I want to take you along with me to HQ, as I complete my shift as Shop Witch today.
First things first, you know the dance to get ready. Nothing novel to share here other than I have been testing out some new morning routines and the best one still is sleeping in an extra 15 minutes, so still testing! Once I get my lunch together, laptop and things prepared I head off for BronxWitch Headquarters. I enjoy a nice walk on my journey and today I left a extra earlier because Dunkin’ dropped their pumpkin flavors and I am enthralled by the taste. So, I made time for a stop.
Upon opening, it is time to get the day started and the biggest task at hand? Books. This past weekend HQ was abundantly blessed with a huge book donation from a beloved fellow witch and we have been slowly eating away at the piles, quite giddily I might add. Witches + Books = A Love Story of the Higher Realms
This is the pile of books after three days of chewing and she’s still going strong! If you notice the back bookshelf, it has been filled now from end to end with books (did I mention those on the shelf are free? well they are!) As a bookworm myself, being given such a task fulfilled all my dreams of wanting to work at Barnes & Noble as a teenager.
Because the shelves of free books were already filled to its maximum capacity, there is now a magickal box that can grant you any book from within its parameters- with a mere glance.
Next up on my to-dos was to identify these herbs. Hmmm what could they be? I am still quite a newbie when it comes to herbs. Do I know lavender though? You bet! Chelsey, a fellow shop witch and herbalist, has actually been so helpful in my herbalism journey – this past weekend I learned how to identify yarrow, mugwort, and mullein in nature. I took some yarrow home to try to propagate and to study further. Yarrow has been calling to me lately.
Okay, coming back to the picture, I had to go ask Aly what this herb was and she informed me it was Chrysanthemum which I learned more about from the label. It’s a masculine, fire-y herb that provides protection from evil spirits and the wrath of others. I love the ability to learn new things at work!
The act of repetitive motions, like putting stickers on packages, has been helpful in helping my solidify my newfound information of Chrysanthemum.
Next up, it is time to package some herbs! Now this is a fun process. Here we have Red Clover pictured. Red Clover is also a Fire and Air herb that assists with bringing in love, heart healing and enhances inner knowing and Spirit communications.
In an attempt to bring home a point (mostly to myself); the repetitive tasks of adding stickers while intentionally reading them is slowly increasing my herbalism knowledge. The opportunity to get to learn in a hands on way, is a blessing I can’t express enough gratitude for. And look at you! Reading about it!
I hope you learned a little something new, with me, today too .
In my practice, I spend a lot of the time on Tarot so I don’t interact with herbs often, outside of drinking teas or using them in my craft on occasions. I’ve been looking for space to incorporate them in more, but I can often find learning about herbs, while going deeper into Tarot, to be a bit of a strain on my brain. Slow but steady has been a worthwhile strategy instead.
I recently read The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism by Karen M. Rose, which helped me learn a good deal about herbs and how to interact with them. I appreciated how Karen connected different herbs with the body systems and with spiritual correspondences. In this beautiful book, it made reading and seeing the inherent connections within, a pleasant learning experience.
I love when the most lovely witches of the Bronx come on in to say hello and chat. They all warm my heart and I love hearing all the about the wonderful magick happening both within and around them in their lives. I have often longed to feel a part of something, like we all do, and when I’m here, I really feel like I am a part of something way bigger than myself. It’s quite a stellar feeling.
Now it is time to package an order. Here we have a sage bundle and Kananga Water, which from what I understand is another version of Florida Water. A quick web search, if you’re equally unfamiliar, will yield some good information. Getting to use packaging supplies has yet. to get old for me. It always feels like play!
Shop Reader, Jae has come in! Remember the magickal box from earlier? Well, as you can see, magick is now happening! Upon the end of the day, Jae left with some wonderful titles floating delicately behind her.
It was now time for some Online Portal work. We got some exciting and interesting classes in store for the Coven Community! This is that part of the day where I’m answering some emails, working as the tech wizard (hardly, haha) behind the scenes in the Portal and occasionally doing some research from my next working.
At some point, I did have my lunch and I had some rice and chicken, exciting I know. But man, let me tell you, how I wish I knew what was happening next! Because if I had known I would’ve waited to had lunch!
In the evening hours, Perrin surprised us all with Chinese food! A new dear friend of the the BronxWitch community. All of the witches who were hungry enjoyed a meal together and I made myself a to-go to-go plate (please tell me someone got it). But what abundance! This day has been very ‘New Moon in Leo’ indeed. Let me share a little more about Perrin with you, because he is doing some super cool things.
He runs a wonderful Instagram page called “Da Bronx is Beautiful” where he shares the innate beauty of the Bronx and the true community that can be found here. I invite you to check him out.
He is doing the groundwork in helping rewrite a narrative for a community that has been given a nasty name for too long. The Bronx is no longer standing for the slander, and Perrin is proof of that, along with countless other organizations, individuals and businesses that are rewriting the narrative as well. You can check out some of them by taking a stroll through his page. Let’s uplift those doing good work.
By now, the day is over and it is time to begin closing shop. After enjoying the company of many souls it is time to begin my journey home. Whenever I leave the shop, this is my favorite moment, while walking to the subway. I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of my day as Shop Witch!
Today, it feels like the heavens are saying, “I will always hold you.”
