Failure as a Confrontation with Death

Portrait of Mimi Young and the Becoming Podcast logo on a beige background

Did you listen to my fun, rich, and wide-reaching interview Jessie Harrold of The Becoming Podcast? What we chatted about:⁣  Failure as a confrontation with death that ultimately makes us more human and divine⁣  How to suspend your disbelief and follow your intuition in a hyper-rational world⁣  Animism and working with tea as an ally⁣ […]

Do Plants Feel the Same?

Asian woman hands touch the leaves of fern plant prayerfully and with reverence

No matter how often we are told we are loved, it’s still possible to forget it. I wonder if plants ever feel the same. I confess my love for them, again, as sweetly as the first time. I think the Tea in my cup today blushes. The Ferns, too.  Following the plants, Mimi YoungAnimist spirit […]

You Are The Energetic Company That You Keep

A mountain shrouded by mist and cloud

To the wu shamans, and later Daoists and Ch’an Buddhists (whose sentiments can still be found in present day Chinese culture, such as in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Astrology), the separation between consciousness and landscape did not exist. They did not need the term because the very need to announce in spiritual posturing that […]

Simple Moon Rituals for Powerful Energetic Shifts: In collaboration with goop

Goop logo, a dreamy image of a full moon over the ocean, and the headline Simple Moon Rituals for Powerful Energetic Shifts

I return to goop, and was interviewed about Moon rituals that highlights principles of Yin, Yang, and Daoism (the philosophy that birthed the Five Elements and Chinese Zodiac) in general. The idea is to slow right down, get tactile, and relate differently than you typically would. An excerpt below. “It becomes a very sensorial experience,” […]

How to Determine Your Elements

a racialized woman walks through a field of wild grasses

I’m feeling so much joy for the enthused interest in responses to my recent newsletter, my story What Most Likely is Showing Up For You, Based On Your Elemental Composition (also on IG) discussing divinatory forecasts relating to your Wu Xing Elements (Five Elements), according to your Chinese Astrological natal chart (Bazi). Many of you have studied with […]

Exploring the Possibility of Wisdom in AI

A human-made material in a form of a sheet lifts and reveals a natural stone beneath it

The exploration of the basis that “artificial intelligences” are inherently ‘artificial,’ contrasting with the notion of “natural intelligence” in humans, betrays more human-exclusivity and the problems tied to that perspective than mere forecasts about an imminent hostile AI takeover. Embedded within the attribution of ‘artificiality’ are our lust for ‘a return to innocence’ or ‘purity’ […]

What Are Sigils?

two bodies facing each other, with one of them placing their hand on the other's cheek, signaling safety, trust, and closeness

Traditionally speaking, sigils are a form of magick that holds the energy that is accessed through a specific intent and ritual. Sigils are often created by combining letters, symbols, shapes into an abstract design that is charged with energy of the desire. Common purposes include protection, peace in a home, recovery and healing, success on […]

HOW DOES THE FORCE IN STAR WARS PLAY PARALLEL WITH THE DAO ACCORDING TO DAOISM?

A hand, set against a dark, reddish-brown earthy background

In Daoism (Taoism), the concept of the Dao (Tao) refers to the fundamental vital life force that underlies and connects all beings and all things in the Cosmos. ⁣ In Star Wars, the Force is portrayed as a powerful and all-encompassing energy that connects all living things in the galaxy.⁣ The Dao and the Force […]

THE OFFERING ARRIVED

a photo of yellow and orange flowers and greenery, in the style of a polaroid

Qing Ming Jie, a dedicated day in early spring for traditional Chinese peoples to visit loved ones who have passed on at their graves and pay respects, was on a Wednesday this year, the day of Mercury. By custom, with the tombs freshly swept by the living, and the debris removed, the spaces consecrated as […]

Earth Day and the Feeling of Futility

Figure with back to viewer stands in sea of ferns and other green plants

Oh, loved ones. Reading my friend, Carmen Spagnola’s post on Earth Day, resurrected so much within me. I remember the once held feelings of naive might– the one individual can take on the ugly world of big corporations, the machines of government, the systems of isms. I can do this, using the stronger, faster, smarter, […]