What Happens to Your Energy Field When You Live Online
Are you wondering, how will AI affect us?
Living online, especially in an AI-saturated environment, doesn’t just affect your focus. It shapes how your energy is held, scattered, or absorbed. The shift is real, even if it’s invisible, and understanding it is the first step in protecting your field and maintaining clarity. I wanted to speak to what I’ve noticed with the advent of LLMs (large language models).
So how will AI affect us negatively? Or at all?
A few observations and thoughts I’ve been having lately are…
Oversaturation of Synthetic Frequency
AI operates at speeds and densities that do not match the organic rhythm of the human energy system. It delivers compressed, data-heavy interactions that can overwhelm the etheric field. Over time, this leads to low-level psychic interference, reduced clarity in intuition, and a sense of being constantly stimulated but rarely aligned.
How to Cast Spells: Effigies as Ritual Tools
What is an effigy? This blog post outlines their function, theory, and practice
What is an Effigy?
An effigy is a constructed figure or representation, most often humanoid, animal, or spirit-form, used in ritual, spellwork, or spirit mediumship. Effigies can be made from wax, clay, wood, cloth, paper, or even roots and are charged to act as a vessel, proxy, or link in magical operations.
How To Cast Spells with Effigies?
In occult and animist practice, effigies serve as intermediary bodies, giving shape and density to an intention, a morphic field, a spirit, or a target (human or non-human). This is grounded in sympathetic magic: the belief that actions performed upon the representation directly affect its referent. Effigies make the immaterial tangible, localizing and concentrating energy for magical working, ritual work, and mediumship (hint, this is a key to good psychic readings!).
How Conjure Oils and Ritual Candles Work in Spell Casting and Mediumship
How to Cast Spells, Effectively: Function, Methods of Application and Best Practices for Candles, Conjure Oils, and Other Ritual Tools
The Purpose of Conjure Oils and Magic Candles in Witchcraft and Spirit Reading (Mediumship)
In both traditional and contemporary occult work, ritual tools act as technology—deliberate interfaces that structure and anchor the practitioner’s will, intention, facilitate altered states, and mediate spirit contact. Materia magica such as plants, minerals, body fluids that are then made into oils, candles, and effigies (I’ve written a dedicated post about effigies) serve multiple functions: focusing the practitioner’s intention, marking liminal thresholds, storing energetic charge, and offering a “body” through which spirits or energetic currents can be attracted, contained, or banished. Their use is especially pronounced in witchcraft, where precise handling of energy is critical through a spell.
History of Playing Cards for Divination: Origins of Tarot, Mahjong, and Cartomancy
Playing cards are believed to have originated in 9th-century China during the Tang Dynasty, where they were used both for entertainment and as a form of divination or gambling. Early Chinese cards resembled paper dominoes or money-suited cards and often reflected social structures and economic metaphors.
By the 13th and 14th centuries, playing cards had travelled west via trade routes, reaching the Islamic world and eventually Europe. Mamluk Egypt produced ornate, hand-painted decks, which likely influenced early European designs. When cards arrived in Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain, they evolved into suits representing the social classes: cups (clergy), swords (military), coins (merchants), and batons (peasants).
Reimagining Freedom: A Reflection from the Body
What do you mean by freedom (from a Taoist perspective)? When we hear the word freedom, especially in the West, it often conjures political definitions—rights, autonomy, liberty. And while freedom is political, I believe there’s a deeper, more embodied way to explore it. One that’s rooted not just in theory, but in practice.
Too often, freedom is equated with “doing whatever we want.” But from a Taoist lens, I’d like to gently challenge that notion. Because if freedom means acting on every impulse, how is that different from having no impulse control at all? In many ways, being ruled by urges is the opposite of freedom—it’s being held hostage by them.
The Fascist Playbook: How History Repeats Itself
Fascist and authoritarian regimes don’t emerge fully formed; they creep in, embedding themselves in the folds of society like a slow-moving terminal illness. The process is eerily predictable, as if dictators across history have been working from the same manual. Economic crisis, political instability, social unrest—these are the fissures through which authoritarianism seeps, promising “safety” while delivering control.
Resistance witchcraft that is built on positive grounds instead of negative grounds become more needed than ever.
Invisibility Spells
Invisibility spells are magical workings intended to render someone unseen or unnoticed, either literally or metaphorically. In many witchcraft traditions, they focus on shifting perception, diverting attention, or creating an energetic veil around the practitioner. Rather than making a person physically vanish, these spells often enhance one’s ability to move unnoticed, blend into surroundings, or avoid unwanted attention.
Signs That the Year of the Snake Is Already Taking Shape
Chinese Zodiac Year of the Snake: How the Year of the Serpent is Unfolding So Far. Animist spirit medium, Mimi Young, who offers spirit readings and other psychic mediumship readings, along with Chinese astrological forecasts, shares some clues on how the year of the Snake is unfolding in 2025.
Casting Spells: The Spell that Heals is the Spell that also Destroys
My body is harnessing a current of power I had not yet touched. Not simply the generative force of Wood feeding Fire, Fire turning to Earth through its ashes, and so on, but the degenerative cycle—the one that reaches across the pentacle rather than moving along it. Fire melting Metal. Metal severing Wood. My voice and body, in the context of my magic, are not just constructing; they are deconstructing in the same breath.
The spell that heals is the spell that destroys. The invocation that calls something into being is the same that banishes what was. (An example - if we are sick, the virus must die for us to heal). There is no birthwork without deathwork.
Signs You Are Experiencing An Energetic or Psychic Attack
Signs of a psychic attack, and what to do about it. A psychic attack occurs when negative energy is intentionally or unintentionally directed at an individual, causing energetic, emotional, mental, or even physical disturbances. This energy may come from another person, an entity, or environmental influences. Psychic attacks can be intentional, such as when a spirit is offended, or from a human through malicious spellwork or directed ill will, or unintentional, arising from jealousy, resentment, or unconscious energetic projections. Recognizing these attacks allows individuals to take protective measures to restore balance and safeguard their well-being.
Energetic or psychic attacks are real concerns for those who are attuned to the unseen. While not all discomfort or misfortune is the result of external malice, there are signs that can indicate the presence of negative energetic interference. Understanding these symptoms can empower you to take protective and restorative action, including collaborating with protective spirits, engaging in return to sender spells, and even making your own ritual supplies with warding in mind.
Check Your Head Before You Cast: The Ethics & Mechanics of Offensive Magic
Hexes and bindings are not light undertakings. They require a clear understanding of consequence and responsibility, and even more so, self-awareness. (In a recent study published in Harvard Business Review, a team of researchers revealed two types of self-awareness: internal self-awareness, which involves understanding our values, passions, aspirations, reactions, and impact on others—linked to greater satisfaction, happiness, and reduced stress; and external self-awareness, which reflects how others perceive us. Those who align their self-perception with others’ views foster stronger relationships and greater effectiveness in life).
There’s real risk when fragile, self-absorbed individuals, driven by vengeance, engage in workings that take on a darker hue—just as there is with overly emotional practitioners who find themselves remorsefully googling “how to remove a hex” the next day.
I can’t help but reference the Beastie Boys (I was a teen in the 90s). There’s a fundamental need to Check Your Head before one can proceed with the idea of Licensed to Ill.
Body Fluids as Materia Magica
I wanted to share about how we will be exploring body fluids and parts in Crafting The Arcane, my 12-part learn to cast spells series.
Menstrual blood or semen as connectors between creative work, nurturing and healing, acceleration, and in certain contexts, for resolution.
Urine for cleansing, territory marking, resistance, and banishing.
Saliva for voice related workings, and in some instance, for curses.
Animism is the Core Principle in Folk Magic
Together, we’ll explore the relationality of materia magica, the architecture and applications of spells, spirit collaboration, and the societal roles of sorcery—including protection and reversal to resistance and turning. Designed for both depth and practicality, the curriculum incorporates space for independent practice, spell reviews and group critiques to foster accountability, sharpening, and meaningful feedback.
In honour of this series, I’ll be sharing more frequently on IG (interspersed with blog posts here), exploring the classic botanicals and other potent materials that form the backbone of sorcery and folk magic—interwoven with insights from Daoist traditions.
And so today, I wanted to start with the core that holds it all: animism.
Understanding the Difference Between a Spirit and a Ghost, and Other Spirit Beings
Let’s explore the difference between spirits and ghosts, and other terms for invisible entities, such as sylphs, nymphs, djinns, familiars, and even digital spirits.
Ghosts vs. Spirits
The term ‘spirit’ is translated into Mandarin as ‘shen’, which encompasses not only the essence and soul but also the multidimensional, energetic expression of a being—unbound by physical 3D reality or, in some cases, never having possessed a fleshly or carnal form to begin with. To be specific, spirits can be a catchall umbrella term for all unseen, animate forces, in which ghosts can fall as a specific category.
'Kuei' (‘Guei’), or ghosts, refer to the distinct spirits of the human dead, especially ones who are considered homeless, that is, between this world we call reality, and the realms where spirits dwell. Many times ghosts are not aware that they have passed on, or are lingering because they have not received the closure they are seeking before they leave this plane.
What is Psychic Smelling or Clairolfaction?
Clairolfaction, also referred to by the terms clairolfactance, clairosmesis, clear smelling, psychic smelling, psychic scent, or olfactory mediumship, is an intuitive, extra-sensory gift that utilizes the perception of scents, that is not physically present, to receive messages from spirit guides and other spirit entities, verify information with the Unseen, or to gain insight from the past or foresee future events.
What is a Return To Sender Spell? Essential Information Around Reversal Magic
A return to sender spell, also known as a reversal spell, and sometimes called a magic mirror spell or boomerang spell, is a type of magic ritual designed to send negative energy, curses, or harmful and otherwise undesired intentions back to their source. It aims to reverse bad luck or ill-willed actions, restoring balance by reflecting the harm back to the originator.
Refining Your Spell Casting Ability: Prune to Bloom
In the context of a witch or magic practitioner, the role of being an editor is also an indispensable part of the craft. Spells may require specific techniques for a particular outcome or fruit you’re tending to. Editing can look like ensuring the language of a spell is precise, clear, and aligned with the desired intention. It can also involve removing unnecessary or conflicting elements to create a more focused working. The editing done within shadow work can identify fears and self sabotaging, catching and releasing them. Contrary to “anything goes modern spirituality”, effectual spells are not about just throwing in a bunch of herbs in a jar and hoping for the best. No matter what, effective spells require intentional vision, and an element of release. The witch must be willing to surrender, to allow ideas to come to maturity, to prioritize what matters, and ruthlessly examine what that may be. To edit in spell work is to know to say no more often than saying yes, with gratitude and curiosity. An editor’s mind within witchcraft is having the discernment to know that a hex or a counter spell is less about revenge and more about rebalancing. Editing is Yin work, and Yang evoked with precision and without ego. It means the sorceress is ruthless in compassion, is disciplined and eagle-eyed, and calls in the allies to attract, protect, defend, uncross, hinder, or destroy.
Ways to Honour Domestic Spirits on the Winter Solstice and the Yin Season
Invite the Spirits to a Winter Solstice Ritual or other seasonal observances, such as Lunar New Year celebrations
Hold a small ceremony that acknowledges the domestic spirits’ role in your life.
Include gestures like ringing bells or pouring libations to signal their welcome.
HOW TO PREPARE RITUAL PAPER
When I write intentions to be used in ritual or spellwork, I craft them on paper that has been especially designed to support the work. I hold the belief that the paper itself is the sacred container for these intents, and to honour these intentions, the very words’ environment should be held with respect, beauty, and reverence. While early Taoist (Daoist) sorceresses wrote their sigils (an inscribed symbol that contains meaning and power) on rice paper and through ritual, ingested the papers containing these sigils, I follow certain aspects of this ancient Chinese tradition of my ancestors of long, long ago.
Why the Winter Solstice Is the Ultimate Yin Moment—and Why Honouring it Will Set You Up For the Year of the Snake in 2025
The Chinese oracle, the I Ching, operates through casting lines from the ground up, with each line representing the possibility of being either Yin (a line symbolizing spaciousness) or Yang (a solid line). When a line is exclusively Yang, it reaches a state of maximalist saturation, where the restoration of balance—most often through entropy—becomes inevitable. Similarly, when a line is purely Yin, balance can only be restored through germination and regeneration, initiating a cycle of renewal. This paradox is fundamentally what informs Daoism and reflects the dynamic interplay between Yin and Yang; the pursuit of balance is the natural Cosmic order.