In this episode I meet taryn. Taryn talks about what it means to be a word witch, about thanking the body for its work, and about accessibility in witchcraft and witchy events.
I also announce the winner of the Patreon box giveaway from instagram!
instagram.com/sandhillsoul
Taryn, Midwestern Witch.
Accessibility, word witchery, and a winner announced
Welcome back to Your Average Witch, where we talk about witch life, witch stories, and sometimes a little witchcraft on the full and new moon every month. In this episode, I meet Taryn. Taryn talks about what it means to be a word witch, about thanking the body for its work, and about accessibility in witchcraft and witchy events. Now let's get to the stories.
Kim: Hi, Taryn, welcome to the show.
Taryn: Hello, thank you.
Kim: Would you please tell people who you are and what you do and where they can find you?
Taryn: Sure. So my name is Taryn. My pronouns are she/her. I live in a very small town in Nebraska, which is in the middle of the US for those who are listening from outside the US. I am disabled and a wheelchair user. I have an autoimmune disease called rheumatoid arthritis, or RA for short. And because of that, because of my fluctuating health, I, I don't really, I can't do a business or, you know, normal work or anything that society would deem acceptable, you know?
So I have learned to spend my time doing other things that kind of make a difference in smaller ways. And through that, I'm a writer and a word witch. And I have the ability, as all writers do, to affect others and also myself, through words. And a lot of alchemy happens through writing. It's a process that helps us to heal and transmute the more difficult and challenging things. And I find a lot of a lot of merit in that. I also use my words to try to bring awareness to things like life with a disability through my own lived experience, the things that I encountered day to day. And also the importance of mindfulness through words, because I find that so few people are actually aware of what they're actually saying or what they're trying to navigate this very messy human experience. I can be found on social media on Facebook and Instagram. I am Sandhill Soul, S-A-N-D-H-I-L-L-S-O-U-L, on both platforms.
Kim: I know you kind of answered this already, but what made you decide to write? I love the term word witch, by the way. Sorry to interrupt. But I do love the term word witch.
Taryn: That's fine. That's fine. You know, that's just a term that I actually, I don't even know where I came across that. It was fairly recently within like the last year or two. And writing is something that has kind of followed me. I never really set out to do it. I had an English class in high school that we had to do journaling before class every day. And I hated that. I absolutely hated it. I was not into it at all. And then later she had us do some type of a poetry assignment. And actually, I connected more with that because it was so different because we were writing these sentences, but they were, you know, cut up in different places. And it was just it wasn't linear. It was something completely different. And I could explore that in a different way and that kind of stuck with me. And then in my young adult years, I started journaling more and writing poetry. And then I discovered witchcraft and, you know, kind of just the two kind of met on their own, I guess. And it wasn't until... I guess I probably discovered somebody on Instagram that came up with that word, and I saw that and I thought, oh my God, that's it. That's what I do. You know, it kind of clicked.
Kim: I love, it's a very romantic term.
Taryn: Yes, I like it.
Kim: For a nerds like me who basically lived in books growing up, love it.
Taryn: Oh, absolutely.
Kim: Now, what does it mean to you when you call yourself a witch?
Taryn: So I think the biggest thing for me is it's a reclaiming of power and autonomy because to me being a witch is knowing and accepting myself where I'm at, wherever I'm at, you know, the good and the ugly, just all of it. And once you claim that, once you become comfortable with it and you acknowledge it, nobody can use that against you. And that's powerful as hell to me to be able to do that. And it also, there's also kind of a dual sense of otherness and belonging where I mean I'm other in the sense that I don't really belong to any of these more prevalent belief systems around here because I live in a very Christian area. It's very conservative and I've just never, I've never fit that mold. So I've always been outside of that. But it's got its own sense of belonging because we have this big beautiful community to it, which I've been able to find through the wonders of the internet and now social media, that's just been a godsend for me.
Kim: Yes, me too. Do you have any family history with witchcraft or even if you don't not like not knowingly "Mom didn't call herself a witch," but mom did some stuff in the kitchen that looked awfully witchy.
Taryn: You know, I don't think so. The closest I can think of, my grandmother is a big gardener and a caretaker of the flowers and the land, but I think that's about as close as it comes. I don't remember anybody doing anything that could even be, you know, simply, I mean, other than blowing out birthday candles, which is, I'm sorry, that's witchcraft. I mean, you're making a wish and you're sending that intention out into the world. We all have done that, but no, nothing else really comes to mind.
Kim: Okay so yesterday Witch of Southern Light it might not have been yesterday I have a poor concept of time. Witch of Southern Light posted something talking about how lady, you may not think you're doing witchcraft, but when you say the birthday candle thing, or you tell your child a protection spell...
Taryn: Oh yeah.
Kim: Did you see that one about the I am rubber and you are glue?
Taryn: I do follow him. I do follow him but no I haven't seen that one yet. I'll have to look for that.
Kim: They're teaching us that as children. Yes. And lift your feet up when you go under the, when you go over railroad tracks, pick your feet up.
Taryn: Oh yes. I forgot about that one. Yes. Yeah I think I, you know I've talked with friends a lot of things like even the nursery rhymes and stuff that we grew up with as kids. We, there's so much of a deeper and often a darker level to things. Now that we're adults looking back, so that's that's interesting.
Kim: Yeah. Do you have any daily practices, or if not daily than regular practices that you'll share?
Taryn: So I have, my practice has changed so drastically these last two or three years and right now it's kind of stripped to the bare bones. I try to, at the very least, I set up my altar and I light a candle, because that's just me coming into the present moment and just trying to shut out the rest of the world for a while. I try to take a few deep breaths and maybe meditate. And honestly, right now I have taken an interest in some Buddhist practices and the Green Tara practices, the chanting. So right now that's what I'm trying to do on a daily basis.
Kim: That's interesting.
Taryn: Yeah, she, it just popped up. It didn't just pop up, it was given to me. I, you know, at night when I'm about to fall asleep, sometimes I get these flashes of these random things that are not random that I'm meant to pay attention to. And I saw things that related to the Green Tara and I started researching, and she's this incredible badass feminist energy that I never knew existed, and also nurturing and compassionate. And the chanting to me, it's powerful, but it's gentle and I don't have to force myself into it. It just comes naturally, which is kind of strange because I'm not Buddhist, but I'm enjoying it so far.
Kim: Chanting just seems so mystical to me.
Taryn: It's so, there's a vibration to it. I mean, you start to feel it in your chest and then to me, I can feel it vibrating around me and it's an amazing sensation. It helps me connect to my energy in ways that I don't think I really have before. So that's been nice.
Kim: Do you feel like witchcraft has changed your life at all?
Taryn: Yeah, I do think it has. It's empowered me. Absolutely. Because I am one where I mean, I'm fine with asking for help, but one of my biggest problems with, like, say, parts of Christianity is expecting this deity to fix you. I don't want somebody to fix me. I want somebody to show me how I can help myself. And in that way, practicing witchcraft and magic and all of the learning that I've done, that's helped me to develop and open up my inner knowing and my intuition. And I've matured through it, absolutely, because I'm learning about myself and how to be human. And when we do that, we are better equipped to interact with other people. So it helps not just me, but it helps everybody around me.
Kim: I know I've thought about the whole Christianity as sort of baby-fying people, but that's interesting.
Taryn: Yeah. I mean, there are many things that I don't agree with, but that was something that stuck out to me right from the start. I just, I didn't want anybody to fix me. I just wanted some help to point me where to go and I'll, if I can't figure it out, then I'll ask for help, but let me try to figure it out first.
Kim: What would you say is your biggest motivator in your practice?
Taryn: I think right now especially it's the need, it takes me away from the chaos of what is going on in our reality and with everything that's going on. It takes me to a simpler place and within myself so I can focus on something that is actually in my control and not this horrible stuff that's happening around us, but I can focus on me and my happiness and my health and my smaller communities. That is the touching stone that I absolutely ... It's vital to me right now with everything going on. I just have to have that little bit of control. Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak.
Kim: I am... I am a control freak. And I need to control a lot of things. So I get that. What do you most want out of your practice?
Taryn: I think just the support that I need at that time. I want something that's always going to... just nurture me and help me to have a deeper, healthier understanding of who I am and where I'm at and what I'm experiencing. I'm one of those people who, for the most part, I do believe that there is something to be learned from almost everything. I believe that there's usually a higher, something's going on, something happens for a reason. Sometimes I don't always want to focus on that when I'm going through it, but you know, eventually I come back to that and...
Kim: So I thought when you said it. yeah, I don't I don't want to know about this right now.
Taryn: Yeah, Yeah. I I've gone through quite a lot of that.
Kim:I Want to learn about this TV show that I'm watching.
Taryn: Yes, exactly.
Kim: I don't want to learn about plumbing right now. I don't want to know how the sink trap works.
Taryn: Exactly. Who needs to know that?
Kim: Do you ever feel like you have imposter syndrome about your witchcraft or being a witch?
Taryn: Oh my gosh, all the time. My practice is just not structured. It's very loose. And I can quite literally go for weeks or sometimes even longer than that and not really do much of anything just because I don't feel like it. And that kind of makes it very easy for me to feel like I'm not a good witch, not really doing what I claim when I'm doing, which is stupid because I think it's all, you know, what you make of it. But there's, you know, on social media you see all of these people that have these glorious structured practices, and I realize a lot is staged for social media. But it's hard not to want to be like that sometimes. But it takes me, it takes me a minute sometimes to remind myself that I'm just, I'm not like that. My whole thing is different and that's okay.
Kim: You know what is getting me lately is the planners.
Taryn: Oh, and they're gorgeous.
Kim: And their planners look beautiful and they have bullet journals.
Taryn: Oh, I know. I have some of them.
Kim: And they have pretty handwriting, and stickers, and pretty handwriting and pens.
Taryn: And you know, I bullet journal.
Kim: I'm like, I don't know what the fuck's going on at all.
Taryn: *laughs* You know, I do do some planning. I bullet journal and I do try to maintain my mundane life a little bit and it helps. I cannot carry that over to my magical life to save my life. So apparently I'm just meant to have some level of chaos in it.
Kim: Being a chaos witch is very in right now.
Taryn: Yes it is.
Kim: What would you say is your biggest struggle when it comes to witchcraft?
Taryn: Definitely trying to find any kind of practice or routine that I can keep going for long. Because it seems like as soon as I find something that works, either my mindset changes, or my health changes, or something changes and all of a sudden it doesn't do what I need it to do and I have to change again. So I have to think on my feet, I guess, so to speak, and I'm not very good at that yet. So, I am... Yeah, I think I probably am.
Kim: You've been doing it your whole life, right?
Taryn: Yeah, and I think a lot of that is just...
Kim: You could probably wipe the floor with me at it. *laughs*
Taryn: Well, I don't know about that, but yeah, I think a lot of it is we're so set to judge ourselves harshly. And so I think what I view and what other people's view of my practices is totally different. And I know I'm being hard on myself and I just need to relax and go with the flow.
Kim: That's so hard. It is.
Taryn: It's harder than it should be, I feel. *laughs*
Kim: It sounds like it should be something that's fun and wonderful and great.
Taryn: It really does. And I don't know why it just can't be that way.
Kim: (aggressively) Why is it a nightmare?
Taryn: *laughs* Exactly.
Kim: What would you say, do you have long-term goals for your practice?
Taryn: You know, not really. I just want to keep exploring things and being open to new things. There's so much to learn, so many different ways of doing things. And I feel like there's always a new point of view and always a new thought process. And even if I don't agree with it, sometimes just entertaining it and thinking about it, that just expands the horizons a little bit. And yeah, I just never want to stop growing. I cannot stand those people who are just so set in their ways that they won't even try even just a tiny new thing. I just don't want to be that way. I want to keep growing and doing something new all the time.
Kim: Okay, I'm torn now because I hate new things, but also I want to know all the things. And I want to do things, but I hate to change.
Taryn: Yeah, you know what? I'm that way too, I should say. And some new things, I fight, so I'm a little bit that way too.
Kim: Why are we like this!? *both laugh*
Taryn: We're so confusing.
Kim: What brings you the most joy in your practice?
Taryn: I think in my writing, when I just, out of the blue, I will just start channeling something. Whether it's a poem or a social media post, it will just all of a sudden come to me and hit me so fast. And I have to rush to grab a pen and a journal or something to write it down. And I swear it will just come through me in a matter of minutes and it'll be almost a complete finished thing. And I'll re-read it and I'll think, oh my God, I did this thing. I can't believe this came through me and I wrote it down. And it makes so much sense to me. And it's not of me. I know it comes from something. I don't know if it's my higher self, spirit, whatever, whatever's out there. It just comes through me and that makes me feel so accomplished. It just makes me happy. It doesn't happen a lot. I can't control it. I never know when it's going to hit, which is aggravating as hell.
Kim: I imagine. Is that what people call downloads? I have never experienced this.
Taryn: I think so, yeah. Yeah, I'm assuming, I don't know, I just, I and I sometimes I struggle with the term channel, too, but I don't know how else to really say it other than it just comes to me.
Kim: Sometimes you're the right shaped antenna.
Taryn: Yep, that must be it. *laughs*
Kim: I don't know why things come out of my mouth, dude. (Taryn laughs) Suddenly I said that.
Taryn: Exactly.
Kim: Does your partner practice?
Taryn: So I don't currently have a partner. My previous partner was not, he was as open as I would have liked because it got to the point where I just, if there is ever going to be a future partner in my life, I'm going to need someone who is, at the very least, has their own type of practice. I don't care if it's necessarily witchcraft or some type of spiritual practice because you reach a certain point in doing all this where you kind of, I feel, you kind of need that support from your partner. And that's not always easy to find.
Kim: Is there, is there anything that you geek out about in the witch world?
Taryn: Oh my, well, I think whenever I come across some new practice, like, what was it, Slavic witchcraft was the thing for a while. I haven't actually bought the books to read it, but I ran across these books and I was all super excited, and just from different cultures and different parts of the world, different practices. And I will find something so fascinating that it'll be all that for like a few days. That's all I can obsess about. And then my mind will just completely shut off and switch gears and I'm done with it until the next shiny thing comes along. And it's hard to keep up that way. It's very hard to focus on anything that way. But, and then of course any witchy book. I mean, I'm a reader. Anything that has the word witchcraft or anything witchy and I'm like, oh my god, I need it.
Kim: Well, speaking of books, if you could only recommend one book to a new witch, what would it be?
Taryn: So, I was trying to think of some of the ones that I read when I was first starting and my memory just is not cooperating. So what comes to mind is the one that got me into the magical writing. And that was called the magical writing grimoire by Lisa Marie Basile. So if anybody is interested in incorporating writing into their magical practice, it's got a lot of really neat practices and little short, easy things. So if you're low on energy, I mean, it doesn't take a lot to do. That's what I like. She makes them accessible.
Kim: Do you have any thoughts on familiars?
Taryn: I've never worked with any. I love animals, but I've never had any desire to go down that path, I guess, which is kind of interesting since I love, I have a cat, I'm a big cat lover, but she's just my cat. *laughs*
Kim: Yeah, I think people's opinions about familiars are interesting.
Taryn: Yeah, it seems to be very specific or not at all.
Kim: *laughs* What would you say has been the most surprising thing you found about being a witch?
Taryn: That there's so many of us and that we don't even know it. I mean, there's not everybody's out in the world practicing and there's so many, I didn't even know there was this many of my friends that were open to this until we were all on social media. You know, you start sharing posts and you start seeing things and I go, wait a minute, I never knew this aspect of you. And so that was kind of exciting to know that I'm not the only one that's standing out in the middle of nowhere doing these so-called weird things. There's others like me out there.
Kim: You're not the only one collecting rainwater.
Taryn: Exactly. Yeah. Talking to my plants. Yeah.
Kim: Would you say that environment has shaped your practice? And like if you were, grew up somewhere else, do you think it would be different or live somewhere else? Do you think it would be different?
Taryn: So I definitely think that different areas, like anywhere you go has a different feel, different energy to it, anywhere in the world. And here I live in the Sandhills and it's, it's these beautiful rolling hills of grass, covered in grass. And people have described it like a sea of grass because you can just see hills for miles. And it's, it's very laid back and an unhurried way of life here. We're country folk, you know, we don't have rush hour traffic. We don't have to wait in line unless it's road construction, which is perpetual. And it's just a peaceful, quiet way to be. And my practice is just very laid back and relaxed. And I don't know if it's so much a product of the environment or if it's just helps me to relax. I honestly don't know, but I love the energy here. I love the land. I've grown up in Nebraska. I've lived here my whole life, so it's always my home. But I would love to try different places and to feel. I love the mountains. I've only been to the ocean once. I would love to experience the different areas and how that would affect...
Kim: What??
Taryn: Yes. I don't get to get out very often.
Kim: Which one did you go to?
Taryn: We went on a cruise to Mexico. So I was in the Gulf of the Gulf and then what's the one down further? I don't know.
Kim: Cortez?
Taryn: Yeah, whatever. It was pretty. That's all I can tell you. *both laugh*
Kim: I know two oceans. I don't remember all the oceans. I fail.
Taryn: Yeah. But okay. Well, the funny thing is, is I'm definitely afraid of water, but on the cruise, I was not. I actually was loving the water.
Kim: Really?!
Taryn: Yes. So that was interesting.
Kim: I'm not afraid of water, but the ocean is terrifying!
Taryn: I don't think I'd go back back now with all this, the storms and everything. But at the time I was just so mesmerized by it. It's pretty, I mean, it's beautiful, this, this turquoise clear water and...
Kim: Oh, see, I've never even seen water like that.
Taryn: I would love to see that again. The Gulf is not very pretty, but once you get past that, it's just gorgeous. And it's these deep blues too in different places and yeah.
Kim: Ope, I just got too scared just thinking about it there. I was a bit like, "No, you will not." Oh, well. *Taryn laughs* So much for that. I guess not, never mind. My body tells me hell no, I tend to listen to it.
Taryn: Yep, yep.
Kim: Do you celebrate any holidays or Sabbats? And if so, which one is your favorite?
Taryn: So I don't celebrate many, but there are a couple I'm very drawn to, Samhain and Yule both. Halloween was my favorite holiday growing up, so that was an easy transition. And now I just, I light a candle and I make offerings to my ancestors and I kind of just sit and remember. It's nothing big and fancy. It's just a, it's a feeling for me. And with Yule, I was, I really felt drawn to the winter solstice because the symbolism in it being the shortest day and the longest night, to me, that is my personal new year. I sit with that darkness and I sit with everything that's gone on in the previous year, sometimes even before, all the good and especially the bad, and I process that. I let things come up, whatever I feel I feel. I usually journal, maybe I'll release something, do a burning ritual and release something if I need to. And then the next day it's a brand new start. The next day is the light growing, and I get to leave the past in the past, and I'm starting something new. And that's just, I started doing that before I even realized I was doing a ritual. It just came that naturally to me.
Kim: Do you ever do anything for the equinox?
Taryn: You know, I think I did once a long time ago. I think it was just a candle ceremony. It wasn't anything fancy, but surprisingly, I've never felt drawn to do much with that one.
Kim: I did for a fraction of a second when you were talking about thinking back, but now I don't... suddenly I don't care again. Poor equinox. Nobody gives a crap.
Taryn: *laughs* I know it.
Kim: And it happens twice. Oh well. Do you have a coming out story?
Taryn: No, I've not really officially come out, so to speak. I've kind of gradually started leaking things through social media. So, you know, certain memes or certain posts, if I deem them not overly witchy, but kind of witchy, so maybe they won't scare the populace, but they'll just kind of make them think, hmm, you know, kind of getting them used to things. And I've been doing that for years now. And so I'm just slowly working my way up to posting more overtly witchcraft type material. And I've gotten to where I'm leaving witchcraft books out into my home so my family sees it. I mean, nobody's batted an eyelash about that. So I guess in a way that's my coming out story.
Kim: I forget that people actually have families near, that live near them.
Taryn: Yeah. Yeah. I have family that comes up from Texas and so they've seen all kinds of things.
Kim: It's the wild, wild west. Texas should be okay with things.
Taryn: That's right. *both laugh*
Kim: Oh, Texas. Do you, first let me ask, there's a meme that I've seen probably on Instagram, I don't know, that said, there is no witch community, it's just a collection of cliques.
Taryn: *laughs* Wow.
Kim: Do you feel like there's a witch community or no?
Taryn: I do.
Kim: Like an overarching large one.
Taryn: Well, I don't know. In a sense of a cohesive community, I'm not sure. Because there are cliquey aspects to it, absolutely. I mean, maybe I just feel more of them. I have my own community, and it's more of a cohesive community because I've gotten pretty good at, you know, picking certain people that I trust, and everybody else is just kind of outside of the circle because I cannot, I can't take on extra people, but... I don't know. I think there is.
Kim: Then this question will make sense. *both laugh* What do you dislike about the witch community?
Taryn: Oh, probably the drama, because there's always some kind of drama going on, I think. And I try to avoid it.
Kim: I'm gonna hex the moon!
Taryn: Oh, lord. That was the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I'm like, really? This is what we're doing with our time? Really? Okay.
Kim: That'll forever be a fave stupid thing.
Taryn: It will never die in its stupidity. *laughs*
Kim: Every time I do an interview I think about it. I'm like do I want to bring that dumb crap up again, and laugh? (Taryn laughs)
What do you love about the witch community?
Taryn: I love that there's always some new perspective or new practice or new way of doing things.
I mean, there's so many different types of people that do things differently. And for me, at least, I'm always learning something new, some new aspect that I feel like just adds to me, to what I know, to what I do.
Kim: What's the newest thing you've learned about? Was it the green...
Taryn: Yeah, well, that wasn't necessarily... well, actually, yeah, there apparently, there is such a thing as Buddhist witches. I haven't really looked into it a lot. I just did a quick Google search because, you know, Green Tara and Buddhism, you don't necessarily think of those combined with witchcraft, but apparently there is. So I have to do a deeper dive on that because that kind of surprises me.
Kim: Is there anything that you wish was discussed more in the witch community?
Taryn: Yeah, I really wish there was more talk over what happens when we outgrow our beliefs and practices, and when we need to shed those beliefs and step into this liminal scary space where there's just there's nothing, because we haven't found the next thing. It's this, I've gone through it. I've gone through it a couple times and the last time took me... god, three... probably two or three years, total. It's horrible. It's it's painful. It's lonely. It's scary. But there's also a lot of empowerment there if you know how to get through it. And I just I don't see people really talking about that very much, at least not in detail. And I know it's a personal thing for everybody, but I think we could all benefit from more discussion with that. And also just chronically ill and disabled, low energy witchcraft, you know, because not everybody can do all the things that we'd like to do. And, you know, even I struggle to come up with meaningful, simple things that can fit into my low energy days. And it would be nice to have more of that too, I think.
Kim: Actually your interview with DaNae is the first time I've ever, and only time, I've ever seen it brought up.
Taryn: Yeah, I think so. I have not encountered it anywhere. I mean, I see some disabled witches on Instagram, but I don't, I haven't seen a lot of like actual talk about it. So I would definitely love to see more of that.
Kim: You know who, another person that could bring it up is MintFaery. She is mainly Instagram and some YouTube, but she's so, I love her. She's so lovely and sweet.
Taryn: Oh, I'll have to follow her.
Kim: But she has a chronic illness that she deals with that makes it sometimes that she can't do things.
Taryn: Yep. Yep. I will understand that. It's very frustrating.
Kim: Do you have any suggestions on how we could talk about it more? besides this?
Taryn: Honestly, yeah, just it's... some people are very much closed. They don't want to talk about it and you have to respect that. But there's I mean, I think I feel like a lot of us are trying to speak out more because we do want that awareness out there, and we do want to be included in the narrative. And just ask. All you can do is ask, and respect whether they say yes or no, and I guess just having more discussions with people. I mean, people that you know in real life, people that you meet online. I tell people, ask me anything. I don't care. I've been answering questions for like 43 years now, so it doesn't really bother me.
Kim: I will say that that interview, I'm going to this thing called Anahata's Purpose next month and it is like, oh... four days on a campground in Philadelphia. And that interview made me think, how accessible is this event? Because guess what, it's not. And now I have to have a hip replacement in...
Taryn: Oh yeah.
Kim: ...at the end of September and so I know I had I struggled last year, and I know I'm not going to be able to do even as much as I did then, this year, and so it's... and again, it's that thing where you don't really think about it until it affects you.
Taryn: Absolutely.
Kim: I did start thinking about it last year because I heard your interview.
Taryn: Oh, yeah.
Kim: I'm glad that comes up more with events.
Taryn: Yes, I do too. And events are terrible that way. And even I run across a lot of things that claim they're accessible, and they're not. So it's just, I think we just need to broaden people's minds when it comes to accessibility. It's not just one set thing. There are a lot of different types of accessibility. I mean, we can't accommodate everybody, but you try to do your best. Kim: A port-a-potty is not accessible. I've not seen an accessible port-a-potty.
Taryn: I've made it work, but only with the help of a friend, and that was a whole other interesting story.
Kim: Exactly, and that's a complication that it's not fair to expect people to... maneuver.
Taryn: Exactly. Not everybody has a helper to take with them.
Kim: And Kacie, I know you were involved in a lot of events. I'm talking to you. This is something I would love for you to bring up at your event.
Taryn: Absolutely.
Kim: Would you say that you feel like social media affects your practice?
Taryn: I think it does. I think it inspires me because I'm always, always encountering something that I like. Usually somebody's words or, or something that, that sparks my creativity, so it kind of fuels me in a way.
Kim: Do you feel like you use social media to affect the practice of others? Or just them?
Taryn: I'm not sure about their practices. I try to just offer up my perspective and ways of being who I am. And I do know I have people comment all the time that this that you wrote inspired me to do this or this inspires me. You know, I have people tell me I'm inspiring all the time. So it must affect some people in some ways and for which I'm grateful. So I don't really, I don't know if I set out to do... well, in a way I do because some of the channeled things that I post are for are specifically for other people, because I am an activator. And I know that I'm meant to share these things and it's going to affect people. I don't know who, I don't know how, but I know that it's meant to affect somebody some way. And that's, I just, I put it out there in the ethers and let it do its thing.
Kim: That's so interesting! I'm so curious about that and tarot and spirit work because none of those things do very much for me.
Taryn: I dabble at tarot, but I find it infuriating most of the time, so I kind of avoid it.
Kim: I work with runes. Tarot just...
Taryn: See, I tried runes and I couldn't get into runes. I wanted to so badly.
Kim: I'm not a reader. I don't use them to divine. I just use them in my spell work as sort of like words, or meanings that I'm trying to craft a spell from.
Taryn: Hmm, yeah, that's a good idea.
Kim: But yeah, I don't, I'm just not a big diviner.
Taryn: I'm not the way I would like to be. And I used to do Akashic Records readings a few years ago.
Kim: I don't understand anything about that at all.
Taryn: That is such a big topic. It's a whole other level of consciousness, kind of in the way that dreams are a whole other level of consciousness. And it's interesting. I enjoyed it, but I'm done. It's no longer my thing. I have not found my next thing. I thought maybe it would be tarot, but tarot just mocks me. *laughs*
Kim: Yeah, I don't even know what it is. People say it and I'm like, oh, oh. Like Reiki. I don't know what any of that is. I mean I sort of know what Reiki is but...
Taryn: Yeah, yeah. So many different modalities and yeah, yeah. It's very in-depth. It would take a lot to kind of describe it. *laughs*
Kim: What would you say is your best or worst experience with a spell?
Taryn: I can't remember specifically what it was for, but I had, I think it might have been for a Sabbat or so, it was some ritual that just, it just came to me. I threw it together and I kind of took bits and pieces from different rituals that I had read about in a book or several books, I think, and kind of pieced it together. It just felt so cohesive and smooth. It was probably the biggest ritual that I've ever done, like a structured ritual. I felt the energy, and I felt the circle around me, and it was just a wonderful, beautiful experience. I've never been able to duplicate that since. I don't know what the secret ingredient to it was, probably because I don't write things down like I should. I really loved it and I've not been able to figure out how to do that again.
Kim: So many lost recipes.
Taryn: Yes.
Kim: But a whole ritual would make me crazy.
Taryn: It does because I've got the wording to most of it and I just, I don't know, maybe I was just in a better place back then. I don't know.
Kim: Do you feel like there's a witch that is specifically one person that you envy?
Taryn: I don't think a person, but like a type, like the chaos witches, I envy the hell out of them because they can make stuff happen out of anything. I would love to be able to do that. *laughs*
Kim: I envy downloads, man!
Taryn: Oh, yeah? *laughs*
Kim: I just want some sign. I don't want a sign! Don't sell me a sign! *both laugh*
Taryn: Be careful what you ask for.
Kim: Don't punish me for wishing, just saying. But I've had, I have. Things in the house have happened. I needed to stop or they'll happen some more and I didn't necessarily enjoy that. So never mind. Everything's great in my life.
Taryn: *laughs* I take it all back.
Kim: What are five things that could be used to call you in a summoning spell?
Taryn: *laughs* A summoning spell! Well, coffee of course would be the main ingredient. Oh, a chilly, a chilly breeze, like the first cool autumn breeze. I love that. A crystal or, you know, some kind of a rock, naturally. A cat, any cat, any cat will do. I have to pet the cat. And throw on some glitter and you have me there.
Kim: Glitter, actual glitter? or makeup powder?
Taryn: Just actual glitter. A glitter makeup powder would work too. I hate it but it's so sparkly and I love it so it's kind of a love hate thing.
Kim: I have mica powder all over my my body right now because I was doing something this morning.
Taryn: Yeah you live with that. You can't get it off. *laughs*
Kim: What would you what or who would you say are the three biggest influences on your practice?
Taryn: So I think one of the biggest influences is the mistakes that other people make...
Kim: That's a good one!
Taryn: ...because I learned really well from what others do that don't work. And I decided, nope, I'm going to do that. And that has been a really good guiding factor for me. Three, let's see, the other one, my intuition or my higher self, spirit, whatever guidance I've got going on here, that one influences my practice a lot because I've learned to just when something pops in my mind, I've learned for the most part to go with it and trust and that usually has a pretty good outcome to it. Oh, the seasons, the shifting seasons. I can feel the energy change of the seasons and that affects my moods and my creativity and like autumn, I love autumn. We're coming up on that now and I can feel the shift and my creativity has opened up a little bit more than it was in just summer because it's hot and I'm miserable. So, so yeah.
Kim: I'm not, I never even thought of saying the seasons, but they do!
Taryn: Yes.
Kim: What would you tell somebody just starting out? Drop some words of wisdom.
Taryn: Oh, Lord, question everything. Question everything. Question every, especially your teachers. I don't care how good the teacher is, if they don't let you question things, and they don't let you explore things, then they're probably not working for your highest good. I don't care how popular they are. I don't care how wise they appear. I mean, you have to really, really develop discernment and ask for sources and explore things and do your own research. Because just because they tell you one thing, that might be the truth, or it might be part of the truth, or it might not be the truth at all. You really have to take initiative and explore things on your own as well. And I'm not saying that teachers are bad, because they're absolutely not, they're helpful. But you also have to take responsibility in your learning as well.
Kim: Man, like when you say, hey, can I use X colored candle instead of this? And they say no.
Taryn: *laughs* Oh, geez.
Kim: Maybe just try it out. OK, because you can't use a blue candle for blah, blah, blah. It doesn't mean Jimmy can't.
Taryn: Exactly.
Kim: Now, going back in the other direction. Where you're not the beginner, you're where you are now, but someone is experienced as you feel towards the beginner, somebody with that experience level on you, what do you want to hear from them?
Taryn: Hmm. So I guess maybe just how to keep your practice going when you just, I don't know, you just lose your insight or you just lose your ability to do it or you just lose the desire to do it. I mean, how to, I guess just how to keep going through the tough parts. Because even though I know, I mean, I'm good at talking myself through this stuff and getting myself to back off when I need to, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone to say, you know what, you can back off, but you can still keep going at the same time. You can take little steps. So sometimes it would be nice to hear that, I think.
Kim: Yeah, you know what a lot of people say? They just want to be told they're doing a good job.
Taryn: Yes! Yes, I can identify with that.
Kim: And that's what I want to hear too.
Taryn: Yes!
Kim: Good! Just, You're doing... a little pat on the back, like a literal little quiet pat on the shoulder.
Taryn: It's simple, but yes, it's so important. Yes.
Kim: So if anyone's out there who feels experienced and wants to tell me I'm doing a good job, I would love to hear that.
Taryn: Absolutely. *laughs* I'll take that too!
Kim: Who do you think it would be fun or interesting to hear from answering these sorts of questions on this show?
Taryn: Anybody from the disabled community, disabled witches in particular, I would love to hear insights on. Or also just the author, the Lisa Marie Basile, the writing, which she I would love to hear more perspectives of her answering these questions as well.
Kim: Now at the end, I have two things that I didn't send you beforehand.
Taryn: Oh, okay.
Kim: And one of them is, can you please recommend something to the listeners?
Taryn: Anything at all? Oh boy. Anything. Okay, so I have this practice that I do at night when I'm in bed. I guess you could consider it like a gratitude, like a body love practice where I just I tell my body thank you, that I'm appreciative for everything that it does for me. It doesn't matter how bad of a day, how bad of a year I've had, how frustrated I am with my body, I try to bring some level of gratitude to it for all the work that it does. And that as a regular practice has changed my outlook my relationship with my body so much. I still get frustrated and angry, obviously, at the things I can't do, but that gratitude brings me back to all the things that it still does, and it still does a hell of a lot to keep me alive and going. So I try to do that every day. And I know we all have body image issues that we struggle with and that kind of thing, and it helps with that too. So I've found that it's just a quick and easy thing I do before I fall asleep. Nothing special, but it works.
Kim: I should do that, I do it with my house. I do that with my body.
Taryn: Yes, absolutely.
Kim: What in the world. (Taryn laughs) And the last thing is. Would you please... I'm basically asking for a story, a story that you enjoy telling, and it's the "remember when" thing, when you get together with people who you enjoy being with and remember when and then the story starts.
Taryn: Well, I don't know if, it's kind of a different story. It's funny, but it's when I first realized that like a look or just a thought, people can feel that. And I'll explain that. So, my two best friends and I in high school, we went to, of all things, a Weird Al concert here in New York.
Kim: Oh, neat!
Taryn: And so, we enjoyed that and we had to come back that day, and so we were driving very late and I don't remember what happened. I was very – one of them pissed me off. *laughs* I was mad at her for something. And so, I was in the backseat and it was dark by this point. We're coming home in the dark on the interstate, and they're up there talking and chattering and just having fun and I for whatever reason I am pissed off at the driver, and I'm like glaring a hole through the back of her skull because I'm so mad at her, and so mad that they're up there having fun when I'm mad. Well out of nowhere she turns to my other friend she goes "Boy, I can just, I can feel this icy cold feeling, it's like she's just..." I can't remember how she worded it. "Like she's staring a hole through my head or something," and it was dark, she couldn't see me. She had no idea I was staring at her. But I was so focused. My anger was so focused on her. She actually felt it. And in that moment when she said that, it snapped me out of my anger and I went, I thought, oh my, oh shit, like it scared me. I was like, oh shit, she felt that? I had no idea that was possible until then. And then I thought, oh my God, this is powerful. What can I do with this? But that was enough to snap me out of my mood, but it stuck with me. You can focus that kind of thing more than you realize and people do feel it. They might not know what they're feeling, but they can feel it. So that's not much of a story, but that's what comes to mind.
Kim: No, that is a good story. And a lot of the times these aren't witchy stories at the end, but I'm glad this was.
Taryn: Yep. Yep. That was, yes, that will probably stick with me for a long time.
Kim: People need to practice being pissed off and staring at people's heads then, because that's how you learn intention. *laughs*
Taryn: That's how we will learn to explode certain people's heads. That would be an awesome power to have.
Kim: Scanners. *both laugh*
Kim: Well, thank you for coming on the show.
Taryn: Oh absolutely, I've had fun. Thank you for having me.
Kim: And for being patient when I...
Taryn: Oh no problem. No problem.
Kim: Okay, I will see you all around the internet. Bye.
Taryn: Bye bye.
Kim: Just want to take a minute to thank Taryn again for being on the show and for talking to me. And now for the big moment, the winner of the Patreon box giveaway. The winner is number 12jules__eyes on Instagram. Julia, please be sure you reach out to me on Instagram or on Facebook so I can get this box sent to you. Thanks again to everyone who participated, everyone who listens, and everyone who shares the podcast with their friends. I appreciate you and you help me out more than you know. I plan on giving away Patreon boxes more often, so be sure you're following Your Average Witch Podcast on Instagram and Facebook because that's where the giveaways will happen.
Hey, thanks for listening to this episode of Your Average Witch. You can find us all around the internet on Instagram @youraveragewitchpodcast, Twitter at Average Witch Pod, Facebook at Facebook.com/youraveragewitchpodcast, at youraveragewitch.com, and at your favorite podcast service. Want to help the podcast grow? Leave a review! You can review us on Amazon and Apple podcasts, and now you can rate us on Spotify. You just might hear your view read at the end of the next episode. To rate Your Average Witch on Spotify, click the home key, click on Your Average Witch Podcast, and then leave a rating. You can also support the show by going to patreon.com/cleverkimscurios. If you'd like to recommend someone for the podcast, like to be on it yourself, or if you'd like to advertise on the podcast, send an email to youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you when the moon changes.