been thirsting.  In the coming days, you are left with only a vague memory of your talk.  Still, you bear the markings of their feedings, the exhaustion and lack of inspiration, as if the light you shine on your world has gone out, casting everything into gloom.

It is the brighter burning spirits they gravitate towards, like dark moths to a flame.  But they need the invitation to enter the day; until you return their smile, they can only lurk in the shadows, hover near the periphery of daylight, hungry.  Always hungry.  Forever unable to make light of their own.

That is their weakness, their lack of light.  And while they search for holes in your armor, your willingness to ignore the boundaries you have so carefully cultivated like a thicket or rose bushes around your home, you know this one fact: they can only hurt you if you let them in.  So you use your energy to tend your roses so that each bloom is fat and full, an impenetrable shield of life and earth; you use your light to cast them back into the darkness from where they came.  You have no room for them in your world.  Only the sunlight that seeps through the perfumed petals and jagged thorns of your roses.

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!

Coconut Butter Pumpkin Fudge

With Halloween coming up, the stores are full to bursting with big bags of candy in preparation for the flurry of trick-or-treaters.  As much as I love the festivity of this holiday, including handing out candy to excited little ones decked out in their wild costumes, I don't really enjoy traditional candy anymore.  Most of the store bought stuff is too sweet and full of bad-for-you ingredients.  I find that over the years I have enjoyed this yearly indulgence less and less, so much so that I never eat even the one fun sized candy that I so used to look forward to.

Now when I'm looking for a fun autumnal treat, I turn to this pumpkin fudge recipe.  I first tried this recipe last year when I was looking for a tasty dessert that wasn't too sweet or calorie laden.  Thanks to Coconut Mama, I was able to make this fudge (and adapt it to make other flavors) which satisfies my sweet tooth while offering me the healthy benefits of its ingredients. I also added the extra touch of a dark chocolate top layer over these little fudge pieces because my family of chocolate lovers would be disappointed in a dessert without it!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut butter

3/4 cup organic pumpkin puree

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

4 tbsp whole milk

Warm coconut butter in saucepan on low heat until melted, about 5 minutes.  Then transfer to a bowl and combine with other ingredients, excepting the chocolate and milk.  Transfer to a shallow 8x8 dish and spread evenly.  In the meantime, melt the dark chocolate and milk in a saucepan on low.  Layer melted chocolate across top of fudge.  Let sit in fridge for 2-3 hours. Cut into one-inch squares and store in fridge until ready to eat.  Enjoy!

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!

On Nightmares

Terrifying gifts, really.  

They come to you at night, invading your bed and flooding you with dark images heavier and more brutal than you could possibly comprehend in your waking world.  They hold you captive--you are vulnerable.  Naked and twisted in your sheets, tethered to the dreamworld by their presence. 

They watch and wait for you to drift off to sleep, all the while collecting ephemera from your thoughts and fears and daily interactions. These they will use to weave together the Gothic landscape they plunge you into.  Yet as much as you fear the coming darkness, the tortuous hours spent at the mercy of these demons, there is another part of you that pines for it, that calls them to you, that eagerly awaits their presence in your bed.

As terrifying as your nightmares are, you have still come to see them as dark gifts of insight upon waking, cleansing your soul and bringing the much-needed release of psychic revelation. 

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!

On Soul Loss

You didn't realize what was happening until all at once you had nothing left.  Your quiet: gone.  Your deep sleep and rich dreams: no more than memories.  Your peaceful happiness: vanished like a wisp of smoke.

Even your words had left you. That was when you knew you had lost a piece of yourself. You sat at your writing desk, staring at a blank screen, waiting for the words to come.  But they never did.  Your well of inspiration was dry, with only a hollow feeling in your chest to remind you that it was once there.  It was as if a piece of yourself was missing and you grasped for it in vain, attempting to summon it back into you.

How did it happen, you wondered?  You trace your steps back through your day, your week, your month, following the breadcrumbs.  It was your stories you let go of first--too tired to allow the ink on the page to be anything more than just that.  Then came the yoga; it was just one more thing at work you had to take care of, then another and another, so that your connection to your body began to fade under the immediate need of making it from one moment to the next.  Your solitude went last.  You found yourself surrounded by people and appointments and noise--all out of necessity, yes, but too loud all the same.  You see it now, how it happened.

And so you begin the arduous process of piecing yourself back together, of calling your soul back to you, of becoming whole once again.  You retreat into your home; you do your yoga; you read; you listen; you heal.

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!

Pumpkin Face Mask

Tis the season of pumpkin everything.  Pumpkin lattes.  Pumpkin pies.  Pumpkin pancakes and stews.  Even pumpkin colored clothes are par for the course during the autumn season.  So why not put pumpkin on your face?

You might think that I'm taking all this pumpkin love to an uncomfortable level by applying it to my cheeks, but this face mask works wonders on your skin!  The pumpkin is full of vitamins A, C and E, magnesium, potassium, and iron--all good for your complexion.  The addition of honey is antibacterial and moisturizing.  The whole milk, also packed with important vitamins and minerals, acts as a gentle exfoliate and moisturizer.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp organic pumpkin puree

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp whole milk

Combine ingredients and apply to clean face.  Let sit for 20 minutes and remove with warm water.  Enjoy the glow of your skin afterward!

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!

La Llorona

She came for you once.

You weren't more than seven or eight, but you were able to push her away all the same, terrified as you were.

It was one of those cold wild nights in October when the wind is unruly, violently throwing dead leaves against your house and the air is full of the scent burning cedar from chimneys.  The day had been full of too many ghost stories at school, greedily gobbled up on the playground even as you knew you would pay for the cheap thrills later.  It was so much easier to speak of ghosts and monsters in the daylight; but at night, the nightmares would come.  Each shadow seemed to move of its own accord.  Each creak that filled the midnight silence seemed like more than just the settling of your home's old bones around you. 

That was how La Llorona found you.  She was the woman you had learned about through playground gossip: the cursed creature doomed to search for her children on the banks of the Rio Grande, a victim of her own pride and shame, drowning her sorrows in rage as she drowned her children, her own life in that muddy water.

You thought it was the wind howling at first.  You had woken with a start, foisted out of your nightmares by the wailing just outside your window.  You pulled your covers tighter around you.  Then it was scratching at the window; your neighbor's pine tree reaching its thick branches across the dividing wall and scraping against the panes.  Nothing strange about that, you told yourself.  It is only nature running its course.

But then you began to think of that neighbor and the swimming pool in the backyard.  You began to think of the child that was taken into its depths never to come back.  You had seen that child at the bottom of that pool once, felt the tug on your heel as you tried to break the surface (there was no mud to obscure the sunlight rippling across the water).  It was then you knew you could never cross that wall again. 

Perhaps it was La Llorona that took him and keeps him there still.  With that thought, the howling wind became her cries, the branches at your window, her fingernails trying to claw her way in.  Coming, coming for you.  You vowed never to listen to the ghost stories on the playground ever again--a short-lived promise--and you vowed never to let yourself become like the child still at the bottom of the pool--that one you kept. 

You felt your home around you; the warmth and the love and the security etched into the bricks and the inside of your rib cage.  The violent howling outside was no match for it.  It--she--could not get in.  Slowly, the wind died, the scratching at your window stopped.  The creaks in your home were once again the sighs a living dwelling makes.  Eventually, sleep found you.  It was your home, you realized years later, that protected you and protects you still.

Now, older, maybe even wiser--but still no less susceptible to thrills of a good ghost story--you carry your home with you (deep inside your chest, sewn into each breath) protection against the forces that would pull you under.

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!

Cinnamon Sugar Body Scrub

Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices because it is the perfect balance of earthy, fiery, and sweet.  This time of year cinnamon can really shine when paired with apples and cinnamon, making it that much more enjoyable.

Another great way to enjoy this spice is with my cinnamon sugar body scrub, especially during the changing season when our skin needs a little extra TLC.  The anti-inflammatory proprieties of cinnamon soothe while the sugar removes dead skin and the oil hydrates.  Plus, it makes your bathroom all cinnamony, like baked goods fresh from the oven!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup olive or coconut oil
10 drops of cinnamon essential oils

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl until combined.  Then add oils and stir until fully incorporated.  Store in a mason jar.  Enjoy!

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!

On Self-Hexing

It is so easy to hold yourself back, to smother yourself in the safe cottony comfort of being just where you are.  Planted in buried guilt--for moving on, for exorcising old ghosts, for having the courage to move blissfully and boldly into a new chapter of your in your life. Nourished by the dark barbs sent your way--a flash of envy, a spiteful glance, a hasty judgment--that you cannot deflect in your current state of Doubt.  It is then that these psychic weeds emerge, not full blown thoughts or even articulated in spoken word, but they snake through your mind like a whisper of an idea, a haunting of something you won't completely admit to telling yourself: best not to isolate yourself from the rest.  Best not to create ripples.

Yes, so much easier to just keep yourself in your place.

You walk in the daylight, true.  And yet you are still learning to protect yourself from the shadows splayed across your path.  They come for you, ready to feed--an accidental by-product of your brief stint in Catholic school, a side-effect of living out loud.  Guilt for living your creed, guilt for being living proof that life is a feast for the senses, not a sentence of penitence in over-work or a study in shame.  Guilt for not giving away your hard-earned bliss.

But what is the use, really, in holding yourself back?  What is the purpose of not walking your path? 

It is cruel to hold yourself back...but somehow safer, more comforting to be like the others.  These thoughts swirl together to form a terrible thing--an unspoken hex--that blossoms in the silence of your mind.  A hex to stunt your growth.  A hex to buy you the satisfaction (at least for a moment) of being one of them. But like any spell, a hex can be broken.

The cure is at once simple and so, so difficult: it is recognizing that you, ultimately, can cast a curse upon yourself worse than anything others could create.  It is in knowing that you could easily turn your power of life against yourself through your own fear of your limitless potential.  It is honoring your true self; it is facing down that guilt with the teeth you were born with.  So you unravel those dark threads of your self-inflicted hex, crushing them to dust with your heartbeat. One by one those traps fade from your path, no longer feeling the pull of your Doubt.  You resume your journey, once again walking in the daylight, fearful of no shadow, not even your own.

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!

On Teeth

They are what you sink into life, biting into the fleshy goodness of everyday with wild abandon. Prized by tooth fairies and the strong-willed, these sharp bits of bone are the tools with which you hone your life as if from the whetstone of experience.

Teeth are your first right of passage.  Those milky white pearls breaking through the shell of soft gums are a promise of a life lived with fire.  You offer these first teeth up as tribute to life or the universe (you are not quite sure what mystical forces you honor though you did and still do).  One at a time they fall out to make room for new life and stronger bones.  One by one you tuck them under your pillow, the price you pay for future fortitude, future abundance doled out by that ephemeral creature, the tooth fairy, ever ready to collect her dues.

They are your power, your natural force that you bare to darkness and doubt, those demons that prefer you with nothing but soft gums.  Even your smile--that flash of two lips stretched wide across white bone--is a reminder, a warning, dare to go ahead and try.

You ignore the saccharine sweets that would corrode your sharpest essence, pushing against comforting complacency and people-pleasing; those only want to convince you that no-teeth are the best teeth.  No.  You keep yours clean from the rot sugary sentiments can bring on. You like your teeth strong and healthy, all the better to use them. 

And use them you do.  To nibble at, to savor, to devour deliciousness.  They are made for pleasure, for the pure satisfaction of biting into your life with zest; they are forever honest in their sharpness.  They are made of bone and will power, the tools which allow you to live your creed fearlessly. 

Because life takes teeth.

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!

Everyday Gothic

I am grateful for the flash of lightning and the crash of thunder; the ghostly hauntings, the prophetic ravens, and the skeletons found deep within closets--all remnants of Gothic tales we read late into the night, indulging our seemingly perverse pleasure for dread. These bursts of darkness remind us that terror is a real force in our lives.  It mirrors the trauma and violence that afflict us when we stray from our paths, compromise our instincts or become exposed to the hurtful intentions of others. 

But the real Gothic is in the everyday, made all the more terrifying for its seeming normalcy.  It is in the unexpected shudder we get after shaking hands with what seems like a perfectly normal acquaintance; her shell is intact, but inside, something is not quite right.  We acknowledge this cringing feeling deep down even as we are afraid to violate social niceties and voice it.  It is in the goosebumps we get when we enter a home not our own.  We can feel the years of day in, day out that the walls have absorbed, the history of the family ingrained in the beams that give a room its shape.  Take, for example, the picture perfect home that reveals its truth in the coldness and emptiness you feel when inside those stuccoed walls as if the spirit of the place has infected you with the emotional disconnect of the family.  It is haunted by the unspoken words and muted feelings of its inhabitants.

This uncanny energy is also found in waking up in the middle of the night for no reason.  There in the silence and darkness is the whisper of things you haven't been willing to see--and then, the tick-tock of the alarm clock that you never wind, but still somehow finds the strength to remind you of the passing time late at night when no one else is around to hear. 

But most of all we experience everyday gothic in our relationship to others.  Far more terrifying than things that go bump in the night and monsters hidden in shadows is the dark seed nestled behind the breastbone which some are tempted to nourish.  Evidence of this foulness are like puckered scars marring the skin of human experience.  The flash of the envious evil eye directed your way through a passive aggressive comment, a proverbial hex; the consistent energy drain and doubt you experience after talking with a supposed confidant, a psychic vampire; the collective pressure to numb yourself out to your inner voice, zombie infection.  And the true evil is still deeper than that: it is the ease with which we see this psychological violence as normal.  It is so seductive, so easy to ignore wickedness--in ourselves, in others--and drown our instincts in the soothing balm of a sugar-coated world view that suppresses the full spectrum of human understanding.  

This world is made up of dark as well as light and only in acknowledging its darkness can we be the candle flame that chases away the gloom.  

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!

New Mama Gift Basket

One of the chief jobs an auntie has is to make sure that the new mama, my sister, is getting the nourishment, rest, and TLC that she needs.  Of course, I want to do that for baby and father too, but a new mama has a lot to adjust to after giving birth and meeting her new little one.  There is no better way to make sure mama gets a little extra lovin' when she comes home than with a gift basket of goodies meant to help her heal and pamper herself.  Of course, I'll be cooking some meals too so father and mother can focus on the baby, but a basket of treats help too!

For mother's day, the family put together a gift basket with all these treats to help her with her pregnancy.  It occurs to me now, however, that it would not be a bad idea give her these treats now that she is home with the baby!

1. Sexy Tiger Mama Stretch Mark Cream (for giving her belly a little extra love once the baby is in this world)

2. Honey Eucalyptus Foot Soak (for mama to help soothe her mind, feet, and body; also helps reduce swelling after labor)

3. Mama Love Pregnancy Tea (also good for making sure new mama get her nutrients)

4. Women's Soothing Mint Tea (another way for mama to replenish her nutrients)

5. Weekend Head Start Bubble Bath (a great way to replenish new mama's magnesium levels and get rid of unnecessary toxins)

It is important to honor not just the baby for this big event, but all the work mama did to bring her little one into the world--this basket fits the bill!

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!

On Meeting My Niece

You were always a strong spirit.  The first time I met you, you were an elbow pushing against my sister's stomach in time to country music, happy after a red chile enchilada dinner.  You were a strong baby, even then, forged in the fires of love and hot yoga.

I witnessed your strength again as you pushed your way into this world, the monitor showing your accelerated heart rate each time you were about to take another step into the unknown.  Even the nurses were in awe of your strength as you kicked and wiggled and moved your head a little.  Yes, you are my sister's daughter.

I tried to remember your strength again as I held you for the first time.  Yet when you were in my arms, I could only feel how small you were, how tiny and soft and new.  I did not want to squeeze you too hard, although I was full to bursting with love.  Once again you reminded me that you would be no fragile flower: your longer fingers, so perfectly formed down to the fingernails, latched onto my index finger and squeezed hard.  Your grip was firm; now here is a woman unafraid of her strength.

Here we are, I wanted to tell you, creating our first memories together.  Here we are getting to know one another.  This memory will be distilled with time and crystallized in love.  With more to follow.

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!

On Being Tia, On Being Auntie

For the first time, I am Tia. I am Auntie. For the first time, I have a little niece to care for and love and offer Tia Wisdom--if that is what I can call the handful of knowledge I've gathered so far in my own journey.  They are only small bits of conclusions I've drawn from the world as I've made my way through it.

There is so much I want to teach her. Things that only an auntie can.  She will learn to walk gracefully in this world and to be the force of nature that she is--everything, in short, that it means to be a woman of strength.  But that she will learn from her mother.  She will also learn how to stay grounded, the importance of quiet, the necessity of the wilderness. Lessons she will learn from her father.  

She will learn how to throw pots and garden from her grandma; in this, she will learn the value of playing with mud, of conjuring playfully.  She will learn the world of symbols and dreams from her grandpa, a gift of insight and instinct in the form of quartz crystals and lumps of turquoise threaded through leather and love.

But what will I teach her?

The pleasures of a cup of tea, certainly.  And the alchemy of blending herbs, so that she may know the healing power of her curanderisma roots. I will show her the magic of a polka dot dress to chase away doubt and inspire courage--and a little flirtation.  

And books. Yes, books. With Tia, she will learn the necessity of a good book, the soothing balm of words on a page, the imaginative wonderings and wanderings a well-stocked library can inspire. Most of all, as Tia, I wish to show her that life is a delicious exploration, a boundless adventure, an indulgence for the senses.  I wish to show her the importance of living her creed--whatever that may be--and following the call of her fox spirit wherever it may lead her.

This, this is what it means to be Tia.

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!

I'm an Auntie!

It's official: I'm an auntie!  My adorable little niece came into this world early today and I couldn't be happier!  I promise to share all my excitement and thoughts on my new role as auntie soon!  In the meantime, I'd love to hear your advice: what makes a good auntie?

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!

Autumn Harvest Tea Blend

Who doesn't love a hot cup of tea on a chilly fall day?  There's nothing like wearing your favorite fall sweater, snuggling under a nice knit blanket, and sinking into a good book over a fat mug of tea.  Or let's not forget the pleasures of a refreshing brew to start your work day, as you breathe in the crisp air, enjoy the gorgeous fall foliage, and take that first sip of goodness.

My particular favorite hug-in-a-cup this time of year is my Autumn Harvest Blend, full of the rich spices you associate with the season and the gentle sweetness of apple bits and chamomile.  I love this fruit and herb combo because of chamomile's apple-like fragrance pairs nicely with the earthiness of dried apples. The rose hips add another dash of fruitiness and host of nutrients. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup chamomile

1/2 cup dried apple bits

1/2 cup cinnamon chips

1/4 cup dried ginger

1/8 cup dried rose hip bits

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Store in a mason jar in a cool dry place. To use, add one heaping tablespoon of blend to 8 ounces hot water and steep for 3-5 minutes. Enjoy! 

Health properties of ingredients:

Apple: contains vitamins A,C, some B and potassium; good source of fiber.

Chamomile: anti-inflammatory; sedative; skin softening; all around body soother.

Cinnamon: antiseptic, aids digestion, calms nervous system, anti-inflammatory.

Ginger: soothes stomach pain; anti-inflammatory; aids digestion.

Rose hips: anti-aging; contains vitamins A, D, B, C, E, and K, iron, calcium, zinc, and other vital nutrients; promotes healing and boosts energy; antibacterial.

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!

On the Blood Moon Eclipse

The blood moon.

Symbol of the abundance we draw towards ourselves. Harbinger of the final harvest before the hush of winter overtakes us.

The lunar eclipse.

You cast into darkness that which was once filled with light, not to dim our sight but to reveal the things we bury in shadow.

Together you create supercharged healing, an extraordinary revelation for those willing to listen; your alignment on this harvest season is a gift, a reminder of the blood that makes us, the life that sustains us, the spirits that guide us.

Awash in the red glow of your light, I draw abundance to me; I call life and love and creativity into my home; I open myself to you, blood moon, to cleanse me of my tiredness and recharge my soul.  I bathe in your blood light to better feel the strong bones and sinewy flesh and soft skin that makes me, well me--that make me human.

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!