Chats with Aunt Jacki - Life Gets Lifey: Ancestors, Healing, and Real-World Magic with Wendy Mata

Life gets lifey—even when you are deeply spiritual, doing your healing work, and trying to stay connected to your magic. In this episode, I sit down with Wendy Mata, author of Bruja Curandera: Spells and Rituals from a Mexican Healer and Witch, to talk about ancestor work, limpias, spiritual bypassing, and what it really means to become a magical person. We talk about building a reciprocal relationship with your ancestors, setting boundaries with spirits, calling back the parts of yourself that were lost through trauma, and using cleansing work to release what no longer belongs to you. Wendy also shares why magic works best alongside therapy, medical care, practical support, and the very human process of feeling what you feel. We also explore cultural appropriation, closed practices, and the difference between respectfully learning from a tradition and claiming authority you have not earned. This is a grounded conversation about healing, responsibility, ancestry, and remembering that you are the magic.