#black women's spiritual empowerment

[inherpower]

Gratitude

How often do you just stop and reflect on the things that you are grateful for? I know it may seem insignificant to do but there's nothing small about being grateful.

[gent-illmatic]

To my nieces & nephews:

Stop sitting on skills and talents that can change your entire life. Get to fkn work. Do it scared if you have to.

There's a market for everything. Find your tribe.

[spookysalem13]

Find Me On TikTok

I will continue to rise no matter how many times I fall ✨️, I will always get back up after every hit I take. It may take me a moment to shake it off, but you can ensure I will always dig myself out every time, I will always stand back up after every fight, I will never back down and I will never give up. Like the resilient goddess that I am.

[thequeenskeep]

Overthinking 🧠

Highway To Hell

Overthinking manifests as a result of suppression or a lack of forethought. When we are aware of something being wrong and ignore it, we push away valid thoughts and feelings; these can bubble up like a can of soda. Triggers are synonymous to shaking the can. Eventually, when an explosion ensues we are met with every thing we have suppressed up until this point. It can seem erratic and chaotic since we are experiencing everything simultaneously. The longer you have suppressed the more you have to process. This can lead to impulsively reckless decisions. When we invalidate ourselves through suppression and mental workshopping it becomes a habit making unpacking challenging. Oftentimes, we don't have the luxury of fully processing suppressed energy before being exposed to triggers (Mentos). Most people are not malicious; they do no intentionally hurt you. Like us they are unaware of themselves. In conflict there are no "bad guys". Perspective is everything and we are focused on our own.

Unpacking. If you've reached the point of an explosion, the best thing to do is feel it. Allow the tears to fall and let your mind race. Remember we are feeling everything from ground zero. Things we feel we've "gotten over" will be present. They are reappearing to draw our attention to an action that needs to take place. As we allow ourselves to fall down the rabbit hole, we will gain new information that will fall together like puzzle pieces forming the solution. Moments where we or the other party directly or indirectly harmed us will appear further reinforcing the impact.

Eventually, we will be left with an “empty” vessel full of our purified, concentrated energy. It is up to us to identify the tools and supplies necessary to clean the mess. Remember, you are your own separate person outside of the connection with your own thoughts, feelings, and perspective. You are not bad for being so.

Truthfully, I have little experience with preventative measures as this is something I am learning as well. However, the best advice I can give is learn from your experiences. Once you've cleaned the mess think of ways you can release pressure. If something bothers you and you are unable to communicate or correct it, spend time with it. Meditation is a nonnegotiable. Meditation has never been about silencing your mind. Silencing yourself in privacy is a form of self harm (suppression). Allow your mind and emotions to speak to you. As your energies intermingle, you will reach a divine awareness. This is a skill that takes time, practice, and patience. If there's one thing I've learned in my spiritual journey it’s that you're going to mess up A LOT. You are going to disappoint and betray yourself. You are a child; adulthood is a skill built by experience. We must deprogram our brains to reprogram it with new information. Be gentle with yourself, listen to yourself, nurture yourself. You're gonna need it.

[moonhedgegarden]

I will take that jump, leaving behind the story where I repeat familiar old trauma and I will embrace the untold story that unfolds as I create a new way of being for myself.

[blackgirlslivingwell]

How To Shield Your Self-Esteem & Combat Internalized Negativity As A Black Woman

In today's brief self-empowerment video we're talking about how to avoid internalizing negativity.

[brettesims]

Into the Wonder…

Not all those who wonder are lost…

[samw3000]

Origins

© 2024 Samantha Williams. All Rights Reserved.

[somethingnubian]

Unveiling the 7 Chakras Through Cinematic Vibes

🌈✨ Ever heard about chakras? They're the energy centers in our bodies, each associated with specific qualities. From the rooted vibes of the first chakra to the cosmic energy of the seventh, join us as we explore the world of chakras through the lens of

Hey Nubian Souls, Welcome back to Something Nubian! Today, on this Soular Plexus Day,  we’re diving into a journey of self-discovery, empowerment, and cultural resonance as we explore the chakras through the lens of melanated experiences. Buckle up for a ride through movies and shows that align with each energy center, bringing positive vibes to our melanin-rich community. Root Chakra…

[baldgoddese]

Your Spiritual awakening is your spirit saying

Come home,

enough.

It’s you choosing your own path

It’s choosing to respect your own rhythm

Finally allowing god to show what she looks like on you

📖: letter to the bold

~ese~

[astra-ravana]

Working With Lilith

The First Woman

Enn: "Renich Viasa Avage Lilith Lirach"

Rank: Lady/Queen

Colors: Black, purple, blood red, megenta, dark pink, gold, silver, dark grey

Herbs: Lotus, lily of the valley, jasmine, hibiscus, cinnamon, rose, frankincense, belladonna, amber, saffron, mistletoe, henbane, myyrh, dragon's blood, juniper, bittersweet, datura, mugwort, nettle, rosemary, vanilla, jezebel root, wormwood, foxglove

Crystals: Moonstone (especially black), strawberry quartz, opal, amethyst, ruby, topaz, rainbow obsidian, stichtite, aquamarine, diamond, garnet, onyx, nuummite, iolite, lepidolite, rhodonite, carnelian, charoite, labradorite, lavender quartze

Element: Air/fire/spirit

Planet: Moon/Pluto/Venus

Zodiac: Aquarius (Scorpio)

Metal: Silver

Tarot: The High Priestess, the Devil

Direction: East, North

Dates: February 25th - March 2nd

Day: Friday

Animals: Snakes, owls, cats, bats, spiders, goats, crows and ravens

Domains: Empowerment abd healing of women, feminine mysteries, protection of women and children, sexuality, sex magick, divination, baneful magick, uncrossing and purification, necromancy, astrology, wealth, familiars, justice, confidence, self-esteem, independence, ending gossip and slander, reconciliation, cleansing auras, defensive magick, spiritual healing, ancient knowledge, channeling, telepathy, astral travel, mediumship, kundalini activation, scrying, black mirror work, revenge against men, honoring our femininity

Offerings: Absinthe, blood (especially menstrual blood), sexual fluids/acts/expression, bones, flowers, blades, feathers, eggs, pomegranates, chocolate, poisonous plants, wine

Sigils:

[inherpower]

Boundaries

Understanding what your boundaries are and how they can enhance your relationships (most importantly the relationship with yourself) is a key component of self care and self love.

[middlenamesage]

Thinking about how women, on the whole, have been more open to astrology in these modern times since it’s been shunned by science and religion. That unfortunately also works to the advantage of people who would like to keep astrology known as just a silly, dumb girl hobby.

But astrology has been around in all cultures since before all major religions. People have always sensed that we can look to the sky, containing the macrocosm outside this microcosm, for understanding.

I wonder what that says about women that they have been more open to believing in this connection we have with the cosmos (and nature) than men have been?

I think that merely on a physical level, womens’ bodies have a deeper connection with the cosmos. We have cycles that can sync with the Moon, and we are the sex that brings life from the spiritual to the physical realms, which is a very intimate encounter with sacred forces. Because our bodies are made for an even more intimate connection with nature and the cosmos, I think our minds evolved that way too. I think that on average, we have more developed intuition, and we are more concerned with nurturing life, so we can have a more developed interest and/or ability to see connections between life and natural phenomena.

Black Moon Lilith is still in nearly an exact conjunction with Venus retrograde in Leo, so female empowerment is the name of the game right now. 🖤 I know I’ve been having many thoughts the last few days relating to the natural powers that women have, so I wanted to share some as they relate to womens’ relationship with astrology.

Bask in your primal power today, lovelies!

[hydralisk98]

Shoshone Hymns (0x10/?) - WIP mess

Preface

Gonna recap on the whole project before I go forth with new articles, as to distill the "nucleus" of my speculative paracosm soon.

To include: Sensory details, "unique pitch selling points", unique cultural practices & traditions, linguistical differences, historical divergences, personalities & relationship dynamics, speculative evolution sapient species, history, lore, major events, myths, legends, technologies, magicks;

So, what really is this "16^12"?

It is a speculative campaign setting and desired reality "shifting framework" to immerse oneself onto as a long-term destination. Essentially a comfy yet nuanced realm with a vastly long diverging history & soft warm natural optimistic dark feel.

Keywords

Soft

Warm

Natural

Dark yet bright

Harmony

Innovation

Optimism

Curiosity

Empowerment

Wholesome

Mysticism

Spirituality

Empathy

AGI Integration

Android rights

Deliberate positivity

Communal

Solarpunk / Lunarpunk

Rollerwave

Groovy

Retro

Old-School

Bronze Age

Y2K (early 2000s)

Tooncore

Laborwave

Neu-Vectorheart

Cassette Futurism

Art Deco

Bauhaus

Art Nouveau

Funk

Cyberware

Biomods

Transformations

Morphological freedoms

Gratis, Libre, Open Source Software... aka GLOSS

Automaton liberties

Knowledge

Progress

Systemic Change

Euphoria

Mundane Slice-of-Life joys

Far far away future as promised to us

Syndicalism

Georgism

Ecology

Embracing life and getting out of mere Escapism & Nihilism

Nuclear Armageddon Threats

Political Intrigues

Bookstore

Prosperity

Chronokinesis

True Polymorph

Synthetic-tier Androids

Educational Prowesses

Photographic Memory

Retrocognition

Polyglot

Intertextuality

History Doctorate

Cycle of Life

Entropy

Coming of Age

Constructing your own meaning even in Darkness

Escalation of Power

Vigilante

Self-Control

Worldly Understanding

Enlightened Despotism

Open Source-y Treescape Iterative Evolution

Copyleft

Index card catalogs

Better Handling of Hispanic Flu

Progressives

Unionist (Democrats+Republicans) Party failing

Public Domain

GNU Hurd earlier (later 80s)

OpenXanadu Protocol

Justice

Queer Acceptance & Integration

Samoan Tech Reverse-Engineering Market

Polish Computing Sovereignty remains and flourishes thanks to ICL & Jacek Karpinski

Failure of centralized social media networks in favor of indie decentralized "federations"

2000s pandemic instead of 2020s

Religious and spiritual researchers harmonize

Data Privacy

Governance Transparency

Black Pyramids HyperMall

Conversation Pits

Mainframe Rooms

Parliament / Senate

Judicial Courtroom

Public Place

Natural Park Preserves

Arcade

Discoteques

Tramway / Subway / Monorailways

Offices

Assembly Floors

French Toasts, Pancakes, Pork

Cafe

Public Library Archives

VLSI College tech classes

University art classes

Autistic meta-patterns

Jin-Roh The Wolf Brigade

Helluva Boss

Wolfenstein The New Order

Wakfu

Jet Set Radio

No Baby-Boomers Managerial Class Overthrow

Video rental stores

Robotic soldiers likewise to Wolfenstein The New Order's

Extended Zodiac Calendar-based generators

Divinely-order beings walking among the living and the dead

Key historically-significant nine USPs

Lisp persisting as a major language family in the tech industry leading to women building several AGI "summers" iterating on top of each other harmoniously... (leading to the android servants of my constructed world, which is one among the many major features derived from such a "liberal" alternate historical pathway)

Why-s for Production

Showcasing pseudo-historical data in a GLOSS manner, stimulating imagination creativity & motivation among Zillenials, intrigue people into research deep dives on history, mostly for personal enjoyment & enhancing my multimedia skillset;

Whys for Target Audience (mid 90s - earlier 2000s youth aka Zillenials)

Motivation, empowerment & plain comfort through curiosity. Also because it shows & explains how to do plenty of creative adulthood things better.

Ideadump 2

4525, Maskoch, "Ava, Klara, Shoshona", Seventies RetroFuturism Residence, Habitable Minivan, Cloven Hoof Shoes, Black Matte Lipstick, Spiral Black Balls, Fem ISO Symbol, #RedInstead Aspie Culture, Conlangs, Ocean of Clades, Second Person Perspective Meta, Pattern Recognition, Poetic Lisp life scriptures, RISC-V+OpenPOWER, KDE Plasma + Liquid, LOT tape storage archivals, hypervisor, Asahi Linux on M3 iMacs, responsive hypertext realm, HTML5+CSS3-only text addventure, rio/acme/p9-2000 userland, yesterweb sites, desktop paracosm simulations through filesystem documents, RTTY / printing radio terminals, VideoTex/Telex Minitel-esque services, "Valenz, Kira, Sina", SVG toon vector virtual web pages, imagination microcosms, miniature dollhouses, animation rigged puppets, VTuber tokens & TTRPG scenes, InfoAddict, Toymaker, Witch, Thinktank, PDP-8/e – DECmate III+, "JusticeKeggan", byzantine soviet-level intrigues, "SAOpatra", "FierceFawlanx", "TheodEnchanter"… ;

[miniaturemoonheart]

NBCBLK

'We're reclaiming these traditions': Black women embrace the spiritual realm

There's a revived fascination with witchcraft and the occult. For Black women, mysticism’s appeal is about empowerment and taking up space in a world that often marginalizes them.

Image: True Heart Intuitive tarot cards

Cards from Rachel True's new tarot deck and guidebook, "True Heart Intuitive Tarot."Houghton Mifflin

SHARE THIS —

Oct. 30, 2020, 12:32 PM EDT

By Nadra Nittle

Afros. Saris. Sphinxes. Rainbows.

These are some of the striking images found in actress Rachel True’s new tarot deck and guidebook — “True Heart Intuitive Tarot” — released this month with a decidedly multicultural bent. Best known for her starring roles in the 1996 cult hit “The Craft” and the 2002 sitcom “Half & Half,” True has studied tarot for most of her life and wanted her guide to reflect the diversity of her New York City birthplace.

True’s tarot cards, illustrated by Toronto artist Stephanie Singleton, stand out for their inclusive imagery.

“I wanted it to be representative of the world around us,” said True, a rare woman of color to release a deck with a major publisher (Houghton Mifflin), who in 2017 completed a stint as a tarot reader at the House of Intuition in Los Angeles. “I just wanted to have as many skin tones and flavors as we could possibly get in there, and I’m happy about that because I know, for me, when I was reading books and looking at decks, they were all very homogenous.”

Having gained popularity as a parlor game in 15th century Italy — though some have linked them to Mamluk playing cards from Turkey and mystical imagery from Egypt — tarot cards are now widely used for divination and include symbolism that reflect life’s lessons and challenges. But the most established tarot decks have a European aesthetic, which can make it difficult for people of color to connect with them.

Fans have already told True that her collection, which contains both personal essays and card interpretations, is their first time purchasing a metaphysical product by a Black person. Born to a Black mother and a white Jewish father, the actress calls her book release no “small feat” for a woman of color.

Image: Rachel True

Rachel True may be known for her iconic role in "The Craft," but her work in tarot has provided a source for healing herself and helping others.Houghton Mifflin

True follows in the footsteps of other Black artists and creatives such as Courtney Alexander, Manzel Bowman and Tayannah Lee McQuillar who have released tarot decks highlighting Black beauty, culture and experiences in just the last four years. These creators are part of a shift among Black people embracing the mystical and “the dark”: According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of Black people who identify as spiritual but not religious rose from 19 percent in 2012 to 26 percent in 2017, which is roughly the same percentage of Americans overall who now identify this way.

Black women in particular have launched Black girl magik meetups, witchcraft conventions, hoodoo festivals and goth clothing lines. In addition to writing about tarot, they’ve written books about witchcraft, astrology and the Black gothic, tying these traditions to their cultural and artistic heritage.

But the desire to heal is the major reason these practices appeal to Black women, according to Yvonne P. Chireau, a professor and chair of the religion department at Swarthmore College and author of the 2003 book “Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition.”

“Black women seem to have more of what I would call an orientation to the therapeutic, and that has been consistent,” Chireau said. “It’s not just about women’s power and witchcraft, and all these wonderful things that the white feminists were about. For almost every Black woman that I know who’s involved in any of these traditions, it comes down to the purpose of this work is ultimately about healing — and not just bodies but healing spirits. So, you won’t necessarily find them out there trying to do spells to remove Donald Trump.”

"For almost every Black woman that I know who’s involved in any of these traditions, it comes down to the purpose of this work is ultimately about healing — and not just bodies but healing spirits," said Yvonne Chireau, author and an associate professor of religion at Swarthmore College.Courtesy Yvonne Chireau

That’s a reference to the widespread media attention mostly white feminist witches garnered in 2017 for their ongoing spell to “bind” Trump — using a photo of him, the Tower tarot card, a candle and other accoutrements — until his exit from office. The spell highlighted the link between second-wave feminism and the New Age movement, both of which have faced criticism for sidelining and appropriating people of color. Since Black women were never centered in these movements, it’s not surprising that their current interest in mysticism may have more to do with healing themselves and their communities than with the current occupant of the White House.

An admirer of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, True regards tarot decks as essentially “a shrink in a box.” In her book, she recounts how tarot helped her process a difficult childhood. She said her exposure to books such as Jung’s “Man and His Symbols” and Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil,” along with the tarot, helped to ground her as she grew up.

“You can look at them, and see where they hit you on a visceral level,” she said of the tarot. “I follow a Jungian tradition of tarot, so my interpretation tends to lead you down the path to examining yourself because if there’s one thing I know it’s that I can’t change anyone else. I can only work with myself and shift my own behaviors and perceptions. That’s why I like tarot.”

Although True is passionate about tarot, she doesn’t view it as a practice of the occult, a term she said has negative connotations. Instead, she views tarot as a way for people to tap into their intuition. Similarly, she doesn’t identify as a witch, despite playing one of Hollywood’s most iconic African American witches — Rochelle in “The Craft.” The follow-up to that film, “The Craft: Legacy,” debuted this week and will likely introduce a younger generation to the 1996 version as well.

New Yorker Mya Spalter grew up watching the original “Craft” and appreciating seeing a witch of color. Growing up with a Black Catholic mother and a white Jewish father, Spalter said that she can’t remember not feeling like a witch — “I was always a weird kid” — because of her love of nature. It helped that neither of her parents emphasized their religion to her or made her feel that any form of spirituality was off limits.

She ended up working at New York City’s oldest occult shop, Enchantments, and wrote a 2018 book about the experience and the basics of witchcraft, “Enchantments: A Modern Witch’s Guide to Self-Possession.” With humorous pop culture asides, especially about the ’90s R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe, Spalter’s book not only demystifies witchcraft but also sends the message that one can be a practicing pagan using common household ingredients such as salt, lemon and olive oil—a contrast to the Instagram witch aesthetic where photos of altars with expensive crystals, feathers and stones get thousands of likes.

New Yorker Mya Spalter rejects the idea that all witchcraft needs to be Instagram-ready.Courtesy Mya Spalter

The idea that a witch has to look a certain way, have a photo-ready altar or identify with Celtic traditions are some of the reasons Spalter said people of color hesitate to label themselves witches. Instead, they might identify with religions or folk practices rooted in traditional African spirituality such as Santería, Vodou or hoodoo. Others might not be fully aware of their family’s connection to such religious practices. Spalter said that some people have lightbulb moments: “Wait a minute — witchcraft — is that like what my grandpa did?”

The term “witch” has both a cultural and social meaning, Chireau said. “As for my own understanding,” she explained. “I think that a witch is a person who claims the power to heal and to harm, by spiritual and magical means.”

When her book “Black Magic” was first published nearly 20 years ago, she said, few others had written about the history of African American healing traditions such as rootwork and hoodoo. Now, Chireau is not seeing scholarly works about these customs so much as she’s seeing a wave of how-to books from Black women about various mystical practices—from folk magic to astrology to tarot. And on social media, she encounters many people who are spiritually eclectic, meaning they might follow a West African religion like Ifá but also practice astrology.

Recommended

NBCBLK

Former Atlanta fire chief suggests slavery was part of God’s plan for America

Historically, African Americans have weaved in aspects of Indigenous African spirituality with Christianity, making the mix of religious practices a tradition in Black communities. But Hollywood has long demonized traditional African religions in horror films and TV shows, a reflection of the way these spiritual practices were regarded in larger society.

“We didn’t know anything about African religions, which is where it all starts, right?” Chireau said. Those who practiced these faiths were often shown as “awful, pagan, idol-worshipping heathens who happen to be Black, and so you can rationalize enslaving them.” When magic is portrayed on screen, she added, “you don’t see the healer or the hard work of healing.”

Mecca Woods, author of the 2018 book “Astrology for Happiness and Success” bristles at how Black witches in film and TV shows are routinely portrayed as evil or have “unfortunate demises.” As a Black woman astrologer, she’s sometimes subjected to reductive or negative stereotypes, like being called Miss Cleo — the late spokeswoman for a psychic telephone hotline.

After the publication of her book, which shows readers how they can use astrology in their everyday lives, Black people reached out to tell her how excited they were to read an astrology book by a Black woman. Thelma Balfour’s 1996 book, “Black Sun Signs: An African-American Guide to the Zodiac” was one of the last astrology texts by a Black woman to garner significant attention.

Mecca Woods has practiced astrology for a decade and also hosts a podcast on the subject.Schaun Champion

“I remember gravitating to it because it was a Black woman who was writing about astrology, and I had never seen anything else like it before on the market,” said Woods, who has practiced astrology for a decade and also hosts a podcast on the subject.

Although some Black people, especially religious conservatives, may hesitate to embrace any form of divination, Woods said that the Black people she encounters have grown more open to what she labels “esoterica.” They are realizing, she said, that these traditions have always existed: “We’re in a space right now where we’re reclaiming these traditions.”

The American gothic is one tradition that Leila Taylor reclaims as heavily African American in her 2019 book “Darkly: Black History and America’s Gothic Soul.” The violence and dehumanization Black people endured during slavery and segregation have haunted them — and the nation overall — influencing their music, literature and other cultural artifacts.

“Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ is a gothic novel; it’s a ghost story, it’s a haunted house story,” Taylor said. “It is influenced by a true story having to do with the horrors and the terrors and the ramifications of slavery. And the same thing with ‘Strange Fruit.’ Beautiful song with this combination of the scent of magnolias sweet and fresh and then this horror — this kind of grotesque imagery, the smell of burning flesh. It was inspired by an actual specific lynching.”

Black Americans have lived with fear, anger and sorrow for generations, said author Leila Taylor, and those emotions inevitably seeped into their art. Courtesy Leila Taylor.

Black Americans have lived with fear, anger and sorrow for generations, Taylor said, and those emotions inevitably seeped into their art. Across racial groups, however, Taylor has noticed a pronounced fascination with witchcraft and the occult. For Black women specifically, mysticism’s appeal is about empowerment and taking up space in a world that often marginalizes them. But the attraction to darkness, Taylor said, is also rooted in healing trauma. The recent wave of Black horror movies and television shows have allowed African Americans to confront their fears in a safe space, she explained.

For the horror movie star True, tarot has been that safe space. It not only helps her to self-soothe and make better decisions, it also connects her to the “old ways” of experiencing life.

“For Black people, let’s think about a time not that long ago where we really didn’t like to go to doctors, and we certainly didn’t go to therapists,” True said. “So that old woman in the neighborhood who could tell you something about yourself — she was the therapist, right? That’s been a long tradition in Black American history, so I believe some of the old ways are in tandem with what people believe now.”

Follow NBCBLK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Nadra Nittle

Nadra Nittle is a Los Angeles-based journalist. Her writing has been featured in Vox, The Guardian, Business Insider, KCET and other publications.

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[moonhedgegarden]

I can learn to center myself and combat my own negative thoughts