This spell was a 14 day social media ritual responding to the coronavirus pandemic. It was performed for 14 days at 5pm, Baltimore time. I used Instagram Live and lit a candle, while encouraging viewers to do the same. Magic spells work differently for different witches. Over the course of the 14 days, the global pandemic took hundreds of thousands of lives, and continues to do so. The spell quickly became a way for people to connect, hope, pray, invoke, and process this tremendous loss and shift.

I wore outfits I would have danced in/and out of at an adult night club before the pandemic. Part of the magic of everyday is developing a system of patterns and approaching a garment as a costume in a way that becomes second nature. Although there were certain ritual patterns that repeated, when and how many times they repeated depended on the day and how many people tuned in and left comments or emojis. People’s comments became their own spells and prayers in the ritual, which ended up becoming a part of the magic words I would say during the spell throughout the remaining days:

“Spider Weave and Spider Turn,

We invoke the power of the heart to heal!”

“Queer Spirits I have known and Loved, guide us through these dark and troubled times!”

I burned papers with the words ABRACADABRA written in a dissolving way, a common folk magic method of eliminating and erasing a fever, or anything for that matter. From the Aramaic phrase avra kehdabra, meaning “I will create as I speak,” it is a word people are familiar with. Familiarity is just as important to the success of a spell as the enigmatic and obscure. The spell evolved as ritual for sanity and structure, as well as becoming a platform to celebrate and thank all the essential workers and healthcare providers in the world. We need them in our thoughts, prayers, and spells more than ever.