Victoria Day at Witch Chest felt different this year. Yes, it was louder, and busier, but it more than that… it felt deeper. Former students came in for ingredients, not to be told what to do, but to ask for my thoughts. Not direction, just perspective. It felt like we were building something together, not a teacher and student, but co‑creators in the Ottawa witchcraft community.
And that feeling stayed with me long after I locked the door.
It felt like becoming. Not me, and not them, but something larger. The Ottawa Witch Community, with capital letters. A community growing because everyone adds a little piece of themselves to it. There is a quiet pride in knowing I have contributed even a small part to that growth.
The community feels different than it did a few short years ago. Growing, confident, established, durable. It feels like something that will outlast any one of us. Last week I wrote about pausing and finding peace. Well, this week I am proud to be writing about the next step in the journey, the becoming.
Witchcraft is becoming more accepted, as it becomes more mainstream, and we suddenly find ourselves able to do things together that once felt impossible. Movie nights. Public conversations. People proudly identifying as witches without whispering.
I see it in small moments. A former student whose family is going through a hard time, and other students reaching out with kind words or sending loving energy. It reminds you that people know you, and care about you, and want you to be okay.
And then there are the moments that catch you off guard. After a long day at the shop, I grabbed sushi and walked past a patio in the Glebe. A guy called out a friendly hello. I returned it, and as I walked by I heard his friend ask him if he knew me. His answer was so casual, so ordinary, so revolutionary. “Yeah, I know him from the witch store.”
Imagine that. Two guys on a patio, in public, talking openly about going to a witch store. No jokes, no whispers, no awkwardness. Just normal conversation. That is how you know something has shifted.
What I saw this weekend was a reminder that when we support others, we make the whole community safer. If you want your own practice to grow, the easiest way to achieve that is to help someone else grow. The Threefold Rule teaches us that. We are reaping the good that witches are sewing in Ottawa.
Why now? I think the pandemic changed us. It made us question things. Made us braver; willing to be more vulnerable, more authentic. And that bravery is not dramatic. It is everyday bravery. Small acts that accumulate and make it possible for others to come out of the broom closet. Wearing a pentacle. Asking a question without whispering. Walking into Witch Chest with curiosity instead of fear. Telling a friend you practice. Attending a workshop. Posting something witchy online. All of it matters.
People are not just looking for meaning or empowerment. They are looking for validation. They want to know they are not alone in feeling what they feel. And what they discover is that they are not even close to being alone. There are thousands of us.
A long‑time customer told me about her experiences at the Kaleidoscope Gathering at Raven’s Knoll, where thousands of witches gather just outside Ottawa. She talked about the male, female, and gender‑neutral altars, and how good it feels to see everyone celebrated. That is what validation looks like. That is what belonging feels like.
And it is not just us. CBC is spreading the word. Julie and I were on a CBC podcast last year, adding our voices to the growing conversation. Kiki Keskinen at Witch School is spreading the word in various interviews. Every action has ripples. Every ripple makes the water safer for the next witch to step in.
If you are reading this and you are still half in the broom closet, I want you to feel connected and seen. You are not alone. We have all been where you are, and we are already here for you.
You are already part of something bigger. Claim your birthright.
And your birthright is simple. You get to be who you are. You get to trust your intuition. You get to follow your curiosity. You get to stand in your truth. You get to belong to a community that welcomes you before you feel ready. You get to take up space in a world that once told you not to.
So here is the spell I want to leave you with.
Keep supporting each other, bravely, vulnerably, with your whole heart. Make magick by being magick for others.
That is how we grow. That is how we heal. That is how we become the community we are meant to be.
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