Join me for my interview with author Jenny C. Bell. We discuss neurodivergency, beginner’s witchcraft, and witchy movies!
1. For the purposes of your book “Divergent Witchcraft,” how are defining divergent?
This is such a great question, because I purposely use divergent instead of neurodivergent to open the book up to folks who feel like they process differently but don’t have any kind of official diagnosis. I use divergent as a reclaiming and a statement of power. Too many see our neurodivergence as a problem to fix. I recently heard someone on a podcast say they were teaching meditation to someone who “suffered from ADHD.” I wanted to reach through the podcast and scream at this person. We are not suffering or broken. We are divergent. We are different from the standard, but that doesn’t make us less than.
2. Which came first for you, witchcraft or identifying as neurodivergent?
Definitely witchcraft. I discovered witchcraft in middle school and felt like I was coming home. I was raised Catholic and by the age of 10 was disillusioned with it all and began actively seeking a different type of spiritual practice. I felt a sense of belonging and rightness in a solitary witchcraft practice. Later, I would meet other witches and Pagans and feel a sense of belonging that I had never felt at a church. I have identified as a witch since the age of 13.
I was diagnosed with dyscalculia in college and then later as a highly sensitive person while in therapy. Both of these differences fall under the umbrella of neurodiversity. But it wasn’t until my son’s ADHD diagnosis that I really started to understand the modern understanding of being neurodiverse. As a schoolteacher, I taught students with ADHD and Autism, but how we defined these diversities in the early 2000s is drastically different than how we define or understand them now. And more and more information is coming out every day. And actually, seeing myself as neurodivergent has been incredibly healing for me. I was always told I was too sensitive, I felt too deeply, I was weird, I had an old soul, I took things too seriously and so on. So having this label to say “aha I was born different. I was meant to be this way. I am not broken,” has been very empowering for me.
3. How did you come to practice witchcraft?
In middle school, my friend Lea was reading a Silver Ravenwolf book. I asked her about the book and she told me all about it and I wanted to know more. I went with her to Borders and picked up Scott Cunningham’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. I started reading that book and it felt both familiar and exciting. I started practicing that very day. I remember going out at night, after reading and talking to the moon and feeling so at peace. My mother was very supportive as she did Numerology charts for others and always believed in psychics and astrology. So it was an easy transition from Catholic who believes in the supernatural to witch.
4. You define the roots of witchcraft as meditation, journaling, and creating an altar. How did you decide on these three?
I decided on these roots after 30 years of practice. When writing this book, I really reflected on my own personal practice as well as my background in teaching. I really think that meditation, journaling and creating an altar give us the foundation to do the rest of the craft. If we can meditate then we can channel, commune with guides, send energy into things like candles and have a focused intention in rituals. I think of meditation as how we listen to the signs, guides and deities. Journaling is how we listen to ourselves and keep a record of what we do. The altar grounds us and our practice. It gives our practice a place to live outside of our mind and heart. These three combined give us a strong foundation to base any kind of Pagan or witchcraft practice off of.
5. In your book you say, “Meditation is the feminine reception and balance to the masculine doing and manifesting.” What led you to this conclusion?
I looked at a lot of foundational Wiccan books as well as some modern New Age approaches to the balance of feminine and masculine energy. I also studied how different world religion’s view divinity within. Many spiritual systems agree that the feminine is the dark receptive energy that we see symbolized by the yin. The masculine is that bright light busyness we see in the yang. I believe we all have both energies within regardless of gender. I also believe that most of us our stuck in masculine energy because we live in a Patriarchy. I got sick of seeing men (mostly) say that women need a divine masculine man in their life to heal their divine feminine. It honestly made me want to puke. Because that’s some patriarchal bull shit. We all need feminine healing, and we all need to do this healing within on our own. No one else can heal us. So, I wanted to offer this insight in the book to let others know that they are whole on their own. No one can heal or complete us, we complete ourselves.
6. Your book about witchcraft for the neurodivergent reads primarily as an introduction to witchcraft book. Do you think the underlying message of “Divergent Witchcraft” is that witchcraft is equally accessible to the neurodivergent?
Yes, this is most certainly a beginner’s book that is meant to be accessible to as many people as possible. I actually used these teaching standards while writing the book (read here). In Our Coven, which is a private, safe social media for witches, I get a lot of beginner witches. And what I found interesting is many of them were women who also recently got diagnosed with ADHD, Autism or AUDHD. There is an interesting correlation between neurodivergence and an interest in witchcraft. I think witchcraft is very accessible to people who are neurodivergent and offers a path where one can really create their own spiritual practice that resonates with them.
7. On a scale of mildly interested to rioting in the streets like a soccer hooligan, how excited are you that the movie for “Practical Magic 2” is releasing in September?
So like so cliché but my favorite movie is Practical Magic. And I have read all of the books in the series by Alice Hoffman. The two prequels are amazing. But I think that the movie is better than the Practical Magic book. I also didn’t love the sequel The Book of Magic mainly because of some spoilers I don’t want to share LOL. So, what I am hoping for is the sequel to follow the movie and not the book, if that makes sense. Regardless I am seeing it in theater. I also will be dressing up in something 90s. I am truly excited. And even though, you didn’t ask, I see myself as a Sally Owens and really love that character so much! And I love how all the characters dress and have definitely been thrifting more and more clothes that look that the aunts would wear them. Also love the original soundtrack. I’ll stop here because I could talk about this movie forever. Now that you know I love talking about movies it’s important to share that sometimes I am a substitute witch on the Witches Movie Coven. This show is live every Wednesday 6pm PST on YouTube with Patti Negri. We talk about movies and always cackle. It’s so fun!
8. Any final thoughts you want to share with anyone out there struggling with neurodivergency?
I definitely feel like if you think you might be neurodiverse and can’t get a diagnosis because of where you live or insurance issues (I get that) start doing your own research. There are so many Substacks, books and podcasts about living as a neurodivergent person. Surround yourself in information because it will bring comfort. I truly believe we are not broken, and we were meant to be born this way. Your diversity is not something that needs to be fixed.
9. What’s next? Do you have any upcoming projects that my readers should be aware of?
I am now co-hosting Belief, Being & BEYOND with Granddaughter Crow, you can find us on YouTube and wherever you stream podcasts. Divergent Witchcraft will be an audiobook through Simon Maverick so stay tuned for that. I am currently writing a third book on living slowly, seasonally and magically. It will be a follow-up to Divergent Witchcraft and will be a way to live the practice.
10. Parting Shot! Ask us at The Magical Buffet any one question.
What are your top 5 witchy movies?
This caused so much more chaos than you could have imagined! In the process of putting together this list I had to admit to my friends that I have never seen Hocus Pocus, and that I’m too much of a wimp to watch awesome horror witch movies such as The VVitch. And although two of my favorite witches are Ursula and Augrha, I felt like I couldn’t call The Little Mermaid or The Dark Crystal “witchy movies.”
With ALL OF THAT out of the way, here’s what I’m going with:
The Craft
Practical Magic
Bell, Book, and Candle
The Witches of Eastwick
Eve’s Bayou (not witchy per se, by my first real exposure to hoodoo in film so I have a soft spot for it.)
About Jenny C. Bell:
Jenny C. Bell is the author of Spirit Crystals: Discover Your Crystal Guide for Healing and Empowerment, Divergent Witchcraft: An Inclusive Approach to Making Magic and the Cosmic Creator Oracle deck. She is the founder of the Our Coven online community, host of the Cozy Coven Chats podcast and a practicing witch. For three decades, Jenny has practiced yoga, meditation, read tarot cards and worked with the healing powers of crystals. A Reiki master, meditation teacher and budding herbalist, Jenny uses her years of wisdom to champion others on their witchy journey. Jenny can also be found with Granddaughter Crow chatting about spirituality and what lies beyond on the podcast Belief, Being & BEYOND.
Get your own copy of “Divergent Witchcraft” here. (This is an affiliate link to my Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores throughout the United States. If you use this link to purchase the book, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.)
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