By Sharon Ruedeman:
Spring is a fickle friend, there are days that are warm and sunny and perfect, and then there are days where you almost need to pull out your winter coat again. And then, sometimes, there are days that give you a strong taste of the summer heat, leaving you wishing for a cool breeze. That’s what it was like on that day in May when I went to visit Anais, aka Mystical Mandrake Root, in her Queens apartment. I think that I will often think of this memory on a hot day in May, fondly looking back on this wonderful conversation with a new friend.
In Episode 5 of WWH, Anais takes us through her origin story of creating Mystical Mandrake Root, a self-empowerment toolkit that she offers her clients, using their birth charts and other intuitive tools to help them come back to themselves and feel empowered. Never feeling all that feminine growing up, or at all like her Pisces sun sign, Anais took what she calls “the deep dive” into studying astrology for the purpose of learning more about herself. And what she found was much deeper than her sun sign, discovering jewels and aha! moments layered in her chart that made so much more sense than just reading a daily horoscope column. And like any good spiritual path should, it took her on a meandering road of not only learning more about herself but also loving more of herself and embracing her femininity through witchcraft and getting back to her own roots.
Such a beautiful and relatable story of becoming and stepping into her own power, talents, and intuition; I love this episode and the message Anais shares. In retrospect—because retrospect is such a sweet, clear lens—I love that we ended up filming in springtime, a time of transition and flux and a portal into the next year/phase/step on the path. We can learn in spring that if we root into the parts of ourselves that are solid and strong, we can also stretch and expand into the deeper and unknown parts and blossom into a summer as a whole new version of ourselves.
That’s a little bit of what Anais has taught me through this episode and a little bit of what Mystical Mandrake Root has come to mean for me, finding my roots so that I may grow more freely into my truest self.
Sharon Ruedeman is an award-winning Brooklyn-based video editor, storyteller, healer, and witch and the creator of the docu-series WILD WOMEN HEALERS. When she’s not making video magic or casting spells, she’s most likely curled up next to her cat, Princess Peach, reading a good murder mystery.
Read Elizabeth Gracen's interview with Sharon here.
Website: www.WildWomenHealers.com
YouTube: Wild Women Healers