Every family seems to have a few things you simply don’t question, Sometimes it’s something you wear for protection, something you do for good luck or a prayer for when you’re worried, a remedy for when you’re unwell, and at least one relative who insists there’s a right way to invite abundance into the house!
Ask why, and the answer might be, “Because my grandmother taught me.” Apparently, in some families, that’s all the evidence required.
I find something beautiful about that. Before we ever choose what we believe, we’re surrounded by other people’s beliefs. We watch someone bless a doorway, tend to a particular plant, or tuck something into a loved one’s bag to keep them safe. These gestures become familiar, we know who does them, when they do them, and sometimes even the words they’ll say but we just don’t always stop to ask what we’re witnessing.
Which makes me wonder, how much magic have we overlooked simply because we grew up with it?
In one home, it’s a prayer, in another a charm, somewhere else it’s an herbal bath prepared exactly the way an elder taught them. Each has its own story, its own meaning, and its own understanding of what makes it work. Whether we call it magic, faith, superstition, or a little hocus pocus, there’s something deeply human about wanting to protect the people we love and welcome a little more goodness into their lives and perhaps that’s where learning to recognize our family’s magic begins, with paying attention to the things we’ve always taken for granted.
Ask about the necklace someone never takes off. The flowers they leave beside a photograph. The words they whisper before blowing out a candle. There may be a whole story behind something you’ve walked past for years. A story about a wish, a difficult season, or someone who taught them what to do when they needed a little help from the unseen. Honoring these traditions means making room for those stories. Learning the names of the plants, remembering who taught the prayer, writing down the details we assume we’ll always remember. It means giving these practices enough care that the next person receives their meaning along with their instructions.
After all, “this is how we do it” becomes a lot more powerful when we understand why.
There’s always room to learn from one another, too. Someone else’s family tradition might help you recognize something in your own. Their relationship with a symbol, a season, or a familiar herb might invite you to look more closely at yours. We can appreciate those differences, listen when people choose to share, and carry that curiosity back into our own practice. Maybe strengthening the magic around us starts there, with a little more attention, a few better questions, and the willingness to believe that something familiar can still hold a mystery.
So the next time someone says, “My grandmother always did it this way,” pull up a chair because there might just be more to the story.