Why I Write
I write for no one but myself. Writing is a form of accessing the hidden, and keeping things hidden. In a society, especially as a woman of colour, nothing is truly mine. But my written words, hidden from view, are mine.
Black Friday Alternatives
Ways we can be / do instead of feeding into the frenzied consumption of Black Friday:
HOW I DO THINGS (HINT THERE IS NO SECRET)
Don’t know how; try it anyway.Never went to school for it; give it a shot anyway.Didn’t fit the specs and profile; do it anyway.Lack the experience; learn it anyway.Didn’t fundraise; risk anyway.They might say no; ask anyway.Left or right— no idea; turn anyway.Fall hard; get up anyway.Have no community; create it anyway.Doubt yourself; believe anyway.
NON-EXTRACTIVE BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
WHAT IS EXTRACTION?
Extraction is a perspective, a behaviour / set of behaviours committed by systems of colonialism, exploitation, hierarchy, and homogeny. Non-extraction is a value system that naturally de-centers mechanism of dominance, accumulation, and exploitation, to restore traditional, indigenous, and circular cultures. In the context of business and project creation, here are some principles to return to:
THE MYTH OF EFFICIENCY
We are told that multitasking will allow for us to complete more tasks in less time.We are told that efficiency is paramount in work culture. That more is more, not less is more.
That fast is efficient, that fast is competitive, that fast is sexy, that fast means mighty.
For what, though?
Sitting with Tea: Tea As Teacher
Tea, my Teacher, my Medicine, my Sister. With you, I enter into stillness. Penetrating clarity. Acute listening. Shivers of recognition. Tender exhales. Scents of what is to come. Conduit of flow.Interpreter of ancestors. Vapours of daemons. I venerate your companionship.
Cha Ye Dan (Chinese Tea-Brined Eggs)
Eggs are one of my favourite go-tos when I wish to stay anchored, reconnect with my ancestors (since there are so many egg dishes in my heritage), and warm my body up as the weather begins to cool in September. I'll be sharing a family recipe for Cha Ye Dan (Chinese Tea-Brined Eggs) in September's issue of UNSEEN Magazine. They are delicious on their own, or added to a bowl of congee (recipe also in next month's issue)!
Fast Magick and Slow Magick
There’s fast magick, and there’s slow magick. Both have their functions - much like our two thinking faculties. I love the intuitive and emotional aspects of fast magick, and I also love the more deliberative, patient, and thorough power of slow magick. The slower build ups, deeper roots, sturdier with its layers as it grows above ground, more anchored in, immovable by pointless urgency — these remind me of the overlooked capacity of slow, and how slowness is a gift. Another comparison— magick and love — there’s loving fast, and there’s loving slow— and of course, love is a current that magick accesses. Relishing in slowness now.
The Animal In Your Heart
Do you know the animal that lives in your heart? Is it the fun-loving Monkey? The ethics-minded Horse? The serene Snake?
Evoking Your Project + Business Course
Conjure, activate, and expand your new or existing business by learning essentials-only business skills, with the support and alignment of earth-based and supernatural principles and practices. Neither seeking permission from toxic establishments nor nor participating in them,, and you have an inner longing to birth your business or passion project in a way that is intuitive, spirit-collaborated, anchored-in, and self-honouring all the while also being viable and meaningful.
When You Say I Look Good For A Woman Over 40
When you say I look good for a woman in my 40s…
Do you mean I look younger than expected?More toned, less worn, less wrinkled?
Why I don't want to empower you
I don't want to empower you.
I want to help you understand I already see your power; your inherent power that cannot be learned or earned, your power that simply is.
An Online Retreat on Ancient Chinese Divination and Chinese Astrology
If you've been studying with me in the Mystery Mentorship, particularly in the Wood + Metal Module, you'll know that a critique I have about the "new age" communities that most practices done in the West are still coming from that extractive theme of objectifying rather subjectifying. Whether it's the studying of Tarot, tea leaf reading, dream work or even astrology, the main objective is "what's in it for me / tell me what I need to know / how I do manifest the life that I want". Put it another way, learning esoteric practices, accessing ancient wisdom is not meant to function as your genie. It is not meant to be, nor can it ever truly be, colonized. The Unseen, the Great Mystery were around far before any of us arrived on the scene.
Happy Friday the 13th!
The thing with working with spirits and the Unseen in general, is that some days, I am drenched with unspeakable longing. I am left unreasonable and crazy-eyed. Yet, rooted into an unperturbed knowing, emitting pheromones of radiance. Happy Friday, the 13th. Celebrating the Mystery, the Lucky, the Magick in you, with you. The part of you that cannot be shaken by challenges, the fickleness of public opinion, trends, mimicry, or co-opted originality. Celebrating your rootedness in the Integrity of the Unseen.
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).