Say Her Name- The Magick of Words, and the Importance of Showing Up

The cry say her name, remember their names, say their names, coming mostly from black and trans communities is a desperate plea for this to be the last time, for change to finally come, for people to care, for action to be taken. Who are we, those who aren’t members of both of those communities, or are loosely related, if we don’t listen. if we don’t listen to those pleas?

Well…I’d say we are good U.S. citizens. Doing as we should ignoring who we are supposed to. Playing the parts we’ve been allotted to maintain the social order and make sure at the end of the day everyone is in their cage, neat and tidy, and no undone locks.

SAY HER NAME, is not just a plea. Its an act of revolution. The U.S and imperial/capitalist/colonial culture has thrived on erasure. The erasure of Indigenous peoples, especially right now women, trans-women, and children. The erasure of immigrants. The erasure of blacks, especially freed descendents of slaves. The erasure of the poor, and disadvantaged. The erasure of the disabled and neuro-divergent. The erasure of weirdos, poets, thinkers, and freaks. Not just their bodies but their minds, their cultures, their legitimacy, their safety. It’s only getting worse. It’s only gonna get worse

So we have to say the names. Whether its alone to a candle, to the wind, or to social media accounts, to our friends, parents, racist uncles, our fans, in our art, to the clerk at the check out counter.

Its not just to remember. Its damn good magic. Magick is, in many traditions, the naming of something. To know ones true name is to have a certain power over it, just like having their DNA gives you power.

When people die suddenly, and violently, it can be hard for their souls to transition to the after life. They can get stuck, here, in the material realm This doesn’t serve anybody, the stuck soul, or their loved ones.

A stuck soul, cannot become an ancestor, in the beneficial sense of the term. They cannot guide the future, witness, support, or help their descendants (biological/ intellectual/ planetary/cultural/spiritual)

We need to honor and remember the lost. We need to witness these martyrs. We need to support their transition from loved one to wise one, for themselves, and those left behind.

There is so much violence happening against marginalized groups today. No one is separate from it, no one is guiltless. But you are equally powerful. We are powerful. I know it sounds trite, but lets use our power for good. Our attention guides our energy. Our energy is magick. Magick changes the world. Let your attention lead you to what is hard, frightening, emotionally challenging, thought provoking, shadowy.

Transmute it

Transform it

Say the names. Revolutionize the world one word at a time.

Dana Martin. Ashanti Carmon. Muhlaysia Booker. Claire Legato. Michelle Simone.