Ep 151: The Forgotten Witchcraft of Yarn (Daniela Simina)
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Katie Rempe: [00:00:00] Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Knit a Spell. I'm your host, Katie Rempe, and today we have a truly enchanting guest, Daniela Semina. Daniela is a folk magic enthusiast, a teacher of various esoteric subjects, an author writing for Moon Books Publishing, a wool spinner, a fan of knitting, plus other associated shenanigans.
Today we'll be exploring how she learned to connect magic with the fiber arts, the wisdom passed down from her grandmother from Romania, and how we can bring back or create our own magical making tradition. So let's get started.
Light from Lantern Presents Knit a spell. I'm your host, Katie Repi, designer Knit Witch, and your companion in this magical making podcast Together, let's explore the enchanted world where knitting meets the magic of the [00:01:00] craft.
Katie Rempe: I'm so happy to have you here. Thank you so much for coming on.
Daniela Simina: Thank you, Katie, for having me. This is a truly enchanted space that you are creating, and I am honored and very happy to be part of it. So thank you. Thank you for having me today.
Connecting Spells with Fiber
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Katie Rempe: Let's start with how did you first learn to connect spell work with yarn and fiber? Ha,
Daniela Simina: simple question, but it's actually not because getting exposure, gaining exposure to yarn magic didn't actually coincided with me getting. Diving straight into it. So I could see my grandmother and, um, friends of hers spinning. I grew up with my grandmother. She lived to be 102 years old.
We spent a lot of, yes, we spent a lot of time together. So when I'm talking about learn from my grandmother, it's not just, oh, I spent this couple of years or, you know, just summer vacations at my grandmother's house. No, actually I lived with her. [00:02:00] it was this immersion into pretty much everything she was doing. So grandmother was spinning and much as I found it interest interesting at that age I was
Katie Rempe: Okay.
Daniela Simina: seven. Around the time, it never occurred to me that, oh, I should pick up a spindle and try to do what my grandmothers was, was doing. And I realized that just playing around when they were spinning, I realized that what you are doing with, with this fiber magic went beyond just creating yarn that later on would be into.
Katie Rempe: Um,
Daniela Simina: you grow up immersed into, [00:03:00] into things. You question some and you don't question others, you just acknowledge they're happening around you. And that's, you know, part of the
Katie Rempe: Okay. Uh, The other thing is, uh, Uh, We have a great team, and I've been working with them for years. I just think it's a really cool program. It's really cool. I've never, uh, I've never seen one of these before. Um, One of the things I think that's really great the, the people who are so much.
Daniela Simina: or I
Katie Rempe: Like, For Like, For For A A For And he's been there, so it's a good thing.
But at the same time, I think it's a good thing that he's a doctor. I think he's a good doctor. And I think that's what's so good. He's my spotlight. I mean, I see that in his behavior.
Daniela Simina: later.
Katie Rempe: I [00:04:00] think we're ready to go. This is the first time we've done this. Um, Um, Um, Um,
Daniela Simina: I witnessed when I grew up. And getting, you know, talking about it, I realize it, it makes up a beautiful devotional practice. Whatever the aspect of the deity, the divine you are connected with, or whatever your spirit
Katie Rempe: Transcripts provided by Transcription Outsourcing, LLC.
Daniela Simina: spinning and spinning as being related to, um, creating magic and laying out destiny and fate. so in recent time that, that came [00:05:00] together into my
Katie Rempe: I'm going to give you a little bit of background on what we're going to be talking about today. So, um, we're going to be talking a little bit about, um, what we're going to be talking about today.
Daniela Simina: your soul, like, your intent. And your passion for the aspect of, that aspect of, of the fiber arts. So I think that's, that's actually at the core of spinning or. Otherwise, fiber magic.
Katie Rempe: Yes, a good reminder that you do not have to be perfect at your craft to enjoy it and fill it with beautiful intention. Yes, I love that.
Perfectionism
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Daniela Simina: if I may add here, We're living in a society where perfectionism is highly praised. And people put an awful, awful lot of pressure on them to be perfect into something. Which, don't get me wrong. I'm a perfectionist and some are areas of my life, but I try not to be a perfectionist [00:06:00] into all areas of my life. And I realized that allowing room for imperfection makes the practice less rigid and also allows room for experimentation and growth. Because oftentimes people don't pick up tasks from fear of, Oh, but I'm not perfect of it. Therefore, I shouldn't be even messing up with it. Well, yeah, do mess up. And there's only one way to figure out if that's your thing or not. And that goes when, when we're bringing in the spiritual aspect, think it's ridiculous. Um, I'm not spiritually perfect. What the heck?
Katie Rempe: Right.
Daniela Simina: So yeah, just, just relax. And when it comes to fiber magic, there was a demand for people to be perfect in their knitting and in their spinning. And because those were, activities that would support their livelihood. If your cloth is, doesn't look perfect, it won't [00:07:00] sell. If your cloth that you're weaving doesn't look perfect, you won't be able to turn it into garments to wear. So there was a need
Katie Rempe: Uh,
Daniela Simina: to be like, perfect, to do it properly. But when it comes to a spiritual devotional practice or magical practice that comes that it's secondary, and it's a good thing to remember for us who engage with with spinning, necessarily from, you know, pressure to make a living from that angle, but as as a devotional work, this is the best I can do. I'm really willing to take this on to honor X, Y, Z deity or spirit being or ancestor that, um, I'm in a relationship with still.
Katie Rempe: I have two thoughts reflecting on perfection. First of all, the thing I always say, which is your idea of perfect and my idea of perfect are likely. very different. So there's that. Um, it's practice makes progress instead of practice [00:08:00] makes perfect because it is more about learning how to do the technique consistently, perhaps, like you said, so that you get that really consistent fabric.
And then maybe that's more appealing to people. But I even think that Things that you think are mistakes, or look a little wonky, adds character and will end up being the most appealing piece that you have. Like the one that was like the throwaway, or I'm just gonna try this thing, I didn't know if I was gonna like it.
That attracts people, and I think it's because of that level of curiosity. And like you said, kind of letting go to that rigid desire to have the exact thing you have in your head, where people can kind of connect to it more and, and even fill in the gaps with what they're feeling. It's art, right?
Daniela Simina: It's unique.
Katie Rempe: Yes, it's unique.
Daniela Simina: you know, you want some degree of uniqueness here, that's why we're not opting for the [00:09:00] mass production, unless we have to, because sometimes you have to default, and we'll get there, I hope in our discussion, where, uh, what happens if you don't make your own yarn? You have to default to yarn made by others, which means you go to the store and buy it. you have a friend who can, you know, make it for you. So, everything is so relative here. And it's so much flexibility, and it's such a good place to get out of your head and preconceive the ideas that things need to be in a certain way to be perfect.
Romanian Magic
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Katie Rempe: Can you share a little bit about now that you maybe know more about your grandmother's practice, how that was viewed in Romanian culture in general?
Daniela Simina: Oh, yeah, so, Romania has been deeply steeped into Christianity as that's, that's the spirituality. That's, that's the way of thinking there. what I noticed growing up further and further away from that, what I noticed is the huge degree of overlap and intertwining of, of practices. [00:10:00] And I remember even a kid having hard time understanding why the, the local priest, my grandmother was going to church and I would sometimes, you know, go with her and it was like, I liked it. It was super cool. It was a lot of fun stuff going on there, but I witnessed on a number of occasions like disagreements between grandma and the priest and they just asked her once, it's like, you're basically doing the same thing.
You're saying the same kind of prayers. I mean, Our father and what's not you're saying the same kind of prayers, but you're doing it home. He's waiting to the church. What's what's the conflict here? And I realized that is more
a system and who is the power and some institutions not being comfortable with.
The ordinary people having that power, you know, to alter their destiny and [00:11:00] have this kind of direct unmediated relationship with the divine. And I'm not suggested that, not suggesting that this was, like clear. Or very intentional on the priest's side, but this is how he was trained. This is
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: he grew up.
So it's something that they brought the practice unconsciously. So this takes us to exactly how my grandmother was seen. My grandmother was seen by the ordinary people, and by ordinary people I mean not clergy, not our,
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: local priest and his wife. So, in Romania, we had that in other cultures as I discovered over time. Magic is deeply, deeply intertwined with people's daily.
Katie Rempe: uh, Okay. You're [00:12:00] welcome.
Daniela Simina: to pull out, you know, from the, bag of tricks, not just Christian prayer and have, you know, the priest come and give the blessings and all that,
Katie Rempe: so basically I'm in a a a loop yeah this is uh the the the very much.
Daniela Simina: whoever sometimes there were things carried out by the head of the household Which is usually the man.
I'm checking it again back in the days of yore. So whoever some other times by women in the house that
Katie Rempe: Okay. Hey, Hey, [00:13:00] Hey, Hey,
Communist Superstition 'Crack Down'
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Daniela Simina: to this. We lived in a communist, under a communist regime. And everything was very politicized, and it was this crack, cracking down on they called superstition and belief into the metaphysical and into the other, and it's like nothing but the materialistic paradigm
Katie Rempe: The leading parties, the leading powers were enforcing it. So all this had to be done underground. Church activity was tolerated. We never had it as bad as in Communist Russia. Never. Ever. Mm. Mm.
Daniela Simina: tolerance toward religion. It was not, certainly not encouraged. But it was, it wasn't this massive, okay, we're going to shut down all churches nationwide and we're going to put to jail all the people who go to [00:14:00] church.
It didn't go that bad.
Fairy Seer & Medicine Woman
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Daniela Simina: However, um, if you're like my grandmother, a medicine woman and an active proponent of the old ways, have to, you know, uh, know how to lay low. So, I witnessed how people would come to grandmother and they would do things secretly for a number of reasons. First, you don't want to be the, you know, the scorn of those who don't believe old. the modern mentality, this doesn't work. Well, yeah, as to be seen. So you want to avoid the scorn and kind of losing your credibility as a really wise person. My grandmother was highly educated for, you know, her time and very wise in every aspect. So she didn't want to lose that respect that people had for her. her situation was the situation of every single medicine woman. my grandmother was a Fairy Seer aspect of her practice [00:15:00] that, uh, I don't have the English equivalent for, you know, Fairy Seer is a little bit of an arbitrary term, and for context, it means that the person who's a Fairy Seer receives their knowledge from Fairy Beings. And in Romania, same as in Ireland, same as in Scandinavian countries, fairies aren't itty bitty, pretty things that come and sit on flowers to make your garden look pretty.
It's nothing like that. We're talking about with agency, very powerful. can influence weather, they can influence the abundance, the luck of a household, they can influence fertility in, you know, land and animals, which is hugely important if, if you think rural communities. And in Romania, they were even incorporated, their holidays are still incorporated in the church calendar by the name of these fairies themselves.
So have two major groups, [00:16:00] Sânziană and Iele. you have the Feast of Sânziană. And the Feast of Rusalii, which is Iele, so you have them in, in the church calendar of holidays. So when I'm saying fairies who come and give knowledge to medicine women or medicine men, I'm talking about beings of power. So this is where my grandmother That's where she credited her knowledge to, to come from mostly. And she could see them, she could interact with them. Interesting childhood, I know.
Katie Rempe: Wow.
How did she learn to work with these beings? Was that something that was brought up through her ancestors, through her like mother and grandmother just because it was more accepted back then before all of this modern oppression
Daniela Simina: My grandmother, I'm lucky. So on my, my mother's side, I can trace our, our family, our lineage way, way, way back. my grandmother [00:17:00] had a grandmother was very, very well known medicine woman. So she talks about, she used to tell me about the village they were living. And, um, her husband actually, they, they owned the land and the village. So, back, back in the day when you could own a village. And they had people, they used to bring in people from far away. So grandmother was telling me they will come with oxen, you know, horse cart, bringing the people to her house. So she would actually help them. And sometimes there were, like, magical type of ailments.
Like, you know, people believed to be possessed or other kind of ailments. And sometimes. She was delivering cures for very physical, practical, you know, like an injury. This guy broke his leg. Log came and, you know, broke his femur while, you know, doing work working in the woods cutting. Lumber,
Katie Rempe: Sure. [00:18:00] Right. Right. Yeah. Hmm. Okay.
Daniela Simina: people would come, you know, with, and it was, it was understood that it has to, an exchange has to happen. Um, so you're giving the knowledge, the healing, the effort, the time, and people would express gratitude in, in, in various ways. And that's where it started. It wasn't like a constant and it wasn't like going to school either. Hey, time's up. Now we sit down and we talk about this and let's practice this like in the form of running a lab. You know, and then you do a lab report. So it wasn't like that. It was very organically blending into everyday living.
You know,
Katie Rempe: [00:19:00] Um,
Daniela Simina: to learn more. Some others wanted to have nothing to do with it.
Generational Learning
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Daniela Simina: so my grandmother was, among her three sisters, she was the only one who actually cared about these things. Her mother didn't care about these things. So she learned from her own grandmothers. here we are, my mother,
Fun. Lipstick. You
that, that's, that's two coffee grounds over here and another. So not my thing. But, and my grandmother was very eager [00:20:00] to learn, uh, from her own grandmother, all this. Healing and all this old wisdom. then here I am in my family. And I was like, I want to know everything. Dark, white, bright, not, I don't, I want to know it all. So, as I grew up, I, became more, more inquisitive about it. That's how
Katie Rempe: had a great opportunity through living with her. So that's helpful.
Daniela Simina: oh yeah, I mean, I, I, I'm like, oh, I'm coming at this, you know, from a place of privilege in that regard. Absolutely.
Katie Rempe: make it easy sometimes in order for it to, uh, have the opportunity to spark the interest to begin with.
Daniela Simina: Yep.
Katie Rempe: Oh, and isn't it funny, like, I mean, not just magic, although I guess, I mean, anything is magic. how things like that tend to skip a generation.
It's almost like because [00:21:00] you know, your mother's mother, you know, your grandmother. She could just go to her mother to get, like, various healings or whatever. She was like, no, I don't have to learn it because she already knows it, so I don't have to kind of do it. At least that's how I kind of felt. Like, my mother is an amazing cook, and I never took the time to, like, Learn or watch her then I left the house and I was like, I don't know how to cook anything.
Like, what happened? I didn't just magically glean that. What the hell? And it wasn't until I came back and was like, okay, now I'm gonna actually pay attention because I want to know. And, and she's one of those people who never, like, it's never like, oh, exactly this much and exactly this much and here's the recipe.
It's sort of like, well, here's what I started and then you kind of do it until it tastes like this or it looks about like this. And I'm like, Okay, again, this is an art, and so I have to really pay attention in order to know what the heck is going on, so.
Daniela Simina: Yeah, I think even
Katie Rempe: That's funny.
Daniela Simina: there are like aspects and kind of slices, you know, of this. Like, I [00:22:00] paid an awful lot of attention to everything that my grandmother was doing about fairies and, you know, that side of her practice and the plants and the herbs. Never cared much about spinning until years later.
I started to care about spinning as well. So yeah, just
Katie Rempe: Yeah,
Why did we lose the magic?
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Katie Rempe: How have we lost the magical aspects of making over the generations, kind of like we were just talking about, and how can we learn to bring back those practices?
Daniela Simina: I think it's important to look at why we lose it? um It happened to me because I also lost it. I mean it would be nice to think of my own life Oh, and it's this uninterrupted for every year every living day of my life. I was so steeped into this. No I had like a big hiatus of some 20 years, when I didn't want to have anything to do with it. Which brings us to the reason why, reasons why people fell apart with, uh, magical [00:23:00] type of knowledge and folk healing. There is the, um, industrialization and increased modernization aspect. people's tendency
Katie Rempe: rationalize out, well I don't see it anymore or I was imagining it because there wasn't light. Now that there are light poles everywhere I realize it was just a tree. Um,
Daniela Simina: And I do not advocate against doing reality checks. the contrary, I'm like, checks everywhere because it's very easy, you know, to Start making things up and that would put you on a kind of dangerous path. reality, reality checks over everything, but accept that not everything can be that that's happening or you're [00:24:00] experiencing can be actually explained out through just logical arguments. It's about maintaining a balance. Now, as I said, with our rush into explaining and understanding everything, Um, we, we started to force upon children this, uh, modality of thinking in strictly rational ways.
and
Katie Rempe: and discarding everything that doesn't align with it. So this applies to the younger generations. Now the younger generations go old and this belief purpetuates. Then there are the elderly who move from the country to the city with their kids, you're not going
Daniela Simina: to talk so much about....
Much about, you want to integrate, to become part of that modern flow of life, so you're not going to talk that much about, [00:25:00] you know, that fairy being that used to appear in my backyard or something, because people will make fun of you. This
Katie Rempe: Ah.
Daniela Simina: generation born and bred in the city who went through that schooling system and education system that took out of their realm of understanding the possibility of magic and magical occurrences as, as being real. So, little by little, these Things fade, uh, with the added layer in Romania that there was dangerous, you know, to, to speak openly and say, Hey, here I am, I have a relationship with the Numinus and, you know, something, it's powerful. So made, make, would make you stand out in, in a very, dangerous way. So have to keep it
Katie Rempe: low.
Silence. Silence. [00:26:00] Silence. Silence.
Daniela Simina: flight of my imagination, maybe that isn't real after all. And I went through this when I hit high school, which brings us another layer why these practices get lost. I wanted to fit. So I was, I was growing a little bit tired. So we move house, we move in a different city and I really wanted to make friends. And I realized that I'm not very likely to make friends if I keep being the weirdo. So I had to, yeah, sure. I had to start. liking or at least show an interest, a polite interest, um, polite show of interest, sorry, toward what my peers were doing. And little by little, okay, if, if I want to fit, oh, these are really cool people. And yeah, we really like the same music and we like to say, you know, go dance [00:27:00] and dance in the same places and whatever, and sports and what have you. But there is no room for the mystical magical, unless we're talking about it at the level. Well, you know, that's really cool
Katie Rempe: fairytales, or folklore.
Hmm. Uh.
Daniela Simina: where there's some reality to it. So just keep it and that's that's how things fade. then they come back. But then they come back. Yeah,
hmm.
Katie Rempe: school experience, I'm sure, like we can all have uh, some semblance of that, and I have to imagine it's even, you might even feel more pressed to do that if you're like moving from one country to another, and you're trying to like, Be that culture so hard just like you said to not only just fit in and not be hassled But like for potentially like you're very real safety And then it becomes very [00:28:00] Second nature what what was your first nature to believe in all of these things and you know have this like great imagination of You know, things that are beyond are then kind of like, even you start to think like, Oh, I guess maybe they were right.
Cause I've started to think this way for so long.
Returning to the Magic
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Katie Rempe: And so for someone who kind of grew up in that situation, when did it start coming back for you?
Daniela Simina: You know they say that necessity is the mother of invention.
Katie Rempe: Oh! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Uh oh!
Daniela Simina: that's two things here. Necessity is the mother of invention and then you cannot reinvent the
Katie Rempe: Hmm. Hmm. Well. Hmm.
Daniela Simina: hey, I'm a modern person.
I don't pay attention to the dreams. It's just, you know, the neurophysiological aspect of the brain, um, dealing with, with [00:29:00] consensus reality, whatever. Um, and then things started to happen, like, like getting glimpses of, of my grandmother's body. presence. My grandmother had passed in the meantime. So this is me, the adult getting glimpses of my grandmother's presence and then getting glimpses of beings that I encountered in the past, uh, spirit beings. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's that. That happened because I was tired. That happened again into rationalizing. And it so happened that I had an injury that nearly left me paralyzed. So yeah, I had a neck injury that nearly left me paralyzed. the, the, the surgery suggested was very high risk. And, um, the doctor who diagnosed and basically overview my treatment was the same doctor who at the time was taking care of the Saints football team. So he was like, and my, my faith was if, if he can [00:30:00] put together those guys, you know, from the accidents and injuries they can suffer, he can surely help me. And he said, well, that's the only, uh, viable option for you have to have surgery because Uh, if you don't, you're going to be paralyzed on your left side, which I'm obviously not. And, uh, if you have it and something goes wrong, you're going to be chiroplagic because it's your C5, C6. So cervical, 6. So it was something happened to them. And at that point, I'm like, I'm not ready. I started to tap by necessity into my own intuition and assess, am I supposed to have the surgery? or not. So, willy nilly, I had to reconnect with, with me and the doctor told me the same way. We're gonna try all the option, treatment options this is, he's like, I'm very reluctant to tell you what to do, okay?
So, leaving it up to you. So, [00:31:00] I willy nilly had to tap into my intuition and start thinking. And I realized that if I go in the yard and walk barefoot and sit by certain trees, yeah, back, back in time to childhood years, I would get to hear that guidance and, and being told what to do. And then I had the beings, the spirit beings popping and I still rationalize it out. And then something happened that, um, I ended up by chance, you see the bunny ears, the coats, air coats here.
Katie Rempe: Hm.
Daniela Simina: I ended up in a course about energy healing and the teacher presenting sounded so much like my grandmother. And maybe it sounded like my grandmother only in my mind,
Katie Rempe: Right. [00:32:00] Silence.
Daniela Simina: yoga practice. I can do headstands. I can do drop back bends. I can go horseback riding. I can do whatever I want with due precautions, you know, and exercises to keep my, um, so physical therapist and the good medical supervision were very important. But basically I managed without surgery. And heal. So to me, that was, that was the moment. And then it was like the floodgates open, because when I start again reconnecting and working with energy through different modalities available to study and learn here in the States, my perception turned back to what it was when I was a kid. And I knew that I can no longer deny the reality. Of this interaction that I was having with the spirit world. And I'm like, okay, we go. Grandma,
Katie Rempe: Oh,
Daniela Simina: ready to
Katie Rempe: What an incredible story. That is amazing. So do you do [00:33:00] energy work now?
Energy Worker
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Daniela Simina: do, I do. The thing that I like doing the most is actually not doing it on people. I mean, you know,
Katie Rempe: Mm. Mm.
Daniela Simina: need it's like, there is a spot on your coat that you can't really brush yourself, so you'd ask another person to brush it. So, blind spots. so, myself, I occasionally ask a friend, hey, can you kind of check and see what's my energetic status because I do have blind spots. So I believe it's cool to have someone fluffing your energetic feathers once in a while. But I think it's best if you can do most of the work by yourself. And what I like doing the most is teach people how to do it. So other
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: I'm like, okay, I'm going to see you once or twice, max, but if you really, I don't want the codependency.
I don't want you to have to come and see me every single freaking time. So I'm teaching a class, take the class, come in for [00:34:00] explanations, extras if you need, but charge and do it yourself because it's doable.
Katie Rempe: Teach the people how to fish instead of just always feeding them. Yes, that was always my mentality when I worked at a yarn store and people would come in with issues in their knitting and they would just give it to me and be like, can you fix this? And I was like, yeah, can you? And they would be like, Well, no, that's why I'm here.
And I'm like, cool, this is what I'm going to teach you. Like you're going to see what's happening here. You're going to do it. I'll tell you how to do it so that when this happens again on a weekend or whatever, and you can't just come in, you'll be able to fix it. It's very empowering and it makes things less scary when you understand it.
So. There you go.
Daniela Simina: Absolutely. Yeah.
Blocking Magic
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Katie Rempe: So you mentioned, herbs and enchanted waters.
In your yarn magic, have you ever incorporated them into the blocking process of knitting or the making or spinning, whatever you're doing there.
Daniela Simina: let's talk about blocking. So we're talking
Katie Rempe: [00:35:00] Okay.
Daniela Simina: apotropaic, like things, you know, to influence you, like blocking them. So,
Katie Rempe: yeah.
Daniela Simina: I like, I like to think of it as a two steps process. three steps process, actually. First, cleanse whatever affected you energetically in a negative way. And, uh, of course, I didn't prepare, you know, for us. It's here I have, you know, the, um, yarn and I have the, um, are infused oils. So it's just herbs with, um, there's not the original content, I, I just like the, the size of the bottles. So I use the bottles, they come from a different product, but, it's, it's oil, basically almond oil infused with, with herbs. And it's exactly what it sounds like, I'm putting the herbs in, I'm pouring the almond oil on top. Expose them to sunlight for a invoking, asking for that solar energy to infuse them. them on the window seal. or [00:36:00] outside on a porch. no animal ran away with them so far, so uh, I leave them outside on the porch for like some lunar energy and ask that, you know, to bless them, create this balance in between lunar and solar types of energy and cycle so if that appeals to you, do it.
If it doesn't appeal to you, forget what I just said. And praying over them. whatever prayer means to you, asking ancestors or deity or spirit guides lend their powers or empower your ingredients and you know, the solutions that you have created. And then the way, the way I use them, I will start by cleansing.
energetically my own body with yarn. And I'm thinking of a color that is absorbing and color is not recommended to wear in summertime. Well, dark color with black. So I will take some black yarn. [00:37:00] This is yarn that I spun, but again, you can take any kind of yarn. If you're not into spinning, go buy some yarn. I prefer natural fibers because for ecological they disintegrate. If I have to throw them in the trash, they. Will disintegrate if I have to toss them in the toilet. Yep. There's a place for that. So, um, they will disintegrate if I'm going to bury them somewhere in the yard. I'm just getting a little bit of black yarn and I'm going to sit with it and, um, focus on the aspect of cleansing everything that doesn't belong within my energetic field.
Anything that creates blockages, anything that ails me, anything that could possibly generate disease. physically, emotionally, mentally. And, um, going to add a little bit of, um, that's not the one I need the other. So [00:38:00] this has, so this oil, my favorite for cleansing is frankincense. That's, that's a mix. I have a little bit of frankincense. I have a little bit of. birch, bits
Katie Rempe: Hmm.
Daniela Simina: birch bark in here. And, um, I'm going to just put, just rub the, the thread with those, with those herbs. And while I'm doing this, I'm going to ask for frankincense. which is a resin comes from a tree. So comes from a form of consciousness. That's a life as person. But I'm going to ask these, to lend their power to the yarn, it will assist me in the cleansing that I intend to do. And then I will start, you know, from head. To toes. This is the fast forward version of it. I'll go more, much more mindfully and carefully and [00:39:00] keeping my eyes closed so nothing from the outside distracts me so I can really feel as I'm, and you can make contact with, with, with the skin unless you're allergic to any of the ingredients. In which case I would suggest the whole, plant part. And I will go You know, through my energetic body going over the clothing, if you can go over bare skin, good temperature and, you know, decency considered. if you cannot reach your back, ask a person to do it, you know, and, and pass this over your body with the intent of cleansing. Remember, this is a really fast forward. Palms, soles of your feet. And this is the cleansing part. Okay. What are you going to do with this? You toss it in the trash. So, I know some people are
Katie Rempe: [00:40:00] Um, Bye, bye.
Daniela Simina: this is by creating, now that all the bad stuff is out, I want to prevent it to come back and reattach. So I want to create, like, let's say a little amulet, yeah? And I'm taking this on purpose because it matches the Pretty much, you know, the sweater that I have, and you'll see in a second why. So, I'm going to take this, and I'm going to use some oil.
Katie Rempe: [00:41:00] Mm.
Daniela Simina: the oil absorbs. Um, if you're a fan of using salt, add a kernel of salt. You can add a crystal to, to the bottle. Personalize here, there's no really hard, um, and fasten rules here. And then you're going to put it on the thread.
And then what am I going to do with this thread? I'm going to sew it somewhere into my sweater. And it's going to be like on
Katie Rempe: Ah.
Daniela Simina: inconspicuous part and just use a needle to kind of weave it,
Katie Rempe: [00:42:00] Okay.
Daniela Simina: the needle, you add a little bit to the hem or, you know, on the inside, doesn't matter where and you put it there, you make sure it doesn't slip out you're good. And you can have, you can go like to three or four garments like this. Alternately, you can use the thread and carry it with you in some form. So find a way. Maybe like a pouch, little pouch of sorts, something that you could carry with you in a pocket.
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: thread is easy to get lost in and toss it in the washer machine and forget that it's there. So, make a little pouch, any kind of additional amulet or crystal. Add the thread to whatever you use for protection. the intent when you're making this is to block out and prevent any kind [00:43:00] of negative disease energy to come on to you, whether that is projected toward you intentionally or unintentionally. tend to think of blocking like, um, Oh, that's this part.
person who directs, you know, their bad thoughts toward me. And oftentimes it's not even that. You may walk, if you're more sensitive, you may walk into a space where people had an argument or something major happened and you picked up on that energy that will
Katie Rempe: Um,
Daniela Simina: you. I mean, it's like brushing through the energetic imprint of others and you're taking that on without even people intending to give that to you. So if, if you are in that category of Um, overly sensitive to this kind of things just a little bit to carry with you that's been blessed and any kind of fiber would do. You can actually have, you can actually
Katie Rempe: You can pick the different things up. Yep. I'm actually, I've had a couple of time where I'm to be pretty iterative, so you can see that it's been co referencing for, uh, [00:44:00] kind of changing, you know, the background, the But I do believe that open access will, um, give you a big starting point for moving forward with, you know, the, the current approach to cybersecurity and, and making sure that But you know, it's not going to be as quick and easy as you would like it to be and you
Daniela Simina: what have you, just a little bit of, of,
Katie Rempe: Okay.
Daniela Simina: this, a length of, of, of thread, you know, so I'm showing here like a, you know, like a foot and incorporate that into whatever you're knitting or weaving. And you know that wearing that adds a layer. Don't mind about, never mind about washing it. That is not the problem.
Once the energy is absorbed into, uh, whatever you're doing, it stays there. So reinforce it
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: maybe once every few years or. Whenever you feel like, Oh, I need to reinforce this. adding more thread something.
Katie Rempe: Mmm. [00:45:00] So
Daniela Simina: get one blouse, pants, jacket. Whatever you want that has buttons, get a piece of thread that matches the color of what you're wearing. So notice that correspondences is very relative here. Let the necessity and the purpose of what you're doing be the primary aspect and don't fuss over.
Yeah, well, I need black because if not, it's not protection. You can make it green, you can make it orange. It's still going to be protection if this is how you are working with it and intending it to be and you put the herbs on it. And you can sew a button using like a regular, this happens to be black, but you just sew one of the buttons on your shirt little bit of something on the hem with regular thread.
Katie Rempe: smart. You have no [00:46:00] excuse not to include it in some way. ha ha
Daniela Simina: to do it on, when I was at school, I came back a number of times with evil eye, and it turns out the evil eye is a reality. back in the day at school, we had these blue uniforms and we were wearing red ties. And, grandmother, so what she did, she took some, you know, red, and supposedly red repels anyway, you know, the evil eye.
the evil eye. Well, it wasn't enough in my case. So she added, she used to, to put some threads, additional threads, you know, kind of hemming my little red tie with things that she blessed or things that I was using, you know, in, in PE, the,
Katie Rempe: Mmm.
Daniela Simina: thing, you know, the, the t shirt. So she, she had like done like a little flower, you know, a little embroidery on, on, on my shoulder. But that was, it was like a little blue flower. I remember it to the day. But that little blue flower, you know, [00:47:00] on my, on my t shirts was special or a monogram. If you have to label your kids, you know, send them to camp and you have to label, uh, make a monogram on their, on their. stuff. You can use threads that you blessed and you programmed it for, you know, intended to be protective and you put it there with herbs and everything and just little initial. It's practical. The child be able to identify the item and it's. practical because it gives an extra layer of protection.
Katie Rempe: That's a great reminder also, practical magic is magic, like you don't have to necessarily think like, okay, what symbol do I need to research and look up and where does it need to be? Like it can be something you already need to do that. You just do in a mindful, intentional, magical way. [00:48:00] Yeah.
Daniela Simina: symbol? Because just going there and pick up, pick up runes and you're just going to, I like to read runes, you know, the North Germanic alphabet, you know, the runes. I read those. I work a lot with those. But, um, are other alphabets and forms of, you know, so called magical alphabets out there that I have no connection with. And don't see if I, oh, I like this symbol, like picking up, random picking up a symbol just because it's listed somewhere on a website as a protective one. And I don't know what it actually represents. I have no connection with the tradition that symbol comes from. So my, me relating to it is going to be really shallow. So I would rather go and do some cross stitch the way so my grandmother doing and the way I was taught to do when I was a [00:49:00] kid and use that do whatever little flower or or what have you, you know, and, and, and have that, as opposed to going for something that's and it's magical, and it's It comes from grimoire material, which, by the way, grimoire material is, is, is powerful if you're really connected with our tradition, you know. parroting has far less value than wondering it didn't work, uh, because there's no connection. You're just doing something. You're mimicking something that your, your, your energy, your, your intent doesn't quite flow something that you have no connection with. So, look what speaks to you. I mean, I like, you know, to mark runes on, and by marking I mean You know, dab my finger in, in oil and mark a piece of, you know, garment or something. Um, but I, I've [00:50:00] been in a relation, I have a relationship with runes fourty years. It's something that spoke to me, something that I constantly study and then connect with. So, oh,
Katie Rempe: Right.
Daniela Simina: runes protect you for healing. Okay, let me scribble it on my card. Maybe it does
Katie Rempe: Yep.
Daniela Simina: maybe it doesn't do anything.
Blocking Magic During Blocking Your Project
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Katie Rempe: Very good point. Okay, before we move on from blocking. So this is a very interesting take on blocking because I intended it to be so when you like a knitting crochet, whatever when you finish a piece you have to you don't have to oftentimes. Submerging it in water afterwards will, like, relax the stitches and kind of even things out, make it a little bit more pliable, things like that.
I had never thought until you just said, Everything. That you could literally use it as a process for energetic blocking. Like, could you also [00:51:00] just put the oil in the water that you're doing that practical step for? You can write the rune over it like you just said in the water to energize the water.
Daniela Simina: And you don't have
Katie Rempe: Duh.
Daniela Simina: in the water. It's enough if you get the plants themselves because oil, okay. It might be the concern, you know, with staining, especially if it's light fiber and you don't get in there. And then, you can do like the herbs themselves in a little bit of alcohol, medicinal alcohol and then you add just a drop or two. We're talking energy here. So it's not necessarily the amount, the quantity. Um, you add a drop or two of the tincture with the herbs to the water in which you are, you, you're soaking, you know, to, make the stitching look more uniform. So yeah, absolutely. can just sprinkle some, some of the herbs, just make sure they don't stain whatever you're, you're doing. But tincture, it's going to be diluted enough. Not to stain or harm the fabric in any way and it's going [00:52:00] to be potent enough to deliver that layer of What you need.
So yeah
Katie Rempe: Oh, see, I love when the worlds collide.
Color Magic
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Katie Rempe: So you mentioned a little bit about using like the black color to absorb energy. How else do you find ways to utilize color for magical purposes?
Daniela Simina: I'm of the idea that the soul speaks in symbols my quote I'm paraphrasing. I read it somewhere. I don't even remember where I read it. It was very long ago, but took that as, as valid. So it's, it's good to have your own correspondences. Sometimes somebody will tell me something in, in regard to a color.
Okay. Somebody's telling me something that that's kind of generic, but as a concrete example. Um, let's say that I get together with a friend and we're going to do some abundance magic, propitiate abundance, and she would [00:53:00] suggest, okay, let's use green,
Katie Rempe: I think, um, Uh, Um, Uh, Uh, Um, Um, Um, Um,
Daniela Simina: or orange in color, and that's your association. So, sit with it for a moment, and it's, it's like we discussed, you know, with sigils and signs and symbols. And sit
Katie Rempe: Um. [00:54:00] Um.
Daniela Simina: Or pink is my empowering color.
I have a friend who's like when she puts on pink She's like this is my power color And it's it's it's a soft beautiful kind of thing But that's my showcases, you know who I am and then show showcases me and my full the fullest of my power And boy when she wears pink, you can even if you don't know it, you can you can feel it, you know She's like a presence. So it's your relationship to the color more than any prescribed color code. That's there. And sometimes you even have to bypass that because if you're wearing a white shirt and you strongly believe that bright pink is your power color, you either come up with some very nice embroidery. That is going to look good on that shirt or default for the moment to white as being your power color.
So you can include some thread into, into that shirt or sew a button on it with, um, That white [00:55:00] thread that you actually added some herbs
Katie Rempe: Um.
Daniela Simina: it, empowerment wise. Mm
Katie Rempe: Great advice, especially since, again, not, not everyone has the same color correspondences. And I say that like loosely correspondences because that makes it sound like you researched stuff and whatever. I don't know. Somehow it sounds like more technical,
not everyone sees color the same. Like my, um, previous cohost.
Was, you know, colorblind. He was red deficient. So, you know, certain colors for him He's not even gonna consider that someone else might for that reason, He doesn't readily see a lot of green. So, you know his Abundance color was gold because, you know, that was like so much currency and things like that and I was like, oh, but of course, so yeah, so trusting your own reactions to things and when somebody [00:56:00] tells you or you read online like, oh, this color is could be for this and you have one of those like, uh, reactions.
That's a sign that that's not for you.
Daniela Simina: Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Katie Rempe: Or if you go, Oh, you know, like maybe that's a sign it could be for you. So, and, and also it can change over time because we all change over time. Maybe you loved pink cause you had a little. baby and it was all about the baby, but then later, maybe you get, I mean, I hate to even say that, like a cancer or something.
And pink was all related to like the breast cancer. And suddenly you're like, okay, I actually don't want to think about this anymore. Like it's okay. You can just release things. Everything grows, that's nature. So just meeting yourself where you're at is always the best option.
Daniela Simina: that's beautiful. Meeting yourself where you're at. Because sometimes if somebody tries to tell me it's this color and it has this precise connotation, this precise association, and they go like,[00:57:00]
Katie Rempe: Yeah, don't tell me what to do. Yeah.
Daniela Simina: I have to sit and, and ask myself, why? Is it just because the person presents a point, a viewpoint that's different than mine?
don't like being told that I'm wrong. So, um, I'm
Katie Rempe: Right.
Daniela Simina: Is, is that something that comes from an instinctive opposition? No, I am right. I know it better. I have my moments, have to admit.
Katie Rempe: Don't we all? Yes, it's like
Daniela Simina: I tend to get along with on a regular basis. Uh, someone that I would rather not receive advice from. So what is actually causing my reaction? And sometimes it's going to be, well, like when my mother used to tell me, this is the best way to do X thing. I would reject the advice, good as it was, just because it was coming from my mother. my best [00:58:00] friend or a teacher whom I liked very much would have told me the same thing, I would have jumped on it immediately. So that's something also to keep in mind when we tend to reject something. What's the reason for rejecting it? it's like this really doesn't resonate with me, I don't care who's saying it, it doesn't. Or, is it something with, that I have against the source, the advice or suggestion comes from. So that's, that's also important to consider.
Katie Rempe: pulling that tarot card that you're like, No, no, no, I don't want this answer. No. And if you go for another one, and it's like, exactly the same, but a different card, you're like, Okay, fine. I guess that maybe it was a reactionary response. Fine, whatever. Yes, I think we can all relate with that one for sure.
Spinning & Color Magic
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Katie Rempe: Are there some other simple yarn based magical techniques that crafters can [00:59:00] start incorporating into their practice that you could suggest?
Daniela Simina: Yes. This is something that it takes me all the way back to my childhood. you never tried spinning, suggest you try. I'm, I'm a really lame spinner. so this is how a lame spinner works. spinner would spin. So this is my, my spindle and my, my yarn. And it's just, I would go like, like this.
So usually I have a bowl. Okay. So it goes like this.
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: And when I, while I spin this, I think of something that I want to attract into my, my life. this is for example, red. I'm thinking that I really want good health. I'm attracting, I'm calling in good health and strengthening of my body. against any kind of potential pathogens or anything that that I am associating with, good health. is spinning. This is something that people used to do back in the day. [01:00:00] attract a partner. was a time back in the days of yore and my grandmother used to talk about
Katie Rempe: Um, Hmm.
Daniela Simina: raise your, your kids on. and this is red, which is actually suited, but, uh, I heard that, you know, ladies doing with it, I mean, using any kind of color, just spinning. And as the yarn, you know, um, gathers on, you know, the coop is being formed, they visualize.
So they go into a kind of trance. So spinning itself is, is. Almost like a trans inducing. So you go and you have, I don't have the space at this, this would sit into a ball. [01:01:00] Yeah. And, um, so yeah, it's really cramped here and I would spin this and then just looking at it and telling myself that now my purpose is, um, to attract good health. So I would be thinking of good health and my body getting stronger while I'm, I'm spinning this and then, you know, it up on the
Katie Rempe: Mm hmm.
Enchanting Pre-Made Yarn
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Katie Rempe: Mm hmm.
Daniela Simina: Get the yarn. I don't have my needles here. Um, get the yarn think of what exactly you would like to invite to attract in your life, whether it is abundance, whether it is the ideal life partner, whether it is the ideal [01:02:00] business partner, whether it is that business opportunity that you want to attract.
Again, color, whichever appeals to you. And then once you have blessed this, get into the knitting or crocheting. Something very simple that would not require that, okay, three like this and four like this,
Katie Rempe: Mm hmm. Mm.
Daniela Simina: attracting this and I'm visualizing this and with each stitch I, I add to this. That whatever I want come closer and it manifests and then you make like a sample a little square or something where you can make like a bigger object and then you carry that with you so make it small you can even actually make like a little pouch or something that you can store other [01:03:00] things like a makeup pouch or what have you that you can actually carry with you in your purse or in a pocket or whatever. Something like that. Or it could be something more fun, that you would turn into, I don't know, a little puppet. Knitted puppet. You can that into, I don't know, a little animal or toy like, um, thing to carry with you. infused with that you were putting in. So, yeah, that's the next
Katie Rempe: And by keeping it with you, it like, uh, the idea is that it tracks you because it's always with you sort of a thing, because it keeps it like top of mind also, I imagine.
Daniela Simina: hmm, mm hmm, yeah.
Katie Rempe: Hmm.
Daniela Simina: in your purse, for example, or in a pocket or something that, make a string that you can put your jewelry on. Carry it, you know, um,
Katie Rempe: Yeah. Get creative.
Daniela Simina: get get absolutely get creative in yarn is one possibility in in a million [01:04:00] You can
Katie Rempe: Right?
Daniela Simina: that are more resilient, especially if you plan to wear jewelry, you know with them yarn is not a good idea So find something that's more resilient, that will last.
Katie Rempe: Great ideas.
Future Fiber Magic Book?
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Katie Rempe: Would you ever consider creating patterns or a book aimed to crafters that could help them deepen their magical practice with fiber? Sure.
Daniela Simina: to get a little bit better myself at doing patterns and we talked, I mean patterns is an amazing thing because as I said earlier, soul speaks in symbols and you find a pattern that represents something and like its repetitiveness symbolizes growth. Its repetitiveness symbolizes the permanence of that one quality that you're seeking to attract, the permanence of, of it in your life.
It's there day after day, after day, after day. So I'm thinking now as, as we talk, the different [01:05:00] patterns could be actually adapted, to more specific purposes. Something that's wave like in its representation,
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: that help focus the intent even better, maybe. goes back to what we already covered, how people relate to different colors. I think it's the same how people relate to different patterns. So maybe not a book, something short that would appeal to especially people who are newer to this
Katie Rempe: Mm.
Daniela Simina: to yarn magic, to something that's not like a treatise and it's super intimidating. But I think that would be a great one for me to create and also adds the [01:06:00] component of, you know, the herbalism. and how to incorporate that. So a little bit of everything we discussed plus some specificities about, know, I would use this pattern to manifest this kind of thing. And I would use this pattern incorporating symbols.
Basically I would use these patterns.
Katie Rempe: Mm. Mm.
Daniela Simina: to create protection and I'll use this pattern to attract XYZ. that's something like an interesting project for me to pursue. Thank you.
Katie Rempe: Yeah, well, you know, in your free time, just letting you know, there'd be an interest for it if you happen to find, uh, you know, room in your schedule.
Daniela Simina: Oh, I will. That's,
Katie Rempe: Okay. Oh.
Daniela Simina: you know, to let go of. So yes, I will.
Katie Rempe: Good. Good. All right. Well, keep us posted and then, you know, that'll be a great, reason to have you back.
Follow Daniela!
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Katie Rempe: Well, Daniela, thank you so much for all of your amazing stories, all your advice, the demos. This was so amazing. I just know that all of our listeners are going to love this. Can you [01:07:00] please share with everyone how they can follow you, where your books are at, where you're going to be teaching, all that fun stuff.
Daniela Simina: uh, my books, and one of the books that I wrote is Fairy Herbs for Fairy Magic. So if you really need a, an herbal compendium on how to use herbs for different purposes, the one. Uh, my books are available through Amazon, but they're also available through all major book retailers like Barnes Noble. you can go to your local bookstore and if they don't have my books, Daniela Simina, everything is possible. Um, if they don't have them, they can order. The books for you. events, I have a Facebook author page, Daniela Simina author page. So that's the one. And everything that I teach always appears there. I also have a, um, Blue Sky. That's recent. I'm getting, a hang of [01:08:00] it. So it's Blue
Katie Rempe: Aren't we all?
Daniela Simina: Instagram. Same. I'm there. Daniela Simina. Instagram is actually danielasimina1. So, but if you go by danielasimina, chances are I'm the one. And this is one, you know, talking about fairies and herbs and, um, assorted shenanigans.
That's for sure me. And I do have a blog. Whispers in the twilight. I don't have much on knitting or fiber magic on it as of now But that's supposed to change based on the conversation that we just had. That's the place where I share a lot from my own personal experience And it touches a lot on how things change and meander through a person's life and how a spiritual path changes and, you can be authentic, even apparently you may not be consistent because all is change. So,
Katie Rempe: That's the only consistency is that there is usually not a lot of [01:09:00] consistency.
Daniela Simina: to
Katie Rempe: change
Daniela Simina: and I'm trying to teach more on, online.
Katie Rempe: Hmm.
Daniela Simina: through Daniela Simina author page, that's where, and Blue Sky, and you know, Instagram, that's where I will let people know when I teach my classes online. I do teach, um, called bioenergetic balance, includes, draws on various modalities, things that I've learned throughout my entire life, and then putting them together in a cohesive form. I teach Reiki. When somebody wants to learn Reiki, I teach, don't care about the bioenergetic, whatever. We just want Reiki, traditional Usui Reiki. I am certified, a Reiki master certified in the Usui tradition, so I teach that. I'll do it online as well. And, um, I do teach a course, it's like a full course on how to work with fairy beings, fairy partnerships. it covers a broader spectrum. It actually teaches how to
Katie Rempe: [01:10:00] Ooh.
Daniela Simina: in the context of various cultures. Because, yes, there is a broad common denominator that we can talk, you know, when we call fairy, fairy beings, but it's also the cultural specifics. And it's about how to get specific and how to stay generic depending on what your, your interests are. And that's a multiple level. like three, four part course. Again, I
Katie Rempe: Oh,
Daniela Simina: have it online. So just Daniela Simina author page. Everything's gonna be there.
Katie Rempe: All right, well, I'll make sure to link everything in the description so that people can find and follow you easily.
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