The more authentic you are, the more safe you become. There's always going to be this weird minority out there who feel threatened. So they feel unsafe. You're feeling safe, authentic, being kind and clear. And here come the ones freaked out by your truth. When we're living from our truth, we can handle these attacks so much better. Because we know we are so much more than whatever they say.

I tackle how to respond when people try to tell us that our authentic truth is wrong. AKA unsolicited advice. It's annoying, boundary violating and ever so unkind.

The Four Agreements can be purchased just about anywhere books are sold.

Go deeper: keepingherkeys.com

“Being kind is so important in this world that we live in. By choosing to be kind to ourselves and others, we honor ourselves and Hekate. Moreover, we collectively create an energy current of kindness that is vital to overthrow the forces that seek to disempower the vulnerable in society. This is what is known as compassionate anger. Being kind is not a state of weakness, but of immense strength. We rely upon our integrity to fortify our kindness into a force of change in this world.” - Keeping Her Keys: An Introduction to Hekate’s Modern Witchcraft

“Turn away from the world this year and begin to listen. Listen to the whispers of your heart. Look within. Your silent companion has lit lanterns of love to illuminate the path to Wholeness. At long last, the journey you were destined to take has begun.” Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort of Joy (1995) by Sarah Ban Breathnach

The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World by Jamil Zaki (PhD, heads the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory)

“Empathy’s most important role, though, is to inspire kindness: our tendency to help each other, even at a cost to ourselves. Kindness can often feel like a luxury—the ultimate soft skill in a hard world.”

“I always say that creating positive change in the world starts with just one person: you. That’s why it is so important to learn to be the right kind of selfish. It’s essential to learn the art of taking care of ourselves so that we can have the energy and the willpower to take care of each other and the world that we live in.” Dare to Be Kind: How Extraordinary Compassion Can Transform Our World by Lizzie Velasquez

Good article on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

When Someone Tells You Your Truth Is Wrong: You’re Not Wrong, They Are (Part 2) - in a separate recording.

The power of entering into a period of exploring personal rebirth is one of the most challenging, and rewarding, journeys we can undertake. Through engaging with the spirit of rebirth, we reveal the pieces within us, be they difficult memories or personality aspects, that long to die. Myths such as Persephone and Inanna show us the universal power of the spiritual dismemberment and death, which ultimately lead to a new wholeness, where the soul is amplified and the shadow quieted. 

I'm joined by Angela Natividad, whose insights into mythology and personal experience elevate any discussion. We cover so many components of the rebirth journey, from the inspirational ancient rituals of Eleusis to the practical applied concepts that really help us transform, and what solar/lunar energies mean.

I read a passage from "Lost Goddesses of Ancient Greece," by Charlene Spretnak.

To go deeper into the rebirth journey, join my soul school, The Covina Institute. You can access the self-serve class/meditation on rebirth by subscribing to the Keeping Her Keys hub on Searchie.

You can learn more about both at keepingherkeys.com

C.G. Jung pioneered the exploration of archetypes as a means of connecting to the deeper world on the journey towards wholeness. Exploring ourselves, the deeper world, and the external one through an archetypal lens allows us to develop wisdom about the nature of existence. They are forms that cannot be reduced any further, whose force is purely of them. They combine in myriad ways to create all things.

Archetypes are the foundational spirits of the universe, with consciousness and will of their own. Archetypes are at the very core of everything here in Covina.

They are living, breathing and conscious forces that are enlivened in Hekate's many epithets, dreams, the cards, astrology, plant medicine, magickal correspondences, and so much more.

To understand the archetypal nature of the deeper world is to become empowered with it's magick, medicine and mystery.

Archetypes work on the everyday world as well, reminding us that there is truly no separation.

We enter into the world of spirits each day with our Quotidia, the sacred daily practice that includes igniting the Sacred Fire of Hekate, meditation, and oracular work, that I teach in my school.

You can find a brief version of Quotidia here.

My class on The Archetype of The Witch can be viewed here.

Both are also available on the Keeping Her Keys YouTube and as podcast episodes on most major platforms.

Go deeper into your journey by subscribing to the KHK self-serve hub for more audios, videos, and downloads. LEARN MORE.

Become a student in my school by subscribing to The Covina Institute on Mighty Networks. LEARN MORE.

Further Reading:

The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1) (Collected Works of C.G. Jung (48))

Man and His Symbols by Carl G. Jung

Excellent book on symbols and archetypes:

The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images Hardcover by Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)

Remember whose you are.

From “Entering Hekate’s Garden: The Magick, Medicine and Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft.”

To enter Hekate’s Garden is to embark on a journey exploring the archetype of the witch and the goddess. It is the awakening of Anima, the sacred wild feminine force that has been constrained for centuries.

The archetype of the witch is as old as humanity. Typically, female, although not always, the witch is the one who brings healing through her use of powers connected to the deeper world. This, across cultures and times, has always been done in the spirit of rebellion against the so-called civilized world. Thus, the witch is the outsider, the one who resists conformity. Perhaps it is these two characteristics, that of connection to the unseen world and resistance to authority that are at the heart of the archetype of the witch. Discussing the archetype of the witch inevitably evokes Hekate, the ancient goddess viewed across history as a Queen of the Night, ruling over witchcraft, prophecy, and spirits. These are the gifts she bestows upon witches.

Go deeper into your journey by subscribing to the KHK self-serve hub for more audios, videos, and downloads. LEARN MORE.

Become a student in my school by subscribing to The Covina Institute on Mighty Networks. LEARN MORE.

Going deep into the meaning and mysteries of the High Priestess.

The archetype of the high priestess can be beautiful. It can be empowering. It can help us develop our own identity, our own wholeness, and that desiring to be a high priestess is a transformative journey.  It's one of exploring the magic, medicine, and mysteries of Hekate and her deeper world. She truly teaches us that we are so much more than the mundane, that we are so much more than belonging to an ideology where God is male and on high, and that women and the feminine are fundamentally flawed and always to be seen as the lesser compared to the superior maleness. There's so much that the high priestess can teach us. So let's explore these mysteries.

Part 2 of this episode and the infographic for the High Priestess Oracle Reading available in the KHK Hub on Searchie, and in my soul school, The Covina Institute.

Go to keepingherkeys.com to learn more.

There's so much programming to unravel when we begin our journey with The Goddess.

Join Covina to awaken The Goddess Within.

Learn more HERE.

My poems read in this episode:

She crouches in the corner,

My Goddesses Are Wild And Free

My goddesses are wild and free.

Inconvenient, independent.

Rebellious.

Resisters.

Revengers.

My goddesses are wild and free.

Hunting the wicked.

Conquering monsters.

Turning fools into swine.

Driving dragon chariots across the sun.

Shining pale moon beams,

Burning torches.

My goddesses are wild and free.

Many faces, many moods.

Dream haunters.

Enduring, changing.

Fleeing, remaining.

My goddesses are wild and free.

Death walkers.

Truth talkers.

Trouble makers.

Impatient with fakers.

Claiming those they desire,

Casting others into the fire.

My goddesses are wild and free.

Answering my call,

Showing up uninvited.

Forever travelling their road,

Leaving behind a trail

That I must follow.

My goddesses are wild and free.

Eponymous chant for the episode title is by Jan Runnalls.

Imagine a little girl, alone in the woods with nothing but nature to comfort her. She speaks to the stones and understands their language. The green world opens her imagination to all that lies in the unseen realms. She knows what is in the heart of every animal she meets. When not in the woods or on the shore, she was immersed in the world of fantasy, mythology and folklore. The moon was her soul mother, and her dreams were of a life where she felt safe all the time. That girl was me.   

To this day, nothing fuels my soul like being in communion with the plants, stones and animals. Witchcraft has always been my refuge from a world that never accepted me. It has inspired me to craft a life where I am safe to be who I truly am, healed into my own unique wholeness. Practicing a very personal form of spirituality.   I was unwanted, And witchcraft was my medicine. I was left broken, And witchcraft was my medicine. I fell into the abyss, And witchcraft was my medicine. I walked through the fire, And witchcraft was my medicine. I healed, And witchcraft was my medicine. I was reborn, And witchcraft was my medicine. I stand in my power, And witchcraft is my medicine. - from "Entering Hekate's Garden: The Magick, Medicine and Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft."  

In a world that doesn't understand us, for if you are here watching this unedited version of an episode from my podcast you are kindred, it can be frightening to stand apart from the crowd. Yet, for me at least, all the ridicule, judgment and raised eyebrows doesn't come close to negating the way witchcraft feels to me. There is so much joy. Simply stated, I love it.  

You can watch unedited episodes of The More Than This Podcast by going to keepingherkeys.com and choosing "podcast." Go there to join the KHK Searchie Hub, where you can watch with captions, download the transcript and search in the collection of videos. You'll find all the unedited episodes right in there, too.  

Stay Witchy and Hail Hekate.

Being "The Witch In The Room," can be incredibly beautiful, yet when we are in hostile settings, it is also incredibly challenging. In this inaugural episode of The More Than This Podcast, I talk about what being the witch in the room means to me.

Welcome to my new podcast. I've called it "More Than This," because we are so much more than our physical existence, and so much more than anything we are currently going through.