I feel like I have mentioned it before but if I haven’t. I have an interest in the occult, lore, and fairytales. It fascinates me. I will admit, it is not something I actually take too seriously. Today I got to meet up with someone who does take it seriously, let me introduce you to Yasmine.

Yasmine is Your local Gainesville Sorceress. Your first question might be what the difference between a witch and sorceress is? The answer she gave me is when someone is labeled a witch, there is a specific expectation to have a wiccan foundation. As a sorceress she feels she has more access to different paths of understanding, more energy focused.

We spoke a bit more about the occult and mysticism. While she has a strong connection to tarot cards, she also has a connection to Akashic records. This is a term I have never heard before so I asked her to expound on it a bit more. The Akashic Records are a type of visual library that bring those vast, abstract ideas down to a human level of understanding. These records are considered a library that cover everything that ever was. This occult branch grew from the Sanskrit word Akasha, meaning ether or sky.

Before I left the fay wilds with my guide, I asked if there was anything that she wanted to add or put out there. It didn’t take her long to say Unconditional love. Unconditional love for her is acceptance, tolerance, and even setting boundaries. She fully believes that unconditional love is the only thing that will save us and give us a peaceful way of living. This mindset along with gratitude she credits for saving her life.

I asked more about her spiritual path and she told me of a story where she did something a bit reckless but it turned out for the best. Before she started telling me this she did preface it by saying she wish she did it in a better way and it took her a while to repair some relationships.

A few short years ago in 2023, she needed a break from everything, she needed to get away, and she needed to do it right away. So Yasmine did exactly that, she booked a flight to Egypt and traveled across the world without telling anyone. Once she got there she had no plans, no contacts, she was alone with no safety net. The first thing she did was call family and partner when she landed. This next part she describes as divine protection, when I asked how she survived, she told me that there are actually state sponsored tours there so she was able to book a guided tour, which included a driver and places to stay.

Yasmine chose to go to Egypt because right before this trip she started working with Egyptian deities and they guided her on this path. She had no plan, and fully surrendered to the experience and guidance by the divine. While there she visited the Step Pyramid of Djoser at the oldest stone pyramid in ancient Egypt, the Giza necropolis and went to an area of Cario that was spared of most tourist travel. Cairo was the point of her travels where she made the deepest spiritual connection. She could not tell me the details due to vows, but she participated in some ancient Egyptian rites. She eventually returned to Gainesville after a week of travel there feeling fulfilled spiritually and a better space mentally.

When I reached out to her, she had just posted a photo of a wooded area behind her place which I thought looked amazing. So I asked if that was a spot we could meet up. She first said she was going to have to talk to the forest to see if it would accept a photoshoot and a conversation. Thankfully the fay that resides there gave her permission. I learned more about the forested area and the fay. Right where we were walking had a knoll. Fay are naturally drawn to knolls and grassy areas, fay is a bit of a broad term, covering fairies, pixies, to vampires and mythical creatures. This land though is a home for pixies, while they are known for trickery, she says they have formed a bit of a symbiotic relationship, even bringing them an offering this morning. I should note, we still did have to walk around with a spider stick so we didn’t walk into any webs.

As I talk to more people, I am finding that a lot of people have rough childhoods and everyone deals with that in different ways. Yasmine had to step up and get some help from doctors who prescribed her some meds for her mental health. She said that this was an important process for her and helped her get on track once she got the right meds. As she learned more about herself and her spiritual path, that knowledge started helping her. Through meditation and her personal path she was able to work with her therapist and psychologist and wean herself off of most of her medication. This to me is one of the most powerful validations of the occult and spirituality.