BY TRISTA EDWARDS

One song that I can’t get out of my head lately is “Cherry” off Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life. I was listening to it recently on a particularly bad day when I wasn’t being too kind to myself. You know, those dreaded days when stare in the mirror with puffy, red eyes from crying and focus on everything that is “wrong” with you. No matter how much you know you are a badass, today you are letting the body image demons take control.

You know this is stupid. You know that you are stunning. You know that you are smart. You know your body is majestic. You know beauty standards are bullshit but that doesn’t stop the voices that are manifesting in your head. And worse, you feel it. Today, the voices have won and you hate what the mirror projects back to you.

I was in this state when “Cherry” started blasting from my computer. In the song, Lana sings about love, love that is difficult. There is risk in being head over heels because it could all fall apart. It is the kind of love that could ruin you but you take it on full force willing to accept the impending bullet to your heart for the temporary, intense bliss.

What really got me was the chorus:

Darlin’, darlin’, darlin’

I fall to pieces when I’m with you, I fall to pieces

My cherries and wine, rosemary and thyme

And all of my peaches are ruined.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I imagined I was singing these words to my reflection. And I did fall to pieces. I wanted to love myself with the intensity of the lovers in the song. It made me think of my love relationship with myself. I remembered that even on bad days, when self-esteem is running on low, I need to love myself fiercely.

I was inspired by the song to devise a self-love spell. This spell is for falling back in love with yourself. Crafted to spend time with your body

I wanted to share it will all you because I know some days when you are down, you need a little extra love.

Love Spell for Loving Yourself

Items:

Cherries or cherry juice
Peaches
Rosemary
Thyme
Wine
Candle

I did this spell in the bath. I wanted to spend time with my body and celebrate its nakedness and decompress in the healing water.

Before submerging myself, I added some bath salts and my favorite bath bomb and lit a plethora of candles and brought in flowers and crystals.

Set your scene. Create what feels beautiful and comforting to you. You are creating this spell for your body. Do and use what feels right. Do what makes you feel good.

Prepare the above ingredients, bringing them to the bath with you, and when ready dip yourself into the water.

After adjusting to the temperature and spending a few minutes candle gazing, I sang my love spell borrowing Lana's chorus:

Darlin’, darlin’, darlin’

I fall to pieces when I’m with you, I fall to pieces

My cherries and wine, rosemary and thyme

And all of my peaches are ruined.

My body is mine and it is divine

All of my lines are delicious as wine.

I repeated this three times and on the final time I poured the wine over the herbs and peaches. Then I poured the cherry juice in the water along with the wine soaked herbs and ate the wine soaked peaches.

Shakespeare says that rosemary is the herb for remembrance and increase the power of memory. Thyme invokes the virtues of courage and ambition. These herbs are perfect for remembering how beautiful and perfect your body is in its current state.

These herbs are both known as funeral herbs and used in ceremonies to remember the life and love of those who have passed. Metaphorically, this is also rich for the purposes of this spell because you are trying to put to death those demons in your head that tell you that you are not enough in order to remember the light you bring to the world.

Set in the bath as long as you like and relish in your body's power, the light it emanates, and the perfection of all its shapes, scars, lines, bumps and know that it is beautiful.

Trista Edwards is a contributing editor at Luna Luna Magazine. She is also the curator and editor of the anthology, Till The Tide: An Anthology of Mermaid Poetry (Sundress Publications, 2015). She is currently working on her first full-length poetry collection but until then you can read her poems at The Journal, Quail Bell Magazine, 32 Poems, The Adroit Journal, Sou’wester, Queen Mob's Tea House, and more. She creates magickal candles at her company, Marvel + Moon.