The Witching Hour

How to clear your space of bad vibes & throw a good party

Rabbit, rabbit! It’s been a few days since my witchy gathering in the apartment and I wanted to share more about how it came together and why it felt so impactful.

Since moving to Brooklyn, I’ve hosted parties fairly regularly. Julia and I loved to have parties at our first apartment, I’ve held lots of happy hours for This Needs Hot Sauce, and at this current apartment, I’ve held housewarmings, birthdays, and Super Bowl Gatherings. My family loves to entertain, with events like Latkes and Vodkas and Passover Seders. I’ve never hosted something on my own, in my own space, but I decided I wanted to very shortly after the breakup.

I set the date about a month in advance and it coincided with a new moon, which felt very appropriate. I knew I wanted to sage and I also thought of letting go and burning strips of paper since that’s something everything could participate in. I usually am all for plus ones at parties, but I didn’t have them here because it felt like a vulnerable space and I wanted keep it pretty intimate. Almost twenty people came, which was so sweet, and also showed me how many people the apartment could fit! I made a partiful with these image and seeing the RSVPs flow in when everything was still super fresh was so reassuring.

I’ve lived in this apartment since late 2021 and so many of my memories here are with another person. I kept looking around that night trying to imprint my friends’ faces and sounds into the space. This is my space now (and soon my cat’s) and I want it to be a space that’s open and welcoming to family and friends and feels like the softest place to land.

As someone who loves to plan (understatement), I embraced designing the evening and was really happy with how it turned out. My party etiquette rule is to send regrets after the fact, so the host doesn’t get a bunch of cancellation texts right before. With small gatherings, it’s a little different, but one way to be a great party guest is to send a message a few hours before about how excited you are! And you can never have too much seltzer at a party, so it’s always a safe thing to bring.

First up: Supplies!

Then we’ll get into a run of show.