Start Casting Word Spells Here
Words are Spells 🔮. Use them wisely. The magick of being mindful with your words.
Storytime
As I walked into class, the prof was coloring his favorite poem, Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night on an overhead projector. He didn’t say a word, he just handed each of us a stack of colored pencils and continued what he was doing.
I watched as he colored every T in the poem RED. He underlined every O in BLUE. He circled every N in GREEN.
You get the idea.
My poem was Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman.
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
~Maya Angelou “Phenomenal Woman”
A half hour later, he asked the class to tell us what we saw in the colored poetry.
That’s when the magick happened. As I refocused my vision to look at the whole poem and not just the individual letters of each word, the poem came ALIVE. The colors danced for me just like auras.
All the pink Fs and Phs turned into this soft fuzzy feminine energy that made me want to curl up on Mother’s Breast.
All the red Ts and fuscia Ds in the poem sort of stabbed their way through space and showed me a tinge of a woman’s wrath.
All the Ms, Ns, and Ws in various shades of blue, purple, and green looked like a plant vining and weaving its way through the structure of the poem.
The whole poem, in its colors was shaped like a voluptuous woman.
It was utterly phenomenal!
Ever since that day, whenever I read, words and letters dance on the page in colors and textures. It happens when I listen to people talk as well.
Sometimes, it is overwhelming.
But mostly, it’s just radiantly beautiful.
I’ve spent my entire adult professional life analyzing what the colors, textures, vibrations and energies all mean.
I am a super-weird kind of word-nerd.
Because of a number of neurological conditions (aka super powers that some might call “neurodivergent”), I experience words and language through a very unique lens.
I see auras
An aura is the bubble of your personal space. You know, that queasy feeling you get when someone comes too close? I see that as colors, textures, and vibrations coming off your body. (it’s really just non-dense atoms and molecules spinning around, and my hyper-sensitive sight sees them).I have hyperacusis
I have super-hearing ability. While sometimes it’s too much for me (like when you smack your food), most of the time it helps me to be a really good listener cuz I hear more than just what you say, but how you say it and what lives in the space between your thoughts.I have synesthesia
My sense of hearing and my sense of sight often work together as one sense. In other words, I often see sounds as colors, and I can hear visions and images as sounds. Synesthesia is a neurological condition that affects 2-4 percent of the population. Lucky me - I won that lottery ticket. Words light up as colors to my eyes.
Reading for me is a multi-sensory experience. A mystical, magickal, fantastical, and techni-colorful journey through sound and structure and form. I’ve spent my lifetime analyzing what I see to understand it for its deeper meanings.
I hope this newsletter can help you be more Mindful with your Words and take your writing to a whole other level of profound power.
Because words are spells.
We can use them as curses,
or we can use them as charms.
Use them wisely.
What I Write About Here
This newsletter offers short (>800 words) energetic insights about the letters, sounds, words, and phrases we use, from my unique and mystical perspective.
Every Thursday, my Word Butler will deliver a short (less than 800 words) Energetic analysis of words, language, linguistics, and letters. This newsletter offers
Letters - how your letter choices subliminally impact your message.
Words - how your word choices work for (or against) your purpose.
Phrases - how inserting (or eliminating) certain phrases from your every day language can change your life.
Case Studies - with permission, I’ll share the stories of my clients and their growth spurts through word-plays.
All my posts here are always free. That said, writing and coaching is how I make my living. If you decide to become a paid subscriber, I am eternally grateful for your offering. You can learn more about my “word-nerd” coaching and editing services here.
The idea of synesthesia is so mind-blowing to me. It really must be amazing to live in that world.
Great first post! Also, I love how you listed the benefits on the Subscribe page - so clever!
I'm so looking forward to learning more from you Teri. I find all of this so fascinating. I love that you say "Words are spells." They really are.