your witchy writer friend checking in
what I’m currently creating ritual with—plus recent discoveries, recos, & obsessions
You’ve reached Cosmic Kudos, a weekly newsletter about astrology, spiritual expansion, magic, and the making of our own personal mythologies. Plus, specially curated recommendations, various writings, and thoughtful cultural criticisms delivered straight to your inbox 💌
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Hi lovelies,
A few things, before we get started:
I really didn’t set out to tackle complex sociopolitical topics in this newsletter every week, but as I think was obvious from last week’s issue/living in the world today, not just America, and as lives rent free in my mind every single day: The personal is political. It became political a long time ago—even for those of us who live in what we may have once felt was a safe, progressive blue state bubble. Though it’s also true that for those of us who have never had a choice in how we’re viewed in the matter, it has always been political.
Either way, the sense of post-midterms relief—and the feeling that “democracy has lived to see another day” is immense and palpable, despite the fact that it’s (still) crumbling.
While writing this, I was nursing a little vulnerability hangover from sharing part I of my Spectrum of Belief essay; so today, I’m sharing these curated recommendations as a standalone issue and a kind of palate cleanser—and because I haven’t in a while! You can expect part II of the piece later this week.
Current reads:
What the Success of Women-Led Protests Tells Us About Iran’s Future (via Time). The revolutionary protests in Iran, which women so courageously continue to helm, have spread to a whopping 138 cities.
“As some Iranians see it, these protests mark an inflection point. Irrespective of whether they achieve their aims, the country has already been transformed by them. Yet what comes next is less clear. One of the biggest challenges facing these protests is not only bringing about the downfall of the regime, but articulating a vision for the kind of government that can replace it.”
—Yasmeen Serhan
Why Does Society Insist that Women Forgive Their Male Abusers? (via Electric Literature). I haven’t yet read Reader, I Murdered Him, but it’s absolutely on my TBR list!
This beautifully-curated post featuring a series of reader-sourced quotes and words of encouragement for those times we experience hardship in life. (via Caroline Cala Donofrio’s Substack, Between a Rock and a Card Place).
This incredibly moving treatise pulling from the work of poet Rainer Maria Rilke and his belief in the path of the artist as one of “lonely patience.” So worth the read, especially if you’ve never been a patient person (*clears throat*). Patience and consistency, baby. And solitude! The unsexy—and often unspoken—trifecta of necessities for the creative path. (via The Marginalian)
Essayist and author Ann Friedman’s Friday newsletter, which is an absolute joy and delight to receive in my inbox every week. I’ve been a fan of her work since discovering the Call Your Girlfriend podcast a few years ago. Highly recommend.
The Year of the Horses, by
. I just started reading this on my beloved Libby app, so I can’t speak to my thoughts on it yet, but I am an avid reader of Courtney’s Substack, Before and After the Book Deal, and very eager to dig in.
Binge watching:
New Girl on repeat on Netflix. I will not apologize for this. It’s one of my comfort shows, okay?
annnd the new season of White Lotus. I think that the social commentary the show posits around “the haves vs. the have nots” is often incisive and revealing. And that’s even if I find the dialogue around rich people doing Annoying Rich People Things, like forgetting to vote and remaining woefully unaware of, well, literally anything occurring in the world that doesn’t impact their tax bracket, supremely painful to watch. Obviously, it’s to be expected of characters like these (and what show runners undoubtedly want viewers to feel, at least at first), but despite that White Lotus is a compelling watch. Maybe even because of? I’ve been known for the occasional love-to-hate watch (Love is Blind, anyone?).
That said, Albie di Grasso (Adam DiMarco), the cutie Stanford grad there with his pervy dad and grossly misogynistic grandfather to “explore their Sicilian roots”, should be protected all costs. Dynamics can shift with the quickness on this show, though, so don’t hold me to that.
Tuning in:
This recent episode of one of my favorite podcasts in the spiritual space, The Twelfth House, featuring writer and artist Marlee Grace: Being Seen and Self-Actualizing in Your Sacred Work. Really good stuff. I’m also a member of the Holisticism Hub community (created by Twelfth House host and founder of holistic wellness company Holisticism, Michelle Pellizzon). If you’re interested in the intersection of spirituality, holistic and healthy living, wellness, and intuitive business trends, you’ll likely find it as illuminating and inspiring as I do!
Carissa Potter’s recent conversation on healing with poet Alex Elle (see below).
Creating ritual with:
Lately I’ve been feeling the need to turn inward more than usual. Part of it is seasonal, yes; I’ve been finding joy in spending time alone and moving at my own pace, whether it’s with this newsletter or other writing projects, or with finding more space in my everyday. It’s easy to let certain rituals or practices lapse, though, when caught up in that business of everyday, and I’m particularly guilty of it when consumed by creative pursuits. Hours can slip by so very easily when I’m writing. And yet practicing spiritual hygiene is important—especially when you’re sensitive in this area.
The following ritual is a quick one—one you can easily add to another ritual, or that can stand alone when you have a moment for mindfulness. Works best with a full body smoke cleanse!
Call your energy back with this invocation from Tamed Wild, one of my favorite online metaphysical shops for your all your herbal, crystal, and magical needs (#notanadipromise. I’m just legitimately obsessed).
Will you be trying this, or have you done so before? How are you creating rituals—old and new—and finding space in your practice at this time? I’d love to know.
A little cross-promotion:
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Before I go—I recently joined a writing community called The Soaring Twenties Social Club. I’m so excited to be a part of this group! I say this often, but one of the major reasons I decided on joining Substack was to find new ways to tap into and build a sense of community, one that genuinely loves writing and being engaged and supportive of other writers’ work. I didn’t find as strong a sense of that in my MFA program as I wanted, and have been searching for it ever since.
The Soaring Twenties Social Club publishes members’ work on both a weekly basis in what is called The Omnibus (check out this week’s below), and on a monthly one with the Symposium, which has a set-theme. December’s Symposium theme is Fiction, and I’m richly anticipating starting to share more of my own in this space.
V exciting things to come!
xx
Kimia
Thank you for reading my memoir! I hope you like it-- I had no idea it was available on Libby--I love my Libby app, too!