#breaking tradition

Traditions are powerful, magical things—but they’re not set in stone. As witches, we thrive on intention, creativity, and personal connection, which means we have the freedom (and the power) to craft rituals and traditions that resonate with us on a deeper level.

For years, I struggled with the pressure to stick to family traditions I didn’t love—namely, eating black-eyed peas and collard greens every New Year’s for luck and prosperity. While I respect the meaning behind them, I can’t stand the taste and I don’t feel a connection to them. This year, my partner and I decided to break the mold and start something new: creating our own recipes that embody the same intentions but in ways that truly delight us.

Here’s what we’re doing instead:

• We’re choosing ingredients that symbolize abundance, growth, and luck, but swapping black-eyed peas and collards for things we love, like sweet potatoes, green beans, or even orzo (which feels like golden grains of prosperity).

• We’re cooking together, imbuing the process with love, laughter, and shared energy—because that’s what we want to carry into the new year.

• We’re building a tradition that reflects us and our values, blending magic, intention, and delicious food that we actually enjoy eating.

Why It’s Okay to Break Tradition:

Family traditions can be meaningful, but they’re not the only way to honor your roots or celebrate the season. Witchcraft is all about personal empowerment and aligning your actions with your intentions. By crafting your own traditions, you’re creating rituals that hold deeper meaning for you and your path.

A Witchy Recipe for New Traditions:

1. Start with Intention: What energy do you want to invite into your life this year? Abundance? Love? Joy? Build your meal around those themes.

2. Choose Ingredients That Speak to You: Find foods that symbolize your intentions but feel personal and enjoyable. For example:

• Sweet potatoes for prosperity and grounding.

• Green beans for growth and luck.

• Orzo or rice for abundance and wealth.

3. Cook with Magic: Stir clockwise to draw in positive energy. Speak your intentions as you add each ingredient. Light a candle while you cook to amplify your magic.

4. Celebrate Together: Share your meal with loved ones and infuse your space with gratitude and love.

Remember:

Tradition is what you make of it. Whether you love black-eyed peas and collards or you’d rather feast on something else, the magic lies in your intention and the joy you pour into the moment. Make it your own.

This year, I’m embracing the freedom to create something new—something that feels like me. So here’s to delicious meals, abundant magic, and traditions that you can truly call your own. 🍽️🌙

+ The Chair of St. Peter

Lucretia Borgia reigns in the Vatican in the absence of Pope Alexander VI by Frank Cadogan Cowper (1910)

Isolda Dychauk as Lucrezia Borgia in Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

The Borgias (2011-2013)

François Arnaud as Cardinal Cesare Borgia

Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI

Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia Borgia

Before I dive into the list of do's and don'ts, let's start with having a conversation as to why decentring men in our lives is important in the first place:

The conditioning

As desi girlies, since birth we are subtly trained to revolve our lives around men. We are told our whole life boils down to marrying a guy, something which is heavily romanticized in the media we consume too. Romance becomes the focal point of our existence.

Household Dynamics

Forget romantic aspect, in our households also, if our mothers are homemakers, we learn to equate our fathers as gods. The moment they step through the door after long, hardworking day, we're expected to drop everything and cater to them. Bring them water, ask them if they want tea or not. Switch on the AC. Serve them food when asked.

We’re conditioned to be overcompensating, pleasing, and to shrink ourselves for men. This mindset is hardwired in us, subtly woven into our lives that we barely notice its impact.

After marriage, a woman becomes “Mrs.” followed by her husband’s name and surname. A daughter’s important government identities often require her father’s details, reinforcing the notion that our identities are tied to the men in our lives.

The Real Issue

I am not saying that bringing water to your father after he comes from work is wrong. the action of dropping everything when he enters the house is. The problem lies here. This mentaility is what we need to shed.

It’s time to stop associating our worth with men and to start building our own identities. Who are we, beyond being someone’s daughter, sister, girlfriend, wife, or mother?

Who are we?

Who are YOU?

Stop looking at yourselves through other's lenses.

and it gave me the idea for Emmetstyle, Emmet and Lucy, for them to perhaps not tie the knot or commit to one another in a traditional sense

Lucy is possibly a woman who isn't all for tradition, i mean she's a rebel in the first movie. And i remember reading or seeing Fanfics or fan art of them being married, and while i do enjoy them and they are cute! I remember with some of them, it just felt a bit Out of character for Lucy, who is free spirited and makes her own rules and is a rebel. and i don't think she'd "settle" or make an exception cuz Emmet would be all for a wedding and convince Luvy to do so, Emmet is someone who really wants what's best for the ppl he loves, Lucy especially. I feel that perhaps Lucy honestly doesn't wanna tie the knot, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love Emmet. She'd probably have a hard time telling him so but eventually the cats gotta be out of the bag somehow for something as that, and Emmet would be understanding and assuring that they don't have to be.

See Emmet like i said would be trying to understand and overall respectable about Lucy's wishes and perhaps i feel the most in character thing for them is to have a smol party or ceremony with the ppl close to them like the gang who is basically like family for them. perhaps They have a ceremony where there's no need for tradition where there's no need for wedding rings, where instead Luvy and Emmet master build a heart and declare themselves Special Best partners, instead of committing themselves as Husband and Wife.

Honestly the thought of Lucy being a "Wife" just doesn't stick right for me, but that's just me and there's nothing wrong with anyone else thinking otherwise, just my Opinion.

Phantom of the Opera Notebook (Digital Pages) 14

Traditions start up for a reason. There is history and culture tied to it. They persist sometimes out of nostalgia and harmless fun as the years pass.

However, some traditions are not pleasant. Some traditions are harmful. Some people are set in their ways, content to follow how things have always been forever.

It’s time to shake things up.

OCs are always welcome!

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