Embracing Your Darkness: Trusting Your Magic and Your Voice
The following is an article transcribed from a conversation between myself (Mimi Young) + June "Jumakae" Kaewsith of Your Story Medicine Podcast; the episode "Embracing Your Darkness: Trusting Your Magic and Your Voice". Main topics discussed included why embracing our darkness is just as important as embracing our light; freeing yourself from the anti-aging culture, and stepping into a pro-aging lifestyle; and how to use dreams to explore dormant parts of ourselves. (Note, since this originally was a verbal interview, some of the text may have been lost / mis-edited in the transcription. I provide a link to the podcast at the end of this article).
What October Means
October is a month when witches recognize the veil between the Seen and the Unseen is thinnest, and for this reason, ancestors are connected with, spirits communed with, deities adored. Those who honour the lunar calendar may see October as the latter half of Autumn, having just celebrated the Mid Autumn Festival on September 21 this year. October is a month that holds endings and beginnings. And for this reason, I wanted this issue to hold you in the ways where you may feel flux. I've included some remarks on the symbolism of home, notes on my favourite plants to cross thresholds with, a hearty carrot cake with adaptogens recipe, a transcription of a conversation between Lisa Anderson Schaffer and myself on the topic of longing.
MORE MEDICINES DURING SHAKY TIMES
The photo of me taken by my friend and fellow witch, Jessie Robertson (photographer and co-director of The Witches of Vancouver documentary) says it all. Life is messy and shaky, sometimes a little more, and other times, we get the reprieve of a little less.
When life is shakier, it affects us energetically and physically. I find that when I am overwhelmed, depleted, and exhausted, these are my favourite go-to allies:
THE TWO TYPES OF IMMUNITY
Our bodies as well as the compositions of all pathogens (bacterial, fungal, viral) are complex, and to claim that one herb functions like an "easy button" that is a one size fits all solution would be very misleading. In my work, I see that on a physiological level of plant medicine, there is as much of a defensive measure and an offensive one.
TEA AS PLANT MEDICINE
Tea is a plant medicine. If you’ve consumed it today, how did she hold you? What did she share with you? What did you say to her? How were you changed after you invited her essence in?
PLANT SPIRIT MEDICINE SPOTLIGHT: WOMB SUPPORT
I work with common plants. The ones that you can consume often, find around on the side of the road, on lawns and other nearby areas. I hold great regard for entheogens, but my allies are usually quiet and unassuming. A few are listed here, today being plants that support the Womb (energetically and physically):
THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN MAGICK
If you’re new to my blog and IG feed, you may find my work seems serious, focused on heavy topics, and that I don’t always smile in my photos. But don’t let my serious face fool you, as inside joy and play are always at work.
SENSING IN THE DARK
This Mercury Rx that has asked us to turn inwards, to swim in murkiness, to let uncertainty take the lead, to lose not in the sense of not winning, but losing in the sense of surrendering to ending cycles and embracing conditions of re-membering, redirection, and re-creation. This work is not just for Autumn and Winter. In fact, for me, this type of inner work often takes place during the Summer. Seasons aren't fixed and our internal landscapes do not just hold one archetype at a time. We can be Maiden, Mother, Wise Woman of varying degrees, of varying expressions, at varying times. Yes, we can enter internal rites of passages and initiations, but embodying archetypes need not be linear. They almost always demand incubation periods that involve some form of loss and surrender.
PLANT SPIRIT HEALING SPOTLIGHT: HERBAL INSECT REPELLENT
It's camping season. I just returned from a beautiful time away camping in the Cuyamaca Mountains, and though the creeping, crawling, and flying critters offer medicine of their own by asking me to pay attention, my preference is to be able to pay attention to other things by not having to constantly swat at them and itch my skin. For this reason, here's a remedy that I have found to be effective, without needing DEET formulations. I also list energetics of certain plant beings.
RESPONSIBLE MANIFESTATION
For the last two months, I've been probing the shadow side of the spiritual notion called the 'Manifestation Principle', and the potentially dangerous misuses of the Law of Attraction, particularly by leaders, healers, and teachers in the wellness and spiritual community. (For those who are just joining this discussion, feel free to read April's story HERE and May's story HERE).
A LITTLE ABOUT ME...
My name is Mimi Young, and I am the owner of Ceremonie and a spirit medicine practitioner. I smell things. People's auras, spirits, messages, warnings, omens, and things I am still not totally clear on. The term to describe this is called clairolfaction. (If you hang around with me long enough, you may find that I sometimes ask those in the room with me if they smell something in particular. I ask this because sometimes it’s unclear to me whether the scent I pick up is actually a physical aroma that belongs to the environment - say smelling coffee at a coffeeshop, or not, say smelling a distinct tree that is tied to specific spirit or ancestor that no one else in the room will perceive). My experiences in shamanic journeying didn’t start until I was well into adulthood while on bedrest while pregnant with my second child. (More on that HERE).
JOURNEYING WITH THE DEVIL
It isn't often that we willfully want to meet the Devil, but that is what I did. Last year, I was working deeply with my shadow side and led by the Light, I was told to embark on a shamanic journey to meet the infamous figure, the Horned Goat.
I was at first terrified at the thought. My mother had raised the latter half of my childhood/adolescence in evangelical Christianity, and I was duly part of church life for a number of years. I may have since left that life, but the cellular memory and conditioning, to a certain degree, had remained. What if I died during the journey? What if the Devil tempted me with a nectar so sweet that I couldn't refuse? What if the Devil blackmailed me? What if he threatened to harm my children? What if I decided to cross over and join him in hell? What if, what if, what if?!!
UNDER THE NEW MOON: DECOLONIZING, GROWTH, MANIFESTING
Sometimes, my own fears and irrational habits surprise myself. I have internalized oppression of general Chinese/Taiwanese culture (not to mention cultural purging that modern China has experienced) and Christian patriarchy; being a female in a white-centric worldview also adds nuanced complexity. So many painful and limiting layers. So much living small and self-oppression. But I'm hopeful. I think the first step is awareness, then release, and lots and lots of patience and self-love. I find using shamanic and ritual-based practices effective in identifying the limitations as well as work through them. (For those who know me and my work, I’m all about integrating the spiritual with practical, everyday life. Spirituality without real-life application is lip service).
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER FOUR IN MYSTICISM
The number four holds important meanings to the shaman and mystic.
INTERVIEW WITH A SHAMANIC INTUITIVE
As mentioned on Instagram, I've been a regular listener on Julie Parker's The Priestess Podcast for quite some time. She curates beautiful, relatable content on mysticism, alternative healing modalities, the Divine Feminine, conscious business, and so many other topics that I care deeply about. It was an IMMENSE honour to be interviewed by Julie on shamanism, plant spirit medicine, and my work here at Ceremonie. We had such a fun time chatting (including my interpretation of how Adam and Eve from the biblical story of Genesis is rooted in shamanic expression, my childhood, and even the unusual name for my favourite doll), that I completely lost track of time!