(Trigger Warning - S5 Ep #182)

Today we are stepping into a topic that I think (at some point) every single one of us wonders about. We’re talking about death and sitting in the mystery a little bit.  We are going to walk through some of the ways people have understood death and what comes after it. Not to decide which one is right but just talk about the options and notice what resonates. Because as witches, we don’t always need a single answer.  Right? We work with energy and cycles and transformation and death is a part of that.

Death is a sensitive topic for most people. It’s heavy and it usually brings up some kind of feeling. Whether that’s grief, memory, fear, curiosity… or just that painful ache that sits in the background when we think about the people and animals and things we’ve lost.  So please know I really appreciate you tuning into this episode and choosing to share this space with me today to talk about it. I promise I am going to be very mindful today.

I do have a trigger warning on this episode. I think most of my episodes are family friendly (kinda ... or for the most part).  I don’t edit specifically for kids or children to listen to, but I think generally most all of my episodes can be heard by a pretty wide age range.  And I am assuming if you do share any of these episodes with younger ages, you are listening first to see if it’s appropriate.  Please do the same thing today.  The trigger is not just for kids ... but for everyone. There is a personal sensitive section to this episode with a story of something I experienced. I have decided not to talk about it in depth today, just the overview. But, I will have a post on Patreon over at the person platform of Hearth & Hen with more information about the experience I went through IF (big if) it is something you want to read. So please, accept this as a trigger warning … for you and for any ears listening.

What happens when we die?  Across cultures, for many, many generations… people have held very different ideas about what happens after our bodies die. Some of those beliefs are rooted in religion, some in tradition, some in personal experience and some in that deep human need to understand what we can’t fully see. Today we are going to open the door to some of those perspectives. We are going to talk about the veil (that space between worlds) and what could come next. We are going to sit with the mystery a little bit!

We've got this!

Charlene

Patreon Hearth & Hen Witchy Work Wishes

I love the timing of this one showing up for us right now. The Swan Spirit! Because if you follow things even just a little bit from an astronomical or cyclical perspective… we’ve just closed out a really big chapter. A full 9-year cycle has come to an end and here we are, standing at the beginning of a brand new one in 2026.  And over the past few episodes… we’ve been talking a lot about intention. About what we actually WANT our lives to look like. But even more than that… what we want them to FEEL like. Because …  the next 9 years? Those are our chapters to write. And I am right there with you when I say… let’s write them in a way that feels aligned, honest and as beautiful as they possibly can be.

My theme with much of the work with The Swan is ... what are we being asked to look at more deeply right now?  And instead of rushing to solve it (or pushing it away) we are going to just sit with it and let ourselves go a little deeper.  We are going to ask… Why?  Why am I feeling this way?  Why am I choosing this?  Why am I holding onto this … or stepping toward it?  And then, when you think you have the answer, we are going to ask it one more time.  Because that’s where I think The Swan Spirit meets us.  Not on the surface…  but in that next layer down.

The Swan Spirit brings us a reminder that if we really want that kind of life (that kind of clarity) we can’t stay on the surface.  We have to be willing to go deeper.  So sit back and relax… I’ve got ya covered for the next hour and I feel like I have a little pep back in my step today. We are diving into the oracle card that’s been pulled for the month of April… The beautiful Swan Spirit.

We've got this!

Charlene

Witchy Work Wishes * Hearth & Hen * Patreon

Since we’ve been talking so much about ideas forming, things growing quietly before they’re ready to hatch and protecting our energy while we build something meaningful ... I thought it might be the perfect time for us to step into a little conversation about eggshell magic.  Because once you start looking at eggs through a magical lens, you realize they are doing far more than just holding breakfast. They are tiny little containers of transformation. And the shell itself? That shell carries a kind of quiet, earthy magic that witches have been working with for generations.

For centuries, witches and magical practitioners have worked with eggshells for protection, cleansing, boundaries, and even for strengthening the energetic walls around a space. Something that looks so ordinary in the kitchen can actually become a really potent magical ingredient once we start working with it intentionally.

So today… let’s talk about the magic hiding in something as simple (and as powerful) as an eggshell. Sit back and relax and join me for The Magic of Eggs -  From Nest Box to Spell Work!

We've got this!

Charlene

Witchy Work Wishes Hearth & Hen Patreon

The Wheel of the Year is turning once again and today is all about Ostara and The Witch’s Spring Reset. 

We have our Spring equinox happening in just a couple of days but this year I want to approach this sabbat a little differently than I have in the past.  If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know we have talked about the history of the holiday, the symbolism of eggs and hares, the balance of light and dark and all of those beautiful traditional correspondences that come with this turning point in the season.  But this time I kept thinking about something a little simpler.  Spring doesn’t arrive all at once. Yes, there is a date on the calendar but it doesn’t just burst through the door.  Really … it kind of sneaks in quietly. One day the light stays a little longer in the evening. I am sure you are feeling that the air is a little softer. The birds are louder in the morning. And our beautiful earth just starts to stretch after the long sleep of winter.  And if you pay attention… we start stretching a little too.

Our Spring equinox gives us this beautiful moment of balance.  Perfect balance!  Day and night standing equal for just a brief moment.  And that balance creates the perfect little pause point in the year. A moment where we can step back, take a breath and look around at our lives the same way the earth is looking around right now. What needs refreshing?  What tiny seeds are we ready to plant for the months ahead?  What will the future summer version of you be happy you did right now?

Today we’re going to talk about cleaning spaces, resetting our magical practice, noticing the seasonal shifts happening right outside our doors and planting the kinds of intentions that we would like to see grow over the next six months. And really… this might be one of the most practical Ostara conversations we’ve had together yet! So grab your tea, settle in, and let’s talk about the witch’s spring reset.

Click on the links and join our circle! Patreon * Witchy Work Wishes * Hearth & Hen Videos.

Charlene

Let’s talk about Servitors!

Servitors are essentially created energetic entities designed with a specific purpose in mind. Think of them like little magical assistants that you intentionally create to support a goal, a task or a particular type of energy you want working in your life. In many ways servitor magic is simply focused intention, symbolism and creative energy working together.

In this episode we are exploring what servitors actually are, where this idea comes from in magical traditions and how we can incorporate them into our own magical practices in a thoughtful, grounded way.

And I’ll share a little personal story too… I’m actually two + years into a relationship with a servitor I created specifically to support my company. When I first started researching this type of magic, I kept running into words like egregores and tulpas and honestly … I was a little confused about where the lines were. So, if you’ve ever been curious about this topic, or you’ve run into those same questions, we’re going to sort it out together.

CharlenePatreon

Witchy Work Wishes

Hearth & Hen

It has been so much fun working with this spirit.  Giraffes are kind of quiet, graceful, almost understated animals really when you think about all of the animal spirits we have in this world.  They represent height. Perspective. Distance. Clarity.  They stretch upward to reach the treetops. They look out across the landscape from a vantage point most other animals don’t have. And I started thinking about how often we live our lives at eye level. Right in the brush, the weeds …. the email inbox. Right in the argument, the to-do lists …. reacting, responding and handling whatever is directly in front of our face.  And Giraffe Spirit shows up and gently says… what if you lifted your head? What if you stretched your neck just a little higher to see if there is something you’re not seeing because you are too close to it?  That hit me.  And not so much as a personal life direction hit … but a business hit.  So hopefully you’ll be good with the direction I am going today.  Because it's all about this animal spirit in our business worlds.

Today it is about perspective and understanding the ecosystem you’re standing in. Your work, your relationships, your goals, your worries and recognizing that you are part of something larger than the moment directly in front of you.  So let’s stretch our necks together today (wink). Let’s lift our view. And let’s see what Giraffe Spirit wants to show us.

We've got this!

Charlene

Patreon

Witchy Work Wishes

Hearth & Hen

Motivation. Energy. Follow-through. You know …. that invisible push that helps us begin (and the invisible wall that sometimes makes beginning feel impossible).  Today’s episode is called Dopamine Magic: The Witch’s Guide to Motivation. And it is a witchy reframe of how motivation actually works, how dopamine actually works, and how we can start collaborating with our own energy instead of constantly fighting it.

I think motivation is something that a lot of us quietly struggle with, even if we don’t always have the words for it. I want to talk about it in a witchy way today …. and get a little curious with it. The kind of way where we start realizing maybe we’re not lazy, maybe we’re not failing, maybe we’re just working with our human brains and human nervous systems and very real natural cycles.   I am hoping we can have a cozy pep talk with a reminder that we get to work with our own energy … and learn how our energy (like our own personal energy) actually moves. And …. We get to make it magical!

We've got this!

Charlene

Hearth & Hen

Patreon

Witchy Work Wishes

Planting season is an energetic shift. It’s the moment where ideas start stretching and we get that quiet internal whisper of … something wants to grow. Sometimes we know exactly what that something is (like for me last year). And sometimes we really don’t. Sometimes it's just mood. But that’s okay. All of it counts.

Planting season is about choosing what we’re going to give our energy to on purpose. Because whether we mean to or no we are always feeding something. A habit. A thought. A story. A relationship. A project. A version of ourselves. Planting season just makes it more visible.  For many of us it is the season of tiny promises.

So if you’ve been feeling a little restless (a little antsy like something is shifting but you can’t name it) that makes sense. That’s planting season. It’s the in-between. The almost. The not-yet. And it’s a really sacred place to be. This is our ….. everyday sacred. Us standing in our kitchens staring out windows thinking about what sounds good to eat. This is us wondering what we want more of in our lives. That’s where magic starts ... in noticing. 

We are right on time for this season on the wheel of the year and I've got some fun ideas for us to work with this Kitchen Witch Planting Season.

We've got this! Charlene

Hearth & Hen

Patreon

Witchy Work Wishes

Today we are going to talk about one of those dates on the calendar that makes people react instantly. The moment you say it out loud, you can just feel the room split in half. Friday the 13th!

Some people hear Friday the 13th and they’re like “Nope. Absolutely not. Bad luck. I’m staying inside. I’m not making any big decisions today.” And then there’s the other group, the ones who are like, “Oooooh it’s Friday the 13th… let’s go!” Like it’s a portal day that is edgy and sacred and …. the perfect excuse to be extra witchy, dramatic and powerful. No matter what side you fall on, both reactions are valid.  Because whether we fear Friday the 13th or we love it… the day holds a charge in our culture. It just does. It has a story and a reputation and a vibe of its own.

It is a little funny ... it’s not like the universe looked down and declared “This day shall be cursed.”  That’s not how energy works. That’s not how magic works!  A lot of what we call “bad luck” around Friday the 13th is actually something much more human. It’s story, memory & tradition.  And, it’s a little bit of conditioning.  But aren’t a lot of things?   Because the fear of Friday the 13th didn’t come from one single thing.  It grew over time ... a bunch of old beliefs and superstitions and historical threads all tangled together like a witch’s knot of storytelling. And what happens when you mix two things people already feel weird about?  You get a date that’s basically branded as “something bad might happen today.”

Friday the 13th has become a moment where the world is collectively holding its breath.  And that, is exactly why we are flipping it.  Because we do not fear a charged day.  We use a charged day and say “Oh… the collective is stirred up today? Perfect! There’s power in that!".

We've got this!

Charlene

Hearth & Hen

Patreon

Witchy Work Wishes

Happy February! I am so excited you’re here with me today because this episode is one of those topics that sounds simple (like something we already know) and yet it’s one of the biggest, most powerful pieces of daily magic we practice.  Today’s episode is all about watching our words.   What we say to ourselves, to other people, in our spells… and what we whisper during our meditations. It is about what we say when we’re feeling inspired, and what we say when we’re tired, stressed, overwhelmed, or doubting ourselves.   The words we repeat out loud and, in our head, don’t just describe our lives… They shape our lives!

So today, we are going to use The Parrot Spirit energy as a mirror and we are going to look at what’s on repeat inside of us. And then… we are going to choose again.  Because this episode is all about reclaiming our voice, reclaiming our inner dialogue, and understanding something really important:  Thought is spellwork. Speech is spellwork.  And when we shift our words… we shift our whole world.

We've got this!

Charlene

Hearth & Hen

Patreon

Witchy Work Wishes