: Rhythm / Devotion : is a series of interviews intended to illuminate the connection to ritual & rhythm in our daily lives. This series explores the intimacy of routine, the magic of the ordinary, & how these small acts of devotion set the stage for larger workings in the world ~
What is your name & where are you in the world?
My name is Jessika Fancy and I am currently in Tiohtiá:ke also known as Montréal. I’m so thrilled to be a part of your Rhythm/Devotion series, thank you so much for asking me!
How do you define yourself & your work?
I define myself as a deeply perceptive and intuitive being who has a depth of compassion that feels like a never ending water well. My work as an artist and magic maker is intuitive, multi faceted and hopefully provides my community with portals of beauty as well as meaningful talismans. I am forever devoted to flowers and animals as well as bringing beauty into the world through my work.
Will you walk us through what a day in your life looks like? Begin with how you
greet the morning & guide us until you close off the day in the eve ~
A typical morning will involve me waking up anywhere between 7-9am. The morning is when I rejoice the most as it is my favourite time of the day. Pre pandemic I was on the road a lot, living and working out of a soccer mom mini van with my partner. My daily routine is a little more stable since being sedentary for the last year but none the less resembles something like this wherever I am.
Once I wake up, I write down any dreams that felt pertinent for me to remember, sometimes I will lay in bed and quietly reflect or listen to a meditation. I turn my phone on to check the time, the news and my emails. I’m currently off of social media and have been for over 2 months now. It has freed up a massive amount of space both energetically and emotionally. Once I get out of bed I clear my room with smoke and burn something like rosemary. I walk around my room making sweeping motions. I brush my teeth, and have a drink of water. I spritz rose water along with hemp oil on a cotton scrubby round and move it over my face in a circular motion. I open the blinds in the kitchen and say good morning to all the plants which all live there due to not having the best light in the apartment. I will boil water for tea. Lately my favourite is vanilla rooibos tea with raw honey and macadamia nut milk. Every morning I have a smoothie which my partner makes. I look forward to this breakfast everyday! I follow a somewhat strict auto immune food protocol for my auto immune disease.
I generally eat breakfast while doing some work, wether it’s planning out my to day, doing research, answering messages or packaging up some orders. Everyday is pretty different, in the sense that I am at the whim of the universe. Some days are busier than others. My work life has shifted quite a bit since the pandemic, I am not able to tattoo, so my attention has moved more towards making tangible offerings for my web shop, working on things such as my newsletter, my patreon and my poetry. At any point of the day I will peruse my flower essence library and check in to see if I’m needing support for anything.
Lunchtime rolls around and often consists of soup, or a duck egg and plantain bread sandwich, some fresh veggies, pickled or fermented items. I love to cook and I try to have all my favourites on hand.
The start of 2021 has been riddled with intense health issues so my energy levels for cooking have not been the greatest. After lunch I will often go for a walk to get some food supplies, say hello to all the new blooms, or go to the post office if I have some orders from my shop to ship. Afterwards i’ll work on more projects, clean and tidy up. I’m a bit of a busy body and I really enjoy doing things like cleaning, laundry, vacuuming. It helps me process my emotions and whatever I may be going through at the time.
Once the evening rolls around I tend to the pigeons that have made a home on our living room windowsill since January. I feed them sunflower seeds and chat with them. I’ll cook dinner, sometimes an exciting meal that requires extra prep or just left overs from lunch or the day before. My evenings are pretty quiet, sometimes my partner and I play some board games, or I will keep working on a drawing while I watch my favourite shows. I like to be in bed by 10pm and I do my best to have a rest from screen time an hour before bed. That doesn’t always happen, depending on the mood or what I’m going through. Every evening I clear my bedroom with smoke, I burn dried apple peels, rosemary or cedar. Sometimes I will pull an oracle card, flip through a book for some bibliomancy wisdom, stretch or listen to my favourite meditation podcast. I try to have lights out by 11-11:30pm.
You are an artist, potion maker, poet, & sorceress ~ how do you prepare yourself &/
or your space to enter into these practices?
Often times I will try to tidy up my work space, light a candle and burn some dried plants. Depending on what I am working on I may require more grounding. In general, I am able to energetically walk into any of my work spaces pretty easily. I think one of the biggest lessons in the last year has been with sitting with the unpredictability of sharing all your walls with other people.
Living in an apartment building is not my greatest joy but it is housing me for now and I am grateful for that. I have had to learn to let go of all the small irritations and annoyances that come with this living situation and I must admit I am not always good at it. My dream is to have a quiet studio where I can fully immerse myself in my work without any human disturbances. It’s not to say I can’t fully immerse myself right now, but energetically, it is a lot more taxing to get into that space when it’s so noisy around you.
What do you do/not do if you are feeling stuck around your work?
If I’m feeling stuck I walk away! The more I try to make it work the more frustrating it
gets. Some days things just flow easy like water, and on those days I just run with it.
If there’s a deadline and I’m feeling stuck, I just try to zone in and get it done. Sometimes
even walking away for 10 minutes can be very helpful. Stretching, a walk around the
block, making a snack or tea, drinking water, all these are great reset buttons for me.
Do you have a movement practice?
I love walking, I try to do that as much as I am able to. I’d like to be more consistent about stretching every day. I’m so good at taking care of my body in a lot of ways like with food and vitamins etc. but in other ways I just can’t seem to make it stick, and stretching is one of those things. Sometimes I’ll have a solo dance party, which I love. It helps me process my emotions.
I’m very aware that my body is not the same as when I was 20 so I am really trying to be mindful of my movements. I want to feel strong and flexible in my body until it’s time for me to leave the earthly plane and that takes a lot of dedication. I look forward to hopefully being surrounded by more green space in my next living situation which I think will inspire more movement. I find living in the city quite stifling at times. Bigger, greener spaces and less concentration of people inspire me
to move more freely.
What does structure mean to you, or what is your philosophy around ritual/routine?
I love structure but I am also a freedom seeker. As much as working for myself has brought on its challenges, it also offers me the best of both worlds. I am able to set the tone for my day and I have the freedom to move within the parameters I set. I love ritual and routine, it helps me feel safe and connected. I have loads of daily rituals, and finding magic in the mundane is one of my favourite things.
I try to be aware as much as possible, of the trap that routine can sometimes create. A sort of false impression of safety. There are times when I can get a bit stuck as I have a fear of disruption or change, though on the other hand I’ve been known to overhaul my entire life within a months notice. It’s all about the balance I suppose. Listening to the inner rumblings and not being afraid of making necessary changes when called to.
What are you listening to, reading, or watching these days?
I’m currently listening to a couple audio books from the library app I have, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer being one of them. I am also reading many poetry books and have a few on rotation by authors like Louise Glück, Sophie Wood, Audrey Lorde and my poetry teacher, Holly Wren Spaulding.
Musically I love it all, I go through moods. I find a new song, obsess over it, get inspired and make a playlist based off of that mood. I love making playlists, it reminds me of my dj days and setting a tone for the room.
As far as watching goes, I’m a sucker for good old terrible reality tv real housewives style. It is one of the ways I de-stress. I also just recently started watching “Shrill”. When it comes to tv I’m a bit of a creature of habit and will rewatch old series over and over. I love documentaries and am always searching for new ones, I’m very curious and always wanting to learn about everything! “Memory Is Our Homeland” by Jonathan Durand was one of the most beautiful documentaries I’ve seen in the last 6 months, that and “The Babushkas Of Chernobyl” by Anne Bogart and Holly A. Morris. Both movies speak to my ancestry and were both deeply moving.
Any last words of wisdom?
Do your best to cultivate patience, remember that each of us have our own timing and rhythms despite what capitalism wants us to believe. Own your level, it’s okay to not be an expert on your newest interest, it takes a lot of time to develop a craft. Honour the folks who have dedicated years to what you are currently learning and be gracious about it. Being a student is a pretty magical space to be in!
We have created a society that values fame and going viral over authenticity and compassion, don’t take the bait. If the internet dies tomorrow, who are you at the end of the day without your visible
blue check mark? Being a kind, genuine and self aware human that’s the stuff that matters (in my opinion anyways...)
How can we find your work?
You can find me through:
my website -- jessikafancy.com
my patreon -- patreon.com/jfancy
my newsletter -- art & magic
+
I also have an Instagram though I am not currently participating on the platform @jfancydesigns
Thank you so much, Jessika, for your beautiful work in this world & for sharing your rhythm devotion with us ~
.*.
I connect the flower essence of Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.) as a beautiful companion to Jessika Fancy & her work in the world.
.*.
I made in the early morning of 23.October, 2019 from chilly, dew-covered Chrysanthemum blossoms in the Moon by Moon gardens here in North Carolina.
The bright, golden blossoms of Chrysanthemum come to us late in the season ~ they arrive to us as Summer is officially offering itself to Autumn. Therefore, it is no surprise, that this essence is an ushering forth, a bright guardian as we exchange life for death; inhale for exhale; one form for the next. This essence helps us to move fluidly in this exchange, to reorient our rhythms & rituals to a new energy, to place more weight on one side of scales than the other, to turn our gaze inward, while we keep one eye open to the world outside. The gorgeous Chrysanthemum blooms are like steady lanterns to traverse the darker times, the times of uncertainty we may find ourselves in; times of distrust, of fear, of loss, or of change; in times of communing with the spirit realms & our ancestors, of searching for their well ways.
Chrysanthemum is the bright spark of ember to light the path, reminding us to keep going, that we can find illumination in the dark like stars, & it reminds us that we have the power to light the cauldron of the sun once more. This essence is full of creative energy, & encourages us to follow our artistic inclinations, to trace the patterns of our soul-work until we can live it fully. This essence is a wellspring of the pulsing knowledge of divine blending: light & dark, depths & sky, dawn & morning; then & now & soon to be.
Chrysanthemum is spirit-centered, connecting us to the dance & music of our ancestors so we may join in the reverie knowing all the words & all the steps to each song. Especially lovely for those beginning to work with their ancestors, guides, & spirit realm, or who already have a consistent practice with this work. Chrysanthemum essence makes a wonderful, gentle companion & canopy for deepening these connections, rituals, offerings, & honorings. This essence helps us to weave these practices into our daily routines with ease & elegance. This in turn opens us to receiving more insight from our guides & guardians, & it is of great use in exploring the wealth & decay of our ancestral cauldrons--acknowledging the multifaceted & complex stories from which we have be born from. Chrysanthemum essence helps us to bring all of this down to earth, & to tune our ears to the wisdom of our ancestral threads.
Call on Chrysanthemum essence to guide you in effortlessly blending & balancing your shadow & underworld work with the day-day; to feel deep ancestral connection & inspiration; to invite a sense of interconnectivity with all that came before you & all that is yet to be; to nourish the invisible threads which bind us all together throughout time & space.
.*.
Find a bottle of Chrysanthemum flower essence for yourself or a loved one here ~