Why I’m blogging

Life is circular, and this is certainly true with the birth of this website.

This steamy summer, more than 20 years after I saw the movie “Practical Magic,” I finally read the sometimes-steamy novel by author Alice Hoffman.

The book was released in 1995, when I was a senior in high school; by the time Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman played the Owens sisters, I was almost done with my studies at George Mason University.

It felt like just another movie at the time …  but the 1998 film influenced me in all sorts of ways:

Shortly after I graduated from college, it inspired a witchy dinner party, where a couple of girlfriends and I wrote letters about our future soul mates (a la Gary Hallet).

For my Halloween wedding 10 years later, I chose “Crystal” by Stevie Nicks as my “walking down the aisle” song.

When my husband and I bought our little stone cottage — which looks like it’s straight out of a fairytale — I often envisioned scenes from the movie, which inspired our modest herb garden and witchy outdoor Halloween decorations.

During the 10 years since then, I’ve created a small jewelry business inspired by all things witchy — mainly to make my small town of Salem, Virginia, a little bit weirder. One of my Practical Magic-inspired pieces is the “midnight margarita” necklace that actually glows green in the dark!

So what does this have anything to do with witchcraftsofsalemva.com? My first craft was journalism, and I have a trail of countless feature stories and blog posts behind me. And yet I have struggled with the first post to this website …how could I possibly capture all of my swirling, messy thoughts on all sorts of topics. What would be the right introduction?

A serendipitous Googling — while searching for news about the new prequel to “Practical Magic” — sent me to a year-old CNN story by Breena Kerr. In her piece, ‘Practical Magic’ prequel is exactly right in the age of Trump,’ this paragraph crystalizes everything:

“Magic is a metaphor for personal power and the things that we can do when we set our minds to something. That’s why movies about wizards and witches are so relatable — people sense magic stirring within them when they think about something they believe in. Magic, in the real world, is that sense of possibility that we can change a current reality. “

The heart of the blog is empowerment — it’s about agency and taking action, trying to better our lives for ourselves and those we love. I use the moon cycles and the natural seasons (and Google calendar) to keep my personal goals on track — to provide some radical focus to my intentions. 

But it’s not just about our individual struggles, as Kerr argues in that “Practical Magic” post. Our impact can be so much bigger. I’ve long thought the meaning of life was to not only find our superpowers … but to use those powers to help others.

So this blog will be about magic … ahem … practical magic. It will be joyful … creative … and infused with sisterhood. 

I will write about the many books I’m reading, and almost 100% will be nonfiction. “Practical Magic” is one of the only pieces of fiction I’ve read in *years*. I might make another exception when the prequel, “Magic Lessons,” is released in October 2020.

Also, there will be lots of tarot. I’m interested in tarot’s symbolism and imagery as a way to unlock our unconscious ideas and intuition. The cards can help unearth those powers and lead us to our best selves.

So I’ll be categorizing blog posts by the suits of the tarot, which encompasses all the big, juicy, meaningful topics:

Passions (Wands) — Fire

Relationships (Cups) — Water

Wealth (Pentacles) — Earth

Ideas (Swords) — Air

I can’t wait to see where this adventure will take us … and I’m always open to your ideas and questions, so don’t hold back!