What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Starla Yilmaz joins us to discuss her journey as a witch, tarot creator, and cross-stitcher, sharing how a divine calling led her to create the Butterfly Wisdom Tarot deck through 21 months of meticulous stitching.

• Practicing witchcraft since age 15-16, Starla views it as being conscious of energy and recognizing universal connections
• Received a divine promise that "as long as you're writing, you'll be taken care of"
• Added cross-stitch to her calling, leading to the creation of her hand-stitched tarot deck
• Practices practical magic including candle witchcraft, sigil work, and kitchen magic as a busy mom
• Emphasizes issues of cultural appropriation around white sage use, suggesting selenite wands as alternatives
• Built community through her local Universalist Unitarian Church's CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group
• Each card in her Butterfly Wisdom Tarot features a real, identifiable butterfly species
• Created a unique guidebook with micro short stories rather than traditional meanings
• Recommends connecting with local metaphysical shops to find community and resources

Pre-order the Butterfly Wisdom Tarot, releasing June 28th, through your local metaphysical shop or bookstore.

Visit Starla here! starlayilmaz.com

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

Follow YAW at:
instagram.com/youraveragewitchpodcast
facebook.com/youraveragewitchpodcast


Review the show on Apple podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-average-witch-podcast/id1567845483

What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum shares insights on working with spirit vessels, building magical community, and developing personal relationships with plants and other magical allies. Drawing from years of experience as a shop owner and festival organizer, he offers a refreshing perspective on connecting with magic through animism and spirit communication.

• Exploring the dangers of putting magical teachers on pedestals and the importance of recognizing everyone's humanity
• Building local magical community through Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival, a hybrid event offering advanced classes and unique ritual experiences
• Performing actual witchcraft in Salem's historic Witch House as an act of reclamation
• The lasting influence of Scott Cunningham's accessible books on Matthew's path as a young queer practitioner
• Developing reciprocal relationships with plant allies like cinquefoil (five finger grass) that reveal unique magical applications
• Crafting an ancestral dream spell using personal items connected to departed loved ones
• The power of speaking intentions aloud to help manifest magic through physical vibration
• Using divination as a conversation tool with spirits rather than just fortune-telling

Check out Matthew's upcoming book "Ensouling the Effigy: The Witch's Arte of Enspirited Objects" coming in October from Crossed Crow Books, or visit salemwitchfest.com to join this year's festival either online or in person. Use code AVERAGEWITCH for 10% off at Spiritus Arcanum.

SpiritusArcanum.com

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

Follow YAW at:
instagram.com/youraveragewitchpodcast
facebook.com/youraveragewitchpodcast


Review the show on Apple podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-average-witch-podcast/id1567845483

What do you wish I asked this guest? What was your "quotable moment" from this episode?

Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum joins us to explore animism, witchcraft, and the spirits that inhabit everything around us. We dive into what it means to be a witch in today's world, examining the complex relationship between magical practice and capitalism.

• Defining what it means to be a witch through spirit work, spirit flight, shape-shifting, and bewitching ordinary objects
• Exploring panpsychic animism as a worldview where consciousness exists in everything from plants to rocks to spell bottles
• Understanding magical materials as conscious allies rather than mere ingredients in recipes
• Creating magical objects as vessels for spirits and developing relationships with the spirits we work with
• Using breath as a powerful magical tool for conjuring, offering, and transformation
• Navigating the contradictions of practicing animist magic in a capitalist world
• Challenging unhealthy authority dynamics in magical communities while valuing ethical eldership
• Reclaiming an animist perspective as a way to heal our relationship with the natural world

Join us next week for part two of our conversation with Matthew, where we'll discuss the Salem Witch Fest, making allies of plant spirits, and collaborate on a spell to connect with our ancestors.

Visit Spiritus Arcanum here!

spiritusarcanum.com

Support the show

Support the show and get tons of bonus content, videos, monthly spell boxes, and more at CrepuscularConjuration.com!
Or become a paying subscriber on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777532/support

Want to see if you're a good fit for the show? (Hint: if you're a witch, you probably are!) email me at youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com

Follow YAW at:
instagram.com/youraveragewitchpodcast
facebook.com/youraveragewitchpodcast


Review the show on Apple podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-average-witch-podcast/id1567845483