Grief Magic: Rituals, Stories & Gentle Conversations about Loss

Yarrow Magdalena
  • 4.8 (78)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Biweekly

Hosted by Yarrow Magdalena, Grief Magic explores loss, grief, and healing through storytelling, books, creativity, ritual, and tarot. Each episode looks at how loss reshapes the stories we live by and how we can respond with compassion, imagination, and new possibility. Made with dreamy, neurodivergent, queer, and sensitive listeners in mind, this podcast offers steady companionship through the wild landscape of grief. Expect softness, meaning-making, and full permission to go at your own pace. Join us at https://griefmagic.com/

  1. 3d ago

    #236 Genderqueer Menopause, Aging, and Self Advocacy with Lasara Firefox Allen

    In this episode, I’m speaking with Lasara Firefox Allen, writer, educator, menopause coach, and author of the beautiful book Genderqueer Menopause. This conversation meant so much to me personally. Lasara’s work has genuinely helped me feel more hopeful, affirmed, and curious about aging, changing hormones, and living in a body that does not always fit dominant cultural narratives around gender or menopause. Together we talk about: gender expansive experiences of perimenopause and menopauseself advocacy in medical systemsgrief and identity shifts in midlifehormones beyond binary thinkingmasking, neurodivergence, and authenticityThis episode contains discussion of: chronic illnesssuicidal ideation statistics during perimenopausemedical neglectgrief and lossLasara Firefox Allen, MSW (they/them/Mx.) is a certified Menopause Doula, gender-affirming Menopause Coach, and educator specializing in inclusive midlife care. As CEO and Founder of Genderqueer Futures and Founding Coach of The Genderqueer Menopause Coach, they train healthcare providers, therapists, doulas, coaches, and other menopause professionals through the Gender-Affirming Menopause Care Certification Course, and facilitate community programs for trans and gender-expansive individuals. Their trauma-informed, evidence-based approach bridges research, somatics, and lived experience to transform menopause care. Socials: Substack: @lasarafirefoxallen Instagram: @lasara_firefox_allen @genderqueer.menopause Facebook: /lasara.wakerobin.firefox.allen (personal) and /lasara.firefox.allen (professional) as well as /genderqueermenopause TikTok: @lasarafirefoxallen and @genderqueer.menopause Here is the link to the free Creative Grief Club, which includes monthly Zoom sessions and the book group on Fable: ⁠⁠https://griefmagic.com/free/⁠⁠ Thanks for listening! Love, Yarrow

    42 min

  2. May 29

    #235 Tarot and Journaling: A Simple Grief Ritual for Everyday Life

    In this episode I'm sharing one of my favourite quiet practices: using tarot as a companion for journaling, especially through grief and times of transition. This is not about reading the cards correctly or having the right tools. It's about giving yourself a gentle structure for self-reflection, a way to move past the blank page, and permission to make your inner life feel beautiful and worth documenting. What I cover: Why journaling with tarot doesn't have to be daily, elaborate, or precious and how simplicity is actually the whole pointHow to create a dedicated writing space that makes showing up feel easySimple habits that make journaling richer: dating your pages, adding stickers and images, romanticizing the ordinary details of your lifeHow I use a single drawn card as a writing prompt, including a short body-based meditation for going deeper with the card's energyHere is the link to the free Creative Grief Club, which includes monthly Zoom sessions and the book group on Fable: https://griefmagic.com/free/ Thanks for listening! Love, Yarrow

    15 min

  3. May 22

    #234 Summer Intentions: Planning a Gentle Season When You Live Slowly

    In this episode, I talk about how to approach the summer season with intention, especially if you're living with grief or chronic illness. Winter often gives us permission to slow down and rest. Summer asks something different of us. So how do we create a summer that feels nourishing rather than demanding? I explore practical rituals for seasonal transition, from organizing your home and wardrobe to curating your summer reading list. We also talk about calendar planning, protecting your energy, and checking in with the people you love about what you all need this season. This episode is an invitation to design a summer that honours your body and your capacity. What we cover: The practice of intentional seasonal transitions Home rituals: organizing wardrobes, rotating seasonal items, stocking essentials Curating your summer reading list and letting go of books that aren't serving you Calendar planning as a form of self-care Checking in with your community about summer hopes and needs Permission to do summer differently Here is the link to the free Creative Grief Club, which includes monthly Zoom sessions and the book group on Fable: https://griefmagic.com/free/ Thanks for listening! Love, Yarrow

    12 min

  4. May 15

    #233 Reading as Ritual: How Books Support Grief and a Sensitive Nervous System

    In this episode I'm reflecting on my relationship with screens, rest, and the quiet ritual of reading. I open with an honest look at my own winter screen habits and what it felt like to step back from Netflix and return to books. From there I explore why reading matters so much right now, and why fiction, romance, and healing stories in particular are having such a significant cultural moment. What I cover: Why audiovisual media can be dysregulating for sensitive and neurodivergent people, and what reading offers as a gentler alternative The beauty of reading spaces, pink bookshelves, and healing fiction as nourishment for the grieving body Four reasons fiction is so powerful right now: narrative repair, imaginative justice, emotional rehearsal, and representation as regulation Practical ideas for building a gentle, sustainable reading practice including the Fable app, Libby, and why one page always counts Why romance is one of the fastest growing publishing genres globally and what that tells us about what we collectively need right now Here is the link to the free Creative Grief Club, which includes monthly Zoom sessions and the book group on Fable: https://griefmagic.com/free/ Thanks for listening! Love, Yarrow

    18 min

  5. May 8

    #232 Setting kind & clear boundaries with Kami Orange

    In this episode, I am in conversation with boundary coach and author Kami Orange, whose book Say the Thing offers practical scripts and phrases for communicating clearly and setting boundaries with kindness. We talk about what it really means to advocate for yourself and others, especially in moments when words feel hard to find. Kami shares how her work began, how her background shaped her relationship to boundaries, and why having language ready can be so powerful in everyday life. This conversation is both practical and deeply reflective. We explore how boundaries intersect with grief, people pleasing, relationships, and the stories we carry from the past. Kami Orange (she/her) is a boundary coach, author of Say The Thing, and a fat, queer, autistic, white, cis woman with over 19 years of experience helping people to set boundaries, speak up in defense of others, and say the things that need to be said. An international keynote speaker featured on BuzzFeed, Upworthy, CNN Health, television, radio, and various podcasts, she can also be found on TikTok @kami_orange, Instagram @kamiorange, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kamiorangeboundarycoach, YouTube @kami_orange, and kamiorange.com. You can join Yarrow free Soft Grief Club over here: https://griefmagic.com/free/ Thank you for listening! Love, Yarrow

    46 min

  6. May 1

    #231 Ten gentle investments that support me through grief and chronic illness

    In this solo episode, I share ten things I have bought or invested in to support myself through grief and chronic illness. For a long time, I hesitated to make recommendations because what we need is so personal, and we all have different budgets. This podcast is also ad free, and I want to keep it that way. But over the past few years, I have become more intentional about what I bring into my home and I have noticed a real shift in my comfort, my nervous system, and how I relate to daily life. I hope some of these hacks and ideas feel supportive to you too! You can join the Soft Grief Club over here: https://griefmagic.com/free/ Love, Yarrow

    19 min

  7. Apr 24

    #230 My fibromyalgia diagnosis: living with chronic pain, fatigue and invisible illness

    In this episode, I’m sharing my experience of being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in early 2024 and reflecting on what it means to live with an invisible chronic illness. So much of modern life is built around visibility,  sharing images, documenting our lives online, and yet the most profound experiences often happen in places no one else can see. Living with chronic pain, brain fog and fatigue has made me think deeply about what visibility actually means, and about the strange tension between a culture that expects us to perform wellness and the reality of bodies that don’t always cooperate. I talk about the long path that led to my diagnosis, beginning with an accident at the end of 2020 and years of symptoms that I initially explained away as recovery from surgeries and medication. Over time it became clear that something deeper was happening in my nervous system, and that my relationship to work, energy and daily life was changing in ways I couldn’t ignore. Learning to pace my energy has been one of the biggest shifts, as well as navigating the shame that can arise when chronic illness collides with cultural narratives about productivity, work and what a successful life is supposed to look like. This episode is also about grief - the grief of changing identities, altered expectations and futures that look different from what we imagined. At the same time, it’s been an invitation to become curious about health in a deeper way: to learn about the nervous system, trauma, sleep, and the small everyday choices that help me care for my body with more compassion. My hope is that sharing this story might help others feel a little less alone, especially if they’re navigating illness that the world can’t easily see. You are welcome to join the spring season of Soft Monday sessions over here: https://griefmagic.com/blessings/ Love, Yarrow

    27 min

  8. Apr 17

    #229 Nature as a companion in grief

    In this episode of the Grief Magic podcast, I reflect on the relationship between grief and the changing seasons. As spring returns, we explore what happens in nature during winter dormancy and how the quiet preparation of plants and trees mirrors many human emotional processes. The episode introduces gentle practices for connecting with nature, including seasonal observation, small acts of ecological care, and growing flowers such as cosmos and sweet peas. Rather than expecting nature to “heal” grief, this conversation invites us to experience the natural world as a quiet companion through cycles of loss and renewal. You are welcome to join the spring season of Soft Monday sessions over here: https://griefmagic.com/blessings/ Love, Yarrow

    22 min
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4.8
out of 5
78 Ratings

About

Hosted by Yarrow Magdalena, Grief Magic explores loss, grief, and healing through storytelling, books, creativity, ritual, and tarot. Each episode looks at how loss reshapes the stories we live by and how we can respond with compassion, imagination, and new possibility. Made with dreamy, neurodivergent, queer, and sensitive listeners in mind, this podcast offers steady companionship through the wild landscape of grief. Expect softness, meaning-making, and full permission to go at your own pace. Join us at https://griefmagic.com/

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