I wanted to call this ‘How to Witch When You’re Too Damn Tired.’ Or ‘How to Witch When the World is Too Much.’ Maybe it’s because the world is…a lot, or maybe it’s because my self-care practices tend to slink back under the covers when I need them the most. Or maybe I’ve been faking ‘okay’ for a bit too long.

And that’s no good for my magick or for me. Or for anyone around me.

As Above, So Below

Once upon a time, I was sitting in the bleachers of Kezar Pavilion after setting up for Spiral Dance and I was overwhelmed with exhaustion. The ritual wasn’t going to start for a few hours, but I was already ready to go to bed. I mentioned my tiredness and a smarter Witch said to me, “Have you grounded?” I stopped and realized that all the time I ran through groundings, I thought it was about slowing down, when it was about becoming more present in my body. So, I grounded. I felt better. I felt more in alignment with the world around me.

I resourced.

The busier I get, the more the outside me and the inside me start to separate. The outside me is FINE and the inside me is OOF. They start to step away from each other, not really knowing what to do without telling the other one they’re wrong.

When this starts to happen, I know I need to do something, so I take a breath. I know I need to get back to the almighty toolbox of Iron Pentacle, Pearl Pentacle, Grounding, Altars, Daily Practice, etc. I need to get my souls aligned. I need to come back to the altar for just five minutes. I need to come back to myself and bring myself into the present moment.

(I hesitate to say balance, but alignment feels good.)

When I do this, I can be more grounded, more centered. And maybe the inside feelings come out more, so be it. And maybe the outside grounded-ness starts to ‘infect’ my inner landscape.

As above, so below.

Witch, You Need to Resource

This is a new word to me – resource – one that I’m trying out in the magickal landscape, one that’s been gifted to me by therapists and some self-study. And the more I use it, the more I like it as a replacement for self-care, or perhaps a co-conspirator.

The easiest way to describe it is to talk about how it’s a way to find new tools that are already in your toolbox — and use them in a different way. You likely already have things you do to make yourself feel more grounded, but what if you could link them to magickal practices or to sounds or to feelings so you could turn to them in tough times? (Or maybe when you’re just too tired and stressed to figure out what you’re supposed to do next?)

What are your non-person resources?

• Deities
• Rituals
• Nature
• Places
• Songs
• Rhythms
• The first cup of coffee in the morning
• The last cup of tea in the evening
• …something else?

Can you stop for a moment and think about three things that help you become present in your body? Write them down and keep this list in a place where you can find it when you need it. It helps to practice these practices when you’re not stressed out and before you need them. Because when you need them is precisely the time when you might forget about them.

Take care of yourself. The world needs you and you need you.

(A form of this essay first appeared in 2019 on my Charged by the Goddess Patheos Pagan blog.)

Irisanya Moon (she/they) is an author, witch, international teacher, poet, and Reclaiming initiate who has practiced magick for 20+ years. She has taught in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, bringing her blend of grounded, graceful, and radically authentic facilitation to inspire transformation and liberation at the personal and collective levels.

She has written a number of books:
Pagan Portals (Reclaiming Witchcraft – 2020, Aphrodite – 2020, Iris – 2021, Norns – 2023, Artemis – 2024, Circe – 2024, Hestia – 2025)
Earth Spirit (Honoring the Wild – 2023, Gaia – 2023)
Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-being – 2020
(With Pantheon: The Greeks and The Muses to arrive in late 2025 and early 2026, respectively.)

Plus she has written essays, articles, poems, and blogs for Moon Books, Watkins MIND BODY SPIRIT Magazine, Llewellyn, Revelore Press, Girl God Books, Witches & Pagans, Pagan Dawn, Coreopsis Journal, Epona Muse Publishing, and more.

In 2023, they self-published a book of poetry, “wrecked: the insistence of grief.”

Irisanya cultivates spaces of self-care/devotion, divine relationship (whatever that means to you), and community service as part of her heart magick and activism.

For more details: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/authors/irisanya-moon