Are you happy?

It sounds simple. But for Aly Kravetz — Bronx-born witch, tarot reader, Reiki practitioner and spiritual entrepreneur — that three-word question from her mum became the pivot point for everything: leaving law school, ending a marriage, and building something entirely her own from the ground up during a pandemic.

In this episode of The Scenic Route, Aly breaks down Spellwork 101 in a way that makes complete sense even if you've never touched a crystal in your life. Because spellwork isn't woo for the sake of woo. It's energy work. It's science. It's homeostasis with better candles.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why spellwork starts on the inside and falls flat if you skip that part
• The difference between spells (external) and inner work (non-negotiable)
• How Aly used ritual to navigate divorce, find self-love and rebuild her life
• Why your nightly shower is already a cleansing ritual — no crystals required
• What gratitude actually has to do with happiness (and why they're not the same thing)
• How to start a spiritual practice when you don't know where to begin

This one is for you if you're somewhere in the middle of your life, wondering, is this it? and you're open to trying something you haven't tried yet.

About Aly Kravetz:

Aly Kravetz, aka BronxWitch, is the founder of WitchWork — the only co-working office space in NYC dedicated to spiritual and wellness practitioners — and BetterWitch Coaching, a class and coaching platform covering magic, spirituality and entrepreneurship. Aly believes spiritual work is work, and you should be getting paid for it. Everything she does is driven by one motto: #witcheshelpingwitches. A proud native Bronxite and passionate community member, she shares her journey as a spiritual entrepreneur on Instagram and hosts meaningful conversations with fellow authors, creators and practitioners on the BetterWitch Podcast, available on her YouTube channel.

Connect with Aly:
🔮 Instagram: @bronxwitch
🎙️ Podcast & YouTube: BetterWitch Podcast
🌙 Coaching, Classes & Community: BetterWitch Coaching

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🔮 DAILY DOSE OF WOO
The free Scenic Route Affirmation Card Deck is your online invitation to trust your inner voice again. What does your card say?
👉 Pull your daily affirmation

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This is your Friday affirmation. Let's pause for a breath you didn't know you were holding. Exhale.

This week's Soft Landings affirmation is for the woman who's been spring-cleaning everything except her exhaustion.

Today's affirmation: "My body knows what's good for me."

Every Spring, you're told to declutter your wardrobe, your habits, your goals, your mindset, and if you don't feel the urge, something's wrong with you. But what if the constant push to optimise is exactly what's keeping you from the rest your body is actually asking for?

This week: less doing. More listening.

Save. Share. Come back when you need the reminder. 🤍

CRAVING A SOFTER LIFE?
Soft is my monthly newsletter — reflections, small insights, and the occasional nudge toward a gentler pace. No productivity tips. Just something you can open when you want a little more space.
Subscribe to soft

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Support the show

_____________________________________________________________________

🔮 DAILY DOSE OF WOO
The free Scenic Route Affirmation Card Deck is your online invitation to trust your inner voice again. What does your card say?
👉 Pull your daily affirmation

⭐ LOVE THE SHOW?
If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating and review. It helps other midlife women find their way to the Scenic Route podcast.

Every spring, you're told to declutter your wardrobe, your goals, your relationships, and your mindset. And if you don't feel the urge? There's a low hum of guilt that says something's wrong with you.

This week on The Scenic Route, we're asking: what if that impulse isn't wisdom, and who actually benefits from the story that your whole life needs a seasonal audit?

For many women in midlife, spring-cleaning pressure hits differently. You're already navigating a season of your own — one that doesn't come with a tidy checklist. The last thing you need is Instagram telling you to declutter your chakras, too.

We trace spring cleaning back to its roots — sacred, communal rituals in traditions around the globe — and follow how it was stripped of that context to become a personal productivity obligation. We look at who the "spring-clean your life" message lands on most heavily (and why that's not a coincidence). And we get into how self-care went from a radical political act — rooted in the work of Audre Lorde — to "buy this candle."

Plus: what my body is actually doing in spring and why the in-between, messy, not-yet-blooming feeling might not be a problem to fix.

You'll come away with:

• A reframe on why you feel behind every spring
• The cultural and gendered history behind domestic "renewal" pressure
• One small invitation to try spring subtracting instead

If this made you see spring cleaning differently, share it with someone who needs permission to not optimise their way through spring.

References mentioned:
Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light (1988)

Inna Michaeli, "Self-Care: An Act of Political Warfare or a Neoliberal Trap?" (2017)

Laurie Penny, "Life-Hacks of the Poor and Aimless," The Baffler (2016)

Send me a DM

Support the show

_____________________________________________________________________

🔮 DAILY DOSE OF WOO
The free Scenic Route Affirmation Card Deck is your online invitation to trust your inner voice again. What does your card say?
👉 Pull your daily affirmation

⭐ LOVE THE SHOW?
If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating and review. It helps other midlife women find their way to the Scenic Route podcast.