6 Treasures for Art Witches with ADHD
A Venus Day Love List for 10/4/24
1. Afrofuturism
The artists/writers/thinkers of Afrofuturism are a huge and inspiring influence on my thought process in recent years. The premise of Afrofuturism is not just to argue against the idea of “primitive” Africans relegated to the past, but to envision the Pan-Africanism of the future. Their work has inspired me to rethink the aesthetics of witchcraft and paganism, which so often focuses on nostalgic longing for the lost folkways of the ancient world, when in fact the witches of the future need us. I’m excited for the vitality and brilliance of this film series being offered on AfroFuturism at the Hammer Museum in West LA tonight: The Last Angel of History / Space is the Place.
2. Queer Spirit Podcast: The Magic of Enough
Being bisexual, I’ve often felt challenged about being “queer enough”. Like, when you’re in a queer relationship then you’re queer enough, but when you’re single people have their doubts (let alone when you’re in a het relationship, then you’re a total poser). Thing is, lots of people worry about being gay enough, or trans enough, or political enough, or successful enough, or intellectual enough, or arty enough…. Because we’re trained to measure “enough” via external validation. But having your sense of self defined by others is against the ethos of queerness. Queerness is something felt from the inside. Aging can be challenging, but I’ve found that one of its gifts is feeling like I have less to prove bc my sense of what “enough” is comes more from the inside now.
In the episode we tell deeply personal stories and do healing work for our inner queer youths who felt like they weren’t enough for the world, and in support of the queer youth of future generations. Anyone wondering about issues of “enoughness” - queer or otherwise - would benefit from listening to the show. Besides, TanyaMarck is one of our beloved Mystery Cult members! Listen to the episode here.
3. Johanna Hedva releases their latest book, “How to Tell When We Will Die.”
Many of you will remember how we read Hedva’s essay, Sick Woman Theory, a few months back in our Reading Group. Well, this is the long awaited book length follow up to that essay. HOW TO TELL WHEN WE WILL DIE expands that essay in a “series of slyly subversive and razor-sharp essays that range from the theoretical to the personal — from Deborah Levy and Susan Sontag [whom we’ve also read in Reading Group] to wrestling, kink, mysticism, death, and the color yellow… Hedva implores us to remember that illness is neither an inconvenience or inevitability, but an enlivening and elemental part of being alive.”
In short, every book shelf needs a copy! BUY THE BOOK HERE
ANGELINOS! On October 9th Johanna Hedva, Lena Waite, and Traci Thomas will be appearing LIVE at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood. You should go! Find out more here.
4. Saeed Jones: “Failed Essay” prompts
If you’re a writer you probably already love Saeed Jones. I love his cutting insight / intimate, swaggery style. But I especially love this series of essays he’s been offering lately. The premise is: write an essay where you set out to fail from the beginning. Talk about liberating! I often procrastinate about writing when there’s something I want to write about but I feel intimidated by the subject matter. Maybe it seems too complex, or I’m worried I’ll be misunderstood, or I feel like I don’t know enough to write about it. Fear not, friends. Let misunderstanding be your goal. Make your work quantum level complicated. Write about things you don’t know shit about. Jones suggests that you might end up writing something even more interesting that way. In any case, you’ll probably be more likely to write at all. I think this strategy would work for all kinds of arts: make a chant that’s hard to remember, make a painting with ugly colors, fall over when you dance.
5. Meal Idea for Art Witches With ADHD…
Many of you know my problem with popcorn. I have that ADHD thing where I hyperfixate for hours, forget to eat, and then suddenly come to my senses with such low blood sugar that I just have popcorn for dinner. Popcorn is delicious! And it only takes one step to make, huzzah! But the problem is that it’s not very nutritious, and it does nothing to stabilize my blood sugar in the long term. Enter, canned beans!
Seriously, this is my favorite go-to meal when I’m so hungry that I can’t think, let alone make anything with more than three ingredients.
Ingredients: Canned beans of your favorite variety, greens (fresh or frozen), olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, feta cheese (or any kind of sour/crumbly cheese)
Steps:
Heat up the olive oil in a medium-sized soup pot
Add in the garlic (optional), let it brown for a minute then add the greens until heated all the way through
In the meantime, open a can of your favorite beans and rinse them, by the time you do this the greens will probably be cooked through, add the beans to the greens and cook them all together until hot
Put the cooked beans and greens in a bowl, sprinkle feta on top, and salt and pepper to taste
Enjoy!
Sometimes if I’m feeling creative I’ll add a few tablespoons of sliced olives and some Everything Bagel seasoning.
This meal is so easy and so delicious, even the most ADD witch in the world can enjoy it!
6. Have you got your tickets to the Witches’ Confluence yet???
Join the Modern Witches community in celebrating the power of magic to build new worlds! The 2024 Witches Confluence is devoted to spiritual activism, with a stellar line-up of teachers and workshops to empower you to cast spells for collective liberation. Cultivate kinship with a network of magically engaged folks, and foster networks of care and connection. Our gathering aims to leave you feeling empowered and fortified for the next stage of your personal evolution and our collective transformation.
Events and workshops happening online + in-person from October 27th through November 2nd. Witches Confluence + Magical Marketplace will take place in San Francisco, CA on November 2nd. Get your tickets or find out more here!
Plus there’s a BOOK…
I’ve got an essay in this fantastic new anthology edited by Casey Zebala of the Modern Witches Festival. Featuring a “Who’s Who” of voices from the contemporary witchcraft community, A Confluence of Witches is an invitation to practicing witches, and those newly drawn to the craft, to explore the authentic intersections of magic, spirituality, personal development, and social justice. Grab your copy here.
If you’re coming to the Witches’ Confluence, or even if you’re not, on Friday the 1st of November, the night before the confluence, there will be a free event where several of us witch writers from the book will be doing a reading and signing at The Book Smith. Find out more here!