Table of Contents

• The Cast Iron Philosophy

• 💮 ~Happy Imbolc!!~ 🌼

  • Spiritual Hygiene Bingo

• ⭐️Upcoming Workshops!⭐️

  • Reiki Sound Bath and Cord Cutting Ritual

  • Old Town Tarot Club

• February Tarot Energies

• For My Practicing Witches

The Cast Iron Philosophy

Written by Niko

The three of us celebrate Imbolc every year. This seems like a non-statement, because duh, but actually, some Sabbats fly by us without a second glance (Litha, I’m talking about Litha). 

We even have a silly name for it: Hurry the Fuck Up Spring, and whether it’s poptarts alone or hand-made pancakes in a blessed circle, we always make time for it. Over the years, I’ve realized that there’s something about the timing of Imbolc that makes it stand out. It’s the first holiday after Yule, which is so publicly celebrated in the Western world as Christmas, that wakes us up to the importance of visible and disciplined practice.

We want to get back on the horse (or unicorn), we want to recommit ourselves, but that can go much the way of New Year’s Resolutions. It's a great idea, but ultimately things get in the way. Normal life gets in the way, let’s be real.

I wanted to write something about the value of incremental, daily worship. It’s not all about big holidays. Giving back and “paying into” something are usually concepts that we see applied to the community, or “other”, but what about paying into yourself and your practice? In the spirit of nourishment and reciprocal relationships, weirdly, I'm here to talk to you about a pan.

Specifically, a cast-iron pan. The platonic ideal of cookware.

First off, it’s important to understand that for me there has always been anxiety associated with modern cookware. I love to cook and I’ve always used the standard non-stick variety of pots and pans available in North America. Unfortunately, these pots and pans are not investments. Far, far from it.

It was just a matter of time before the non-stick coating wore out from use and the pot had to be thrown in the landfill, so the only question was how to avoid "harming" it.

It was a laundry list of sins. Don't scrub too hard, don't scrape or use a metal utensil. Don't put it in the dishwasher. And this was before we adopted our birds and learned that the most common anti-stick pan coating, Teflon, releases VOC (volatile organic compounds) when overheated, which can kill a small parrot in seconds. 

That was terrifying, and motivating, so we played around with Copperware for a bit. This provided the same ultimate problem: my scratched, dirty, useless copperware pans are hanging in my kitchen at this very moment simply because I feel guilty about throwing them away. 

Basically, there is no way to "help" this item. It was just a matter of how quickly or slowly you destroyed it by using it. But why would the very act of using the thing destroy it? Pots exist to cook! Anxiety! Associations between my basic needs and destruction! Help! My relationship to this item is extractive and damaging and it will always end in waste! Also, I already bought a set of pans so WHY am I buying the same ones again?!

Enter, Ironware.

When we first got cast ironware, I was resistant. Mostly, because it's super heavy, and I am super weak! There also seemed to be the same amount of suffocating rules: you could use a metal utensil, sure, but you couldn't leave it wet for any amount of time or else it would rust! And I'm a soaker. Also, no dishwasher, EVER. (There's a funny post somewhere around the internet about destroying someone's psyche by throwing their cast iron in the dishwasher.)

However, this was before I truly understood the act of seasoning. I've since fallen in love with Cast Iron cookware. Why? It's immortal if tended properly.

That’s the word I want to bring out: Tended to. This is a novelty in our modern and disposable world. There are ways to RESOURCE this beautiful tool that improves its function and longevity. Cast iron cookware is passed down in families, as an heirloom, and I finally understand why.

Seasoning is the maintenance of cast-iron cookware, accomplished by applying a coat of oil and adding heat so it “bakes” on/in. This is what creates the non-stick coating we all desire in cookware, but unlike Teflon, it requires active intervention and discipline.

Instead of a burden, seasoning my pan has become a ritual. It calms me down, it centers me.

I know I shouldn't leave it dirty/wet, which stops the "Oh it's just one more dish" sink pile from growing. I clean it, and re-season it as soon as it dries, spreading glossy high smoke-point oil over the pebbly surface until it shines. I watch the oil polymerize in the high heat, forming the protective coating. I am layering it, feeding it, protecting it ... I give this pan what it needs to make the most bomb-ass, non-stick pancakes in the world, and after, as a thank you, I will re-season it again. Re-re-re-season, even, but I've lost count. 

Seasoning is a continuous effort and a labor of love and thankfulness. The seasoning is why my pan is so awesome, and my pan is awesome so I season it to make sure it will last even longer.

And if I mess it up? Like, truly mess it up? Like, worst case scenario, someone throws it in the backyard and I can't find it for weeks. (Why tho??)

Even if it’s covered in rust, you can hard reboot it. Scrape off the bad stuff, hit it with some oven cleaner (a caustic base), and re-season it. I don't think there is a pan on earth that has been catastrophically ruined and rebooted enough times to even make a dent in the iron of its base. It's just that tough.

And so are we. Our center is made of tougher stuff than we think. Most of what we think of as destruction we've suffered — loss of a job, breakup, moving — that's just the seasoning.

There are always reboots available to us. New starts. Most of the time, it doesn't even affect our basest material. But there are always, always ways to build yourself up, to nourish yourself so you can kick ass. 

Unfortunately, it's a daily effort. Fortunately, the days keep coming … longer and warmer, now. A perfect time for a new start.

Karmically and kitchen-wise, I'm not afraid of scrubbing anymore, either. I don’t regret (over)cooking the gnarly fried rice that needs so much scraping and scratching to come clean. Now, I don't suffer with this impression that simply using a thing is destructive. Now I have a partner in the kitchen, and we make amazing food. It's a symbiotic relationship, and I always remember to pay my respects.

There's a reason why heirloom iron cookware is so in demand. Seasoning built up over that long is incredible: the layers and layers of attention and intention. And energy, honestly, if you think about it. 

Something that gorgeous? It's not gonna happen overnight. We all have sparkly breakthroughs, sure, but it’s never gonna be just one ritual, one sabbat, one card reading that gets you where you want to be.

For the best results in this witchy life of discovery and magic, you have to tend yourself, daily, like one tends a cast-iron pan. Don't you want to last a long time?

My encouragement to you is to find relationships in your life, within your practice, that are reciprocal and nourishing in this way. These could be with tools, with rituals, with people. As we take from the Earth, we must give back to her to continue the cycle of life. If we make use of medicine from any indigenous peoples, we must find a way to give back so the community will prosper. Where is your energy going? Where is it coming from? Where can you connect the two, and step into the security of this ongoing relationship?

In my opinion, a distinctly human miracle is that we gain just as much by giving as by receiving. Perhaps that’s because we, ourselves, are gifts to this world.

Happy Imbolc.

Aster’s Instagram

If you know anyone in the area that would want to be a part of this community please invite them to sign up through my card and/or share this email! 💚 I believe that collectively we can build a digital audience that will translate to us owning a brick and mortar location in Old Town. It all starts here.

The season of melting ice represents the birth of the maiden. As the snowdrops push their way up from the ground, we are past the darkest eight weeks of the year and the light is starting to return. Our European ancestors celebrated this time to honor the first new source of food after a long winter: the first milk of mother sheep. It represented hope for new abundance after lean times.

Now is a good time to remember to play. In the spirit of playfulness and inspired by Niko’s cast iron piece, I created a Spiritual self-care bingo card. Self-care is how we protect and “season” ourselves. When we daily devote time to protecting our energy, the result is a more resilient and multi-dimensionally present you.

If you get a BINGO, use code ‘SelfCareSeason’ to receive 10% off of a remote reading. I will be asking for proof. 😉 😘 💗 

Imbolc is on February 3rd this year. Happy celebrating. ❤️ 

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS

Saturday, February 15, 2024

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Price: $75

Location: Atrium @refreshalx | 1011 King St

Healers: @astersoluna @dionysiangains @theecstaticself @kaelanecstaticself

This event is for anyone who needs release, healing, and grounding. This is an opportunity to shake up your energy body and find flow. Healing the Spirit heals the emotional and mental self. Healing those selves can bring physical healing.

Three Cups Circle is a local healer community and on this night we are featuring a reiki healer and an elemental healer. The Ecstatic Self will be joining us to co-facilitate a container of heavenly vibration to bring necessary healing during this time.

The trained healers will go from person to person offering optional energetic balance, while two sound healers will be filling the room with sound and frequency to help you release the body and find a deep space of meditation.

This is your chance to bathe in the deep and ethereal vibrations of gongs accompanied by singing bowls attuned to heal each chakra center. This will be a healing and grounding unlike anything we’ve offered before. Perfect for a date night as it is the day after Valentine’s Day!

Saturday, February 22, 2025

6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Price: $33 - Candles and Supplies included in cost

Location: Atrium @refreshalx | 1011 King St

Maybe you’ve seen this spell online, or perhaps you’ve performed it yourself. If you are new, it can be intimidating to start your craft. That’s where we come in! 

Aster, our in-house psychic tarot reader and energetic healer, invites you to work with his local coven to be guided through a cord-cutting ceremony. They will guide you through every step of the ritual as you perform your ceremony with the help of seasoned Witches. Cord cutting can be a powerful way to release a past lover, an ex-best friend, or even a habit that no longer serves you. Perfect for beginners in witchcraft!

We will create sacred space, prep our candles, light them, and drink tea while we talk about the patterns we’re seeing. Let’s raise energy together and help each other heal.

Old Town Alexandria Tarot Club

Sunday, February 23, 2024

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Price: Donation Based for a reasonable amount you can afford - Bring your own Rider-Waite-Smith or Similar Tarot Deck

Please reach out before attending the event. This is a club for members. Email [email protected] to start the process.

Want to take your tarot reading to the next level? Are you a beginner who has wanted to dabble for some time, or a seasoned practitioner looking for innovative ways to read the cards? Are you simply looking for like-minded locals to create a community? Then join us for the inaugural event of this monthly club. 

This club is led by Aster, a master tarot reader with 22 years of experience who has been reading Tarot in Old Town for nearly two years. He believes that the Tarot holds the keys to self-understanding and that frequent self-reading can lead to deeper conversations with your unconscious mind, a more integrated version of you, and true healing within the multidimensional self.

Each class will feature a lesson about the cards: this could be learning a new spread, a new layer of knowledge about the cards, or best practices in Art of Tarot. This is a place of learning so come with questions and be ready to make friends while learning a life-changing skill.

Protection for la Raza

You are hidden and unseen
by this spell’s protective screen.
Eyes of I.C.E. cannot discover
Paths you’ve taken, they are covered.
Not a bounty hunter’s rage,
nor a man of any age,
Can give away your secret place.
You are safe from racist chase.
As I will So Mote It Be
Power called of Three times Three.
Binding ploys unto their fate
The more they try to spread their hate,
the more leaders will unravel,
Justice now will bang her gavel.
Balance now will be restored
Fight against it, get her sword.