Rituals can help us meet these times
Performance studies meets witchcraft
In times of crisis, we need rituals more than ever. In fact, rituals evolved in human societies to help ferry participants across times of risk.
Think of the most common rituals in our culture: weddings, shaking hands as greeting, funerals, the national anthem at sports games.
Weddings occur and our whole life changes (risky AF!). We shake hands when we encounter new people (risk), and have funerals when we enter the realm of the dead (risk par excellence).
Ball games form a huge part of some people’s identity. Dodgers fans can feel devastated for a week when their team loses. People bet on sports games; betting equals risk.
For better or worse, the national anthem before games signals to people that no matter who wins or loses, their identity as “Americans” is not in question. They still belong. (In theory).
Ritual functions to create a sense of belonging, certainty, or whatever it is we’re longing for – whether or not we actually believe the ideology the ritual comes from.
If you sing the national anthem at a ball game, it doesn’t matter what you “believe.” You are DOING national allegiance.
As the canonical performance studies scholar Richard Schechner says:
“Ritual’s actions are not make-believe; they are make-belief.”
The rituals we perform create who we are.
It stands to reason then, that we can change who we are by changing our rituals.
I’ve shared my struggles with screen addiction with y’all many times.
When I feel overwhelmed, I have a ritual of flopping down on the couch and checking out.
My ritual of disassociation by screen troubles me, because much of what we consume via screen is an elixir of indoctrination.
And yet, when we are under more pressure than we have the capacity to handle (which, lets face it, many of us are — I know I am at the moment) we default to rituals of relief inscribed into us by our cultures of origin: family, community, nation.
When we practice the rituals of witchcraft, we realign ourselves. We make new worlds and reawaken old worlds together through our ritual actions.
As anyone reading this knows, we are in times of great risk. We need rituals that can help us meet these times.
Summer Solstice is coming up this Friday. A holiday celebrated throughout the world for thousands of years with rituals in honor of the Sun.
The Sun also enters the sign of Cancer on Friday, where it joins Jupiter, who just entered the sign of his exaltation.
Rituals that connect us with the bounty of the Sun, and the benevolent bounty of Jupiter don’t just refer to those heavenly beings – they CREATE relationships with them.
Relationships with powerful beings like the Sun help us move through times of risk, and align ourselves with powers that existed before empires began and will still exist long after all empires have fallen.
Stay tuned for my Cancer Season Witch Guide, and Solstice Mid Year Review ritual on Sunday. More on these below.
In the meantime, I give you my ritual valediction, as we repeat it, we create a rhythm of solidarity together:
Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again.
And so it goes. Love,
Amanda
Upcoming Events
Mid-Year Review Summer Solstice Workshop
At this hands-on two-hour Zoom workshop for Yearly and Founder’s level subscribers* this Sunday, June 22, from 11am - 1pm PT we will be:
reflecting on the pilgrimage of our collective Hermit year thus far
updating and developing our Books of Shadows together in real time
discussing strategies for deepening our magical work for the rest of the year
Cancer Season Witch Guide Drops Friday
All paid subscribers will be receiving their Cancer Season Witch Guides this Friday. You’ll get strategies for celebrating the Summer Solstice, as well as rituals and reflections to make the most of the powerful Jupiter in Cancer transit, which goes from June 9, 2025 - June 30, 2026, and is all about increasing our capacity to care and be cared for.
*Note that Yearly/Founders members get access to the Mid Year Review workshop AND the Witch Guides. Yearly/Founders memberships are cheaper than monthly memberships (and they help me stabilize my income )so hopefully it’s win-win for all of us! For clarification, monthly subscribers get the witch guides and full moon groups (also a great deal!) but pay a few dollars more per month and lose access to the free workshops but pay month-to-month.
**We have scholarships for those in financial need. I want this work to be accessible to all who need it. If you’re someone who needs it, email us at: guardian@oracleoflosangeles.com
