This is Five and Nine, a podcast and newsletter at the crossroads of magic, work and economic justice. Welcome to Season 5, Episode 1.
You can find Five and Nine on Apple, Spotify, Google, Instagram and at thisisfiveandnine.com.
Podcast Summary
Season 5 returns with a conversation between the Five and Nine co-founders, long-time collaborators, and friends, Xiaowei, AX, and Dorothy. While AX was in Jordan for Season 4, Xiaowei and Dorothy were in their metaphorical caves completing their dissertations and transitioning out of one academic realm into another while balancing commitments and obligations, but we survived and have become Dr. Xiaowei Wang and Dr. Dorothy R. Santos!
This season, we ask our guests about generation(s) and not only in terms of silos (e.g., Gen X, Gen Z, Millenials, etc.), but about what it means to view generation as a verb and how we might think of building from crisis and ruins of ideologies and beliefs that no longer collectively serve us. In this episode, we talk about love, grief and what it means to be fully oneself.
The deck used in Season 5 is the Mixed Signals Tarot, designed by Season 3 guest M Eifler/BlinkPopShift. Music is written, composed, and performed by Anna Luisa Petrisko.
Introducing the Priestess of Pentacles: Banish Anxiety and Create Abundance
Five and Nine is pleased to host a new column by Selene Darkheart, aka Season 3 guest Victoria Ku, a money and kitchen witch taking us on creative journey through strategic spellcraft and other powerful artistic enchantments to make life magical and full of wealth.
Remember that this content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should NOT be considered financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making any financial decisions that could impact your financial profile.
Good day, cosmic beings, and welcome to this little corner of the world at Five and Nine, where color, timing, symbols, and other little details of your everyday existence contain magic.
Firstly, I am so pleased to make your acquaintance. By day, I work in a corporate (goth) role like some of you, but in the not-so-dark shadows, I identify as a witch and a creative. I find some of my best work occurs when I marry the two identities that are constantly warring in my head: the financier and the artist. It took me a few decades to build a world where my financier and artist could coexist abundantly. Thus, I am sharing some of my witchy tips and tricks with you as the Priestess of Pentacles (a symbol traditionally associated with resources) and a humble money-kitchen witch, to make life colorful, wondrous, and full of joy.
If that resonates with you, then this should too; we’re on track for one of my favorite holidays this weekend. Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”), or the Pagan name for Halloween, is coming up. The progression of the Autumnal equinox to Samhain signals that Winter is coming, and similarly, the fruits of our labor harvesting our autumn crop are beginning their incubation period.
In a similar sense of existentialism and incubation, you might be feeling antsy with current events occurring in our modern day lives. It was a tumultuous summer for the stock market, and now we’ve got a tenuous election quarter coming up. The world seems more divided than ever on politics and wars, creating a cacophony of fear and noise that distracts from our focus on our goals. But just as Autumn passes the baton to Winter, it’s time for us to clear the air, to create magic, and enable new energies to flow into our lives as we head towards Samhain.
If you haven’t been forest-nymphing in the woods, baking bread by homemade fires, and curling up with a book beside a luxuriously summer river like a traditional ancestral witch, you might sense the anxiety in the world right now. Objectively, I would say you’re right: Inflation has fallen but feels high with corporations pocketing profits, and companies that employ us - that give us HEALTHCARE- are letting go of workers, either in the thousands or silently every day. What’s a cosmic being to do with this level of insecurity right now?
Any time I feel antsy… and there is a lot to feel anxious on…I change that trajectory by getting crafty. As a witch, little rituals such as cleaning my space or purging bad thoughts are acts of spell casting. Anxiety is an example ailment of the mind, so that is what we will work with today. By playing with your hands, crafting something is proven to enable our conscious thinking, and thus connecting with our cosmic being.
The Magic:
Today, we’re going to clear old energy and let in intentional energy so that we can allow abundance to flow into our lives for the month of October and beyond. Yes, we’re going to cast a spell by blessing our home entrance!
Ingredients needed:
Sage
Cinnamon (either powder, cinnamon oil, or a cinnamon stick is ok)
Traditionally a cleanse means that you burn and extinguish sage so that it’s smoking. Open the windows in your home, wipe down your counters and organize your living space, clearing clutter from the mind and physical realm. As you sage your home (wave your smoking sage branch along windows and doors), thank your home for protecting you and simultaneously banish any unwelcome energy out the windows. The key here is the intention. If you don’t have sage, opening your windows, wiping down your home while thanking it for its protection and banishing unwelcome energy suffices too.
Once completed, and you sense levity or clarity in your place of respite, take your cinnamon and step outside of your front door.
You can get really creative about your spell. Some people like a good rhyme such as this one,
“Cinnamon sweet, abundance flow, blessings come, let fortune grow.”
Other magical beings who might have strong internal worlds might murmur and visualize strong thoughts of abundance, fortune, blessings, and joy filling my home to the brim. I like to imagine a warm light filling my home, crowding out all shadows. The key is the strength of your conviction and intention. As you cast this spell, take your cinnamon and if it’s a powder, blow it against your door. If it’s cinnamon oil, rub a little oil into the wood door surface, and if it’s a cinnamon stick, put it somewhere before you enter your home, like a ledge.
Step back and ya best believe that abundance is already flowing into your life at this very moment.
And that’s it for now. You’re manifesting prosperity both in the mental and physical world. Way to go, you magical soul! Until next month where we’ll dive more into the depths of money and magic.
Priestess of Pentacles, Enchantress of Innovation, Directrix of Creative Arts
Linking Magic with Modernity
Selene Darkheart by night, Victoria K by day. As a seasoned money and (surprising) kitchen witch, I blend magic with modern strategies to conjure up a life of abundance. I've lived many lives as a corporate financial analyst for Wells Fargo, builder and maker of sculptures and digital products, and scaler of global payment systems for Airbnb. Let's go on a creative journey together through strategic spellcraft, and other powerful artistic enchantments to make life magical and full of wealth.
Work with Five and Nine Futures Lab
Ready to think about the future in unexpected ways? Five and Nine Futures Lab does workshops, leadership coaching, and strategic planning for organizations and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their creative thinking processes.
Check out our new website to learn more about ways we can work together:
Strategy Sessions: We’ll use whiteboarding, futures frameworks and define clear action steps.
Workshops: Our workshops designed for organizations, startups and conferences alike.
Launch Pad: We’ll help you bring your ideas to life, from discovery sessions to project plans and KPIs, and we’ll accompany your growth trajectory.
Coaching: Ongoing coaching support for multihyphenates, startups and media leaders. Provided by AX Mina Coaching.
Strategy, Trends and Foresight: Custom packages for ongoing support to develop and take action on key strategies for your organization.
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Five and Nine is a podcast and newsletter at the crossroads of magic, work and economic justice. We publish “moonthly” — every new moon 🌚 and full moon 🌝 — , and we provide an ongoing critical discussion through readings, reflections and debate.
Five and Nine is produced by Five and Nine Futures Lab, a research, design and strategy consultancy that helps organizations and companies build better futures through the lens of work, care and magic.
In this new world, we’re all rethinking the meaning of work and justice in our lives. Our lives and livelihoods are more essential than ever in identifying ways forward for society that can be grounded in care, compassion and sustainability.
Directors of Magic. Dorothy R. Santos and Xiaowei R. Wang
Creative Director. Xiaowei R. Wang
Lead Producer. AX Mina (Ana)
