Diary of a Witch in 2026
How I’m Balancing Evil with Good
It’s been a minute. Six months, actually, since I last wrote a blog. Ironically, the last one was titled “The World Is Burning; Want to Have a Bonfire?” Sometimes I have so many thoughts scrambling around that it feels easier not to express them. Sometimes it’s just easier to stay quiet, keep to myself, and observe. Meanwhile, the little voice in my head is screaming at me to form words. Write. Scream. Act. Do SOMETHING.
For anyone with pattern recognition, a general understanding of history, astrology, or simply access to a smartphone, it’s clear that we’re unwell. Terrified. Enraged. We saw the writing on the walls. We heard the dog whistles. We knew this was coming. That doesn’t mean we were ready for it; it doesn’t mean we know what to do now. Here are some of the ways I’m trying to balance action with self-preservation:
Determining My Place in the Revolution
When the world is on fire, when everything feels wrong, when we’re worried about paying rent and buying groceries while witnessing humans be brutally murdered and kidnapped, our fight, flight, and freeze responses show up fast. Some fight, loudly on the frontlines, making their voices heard by the masses. Some fight quietly, organizing within their communities. Some flee from their feelings, from reality itself. They pretend it isn’t happening. Others freeze, paralyzed by fear, rage, and disbelief. I wish I could say I fit neatly into one category, but I don’t. I cycle through all three. Sometimes within the same hour, sometimes within the same five minutes.
We need to act. We need to educate ourselves and others. We need to use our voices by calling our representatives and sharing information. We need to fight through protests, boycotts, and meaningful disruption. We each play a unique role in this collective awakening. But we also need rest. We need to protect our mental, physical, and spiritual health so we have energy to keep going. Privilege plays a role here too — not everyone has the option to step away from the heaviness. Some people are fighting every single second of every single day. Figuring out where I can make the most impact is something I’m constantly reassessing. Determine where you’re best suited in this fight, it takes our individual strengths coming together to make change.
Leaning Into Community
We live in a society that worships individualism. OUR goals. OUR dreams. OUR lives. Any real sense of a collective community has been stripped away. They used to say it took a village, and somehow our village was conveniently displaced. It’s our job to rebuild it. I talk with my neighbors more. I lean into the skills my friends share. I volunteer. I protest. I shop small and directly support our local economy. We gather with our coven under the full moon. Our local communities are where we find hope. On days I feel lost, I ask myself one simple question: what is one small thing I can do to support the people, animals, and land immediately around me?
Being Aware, Without Being Consumed
This one is hard. I want to look away from livestreams of protesters being tear gassed and humans being ripped from their homes. I want to scroll past it all, I’d much rather watch heartwarming hopecore videos. But Keith Porter and Renee Nicole Good would have much rather gone home to their families. Protesters would much rather be safe in their warm homes. Humans sitting in detention facilities would rather be freed and reunited with their loved ones. While others are actively putting themselves in harm’s way to protect humanity, while others face the unimaginable, the least I can do is witness, hold space, and stay aware. Still, the freeze response creeps in. Tears fill my eyes. I scroll. Something absurd the cheeto said. A video about mixing oil paints to get the perfect hue. A relaxing ASMR clip. A recipe I might make for dinner. Detachment, or maybe dissociation, has been my default lately. I don’t yet know what to do with all the rage I feel. But for now, I will watch. I will let myself be uncomfortable. I will stay aware. And I will put my phone down to check in with my body afterward so I can re-regulate. (This piece is 100% necessary).
Having Difficult Conversations and Using Privilege
My neurodivergent sense of justice makes this feel innate, and with years of education around implicit bias, white privilege, and DEI, I know this work is my responsibility. As a queer white woman, it is my job to educate my white family and friends about our privilege, power, and role in this moment. It’s also my responsibility to keep learning, reading, and listening to voices that are different from my own. If the phrase “white privilege” makes you uncomfortable, unpacking this is probably a good place to start. (I’ve included a list of books and resources at the end of this blog for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding or begin these conversations with their loved ones). The ever-changing political landscape and nonstop headlines mean continually learning the history and current realities of Palestine, Iran, Venezuela, Greenland, the legal powers ICE hold, and that’s just from this week. Do your best, start with one piece, seek multiple perspectives, and try to educate those around you.
Remembering Art Is Activism
I promised my inner child that 2026 would be the year I call myself an artist again. Some of my fondest memories involve my Mom-Mom taking me to Michaels for whatever art class was happening that day. Creating has always made my soul feel at home. As an elementary school teacher, creativity was woven into my everyday life. Since leaving the classroom, I’ve felt that absence deeply. So, I signed up for a local art class. One night a week, I drive into our little beach town to learn how to oil paint. It’s one of the mediums I’ve always wanted to try, but felt intimidated to learn on my own. I’ve promised myself I won’t quit just because I’m not good at it right away. My goal is to be present, have fun, and learn something new; if I end up creating something I’m proud of, that’s the cherry on top.
Art is such an important part of society and culture. It evokes emotions without saying a single word. I’ve seen such a huge shift in my mindset since picking up a paintbrush again. I’m more present and more motivated to care for myself. I feel like I’m actually doing something with my time, not just doomscrolling my days away. Creating again has been a game-changer and I highly recommend getting back into your own artistic flow or learning a new skill.
More Humanness, Less AI
On the topic of creativity, I’ve stopped using ChatGPT. At first, it seemed like a huge time-saver and like my own personal assistant. I did set boundaries and told myself that my blogs and longer, personal captions always needed to come from the heart and that this wasn’t a place for AI. Still, I quickly realized that I began to doubt my own writing skills. As I thought more about it, I should’ve known this sooner — I studied neuroscience and how the brain works. If we don’t use skills, we lose them. Synapses in our brain literally shrivel up and die. Every time I used ChatGPT to write something that I could’ve written on my own, my brain was incrementally shrinking. You know what makes our brains grow? Making mistakes. Learning new things. Making connections between concepts. STRUGGLE. Yes, it takes so much more time but my ideas and captions are authentically MINE, not a mindless robot’s. (Also, justice for proper punctuation and the em dash — it’s not fair what they did to you).
As a witch who worships nature, the environmental impact also weighed heavily on me and I could no longer contribute to this in good conscience. To anyone, especially fellow small-business owners and creators, I strongly urge you to at least use ChatGPT less, don’t use it for every post. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier in many ways — it wasn’t meant to steal our creative agency and replace our raw, imperfect, human thoughts.
Finding Magic in the Mudane
As someone who already experiences anxiety, the heaviness of the world can feel all-consuming. I don’t know where I’d currently be if I didn’t already have a spiritual practice in place. Yoga, divination, meditation, moon rituals, and my craft have kept me grounded in so many ways. Stirring intentions into my evening tea, adding bay leaves and protection herbs into meals, reading cards for myself and the collective, studying upcoming astrology — these small acts remind me of my power. I focus on what I can control. I choose what I put into my body. I control how I spend my downtime and how much time I spend on my phone. I have to remind myself of my magic, my connection to source, and my belief that we are ushering in a wave of matriarchal power as the patriarchy crumbles. Out with the old, in with the new. With that being said, go meditate, touch grass, and remind yourself that right now, in this moment, you are safe and you are powerful.
If you’re still here, thank you for coming to my ADHD brain-dump. I don’t know yet if I’ll share this, I just know I needed to get it out. And if I do post it, imperfections and tangents included, I hope it reminds you that you’re not alone. You aren’t crazy, you aren’t failing, you aren’t falling behind. We’re trying to survive in a world that is actively crumbling. My intuition tells me the world isn’t ending, but THIS world very much is. It’s on us to usher in what comes next. And to do that, we have to care for ourselves and each other along the way.
Hope will always prevail.
Oh and also, FUCK ICE.
Implicit Bias and Anti-Racist Resources:
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
