Q3 Letter from the Editor
Your quarterly introduction letter to the SHMEDIUM MAG from Editor Kieu Dang
Welcome to the $HMEDIUM Q3 Letter from the Editor!
This letter is the first page of the new edition of $HMEDIUM. If you’d like to access the rest of the mag, subscribe for $5 a month here or on Patreon.
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$HMEDIUM Mag houses diverse articles, media, strategies, readings, etc. for those looking to incorporate mindset, esoteric or spiritual alignment into their work all via an online newsletter and Notion Quarterly Zine.
Howdy Cowpokes,
We’ve moseyed into the third quarter of the 2023 professional year, and personally it feels like the end of an era and the start of something new. This issue’s theme was channeled immediately after the last issue released-like ten minutes after; which, is pretty early if you ask me.
At first I did not get it. I’m the opposite of a Country Western Witch-even though I grew up in a town that proudly boasts a spot on the National Rodeo Circuit. Also, summer doesn’t scream “YEEHAW” to me since I grew up where temps get to * checks record of when I was there three days ago * 112 fucking degrees Fahrenheit.
It came to me in the middle of my post-project snack, like a flash of lightning. Loki loves to impart messages to me in absolutely silly, meme-ified ways that are almost too fast to catch. Something about trusting my intuition in the moment before proof as an act of faith blah blah blah. It was a blip of a thought. The title along with the quickest remembrance of the chorus in John Denver’s “Country Roads Take Me Home”-as performed in the Campout Mickey’s Fun Songs Collection in the year “too far back to remember”.
I almost put it aside.
BOY HOWDY AM I GLAD I DIDN’T
Whenever something stands out, like a neon light in my thoughts, I take that as a sign or omen of some kind. “Trail Blazers of the Wild Wild Web” ended up being a prediction of my personal life and professional one. More on that in a little.
First, let’s talk about how spirituality, magic, philosophy and esoteric sciences are gaining a lot more general awareness online via social media.
Obviously no information is new: including what people are calling “New Age.” The newness is coming from digital technology; and the new magic, philosophies, practices, and people it gives exposure to. Now that the virtual spooky pool is full enough, businesses and creators are all kind of starting to produce the same work. Or they mimic each other closely. If I have to see that squigly hippie thin font one more time, I’m flipping a table Jesus in the Tabernacle style. Nobody can even read it, lol. Whoever said that was good for marketing…doesn’t know a lot about marketing. Or having eyes.
Shit is getting boring out here. Which is a good problem to have. There’s now so many of us that doing something like reading cards; talking about moon phases; or pointing out racism in belief systems isn’t taboos enough to stand out anymore. Not online at least-there’s obviously some exceptions. The creators and businesses you see standing out right now aren’t just good at their jobs from a technical or historical standpoint. They’re also exceptionally good at doing things in ways that nobody’s ever seen before. Thought leaders like this would not be able to do their work with the potency that they do, if the online esoteric environment wasn’t how it is now.
I personally remember in 2014, I first discovered that people were reading tarot via live streams. Imagine that discovery as a sheltered Christian girl, from BFE, discovering that though internet witches were really hard to find, they were there. Now, you could spit in the wind and find a “witchfluencer” or online “guru”. Anyone can show up to a certification class; memorize card meanings; have a talent for whatever spiritual gift.
⚡ We don’t invest in someone because of the product or service, but for the unique way that individual does or delivers it.
A lot of us wouldn’t be able to find ourselves through that if we didn’t work online. I wouldn’t be the person I am today in or outside of my business without Instagram and Youtube existing. The strong, individual, call it like I see it person that created three successful magical businesses; helped develop countless others in the community; and founder/editor of this magazine wouldn’t be here.
Not everyone is meant to make that a public piece of who they are, or make their living. Lao Tzu calls it “having the bones to hold the gods”. The strength and confidence to do these care and creation centered jobs? Usually bred from the troubles of swimming upstream. From being “black sheep”.
Before the internet was open for witch business, being an astrologer, healer, psychic was harder; but, it was also easier in some ways too.
More moments of malpractice. The way some of this content is just people with access to the internet, saying words they have heard, and not researched at all, is beyond annoying. It’s dangerous. Beyond that a lot of us are the social media, marketing, customer service rep, accounting, shipping manager, editor, writer and more of our businesses. That’s on top of providing spiritual care to our communities. Not everyone has “the bones” for that. Nobody should, in this crapshoot of a capitalist existence. Those of us that can do it have a hard time finding ways to do it sustainably, over time, with profit. In some cases, we realize that where our bones could support our passions being our professional paths once upon a time, they can’t forever. And that’s where I’m at partners.
I just don’t have the bones anymore.
I’ve loved the near decade I’ve spent sharing my universe online; and helping others find home in their own. I’ve contributed works that I am super proud of both as a profesh, and a soul that’s walking this earth. I know I’ve done enough to make myself and a lot of my ancestors proud-even some of the Jesus loving ones. I very earnestly hope that I’ve also helped light the torches of a lot of others, who will then go light those in their own communities, in their own way. I’m not a stranger to change. I know what it feels like when it’s time to move on; and, I feel like I’ve reached that point here.
This issue is dedicated to those who come next. The new firsts. The new pioneers of the Wild Wild Web, and those who’ve been around continuing to foster innovation. I know I leave you all in good hands!
My Prediction for This Quarter:
We are all venturing into our own final frontier. The winds of change are kicking up a lot of dust. We see it online. We see it in belief and philosophy. We see it in our communities, our friends, families. We see it in our politics and policies. We’ll also see it in our pasts, or where we’re still shaking off the dust of who we are years after we thought we’d unpacked it all. So many will be discovering newness in themselves, and newness in what’s old. This means that grounding in who we are-or in the uncertainty of who we’ve been becoming.
As we finally leave behind where we come from, and find our way home: pack your provisions of faith, trust, and love towards yourself. Nourish yourself as you also help others on the path to understanding themselves. Ready yourself with whatever products or practices you feel like you need for yourself; because those who seek you are going to need it too. Share your work authentically, in whatever strange ways all the parts of yourself come together. Nothing is beyond doing-except breathing underwater…but if you’ve got the money for snorkel gear it’s possible! Just don’t buy anything that comes with a video game controller, if you know what I mean. AND nothing is beyond doing in your own way. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I certainly am not. I’m not a pro in the spooky industry anymore; but, I am still myself.
I thank everyone new and old for being here, and honestly stick around because the $HMEDIUM will still be active. Just, whenever I feel like it, and not for my job (though I won’t say know if you kick me a couple bucks with a subscription).
I look forward to seein’ ya’ll around; and, seeing what you do in this great unknown.
Live Long, and Prosper.
Kieu