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Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell, the podcast that ignites inspiring and transformative conversations about art as a magical practice. I'm your host, Edgar Fabián Frías—a multi-passionate artist, witch, therapist, and proud mutant shape-shifter. My art spells have reached audiences through social media, billboards, and skyscrapers and have even been placed on the surface of the moon! Join us as we explore how reclaiming your unique artistic voice and embracing bold creativity can transform your life and the world around you. Subscribe to the podcast and sign up for our newsletter at www.yourartisaspell.com to stay connected!
Welcome. Your art is a spell and it will
change your life and the world around you.
Welcome or welcome back to Your Art as a Spell.
I'm so excited to share today's guest with you.
Opal Starlight is an incredible hair stylist,
hair magic, created in the Bay Area. They are
also a healer. They're a witch. They work with
clothing and jewelry. And they've just created
and opened up a space called the Magic Spell
Studio that's in the Bay Area that you can
visit and get your own transformational hair
cuts and stylings there. And I wanted to bring
them on today's episode because they have such a
unique vision when it comes to hair, to adornment,
to the ritual of transforming yourself. And I
wanted to really highlight hair and clothing
and jewelry as art practices. As this season we've
been talking a lot about art that's in museums and
galleries and digital art, I really want to expand
beyond the more traditional and start to bring in
other types of creative practices into your art
is a spell because art is so expansive and touches
so many people and I'm really excited for today's
conversation with Opal Starlight for you to get to
know them and to learn more about the many magical
ways that they show up in in this world. So,
without further ado, here's my conversation with
Opal. I am so, so happy to have Opal Starlight
as today's guest for your art is a spell. What
a gift for you to be on today's episode and to
share all the incredible ways that you show
up in the world as an artist, as a healer,
as a witch. I love how expansive you are in terms
of the spaces you create, the communities you
connect with, and how you're working with creative
practice as a liberatory transformational tool for
identity and for shifting a lot of things that
need shifting in our world right now. And I would
love to invite you to share a little bit about
yourself, maybe how you got to the place you are,
a little bit about your journey. And if you want
to just start off though by introducing who you
are and how you're showing up today, Opal.
Yes, thank you so much for being here. First,
just want to say like just the name, your art is a
spell is basically my life's philosophy. So, this
is such a special moment for me to be here talking
to you. Um, and two Geminis during Gemini season
just like a really magical conversation. Yes, my
name is Opal. I have been a hair stylist since I
was 15. Um, I have had many iterations of that
job. I have gone from working in Beverly Hills
on celebrities to working underground as like a
punk stylist in San Francisco for a decade. Um,
and now I work in my own private studio. It's
called Magic Spell because I believe that hair
cuts and adornments are magic spells.
Um,
yeah. And I I just opened a couple of months ago
here. And it sort of has become the place for
all the realms of which I exist in to coexist
together. And it all centers around decorating
yourself and uh the way that I see sort of
our bodies as our as altars that we have the
opportunity to decorate and set intention with.
Oh wow. Yes. Thank you so much for sharing this.
And it's so exciting that you have a studio, a
space that people can come and visit in person.
And I'm curious, would you mind sharing a little
bit about what guided you to working with hair
and seeing hair as an artistic practice as well as
a practice of, you know, identity and, you know,
transformation? Like I'm curious how you got
started on this path. Yeah, thank you. Um, I
think the first time I colored my hair, uh, I felt
liberated in a way that I really needed. I grew up
as a queer kid in a really, really conservative
Catholic family. I went to Catholic school. I had
to wear uniforms. There was a certain way that you
were supposed to look being born in a female body,
but being non-binary. So, I felt like I was really
in this cage of self-expression that was set out
for me. And the first time I dyed my hair, I
think it was like a It was like a juicy purple
cherry cola color, just like a box dye. I was 14.
I didn't get permission and I just did it. And um
and I felt this thing, you know? I don't know.
It's just all hairdressers kind of know it.
It's like you have this moment where you're
like, "Oh, this is magic." Like this. Yeah,
our hair holds so much magic and so much energy
and when you change it, it resets you in a very
interesting and transformative way. So, I
felt that. And then I had this little cottage
industry of, you know, cute little gay boys that
would come over to my garage and get their hair
bleached. And I did that all through high school.
Um, and and then didn't want to go to school.
didn't want to go to university because I had
had such a terrible experience in high school.
I didn't expect it would be any different. Um, and
I didn't quite know what to do with my life. So,
I was like, well, I'm already doing hair. Let me
just like actually do hair. So, I went to just a
little community college beauty school and I was
quite good at it. I feel okay admitting that. Like
I feel like it it came very natural to me. like
I was the best in my class and then I was hired
to a really high-end reputable Beverly Hills
celebrity salon which felt very successful and
amazing to me like oh my gosh I'm winning right
away but what happened for sort of the next 5 to
10 years is that I slowly realized that in many
ways the work I was doing was at the service of
patriarchy at the service of western standards
of beauty. Huge percentage of my work was like
covering gray hair or making people blonde so they
could look like that perfect California girl. And
it felt like the magic that I had discovered that
brought me to this thing was being like blocked
and caged again by these systems. Um, and I didn't
know until later, but it sort of made me lose my
love of the work for a while. And then over the
last sort of seven years during the pandemic,
I opened a little hair salon in my garden
because out of necessity, I wanted to be
home with my son. I wanted to feel safe. I wanted
to make people feel safe. So, I slowly, you know,
put a chair out there and then I put a shampoo
bowl out there and I told my close clients like,
"Yeah, come over. I'll cut your hair." I would put
color on them and send them home to wash it out.
And eventually I remember I had a client and she
came did her hair in the garden and she emailed me
after she left and she said that on the way home
her husband had like noticed she was different
and and he said something to the effect of like
you seem cured. Um she had been really really
sad for a long time as many people almost all of
us had been during those years of 2020 21 22 and
continuing on. Um and the last line of it is she
said and I told him I think Opal and their garden
is magic. And so I called it Opal's magic garden
salon and I was like this is what I'm doing.
Um this is how I'm going to meet this moment. And
this is that is when the sort of healer energy in
me started to awaken and being by myself with
my clients one- on-one with my little cats,
their little witchy tails coming through, the work
became very mystical. It became very healing. It
became very special. I started to just make it my
own, to return to that feeling that I had when I
was 14 and I I first colored my own hair and fell
in love with the work. And it was such an honor,
too, to just be a place where people could
come feel safe and have a cute moment in
this magical little garden and walk away with
beautiful hair. And I really people would walk
away and I'd be like, "This is a magic spell."
like this work that we do is is so magical. Uh
yeah. Yeah. And that's what led me to oh finally
opening up this place. I couldn't be in the garden
forever, but I realized like I'll never go back to
the hair industry in the way that I had before. I
need to be an outsider. I need to be a witch
and I need to make magic um every day. Wow.
Yeah. I'm just so struck by your journey. how you,
as you said, started off by getting that feeling,
right? Like having that feeling happen when you
dyed your hair. Having this moment where you
realized that you could take control or reclaim
something that you felt had either been taken away
or that you were like boxed away from and then
moving into the hair industry and realizing that
there are some elements of it that really didn't
resonate with you. And I am hearing you share that
you're non-binary and I'm thinking about the way
that you're talking about identity, sense of self,
and also magic, witchcraft, transformation. And
I'm just really struck by how a lot of artists
start their journey with something that's like
intuitive or that really feels resonant and then
we like come across these systems, right, of let's
say it's either patriarchy or white supremacy or
capitalism that start to tell us that our art
should look a certain way or should adhere to
certain standards and that could really take away
our passion or the original reason why we started
to do what we do. And so I'm just like really
struck that you were able to find a way back to
this passion, to this sacred practice that you're
naming. And I'm just wondering what were some like
elements that supported you in that journey or is
there anything you want to share around the way
that you've reclaimed some of these practices
within your own work? Yeah, I have this one
of my favorite sayings that has applied to many
things in my life is like sometimes you get like
a beautiful gift when it's wrapped in a really
ugly package. And the the pandemic in many ways
was that for me I was exhausted and overworked
and I'm a single parent and every day was full.
So there was no room for the parts of me that
connect spiritually to the earth. There was no
room for me to step back and look at everything
that I was doing and go like, wait, what's what's
wrong here? Because something is wrong. I just was
moving forward, moving forward, moving forward.
And so when we went into those lockdowns, it was
the first time ever that I had that much space and
quiet and time to reflect. And at the same time, I
was doing a lot of healing work with psychedelics.
So I was connecting more to my spiritual
self, my higher self. I was feeling really
um like I was being liberated. Uh which is
so wild to have that happen, right? All at
the same time that like we're locked in
and and isolated. But uh for me, I really
needed that. And then working in the garden,
I have this beautiful avocado tree that's like
three stories high that sort of cradled the space
where I worked. and there were flowers and bugs
and I had to work with the elements because I
couldn't obviously work when it rained or if
it was going to be really hot. So, I I think all
of those things together helped me journey back
to myself and to who I am and who I'm supposed to
be on this planet. I also came out as non-binary
during that time which gave me an opportunity to
witness my own journey with selfexpression and
the way that my hair ties into my own identity.
I shaved my head as a sort of like release and
I buried my hair in the dirt and I watched it
turn to soil. And I think many people thought
that I shaved my head because I was non-binary
now. So now I'm more man or more masculine. But
really what I did was I just let go of any ideas,
any rules, any systems that were living within me
that said you are this, you have to look this way.
And through that exploration, I really felt the
healing magic of self-expression and of decorating
yourself and of hair and all all the ways that our
souls try to make themselves seen on this planet.
Wow. H I'm just like so touched by what you just
shared and I'm just like really feeling called to
bring in like the archetype of the hermit because
we're in a hermit year and you know I'm just
really seeing the hermit in your journey being a
person who does not conform to gender norms has a
different way of seeing the world who as you said
grew up in a conservative household but had your
own path that you needed to go on And as you found
your way back to your truth, you know, both in
terms of your identity and also of your, you know,
passion for art and hair, I really see that you
are now shining a light that is bringing so many
people towards you. And to me, that is so hermit
energy that you've really forged a path and are
now able to share it and bring it to others. And
you know, one thing I really want to highlight,
and I'd love to share some images here if you're
watching this on YouTube, so people can see some
of your beautiful art as well as your clothing and
jewelry. I, as a Gemini, I am loving the Gemininess
of your practice, like how you really expand and
um really work with adornment in so many different
ways and in ways that are gender affirming.
And I'm curious, is that something that you do
also with hair? Are you also working with folks
who are wanting gender affirming haircuts too?
Yeah, thank you for asking that. That is one
of my favorite things I do. Uh because I think
it is such a sacred exploration that um only the
most magical of humans go on. And so one it just
brings in people that I [ __ ] love that I enjoy
connecting with. I enjoy watching their journeys.
I enjoy being a place where they can come and
sort of in this private space feel comfortable
asking for what they actually want and knowing
that I'm not going to look at them and say like,
you know, you're a girl, this is the short hair
you get. And I get people at all sort of stages
of that exploration. So sometimes maybe it's
just someone who identifies as cisgender but
never really loved their hair because they're
always getting these girl haircuts. And the hair
industry has been very gendered for a really long
time. I remember like before I started thinking
in this way when someone maybe say a man with
long hair would come to get his hair done and
he would want a haircut. I remember my head being
like okay what's man long hair look like? Like
what's the difference? like how should I do this
haircut to be manly and I could never find it. I
was like there's no I don't know what I'm supposed
to do here like make it like more angular. I don't
know. So I think a lot of the hair industry is
still very gendered and then obviously we all
have internalized bias and hairdressers have that
too. So, I've worked really hard to undo any kind
of internalized bias that I have. When I speak
with someone, I'm just speaking with the human in
front of me, trying to connect to their energy, to
connect to where they're at. And then, you know,
oftentimes we go on a subtle, slow journey towards
what it is that they're trying to find. But then
sometimes also it just happens in one day and
people will sort of look at themselves with
tears in their eyes and feel really seen. And to
me like that's why I do this work. Like now I have
tears in my eyes thinking about it. It's like it
really does matter. It's not superficial. It's not
frivolous. It's important. Hair is major.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. It's major. And you know, I'm really touched
by the space that you create for people to tune
into that, to explore that, to question that.
And as you're saying that you've had to work
on yourself, to really let go of some of
this conditioning, right, that we receive
from the world. And I'm like curious for you as a
non-binary person, what that has meant for you to
reconnect with your sense of self as a non-binary
person. And also how that maybe has impacted your
either your art or how you show up in the world.
I mean, this has touched everything. Like,
there's nothing it doesn't touch. And um I'm
47 years old. I grew up in white culture where
gender was very boy or girl. And there was no
in between and there was no examples of anyone
who was non-binary. There was no stories.
You know, I was very much in queer culture,
but even that was very cisgendered. And so it
wasn't until I was about 39 40 years old that
I met my the first non-binary person that I'd ever
met in person. And I remember just in that moment
being like like some kind of calm washed over me.
It was like uh there it reminds me of like my dog
when we're out for a walk and he sees another dog
and he's been around humans all the time and then
he sees someone who's like like him, you know. or
you know it feels like I'm an alien. I've been an
alien here and now I'm seeing
another alien from my planet
and there and and that feeling the first time you
feel that or understand that it's like an answer
to a question you've been asking yourself
all day every day for me 39 years like why
don't I feel like a woman and why is it so
hard for me to perform the act of being one?
It's exhausting. So yeah, as the years have gone
by since I've come out, which has only been a few,
I one, I I feel at home in my body and in that
because it is my home, I feel a lot of pride
in how I decorate myself. I want this body to be
honored and decorated in a way that truly reflects
my soul and has nothing to do with gender. And
then there are ways in which I express myself
sort of intentionally to honor the part of myself
that had to pretend to be a woman like I grew out
my leg hair or my pit hair and I I like to make
like wear dresses and have hairy legs or you
know when I had my shaved head. Those balances
of sort of like gender stereotypes are things
I'm artistically playing with to hopefully
make some people uncomfortable. Honestly,
I like the idea of like a man seeing my boobs
and my dress and being attracted to me,
but then seeing my hairy legs and being like,
"You, you know, I I don't know. It brings
me joy. It's an it's an artistic performance
artist that I'm constantly trying to do." Um,
yeah. And then because I I I I now have
this expansive idea of what self-expression,
adornment, and decorating yourself should
be, it makes me better at my job because I'm
anytime we're thinking in bigger, broader, more
expansive terms, especially when it comes to art,
um we're just going to create a more pure, more
authentic, uh visual expression. Yeah. And you
know, I'm love the way that you make art and
I'm like curious if you have a name for the
aesthetics that you connect with. I'm just like
in awe of like how much color you play with and
the sparkles and the dreaminess. Like I want to
live in the world that you like create so badly.
That's Yeah, that's kind of it. That's
it. I I do too. Yeah. I think art is
um for me like what keeps me alive, what makes me
want to be here on this planet. And so I like to
just create the world that I want to be in, but
also it's the world that I'm now visually able to
um if it's through illustration or painting or
creating jewelry, dying fabric, that's the world I
escaped to during the hardest years of my life as
a child. I created all of these things in my head
between the ages of like five and 15. It was where
I disassociated to. It was where I went when I
sat in in church. I'm heavily inspired by stained
glass because I spent hours and hours and hours in
these dark, deep holes of Catholicism, but then
up above me was the light streaming through the
stained glass and all the color um saved me.
So, yeah, I love color. I love the magic of
color. Color has energy that I can see and I can
feel. And so when I'm creating, I just want to
communicate with color. Yeah. And I love how much
you've been doing that in the magic spell studio.
Like I just feel like it's so incredible that
you've gotten to take some of this, as you said,
lifesaving, visionary existence and bring it into
the physical form and share it with other people.
And I'm curious what that's been like to have your
own space that as you said you were doing haircuts
in your garden for a while and now you have a
space like a physical location that people can
come visit. And I'm curious what it's been like to
like decorate it and to like make it your own and
to then have people come and invite them into that
space. It's just so fun. It's the funnest thing
ever. One of my art forms that I I could couldn't
do just financially or logistically, but that I
love love love is like an immersive experience.
And maybe not so much what you see in an art
gallery, but more like just immersive spaces
that feel transformative. And so with this place,
in this moment we're in, there is so much darkness
and so much to be afraid of. I wanted it to feel
like ascending into a cloud. Like just sort of you
walk in and you're not in this timeline anymore
for just a little minute, you know, while you're
getting your hair done. So, I've just started. I
keep telling people it's a blank slate. Although
I think if most people thought they'd be like,
I don't know if this is what I would call a blank
canvas, but in your world that it is, right?
Oh, yes. It's minimalist at this moment.
Like look at this chair. Um and yeah,
so I have like a big gold moon on the wall
and that uh that's meaningful to me because
eclipse season is a big season for me. I always
do a lot of healing work during eclipse season.
Um, and yeah, I've got clouds and
I'm sort of thinking about this earth
spirit. I'm not thinking about her. She is she
has been in in me and around me since birth, but
it it's sort of just like it's not mother earth
in a in a way that maybe we often think of or see
her. It's she's very sexy. She's very like sultry,
long nails and lingerie. and she is my inspiration
for this space. So, as I go along, I'm like right
now I'm like working on this um this big pillowy
hand with these long nails and it's green and it's
sort of her hand and so that will be in here and
um big eyes on the wall and I'm sort of
putting her body parts all over the space.
Um and eventually hopefully I'll have some kind
of a studio walkthrough or a show or something
uh when I'm done. But I'm giving myself
the space to take my time with it. And
then I have the elements. I have water. I have
fire, plants. And everything I do artistically,
I also really want people to connect with nature
and to feel and remember that this earth made us.
We are made of this earth. We aren't just visiting
here. We are we are the earth. Everything here
comes from that spiritual place. And so when
you're getting your hair done or you're looking
at the little garments I dye or the jewelry and
you're decorating yourself, I want you to feel
like like connected to the way nature decorates
the earth. You know, my biggest inspiration when
it comes for adorn to adornment. Um it's just
Yeah, nature is so maximalist. Oh yes, she is a
maximalist queen. Um, yeah. Sparkles, obviously,
flowers, vines, they're all inspiration.
Yeah. And I love that you're bringing in, you
know, like bit by bit, body part by body part,
you're bringing in this beautiful spirit into
your space. And I am wondering as someone who
is intuitive and you know works with
energy and is connected spiritually,
have you noticed in giving folks haircuts that
you sometimes either like receive transmissions
or people have any like awakenings? I'm like
thinking about that client that you were
mentioning who really felt moved and changed after
getting a haircut with you. Like does that ever
happen? Like do you ever like have like moments
of psychic connection with people during haircuts?
Yeah, I was just laughing because it's like yes,
always all all the time. And it's interesting
because I uh when I opened this space, I thought I
was going to do tarot readings, psychic readings.
I'm I'm very psychic. I I connect with spirits. I
can bring through loved ones who have passed on. I
can bring through ancestors sometimes with folks.
That all happens. And I in this world, if you can
do that, then you do readings. That's what you do.
And so I thought that I would open up the space
to do that. I started to and then over the last
month I've had this like very obvious, very potent
sort of message that was like no, the hair that
you do, the work that you do as a hair stylist,
like that that is your psychic magic. Like
that's why you have these gifts. That's what you
um that's your healing work. And absolutely
I see I see it in my clients. I have people
I've been doing their hair for a decade now.
I love witnessing people's journeys through
their lives. I love watching someone come in
timid and young and unsure. And I love seeing
all the different ways that we experiment with
their identity through different haircuts and
the way they start dressing differently and
the way they start standing up and feeling
strong in the world. And it's such an honor to
do this job. I get to sort of connect with all
of these stories of people's lives. It's very
unique to be able to do that. Um, and yeah,
yeah, I love cutting hair, but as much as
I love doing hair, I love connecting with
humans and witnessing their journeys and we
go through all kinds of things together. So,
uh, and then me too, you know, it really is more
than just a professional relationship. With a lot
of my clients, we have known each other for a
very long time. We've cried together. I mean,
we went through the pandemic together.
We were all crying all the time. Um,
right.
Yeah. Uh,
so yeah, that's really special part of my work.
Wow. I I'm just really struck by how it is like
a a relationship that really helps people
explore their sense of self, grow, change,
transform. And I'm curious, you know, you brought
up earlier part of the disillusionment you had
had in the hair styling, hair cutting world was
this like adherence or like push towards western
beauty standards. And I'm like wondering is that
also part of the healing work that you've done?
And are there ways that you like approach hair
that might be a little bit different or that
bring in some of maybe, you know, more of the
magic and less of this like prescribed way of
having like westernized beauty standards that
people um feel like they have to adhere to.
Yeah, it's such a good question and um it shows
up in a lot of ways. My favorite of which now
is that I have over the last seven years I've
been developing sort of a method to help people
transition out of covering their gray hair as
it grows in. It is sort of just an accepted fact
amongst many people that once you get gray hair,
you got to cover it up because I I don't know,
God forbid you are getting older. And we have
such a twisted, stupid way of talking about
and looking at aging. It doesn't align with my
experience of getting older. I feel wiser. I feel
calmer. I feel more beautiful. I wouldn't want
to go back. I don't want to be younger. So, in
yeah,
in my work as a colorist,
I started to notice that my
least favorite thing to do
just energetically on a vibe level was people
coming in for regular appointments just to cover
their gray hair. I started calling it paying your
old lady tax. Like people would come in, they'd be
unhappy to see me because they'd be resentful of
this thing that they have to pay money for that
they have to keep up. The roots keep coming in.
It's a vicious cycle. Now they're hyperfixated
on the gray roots. They can't stop staring at them
in the mirror. It feels to me like a form of like
collective mental illness almost. And but and I do
want to make a little caveat here to say that like
I I deeply understand that professionally for some
folks in the professions they are in, they do need
to sort of hide their aging as a way to make sure
that they continue to advance at their jobs and
get respect. Unfortunately, we're not going to fix
that today. But what I started to do is I started
to just set an intention that anytime anyone asked
me about what they could do instead of coloring
their gray hair or if they asked my opinion
on what they should do about their gray hair,
that I would start moving them in the direction
of decorating around it, painting pretty colors
next to it, but not burying it. And then I also
developed a method to help people transition out
of covering their gray hair if they were already
doing that in a way that wasn't like this harsh
thing where you had to shamefully walk around
with like half colored half not hair. And I then
as I did that I watched like this magic happened
within the clients that I do that for. you know,
these women like going from sort of like being in
that prison of like this is what you have to do
because this is what everyone does to growing out
their gray, embracing the age they're they are,
embracing the way they look. It felt like a
reconnection to wildness in this really cool
way. And even the way gray hair shows shows up,
it's in these interesting patterns. Everyone's
different. Yeah. Uh, like, you know, animals have
these really cool patterns and and stripes and
streaks and dots and ways that their um their
fur, their hair uh comes in. And as humans,
we're kind of one note. But then as we get older,
we start to get these patterns and these places
where the gray comes in. And it's different for
everyone. I always say like mother nature does not
miss. Like it is so pretty and beautiful. If you
embrace it and you work with it, it's liberating.
And so the work I do around that right now is just
trying to like not treat gray hair as this frumpy
old insignificant thing and instead like elevate
it and be like gray hair is so beautiful. There
are so many things that we can do with it that
are still fun and interesting. It's so fun to cut.
Like doing a really like interesting cool haircut
on gray hair is like my favorite thing ever.
Um and then it's empowering, you know, and the
opposite of like every six weeks going to this
appointment that says like my aging body is
not okay. I need to bury it and hair dye.
Yeah.
That's that's a that's a
bad ritual. That's a that's a ritual of shame and
self disgust. Really one of my favorite things to
discover and work on. Um, and I've been doing it
and I'd love to do more of it. Anyone that wants
to come see me to work with your gray hair, to
make your gray hair more magical, to make your
gray hair feel sexy and cool or whatever the thing
is that you want to feel that you know you are.
Like I just think it's an opportunity. I don't
see it as something to cover up. I think it's I
think it's the best hair we get to have. Ah, I'm
loving what you're sharing and it's so visionary,
so expansive, so transformational. And I really
do see you as an activist in really pushing
up against some of these boxes, jails, ugly
rituals that people feel sometimes they have
to put themselves in. Whether it's feeling like
they have to adhere to a certain gender norm,
a certain age norm, you know, these are ways that
people have been imprisoned and also damaged,
right? like it really makes people feel bad about
something that can be perceived as beautiful,
wild, powerful, magical, unique. And to me, again,
like I'm like seeing that hermit energy in this
too, where you're really creating a path that
so many people are going to benefit from your
vision and your ability to really highlight the
beauty and magic in people reclaiming something
that this system has really tried to teach us
is bad. disposable. So, I just like really want
to name that what you're doing is so special,
so incredible, and I'm just like so excited
to highlight your art practice, and you know,
really wanted to bring you on because as a Gemini,
as you know, in Gemini season, I really wanted
to have another Gemini to connect with and also
someone who sees art in such an expansive way,
knowing that art really permeates through so many
aspects of our lives. And I'm curious if there's
anything that you want to invite folks to like
connect with you around knowing that they can come
visit you, but I also would love for you to share
they can see some of your art, how they can get to
know you better, and how they can get brought into
your wonderful magic spell that you're casting.
Thank you. I I think at the core of all of this,
what the one thing I want to say is that
like liberation starts from within. And
um and that it is a noble and worthy cause to
liberate yourself in any way you can from the
rules that exist for you. And part of those
rules, the rules that I like to work with or
that I like to break are the ones around how you
should look, how you should act. And so yeah,
I'm here magicspellstudio.com my website. I
created it myself. I'm trying to I really, you
know, I think you just released an episode about
this, but a lot of witches have left social media,
which for me, I'm like, well, where h how will
you find me? Because those are my people. Um,
and I have to be on there. So, I am on Instagram.
I have a very small following on Instagram that I
kind of just keep up for appearances and also
because there's some friends on there I like
to talk to some other hair stylists I like to
connect with and you know jazz up. Um yeah,
so Magic Spell Studio on Instagram. I never
post on Tik Tok but I also have a Tik Tok with
the same name. My neurodivergent brain gets too
overwhelmed on Tik Tok so I can't really be there
too much. But, uh, if you're in the Bay Area, I'm
always accepting new clients. You can email me.
All that information is on my website. If anything
I'm saying resonates with you if you're looking
for a safe space to explore your identity for any
reason, it doesn't have to be even any of the ones
that I've mentioned today. There are millions
of them. Um, I'm here for you. I want to work
with you. I I do this work because I love it. I
am honored to get to connect with people in the
way that I do and this is my life's purpose and
what a joy it is to have a purpose like this. So,
um yeah, that's it. Wow. Thank you so much for
sharing all this and I'm sure there's going to
be so many people that resonate what you've had
to share and I really want to encourage folks
to check out your website. I want to ask you,
you know, just as one last know thing to share
knowing that you're someone who is intuitive
and also knowing that we're moving through a
challenging time in this country, in this
world right now. I just wanted to see if
there's anything you'd like to share with folks
listening to this episode and maybe take a moment
if you would like to tune in and see if there's
anything that wants to come through you right now.
Yeah, I'm not going to sing it because I I just
started singing and I'm not singing for anyone
but myself right now. But I wrote this little
incantation and it goes like this. I wrote it I
I cut my son's hair. We were walking home and I
was walking behind him and it was an especially
just messed up day of news and disgustingness
and I was looking at him and and I just I heard
this song in my head and it was very simple but it
was you are much bigger than this. You are so much
bigger than this. I have always known since the
day you were born you are much bigger than this.
Wow. Thank you, Opal, so much
for being on this episode. And I
want to just invite folks to connect with you.
I'm going to be sharing all of the links that
you shared for folks to get in touch with you.
And again, I want to just thank you for being a
part of your art as a spell and for casting so
many powerful spells that touch so many humans
in this world when it's so needed right now.
Thank you, Edgar. This was so lovely. Yeah.
Yeah, that was such a precious conversation I
just had with Opal. I'm really struck by so many
things that they shared that really resonate with
some of the themes of this podcast. First off,
seeing art as a transformational magical practice
that helps you reclaim your power and also feel
a sense of belonging of identity in a world that
often tries to put us into boxes or tell us who we
are meant to be. Opal's radical visionary practice
is really also centering gender expansiveness,
gender nonconformity, and also reclaiming a
sense of beauty and presence that doesn't have
to adhere to western colonialist styles of beauty
that many people feel like they have to follow.
I'm really moved by how they're working with gray
hair as a wild asset that we should really bring
into our lives. And I'm really like looking at
the grays in my beard here, feeling so proud,
feeling so pretty and just so excited by what is
possible when you look at something that's been
seen as not beautiful or seen as not important
or frumpy, whatever words that people will like
to put on. on gray hair and flip that script and
see it as something that you should be proud of,
that you should show off, and that you should also
feel affirmed by. So, I want to really invite you
to connect with Opal, check out the offerings that
they have, and if you're in the Bay Area, go check
out their space because it sounds so magical. I
really hope I get to visit it one of these days
in person myself. And again, I'm going to be
including all of the links for Opal so that you
can connect with them here in the description. And
I want to invite you if this resonated with you,
if you have a friend who's in the hair world or
someone who is thinking about changing their own
hair or thinking about their gender or about
their grays, this is such a great episode for
you to share. And also, of course, would love to
invite you to cast your spell into the algorithm.
Give this episode a like if you're watching
this on YouTube. Subscribe and leave us a
review as all of that helps us build bigger
connections between one another. Until next time,
do not forget that your art is a spell and it will
change your life and the world around us. Bye.