Vanessa Irena

embodiment + ecstacy

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  • Blog,  Practices

    A Surrendering Ritual Using The Tarot

    Feelings aren’t something I’ve ever had a particularly easy time with. They were not encouraged as I was growing up and throughout my life my predominant emotion has been mostly anger, though I never realized it until it was pointed…

  • Blog,  Practices

    A Simple New Year Tarot Spread

    A New Year spread is an awesome way to reflect on the year past and also to set the tone for the year ahead, which is why you will find endless variations with varying degrees of complexity.  A quick google…

  • Blog,  Courses,  Practices

    30 Days of Ekstasis – A Free Ecstatic Dance Program

    Dance has always been an important part of my life and as such it has become a integral component of my spirituality and magical practice. Several years ago I participated in a program in which the participants were challenged to…

About Me

My name is Vanessa Irena and I’m a musician, artist, and mystic originally from New Orleans. My work focuses on the exploration of embodiment and ecstasy. I believe that dancing, cooking, and weightlifting are devotional acts and that everyone should buy themselves flowers. I live in Queens, NY with my partner and our cat Belladonna.

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Recent Posts

  • A Surrendering Ritual Using The Tarot
  • How To Thrive In Winter
  • A Simple New Year Tarot Spread
  • Divination Advice From Computer Programmers
  • How To Make Elderberry Syrup
In a recent Good Bones episode we discussed the id In a recent Good Bones episode we discussed the ideas of fasting and sacrifice in the context of living a magical life and I thought about them a lot while I was on a social media hiatus, which I consider a form of fasting. My takeaway was this: Magic is about power. Power requires a container to hold it. Sacrifice is the means by which we create a container in our life to hold that power. If your magical life does not involve sacrifice, then YOU are the sacrifice. ... To be clear when I talk about sacrifice I’m not talking about giving all your money away or ascetic concepts of renunciation but rather a commitment to prioritize one’s own health, wellbeing, and personal development. This requires time and effort i.e. sacrifice. It means doing things like getting up a few minutes early so you can meditate, or taking the time to prepare a a meal from real whole foods, exercising, going to therapy, and changing your behavior or the people you spend time with. Other times it means making time and effort to honor your relationships to the dead and the spirits of the land where you live. Sacrifices are essentially offerings made to your highest good and towards the life you want. ... There is nothing wrong with wanting or seeking power, but power sought in place of healing or at the expense of healing will burn you alive. I’ve seen it happen to a lot of people. I don’t personally believe that power ultimately corrupts but it it must be wielded consciously. Magic is a compliment to a life already well lived, not a substitute for it. Prioritize yourself first. ❤️
Belladonna appreciation post plus a quick note tha Belladonna appreciation post plus a quick note that starting tomorrow I will be taking my regular 1-week social media hiatus for Mercury Rx and will not be responding to comments or DMs during that time. Feel free to reach out via email through the link in my profile or text if you know me like that. See you on the other side. xo
Good Bones episode 4 is up! especially excited abo Good Bones episode 4 is up! especially excited about this one because it features a very special segment that @honoringyourancestors and I have been wanting to do for years: Drunk Hagiography This one is all about Catherine of Siena. The above photo features her incorrupt head. Swipe through for a clip in which I discuss what hot Jesus would look like.
a short weekly forecast courtesy of the @uusidesig a short weekly forecast courtesy of the @uusidesignstudio garden of eros deck. pleasure is my word of the year for 2020 so i’ve been working more with this deck lately as part of that. . after the fiery full moon in leo last weekend, you may need to focus on coming back down to planet earth. make sure you are resting, eating and taking care of your bodily needs and the needs of your temple. the turtle reminds us to slow down and enjoy some creature comforts but try not to isolate yourself too much. it’s easy to go into full hermit mode this time of year but the 6 of swords wants to relate and discuss ideas. life gets dull fast without connection intellectual stimulation. by the end of the week you’re ready for action and the chariot is giving you the courage and confidence to go after what you want this Valentine’s day weekend 😉 xoxo
nature is such a balm to me nature is such a balm to me
I debated whether or not to post something publicl I debated whether or not to post something publicly about this because I’m an intensely private person but my mom was an absolute force of nature and I think people should know about her. My mom was born and raised in New Orleans in 1944 but lived all over the country doing various jobs at different times. She earned her Master’s Degree in both math and english and one of her first jobs in the 60s was as a computer programmer at NASA. She was fiercely principled and a fighter for women and especially reproductive justice. Before abortion was legal she had an illegal abortion in Mexico and afterward acted as a guide and travel companion for many other women to do the same, putting herself at great risk. She devoted much of her time and energy to traveling, her greatest passion, and in her lifetime she visited over 100 countries, many of which she went to alone. After she retired she dedicated herself to volunteer work, volunteering for years for the New Orleans Museum of Art and also for the New Orleans symphony. She served as of the president of the symphony volunteers for several years and she raised more money for the symphony than any previous person had done several times over. In addition to all this she was was the kind of person who made friends wherever she went. She was kind, hilarious, and one of the toughest and strongest people I’ve ever known. She passed away peacefully in her sleep yesterday after having lived with pulmonary fibrosis for many many years. She outlived her diagnosis by almost double the time because of course she did. She had the quintessential sense of adventure of an Aries rising with the practicality and dark sense of humor of a Capricorn sun, and in the end in a perfect display of both qualities that was just so very much like her, she told me that she was ready to die because “she hadn’t tried it yet.” Love you so much mom. Thank you for everything. Light and progress. 🕯
good bones episode 3 is up! we talk about the astr good bones episode 3 is up! we talk about the astro of feb, do another magical experiment, and talk about divination. find us in your fav podcast app or thru the link in my bio. xo
happy sunday happy sunday
new post on the blog. i wrote about feeling your f new post on the blog. i wrote about feeling your feelings fully and how ritual and the tarot can help. link in the bio. xoxo
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