My path to embracing this role has been a winding one. I spent over 20 years of my life training to be a professional dancer, before deciding that a career as a dancer didn’t allow me to serve my communities in the ways I wanted. After that I dedicated the next decade of my life to becoming a Dance Movement Psychotherapist, and have been working in private practice for 8 years. Being a psychotherapist is fulfilling, but at times I find myself frustrated by the limits of my role and disconnected from the aspects of healing that feel the most profound to me – like my connection to ritual, magic, and spirituality. So now I’m finding a path forward that includes as much of me – my heart, my passion, my beliefs, my heritage, my values, my love – as possible.
My many years of being a dancer have instilled in me a deep sense of respect and awe for my body and the bodies around me. I have developed a rich relationship with the many sensations and impulses that are constantly rising within me, and trust my body to guide me towards healing and wholeness. I see my body, all of our bodies, as an extension of the Earth and the profound wisdom and medicine that she offers.
As a queer woman with a family background of Italian and English settlers, I bring the various intersections of my identity to my work. My Nonno taught me a lot about the ways of plants and how growing a garden helps us to put down roots and feel at home in a place where we aren’t from. As a settler, I do my best to honour the land and the people who have cared for it for thousands of years before me. In my gardens I strive to grow native flowers and plants to support pollinators and restore biodiversity, and take great care to protect the lands I work on from invasive species.
Why witchcraft?
Witches have historically been persecuted for being different, and it’s taken a long time to get to a point where I can call myself a witch, and only feel a small amount of fear that I will be outcast or punished for it. That fear is still there, but I’m choosing to step into this role publicly and professionally because it’s the word that captures the most of what I’m interested in contributing to the world.
Witchcraft, to me, is not about wand waving or “silly” incantations. As much as I love the magic of Harry Potter and other fantasy worlds, I am much more interested in the magic of this one, like love, art, the medicine of plants, the ways that belief and intention can shape our realities, and the practice of daily rituals. This is magic beyond any fantasy I’ve read, because it’s real and tangible, and it has nourished me in immeasurable ways.
I am a feeler. I have always been sensitive, which has at different times felt like a blessing and a curse. I have an intuitive sense of what the people around me are feeling without them telling me, which tends to be quite accurate. This can be incredibly helpful when I want to offer support and care, or sense into what direction healing lies in. And it can also feel like a burden because I often end up knowing and feeling more than people consciously choose to share. I believe that my sensitivity and intuition are part of why being a psychotherapist can feel challenging for me, and why witchcraft feels truer to my gifts.
I love learning about the plants around me and what they are capable of. I love growing things and watching the miracle of life unfold before my eyes. I love using what I learn from the plants to help those around me.
This is my witchcraft. This is my magic. This is what I’m inviting you into.
Meet Casper!
Casper is my sweet, ghosty boy, who often haunts my sessions with clients and always sits in on my nighttime ritual. He is very mellow, and enjoys taking over my “therapist’s chair” when I’m working with clients or there’s a good squirrel to see. He’s a rescue with a trauma history, so he can be a bit shy of new people, but he’s a great listener with the softest coat you’ll ever pet (if he lets you). You can look forward to meeting him when you attend sessions at my home studio.
The Village Witch 