Terrariums as Spiritual Practice: A Little Spell for Resistance

Be whimsical and radical against fascism...

Radical means “of, relating to, or proceeding from a root.”¹ When we resist injustice, we’re going to the root of the problem.

I like to do radical resistance through whimsical work, including spells.² This story is about a terrarium spell, a roots-adjacent activity, I concocted against fascism.

I recently showed up to a library event about death and terrariums. As a gothy femme, I’ve dabbled in macabre, floral, and botanical expressions throughout my life—especially with how much kinship I’ve felt with the story arc of Poison Ivy in the DC Universe.

Here’s what I made, and the intentions I imbued in the project as an exvangelical, witchy, and queer person.

• Red flowers for love

• Moss and mushrooms for the deep underground networks queer and other marginalized communities develop and maintain

• Skull charm to show that the garden of love is not stopped by death—rather love keeps growing and swallows even death up

• Snake charm to invoke (1) Jesus’s call the be wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16) and (2) a story from the Old Testament about snakes representing community healing (Numbers 21), as well as (3) the snake imagery in the Bible being associated with questions forbidden to ask (Genesis 2)—questions I believe we need to ask.

So, in the spirit of this terrarium—when the deathy wishes of fascism come for your community, your loved ones, your neighbors, do not comply. For empire is not stronger than death—only love is (Song of Solomon 8:6).

In other words, empires rise and fall, but love remains. So mote it be. Amen.

That’s my spell for all of us, dear readers, invoking ancient wisdom from our marginalized ancestors. And in that love, I see the spiritual,³ divine,⁴ and magickal.⁵

I want to know: what would you put in a terrarium spell? What things do you long to see in your communities and the world? Let me know in the comments.

In Wonder,

Ivy Zeller (she/they)

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1. “RADICAL,” Merriam-Webster online.

2. In Disabled Witchcraft, my book, I define spells as “words (whether written, spoken, or thought) that are intentionally and carefully chosen to direct energy toward transforming yourself or a situation or system you are in.”

3. When I describe or experience any tool/practices as spiritual, I want to acknowledge that that is not everyone’s experience. Any practice/tool I share is meant for all, regardless of spiritual label (or lack of label) or whether you experience these tools as spiritual or as some other adjective(s). Labels, while helpful in describing our experiences, are ultimately insufficient, so I want to hold space for that tension here.

4. My understanding of how god expresses godself is expansive. Basically, I conceive of spirituality as our experience with divine love and connection. But even that feels a little religious-y. Put another way, I believe spirituality is the place where we as individuals and communities connect with the “force of love that holds up the universe” (in words sometimes attributed to Julian of Norwich), whether we conceive of that love as divine or as the love shared between fellow humans/other creatures or some combination of both loves. It is the place within our bodies and our communities where we find love and connection with all who have come before and who will come after.

5. I consider witchcraft to be “spicy placebo,” and my practice is very secular. I love the definition of magick laid out in this article: “action taken to bring about internal transformation or external change.”