Good morning, Reader

I did not send out my usual Magical Monday email yesterday because.... I forgot my tarot cards at home.

Whoops!

So I decided I'd send it out today instead but....

I forgot them again.

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No matter, though! Because I did have a book literally JUMP OUT of my shelf at me this morning and so I brought that with me. It's a book my sister Erin got for me for Christmas, and I've not read much of yet.

So today for our magical message we are doing some bibliomancy!

(Bibliomancy, if you're not familiar, is when you use a book to ask questions and divine the future instead of something like tarot or runes. It's just one more way of letting the spirit guides/angels/universe send you messages.)

So today, I'm asking this book what we need to know this week.

Here's what it says:

"These 'unruly' women may be found at the bottom, including midwives and herbwives." (p. 132)**

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In the middle ages, when men started "practicing medicine" and learning about it at colleges, they quickly took over the medical field, which had been for generations the domain of midwives and herbalists. And they imposed their "medical science" as more rational and thus safer than traditional cures.

I don't think any of us are strangers to this mindset. Today, if you have a skin ailment, you're probably much more likely to consult a dermatologist than a hedgewitch, as am I.

But here's the thing: in the middle ages, the midwives and herbalists had GENERATIONS of wisdom (passed down, maybe anecdotal or learned from trial and error, sure, but they knew what they were talking about). And they WASHED THEIR HANDS before & after treating patients.

The middle-ages medical doctors were often just sort of... trying stuff out. Using leeches to drain blood, prescribing "salt air", and they didn't even know about germs yet so they didn't wash their hands.

These powerful men, often from wealthy families, decided to use their power and privilege to turn medicine into a Profession, for which they would get paid, and set limits around who was able to participate, learn, and share their wisdom.

Even though they had *WAY LESS KNOWLEDGE* about the field than the people they were displacing.

Here's what this means for us this week:

First off, where are you doubting your own INNER wisdom, the knowing that comes from your gut, or from your own personal experience, in favor of conventional wisdom? It's important to begin noticing this, because "conventional wisdom" is just built off of one group's personal experiences (and generally it is rich white men, because they've been the ones allowed to talk the loudest and the longest) and it may or may not apply to you.

This is the week to lean into *your* knowing and power, and spend time connecting with what that is.

Journal prompts:

• What is a piece of "conventional wisdom" that feels all wrong to you? Why? What do you think is a more true point of view?
• Where in your life have you been following someone else's "knowing" instead of your own? What would change if you trusted yourself here? What might you risk?

As always, I'd love to hear what this brings up for you! Feel free to respond and let me know.

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<3 Megan

P.S. The book I used today is Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore & Fairy Tale by Sarah Robinson, but if you want to read more about the history of the specific topic of today's email I highly recommend Witches, Midwives & Nurses: A History of Women Healers​

P.P.S. Trusting your inner wisdom, even in the face of messaging that is, let's face it, actually intended to keep you playing small and feeling scared? That's the WHOLE POINT of Good Girl Deprogramming. I'd love to invite you on a call to talk about how it can change you're whole life, and fast. No strings. Just to see if it's maybe exactly what you need.