Burlesque, Witchcraft, Fire Magic, and the Power of Self-Love

What if you could channel the magic within you through dance and fire? This week, we bring you an electrifying conversation with Darlina Marie, also known as Chula Sparks, a fire and fusion burlesque performer and jewelry artist from El Paso, Texas. Darlina opens up about her journey from being labeled a witch at a young age due to her inherited gift of mediumship to fully embracing her identity. We'll explore the rich intersections of witchcraft, cultural appropriation, and spirituality, and how movement and dance can serve as potent forms of magic for the body and soul.

Ever wondered what modern witchcraft rituals look like? Darlina gives us an insider's glimpse into her daily practices, including her unique connection with fire and the moon, and her experiences with otherworldly entities. Her rituals involving white candles, movement, and dance are fascinating, especially her fire dancing at a four-way crossroads—a practice tied to the goddess Hecate. We also discuss the skepticism surrounding the growing popularity of witchcraft and mediumship, and Darlina offers invaluable advice on maintaining spiritual and physical energy amidst the stresses of everyday life.

But it's not just about rituals and practices; it's about empowerment, self-love, and navigating imposter syndrome. Darlina shares her personal experiences with Dia de los Muertos and how embracing her mediumship and body through burlesque has inspired others. From heartfelt stories of reclaiming hurtful labels to the whimsical love story with her husband, this episode is filled with wisdom, inspiration, and a touch of magic. Join us for a transformative discussion that promises to uplift your spirit and ignite your inner fire.

Follow Darlina at instagram.com/darlinamarie915!

Chapters

• 0:04 Witchcraft, Cultural Appropriation, and Spirituality
• 14:54 Daily Rituals and Witchcraft Practice
• 23:31 Power and Self-Love in Dia De Los Muertos
• 39:50 Navigating the Human Existence
• 47:49 Navigating Imposter Syndrome in Witchcraft
• 58:06 Influences, Advice, and Events in Witchcraft
• 1:06:12 Meeting My Husband
• 1:16:21 Your Average Witch Podcast Promotion

Transcript

Kim: 0:04

Welcome back to your Average Witch, where every Tuesday we talk about witch life, witch stories and sometimes a little witchcraft. Your Average Witch is brought to you by Crepuscular Conjuration. If you've been disappointed that the waitlist for bee boxes mostly stays closed, I have a fun surprise for you: Sabbat boxes! I'm going to offer 10 boxes for four Sabbats each year. It won't be for every Sabbat because that's basically every month, which is already what Bee boxes are. So I'm just doing them for my favorites- Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Yule. Each box is $50, which includes shipping in the US, and will be worth at least $75 if purchased individually. Your box will have a variety of things I make, like altar cloths, pendulums, pendulum boards, offering dishes, candles, crystals, a seasonally appropriate spell, a piece of Clever Kim's Curios jewelry, plus tea and a snack because, as I keep saying, your girl is a Taurus, and a few other little surprises. Up first is Lughnasadh. Sales are open now and your box will ship the week before the holiday. There are only 10 boxes available. Visit cleverkimscurios.com to buy yours. This week I'm talking with my friend Darlina Marie, whom I've known for nearly 15 years. We talk about cultural appropriation, cultural appreciation and how movement can be magic for your body and soul. Now let's get to the stories. Darlina Welcome to the show.

Darlina: 1:44

Thank you, I'm excited to be here!

Kim: 1:47

I'm excited to talk to you finally on this computer instead of on Marco.

Darlina: 1:52

I know, but soon we'll be in person.

Kim: 1:57

Can you please introduce yourself and let everybody know who you are and what you do and where they can find you.

Darlina: 2:02

Sure, everybody. I am Darlina Marie, aka Chula Sparks, and I am a fire and fusion burlesque performer as well as a jewelry artist from El Paso, Texas.

Kim: 2:18

And my old teacher and my current teacher.

Darlina: 2:24

I am your current teacher. That's right. That is right. Head on over to Crepuscular Conjuration and join, join the package. What do you call it? The patreon?

Kim: 2:37

No patreon… It’s a subscription service.

Darlina: 2:42

Get a subscription and I will give you poi lessons via Marco Polo. There we go.

Kim: 2:48

But also Darlina. Tell people where they can find you to buy things from you.

Darlina: 2:54

So I am still a little hidden. So most of my shoppers either purchase from me via Facebook or Instagram or live at markets if you're in El Paso and I happen to be at a market. So on Instagram I post five items, I'm sorry, 10 items a day that are currently available still, and if you see something you like, you just message me and you can pay virtually, and if you are in El Paso, I will deliver to your doorstep. If not, it's just an extra $5 shipping charge for anyone in the US, and I usually get them out the next day. And then I post a lot of sales too.

Kim: 3:37

And on Facebook is it Dragon Lab Embellishments?

Darlina: 3:39

I do have a Facebook page for Dragon's Lab Embellishments but no one really uses it, which is fine. I've made a few sales ever on there. I think also that Facebook made changes and it was really hard to update what is on that page, so mostly just on my Facebook. If you message me first and let me know you're not a weirdo, scary person, I will accept your friendship request and you can shop my Facebook album or see all of my Instagram posts that transfer onto there every day. So you can find me on Facebook at Darlina Marie and on Instagram at DarlinaMarie915.

Kim: 4:30

Now would you please tell everyone what it means to you when you call yourself a witch.

Darlina: 4:36

So I've thought extensively about this question because I listen to your podcast question. Because I listened to your podcast, and the reason it's an unusual question for me is I never officially first called myself a witch. Everyone else did, so I've been able. I am a medium by inheritance, not by practice, so I actually don't even do much with it. But spirits have always visited me since I was a little kid and I would tell everyone about it all the time. And some people believe me. My mother is very supportive and has always believed me. But I made the mistake as a little kid to tell other little kids because I'm an oversharer and so people who didn't like me growing up started calling me witch as an insult because of that gift and I got called that through elementary school, middle school and high school. And I don't know. I never took it as an insult. I didn't feel bad about it, but I never until later in life actually like owned the word and was like, yeah, I'm fucking witch, so what? So it was kind of, it was kind of given to me more than me calling myself that, and to me honestly, when I hear other people call themselves witches, but it's not necessarily the same thing, because I think that a lot. I think everyone has capability of a third eye gift, but whether we choose to acknowledge it and, work it out like the muscle that it is, or try to ignore it and glue it shut, it depends on the person and how much we're influenced by society and our surroundings. But to me, really a witch is anyone who has their own spiritual practices that do not conform to Western religious norms and beliefs and who try to work out their third eye gift, whatever that is.

Kim: 6:51

So you mentioned that this was an inherited thing. Does anybody else in your family have anything like this? Do you have any stories from childhood of witchy, weird, occult, paranormal, metaphysical whatever word you want to choose to describe it?

Darlina: 7:12

Oh, all the stories. There's so many stories. But I did find out just in the last few years that there are a few of my cousins that also have this blessing. So my gift of interacting with spirits was passed down to me and a few of my cousins by my great-grandma Blasa, which is on my maternal side, who was a Catholic curandera, and my great-grandparents had migrated over from Coyame Mexico, migrated over from Coyame Mexico, and they had my great grandfather built with his own hands this little house in Sierra Blanca. Texas is where they settled, and so that little house is actually still there. My family still owns it collectively. But there have been so many stories from my aunts, uncles and all of my mom's cousins who I call my aunts and uncles they don't really call them cousins. Various stories from that town and that house, some scary, some really nice ones. But yeah, we grew up hearing the stories, so there's a lot of them and, yeah, a few of my cousins are able to interact with the spirits of people who have passed on as well and the energies.

Kim: 8:51

Will you tell me a story? 

Darlina: 8:55

Oh, okay, I gotta think, let's see. So, let's see. What's one of my favorite stories from back then? So one of the things was and I know this is actually kind of a common occurrence of seeing people with animal feet and that being demons coming to get you, kind of thing.

Darlina: 9:13

So my uncle, one of my uncles, has a checkered past, I guess and he was fighting with my grandma one day out there in Sierra Blanca. Not my great grandmother, but my grandmother one day out there in Sierra Blanca. This is my uncle, my mom's brother, and he was going to go everywhere in Sierra Blanca you can walk to. It's a very little town. If you blink when you're passing it on I-10, you miss it. There's, I swear, only like a few hundred people live there. It's probably a little more, but it's got to be under a thousand, and so there's one school for the whole town, no stoplights, and you can pretty much walk everywhere. So they used to have a really cool little movie theater and there is a cut through from my great-grandparents' house to the movie theater. They call it the tank because it was a big ditch that would fill with water and the kids would swim in it back then or catch frogs. And there was a little bridge that went over the tank and my uncle was crossing it.

Darlina: 10:18

My grandma didn't want him to go out, if I remember the story correctly, and he was like I'm going anyway. So he went and on his way home he was by himself walking through the tank and there was someone coming towards him that he didn't recognize. It was a really big figure, really tall, with you know like a hat that was covering their head and a trench coat, and he just thought, because people in that town there's no curfew, people walk around at whatever time they want. So he just thought it was someone drunk or you know, on their way somewhere else. So he would move as this person got closer, coming in the opposite direction of him, coming towards him, he would move to the side to kind of make room for them to pass, and the figure moved with him as it moved. It didn't move after him, he would move and it would move to the side and he would move to the other side and he was like this is starting to hit it.

Darlina: 11:22

Yes, so as he got closer it stopped abruptly right in front of him and he looked down because he was talking to it like, hey, you need help or something wrong, can I help you? And my uncle was very like Chingon, very- like he fought a lot. He thought he was really cool and I don't remember if this was before or after he came back from the war. But he looked down. He used to not be scared of anything. He looked down and it had giant chicken feet.

Kim: 11:57

I hate this very much.

Darlina: 12:00

And he just pushed past it and ran back home. And my mom continues the story that when him and my grandmother were arguing I'm not quite sure what my grandmother said, but she was mad at him and she said something. I don't know if she cursed him like literally cursed not not a real curse or a hex, but like I don't know said something to him, and that my great grandmother had told my grandma like you're not supposed to say things like that to your kids. He had other entities, other darker entities throughout his life. Come and visit him. But that one always sat with us. And there was one time I was at a club in college in Dallas and it was packed. It was super packed and everyone was dancing and I dropped my little coin purse that I was holding with my money and my ID and I leaned down to get it on the dance floor. It was tons of feet and then I saw pig feet, giant pig feet, and I freaked out and I stood up and I looked back down and I'm like there's, they weren't there anymore, but I left. That shit was scary yeah yeah, so oh my god, I would die yeah, yeah, so the the chicken feet man is what we called it and it, that was still one of the scarier stories. But they're not all scary stories. Obviously I'm not afraid of… that was, to me, not an entity that used to be human. That was not a spirit that I think was a human ever. I think that was something else. But yeah, the human spirits that visit me pretty regularly don't scare me the way they might scare other people.

Kim: 13:48

So I have a culture question for you. 

Darlina: 13:52

Sure.

Kim: 13:53

You have seen Reservation Dogs, right?

Darlina: 13:55

 Yes.

Kim: 13:56

Do you think Deer Lady, is an accurate description of how they come to be and who they are?

Darlina: 14:05

I think yes, for in some cases, like, there are a lot of hurt spirits that don't aren't able to cross over into the ancestral realm, to to go to the next level of what it is. You know, we do, and they're either hurt or angry. There's a lot of reasons why spirits get stuck here and some of them want to be stuck here. Some of them thrive off of the fear that they, you know, instill in human beings. So, yeah, I think that's one of the many ways that they can get stuck here. However, I believe Deer Woman was actually a human at some point, right, if I remember that correctly, yeah, but for this particular, this entity, I don't believe that one, because from some of the stories I've heard and some of the things I've read, typically the chicken feet and the pig hooves are of not anything that was ever human.

Kim: 15:30

Chickens and pigs are freaking scary dude. They will eat you, yes. Fear won't but a woman will.

Darlina: 15:37

I mean not a woman, A woman will gobble you right up.

Kim: 15:48

Go ahead, test us. Cross me and find out.

Darlina: 15:52

Yeah, yeah, chickens will fucking eat you. We are lucky, they're not huge, yeah, that's why that's scary, because yeah yeah, chicken feet are fucking scary if you stare at them long enough. And pigs scare the shit out of me.

Kim: 16:06

Yeah, Both of those things will eat you given a chance.

Darlina: 16:10

Yeah.

Kim: 16:10

Yeah, on that positive note, can you introduce us to your personal practice? Do you have any consistent things that you do? I know some.

Darlina: 16:24

I do have a few consistent things that you do. I know some. I do have a few consistent things on the daily I work with. I know that talking to a lot of different witches, there are different candles used for different things. I actually only work with white candles. Scented or unscented doesn't matter, unless it's vanilla. Throw, throw it in the trash. Then I don't want it because that shit gives me a headache. But I light it, and I go through white candles like you wouldn't believe, because I light a white candle every morning as I get ready for whatever my day is supposed to be, to set intention and then sometimes, when I come home, if there's a little bit more work I want to do to send good energy out to someone, I light the candle again, or even for myself. So that is a small daily practice. As well as movement, I try to. So, to me, my magic has a lot to do with empowerment, movement, body magic, and so I try to dance a little jig every day to generate some good energy and send it out through my feet and through my heart, and so those are things I do regularly, every day, and then, over the full moon.  I do practice fire once a week, but I make sure to also get it done on a full moon, unless weather does not permit. Then that's when I'll do more stuff inside, like salt baths, but the fire and the moon are my favorite things in the whole wide world. I just did it yesterday and I will rehearse…

Kim: 17:48

Yesterday’s was lovely. 

Darlina: 18:09

What was that? It was lovely, oh, thank you.

I do fire practice and fire dance to the moon and it just so happens that the house we are in now that we are renting to own is was actually picked for us by the person who flipped it. So I didn't realize until one day a friend of mine, who I used to do a lot of spoken word with, came over to pick up a jewelry order, and I had already been for at least five or six years doing fire in my driveway. I do it for Halloween. I put on a show for the kids, any kids who want to come watch, but just regularly practicing. And he walked up and he says, holy shit, holy shit, you live at a crossroads! and I do, I live at a four-way cross, two stop signs, and I was like, yeah, and he goes, that's some Hecate shit right there and I was like, oh it is, isn't it? And I didn't even pick this house. This house picked me and I'm like I guess it is. But at the time that he brought it up to me I didn't know that I'd heard of Hecate and I say it probably all kinds of wrong. But I started reading more about her, and there's just a lot of parallels with the underworld, fire and torches. My familiar is my little dog, Bowser, and she's a black dog, and then the four-way, the four-way cross. I live right at it. So now I consciously do, when I start my practice, I address the four directions and, like yesterday, if I have a chance and there's no cars coming, I will stand in the middle of the crossroad and address the four directions with my fire. My neighbors must fucking love me. They're probably all watching out their window.

Kim: 20:09

There goes that lady again. There's that crazy lady across the street.

Darlina: 20:14

Yeah, yeah. Who needs an alarm system when you instilled the fear of Bruja in your neighbors? My neighbors are lovely, most of them. The ones I know anyway.

Kim: 20:38

How has witchcraft changed your life? 

Darlina: 20:43

So it's been part of my life since as far back as I can remember, as far as the mediumship goes. So in that sense it hasn't really changed it. And actually when I started doing like full moon rituals, any type of cleansings on myself and in my personal space or to people I love, I've always asked my ancestors for guidance and that's always just been a natural thing. I have always channeled my ancestors and so I didn't know, like I didn't know it was a thing or you know, until I don't know how long it's been now maybe 10 years or a little more that witchcraft has now become pretty popular and there's a lot more conversation about ancestors. There's a lot more conversation overall about different third eye capabilities, and so with that movement it's a double-edged sword, because there's a whole lot of people who are not, I don't know what the word is. Like they're just trying to make a quick buck and they don't really believe in any of it.

Kim: 21:48

They’re the equivalent of Jimmy Swaggart.

Darlina: 21:53

Yes, yes. So there's a whole lot of people who have found their power, their third eye gift, and embraced it, and I stopped being weird. So what was cool to me. What I have been happy about is that the word witch really stopped being an insult. And so a word that was thrown at me and called me, called… or what I was called when I was a kid as an insult, became like this really cool thing to be and I'm like here for it. I'm just sitting here like, oh, yeah? Yeah, now you want to be a witch? Huh. So I wouldn't say witchcraft has changed my life, because what people called me a witch for has always been a part of my life. But the fact that witchcraft is so so much more embraced now has changed my life, I think for the better, because I've been able to connect with a lot more people and talk about it more openly without feeling like someone's… yeah, people are still going to think I'm weird, I don't really care about that but I feel like you just connect with a lot more people more openly and I feel a lot safer in a lot of different spaces now sharing it. That's what it is. I wasn't worried about being viewed as weird. I was worried about someone trying to hurt me.

Kim: 23:18 

Physical injury.

Darlina: 23:20

Yes, absolutely.

Kim: 23:22

  Assault.

Darlina: 23:25 

Yes. Assault, yes. 

Kim: 23:28

What is the, what's the biggest motivator in your practice, and has it changed since you first started?

Darlina: 23:33

So the biggest motivator in my practice used to be, and is one of them still, but not not all the way, was just, I had the privilege and the luxury of being connected to people who have passed on that I missed. I didn't have to miss them. I miss them still, but in a different way, but I still get the luxury of interacting with them. The only thing I will say is, since this was not on purpose, I'm not even going to pretend like I know how to use it, like I don't. They come to me and sometimes I don't even know who the spirits are who are visiting me. I don't have any. I don't know how to use that or how to control it. I have been offered by several other mediums to learn, but I kind of like the surprise visits. So mine is not a service. I'm not providing anyone a service. I just kind of like that I get to see them. A lot of the people, like one of my favorite cousins who I grew up with. She died when she was 18. I was in college in a very, very tragic car accident. She still, to this day, visits me pretty often. But I will say, because my parents tried so hard to assimilate, especially my dad. I am fourth generation American on my mom's side, first generation on my dad's side. He did migrate over from Mexico. They didn't really teach me, like, about Dia de los Muertos. I actually learned that through my community and that helped me to create my altar. And creating my altar has made it a lot easier to communicate or channel the spirits that I was close to. Otherwise, like I can't help it, I can't help who wants to come and interact with me. So yeah, that was initially my practice that I didn't even know I was practicing. But what I've really come into power even know I was practicing. What my guides have told me over the years is my magic, to give to other people is not actually my mediumship, it's empowerment of body and love, self-love. You'd be amazed at how much of our power is found or discovered within just really self-acceptance and self-love and helping to generate better energy that way and doing that with the fire. The fire is just my favorite element to heighten it, but I do it with or without the fire, so I have been able to take the power back aside from which, in a lot of words that were used to hurt me, so there was witch, hurt me, so there was witch, fat slut. Yeah, I've learned to take the power in these words and, instead of be sad because I'm getting called that, really use it, put it on a t-shirt and fucking wear it around while I do witch shit. And people… it drives people nuts, but it gives me the power back. I can't change, like the, the word itself, but I can change what it means to me, and so that's actually- my real craft is empowerment through myself, through my body, and to gift that to other people.

Kim: 27:22

One thing I remember when you first came to Marco is that you were introducing yourself to everybody and you said that you like yourself and you like your body and you were, you were open about it and people really don't like that and I thought that's my friend.

Darlina: 27:54

Yeah, and I've kind of always, except when I was like a little teenager and I've always been thick, a thick, a thick, curvy person and people had tried to hurt me a lot growing up with fat jokes and fat and I would cry about it. But then I got to a point where I was like I would look in the mirror and I really dug myself. I was like, man, this ain't bad. I don't understand what the problem is. And I would say from about 16 years old on, I was, I owned it. I have owned it ever since and, yes, there have been points in my life where I maybe I was a little bit slimmer, but really I've always been curvy and thick and at any size I have really dug myself. I don't know what it's like to look in the mirror and all the way just despise myself. I don't know what that's like and I know there's not a whole lot of people that know what that feels like. And it occurred to me as I started becoming a dance teacher and meeting people of all sizes and shapes and colors. Whatever you think perfect is, I've been. I've met the perfect people and they have issues. Everyone has issues and I'm sitting here like y'all look great, I look great, let's look great together, like I've just, and so I learned that it is a gift to really and truly accept and like yourself, and I, however, I can help other people to do that because, seriously, that is a huge step and so many less people have the capability to hurt you if you are unfazed and just really do love yourself. So, yeah, been using my body and my slut powers for good for most of my life, and I say slut powers because I'm in burlesque and there are people who will try to call you slutty for it. Let them, I raise a lot of money for a lot of charities through burlesque so they can die mad about it, that's fine.

Kim: 29:56

That's my favorite thing when they have to do that. Okay, another culture question that I would not ask other guests, but you know that I am- why I'm asking, and who I am, and that I'm not a dick.

Darlina: 30:13

Yeah, I love you.

Kim: 30:14

Yeah, I love you, I love you too, so you talked about your altar and your ancestors. Is that an ofrenda or is that something else?

Darlina: 30:25

 It's only for Dia de los Muertos. Ofrenda and altar are pretty much the same thing, but during Dia de los Muertos you do leave offerings. You can other times too, but it's real big. Okay, yeah, you can during Dia de los Muertos. Yes, you leave specific offerings on different days. Because it is, it's three days. So there's days when you leave specific things for the spirits of children, and then for you know, your elders and sometimes there… it's bread, there's flowers, it's food, whole food, salt. I like to leave my dad's favorite beer on my altar for him, cause my dad passed away when I was 25. So I leave a lot for him. So, yeah, you specifically do leave stuff on your ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos, and there's a lot of people who only set it up for those three days, and then there's a lot of different people who leave it up all year but do those specific offerings on those days and put the specific flowers. What's the flower? What is the flower, kim?

Kim: 32:01

Oh my gosh, it's on the tip of my tongue.

Darlina: 32:04

Is that the…

Kim: 32:04

No, is that the flower? Or marigolds.

Darlina: 32:06

Is that what they're called, marigolds? Thank you, Thank you my brain would not find the word Would specifically put marigolds for that time. So there are specific things you can put on your ofrenda, your altar, at Dia de los Muertos. Otherwise you can leave it up all year. I know people can't see me here, but you can and it's back there behind me to your right. So, yeah, Dia de los Muertos is more of a ritual, and what I love about Dia de los Muertos is, you can, I can feel I'm sure other mediums can feel the presence of the spirits way more than a regular day or regular time of year, because so many people are channeling their ancestors and putting up their altars and leaving offerings for them. That shit gets really powerful and I can really feel all the spirits all around, in anywhere I go. So yeah, I live for the month of October from the, my... My birthday is at the end of September, so for those six weeks from my birthday to the first, the first three days in November, that is my jam, that is my time of year. That is when I feel my most powerful, also because I feel the spirits so much more strongly than any other time of year.

Kim: 33:34

And now it's going to start in September. Your favorite part of the year is going to start in September.

Darlina: 33:39

Oh yeah, I am very, then! Yeah, it's just going to, it's just going to tack onto it. I am very excited, Very, very excited about all that I'm going. I'm telling everyone I'm going to Anahata’s Purpose and I don't know if I'm allowed to call it what I call it, but yeah, but I know what I call it. 

Kim: 33:56

Call it whatever you want. 

Darlina: 34:01

I call it the Grand Witches Retreat because some of my favorite witches go there. Like you, Kim, I can't wait to see you there.

Kim: 34:13

I can't wait for you to visit me, because I want to see what my land tells you.

Darlina: 34:19

Oh, man, I'm excited for that too, and I'm just excited to hang with you in person again. So the world has no idea, so let's tell them. Kim found me when she lived in El Paso for a little bit and we both used to belly dance. She googled the style of belly dance in El Paso and my name was one of the first ones to pop up for classes, and so Kim joined my class, and I think this was in 2011, 2012?

Kim: 34:48

2011.

Darlina: 34:50

We've been friends ever since. Yep and, for people who don't know, it's basically a leading style form of belly dance that got really popular in the late 1990s, early 2000s in California and it took the US and actually the world by storm, and we were some of the people it took by storm. It's a very lovely craft. It's a very lovely craft. However, over the last five, six years we have discovered all of the problematic stuff within that, within general American belly dance, and how it is harmful sometimes to marginalized people that we are borrowing from in the cultural dances. And so one example for everyone listening is belly dance is such a blanket term. It's almost… it's almost an ignorant blanket term because it's encompassing so many groups of people and heritages and cultures and the US doesn't know that they just think it's one thing and it's actually hundreds of groups of people. So it's better when you can actually identify the cultural dance as what it is called with the cultural group of people it comes from. So belly dance is not one big giant dance culture thing that the rest of the world calls it. It's actually a huge, problematic blanket term for a lot of specific cultural dances that were passed down to people within their families and generations of their families. So that is why I don't call what I do specifically belly dance anymore. I do use my isolation dancing in my performance, both in burlesque and in fire performing, but I do not call it that. And it looks like belly dance because I had 17 years of training in quote unquote belly dance. But I don't want to market it as a cultural dance. I do not want to feed into the Orientalism of, or the gimmick of what American belly dance sometimes does. So I just call it body isolation because I too was not learning or teaching the specific rhythms, the specific root cultures in some of the movements that I was teaching back when I was teaching. I no longer teach, so I did not know some of the histories on some of those cultures, and so those things are important. When you start trying to actually market your performing art as a cultural performing art, then I think anyone in any type of art doing that kind of thing, if you're not of that culture, you need to immerse yourself and learn everything you can about that culture, to pay respect and give back to the culture and the people you are borrowing from.

Kim: 37:58

What would you say is the biggest motivator in your practice, and has it changed since you first started out?

Darlina: 38:04

So the biggest motivator was staying connected to my spirit, guides and ancestors. Just stay sane, growing pains and growing up, and just having some form of guidance, actual gift that my ancestors are teaching me to utilize and give to everyone else is empowerment through body, through movement, through self-acceptance, self-love and self-awareness. And so, just like you found me in dance and I have now connected to so many other people and witches through dance, through movement,  so my motivation now, more than it being for me to just stay, you know, to make it through this life,  with my ancestors on my side, is now more to help other people do that through self-acceptance and love. So it shifted from being selfish, I guess, or being not selfish, because then people think of it as a bad thing, but being for myself. I have now shifted it to being not just for myself. I got me, I got me in there still, but how do I help the rest of the world through this fucking shithole we call humanity? Right, yeah, so that's what that has changed to.

Kim: 39:47

Cool, you look extra pretty right now. What did you do?

Darlina: 39:52

I'm wearing my very magical necklace by Clever Kim's Curios.

Kim: 39:59

Yeah, but I meant your face.

Darlina: 40:04

It's making my whole face, like it's lighting the whole thing up. I actually did not do anything different, except I will say this my moon practice last night was for almost three hours. I was out there jamming with her. My body hurt, my shoulders wanted to fall off, my arms were mad, my wrists were mad. I didn't care, though. I was feeling it, and I woke up feeling so badass this morning. I felt so good, so I think I still have the glow from my morning practice last night.

Kim: 40:33

You inspired me. I went out, even though I got blisters on my weeding hand where I hold the things, the poi. I went outside, and I spun under the moon too, with you, so that was fun.

Darlina: 40:46

Yay, yay. I can't tell you how happy it makes me that we are again sharing energy and power through movement.

Kim: 40:54

Yeah.

Darlina: 40:55

Mm-hmm, I love that.

Kim: 41:01

What is your biggest struggle when it comes to your practice?

Darlina: 41:08 

 Energy, having the energy I find now as not, I don't want to say as I get older, because it's not so. I don't think it's attributed so much to an aging body. I mean it's not so, I don't think it's attributed so much to an aging body.

Kim: 41:21

I mean, yes, a little bit.

Darlina: 41:22

It's just your life that changes as you age. Yes, ma'am, like all of the problems that come with, I mean, being a human being is rough. We got so much to worry about. Even when we're not really worried, we really are worried. You know what I mean the best way I can describe it is like this existence is exhausting because no matter what you do for yourself, like the bare minimum of eating and sleeping and drinking water, it's never enough. You'll always need more. You'll always need more air, more water, more sleep, and that is exhausting to think about. And then you get older.

Kim: 42:01

You gotta pee all the time.

Darlina: 42:03

You gotta pee! Maybe I don't feel like it right now. Yeah, you gotta babysit, this freaking, you know, godness, yeah, so that is a lot in itself. And then there's worries that come with that as you get older, like every little pain or bump, you're like am I dying, is this, is this it? This is how I go? What is this bump here? Or what is this rash here, or what is this? And then, like the…You got global warming, you got wars, you got mass shootings, you got rent, you got the laundry, you've got to make dinner, like all of those little stressors really, really, really pile on, and it makes it hard to support the weight under the gravity of this existence. So yeah, it's, it's, that's hard. I forgot the question. It's too busy talking about all the time,

Kim: 43:01 your biggest struggle. 

Darlina: 43:03

My biggest struggle. 

Kim: 43:04

Being a human.

Darlina: 43:05

Yeah, continuing to swim, right? No, oh, my God, I find, with all these stresses and as I've gotten older, because of these stresses and the weight of these stresses, I so before, when I  used to OK, when I was younger, I saw all the spirits wide awake, wide open, extra people. It took me a while to figure out I was seeing extra people that nobody else could see. And then, as I got into late teens and early 20s, most of what I would see is, was through dreams and I would dream so many times a night, so many spirits, so many visits. I would dream and dream and dream and remember a lot of those when I woke up. Now I dream a lot. I am, I feel that I am, but a lot of the time I will wake up not remembering. I'll know the dreams have happened but I won't remember. And that makes me very sad and it's mostly because my brain goes to sleep worrying about the human existence, stresses, and when I wake up I'm still worried about those. You know what I mean. So it clouds the dreams that I can remember, not all the time, but a lot of the time, because before I could remember my dreams, no problem, constantly, every night, every day, several of them. So that is the thing I struggle with the most is trying to still nurture this gift, nurture my third eye, while still trying to be a well-balanced human being and survive and take good care of myself and brush my teeth and go to the doctor and shit like that I wake up mad that I'm still a person every morning.

Kim: 44:59

Fuck, yeah, fuck. We're still doing this.

Darlina: 45:03

Yep, yep, yep.

Kim: 45:06

I don't think this is what I agreed to when I signed that going on the earth as a person thing.

Darlina: 45:11

Exactly. Well, one of my best friends, Brittany, put it in perspective one time and it has stuck with me. She said it was when all of the talks, because I'm in Texas and Texas is not my favorite because I have less rights as a human being but when we were having this whole debate, she said, first of all, I did not give anybody permission to give me this life, I just got thrown in here, true. And then she said nobody asked me if I wanted to be a woman. I didn't give permission for that. I just got thrown in here as a woman. So you know the rights that I am trying to fight for, like fuck, you got to already. You got to fight for that. You got to fight for that, you know, and you didn't give permission for that here. So and we say all the time it's not like I've said this to other people and they look at me like, oh my gosh, are you going to go jump off of something? And it's like, no, I am here, I'm fucking here, I'm going to do the best goddamn job I can because I'm already here. I'm just saying I did not ask to be here. Someone else decided that they wanted me here, so here I am doing my very best and helping others to hopefully do their very best as well to everyone saying, no, you signed a spirit contract and this is what you chose.

Kim: 46:42

You chose this life when you were in the prequel of life. Okay, but what if we didn't? We don't know.

Darlina: 46:52

So just let us have this little chat, just let me vent a little bit yeah, I mean maybe I don't know I'm gonna have to ask everybody when I get over there. Just let me vent a little bit. Yeah, I mean, maybe I don't know I'm going to have to ask everybody when I get over there. Exactly, I'm not trying to get over there right away. I have a lot left to do here.

Kim: 47:12

I still want to go to Anahata’s, so not yet.

Darlina: 47:15

I still got to go to the Grand Witches Retreat, guys, and I plan to go more than once. So fuck yeah, you know there's still a lot of work we got to get done here, Kim. So I am not trying to jump off of anything, but I'm not going to ignore that this is rough. Also, I'm not going to pretend like it's not. Magic is helping people to survive through what's left, what goodness is left for us to really focus on, enhance and encourage.

Kim: 47:49

Do you have imposter syndrome? And if you do, what do you do?

Darlina: 47:56

I have thought about this question a lot too, from just hearing you ask some of your other guests, and I have. I have had imposter syndrome for so many things, especially when I was a quote, unquote belly dancer and I was trying so hard to be a belly dancer and I would have imposter syndrome all the time, with good reason, and I knew it was probably because I wasn't learning the things I should have been learning. My teachers weren't teaching me those things. I've had imposter syndrome for other things in my life. Belly dance was a big one, but I never have imposter syndrome when it comes to my third eye craft, and that's because I didn't fucking call myself a witch in the first place. So there's that. And like sure I even have. Like I have an uncle who gives me the side eye every time I start talking about spirits. I don't talk about it very often because half my family believes me and encourages me and half of them are like you're full of shit. So I don't care. You can believe me if you want. You don't have to believe me. I know what the fuck I see every day. I know what the fuck I dream, I remember. Most of the time I don't have anything to prove to anybody. So therefore, when it comes to this, I don't have imposter syndrome, because this is me just living my authentic life and I'm not trying to force it on anybody else. But should it be something that inspires or touches someone else, well then they're welcome to come along, and if they don't believe me, again, they can die mad because I'm not doing it for them, I'm doing it for me.

Kim: 49:39

That makes me happy. That's the answer everyone.

Darlina: 49:44

You aren't. You don't have to prove shit to those people, to nobody, really. No, especially anyone practicing a third eye practice. Don't have, try not to have imposter syndrome. If it's really a craft you're doing for yourself and you're just sharing for who? Anybody, anybody who is open and wants to learn and share in your craft, otherwise fuck them. I mean, yeah, some of you have to sell. It's a business, that's fine, but you don't have to sell that hard. Those aren't your people, then that's not your audience, that's not the people who want to learn and grow with you and that's fine. Let them move on their merry way. Imposter syndrome it's kind of like you know how people say if you have shit to say about me, say it to my face. Right, I don't give a shit, don't say it to my face. Because if I want you to say it to my face, that means I care what you have to say and I really, frankly, don't have a fucking care about what you have to say to me, so I'm not proving nothing to you. So that's kind of the same line. Like don't say it, say it to the wall, say it somewhere else. I give a fuck what you have to say about me or your opinions. You know what I mean? Like in general, people who like have shitty things to say, fucking, swallow it, choke on it. And I can't say this enough, die mad about it, because I'm not going to die with you, I've got shit to do that makes me happy. 

Kim: 51:28

I guess the moral of the story is give fewer fucks.

Darlina: 51:32

Yes, give fewer fucks and you will not suffer from as much imposter syndrome. Now, the other thing I will say that is important, though is imposter syndrome is important to keep us in check. If you are again I can't say this enough, I just can't say this enough, and I'll probably say this a few more times If you're trying to borrow culturally from a culture that is not yours, then that's where imposter syndrome can help you stay in check.

Kim: 51:48

I agree, I am going to take a class on voodoo.

Darlina: 51:55

Oh.

Kim: 51:56

Given by someone who is… fucking words are gone out of my fucking head.

Darlina: 52:04

Yeah, a source practitioner.

Kim: 52:06

Yes.

Darlina: 52:07

That's what I, Yeah, that's what we call those.

Kim: 52:10

 Lord that one. Source Practitioners. 

Darlina: 52:13

Good because I'm glad that you are. I'm glad that you are paying for that class, because that's what we mean. You are giving back to that culture and that heritage by taking with a source practitioner.

Kim: 52:27

I almost didn't do it because I was like I'm not, I'm, that's not, I'm not trying to do that work, but I do want to do begin on here and educate people about it and say well, here's why I think you might want to rethink that. Or here's somebody else you can talk to and here's why.

Darlina: 52:46

Yes! And they have, they offer it for a reason- they want you to learn, they want to teach you so that you know better. It's just when people start trying to make money off of culture, cultural practices that are not their own, that's when they have to be especially mindful and careful. Because then the, yeah, the, the consumerism and commercialism takes over, and then it bastardizes the practice, and that's not just in witchcraft or spiritual practice, dance too, and I learned that the hard way. I did that at one point.

Kim: 53:21

Me too. What brings you the most joy in your practice?

Darlina: 53:27

Empowerment. When I get students from dance or people from the audience that come to watch me because I, I practice a lot. It’s very, I'm performing it, I am trying to inspire through entertainment. And when I have people come up and tell me that they feel empowered, they feel inspired. When I have people in our group even say it sometimes. Because I do. Also join the group and subscribe, because I give a little fire dance performance every week when I practice. But anyway, when I hear someone in the group, anyone in any setting where I've shared movement, dance, empowerment through entertainment, when they come up and say they feel good, it made them feel inspired, that's when I know I've done my job. And that is my favorite part is just feeling it in their face. Feeling it, you know, in how they're talking to me, how seeing it in their eyes and their excitement, and they're ready to try something new or not even try what I'm doing, but they just feel so much empowered in what it is they do and that you know that is my favorite thing in the whole wide world because that's the whole point of what I'm trying to do with my magic.

Kim: 54:53

You're so nice, Darlena, I like you a lot.

Darlina: 54:56

I like you too.

Kim: 54:59

What is your favorite tool? It does not have to be a physical thing. It can be a thought or a class or whatever, anything.

Darlina: 55:11

Definitely my favorite tool because it feels like a second extension of my body and it helps to really rope in that inspiration and take people's breath away is my fire poi. I have several fire props. I have fans. Little fans, big fans, I have palm torches, but the poi are what I am my most comfortable with and they do feel like extensions of my body. So, those are my favorite. Plus, I don't just use them for cool tricks and entertainment. They, the fire, is a cleansing for me and it is the way, one of the ways I send out prayer and energy. I think of myself as a giant candle and it's how I address Hekate and it's how I praise the moon. So my poi, feeling like a part of my body, feels like my favorite and most powerful tool. I like it.

Kim: 56:21

What is something you wish was discussed more in the witch community?

Darlina: 56:27

Cultural appropriation. I told you I would say it seventeenl more times. Cultural appropriation, cultural appropriation. I wish that it was. I know that it's being talked about in the witch community. It's being talked about in the witch community, but I wish that it would be talked about even more, because I come from the dance community, where it blew wide open and it is still constantly being discussed. It's just so helpful. You cannot do good. You cannot do the good you think you're doing if you're causing harm, even if it's unintentional, if you're causing harm due to ignorance. So cultural appropriation, for sure, is something that I wish would be discussed more and how to find ways around it, because I think people think oh well, witchcraft or dance, it's for everybody, it is. We're not telling you not to do it or to stop. We're asking you to be mindful and, like you're doing, where you're going to a class to learn more from source practitioners, so that you don't cause harm, so that you can give back and so that you can call out when things are being used in a harmful way. In a harmful way, we're just asking people to educate themselves, invest in their craft and in investing in their craft, they will give back to the communities of source practitioners to learn and do better. So no one's asking you not to do something. We're asking you to learn so that you do it in a safe way and a mindful way.

Kim: 58:06

Think about the three biggest influences on your practice. It doesn't have to be a person, it could like- dance itself can be an influence, fire, some philosophy you read about once. What are they and what are you thanking them for?

Darlina: 58:24

As far as influence, so definitely my great-grandmother Blasa, who blessed me with the capability to interact with my spirit guides. A strong capability, spirit guides, a strong capability, movement, because that is a big part of my magic, with or without the fire. It's really about the movement and the movement of. So there's a quote that you actually, that I made a long time ago, that you put on a necklace for me, and it's this is how I connect with my soul, and the quote is dance is the way I write love letters to my body. No, dance is the way my soul writes love letters to my body. So the movement from my body is how my soul is connecting to the earth and is connecting to the energy and to everyone around me and my space. So movement would be the second one. And then the third one is my little familiar, my Bowser, the Schnauzer Bolding, who I truly believe was a gift from my ancestors and really is my familiar.

Kim: 59:42

I remember when you first got her.

Darlina: 59:44

She made me a better person. 

Kim: 59:46

She's so freaking little and cute.

Darlina: 59:48

She is. She really, I knew I liked animals and dogs but I got her and now I want to rescue. I have, now have four dogs. I rescued two of them. It really, really opened my heart more to caring more about animals in general, not even just caring like really fucking loving animals, dogs specifically. I mean. There are so many humans that do not deserve dogs. Dogs are magic. No other animal is gonna love us the way dogs love us. I mean, love us two pieces. So, she made me that next level dog lover. And I wait, do you, does this happen to you? Like, when you look in the face of everybody else's animals not just dogs you see a little bit of your dog in there, or your animal?

Kim: 1:00:39

Yeah, yeah, yes yeah, like I can't relate to people who are talking about their children, because I will be the one that's like my dog does something the same way and then everybody gets mad. 

Darlina: 1:00:45

The same, I am exactly the same. 

Kim: 1:01:02

What advice do you have for new witches?

Darlina: 1:01:08

My advice for new witches would be to practice, with caution, again, the mindfulness. We think that there are a lot of spiritual practitioners and people with third eye gifts and just because they have gifts does not make them good people. There's a lot of really shitty people with high capabilities as,  just readings. You know, reiki, any kind of spiritual healing. Like make sure that person is highly, if you don't know them personally or they don't come highly recommended by someone you love and is close to you. Like, you need to do your homework and be very, very careful. Take baby steps in who you learn from, how you're learning. Always stay curious and even if you get to the level where you're making money and people are coming from all over, you have a following. They're coming to learn from you, you still have a lot to learn, especially as we try to be as ethically and authentically ourselves as possible. Then you're going to have to keep learning and keep being willing to make changes where necessary. So always be the student and take baby steps and practice with caution and mindfulness. 

Kim: 1:02:38

Who do you think I should have on the show?

Darlina: 1:02:46

More Chicana witches. And so I had originally just thought more Chicana witches. And I'm like, well, what the fuck does that mean? I have a few local witches I love. I don't know that you'll be able to get them on the show, but just off the top of my head, one of my favorite practitioners I don't even necessarily know that she calls herself a witch, but she is a curandera and an incredible writer, incredible writer. They are studying her Chicana books in colleges all over the US. Her name is Gris Munoz, colleges all over the US. Her name is Gris Munoz.

Darlina: 1:03:26

There's another witch here who I look up to and I adore, but I think she's a little shy. Her name is Laura Meow. She's a great witch. There's a girl here that has a shop and I also participate in her monthly markets at this beautiful park, beautiful park. She goes by Deddy Page, her name is Michelle and she is also a witch and gives space for other witches to sell their crafts. So that's pretty cool. So those are just a few of them, but just in general, more Chicana witches. Yeah, chicanics, I shouldn't even say Chicana, chicanx, witches, chicano and Chicana are Chicanx.

Kim: 1:04:11

Yeah, so I want to remind everybody that I am a Wonder Bread mayonnaise sandwich. So I don't know. I don't have direct contacts with people who I mean I generally I have a very small circle because I'm an antisocial weirdo. So if you have someone that you want to hear answer these questions, email me and or email them, Because I want them on the show. I just don't know who they are. I do look, I am looking, but I'm not very good at it.

Darlina: 1:04:51

Yes, if you follow Kim, she posts it pretty often that she is open to guests and suggestions of guests.

Kim: 1:05:01

Is there anything else you wanted to bring up? Do you have anything happening that you're going to be appearing at? Do you have any sales coming up, or do you have any questions that you wanted to ask me?

Darlina: 1:05:10

Wow. Well, I do have a huge burlesque event that I'm actually producing coming up July 13th here in El Paso. It is our Celestial Bodies burlesque show. I am part of a collective of burlesque dancers called Burlesque on the Rio and we put on these shows quarterly. But these big shows where we're bringing big, famous people from out of town only happen once or twice a year. So I will be having that at my favorite place in town, Touch Bar. And also I will be part of a two Saturday in a row witch event,  a witch event in El Paso as well. June 22nd and the 29th I'll be fire dancing and vending and there'll be lots of other witch inspired stuff going on. They're going to be doing vignettes of famous witch plays as well as other entertainment. So that's going to be cool. But I'm always up to something or performing around town. So if you're in the area ever, if you give my page a follow at Instagram in the area ever, if you give my page a follow at Instagram is probably the best, most effective one, and that is @DarlinaMarie915, all one word. Then you can stay caught up on what it is I'm up to. And if you're passing through town or you're from here. You can plan to attend one of those events and also shop my jewelry on there as well, if you want some of my jewelry creations. And I had a thing to ask you, Kim, and I don't remember what it was.

Kim: 1:06:53

Just blurt it out any anytime you remember it.

Darlina: 1:06:58

Okay, that's fine.

Kim: 107:01

So the last two things I ask of ask of my guests are number one please recommend something to the listeners; it does not have to be witch related.

Darlina: 1:07:08

I recommend to the listeners to start your day every day. This sounds so generic, but it's really true. Dancing around, fucking dance around. Pick your favorite song of the day and fucking dance around to it. No one's looking at you. No one is looking at you. Dance around. It's so good for your circulation on top of your spirit and your mental health. Fucking pick your favorite song. My songs vary every single day. Do I feel like twerking? One day Do I feel like doing a nice slow, snaky song? Do I feel like doing a cumbia? It doesn't matter. Dance around your fucking room before you get in the shower to start your morning. It will change your life, I promise.

Kim: 1:07:52

The last thing is please tell me a story.

Darlina: 1:07:57

Oh a story. What's my story? So I have a funny story and I don't know what I did with it. Okay, so okay, I will tell you the story of how I met my husband. How about that? Oh, okay, because this. He laughs at me all the time because he's like this was your witchcraft. This was your and it might have been. I did put it out to the universe, unknowingly so. When I met my husband, I was 20 years old. I was a little goofy raver girl working at the mall, and he was a manager at a store in the mall, at Journeys actually, and his friend I worked in a little kiosk that sold knockoff purses and he would have not come over at all had his good friend not been working at the Alltel, remember, Alltel? The  Alltel kiosk next to me, and I'm sitting there with my bestie back, there's still one of my besties, Brittany. She was waiting for me. We used to, she used to sit on the floor at the mall and wait for me to close up and then we'd go to a rave or something. So she's sitting there waiting and Jason is walking towards us and I swear it was like an eighties montage, slow motion, wind blowing through his hair, you know, some romantic song in the background was playing. I mean, I just I laid eyes on him and I have never done this before. I actually never wanted to get married, until I met him, and I still won't get married if, if anything were to happen and I, we don't stay married, I'm fine, I my whole life, I wanted to just stay a single gal. And I saw him and I just gasped and I told my friend Brittany, that's the man I'm going to marry someday. 

Kim: 1:09:47

What the hell.

Darlina: 1:09:47

First thing I said when  the first time I saw him, yes, ma'am, and Brittany was like shut up and I said that's him, that's the man I'm going to marry. And it was a long road. I mean, he was. He was with someone else at the time. My friend at the booth next to me introduced me and he was very much like whatever, like oh hi, nice to meet you. I couldn't stop. Every time he passed by. After that, I swear I drooled a little and he didn't even breathe in my direction.

Darlina: 1:10:29

But five years later I was 25 years old and in my prime, banging body, curvy and all nice and flat, all the right places, and nice and small and all the right places. And I was hosting a karaoke show for two years and I got to like make fun of the singers and play music videos in between them, like it was a whole thing and all these guys would always try to buy me drinks and stuff, a whole thing. And in he walked, and he was with some of our regulars, he was best friends with some of our regulars and I was like, oh my gosh, it's the guy from the mall. But I was playing it real cool because that was my hot self, and he came up to me and he was like hey, because I look different now I'm not in my little raver shoes anymore. Like, and he's like I remember you, you remember me? and in my head I was like, yeah, you're the guy from the mall. But, on the outside. I was like, yeah, I think I remember you, you used to work at the mall, right, like all. So we dated on and off from there, then we dated. So we spent a year just kind of dating casually, on and off and dating other people, even though I knew he was the one I was going to marry. And I would tell my mom that all the time. And my mom didn't like him at first. She loves him now, but my mom didn't like him at first and so she was like he would, he would go to the karaoke shows from there, but he would be giving his number out to other girls and stuff like that. And my mom would sit there fuming because I would always tell her look, that's the guy I'm going to marry. I would tell people like not everyone, but people close to me like that's him, that's the guy I'm going to marry. He just doesn't know it yet. That's what I would say to people. And my mom, you mean that dude hitting on that girl, girl, yes, my mom was like that prick! She used the word prick. That prick is giving his number to someone! I'm like that's, he's not my boyfriend yet, mom, it's fine. I told her he'll come around and I remember she even told me mija, there's not somebody else? Like I just don't know if this guy's that into you and I'm like he just doesn't know yet, Mom. So casually we dated on and off for about a year. Then I put my foot down and was like he was just kind of like trying to be cool guy and I was like fuck you, I love you and you're stupid, one time. And then he was like we broke up for like three days and he came back and was the best boyfriend ever proposed to me a year later and we just celebrated our 13 year wedding anniversary a couple of days ago year wedding anniversary a couple days ago. So, yeah, you won, I won. I guess the universe paid attention. But the first thing I said when I saw him was that was the guy I was gonna marry someday.

Kim: 1:12:32

That is hilarious. 

Darlina: Yeah, it made for interesting wedding. Oh yeah, yeah. How funny for Britney, my best friend, who saw it all unfold in front of her eyes to this day. Yeah, and he is such a great husband. He never gives me grief about whatever magical unicorn glittery naked shenanigans I'm up to, he just lets me do my thing. And we're so different because he's all sports.

Kim: 1:13:09

 I've never met him.

Darlina: 1:13:11

 White guy sports. What, yes, yes, you have. 

Kim: 1:13:15

No.

Darlina: 1:13:20

Yes, we were married. No. What? Kim! 

Kim: 1:13:25

No.

Darlina: 1:13:26

Oh my goodness.

Kim: 1:13:28

I don’t know if he came to any of your dance things that I was there, but I don't think I've ever met him in person.

Darlina: 1:13:30

I think that's why I thought you did, because he did. I don't make him come to anything, everything now, only the big, important things because I have so many performances all the time. But yeah, we're complete opposites. He is super white guy into sport. I do not like sports whatsoever. Sports are his thing. If he there was, if there, if he had magic, it would be sports, sports, everything. So he's big time sports guy, not into the arts whatsoever. So we are very opposite, opposite. But man do, we work and I love being married to him, yay, yay. So that's my funny story. Sorry it was so long.

Kim: 1:14:07

Well, thank you for being on the show with me. 

Darlina: 1:14:09

Yay, I love you!

Kim: 1:14:11

 I love you! Okay, everybody go immediately and go follow DarlinaMarie915 on Instagram.

Darlina: 1:14:22

Yes, please, yes, go, do it! All one word.

Kim: 1:14:26

And okay, I will see you on Instagram and I'll see you, Darlina, on Marco. Okay, bye! Darlina. Welcome back to Hive House, because you already live here.

Darlina: 1:14:37

Yay, I'm back, I'm back! You thought I was gone, but I'm back! Buzz, buzz, motherfucker oh, yeah! (fades out) (fades in) I did not strip down to pasties for my very first time until march of this year, until a few months ago, and I had the time of my life and the audience was so receptive and wonderful and everyone was excited. I was excited that shit was fun as fuck. It really was, in fact. Back to the recommendation portion. If you can strip down to pasties at any point, whether it's in your own bedroom or for an audience, that amateur night, fucking do it, it's still good… (fades out)

Kim: 1:15:32

To hear more of the members only episode, head over to crepuscularconjuration.com. The Monthly Magic tier will give you access to the Monthly Magic Marco Polo group, the private facebook group and access to the written monthly spells. There's also Crepuscular Conjurations, giving you bonus podcast episodes, coloring pages, guided meditations, spell crafting videos, printable downloads and a lot more. The free Witchy Wonderment level will give you a little sample of everything I just mentioned. You can also visit my shop, Clever Kim's Curios, to get spell boxes, one at a time or by monthly subscription, intentional handcrafted jewelry that I make especially for witches, and handmade altar tools. You can even listen to the full Your Average Witch Podcast library, including show notes and transcripts. Check it out at crepuscularconjuration.com. Thanks for listening to this episode of your Average Witch. You can find us all around the internet on Instagram @youraveragewitchpodcast, facebook.com/groups/hivehouse, at www.youraveragewitch.com, and at your favorite podcast service. 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 youreveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com. Thanks for listening and I'll see you next Tuesday.