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The Church of Menschen (See What I Did There?)

April 14, 2019 in Book Matters, Church Matters, Essays, Etiquette Matters, Spirit Matters, Weather Matters

The “not cute one,” if you can believe them apples.

The great Eve Babitz tells a story of being out one night with a friend who had extreme cheekbones.

It is my opinion that people with extreme cheekbones make all other beauties look like children’s drawings, even if this latest batch of young people don’t seem to recognize this fact and I wouldn’t wish this level of beauty on anyone. I do not say this because I have extreme cheekbones; I have decent ones.

My mother has extreme cheekbones.

Anyway, Eve and this friend were sitting at Barney’s Beanery, because this is where Eve always could be found in her wonderfully misspent youth. And a man approached them. Even a block away it was apparent this man was just the strain of trouble that some extreme beauties seek because everything else is too easy. He was unapologetically drunk, for one thing, and he also had a lot of dark wavy hair and a very arrogant manner. Continue Reading →

How to Build a Home Altar

April 7, 2019 in Church Matters, Ruby Intuition, Spirit Matters

What follows is a service piece I wrote for [outlet name redacted]. The assignment got canned, but still may prove useful on this sweet spring Sunday. May it help manifest what you need!

Once considered the domain of stalkers and the abjectly religious, home altars are starting to be mainstreamed much like yoga and meditation were twenty years ago. To quote the domestic goddess Martha Stewart, that’s a good thing. A home altar can be wonderfully restorative, whether you’re seeking a fresh start, feeling overwhelmed, or grieving a significant loss.

An altar is a sacred space. This does not mean that you have to believe in a higher power, but it’s useful to believe in yourself–your ability to heal and to receive support. In the age of online everything, it helps to have a physical place to channel dreams and strong emotions constructively so they don’t hold you hostage.

“I think altars are appealing to a wider range of people because we’re experiencing a more chaotic political climate and an oversaturation of technology,” says my good friend Cat Cabral. A self-proclaimed “modern witch,” she is the author of Chronicle Book’s upcoming The Spells Decks. “There’s an increased need for control and self-mastery, and they’re a tangible way to get in touch with the elements and our deepest feelings, especially since so many of us are disconnected from ourselves and the outdoors.”

As is so often the case, I agree with Cat. An altar is a visual reminder of nature’s power as well as our own. It’s a physical reflection of who and what we love, and who and how we want to be. And that’s the best sort of practical magic.

A few guidelines to creating an altar of your own. Continue Reading →

Christchurch: Light and Might

March 16, 2019 in Church Matters, Country Matters, Essays, Spirit Matters

I know many of us are numb at this point. That we’re in year 3 of the most corrupt and dangerous administration to ever occupy the White House and I do mean White House. And that sometimes we’re afraid of saying the wrong thing–of making things worse while trying to make them better. But as a Jew, as a queer, and as a white woman, it is necessary that I do what I’ve been gently reminded all white people of conscience should do. And that is to explicitly condemn the white supremacy on the rise all around our beautiful planet, as was most recently evidenced by the terrorism that took the lives of 49 people and injured many more at the Christchurch mosques. Is saying something enough? Of course not. We must ensure this blind brutal hatred is never normalized as this administration would have it be. For make no mistake. It is not that our president does not care about Brenton Harris Tarrant’s motivation. It is that he condones it. And like all black holes (oh, the irony of that term), the bottomless, life- and light-sucking abyss that is White Supremacy will only gain momentum if we don’t condemn it every.fucking.time. Members of the Muslim community: you are seen, you are precious, you are loved. And I will fight for everyone I love with all my might and my final, dying breath. We must love everyone as we love ourselves, or else these peddlers of virulent entitlement have already won. Love is the only true light. Love is the only true might.

"All, everything I understand, I understand only because I love."
― Leo Tolstoy