The worlds needs your dreams, not your compromises
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Weekly newsletters not your thing? You can opt-out of the weekly newsletter without removing yourself from emails about updates, new offers, etc. here! Hey, Reader! Before we get into the meat of what I have to share, I want to let you know at the top of this email that I'm helping fundraise for my dear friend Stella whose car just broke down. You can learn more and donate here! I'm offering a free Relational Rose reading to everyone who donates $66 or more! Just in time for Valentine's Day! Just email proof of your donation to thelexhesperus@gmail.com! Wow...this is the first Love Letter from the Liminal that I have sent since August. My life has changed immensely since then - I move across the country, took one (shitty) job and then another (amazing) job, got an in-person tarot gig, struggled to re-start my business in a new place, established some deep friendship and started to form the kind of community my heart was dreaming of. It's been a whirlwind. It's been a massive life change. Sometimes I feel awe and wonder reflecting on all the changes of the last 6 months. How did I do it? How did I mange to go from feeling like I would never get out of Ohio to living in the PNW, working at software company, with vibrant queer community? It feels like magic. And it was. My spiritual and magical practice was an essential part of this. Make real material change in my life required a little magic. But I've been a witch for years. Why wasn't I able to make this change before? Well, part of it is that magic can take time and it is absolutely cumulative. But there is one change I made in my spiritual practice over the summer that in hindsight I think was absolutely essential. What was that change? I stopped letting myself be limited by what felt "reasonable" and "realistic". I stopped letting the standards of rationalism dictate what I could hope for and dream of. An important key to magic, I found out, is that you have to ask for what you WANT, not what you think you can get. Some people might argue that it is childish and naive to do that. I would've been one of those people until recently. There are real material limitations. Systems of oppression are real. I won't argue that they aren't. They absolutely are. But I also cannot argue that this approach works wonders for me and for others, so what's going on? Yesterday, I was considering this and found myself thinking about the concept of purity & it has helped me understand why magic & spirituality have only gotten better for me the more I embrace the idea that "delulu is the solulu". Purity is the seed of integrity. Or to put it another way - integrity is the result of a purity that is allowed the time to grow and develop. Empire - the intertwining oppressive systems of capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy - requires a lack of integrity. As a result, it also requires that purity be disrupted. Empire's obsession with purity characterizes it as precious because of its rarity, positing it as something that must be preserve - and once lost is lost irrevocably, never to be recovered. Purity is rare because it must be corrupted for Empire to function, not because it is inherently rare. Purity is precious and childlike because it must be controlled, lest it grow into integrity. But what is this purity that grows into integrity? A few things it is, from my perspective: It is idealism. It is refusing to compromise on your ideals. It is choosing optimism. It is believing in magic. It is believing the best of people. It is living in and embodying your truth unapologetically. These are all things that signal a precious purity in children and are derided as unrealistic in adults. At some point - from a rational “common sense” view - that purity must be abandoned (willingly or unwillingly). It must be abandoned so that you can better serve Empire. From my perspective, Empire is at odds with magic & spirituality. By playing around with perspectives Empire vilifies, I uproot the part of myself that was taught to be skeptical of magic, to shun my wholeness, to violate my own values & integrity. And there is deep healing magic in that. By choosing to state what I WANT and not what I think I can get, I embrace my wholeness, my desire that I was taught to shun. I begin to dream beyond an Empire that desperately wants me to shun my magic and to be out of integrity. In doing this I unlock more of my capacity to say yes to what I do want, to put my energy towards my true desires and not those of Empire. It puts more of my will under my own command. It gives me more capacity to protect myself against what I do not want. It brings more of my energy under my own command. The more I refuse to believe the lies of Empire, the more powerful I become. And that means believing. That means hope and optimism. It means - from the perspective of Empire and systems of oppression - delulu. This feels important as fuck in a time when fascists will be using purity & its protection as an excuse for the curtailing of rights and liberties and I hope it gives you a lot to think about as you contemplate your own responses, prayers, spells, actions, and organizing. I hope you start saying yes to what you want and not the scraps you think you can get from Empire. Start casting spells for your most radical visions. The worlds needs your dreams, not your compromises. In Case You Missed It:
This Week's Joys
What's bringing you joy this week? Where are you finding magic? Feel free to hit reply and let me know! Until next time! Scroll all the way to the end? Here's the digest: In Joy, Magic, and Solidarity, P.S. Know someone who would find magic in this newsletter? Please forward it on! Word of mouth is one way we weave connection & magic! |