Category: opinion

Tendai-Student Eishin Adak and Appointing Yourself a Religious Gatekeeper

On By benebellIn Bell Chimes In, chinese folk magic, opinion, personal, personal spirituality20 Comments

Maybe Biased Blacklists are Not a Good Model of Buddhism

This article needs to be written, because I won’t stand for conservative religious zealots to claim ownership over a Buddhism I grew up understanding as compassionate and generous in spirit, where we make room for many paths of Buddhist practice that may differ from one’s own.

I tried to resolve this privately directly with Mr. Adak. I didn’t even mind that he leaves up the original post about me, but in the spirit of dialogue, especially among Buddhists, and in the spirit of the open forum that I thought Reddit should be, at least post my response in the comments. He refused, and not only that, but he’s actually censoring the comments section.

So here we are.

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Forbidden Keys 2026 Conference on Heterodox Praxis; Some More General Thoughts on Conferences I’ve Been To

On By benebellIn conferences, opinion1 Comment

Over the years I’ve been writing up post-event impressions of conferences and events, and you can read them here, tagged under “Conferences.”

The weekend of Oct. 3 and 4 was the Forbidden Keys 2026 Two-Day Virtual Event on Heterodox Praxis, hosted by Denis P. of Foolish Fish fame [and if you missed it, you can still order recordings of all 18 sessions here]. He’s become one of our most beloved figures in the contemporary occult world and I’m a big fan of his YouTube channel, Foolish Fish.

There were seventeen presentations across two days, where each presentation in its own way addressed heterodox praxis. Topics ranged from Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman, Persian and Zoroastrian, Anatolian, Jewish and Solomonic, Christian and medieval European, Golden Dawn, Thelemic, to Japanese and Taoist magical traditions. We were learning about necromancy, different forms of talismanic magic, planetary magic, spirit work, divination, ritual, sacred languages, animism, and magical world-building.

And I’m not even sure that’s an adequate listing of the full expanse of what we covered! In terms of depth and breadth of scope on occult and esoteric topics, this conference really shined.

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Finding Our Way Home: AAPI Return to Ancestral Spiritual Traditions

On By benebellIn conferences, opinion, personal, personal spirituality1 Comment

My Afterword to the AAPI Esotericism Panel

Not too long ago Serena Saint-Sinclair hosted an AAPI Esotericism Panel where I was one of the panelists, alongside Angela Yuriko Smith, an award-winning Ryukyuan-American writer and poet, David Shi, a North Asian shamanic worker, and Yeong-Tae, a baksu (Korean shaman).

Earlier this year I posted on this blog and my Substack, “Are Asian Folk Traditions ‘Pagan’?” I also have an old post showcasing Asian voices in the tarot community. At the end of that post I reflect a bit on AAPI activism as I’ve experienced it through the decades. Just some related links in case you’re interested.

Anyway, to dovetail on the AAPI Esotericism Panel, I wanted to add an afterword to remark on this newfound popularity of Asian Americans returning to their ancestral spiritual practices. I see it on TikTok and Threads, and I see it among the local AAPI youth.

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Can You Be a Taoist or Buddhist Occult Practitioner Without a Teacher?

On By benebellIn Fu talismans, opinion, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft2 Comments

Cross-posted on my Substack.

Do you need a lineaged master or teacher to practice Taoist or Buddhist occultism? Is the whole “you must have a master teach you The Way or else danger, danger” true or a myth? Can reading books replace live teachings and direct transmissions from a master?

Here’s where we’re going to start:

I’m Here for the 99%, Not the 1%

Hubby was telling me how it’s necessary to have a 1:1 personal trainer or fitness coach with you at the gym. It’s necessary for safety reasons, to make sure you’re handling the gym equipment safely and to ensure proper form. You need a seasoned expert to be designing your workout routine, to make sure it’s covering everything it needs to cover, to make sure it’s comprehensive enough, but customized to your very specific individual needs, in short, you can’t just pick up arbitrary gym equipment or hop on a treadmill and hope for the best. You can’t do it on your own based on general knowledge, because you won’t know how to be efficient with your routine. We are never as self-aware as we think, and unchecked errors can solidify into permanently bad workout habits. You won’t improve at an optimal rate, what you’re working out might be imbalanced, and also, is your dietary intake and your workout routine reconciled. And that’s the best case scenario. Worst case scenario is you physically injure yourself.

He’s not wrong. Except the ability to have a 1:1 personal trainer and fitness coach is a privilege. It’s not something accessible to the majority.

Whether it’s the privilege of being a mega corporation vs. a small family-owned or sole proprietor business, or it’s the ultra-wealthy 1% vs. the middle class American, the hallmark of privilege is having on retainer subject matter experts for every stripe. You hire specialists to provide personalized guidance and counsel to you on everything you do. You have an interior decorator, home art curator, you have a CPA, a CFA long-term investments advisor, a realtor, an attorney, a concierge physician on call who shows up at your penthouse within 30 minutes of your text, and yes, a 1:1 fitness instructor, a dietitian, and if you please, a spiritual advisor, also at your beck and call.

Meanwhile the masses, the not-1%-elite, either end up with a shit version of one of those professionals because they can’t afford the best of the best, or they’re resigned to doing it on their own. We’re not saying “you never need a CPA.” We’re saying it’s probably a bit tone deaf to assert “everyone must get a CPA or else.”

And so if your karma is such that time, place, and resources align for you to be blessed with that 1:1 personal tutelage from a bona fide and sincere lineaged spiritual master who is genuinely doing this for your good, not theirs, then congrats, you are in that rarefied 1%. Of course that is going to be the path for you to take. Bless you, off you go! What are you still doing here?

In no way would I ever say don’t seek out a spiritual teacher. In fact, I am totally co-signing those prominent voices asserting that as the ideal approach, assuming you’ve found the right spiritual teacher for you and one who is selfless, self-sacrificing, and sincere.

What I share isn’t for that rarefied 1% with karmic privilege. I’m here for the other 99%, because I believe with a little boost, they, too, can get to where they want to go.

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Are Asian Folk Traditions “Pagan”?

On By benebellIn Magical in the Mundane, opinion, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism3 Comments
Maybe I’m Not a “Witch.” Maybe We’re Excluded for a Reason.

There was a fun witchy banner I scrolled upon with this happy, inspiring message of “Pagans and Witches Unite!” It then featured Stregheria, Feri, Cultus Sabbati, Luciferian, Haitian Vodou, Santeria (Lukumi), Palo Mayombe, Wicca, and then a catch-all “Indigenous Shamanic Paths.”

No special call-out to Asians?

And by “Asian” I really do mean continental, islander, north, south, east, west, there was NO representation there at all. For the largest most populated continent in the world, making up more than half the global population of magical traditions and practices, people just decided to tuck all of that under “Other”?

It seems like Asian magical traditions are always getting left out.

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Is magic and mysticism a replacement for trauma therapy?

On By benebellIn opinion, personal, personal spirituality, traditional witchcraft10 Comments

This commentary sums up my responsive thoughts to a certain heated, well, highly-engaged – we’ll call it – provocative discussion that was going on in my social network. The assertion presented was: Magick is not a replacement for therapy and definitely not a form of trauma therapy. By extension, anyone making such claims is unethical, misleading, and hurting vulnerable populations.

Just for the full context so you can catch me if I’m off, the quote was:

“Guys, Magick IS NOT a replacement for therapy and it’s DEFINITELY NOT a form of trauma therapy. Please do not listen to anyone who tells you differently. Such a claim is unethical, misleading; and even worse, hurtful to vulnerable people who seek healing. I am a licensed therapist with 20 years of mental health experience and an occultist. I hope this means something. . . . Jessica says magicians posing as ‘magick healers’ are no different than evangelical faith healers who prey on the vulnerable. She say the key is EMDR, not LBRP.”

I want to start by saying there is nothing there that I disagree with. In principle, the author of this original post is right. And also, this is the right messaging.

“Magick,” beyond Aleister Crowley’s definition of “the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will,” is use of ceremonial rituals, sigils, visualization meditations, meditations in general maybe, mantra work maybe and so by extension, affirmations (?), herbalism to an extent, and various other “woo-woo” practices like candle magic, spell jars, spellwork, trying to time certain forms of workings to seasons, lunar phases, or planetary movements, and/or using divination as a form of diagnostics tool.

So what do I really think? Can such modalities that we categorize under “magick” replace trauma therapy administered by a licensed, qualified healthcare provider?

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2025 Year in Review and Reflection

On By benebellIn opinion, personal9 Comments
Random photos of my 2025 sights and experiences interspersed throughout this post…

Oopsie doopsie, this “2025 Year in Review” is coming so, so late. A bit emblematic of my 2025, though, which is anything online-related gets relegated to lowest priority. Eeps. It’s because this past year I’ve kept my work more local community oriented, and my focus more family oriented.

I find that too much gets lots in translation when it’s via social media. I notice how in person, we assume the best in people, but online, we assume the worst. In person, we delight in how similar we actually are; but social media would have you think we can never get along.

2025 has been a year that demanded discernment. Can you discern truth from falsity, what’s natural and what’s edited, what is authenticated and what is entirely AI generated. Economic fissures between the have’s and the have-not’s are widening, which in turn is stoking civil unrest, all while we ravage our environment.

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When People Call My Work “New Age,” What They Really Mean

On By benebellIn opinion, personal13 Comments

Note: I wrote this after two generous glasses of port on an empty stomach…

Every so often, someone calls my translation of the I Ching or my work-in-progress on the Tao Te Ching “New Age.” They’ll say it dismissively, as if they’ve discredited the authenticity of my work, and the legitimacy of my scholarship. Funnier yet, not one has been able to competently articulate how and why my work is more “New Age” than its counterparts. For some reason, my interpretation is automatically assumed to be wrong if it departs from what some old white guy from the 50s wrote about these Chinese texts, and we give the old white guy, taking a Christianized outsider perspective, miles and miles of grace.

When pressed, their explanation collapses onto itself in circular reasoning. “It just sounds New Agey.” Or “Well it’s because she’s an occultist so she can’t possibly be unbiased, neutral, objective, and scholarly.” They’ll say it doesn’t sound like “ancient Chinese wisdom.” And that expectation is problematic.

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Are Authors and Content Creators Obligated to Engage?

On By benebellIn opinion, personal, professional tarot, tarot community26 Comments

Recently I came across this video essay by a fellow community content creator on YouTube who had some candid critiques of authors, influencers, and content creators from our mutual community. She shared frustrations about seeing a growing disconnect between those who create content and those who consume content, i.e., the audience that supports an author or content creator.

She had a lot of very legit criticism of the present day online creator ecosystem. Bots and AI-generated responses, monetizing parasocial relationships in a way that feels exploitative, the end of peer to peer communications and the rise of transactional relationships, alienating many socioeconomic classes with paywalls, and having assistants manage community spaces rather than the big-name content creator themselves engaging in those community spaces — I hear you. All valid points speaking truth to power. Also, her concerns speak to something deeper– the loneliness and disconnection many of us feel online these days. Where has that sense of fellowship gone?

Though as someone who also writes, publishes, and maintains an online presence, I have some strong feelings about these points, particularly around community engagement and the unrealistic expectations that get imposed on authors and content creators.

I’d like to unpack some of those critiques, not just from that one YouTuber or from that particular video essay, but because what she said reflects a majority view currently held against content creators when they’re not being responsive in their comments section. I want to offer my perspective. But this isn’t a response to that video, no. These are just my reflections on the realities of engagement, from a content creator’s perspective, inspired by the points she raised in that video.

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Essential Oils: My (Hopefully) Holistic Perspective

On By benebellIn grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, opinion, personal spirituality26 Comments
Two of my current go-to blends. “Anti-Itch Oil” consisting of tea tree oil, eucalyptus, and lavender really does (at least for hubby and me, and all the friends and family I give this to) alleviate minor itching and bug bites. It also clears my sinuses, and helps with congestion. The blend of frankincense, rosemary, and peppermint smells like petrichor! That after-rain scent! This one’s a great massage oil to soothe tense muscles, carpal tunnel, and I also use it as a hair and scalp treatment oil.

Essential oils get a really bad rep these days, and for good reason. Beyond the scams and pyramid schemes, its contemporary New Age associations with “this can cure cancer” claims and people replacing evidence-based healthcare with fragrance blends is why people are – and should be – skeptical.

Not only is there insufficient scientific and medical research to conclusively make claims, but often it’s misused, or people are uninformed about how to use plant extract essences. They definitely can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and in extreme cases of misuse, adversely interfere with your body’s regular functions (this is why those who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, and young developing children need to heighten their discernment around use of essential oils). Some concentrated plant essences can also interact adversely with prescription medications.

Then of course there are the sweeping claims in the realm of magical thinking. This oil blend will bring you luck in love and romance, or this will exorcise demons, or this will help you to manifest wealth. This oil is for glamour magic. That oil is a cure-all.

The historical origins of the term “snake oil” is synchronistically telling here, actually. When Chinese laborers immigrated to the United States to work on the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s, they used a traditional Chinese medicine containing actual snake oil. Per TCM, fat extracted from non-venomous water snakes rendered into an oil, mixed with ginger and camphor extracts was a legitimate medicinal remedy for joint pain and muscle inflammation, which the railroad workers would use. Americans then capitalized on that idea by selling fake snake oil as a magical, mystical ancient Chinese remedy for all ailments. Hence the term “snake oil” came to mean a fraudulent health hype, when actually, the original source material wasn’t fraudulent at all.

Similarly, there are bona fide legitimate uses for essential oils, but capitalistic bad faith sellers of fake stuff give essential oils a bad name. Sadly.

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