Creating a Dream Coven

For my birthday each year, I gather a group of friends to spend the weekend on the Northern California coast. In 2019, I wanted to celebrate each and every moment intentionally; focused on the themes of love, joy, independence, power, creativity and new beginnings. The very energies I had been trying to conjure more of in my personal life. The result was a witchy retreat that launched me into building a community focused on self-love, acceptance and spirituality. While chatting with some of my favorite humans that weekend, I began to play with the possibility of broadening my career goals to include witchcraft and mysticism. At first it seemed like a long shot, but I was filled to the brim with encouragement and potential. A few weeks later, the idea for The Charmed came to me, and it’s been a dreamy whirlwind ever since.

The more I began to develop my craft, the more I felt a huge sense of imposter syndrome. I found myself sitting in the Metaphysical & Alternative Beliefs section of my local bookstore, pining over all the different topics and trying to tap into some distant intuition in identifying my own path in the witchy universe. I still feel those waves of imposter syndrome wash over me. But the deep craving for resources and community that pushed me to buy those first couple of books is now fully awake and refuses to be ignored. The magick happens when I feel like I can explore at my own pace, with room for mistakes and collaboration along the way. This is the kind of magick The Charmed aims to conjure. 

I wanted a distilled location for the plethora of excellent mystical content that already exists, as well as a place to connect with similarly esoteric and occult-obsessed folk. I was seeking a community that features many voices and shines a light on the incredibly diverse elements of all things witchy and woo-woo. I was desperate for more.

As the practice of modern witchcraft continues to evolve and entwine with New Age spiritualism, I realized that the need for honest media and a trustworthy community focused on strengthening intersectionality and embracing an alternative to capitalism had become increasingly apparent. With unlimited access to endless content at our fingertips, I found that it was often difficult to find approachable, mystic-minded voices that stood out among the noise. Combined with the historical backlash and fascist rhetoric that often surrounds mainstream views on witchcraft, finding your way as a modern witch can be a bit overwhelming at times. 

With that, I’d like to welcome you to The Charmed

In becoming a go-to source for many of my friends and colleagues for witchy advice, I found myself doling out recommendations for so many phenomenal books, blogs, small businesses and podcasts. That information made its way into a list, and that list has now made its way into this site; a modern mecca for all sorts of witchy media. A diverse and ever-growing coven. We are here to share our glorious craft with others, and to do so in an inclusive, intersectional and constantly evolving fashion. 

At this point, The Charmed consists of myself and a few friends who are also committed to this vision of community. We are thrilled to see where this dream takes us. We promise to fail forward, to listen, to offer support, to be accountable and to be honest. 

We can’t do this alone, so please help us make this space all we dream it can be! We want to feature you, your voice, your stories, your rituals, your activism, your small business. Please do not be shy, help us share your magick! Let’s inspire one another to thrive outside of an oppressive, misogynist, white supremacist, queer-phobic, capitalist society. This is our time. We are The Charmed.

–
Mad Nicolaus
Founder / Editor