_We call it hustle culture—as if it were culture at all. Nonetheless, it hustles away belonging, meaning, ritual. The faster we run, the further we stray from the shadows we carry—the further we stray from The Witch Within_. ![[wait.really_A_mystical_Rider-Waite_tarot_style_illustration_o_ed2ca1d2-5c67-405d-a22b-3aeb5f2ecbd8_3 1.png]] # The Spell By day, you wear your human mask. You answer emails, play nice, pretend the ache beneath your ribs is ambition. You call it being functional. But deep below that performance, something ancient watches. It’s not evil. It’s simply _honest._ That presence—the Witch Within—is your untamed self. She’s the part of you that you’ve pushed aside: the fury, the hunger, the intuition that once knew exactly what it wanted before you were taught to "rein it in." Before you were told you were “too much.” Here in [[The Circle]], we do not silence her. We dress her. Dance her. Let her breathe. When the ritual begins, take a breath and feel where your mask ends—jaw, chest, belly. Then feel what stirs underneath. That trembling? That heat? That is her. That is you. You are not summoning a demon. You’re remembering a self. # The Intention Psychology calls this integration—the process of reclaiming what you’ve exiled. Jung called it the shadow: the traits, emotions, and instincts you learned to hide. Modern neuroscience affirms it: suppressed emotion doesn’t disappear; it reroutes through your body, reshaping posture, tone, breath, and thought. What’s unspoken becomes the background hum of your nervous system. To unmask is not to destroy the persona—it’s to let it rest. And let your Witch Within rise is to allow truth back into your muscles. Within [[The Circle]], we gather not to be purified, but to become _whole._ We remember that shadow is not the opposite of light—it’s where light learns to rest. So when the Witch Within calls, don’t run. Bow. And listen.