MY CORE TEACHINGS
Let me tell you about some of the main things I write about both in my blog and as part of the content I create.
Knowing about my take on these things will help you know if you're in the right place. One thing that I think is very important to note is that beliefs and ideas change over time. Through education and life experience, we will often find that a spiritual or magickal belief we had at one time no longer rings true for us 10 years down the road. That's OK! Embrace your evolution! My beliefs on some of these things have changed over the years, and I'm sure they will change again in the future. I welcome it.
Energy
Think back to your science classes from high school. Everything is energy. We are made of energy, are surrounded by energy, and are deeply affected by other energies around us. We vibrate at various rates at different times depending on the people we’re around, the places we’re in, and the things happening in our lives. Our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings help shape this vibration, and when we learn how to shift it using different spiritual tools, we can completely change the shape of our lives. Being aware of your energy, how it affects others, and how the energy of others affects you can be invaluable when making big decisions and changing things up in your life and on your path.
Tarot + Oracle Reading
When it comes to a tool that I carry with me everywhere I go and that I use in every aspect of my life and spiritual practice, it’s tarot cards (and oracle cards too). Tarot can be used for divination to look into the unseen parts of our lives, as well as as a tool for meditation and manifesting our most desired outcomes. Tarot is an intuitive tool and not nearly as intimidating as it may seem initially. Anyone can learn to use the cards, even in simple ways, becoming a tool for gaining confirmation and understanding in even the most confusing situations. However, there is one thing about tarot, oracle, and other forms of cards and divination tools that I feel strongly about: we can't ever fully predict the future. In fact, I often go so far as to say we just flat out cannot predict the future with a reading. The future isn't set in stone. What a reading says today could be totally different tomorrow or a week from now because of the actions you or others have taken that changed the course of things. Now, you might say, "But wouldn't you see that in the cards then and know it's going to happen?" If you believe in free will, no. But if you believe in fated destiny and that everything is already laid out and you're just being taken on a ride, then sure! But I don't believe that, and therefore, I don't use divination tools of any kind to predict the future but to get a better sense of what's happening now and how the past can help us make better choices moving forward.
Angels, Spirit Guides + Animal Spirits
I strongly believe in the existence of spiritual allies around us. Sometimes, we sense their presence, like hearing our name called or feeling a comforting hand. Even when unrecognized, they are there, waiting to help us connect. Angels, as non-denominational beings of pure love, serve as messengers from the Divine. They have never lived on earth. Spirit Guides, often from those previously incarnated, connect with us through life purpose and experiences. We also have Animal Spirits—Totem Animals, who guide us throughout life, and Power Animals, who assist based on our current lessons. Together, these entities form a powerful spiritual support system, ready to aid us in our journey.
I know some people will begin to get their magickal panties in a bunch over the very mention of animal spirits/spirit animals, thanks to the recent increase in calling anything and everything non-white said or done by a white person as cultural appropriation (even when it isn't). This isn't something I'm going to discuss or debate; I've written about it several times on my blog, which is more than I care even to discuss it. The use of animal spirits as guides, healing partners, and allies in magick and spiritual practice (aka animism) can be found in all cultures and is not a uniquely Native American practice.
The Divine + The Universe
Along with our energy vibration are the vibrations of Divine Consciousness and the Universe. These aren't completely separate from us because we’re all connected through them. Humans had to find a way to make sense of these abstract concepts, so we created mythologies with gods and goddesses. We have given names, faces, and personalities to understand better how to connect to those vibes. Some of these divine beings lived, and some aren't so sure about it, but having incarnated in the body isn't what makes them "real." We believe in them, and our interaction with their energy is what does it. One thing that I believe very strongly is that the Divine and the Universe are two different things. The Universe isn't God and doesn't care about your wants or desires. It simply gives you back what you put into the world - matches your vibration.
Healing
Healing is an often misunderstood thing. Healing doesn’t mean curing but rather becoming whole. The process of healing is where we create the mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic space to go through the process of improving our mind, body, and spirit and bringing them together as one once again. Healing can mean shifting the way you think to raise your vibration to bring the right people into your life and letting go of the energetic blocks that can keep us from being able to heal. Healing rituals, working with healing meditations and healing crystal remedies, can help speed up recovery times and make dealing with an illness easier. But healing is a journey, and sometimes, that journey requires the separation of the soul from the physical body. That doesn't mean healing didn't "work," and to think of healing purely on a physical and in a very one-dimensional way is missing the whole point of the process.
Crystals
These little sparkly friends can heal and manifest things for us just by simply being there. Almost zero experience is needed to use crystals and have amazing results with them. Crystals change our energy vibration when we’re feeling sick, sad, and generally low and down because the higher vibration of the stones lifts up our vibrations. When we use specific stones in specific situations, we can shift our vibration to heal and attract what we need most. Crystals can be used as jewelry, in geometric energy grids, carried as pocket stones, and even used to create gemstone elixirs, which we can drink or bathe in to infuse ourselves with crystal vibrations. Crystals are a vast subject with so much to know and learn, and on a practical level, there are things to know when it comes to health and safety, but learning to work with crystals is something I found to be a highly rewarding part of my practice.
Intention + Mindset
Your intentions are key to everything that happens around you. As the Buddha says in Verse 2 of the Dhammapada, “The mind is everything. What you think, you become.” Our intentions are our plans, the things we want to create, and the desired results we are working toward. However, intention is also an energy around us, connected to the Divine and the Universe, that helps to align us with what we need most on our journey. What you most desire is what you think about, and what you think about is your true intention. Your intention is who you are at your depths. When we learn to shift our thoughts, change our mindset, and refocus where we put our energy, we can completely change our lives. One of the most empowering and healing experiences of my life was picking up the book "The Four Agreements" by don Miquel Ruiz at a very challenging time in my life. It helped me completely change my mindset, and I've never looked back.
Law of Attraction
While this may be a fairly new concept to many people, thanks to the boom from “The Secret” and the new age movement in the early 2000s, it's a far more ancient concept and nothing new. It is an aspect of the Hermetic Principles and is one of the Universal Laws. What it comes down to is that there is a cause and effect for everything, especially our thoughts. One of the problems that we run into is that we focus mainly on our conscious thoughts and don’t pay enough attention to our subconscious thoughts. We might be very careful in choosing the words that we use with someone else so as not to hurt them, but we might do nothing but talk shit to ourselves in our head all day long. This is where other tools like meditation and intention come into play. When we consciously and subconsciously focus on what we truly desire, paying attention to not letting counterintuitive things get in the way, we attract what we really want.
Meditation + Mindfulness
I know meditation can seem like a big, giant pain in the ass sometimes, but it has untold benefits to our mind, body, and spirit. Meditation isn’t about trying to stop your thoughts but about learning how to observe what’s going on in your mind without judgment. We use that time to let our minds create some space. We give it time to let go of the thoughts we usually hold on to to see what needs our attention most. Learning to live mindfully and being aware of your thoughts and emotions and how it's impacting the world around you can completely change your life. We tend to be so wrapped up in what our ego wants us to do that we don't pay enough attention to these things to realize how much they affect us. When you do this, you learn how to chill out, relax, and not stress out so easily.
Spells, Magick, Ritual, and Witchcraft
Witchcraft is the enchanting art of harnessing diverse energies to manifest our most desired outcomes and intentions. Tools like vibrant herbs, aromatic oils, flickering candles, and beautiful crystals each possess their own unique and specific energies that can aid us on our magickal journeys. When these tools are skillfully aligned and used with clear intentions, they can create significant and transformative change in our lives! Spells and rituals beautifully complement each other in the fascinating practice of Witchcraft. It’s important to recognize that anyone, regardless of their gender, lineage, or background, can confidently practice witchery; the outdated idea that one must be a "natural witch" is merely an elitist myth that needs to be dispelled. All you really need is a passionate love for magick, a sincere desire to learn, and an unwavering commitment to the Craft. It’s really that simple and wonderfully accessible!
Shamanic Journeying
This is one of my favorite things to teach and work with because it can be deeply healing and revealing! Shamanic journeying is a process we use to shift from ordinary reality to non-ordinary reality, also known as shamanic reality. Ordinary reality is the term used for our three-dimensional, everyday world where we have to deal with the physical world, gravity, and the other laws of physics. Shamanic reality is a bit different. This is where we enter the word of energetic form and encounter Spirit in all its forms - power animals, spirit guides, ascended masters, teachers, angels, and so on. There is no end to what we can encounter in shamanic reality because energy is such a vast thing, but the wisdom we can bring back - from knowledge of past lives as well as our present ones - can be life-changing!
Tradition
I'm a big believer in the idea that tradition is a great tool for learning, but ultimately, we're here on this journey to create our own path. Everything that I work with, share, teach, and write about comes from a variety of traditions, but, in the end, is presented from the point of view that I call The Tradition of Jess. I want to help you find your own tradition, too!
Chaos Magick
Chaos Magick is often misunderstood and hard to define because it is a flexible, non-dogmatic practice rooted in your evolving beliefs. You draw on whatever magickal and spiritual practices resonate with you at any given time, mixing and matching techniques from various sources.
While some people see Chaos Magick as lacking tradition, it has been meaningful to me, and I realized I had been practicing it without labeling it as such. It’s common to connect with certain aspects of a tradition while rejecting others, making it difficult to commit to practices you don’t fully believe in.
Ultimately, Chaos Magick emphasizes achieving results from your rituals while freeing you from the constraints of specific beliefs about deities, ethics, or morals.
Lifestyle Design
The life you live is the life you choose to create. We know full well that we've been taught to live a certain way, that the 9-5 lifestyle is the only lifestyle that brings security for today and the future. At the same time many of us long for the ability to live more freely, travel at will or even just be able to sleep in when we want or spend a whole morning doing yoga on the beach if that's what our heart is looking for. I'm a big advocate of learning how to give yourself the space you need to create a life you truly want to have, even if it's just an hour a day. You deserve it!