Welcome

My name, Alyssa, was chosen on one of my parents’ early dates. Over a decade later, I was born—in Mississauga, Ontario. My father’s parents came to Canada from Poland and Ukraine, and my mother’s, from Jamaica. I identify as a non-binary, neurodivergent, Black-biracial woman, and an Eclectic Witch.

I grew up dancing, acting, singing, and writing. The majority of my education took place in art schools. In 2016, I moved to the Chicago to attend Columbia College, where I graduated with a BA in Cultural Studies in 2020.

By senior year I had my mind set on attending grad school in New York. But like every human at that time, the pandemic made way for redirection. I found myself weary of moving further into academia. Parts of myself I’d tried my best to foster and protect in adolescence were fading—the most treasured parts: my cultural identity, my creativity, and my magick.

Within the solitude of isolation I grew the courage to prioritize what our culture neglects. Instead of another degree, I moved to Los Angeles, and shortly after came into my identity as both an artist and a witch. I’ve learned since to allow the magick of both those roles to pour into each other.

I credit Cultural Studies for teaching me the importance of casting a wide net when seeking understanding. The discipline argues that the meaning of any cultural object cannot be explained by observing through just one lens. Only by looking from various perspectives can we come to find understanding. In those first years after school, I learned that the merits of an interconnected approach stretch well beyond the academic world.

As a person whose identities and experiences tend to lie in liminal spaces, I’ve come to cherish perspectives illuminated only at crossroads. That interconnected logic has helped heal me—someone whose inner child had been banished to their shadow. My knowledge of cultural theory changed how I relate to the world, and my place in it. It evolved my art. It grounded my spirituality. And in turn, my theoretical knowledge expanded. The personal, political, theoretical, spiritual, and creative merged, forming a foundation of understanding that affords me the ability to pursue my purpose: inciting collective healing.

All my work grows from that foundation. My writing, whether an essay, script, or zine, offer readers softness, connection, and accountability. My tarot practice is a window through which the seeker can see themselves; their strengths, growth points, and hero’s journey. Together, these works foster a precious magick: the personal and collective healing necessary to imagine a liberated and love-rooted world.

The realm of our shadows is a dark forest. Our world has been shaped increasingly in its likeness.

Within its darkness lives the horrific, but also sources of hope and wisdom—both hidden and in plain sight. We heal by connecting to those sources.

In healing ourselves, we welcome in enough light to illuminate our collective shadows.

When we see clearly, we understand. When we understand, we can heal, composting rotten roots and using that fertile ground to build something stronger.

I welcome you to my bit of that forest, and hope it offers you a source of light.