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Jess Carlson

Make Your Own Magick

Virtual Goth Life Has Saved My 2020

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2020 has been a shit year. This is most definitely not something you need me to rehash for you. Like many, all aspects of my life have been affected by the chaos of the year. I’ve lost a lot of business and work this year. My husband eventually lost his job (but was fortunate to have a consulting job to fall back on, but it’s not the same). And my health took a massive toll for a bit as the stress of everything just started to weigh on me.

That’s one of the shittiest parts of my own experience with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The part of it where stress really makes your life shitty is REALLY shitty. When I get stressed, or something weighs on my mind heavy, it causes me to have chest pains that hurt my back. It makes me extremely tired, so much so that there are days I just can’t keep my head up and eyes open.

In April, things started to change and get better when I got more active with online gaming.  I had people to connect with through a variety of online communities, and then just playing with people kept me feeling less alone. So that was good news. I felt like I had stuff to do while I wasn’t really able to do the usual things I do (like working, creating, etc.).

But then about mid-summer, the big shift came. The thing that would really save me and my year just popped up online one day and grabbed my attention.

Virtual goth clubs. Virtual goth nights. Livestreaming goth DJ sets.

I was excited! I went to my first one, which was hosted by Virtual Goth Night, and it was so much fun. Lots of great music from back when I was able to go to clubs and new stuff that I’d never heard because I’m very stuck in the past with my goth and industrial music choices. Add to that all the cool people I was able to talk within the chat room on the streams, and I was elated. It became a huge bright spot in my week.

From that one stream, I started to find others. Sometimes as the result of a raid on another DJ after the show was over or because people would be recommending others or other DJs would pop into the chat.

Soon I started seeing the same people every night in different streams. The conversations would be great. Depending on the DJ or the theme of the night, conversations could range from mental health and dealing with the shit going on in the world to what your favorite goth bands from the 90s were. It felt like home, and I felt the least alone that I’ve felt in years.

But there was still one thing missing. It felt like everything, and everyone was spread all over the place. I wanted a way to bring people together 24/7, not just when a stream was going. And I also wanted to try giving back in some meaningful way.

And honestly, the thought of gathering together even 10 people that are really down with this idea just makes me super excited. This community has given me a lot of new life in the last few months. I wish to do something for it.

That gave birth to The Belfry Club!

 

 

I started working on a new Discord server while watching some of the livestreams leading up to an online festival called 48 Hours of Darkness hosted by Insert-Scary-Name-Here.

I wanted to focus on bringing together goths and the darkly inclined to hang out, chat, listen to music, watch the streams, and create a welcoming online space anyone could to go any time they desired some community.

 

The Belfry Club is filled with spaces for all kinds of discussion!

  • Welcome – this area is where we post introductions, suggestions for the server, and keep track of announcements and what’s happening with the server itself.
  • Community – all your general community discussions are here, including sections just for Baby Bays and Elder Goths, a place for IRL and selfie pic shares, goth news, goth memes, virtual even promotions, sharing your furbabies, and even and Agony Aunt section for you to vent your little dark heart in.
  • Goth Life – here we are channels for talking about lifestyle tips, fashion, hair, makeup, DIY projects, art, recipes, and more.
  • Club Cave – and the real heart of all things goth, music! Here you’ll find channels dedicated to sharing mixes and livestreams and music from gothic and gothrock to post punk, ebm, witch house, and more (and this section will expand over time as well).
  • Entertainment – talk about books, movies, TV, games, and more here.
  • The Temple – the section with channels dedicated to spirituality, witchcraft, divination and the like.
  • Voice Channels – here we have voice chat channels for a variety of things, but this is where we’ll be hosting future events like movie nights, game nights, and we also have a channel just for listening to music together.

 

The only thing that kind of sucks is I don’t have a way to really promote it. I can’t post it in the stream chats, and it’s extremely bad form to start going to people’s social media being like “Hey! Come join my Discord!” So now I’m just putting it out there where I can with the hope that people will find it and want to come be part of what I’m doing. So far, after just a few days, not seeing any real movement (lol), but we’ll see what happens as the days and weeks roll on.

It’s not something I’m making any money from, it doesn’t have any ulterior motives behind it, nothing. It’s just purely a place for bringing together people with a love of the dark and the macabre together in once place they can call home.

In full disclosure though, I am going to be restarting my Patreon later this month and I will have a special section there JUST for my patrons, but the overall Discord is not at all related to me as a content creator, witch, teacher, artist, etc.

If you’d like to check out The Belfry Club, you can join at the link below. The only requirements are that you’re 18+ and can read some rules. After that, you’re in! So, if you’d like to come to get your spooky gothyness on, check it out.

 

Here is a list of some of the DJ’s Twitch channels that I have been watching religiously! Highly recommend all of them.

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Jess is a great teacher, as well as an insightful reading and a wonderful healer. Her lessons are informative and easy to understand. Her cards speak to her in a way that I hope mine will to me one day. I have also had a Chakra session and a Reiki session with her and afterward I felt at peace, balanced, and whole again (I was quite sick at the time). I trust very few people, and I follow my path alone, but I trust Jess. She’s a beautiful spirit.

Bev

Jess Carlson
5
2019-05-09T10:56:45-07:00

Bev

Jess is a great teacher, as well as an insightful reading and a wonderful healer. Her lessons are informative and easy to understand. Her cards speak to her in a way that I hope mine will to me one day. I have also had a Chakra session and a Reiki session with her and afterward I felt at peace, balanced, and whole again (I was quite sick at the time). I trust very few people, and I follow my path alone, but I trust Jess. She’s a beautiful spirit.
When I started coaching with Jess I thought I was coming to her for help with a breakup and an unexpected and sudden international move. It turned out that wasn't the real issue at all! Jess asked questions I never would have thought to ask myself and gave me a whole new perspective on what was going on in my life. She made me feel like what I want matters. By the time we were done I felt like I could take on the world!

Patricia

Jess Carlson
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2019-05-09T10:56:03-07:00

Patricia

When I started coaching with Jess I thought I was coming to her for help with a breakup and an unexpected and sudden international move. It turned out that wasn't the real issue at all! Jess asked questions I never would have thought to ask myself and gave me a whole new perspective on what was going on in my life. She made me feel like what I want matters. By the time we were done I felt like I could take on the world!
Incredible, intuitive, thoughtful, and professional reader! Will definitely book with Jess again.

Cadey

Jess Carlson
5
2019-11-11T23:09:41-08:00

Cadey

Incredible, intuitive, thoughtful, and professional reader! Will definitely book with Jess again.
OMG I'm blown away by the accuracy of the reading. Jess has a special gift. What she revealed to me, opened me up to a place I knew I should be at but was holding myself back from.

Masha

Jess Carlson
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2019-11-11T23:10:42-08:00

Masha

OMG I'm blown away by the accuracy of the reading. Jess has a special gift. What she revealed to me, opened me up to a place I knew I should be at but was holding myself back from.
I was so overwhelmed trying to get back into my witchcraft practice, but Jess helped me create an actual plan and a schedule for doing the work. The results in just two months has been far beyond my expectations. I'm in touch with my power like never before!

Sara

Jess Carlson
5
2019-11-11T23:14:38-08:00

Sara

I was so overwhelmed trying to get back into my witchcraft practice, but Jess helped me create an actual plan and a schedule for doing the work. The results in just two months has been far beyond my expectations. I'm in touch with my power like never before!
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