Confessions of an American Witch

This last Sunday (or was it, Saturday), Morning Glory Reader died in hospice early in the morning. Morning Glory was an important influence in my life because she created Herbs and Arts occult shop at Colfax and Race in 1993. Those familiar with my stories about my Denver occult education will recall that I lived my second life in her shop from September 1996 when I entered the open ritual community until 1999 when she sold the store to another owner, and the vibe changed.  Khari ceased to do business with Herbs and Arts when the new owner wanted pottery at a price point cheaper than her loss point. Sad, really, Morning Glory's Herbs and Arts had been the first to accept my wife's pottery to sell in their store. I wish I had photos from the old days. Being braver than Khari, or having been a Public Witch at Work, I had taken full advantage of the classes that teachers had announced at the Open Full Moons. I took several Wicca 101s, and Tarot 101s. From one couple, we went from ...

There was definitely a winner at last month's Smash a Pot to celebrate Gena Marie getting new kidneys. It was whoever got this potter shard on the studio roof.  Nice color, ain't it? You have to be impressed. Not only did they have to get it up there, they had to get it around the corner from the original angle. It's a little distance--a trick shot, if you were trying on purpose. It's the Olympics! Picture thy enemy's face. Clear the firing range. Why would potters and their friends threw pottery at walls? They claim it's to create pieces for artwork that they plan on doing. I have never actually seen any such work ever made. It might just be a myth. Let's just call this "art."

 Here is a pile of pottery that Khari has reserved for tomorrow's Smash-a-Pot ritual to celebrate our friend getting her new kidneys. We are going to toss these pieces of ceramics at a wall to break them into smaller pieces. Because it's fun to do. And once in the pile of tossing, it can't be removed--sorry. Broken and rejected pottery.

Our second garden party of the 2026 season (July 18) will be celebrating Gena Marie getting her new kidneys. She was on the list for several years waiting for new kidneys, and finally got them. Yay! Khari has decided that besides the potluck, we are doing a pot smash. So we will be smashing all the "seconds" (pottery that came out of the kiln flawed), symbolizing the negative stuff in our lives going away. It's a fun ritual that I have never been able to do at an OFM (Open Full Moon) at a rented location because of the clean up (churches and spiritual centers frown on the broken pottery shards). But we have a nice wall to use just outside of the studio, so we can smash away. And we own the property, so we can do whatever we want to. Hence, smashing pottery is a go.  Location: 2727 N. Cook St., Denver, CO 80205 Date: July 18, 2026 Time: 6pm to 9pm.  Cost: Bring a pot, or plate to smash, if you have one to spare. The more, the merrier. 

 For those who do not live in reasonable distance of my wife's pottery studio, here is some photos of how the rearrangement of the inside of the studio is going, as well as the back patio.  It was an one car garage before it was a studio. A driveway before a patio. But you work with what you have. And try not to look like a slum. Peace be onto all who visit the pottery shop and herb garden. One of Khari's favorite goddesses. Oh, look--some grapes. Getting bigger, this vine is. But we lost a lot to that last snow. Still a couple of bunches of grapes. Besides the grapes that survived that last late May snow, we have a couple of herbs going.  Dill is doing good.   Basil is going to be here. Tea, anyone? Oregano looks encouraging, doesn't it?

 Khari has brought and assembled a new shelf to display her pottery in the studio. Just in time for her event. Looks so much better than the old shelf that probably came from an alley. Over the next couple of months, Khari is going to be focused on restocking her online (Khari's Wiccan Treasures)  Etsy shop , as well as Spirit Ways (an occult shop here in Denver, over on Colfax). Offering plates, including an Anubis plate. Handmade pottery by Khari Look, there is a lonely chalice Mortars and pestles. Pagan magnets. More fridge magnets. Eye in the capstone magnet. Bottom shelf. All the pottery seen in this post is available for sale at Khari's Wiccan Treasures (Etsy), or can be turned into a listing (some items were Celtic Soul--now pruned).

In her attempts to get gold stars for her decision to nuke my Mormon wife out of my life, Khari made it clear that she thought I would be a bad father. Announcer, please . . .  How to produce an artistic genius--slide one   "Weighing in at six pounds, six ounces, we have the Riverside Shakespeare . Know the first line to that poem, or song, then this is the book for you--it has the indexes. Heavy, too. Raise a daughter hefting this once a month, and you build Supergirl , able to crush bricks." During my community college years (my 40s), me and another parent of a daughter got exposed to the idea that the way to keep Shakespeare (or any great author) alive in your memory was constant refreshment.  We had a professor who read a Shakespeare play a month. Toss in the Homer and the Milton from the class, and her daughter was sure  to have exposure to classic literature. I know that at least one kid grew up in a more enriched environment, thanks to that idea. I know becaus...

For those who have been following the Cloud Weather Station Drama, yesterday bird sighting in the Buddha Worship Lounge, was an slightly wounded female magpie. Best chair for keeping an eye out for that evil Hood Cat, Blue. My intent in moving the chairs was to make a clear line of sight between the kitchen window and the Buddha station--in front of which I placed a bowl of water.  Don't judge me, for my mixed pagan magician beliefs and practices. Turns out that the arrangement was bad for human vision. But I was loading the dishwasher, and that might have been more important. Because I want to go write science fiction, and the kitchen being a mess is going to stop the Flow at some point.  I am a Virgo Sun, Cancer Rising, Scorpio Moon, with a Leo Mercury . . . my only Fire.  To say that I am overly "anything" is probably an understatement. It was slightly better when I still had my Demon; I had distance between me and the emotions. Now, I am at the center of the bloody cr...

Some people are born farmer's sons in America; some are the nephew of Gardnerian Wiccans--and imagine that in 1965 Nebraska . . . yeah, I was born demonic. My witchy aunt represented America to me. My aunt, Victoria Josephine Ramalia, declared me, a reincarninated witch, just like herself. She hated children--yet loved me. This mystified my mother. I loved my aunt.  One of my prize possessions, the first thing I made sure to recover the one time I returned home for Christmas after my military escape, was my Red Piggy Bank that she gave me. A ruling question of my childhood was "Why can the Christians have their Ten Commandments at the county courthouse; and not us, our Horned God?"  At age thirteen, I consciously chose the religion of witchcraft . . . in part to be like Vickie. Then in my freshman semester of high school, my aunt got murdered.  And my family, in their grief, blamed it on her religion. I got broom closeted. Satanist. That is what my religion became. And my...

 Before Khari fled the city to avoid the 4th of July fireworks, she unloaded the kiln. Because I am a pimp of pottery, this is what my blog looks like. I have no children, no works of my own to share, just my wife's business, otherwise just rage. That's what the UFO aliens monitoring me will report now that my demon has been removed. It's a sad life as I slowly disappear in this woman's need to be the only business in operation under this roof. Thankfully, she is doing her own photos now. I am done with that. She discovered that she can take them all with her phone, and upload directly to Etsy--either to Celtic Soul, or Khari's Wiccan Treasures (both seem to be on vacation now--hence no links--I could not get to either place on Etsy--she says she's a business person). Don't ask me what piece is going to be on what shop--I can't explain the logic, and I am not sure that it is the best thing for her overall pottery sales . . . but she's an artist; she ...