Leah Vanderveldt - Magical Self-Care for Everyday Life: Create your own personal wellness rituals using the Tarot, space-clearing, breath work, high-vibe recipes, and more

magical self-care
for everyday life

magical self-care
for everyday life

Create your own personal wellness rituals using the
Tarot, space-clearing, breathwork, high-vibe
recipes, and more

Leah Vanderveldt

Dedication: For Maeve & Fabian

Published in 2020 by CICO Books

An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd

2021 Jockeys Fields, London WC1R 4BW

341 E 116th St, New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

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Text Leah Vanderveldt 2020

Design and photography CICO Books 2020

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library

eISBN: 978-1-78249-917-6
ISBN: 978-1-78249-851-3

Printed in China

Photographer: Belle Daughtry

Designers: Eliana Holder and Alison Fenton

Editor: Dawn Bates

Commissioning editor: Kristine Pidkameny

Art director: Sally Powell

Production controller: David Hearn

Publishing manager: Penny Craig

Publisher: Cindy Richards

Safety note: Please note that while the use of essential oils, herbs, incense, and particular practices refer to healing benefits, they are not intended to replace diagnosis of illness or ailments, or healing or medicine. Always consult your doctor or other health professional in the case of illness, pregnancy, and personal sensitivities and conditions. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any claim arising out of the general information, recipes, and practices provided in the book.

For additional picture credits, see .

CONTENTS

To believe in magic is to choose to see the world around you in a certain lightone that helps, encourages, and supports you. If I have the choice between a daily grind with no common thread, bigger impact, or glimmer of mystery, or a life that feels synchronistic, connected, and playful, I will always choose the latter.

Magic invites us to entertain a change in perception and thought. Changing the way we talk to ourselves, the way we approach our needs, or how we interpret events can create shifts in our lives that sizzle with possibilityfor our internal life and our communities. Magical living gives us an opportunity to claim our power, make the changes we seek, and create a life that lights us up. And the best part is, we already have everything we need within us at this very moment.

Self-care is the practice of treating yourself well. It can look different for everyone, but the heart of true self-care is knowing who you are and what you need, and honoring that while being kind to yourself. Magical self-care is the practice of using rituals and tools that might be considered mystical, witchy, or esoteric to identify and address your needs. It requires being inquisitive, diving deep, and trusting yourself and your instincts. Its a process of self-care that combines the earthy and the spiritual for personal evolution and healing.

This book compiles all the practices and tools that Ive tried, studied, and grown to love over the past decade of my life. These tools are the pillars of my self-care routines and rituals, but its vital to remember that the most important and hardest aspect of self-care is how we treat and speak to ourselves. Im still nowhere near perfect at this, but these practices help me ground my thoughts and come back to kindness. Hopefully this book can help you along your healing adventure and add a little more fun, kindness, and magic to the process.

Self-care

The phrase self-care actually makes me a little uncomfortable. Theres a certain air of privilege or woo-woo around the concept that a lot of people roll their eyes at. Some think theyre too busy, tired, or low on funds to take part in it, but self-care belongs to everyoneand its especially important if you feel stretched thin. Self-care is typically portrayed as the surface-level stuff that you can spend money on. Theres nothing wrong with serums, massages, green smoothies, or whatever else you buy when you want a pick-me-up, but a lot of these things dont help us feel the way we want to feel at our core.

Real self-care is about what we do little by little every day to nourish our bodies, minds, and spirits so we can show up as the best version of ourselves. Its the practices, activities, and habits aimed at making us feel good at our core and bringing us back into balance. My foundational habits for self-care are: Hydration, eating well, getting enough sleep, practicing meditation daily, and connecting with others in-person. Boring, I know, but without these things, none of the other magical practices in this book will be as potent.

Magical self-care

Magical self-care is about creating a better relationship with yourself through curiosity, awareness, and intention. It requires deep trust in yourself and discovering whats best for you on a holistic (physical + mental + emotional + spiritual) level. Its about unlocking your own personal brand of intuition and magic by getting you in touch with yourself, your worth, and your power. Before we get started, lets jump into some terms used throughout this book.

WITCHY

Witchy is a term for all things mystical, spiritual, and magical. While Wiccan and Pagan religions are very influential in many witchy rituals, you dont need to be a part of them to consider yourself a witch. Conversely, you can be a witch and adhere to any religious beliefs you want. Having a witchy and magical self-care practice is deeply individual and all about finding what resonates for you.

A witch is someone who recognizes their abilities and magic and uses them to create change in their life. They trust their own power and wisdomespecially if its contrary to convention and the patriarchyand they act on their intuition from a place of self-trust and trust in the universe.

THE UNIVERSE

When I say the universe in this book, Im referring to a higher power that connects us to something bigger than ourselves. You can substitute it for Goddess, Love, Mother Earth, God, Divine, Spirit, Creator, Nature, or whatever strikes a chord with you.