Hi there, I’m Melissa!

My witchy origin story

It all started when I was age 8 watching The Worst Witch and dressing up like a sorceress for Halloween. I used to write poems in antique looking journals, fancying myself like Anne of Green Gables. I discovered singing at age 12 and found my first glimpse of real magic harmonizing with others in choir practice. I connected to the experience of unconditional love learning about the teachings of Jesus during a theatre production of Godspell. I remember writing a poem about my favorite departed musician Jeff Buckley, losing time, and feeling like I went into another dimension.

My high sensitivity also made me more susceptible to anxiety. Terrified by college auditions, I quit my dream of performing. I started smoking weed to numb out. Weed only intensified my anxiety so I traded it in for booze, sugar and boys. Without the ability to vulnerable, I couldn’t access my magic. I sought fulfillment through people, places and things outside myself, but I never could never could feel more than a temporary high. 

In my mid-twenties, I started coming back to myself through music therapy, finding the powerful voice I always wanted and never knew I had inside. Singing allowed me to express big feelings in a way that was both comforting and pleasurable. I reconnected to magic again in 12-step recovery work. Trusting a spiritual program to help me stay sober activated my faith in a higher power. This helped me surrender fear and stop numbing the wisdom that was always inside of me.

The combination of music therapy and recovery helped me connect my body and soul. Then I found IFS, which helped me connect to my subconscious mind. Through guided visualization, my therapist introduced me to the inner 8 C’s of my authentic Self: creativity, confidence, courage, calm, connectedness, compassion, clarity, curiosity. I located parts of myself that I had forgotten - parts that were filled with wonder and joy, that had been shut down due to trauma. It felt like reclaiming childhood magic.

Finally, I knew that I had everything inside of me that I had always wanted. 

I met two parts of myself during one IFS guided visualization: “Baby Witch” and “Mama Witch.” Baby Witch loved sci-fi, fantasy and creative writing. At her best, she was a dreamer, and she also had a gift of protecting me through dissociation. She kept me loyal to family through preserving the illusion of happiness and safety. Mama Witch was my “seer” part. She could intuitively read the room and guard me against people with malevolent intentions. Mama Witch kept the secret record of who could not be trusted. These parts saved my life until I was old enough to save my own, and they continue to infuse my work with their magic.

Meeting my inner witches confirmed for me that I am a witch, though I am not a practicing pagan. I sometimes dress like Stevie Nicks, but being a witch is not performative for me. I am trained in reiki and astrology and rely on my intuition to guide me. I use the rituals of song, movement, meditation and visualization to tap me into a daily flow of synchronicities.

Magic is real. It is a miracle and yet it is so ordinary, because it exists in everybody. I harness it so I can meet the darkness of the world from a place of power. I tap into it so life is woven through with a golden thread of fascination and meaning.

I have magic tools that I want to share with you, because they are what keep me resilient, and what I believe will help society persevere. Our collective mental health depends on how effectively we can heal and rise in love again and again - for ourselves and for each other. We do need a miracle to change the course of history, and the miracle is in YOU.