Forgiveness is sacred. But it’s not a shortcut. Not a performance. Not a requirement for healing. Some of us were taught to forgive too quickly — out of fear, out of guilt, out of the pressure to be “good.”

Especially as Black women.Especially in the church. Especially when we were never given space to grieve what was taken.

But here’s the truth: I didn’t forgive you for you. I did it for my spirit.

Forgiveness doesn’t always mean calling them back. It means cutting the cord. Releasing the weight. Clearing the attachment and boundaries. That’s spiritual work too. That’s a “no” prayed over. That’s protection spelled out in silence. That’s clarity with a backbone.

I’ve learned to stop equating maturity with suffering. I’ve learned that walking away is sometimes the holiest thing you can do. And I’ve learned that peace feels like stillness — not approval.

If you’re still holding on to something you know you need to release… If you’ve been taught that forgiveness means forgetting who hurt you…If you’re afraid that saying “no” will make you look bitter…

Take a breath. You’re not bitter….. You’re boundaried. You’re not broken….. You’re becoming.

Covered by spirit. Guided by blood.

🎙 Listen to this full reflection now on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist.

There are voices that don’t just speak — they shift the room.

This week on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist, I sit down with EbonyJanice, Hip Hop Womanist scholar and author of All the Black Girls Are Activists.

For those that may not know, EbonyJanice is a dynamic lecturer, transformational speaker, and Womanist scholar committed to decolonizing authority and centering Black women’s freedom dreams. Her latest book, All The Black Girls Are Activists, explores Black girlhood, ancestral reverence, and radical wholeness as pathways to liberation.

Our conversation is a love letter to the sacred, intellectual, and spiritual work that Black women carry — often unseen, often unpaid, yet always world-shaping.

Together, we talk about:

* How the spiritual labor of liberation shows up in our bodies, relationships, and creative work.

* Black girlhood as sacred text — joy, play, and memory as theology.

* What ancestral reverence looks like as a living, breathing theology.

* Why softness, pleasure, and wholeness are revolutionary acts.

EbonyJanice reminds us that the revolution isn’t just in the streets — it’s in our healing, our art, our prayers, and our rest. Her voice carries the rhythm of revival, the fire of truth, and the joy of remembrance.

Grab her book All the Black Girls Are Activists wherever books are sold and check out more of her work on her website.

There are certain conversations that feel like ceremony—where words, laughter, and memory become offerings. This one with Mawiyah Kai EL-Jamah Bomani is exactly that.

A New Orleans native, award-winning playwright, priestess of OYA, and 8th-generation witch, Mawiyah carries both fire and tenderness in her voice. She joins me on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist to talk about what it means to live as OYA’s child—standing at the crossroads, creating art from the storm, and conjuring liberation through story.

In this episode, we explore:

* The sacred chaos of OYA and the spiritual lessons in change.

* How Hoodoo and writing act as portals for ancestral wisdom.

* Her books Conjuring the Calabash and the upcoming Hoodoo Saints and Root Warriors, and the power of magick made for women’s freedom.

* What it means to carry an 8-generation legacy of witches, healers, and storytellers.

* The purpose behind her podcast FishHeads in Red Gravy and her mission to center marginalized voices in the esoteric world.

Mawiyah reminds us that the work of spirit is not always soft—it’s movement, transformation, and truth-telling. Her words are both a spell and a sermon for anyone learning to live inside their own storm.

Before I had language for “rootwork,” I had land. I had fresh mint by my great-grandmother’s steps. I had mason jars filled with leaves I wasn’t supposed to touch. I had herbs steeped into tea that tasted like prayer. I wasn’t taught by books. I was taught by the Earth. And the Earth never needed to explain herself.

In Hoodoo, plants are not props. They’re not ingredients. They’re not trendy.

They’re elders. They’re teachers. They’re spiritual collaborators.

When I work with basil, I’m calling in peace. When I steep hyssop, I’m clearing something heavy. When I keep red clover near, I’m remembering my bloodline.

And before I ask anything from these plants, I speak to them. I give thanks. I listen.

You don’t need a yard. You don’t need the perfect setup. You just need to remember that you’re not separate from nature — you are nature. And nature recognizes her own.

Start with what’s near. Start with what feels right. Let the land teach you what Google can’t. You don’t have to know every ritual — just move with respect.

Covered by spirit. Guided by blood.

🎙 Listen to this full reflection now on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist on YouTube, Spotify, and of course Substack.

Happy Hoodoo Heritage Month! It’s also my birthday month! Shout out to all of my Libras and Scorpios. In celebration of my favorite time of the year, I’m dedicating these last few episodes of this season of the podcast to the tradition.

What happens when you study Hoodoo not as superstition, but as sacred practice — a living, breathing tradition of survival, healing, and power?

This week on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist, I’m joined by Dr. Yvonne P. Chireau, historian, author of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition, and one of the first scholars to put Black folk healing and conjure at the center of American religious studies.

Together, we talk about:

* How enslaved and free Black communities used conjure as medicine, protection, and resistance.

* The importance of oral tradition, memory, and everyday practice in keeping these traditions alive.

* What therapeutic pluralism teaches us about the blending of Hoodoo, Christianity, and other healing systems.

* The impact of her mentor Albert Raboteau, and what it means to build on that legacy.

* Her own reflections on identity, faith, and how scholarship and spirit meet in her life.

Dr. Chireau reminds us that Hoodoo is not just history on a page — it’s a sacred technology of resilience, rooted in the lives of Black people who refused to be erased.

Listen now right here on Substack or consider following the podcast on Youtube! Follow Dr. Chireau’s work on her website, AcademicHoodoo.com.

Paid subscribers get access to extended notes from this conversation, plus reflections on how Dr. Chireau’s scholarship shaped my own practice and work.

What happens when faith refuses to stay in the narrow pews it was handed, and instead begins to stretch, breathe, and move in the rhythm of liberation?

This week on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist, I sit down with Kristian A. Smith — pastor, public theologian, and the voice behind Holy Smokes: Cigars and Spirituality. Kristian is a thought leader who challenges us to rethink the boundaries of belief, asking how faith can serve as a tool for healing, justice, and radical imagination. He’s also the founder of The Faith Community, an intersectional inclusive space, rooted in the Greatest Commandment.

Together, we talk about:

* Breaking up with fear-based theology and moving into a spirituality rooted in freedom.

* How cigars, conversation, and community can become a liturgy of their own.

* The role of storytelling in reshaping our understanding of God, church, and ourselves.

* What it means to build faith practices that honor both tradition and personal truth.

I truly enjoyed talking to my homie. We even talked about capitalism, and how too many Black christians view poverty as a virtue. Lawd knows I don’t condone slavery. Neither does pastor Smith. So we gotta get paid. Okay!

Kristian reminds us that faith isn’t about blind allegiance — it’s about crafting practices that serve our wholeness and liberation. His voice is one that many of us have been waiting to hear: equal parts pastoral, prophetic, and practical.ads

Check out the full episode here or on Youtube and all other podcast platforms. Also please connect with Pastor Smith and tap into The Faith Community here.

Someone incredibly special to me recently passed away tragically. It’s still shocking. I’m taking my time to mourn and process. Grief has a way of reshaping us. It takes us apart, piece by piece, until all that’s left is what’s most true. In this episode of The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist, I sit down with my partner, comedian and creative spirit Nore Davis to talk about grief, ancestors, and the ways our rituals can hold us when the world does not.

This conversation is about more than mourning — it’s about remembering. We talk about how practices of ancestor veneration can soften grief, create space for laughter alongside tears, and remind us that our people have never left us.

From altars to prayer, to calling names out loud, to the simple act of living in their joy — we break down what it means to build a daily practice that keeps the dead present in our lives. Nore shares how comedy, storytelling, and memory work are his forms of spiritual care. Together, we explore how grief can become not just a wound, but a doorway.

In this episode, we explore:

* What ancestor veneration looks like in everyday life

* How grief can connect us deeper to spirit and lineage

* The role of ritual, prayer, and creativity in healing

* Why comedy and joy are sacred practices in times of mourning

* How to live with grief in a way that honors both the pain and the beauty

This one is tender. It’s a reminder that grief is not something to “get over” — it’s something we learn to walk with, guided by those who came before us.

Grief is not the absence of our ancestors. It is the proof of their presence. Each tear is an offering. Each memory, a prayer.

Let me know if you appreciate anything from this episode.

Say it with me: Menstruation. Periods!

They taught us to hide it. To be ashamed of it. To treat it like something dirty, something to pray away. We don’t talk about this enough. About how spiritual menstruation really is.

How the body sheds what’s no longer needed—and how that’s likely a holy act.

How the womb speaks in cramps and cravings, in silence and blood.

But the truth is — blood is sacred. Menstruation is a monthly initiation. A reminder that your body is a temple, and your cycle is a ceremony.

This episode is a love letter to the flow.

A reclamation of power that’s been hidden, hushed, and misunderstood for too long.

🎧 In this episode:

* I reflect on the spiritual significance of menstruation

* What church never taught us about the sacredness of the womb

* How I use rootwork and ritual to support my cycle

* And why our blood holds memory, medicine, and mojo

💭 Reflection Prompt:

How do you tend to your body during your cycle?

What would it feel like to treat your period like a spiritual practice?

🙌🏾 Join

The Anointed Few

As a paid subscriber, you’ll get access to exclusive altar notes, bonus episodes, and spiritual tools to help you stay in alignment with your body, your blood, and your purpose.

Have you had the “M” talk? You know, that talk. About menopause!

In this conversation with Omisade Burney-Scott, I have the opportunity to explore the intersections of ancestral wisdom, spirituality, and the experiences of Black women, Black bodies navigating menopause. Omisade shares her ancestral led journey into advocacy for reproductive justice and the importance of community support in understanding and normalizing menopause.

Just in case you don’t know, Omisade Burney-Scott (she/her) is a seventh-generation Black Southern feminist, storyteller, and reproductive justice advocate. She is also the Founder and Chief Menopause Steward of The Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause (BGG2SM), a multidisciplinary narrative and culture shift project focused on normalizing menopause by centering the stories of Black women, transgender, gender-expansive people, and other marginalized groups of the Global Majority.

Established in 2019, BGG2SM's core program offerings include a podcast, curated intergenerational storytelling gatherings, and a digital zine titled "Messages from the Menopausal Multiverse." She has been featured in multiple prominent media outlets, such as Oprah Daily, Forbes, VOGUE, WebMD, NPR, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. I stress to listeners during the interview that Omisade has BEEN doing this work! Long before it was trendy! Long before my favorite actress, Halle Berry was hollering MENOPAUSE on Capitol Hill.

I’m so grateful for this intimate conversation. We discuss the impact of loss, the significance of rites of passage, and the role of ancestors in shaping contemporary practices. We both emphasize the need for inclusivity in reproductive health discussions and the growing movement around menopause awareness, as we’ve both have contributed more than a decade to the menstrual equity and reproductive justice space.

This Queen takes me and listeners on a ride through the complexities of navigating life transitions, particularly menopause, through the lens of community, storytelling, and cultural identity. We also tap in on the importance of witnessing, creating safe spaces for dialogue, and the power of shared experiences in fostering resilience and understanding. Emphasizing the need for inclusivity in reproductive health discussions and the growing movement around menopause awareness, as we’ve both have contributed more than a decade to reproductive justice. In sharing the journey of her initiation to the Ifá religion, Omisade highlights the significance of ancestral memory, diasporic connections, and the need for inclusive gatherings that honor diverse narratives and experiences.

Omisade and her team are preparing to offer the first intergenerational menopause conference for the Global Majority, Queer community and formerly incarcerated people called Iranti Eje: Remembering Blood, this October 9th-12th in Durham, NC. Do yourself a solid and check out the beautiful website for more details on this community offering.

I will also be present at the gathering, offering my doula services at the Red Tent on the grounds. The Red Tent will serve as a restorative space inspired by ancient traditions where people who bleed can gather to rest and reconnect.

You can register for everything here. It’s going to be so beautiful. See you there!

What’s in your mojo bag?! You know about mojo bags right?

It’s not limited to just a gris gris bag or pouch made of flannel. Mojo bag represents the personal magic you have. The magic of Black women has been felt and reached globally for centuries.

In this episode of The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist podcast, I chat with Dr. Lindsey Stewart to explore the rich tapestry of Black women's spirituality, focusing on the legacy of hoodoo, the significance of community, and the importance of honoring ancestral wisdom.

Dr. Lindsey Stewart is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis, where she weaves Black feminist philosophy, Southern identity, and spiritual traditions into her scholarship . She is the author of The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo‑Abolitionism (Northwestern University Press, 2021), which explores how joy served as both resistance and refusal in southern Black life . Her newest work, Conjuring of America, traces 400 years of Black women’s magic—from mojos to mermaids—as a transformative spiritual history rooted in survival and self‑definition.

During our chat we discuss the role of granny midwives, the cultural significance of textiles, specifically quilts, and the complexities surrounding charging for spiritual services like readings. We also touch on modern expressions of spirituality, such as brunch culture and social media. Dr. Stewart even shares reflections on the transformative power of mermaids as symbols of rebellion and change.

Please consider supporting Dr. Lindsey Stewart by purchasing her new book, Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic.

The audiobook is also available on platforms like Audible and Spotify. I highly recommend listening to it! The dedicated chapters on The Candy Lady, Granny Midwives, and Caroline Dye are my favorites so far! Seriously, this book is a must have for all of the hoodoos and conjure women of today.