Rachel of Anahata's Purpose

 In this episode I talk to Rachel of Anahata's Purpose. Rachel tells us about growing up in a magical family, her interest in high magic, and how she built community by founding the life-changing retreat called Anahata's Purpose. 

She also briefly touches on an all-inclusive mini-retreat happening at the end of April. Tickets are available on her website, anahataspurpose.com. 




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Transcript

Welcome back to Your Average Witch, where we talk about witch life, witch stories, and sometimes a little witchcraft, on the full and new moon every month. In this episode, I talk to Rachel of Anahata's Purpose. Rachel tells us about growing up in a magical family, her interest in high magic, and how she built community by founding the life-changing retreat called Anahata's Purpose. She also briefly touches on an all-inclusive mini retreat happening at the end of April. Tickets are available on her website AnahatasPurpose.com. Now let's get to the stories. 

Kim: Hi Rachel, welcome to the show. 

Rachel: Hi, thank you for having me. 

Kim: Would you please introduce yourself and let everybody know who you are and where you think they can find you on the internet and what you do. 

Rachel: Yes, my name is Rachel Mitton. I am the founder and curator of Anahata's Purpose. And you can go to anahataspurpose.com. Social media link for Instagram is @anahatas_purpose. Pretty much anything Anahata's Purpose will lead you to me. 

Kim: So what made you want to start The Purpose? 

Rachel: The Purpose. So, I have been someone who has been obviously interested in all of the witch stuff, but also has been a big fan of festivals in South Jersey, in the Pine Barrens, there's a few music festivals that happen down here, and they are fantastic, but it kind of gets a little rowdy and unruly from time to time. And I really, there's one in particular that I help with and now they actually help with Anahata, it's called Beardfest. I went to Beardfest one year and they offer really great music and they have a couple of wellness classes throughout the day, but the main focus is on the music. And when I was there years ago, it was the first time I went, I just kind of saw there was an opportunity to flip the script, to create a place where the highlight is actually the workshops and the highlight and the focus is the classes and the facilitators. And music is just like an extra added fun thing. Music is a universal language. We all love it. I mean, even last year we had, our headliner was from Argentina. So it's definitely universal language, but it's just I wanted the focus to be on workshops, on, you know, healing as a lifestyle and create a space where people can feel fun and free, but also aren't scared or intimidated because they don't know what people might be on or what influences they may be under. And that's where it just kind of started from and birthed from. I just saw one festival and was like, I want to do this, but for me. And I guess other people really like it. So that's good. Other people wanted it too. So that's great. 

Kim: Well, I can't wait. It's one of my favorite things now in my life. And I'm excited for next year, this year, this next time.

Rachel:  I am too. I know. September. Woo. Already starting. Already starting. Yes.

Kim: So what does it mean to you when you call yourself a witch? 

Rachel: For me, it's really about proclaiming my individuality. It is a way that I can partake in my community but be authentic. And it is something that helps me feel empowered. That's what... I mean, it means me being authentically me.

Kim: (long pause) I'm thinking about that, sorry. I like that.

Rachel: No, you're fine. Oh, I mean, that's, yeah, for me, that's kind of what it is. I feel like everyone that I know in this community, everyone has their very unique ways of doing things and some are more structured than others. And for me, it's a very pick and choose what feels right. What I kind of create in my practice, it's about being more present. It's about tuning into aha moments. Yeah, it's just about finding myself a little more, I guess, not to get cheesy.

Kim:  I like cheese.

Rachel:  Yeah, cheese is great. 

Kim: So do you have any daily practices that you'll share with us? 

Rachel: I... see, I have things that I just yeah, I definitely yeah, I definitely, weekly, I'm a journaler, but not a daily journaler. My Gemini sun just has me all over the place all the time, so I feel like it's very hard for me to stick to one specific routine every day because I get bored of it and I have to spice things up a little bit. So there's some days I journal, there's some days I work out really hard, there's some days that I will focus on education around it and be reading some kind of literature around witchcraft. There's days where I will dive into my cards and I'm kind of all over the place but it seems to be that I have different things that I use for different times and situations and ways that I'm feeling in my life. Like if I'm very confused, that's when I will normally go pull some kind of cards for that day. And if my brain is kind of jumbling all over the place, that's when I'm like, okay, I need to journal. I need to get all this stuff out of me. And I just, whatever it is that I can use to kind of bring me into the moment and like what I need. So daily I do something, but it's not always the same thing. I guess you say drink water. I drink a lot of water first thing in the morning. That's my daily ritual. 

Kim: Do you have a family history with witchcraft? 

Rachel: Kind of. My aunt is a very talented medium, like extremely skilled and gifted medium. And if my brain is kind of jumbling all over the place, that's when I'm like, okay, I need to journal. I need to get all this stuff out of me. And I just, whatever it is that I can use to kind of bring me into the moment and like what I need. So daily I do something, but it's not always the same thing. I guess you say drink water. I drink a lot of water first thing in the morning. That's my daily ritual. 

Kim: Do you have a family history with witchcraft? 

Rachel: Kind of. My aunt is a very talented medium, like extremely skilled and gifted medium. And I think once my aunt released her books and started offering her services publicly, that we kind of opened up a little bit more about it. We would actually, like, if we were over for dinner at my aunt's house, she would bring out cards and we would, she would have us practice giving greetings to each other. But all of her cards, it's kind of hard for me to say because it's all of her cards are very angel-based, you know, which is nothing wrong with that. But I guess it's just, it was always very love and not as much shadow work. So I kind of have enjoyed going to the dark side on my own, diving into the shadow work aspects of a lot of those things. So it's definitely something in my family. I know my great grandfather supposedly was also very much a medium from different accounts. And he's also a part of me swears that he was Illuminati (laughs) because he like had a meeting with the Pope and that just doesn't make any sense to me-

Kim: What?!

Rachel: ...because we're Jewish, first of all. I've never actually, this is another aspect. 

Kim: So he was. So he was, then.

Rachel:  Absolutely, right? So he's Jewish, he had a meeting with the Pope, which I just don't, I don't get how that happened. I don't know, I need to know more. I guess next time my aunt does a reading for me, I'm going to ask her to ask him how that happened. And yeah, I have like pictures of him in the original Copacabana in Cuba with officials, like while all Cuba stuff was going down. I don't know. And he was definitely... Yeah. Yep. I think he was Illuminati. I doubt it, but I don't know. There's still a chance because it doesn't make sense. Why? Why was that a thing? But other than that, I mean, I mean, other than that, it is a big, has been a big influence on my life, obviously, growing up and having that being something that's been welcomed. I have not been baptized, but I found my dad was Catholic, my mom's Jewish. So I also kind of have never, I don't know, I always feel like I've never been sworn to a religion, in a way. *laughs* So I think that kind of adds this other aspect for me, personally, of like, I can just keep discovering what it is that I want. And I don't have, well, I'm lucky enough to not have any of that, like, religious trauma that I know a lot of people have. And my heart always breaks about that. 

Kim: What would you say is your biggest motivator in witchcraft? 

Rachel: For me, it's just the endless amount of knowledge that you can acquire. That is the one thing that definitely motivates me to keep me going, keep me learning, is just the fact that there are so many things to learn. There's so much. There's so much. And I want to learn it all. I doubt I'll ever, but it's the idea that there is so much that can help you expand and grow in your practice. That's what keeps me constantly reading books, constantly trying to decipher things. Yeah. It's the fact that there is no end. 

Kim: Now you are more into high magic than I am. I'm very much simple folk practitioner. I got, I like plants and rocks you get into the... I don't even know the word.

Rachel: *laughs*  I get in that weird shit. *laughs*

Kim: Yeah. There's some fancy word for it, I just can't remember what it is.  And that's why you had Joe come, right?

Rachel: Yes. Because Joe is the only person, he's really the only person I know that's also that's close to me that is, also uses the Thoth deck. I feel like not a lot of people use Alistair Crowley's deck that I know, and it's a deck that I really love. And it's because of all the symbolism and the endless connections you can make between all of the cards. It's really the study of Kabbalah, which also has Jewish roots to it. So for me, it kind of resonates. And I just, the sigil work, I think, is fantastic and beautiful. I love King Solomon's sigils and I love Damien Echols, somebody who I like to follow a lot. He has a lot of really beautiful pieces and work and books on all of the things. It's just, it doesn't end. It almost can trip you up quite a bit. Like, there's sometimes I'll be reading stuff and I'm like, okay, I need to stop because my brain is literally about to explode. And I think that is a reason why not a lot of people are into high magic, too, because some of the bigger books actually disclaim insanity in the beginning of them. Like, "If you read this, like it can literally make your brain break." So that's also something that is oddly intriguing to me. I don't want to break my brain, but like, I want to get close to it. 

Kim: Yeah. I had to stop. We were on vacation once and I had to, we were watching something. I don't know why we're watching this on vacation, but it was something about the theory of relativity and I got upset and I had to turn it off. Cause I was like-

Rachel: "How dare you!" *laughs*

Kim: ...I don't understand that though, but why? How did they, why? Stop. I'm going to go get in the hot tub. *laughs*

Rachel: Yeah, yeah. It's so rude. *laughs* How dare you? Yeah, I guess for anyone that would want to start kind of exploring it, the Kabbalion is a book that I really like to recommend to a lot of people because it kind of is just the laws of the universe and no, I'm not talking about The Secret. It's like polarities and different things like that and it kind of helps break down things in an obtainable way. It is written, it's kind of old so it could use some updating with some lingo in it but overall it is a really good resource beginner book. 

Kim: Do you ever have imposter syndrome? 

Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yep. *laughs* Sure do. And I think that's kind of something that everyone has in general, but I think in the witch community it is rampant because there are so many different avenues and things to take, and I feel like a lot of people will proclaim their knowledge in one particular category to be the truth, and it can infringe doubt on other people and that to me is probably one of my biggest pet peeves, is like feeling like you know everything and how that kind of creates that imposter syndrome for others. I don't think it really helps the community at all. But yeah, there's definitely, there's times when people, I mean even now, when you're like, "You're into that high magic." And I was like, "Oh, am I, am I in high magic, into high magic enough to even talk about it?" I don't think so, because I look at Joe, I mean, Joe is fantastic. And he definitely does not act like he knows all the things. He is phenomenal. But he, you know, I look at someone like Joe and I'm like, "Oh, he's so, so advanced. He knows all the things." And I think that it's remembering that we're all on this continuous learning path, whatever our path is, like these things are just coming to us as we trot along our days. Remind us that, like, we need to calm down, let's stop being so hard on ourselves. We're learning what we're supposed to be learning when we're learning it. And it ebbs and flows, too. There's sometimes I feel like I know a lot of shit, you know, like there's times where I'm like, "Oh yeah, yep, that's it." And then somebody can come along and be like, "Oh, why don't you try this?" Oh shit, I know nothing. 

Kim: Yeah, sometimes I'm surprised that I know things. 

Rachel: Yeah! It feels great when you know things, but the thing is: no one really knows shit. *both laugh*

Kim: So speaking of the witch community, number one, this just came up recently, do you feel like there is an overarching witch community? Or do you feel like there are a bunch of smaller communities that witches have made together?

Rachel:  I think there's both. And I think it's just with different interests. You know, the first time somebody, the first time somebody like called me a witch in like a real term, it actually, and it's so funny because of what I told you about my family history, but it like freaked me out. Actually, the person who like really kind of, I was like, "You're a witch, dude." And I was like, what? What do you mean? Like, I do this stuff with my family, but I'm like, I'm not a witch. Like I had this whole like adverse reaction to it. But I feel like a lot of times, yeah, like you throw that word out, it's just because there's so many different kinds of witches. So I think that there is this one big umbrella community. And then all of these little, little communities underneath with people experiencing different things. I mean, I would personally, if you come to Anahata's Purpose, I think you're probably a witch. There's a lot of people at Anahata's Purpose that do not, you know, proclaim themselves as witches. So, I do think there's tons of different communities and maybe they just have different purpose for it. 

Kim: What do you dislike about the witch community? 

Rachel: If you can't tell, I don't like it when people act like they know everything, because we don't know everything. That is definitely like unnecessary gatekeeping. Obviously, there's gatekeeping that is very necessary in terms of appropriating different religions and cultures and things like that. But I really don't like it when people don't offer a hand out, like a helping hand when people are in need, when people are in the space to receive that and instead of, you know, offering advice or not even so much offering advice but like sharing what they have learned, kind of, I've found, I've seen people kind of like make other people feel bad for not knowing things. And I guess that's kind of the soapbox that I'm totally standing on this entire episode right now because it is something that I feel like I see all the time and I really hate it. I really hate it. People that just feel like they have all the answers. I really hate scammers. 

Kim: Oh my gosh.

Rachel:  The scammers are horrible. We just had that in the Marco group that just happened. Someone happened someone was getting, not catfished, but scamfished I guess. I'm gonna bring that word into existence. Scamfished. 

Kim: You heard it here first, folks. 

Rachel: Heard it here first. Scamfished. Yeah like there's people that are just trying to monopolize on it, take advantage of it, and also make people feel shitty. I also hate toxic positivity, different aspects of that. It's my least favorite thing ever. One of our first hoodies, the Anahatas Purpose hoodies and t-shirts that we came out with was Real Vibes Only, because I hate the phrase good vibes only.

Kim: I have a Real Vibes Only shirt. 

Rachel: Yay! Yeah, I hate good vibes only. And for me, it's because the bad vibe that you go through is what actually leads you to the good vibe, right? Like the Tower moment that you have is actually what is most important for you to grow and to learn. So real vibes only, not good vibes only. 

Kim: Well what do you love about the witch community? 

Rachel: I love that even though I just said all that, there's totally people that just completely disregard all of it. I feel like the witch community is one of the only communities that do really dive into their shadow side. I love that. I do find that there are people who are willing to be very vulnerable and I love that too. In the witch community, there's a lot of vulnerability, but that's why I get really mad when people take advantage of that vulnerability. I also love the diversity of the witch community and how I feel it's getting more and more diverse. That makes me really happy. I also love the...it's almost like when you come across somebody else in the witch community, you kind of just like lock eyes and you're like, I know you. And they're like, yeah, I know you too. Like there's just this underlying like tribe like membership that happens. Mm-hmm. Yeah, like you're just like, okay, I see you. I see you. And you walk up, you see somebody with like the air element tattoo on their arm and you're like, okay, alright, who are you? What's up? Tell me. So, I love that. I love all of those things. 

Kim: What brings you the most joy in your practice? 

Rachel: Ah-ha moments. Synchronicities. Moments where-

Kim: They bother me. 

Rachel: Synchronicities bother you?

Kim: Yes.

Rachel: Why? 

Kim: Because they skeeve me, man.

Rachel: I love them. For me, they're like, it's like a double shot of espresso for me when that happens. I'm just, I feel like it's a big like wink and smile, you know, from the universe. They're like, keep going, you got this. Yeah, synchronicity. 

Kim: It's just weird to be on the right path. 

Rachel: But it's your right path. 

Kim: Yeah, but the right path is insane. 

Rachel: *laughs* Yeah, you're right. It does get crazy. That is facts right there. But no, that's actually what gives me all of the vibes. That's my favorite thing ever. And you can't almost like can't even deny it, you know?

Rachel:  What do you- is there anything you wished was discussed more?

Rachel: In the witch community?

Kim: Yeah. And it's okay to say no.

Rachel:  I I think I'm very fortunate because the community that has sprung up through Anahata's has really offered me a space to discuss a lot of things. We talk about all the things, the things that would definitely make you very uncomfortable, you know, like time jumping. 

Kim: I hate time. 

Rachel: I know. All of the time things. (Kim laughs) I'm very fortunate because I do feel like I have really stumbled upon a witch community in my own reality that really allows me to discuss whatever the hell I want. And also that brings up topics from other members of the community that I didn't really even think that I would be talking about and then it just helps me expand and grow even more. 

Kim: I agree.

Rachel: Yeah, I love the... how much we question things, in this community. And I guess if anything, would just be to keep questioning all the things. 

Kim: Now after talking about the social media thing and how it's affected you. How do you feel it's affected your practice, social media? 

Rachel: I have been like, on a big social media break. It was interesting because after Anahata's, there was like this huge boost in social media and I kind of had to like forcefully be on it because it is a business, you know, like it is, it is like not so much a business, but it's this community of people. I have to do it for the facilitators. I want them to be successful. So I want to keep pushing this, and keep doing this. And it just gets to a point where, I don't know, it can be extremely draining. For me, I like to make sure that when I post things on social media, that it is very real and honest, but also not too deep to where people can interpret it the way that they want to interpret it. And I just feel like sometimes people are just so crazy on social media. I also, I think the pandemic has just really made people wild on social media, to say the least. But it's, I don't know, it's just like this whole other entity. It's an entirely different sovereign being that is social media. It just operates on its own and I just, I kind of wanted to post my things, hope it gets somebody that it needs to get to, and not look at it. Social media is the devil. 

Kim: How has witchcraft changed your life, good and/or bad?

Rachel: It has definitely given me self-confidence that I did not have. It is something that has made me feel empowered, which was not an environment that I was really raised in on a regular basis. So for me it's really helped me to find myself. And I think out of anything that might be bad, it's just a lesson. It's just teaching me to do things differently.

Kim: What would you tell somebody just starting out? 

Rachel: Keep going, to not get discouraged, to not compare yourself to other people, to trust your instincts, and to also, again, I feel like I'm just repeating myself, but just to question everything. I know for me, when there were times where I was getting scared or nervous about things, that I would get super worked up and super hyped up about things. And then what I realized is it was just kind of a reflection of things that were going on inside of me. So I guess another thing that I would recommend is to, as you're learning your craft and exploring that, my suggestion would be to also read books about the nervous system, as weird as it sounds. Read books about anxiety, how things trigger in the body and really kind of learn about the body because I feel like that has personally helped me move way past any limitations I had on myself. Yeah, that would definitely be one of the main things, is to be able to analyze yourself, especially also through the body and to be able to recognize different things coming up and to kind of work them together.

Kim:  What would you like to hear from somebody more experienced, for yourself? 

Rachel: I would like to hear, yeah, I would like them to also tell me to just keep going and exploring and keep questioning things. I would like, I just would like people who are more experienced than me to tell me and share with me those things that helped them. You know, for me, I just said that, you know, also learning about the body and the different systems in the body and how that can relate to your experiences and how that's helped me and I, hopefully that resonates with somebody. Maybe somebody will be like, "Oh, I never thought of doing that. Let me go pick up this book." Like I wanna know those things. I wanna know the things that flipped the switch for a lot of people, that made them feel more comfortable in their practice. I'd also love for them to tell me that I'm doing great, sweetie. But like, just like how Kris Jenner says it. (both laugh) You're not allowed to hate me. 

Kim: How dare you. (both laugh) What do you most desire from your practice?

Rachel:  I don't really know. I feel like it keeps surprising me and I definitely still want to get that. That is something I still desire. Because again, my Gemini sun can get really bored really quickly. And I guess... more discovery of self. 

Kim: What or who would you say are the three biggest influences on your practice? 

Rachel: My aunt. My aunt Lisa, absolutely. She started me on all of this. I also would say my best friend, Cindy. She is someone who we've kind of been exploring this together over the past 15 years, and she has shown me, I've just, I've had so many experiences with her, you know, that are unexplainable, undescribable, but are very real and I just I wouldn't give that up for anything. And there's a bunch of like authors that I really love and but there is one person in particular who he is a hub for all of these people. And you definitely need to have a twisted sense of humor to like this guy, but Duncan Trussell is like my favorite. I love him so much. I love the Midnight Gospel if you got to watch that. I just feel like he has introduced me to so many amazing people through his show that has helped me really think of things in different ways and I'm just really grateful for that. 

Kim: Wait a minute. I looked him up. 

Rachel: Duncan Trussell Family Hour? 

Kim: He's an actor. I've seen him before. 

Rachel: He's a comedian who went podcaster.

Kim: Huh. 

Rachel: And if you've ever watched the Netflix, the Midnight Gospel. It's actually, it's really cool that they take episodes of his podcast and they turn it into cartoons. But like Damien Echols, who's one of my favorite high magicians who I brought up earlier, is someone who he interviews and then is also in the show. And he interviews Mitch Horowitz, who is a very wonderful and interesting Satanist who explains a lot of things. And I just love him. And he was really good friends with Ram Dass, and he has different kinds of meditation teachers, and all of these people from all over the place speak, and it's absolutely ridiculous. The first 20 minutes is his ads and it's just him talking about complete nonsense and then it goes into the show and it's just... Yeah, I'm really grateful for Duncan for just creating a hub. 

Kim: Who would you like to see on the show? 

Rachel: Jason Miller. I want Jason Miller on the show. 

Kim: Okay, me too. 

Rachel: Yeah. His books are fantastic. I think they are just some of the best written witchcraft books ever. They just, they make sense. They don't get, they get in depth but in a very obtainable and digestible way. He did the Financial Sorcery, Protection and Reversal Magic, which is a great book. 

Kim: Is there anything that I didn't ask you that you wanted me to ask you or that you wanted to talk about? 

Rachel: We do have a mini retreat coming up. 

Kim: Ooh, talk about that. 

Rachel: We can talk about that. 

Kim: Yeah. Okay, tell me about that. 

Rachel: So this is the first mini retreat, which is the next evolution of Anahatas, where what we're doing is you have Anahata's Purpose that you come to, right? You can choose what classes that you want to take. And then we take some of our top classes that we get from feedback through our surveys, and create smaller retreats. Focusing and deep diving into those classes, so. Colleen McNally, who teaches pretty much all of our tarot classes, and Krystal Vasquez, who owns Energy Ripple in Bristol PA, who did Money Magic, Akashic Records. The three of us are getting together. We will be going into more in-depth into the Tarot, and breaking down suits and court cards,and we'll be split up over two and a half days. It'll be those classes along with Money Magic classes.
 I'm going to be doing a class kind of around... I haven't named it yet, but it's pretty much around like mind magic/self-sabotage and how we can overcome that. But it's just a mini getaway. So it's just the classes. Everyone goes through the classes themselves. There is a max limit of people, so it's like around 40 to 50 attendees that can come. We don't do any of the live music, it's really just diving deep into the education, building the community, having the smaller bonfires at night, maybe an acoustic jam happening. So it's just a totally different vibe, and it's for people that want to come and like they're going to learn something. They're coming to edumacate themselves. Kim: Is there anything you wanted to ask me? 

Rachel: What is your favorite herb? 

Kim: My favorite herb? It's a tie between mugwort and rosemary. 

Rachel: Solid. Solid, solid answer. Yeah. 

Kim: Now I do want to talk for a moment about Anahata's Purpose main, happening in September this year actually. Rachel has been kind enough to give me a discount code. You will get a monetary discount and the code is AVGWITCH22. 

Rachel: And that, yeah, that'll be on the last screen, when they go to check out the underneath. Just put in that. 

Kim: And if you can't find it, because I couldn't, and I had to text Rachel and say help me, then feel free to reach out and I'll help you. 

Rachel: Yeah, thanks.

Kim:  You can reach me on Instagram. 

Rachel: Yeah. 

Kim: Now, for the last two things that aren't questions, they are kind of like demands, please recommend, except I say please at the beginning. Please recommend something to the listeners. 

Rachel: Anything? 

Kim: Yeah. 

Rachel: Oh. Hmm. Anahata's Purpose. 

Kim: If you didn't say that, I swear to god.

Rachel:  I was looking at all of my books and all of my stuff, and I'm like, ooh, one thing. And I'm like, wait a minute, you can find all of those things there!

Kim:  I was going to say, you better... *laughs*

Rachel:  No, I guess I would totally recommend Anahata's Purpose because you can learn a ton of stuff. 

Kim: Seconded.

Rachel: And it's really amazing. The community. The community that we came out of it. It's funny because I told you how there's people from another festival that helped me, like they run the music for me. Like they helped do all that because I don't know how to do sound boards and all of that stuff. And they, when the Marco started and when all the after, like side Facebook groups started, they're like, yeah, it'll probably be done in like a few weeks or so. And it's just not gonna, it'll probably just fizzle out.

Kim: Surprise. 

Rachel: Surprise, six months later, and if you don't log on for a day, you're like 300 messages behind. 

Kim: Yeah, because I took a break. Do you want to know how far behind I am? 

Rachel: Yeah, I know you're probably really far. You're probably like:

Kim: Yeah, because I couldn't deal with it. Well, periodically, I'll go in and watch the last one just to get it off the notification off. 1,565 right now. 

Rachel: Yeah. 

Kim: Because I went in like two days ago. *laughs*

Rachel: Yeah. But for, I mean, I know I've really loved it. I know for a lot of us it's been great because it's really given us this outlet and the like a soundboard for different things that pop into our mind. 

Kim: Yeah. 

Rachel: Yeah, I've loved it. It's also, for me, it's been extremely helpful with the pandemic in general. It's helped me feel very connected to people, even though, you know, I'll go a week without leaving my house. 

Kim: But we can still feel like we're not alone. 

Rachel: Yeah. It's seriously one of the... It is the best community that I've ever found myself in. I just, I love the people that come to Anahata's. It's just my favorite, it's my favorite thing ever. So yeah, that's what I'd recommend. 

Kim: Last thing, please tell me a story that you love to tell. It does not have to be witch related, it can be something dumb you taught like when you meet up with family, however many times a year and you say the "Remember when this happened?" That story.

Rachel:  Why is this so hard? 

Kim: I dunno. 

Rachel: I don't either.

Kim: You can also tell us, okay, you can tell how you got your dogs or named them or... 

Rachel: Well, Rue is named after the herb Rue. Maggie is named after the walking dead because I was into that once. And Koji is named Koji because it is Japanese fermented rice and my partner is a chef. But actually, I do have a real story. It's like an ongoing joke and frustration for my partner and I. And it's really funny. 

Kim: Okay, I love those. 

Rachel: Yeah. So back story. For those of you who don't know, when you come to Anahata's, all of the food that's provided there is provided by my partner. He's a chef, you know, he's a restaurant... phenomenal chef. Delicious food. All of my witchy books are mirrored by all of his cookbooks. He's got a ton of cookbooks in here. Right. So you can say we're foodies. So he loves tacos. Like fancy tacos, not Taco Bell. Like he likes to make some fancy, fancy tacos. And we were at... I believe a barbecue, and I had a hot dog. And I was like, "Is a taco a hot dog?" Just random, popped up.

Kim: Oh no.

Rachel:  Let me finish! *laughs*  Randomly just popped out of my mouth and his face, he was like, what the fuck did you just say? Like, I cannot believe, right? And I was like, well, I mean, think about it, the bread part, it like covers, like it's connected at the bottom and like all the stuff's on the inside. So like, it's the hot dog isn't a sandwich. It's definitely a taco. Like a taco is a hot dog. Taco is a sandwich. So just turn the whole thing is a taco a sandwich or not. And it's still an ongoing thing. I'll bring it up every once in a while he gets furious about it, but it's like so innocent. But he's just like, a taco is a taco! And I'm like, but it can be a sandwich. So then it turns into, is it cheesesteak? Y'all, I'm from Philly area for anyone. So cheesesteak is obviously going to be the first thing I bring up, but is a cheesesteak a taco? 

Kim: Oh my god. 

Rachel: Is it? 

Kim: I'm not going to get into it. 

Rachel: Could you consider it a taco? 

Kim: I'm not... going to get into that. *laughs* 

Rachel: Could a taco be a cheese steak? I will never, you know...

Kim: Give in?

Rachel:  I'll never give in. Yeah, like I know, I know you're probably like "Maybe you should have reread the disclaimers on that insanity, like the insanity part of the book." (Kim laughs) I just, I'll never give in because it's just absolutely hilarious and it brings me so much joy to just randomly ask him if the taco is a sandwich. So if anyone listening to this goes to Anahata's...

Kim: Oh my god. Oh my GOD.

Rachel: *laughs* And sees a six foot, five foot gentleman in the kitchen. He'll probably be the tallest one in the kitchen, always. Just ask him randomly if a taco is a sandwich. 

Kim: Please let him make tacos, and then people can hold them and say, "Is this a sandwich?" 

Rachel: Oh, he will make tacos. 

Kim: Then someone has to do that, and then he'll never cook for us again and we will ruin it. Because the food at Anahata's is great. 

Rachel: Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm super grateful to have that food in my life. It is. 

Kim: Me too.

Rachel:  It is great. 

Kim: I think about that thing we had on that Saturday, that freaking pita. I still think about that pita. What is that? 

Rachel: Yep. It's magic. That's his magic. That's his witchcraft, his food. I don't know how he does it. 

Kim: So, listeners, on the day we have tacos, somebody better hold up a taco to him and ask him if this is a sandwich. 

Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. 

Kim: It will not be me, because I'm not trying to piss off the chef, but someone should. *laughs* 

Rachel: Well, this is the thing. He's not going to be pissed off at anyone, because he's going to know where it came from. So he's gonna be pissed at me for saying it publicly to, and to try to encourage people to say it to him. 

Kim: "Hey, harass my husband." *laughs*

Rachel: Exactly. Please, please, everyone harass him. Yeah, so I guess that's my my my story. It's an ongoing story, though. It doesn't, it's not ending. It will never end. It'll never end. 

Kim: Well, thank you for coming on the show. 

Rachel: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. 

Kim: I miss you.

Rachel:  I miss you too. We're halfway there.

Kim:  I know. 

Rachel: I'm not going to sing Bon Jovi. 

Kim: Oh my god. Okay, I'll see you later. 

Rachel: Alright, bye. 

Kim: Bye. I got another review. This one is from Janna in Toronto. It's titled Fantastic Conversations with a Wide Variety of Inspiring People. Five stars. Thank you, Janna. And Janna says, Fantastic! I love the format, love the questions, and most of all, love the openness and curiosity of our host, who quickly makes you feel at home and inspired. It's nice to hear the stories and opinions of other witches stumbling their way through this lifestyle, whether they're new or experienced, and they help the listener feel that whatever they're doing is okay if it's right for them. Hello from Canada. Thank you so much, Jana. That is really what I'm trying to do with this podcast, is help everybody feel included and connected. Hey, thanks for listening to this episode of Your Average Witch. You can find us all around the internet on Instagram @youraveragewitchodcast, Twitter at Average Witch Pod, Facebook at Facebook.com/youraveragewitchpodcast, at YourAverageWitch.com, and at your favorite podcast service. Want to help the podcast grow? Leave a review. You can review us on Amazon and Apple Podcasts, and now you can rate us on Spotify. You just might hear your review read at the end of the next episode. To rate Your Average Witch on Spotify, click the home key, click on Your Average Witch Podcast, and then leave a rating. You can also support the show by going to patreon.com/cleverkimscurios. If you'd like to recommend someone for the podcast, like to be on it yourself, or if you'd like to advertise on the podcast, send an email to youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you when the moon changes.