Everyday Magic, Made Simple with Eve of Desert Roots Apothecary

This week I'm talking with Eve of Desert Roots Apothecary to unpack everyday witchcraft, reclaim power through simple rituals, and co-create a New Year spell built from ordinary, meaningful items. The talk is candid, practical, and full of permission to do magic that fits a real life.

• what being a witch means as agency and intuition
• simple daily spells tied to chores and focus
• practical warding with herbs, sigils, and runes
• time, ADHD, and letting go of perfection
• kitchen life, shared meals, and craft in community
• mentors and folk traditions that keep magic grounded
• co-crafted spell to invite the year’s good

Visit Eve and Desert Roots Apothecary at desertrootswitches.com!

Transcript

Kimothy: 0:04

Welcome back to Your Average Witch, where once a month we talk about witch life, witch stories, and sometimes a little witchcraft. This week I'm talking with Eve, the other half of Desert Roots Apothecary. We talked about everyday simple spell work, making time for magic, and we crafted a spell to manifest the good stuff for the new year. Now let's get to the stories. Eve, hello, welcome to the show.

Eve: 0:29

Thank you. I'm so excited.

Kimothy: 0:31

Can you please introduce yourself and let everybody know who you are and what you do and where they can find you?

Eve: 0:36

Absolutely. So my name is Eve. I am the co-owner with my bestie of Desert Roots Apothecary. You can find us at DesertRootswitches.com. You can find us at Desert Roots Apothecary on Instagram, on Facebook, Pinterest, basically all of the socials.

Kimothy: 0:59

And to the listeners, if it sounds different, that's because we are actually in the same room together, which never happens. I'm testing new mics and they put me in the busiest area of the library for this. So if you hear background noise or weird things, um hi, that's where we live.

Eve: 1:19

It's ambiance.

Kimothy: 1:20

Yes, just enjoy it. Can you tell me what the word witch means to you and how it applies to yourself?

Eve: 1:28

Um, so for me personally, being a witch is kind of like a reclamation of power. Um I grew up like not very Christian, but with a lot of Christian themes. And just the older that I got, the more confining it felt and misogynistic and so on and so forth. Um, so I guess I just kind of um used it as an outlet to discover my own power as a woman, as a person. Um yeah, just a rejection of organized religion, um, embracing my authentic self instead of uh following a guideline of who and what you should be, um really leaning into my intuition as well.

Kimothy: 2:26

Do you feel like it's a religious thing for you or just a practice?

Eve: 2:35

Um what would you define religion as per se?

Kimothy: 2:40

Oh my god. I don't know, I'm the one asking the question. 

Eve: 2:42

Like involving deities. 

Kimothy: 2:46

Is it a spiritual thing, or is it like a practical practice?

Eve: 2:52

Uh I think it's both because I really lean into like mundane witchcraft. I'm very like practical, simple, what what I have time and availability to do, as opposed to really um ceremony. Yeah, ceremonial or um even involving other people. Very solitary when it comes to that. Um, so I would say it's different from religion in that way. But as far as spiritual, yeah, I would definitely say it's a spiritual thing as well. And um, I do follow deities, um, but understand when that's not part of other people's craft. I understand that it's like take it or leave it for witchcraft.

Kimothy: 3:40

Can you share any of your practice with us? Like, do you have any red consistent things that you do? It does not necessarily daily, because I I have given up.

Eve: 3:52

But yes, exactly. Um yeah, daily. No, probably nothing daily. Um really into just like mundane everyday things. So um it's kind of corny, but like starting my day with something uplifting, something that I can like focus on or manifest throughout the day, even if it's something simple, like getting all my work done on time. That's what I'm manifesting for today. Um, and then simple things in my home too. When I'm cleaning, um, I do a lot of like cleansing spells in my home, clearing out old energy, warding my home, um, that sort of thing. Nothing, like you said, ceremonial.

Kimothy: 4:46

How often do you ward?

Eve: 4:50

I'm really bad about it.

Kimothy: 4:52

I tried like wouldn't it be nice if we could just do it on the on the certain moons every month?

Eve: 4:59

No, because here is the thing, even with like, oh, do this on the full moon. I'm like, when? But when is the full moon? Because like you look at the time, it's like, well, technically it's at 2 a.m. So it's on this day. Exactly. Like with our last full moon, I was like, oh, okay, it's gonna be on this day. And then I look, oh no, it's actually 2 a.m. technically the next so yeah.

Kimothy: 5:22

Um, yeah, like I really don't know when the longest night is because is the date does anyone the morning, or is it the night before that? Or is it the night uh I don't know. So I just celebrate for two days.

Eve: 5:35

Yeah. Same. Yeah, usually with every 

Kimothy: 5:37

Also I cheat with the moon, my watch changes. 

Eve: 5:50

That is awesome. That's very convenient, yeah. Because me, I'm just like, when should I even be posting this information online? Like, should I be giving it two days? Yeah, exactly. So um, with warding my home when I remember, uh, when I see like the sigils on my dorm, I'm like, oh, those are looking a little rough. We should probably redo those.

Kimothy: 6:05

I probably do it based on my Patreon because I send out boxes and it's easy to do, like, oh, I don't know what to do for this month. I know, we'll do warding again. Is this something I need to get done instead of force myself to get it done? I'm gonna tell their people we're doing it.

Eve: 6:27

Exactly.

Kimothy: 6:37

Who or what gave you the best advice you've ever gotten? And will you share the advice with us?

Eve: 6:45

Yes, but it it's not very kind advice, I guess it doesn't sound like. But uh, one of the most important things I ever heard was you're not as important as you think you are. And um when I first heard it, I was like, oh, that's really rude. But the more it was explained to me, as your self-consciousness is going to get in the way of a lot of what you do because you think that you are being perceived by others constantly, but you are not in everyone else's mind as much as you think that you are. So that that was very freeing for me, realizing nobody's staring at me, nobody's asking, what is she doing? Why is she doing that? I'm I'm not in the forefront of everyone's mind the way that I perceive that I am. Um and also that when you project any type of insecurity onto others, like, oh, they're thinking ill of me or they're questioning me. Um, that in turn it kind of makes you the bad guy in the situation because you're assuming the worst of people. That one was kind of hard for for me to digest. Was being told, well, why are you thinking people perceive this of you when you don't know? That's kind of putting you in the bad position. So that was very freeing. 

Kimothy: 8:04

How dare you make me think of that?

Eve: 8:07

I know I really, I really did not like it when I first heard it. I'm like, no. Shut up. They're definitely giving me the face, so ow.

Kimothy: 8:24

What's the biggest struggle you have with your practice?

Eve: 8:28

Uh ADHD. Um, having time and actually setting aside, I shouldn't say having time. I'm sure I have time. Dedicating the time is something else entirely. Um I always am like, oh, I have something else I could be doing instead, or something more important. But it is important. I need to set apart the time, take the time. So and maybe perfectionism as well. Like if I don't have every single component, every little thing perfect, then oh, I'm just not gonna do it. Can't even touch it.

Kimothy: 9:08

I think probably 80 to 90 percent of the people I talk to say having enough time to do it.

Eve: 9:14

Yeah, I definitely noticed that when I was listening. It's it's kind of um… capitalism. No, for real. But it's it's comforting knowing that it's a collective issue and it's not just, oh, I'm not trying hard enough.

Kimothy: 9:31

Yeah, yeah. We're not being lazy. We just live in a hellscape.

Eve: 9:35

Basically, yes, yes.

Kimothy: 9:39

Okay, here's one of my favorite questions. Tell me about your favorite meal. What did you have? Why is it your favorite? Who was there with you and why did you eat it at that time?

Eve: 9:49

So this one is really big for me because I'm a chef. Oh, so but that's my my day job is being a chef. Um, so I've had a lot of really, really fun meals. But to me, my favorite meals have always been when we just have the most ass-kicking, chaotic, exhausting day ever. And then one of the chefs decides to make everybody food. That is the best day you could possibly have because that food is gonna taste better than anything. Because most days we're so crazy. You go 12 hours and you're like, I haven't eaten, gone to the bathroom, nothing today. So there was one meal that a chef, one of our executive chefs, made for us. We um we were serving a national football team all week. We were so busy, so exhausted, working 14, 16-hour shifts. And so he decided to make us all food and he made us uh Korean bao buns with Korean uh beef and pickled veg. And it was the most delicious thing I've ever had in my life. I dream about that food. And I'm just like, and then my my work bestie and I uh we recreated it actually recently, and we're like, oh, it's just as good as we remember. So good. Yeah.

Kimothy: 11:13

I hate when you try to and it's not.

Eve: 11:15

Yeah, well, and the thing is, is um back then I wasn't gluten-free, and now I have to eat gluten-free. So we even made gluten-free bao buns. They were amazing. It was so good. That's awesome. Okay, that makes me happy. Go get you some bao buns. They’re delicious.

Kimothy: 11:33

Compare the first spell you ever did with the most recent one.

Eve: 11:43

Um, first spell was probably like I have to have all of these, like all these components, everything has to be perfect, face the right direction. Directions, I forgot about the directions. Um, all of just the teeny tiny details. And now I'm just like, hey universe, are you listening? Okay, cool.

Kimothy: 12:11

Here's what I'm doing.

Eve: 12:13

This is what I need. Okay, thanks.

Kimothy: 12:15

Love you.

Eve: 12:18

And that's about all we have time for these days. So yeah.

Kimothy: 12:23

You don't have to answer this one. I'm just curious, but how do you do your wards? Did you do wardings like that or do you like do stuff?

Eve: 12:31

Um, wardings uh is a little bit more intentional. Um I practice Norse paganism, so my stuff usually involves like putting runes on everything. So usually I just like clear my space and then seal my doorways with protective herbs, and then just do sigils on my windows of all of the runes. So.

Kimothy: 13:00

 I go outside and wander around a lot. What two people would you say have had the biggest influence on your practice? [pauses] Those two people just scared the crap out of me.

Eve: 13:10

I- for a second thought she was gonna walk in the room and I was like, what's up? Oh my god. Um, let's see. Um, well, my bestie, Rachel, was probably the first, just because she was the first person that I ever started talking to about it, because I was really hesitant to to jump into witchcraft with my upbringing and worrying about how it would be perceived and also like not even perceived from like a Christian standpoint, but perceived from like that sort of thing is ridiculous and-

Kimothy: 13:48

“What, do you think you're a hobbit?”

Eve: 13:53

Yeah, exactly, exactly. So um, she was the first person that I found safety in having the conversations with, um, in asking like no stupid questions between the two of us. So definitely her. And um there's also this TikTok witch who I just absolutely adore. Um, her name is Vlasta, and she is like a Slavic um folk witch, and she just posts a lot of her practices and that sort of thing. A lot of her stuff is very kitchen-based, mundane witchcraft. Um, but just seeing her embracing her ancestry and her her roots and following that path instead of like diving into kind of like a neo-wiccan situation. I just really liked that. She was just very authentic to herself and very like witchcraft can be simple, it can be homey, it doesn't have to be over the top or totally involved.

Kimothy: 15:03

Okay, cool. Vlasta with a V, everyone. Do you remember a time when someone was the most kind to you? Sorry, you're good.

Eve: 15:21

Um might be kind of odd, but I have an ex who even after we split up would go out of his way to do kind things for me and help me. Um, like he knows how much I work and how chaotic my life is being a single mom. So he would like hire landscapers to come do my yard for me and that sort of thing, or send me flowers on Valentine's Day, even when we weren't together, just as like a recognition and just like kindness with no expectation of return of anything. And also I'm very like um acts of service person. So being like being loved and seen and have kindness the way that I need it was just the best. 

Kimothy: 15:56

That's so nice. 

Eve: 15:58

Yeah, it was really.

Kimothy: 16:06

Wow. Good job, guy. That's cool. Who do you think I should have on the show now that you've seen what these questions are like and what it's like to talk to me?

Eve: 16:29

Vlasta. I just would love to hear her answers to all these things. Yeah.

Kimothy: 16:37

Is there anything else you want to talk about? Anything I didn't ask that you wanted to discuss, any questions you have for me, anything going on with your business?

Eve: 16:47

Um, so in February, going to try to do the Ghoulentines event with Monsoon Mystics. So hopefully see everybody there. Um, and then in the beginning of March, we're going to be having so many more crystals added into the shop because yay too sunshine show. I am like buzzing with excitement and can't wait. I'm like, slow down, enjoy January. I'm like, no, get to February, gotta go. Um, so we'll probably also have more jewelry and that sort of thing too. And then in March, we're really wanting to host uh community cleanup events. Um, we kind of want to do like giving back to Mother Earth in the beginning of spring. So probably something around the solstice. We'll be holding one in Tucson and then also in Ridgecrest, California. Um I think that's pretty much it.

Kimothy: 17:47

Cool. Keep me in the loop about the cleanup thing. Yeah, for sure. So I ask two things of guests. Thing number one is please recommend something. It doesn't have to be witchy at all. Just whatever thing that you found recently that you're like, this thing's cool, and I need to tell everyone. Tell us.

Eve: 18:10

Um, let me think. Um I recently discovered gingerbread lattes. I don't think that that's like the coolest thing ever, but it was delicious. Made my my day. Um nice. Let's see. I think that's pretty much it. That's the most exciting thing in my life right now. Really good coffee.

Kimothy: 18:37

I'm gonna do a rec, and it is for everybody to watch Dimension 20, specifically Fantasy High, on dropout, but it's also on YouTube. So look up Fantasy High on YouTube, everyone. It has consumed my life. Thing number two is please tell me a story.

Eve: 18:54

Okay, so work is probably where I have my most adventures because we have to do crazy shit in order to stay sane. Um, there was one morning we got done making breakfast for, I don't know, 400 people. We had been there since 4 a.m. We were so tired, and so my work bestie Kristen and I are just like, we need to go take a walk outside, get some cold air in our face, take a breather for a second. So we're going on this walk, and mind you, this is like a very big resort, high-end resort, and we're walking and we see this thing laying on the ground. She's like, What is that? And walks over and picks it up, and it's a poster roll. We're like, why is there just a poster roll? We open it, and it's Robert Pattinson's Batman on this poster. What? And we're like, what is happening right now? No idea how it got there. It was laying in the grass just randomly, and we're like We know exactly what to do with this. So we went into our chef's office and we hung it up behind his desk for him. And he was a very serious, uh, very grumpy older man. And he came in, he came in in the morning. What in the fuck? But the best part, he left it. Oh good. So he just had Batman overlooking his desk for the rest of his life.

Kimothy: 20:32

Robert Pattinson's Batman at that.

Eve: 20:34

Yes, exactly. So random.

Kimothy: 20:37

Everything about that story is strange. Yes. That makes me happy. No, it just, yeah.

Eve: 20:42

The stuff like that is.

Kimothy: 20:43

How weird. And you never you never found out what it was? That's really green. It distracted me.

Eve: 20:51

But yeah, it just, yeah. I don't know. Like little things like that are the only way that we we stay sane with the amount of chaos we have to deal with.

Kimothy: 21:01

I bet. Probably crying in the freezer. I remember crying. The only service I food service I've ever worked was Burger King, which I know does not compare, but I think everybody cries in the freezer.

Eve: 21:11

Well, I I don't if having to deal with customer service at that level, yeah, that would be really a lot.

Kimothy: 21:22

Garbage.

Eve: 21:23

Yeah, it was. I mean, I I love conversing with people, but I am very thankful that I am heart of the house and not front of the house because yeah, that social battery runs out pretty quick.

Kimothy: 21:39

No, thank you. For some reason, I thought he was like wearing a green screen full body thing. I don't know what happens at this library, man. I don't come here, right? First time I've been here when I was dropping off my ballot.

Eve: 22:01

Oh my god.

Kimothy: 22:02

Will you craft craft a spell with me?

Eve: 22:05

Sure.

Kimothy: 22:07

Those two interactions, the scary two people and that green man are staying in. Because that's funny.

Eve: 22:14

Oh my god.

Kimothy: 22:15

Okay. So first we have to figure out what we're doing.

Eve: 22:20

Okay. I was thinking crafting a spell for um like inviting in all of the the good stuff for the year, manifesting all of the good for the year. Because it seems like we're already off to a really great start.

Kimothy: 22:39

Oh my god.

Eve: 22:42

And yeah. So I think that we need it. I think we need some positive energy and manifesting good things. Okay.

Kimothy: 22:51

So the way I do things is wander around and just pick things up inside and outside the house, wherever. I might even pet my cat really hard and get some fur from her. Because I love my cat and she's great. And I that's what the first thing I'm offering is this pot of love cat here. See, it's on me right now.

Eve: 23:11

Oh, perfect. You're ready to go.

Kimothy: 23:17

What are you gonna add? Let's go back and forth.

Eve: 23:21

Um, so I'm really into using all of our local plant life. Um so I think adding in um the best desert plant ever, creosote. Yes, love that smell. Best smell ever. Um, so let's add in some creosote. It's known for resilience, endurance. So we need to add a little bit of that in there.

Kimothy: 23:49

I managed to get a dwarf rose from Trader Joe's to stay alive for two or three years and it blooms.

Eve: 23:59

That's a feat.

Kimothy: 24:00

The mint dies, but this rose lives. The mint? I can't keep that alive for anything. Anyway, I have this live rose. Got it. So we're gonna take the rose petals from it and throw that in there.

Eve: 24:12

Yes. It it's it's gone through the hardship, it's making it yeah.

Kimothy: 24:17

Um but it's beautiful and it smells good and it makes me happy.

Eve: 24:23

Yeah, perfect. Um I my favorite stone, well, not my favorite, it's hard to pick a favorite. The one that I find myself drawn to the most often is calcite. I it just feels so good. It feels so good. It looks delicious. I know I can't eat it. I want to though, so I think we need to add some like orange calcite in there for… [fades out]

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