Ok, so maybe it isn’t actually the end of the world, but many times when I turn on the news, it does seem to be that we are in apocalyptic times (or at least in a time of sped-up transformation and awakening). To balance my sense of disorientation with this, and to feel some validation, hope and agency, I have been tuning in to the podcast series called “How to Survive the End of the World.” Please don’t be deterred by the name– this show is full of hope, vision, and love with concrete “practices of care and endurance.”

This season’s episodes are hosted solo by North Carolina activist and wise person Adrienne Maree Brown, someone I personally admire greatly. In her own words, “AMB is a writer of stories and songs, emergent strategist and pleasure activist, living in the land of the Skarure, Tuscarora, Eno and Lumpee Peoples… learning from apocalypse with grace, rigor and curiosity.” 

This podcast series has traditionally been hosted by the Brown sisters, but this season Autumn is on sabbatical and Adriene is hosting a series of episodes she’s calling “Witch School” where she offers intimate one-on-one discussions. Her guests are all world-shapers whom she regards as doing important “witchy” work in the world, and in each episode she includes readings from her recent book Fables and Spells. 

The topics in these discussions include things one typically associates with mystics and witches – mindfulness, astrology, herbs/potions, spells, spiritual practices, music and poetry (to name just a few). And in the context of this series, other topics have a new magical light shed on them including exploring gender, moving in the world as someone with mixed race identity, aging, liberation from oppression, wellness tools, tending the land, somatic practices and even relationship and erotic power.

For me, there is magic and witch-work in creating a safe circle, in co-participating bravely, in slowing down to truly listen with our whole heart. There is also a slowness that flows throughout these conversations, and even comes up explicitly, Michael Morris quotes AMB from her book Emergent Strategy “There is such an urgency in the multitude of crises we face, it can make it hard to remember that in fact, it is urgency thinking, urgent, constant, unsustainable growth that got us to this point, and that our potential success lies in doing deep, slow, intentional work.”

I just love the way Adrienne defines witch work, again, her own words:

“What I mean by “witch” is all people who work with the elements of the natural world, including our own human nature, to generate more possibilities. Witching is engaging the essential natural world with magic or supernatural intentions. So names for what I include in this work are shamanism, sorcery, healing, herbalism, midwifery and doula labor, rootwork, conjuring, ritual, spellcasting, astrology and divination, sound baths, altar building, song channeling, building a direct relationship with the realm of the spirit, the holy, and the ethereal.”

I love the broadness and inclusiveness of AMB’s definition of witch because it is more about action than dogma. And that action may not be in line with mainstream culture, so may be met with curiosity, or even confusion or suspicion. Here guests may not use that label themselves, but its a question she asks and the answers are as varied as is our individual relationships with the unseen. 

For instance, Abigail Bengson explains that she has been hesitant to name her song and story work “witch craft “one, because we know what has been done to witches, right?… two, because I want to protect what I love, and three, because I think that sometimes when we talk of spirit that it makes the person talking sound important… rather than, when what’s important is what they love.” On the other hand, Michael Morris chooses to claim that name for his transgender liberation work as both an act of belonging and resistance: “To call oneself a witch is to align oneself with this long lineage of those who, yes, were persecuted, but also who resisted.” Adriene responds to this that “it feels like an act of resistance to do anything that shined a light on our craft and lineages.”

AMB manages to weave a series of questions into each discussion, and I find myself wanting to know the answer to these questions – of myself and of the people I’m close to or whose work I admire. So I’ll end with those questions and an invitation for future dialogs within the Circle community to share and hear each other’s answers:

• How are you in this particular moment?
• How do you identify the (mystical or witchy) work that you do, and what labels do you use to describe your self and your work?
• When did you realize you were drawn to the work that you do?
• Is there a formal lineage for the work you do? Who are your ancestors in this work?
• What is a skill or understanding you wish everyone had access to or was practicing in this time?
• What guidance do you have for doing work to help others while also being on your own healing path?
• Top culture – is there something you’ve been reading, watching or listening to that is really speaking to you right now that you’d like to tell us about?