Sober Witch Life: A Spiritual Path to Recovery That Honors Your Magick
Recently, I had the joy of sitting down with Dan Reeves on the Spiritual Underground podcast—a space rooted in 12-step recovery and the transformative stories that come from it. What unfolded in our conversation was a deep exploration of sobriety, spirituality, and the courage it takes to walk a different path.
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A Familiar Beginning: The 12 Steps and the Road to Sobriety
My story, like many others, begins in pain and chaos. After two relapses in 2019, I finally reached a breaking point. My ego cracked wide open, and I had to admit—I couldn’t do this alone. That’s when I reached out to someone I hadn’t spoken to in decades and asked the simple, powerful question: “Can you take me to a meeting?”
I dove into 12-step recovery and did the 90 meetings in 90 days. I was willing. And it helped. Deeply. There’s no denying the power and structure the 12 steps offer to those who are suffering. I met longtimers who radiated peace and purpose—and every single one of them had embraced some form of spirituality that resonated with them.
But What If Your Spirituality Looks Different?
I’ve identified as a witch since I was 16. So while I felt welcome in the rooms, I often felt like a bit of a spiritual outlier. Some of the language felt limiting. Some of the rituals and practices that nourished me—like tarot, ritual work, and energy healing—weren’t part of the conversation. Even finding a sponsor proved challenging; I heard five no’s before someone said yes.
Eventually, I started to realize that my spiritual path wasn’t something to quiet or shrink in order to fit into recovery—it was something to expand.
So I picked up my tarot cards again. I began pulling for myself daily, offering free readings for others, and using those tools to access wisdom, clarity, and accountability. I noticed that my recovery deepened as my spiritual life deepened. The more I embraced my identity as a witch, the more grounded my sobriety became.
The Witch’s 13 Steps: A Path That Honors Both Recovery and Magick
Out of this journey came my book: Sober Witch Life: A Magickal Guide to Recovery. It’s a blend of memoir, ritual, journal prompts, spellwork, and sacred guidance for witches and highly sensitive souls who are navigating recovery.
The foundation of the book is the Witch’s 13 Steps to Recovery—a reinterpretation of the 12 steps through the lens of witchcraft, with an added 13th step devoted to ritual, release, and reclaiming sacred power from addiction. In many 12-step spaces, the term “13th step” has a negative connotation, especially for women. I wanted to reclaim that number as something divine, intentional, and healing.
In this version of the recovery path, we honor:
Divination and Psychic Awareness as tools for truth and guidance
Magick and Energy Work as sacred methods for transformation
Service to the World as a central calling for witches and healers
Whether you’re stirring herbs into a mocktail or pulling a card under the moon, these rituals become spiritual lifelines that help us navigate recovery with grace and power.
Holding Space for the Misfits and Magick-Makers
There’s a line in the movie The Craft that always stuck with me: “We are the weirdos, mister.” Many of us who walk a spiritual path outside the mainstream—whether we call ourselves witches, shamans, sensitives, or seekers—have felt like outsiders. That can make recovery feel even more lonely.
That’s why I lead two free recovery circles each week and continue to share this path through workshops, book events, and connection. Because recovery isn’t one-size-fits-all. And for those of us who find solace in the sacred, who feel energy deeply, who hear guidance in the wind or the cards—there’s a way for us to heal, too.
A New Kind of Fellowship
During our conversation, Dan and I spoke about the importance of community—how addiction isolates us, and how connection saves us. Whether you’re smudging into a retreat space, sharing dreams in a recovery circle, or mixing up a cauldron of herbs with intention, the real work is about coming back to yourself and being witnessed in that return.
We heal in the presence of others. We grow by walking the path—sometimes hand in hand, sometimes guided by the quiet voices of spirit.
If you’re someone who’s felt too mystical, too sensitive, or too different to feel at home in traditional recovery spaces, I hope this gives you hope. There is a path for you. And it doesn’t ask you to deny your truth—it asks you to live it.
