All of us Witches have much to celebrate – from past persecution to modern-day celebration, those that practice witchcraft are finally getting their time in the sun (or the moon, for that matter!) Witches from all walks of life have found a community in the real world and online! The hashtag #WitchesofInstagram yields over 2 million posts and intersectional witchcraft is making waves in business, politics, and religion! We’re building bridges and tearing down the negative stigma around witchcraft and we’re finally unafraid to step out of the broom closet! The surge of tarot card readers, crystal vendors, and metaphysical & new age writers shows that Witches are using their spirituality to build a sustainable life for themselves! But what about the Witch that works a day job and draws down the moon by night? What about the person whose career isn’t based in the spiritual arts but desires a strong relationship with Universal Consciousness?
WITCHCRAFT IN THE WORKPLACE:
The universal thread that links all Witches is the belief that our power comes from within. What better way to honor ones’ inner Divine than to create a sustainable life that satisfies all needs and passions? A phrase that I often use when assisting guests at the Museum of Sex store is “self-love is the best love” and this still holds true for manifesting a reality for oneself. The Major Arcana card “The Magician” in most traditional tarot decks is a card that empowers the querent to manifest their reality. We, as magickal beings, enchant everything we cross. By acknowledging our power, our engagement with the world changes. Our intentions, goals, and even physical movements become extensions of the burning light inside of us. Like begets like and you get what you give – and everything you do ripples into the world.
Knowing this, we can approach our daily tasking and career-related activities with the same reverence as we do when fully engaged in ritual or prayer. On a small scale, we can make our daily routines easier with just a touch of magick. Morning commutes can be less stressful when we offer up patience instead of frustration when we are in crowded subway cars and traffic jams. This is a sign of our Divinity in action. Coffee runs can yield more than superficial boosts of energy when we affirm that all food and drink entering our systems will yield physical and spiritual nourishment. On a larger scale, our very beings radiate magickal power. To exist is to be powerful. Normalizing the practice of witchcraft continues to cultivate the power that surges within all of us. By owning the identity of “Witch”, we send an unspoken but colossal message into the Universe. Form follows thought and every thought that validates our own power and Divinity comes out in our physicality. Walking tall into meetings, giving eye contact when engaged in conversation, and envisioning our bodies encased in an aura of light can create the mystique of Witchhood for ourselves. Additionally, taking time out of our day to recharge from all of the covert magick we’re wielding is crucial. During a lunch break or if we just need a quick refresh, taking 60 seconds out of our day to destress and be present in the moment keeps our awareness on the pulse of our power. Mindfulness in the workplace is an effective way to create a personal sanctuary, requiring minimal time and physical tools, and gives maximum results. Ultimately, remaining tapped into the power inside of us allows us to have an enchanted work day, every day!
RESEARCH & RITUALS:
After a full week of tending to workplace requirements and dressing our days in magick, nothing is more needed than a little R & R – research and rituals! Yes, sleeping in, taking luxurious showers, and indulging in one or five mimosas sounds like bliss, and we can still enjoy those delicious moments while using dedicated free time to build upon our practice. A large part of my days off are spent reading everything I can about my specific spiritual practice and then applying my knowledge in ritualistic spellwork. Those of us that already have a rich practice recognize that the path to a closer relationship with Universal Consciousness, Deity (and their many aspects), Higher Self, etc is paved with endless questions. Making a conscious effort to educate oneself on their chosen path is instrumental in building a relationship with the Divine and building confidence with daily witchcraft.
We thankfully live in an age where knowledge truly is power and information is at our fingertips. One of the first things I learned while developing training modules for my teams in retail is that everyone has a unique learning style. The VARK model states that most people fall into these categories: Visual, Auditory, Reading (writing), and Kinesthetic. Ask yourself if pictures and images inspire you. If so, YouTube and Pinterest might inspire you to create a magickal space! Auditory learners prefer to hear information instead of reading it, so audiobooks, videos, and music can stimulate the powerful energies within! If you like to engage in spellwork and learn as you go, then you might be a kinesthetic learner. As an avid reader, I personally preferred the written word. Over the course of my spiritual journey, I have read countless books, magazines, and articles on how to build a practice unique to my experience. Addicting as it is to collect book after book on new-age spirituality and metaphysics, the process doesn’t stop once the chapters are closed. Physical application of the learned knowledge is essential at keeping magick muscles healthy.
Rituals are inherent to many spiritual beliefs and serve as a way to not only elevate one’s ability to use witchcraft but to build a strong relationship with the Divine. Ritual work gives the Witch the opportunity to flex their magickal muscles to raise energy towards a goal, focus their energies inward, or to simply show reverence for Deity, the Source, Universal Consciousness, God/Goddess, etc. Engage in activity that will challenge your skills as a Witch. Cast a circle. Adorn an altar. Meditate. Give yourself a tarot card reading (or any other means of divination). The key is to allow your inner power to flow from us and into our activity. The simplest, but probably the most important, is engaging in prayer. Simply speaking to the Divine establishes a bond and repeated connections strengthen that bond. Similarly to how physical exercise strengthens the gym-goer, so too does spiritual exercise. Once we’ve achieved a level of familiarity with the activity, it’s essential to build on it and continue to challenge ourselves in order to avoid a spiritual plateau. Utilizing your free time during non-work days in this way hones the mind, body, and soul in a way that is unique to the Witch’s experience. I’ll admit that my entire day isn’t spent in 24 hour ritualistic tasking but the portion that is feels energetically empowering and spiritually profound. The overwhelming validation I feel in channeling my own magickal abilities carries through my day and spills over into the following work week. Partaking in ritualistic behavior consistently builds upon one’s power, which then is shared with the world!
RECOVERY & GRATITUDE:
There is a scene in “The Craft” where butterflies float down upon the teen coven in a beautifully lit forest glade. This image captures what I wish was the perfect representation of Witchhood. We all know that in the non-Hollywood, real world, our days usually aren’t filled with butterflies and sunshine. The same applies to our Craft. Just as there are times where we fall physically ill and have to skip a day (or week) from work in order to recover, we’ll occasionally opt for a spellwork-free day versus a meditative ritual bath and deep divination session. Witches’ bodies are the conduit for all of the magick we conjure so taking some time to rest and recover is expected and encouraged. Those of us that are called to the Craft may also have mental and emotional health concerns that need consistent support. As a manager for the Museum of Sex retail space, I am a leader that inspires a team of bright, intelligent sales associates to engage in healthy and mature conversations about sex and masturbation with guests. Due to the Museum’s sexual content, I am often tasked with diffusing inappropriate activity between guests that make my team uncomfortable. Having personally experienced bouts of depression due to past, sexual trauma, sharing my energy in an empathetic way poses a daily energy drain on me. When my thoughts get the best of me, there are days that I question if I am even deserving of walking this beautiful path. It is in seeing a mental health professional regularly that I can find healing and release. Spiritually, I find gratitude in everything. Finding the blessings in one’s everyday allows the Witch to be open to receive additional blessings. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a leader to inspires and grateful to have finally cultivated a spiritual practice that feels tailored made to me and my lifestyle. In the same breath, it’s important to be grateful for the lessons we learned through hardship and pain and to always be open for life lessons. Closing oneself off to pain prevents us from living authentically and by being grateful for it, we invite more wisdom to come into our lives. Like a mighty oak tree standing tall against the sky with its trunk riddled scars, so too does the Witch rise, stronger than before.
The career-driven Witch can achieve unparalleled heights of power and Divinity if we continue to balance our practice with real-world application. It is in that balance that true integration occurs and the need to compartmentalize our practice vanishes. We, working Witches, are powerful and there is no limit to what we can magickally achieve, both in and out of the workplace!
*Originally published in Witch Way Magazine – April 2019
The Glamour NYC 