Day 30: And So It Is — The Power of Unwavering Belief

My closing ritual is not elaborate. There are no extra steps, no second-guessing, no bargaining with the universe. My closing ritual is an unequivocal belief that what I asked for is already happening.

Once I’ve asked, once I’ve whispered the petition, once the spell has been cast or the intention spoken, I let it go with certainty. Not hope. Not wishing. Certainty.

And that belief didn’t come from nowhere. It was forged early.

Let me tell you a story.

I was in sixth grade, attending a magnet school focused on science and math. My partner and I were competing in the science fair. Our project was humble. No fancy materials. No expensive display. Just a cardboard board with neatly glued pictures and handwritten notes about our chosen subject: the American Black Bear.

That was it.

But what we lacked in presentation, I more than made up for in knowledge.

I had spent hours in the library reading everything I could get my hands on about Black Bears. Their habitats. Their behaviors. Their diets. Their role in the ecosystem. I was overflowing with information, bursting at the seams with facts, waiting for someone to ask me a question so I could share what I had learned.

And I did.

I was the one who spoke to every judge that came by. Mind you, English was my second language, and back then it was still rusty. I had only recently started learning it. But none of that mattered to me. Not the accent. Not the imperfect grammar. Not the fear of being misunderstood. I communicated anyway. Enthusiastically. Passionately. Confidently.

I knew my subject.

When the fair ended, we left our project behind and started walking down the hallway back to class. My partner broke the silence and said, “I don’t think we’re going to win.”

I remember stopping and looking at her.

She was wrong. I knew she was wrong.

“Nope,” I said. “We got this in the bag. We’re going to win.”

She stared at me like I had lost my mind, shook her head, and kept walking. She thought I was crazy. I thought she was crazy.

A few hours later, we were sitting in class when the intercom crackled to life. They were announcing the science fair winners. First place for Natural Sciences.

The American Black Bear study.

Ours.

I turned around slowly, looked at her, and said, “I told you.”

She laughed as we got up to head to the auditorium to receive our ribbons. And in that moment, something fundamental locked into place inside me.

I am capable of amazing things.
Great things happen to me.
And I don’t doubt it.

That belief has followed me my entire life.

It doesn’t mean I don’t work hard. It doesn’t mean I don’t struggle. It doesn’t mean I haven’t faced obstacles, rejection, or heartbreak. But underneath all of that, there has always been a knowing. A quiet, unshakeable confidence that when I commit fully, when I speak with conviction, when I show up prepared and passionate, things move in my favor.

That belief is the foundation of my closing ritual.

After a spell.
After a prayer.
After a whispered intention.

I don’t revisit it with anxiety. I don’t keep checking to see if it’s “working.” I don’t ask again and again from a place of fear. I close the ritual knowing the universe, God, Goddess, the Mother — whatever name resonates — has heard me.

And it’s already in motion.

This is not arrogance. It’s trust.

Trust in my preparation.
Trust in my intuition.
Trust in the unseen forces that move when we speak with clarity and confidence.

Doubt weakens energy. Certainty anchors it.

“And so it is” is not a phrase I say lightly. It’s a declaration. It’s the moment I step out of grasping and into receiving. It’s the moment I align myself with outcomes instead of obstacles.

That sixth-grade girl didn’t need proof to believe she would win. She already knew. And every time I close a ritual now, I tap back into her energy. The girl who didn’t let language barriers stop her. The girl who trusted her knowledge. The girl who spoke anyway.

My closing ritual is simple because belief is powerful on its own.

Once I ask, I release.
Once I release, I trust.
Once I trust, I move forward as if it’s already done.

And so it is.

#brujaPractices #closingRituals #faithAndTrust #intentionSetting #manifestationBeliefs #personalPower #spiritualConfidence

Stepping Into Softness: Introducing the 30-Day Soft Bruja Challenge and a Little Bit of Me

There are seasons in life when the world feels too loud, too heavy, too demanding. Seasons when your mind is cluttered with a thousand to-do lists. Seasons when you feel stretched thin between caring for others, pursuing your dreams, and trying to hold on to the tiny rituals that remind you who you are. Lately, I have been in one of those seasons. My writing, my family, my career, my creative journey, and the emotional weight I carry all collided at once. And while I kept moving, I could feel myself drifting further away from the quiet parts of my spirit.

So instead of pushing harder, I decided to soften.
I needed a gentle reset.
I needed ritual.
I needed magic.
I needed a return to self.

That is how the 30-Day Soft Bruja Challenge was born.

Before I tell you what the challenge looks like, let me introduce myself to those who are new here, because who I am deeply shapes what this challenge is about.

30 days soft bruja challenge by Have a Cup of Johanny

Who I Am and Why I Created This Space

My name is Johanny “Joa” Ortega, a Dominican American writer, indie author, and storyteller who lives at the crossroads of magical realism, psychological horror, and cultural identity. I write for the girl who felt split between two cultures. The girl who grew up with her mother’s stories, her grandmother’s rituals, and the unspoken rules of survival in immigrant households. The girl who felt ordinary on the outside but carried storms on the inside.

That girl is me.
And that girl is Marisol, the main character of my novel The Ordinary Bruja.

I grew up around a particular kind of magic. Not the witchy aesthetic that dominates social media, but the quiet, subtle magic that lives in immigrant homes. The rosaries that hang on door handles. The prayers whispered over boiling pots. The superstitions that become second nature. The spiritual cleansing your mother insists on even when she never calls it brujería. The moments that feel divine and ancestral at the same time.

I write from that place.
I create from that place.
I live from that place.

But somewhere in the last few months, as life became overwhelming, I drifted away from my softer routines. I forgot the power of slow mornings, intentional nights, grounding rituals, and ancestral whispers. I forgot the magic woven into the everyday.

So I created a challenge that would guide me back.
And then I realized… many of you might need that same gentle path too.

What Is the 30-Day Soft Bruja Challenge?

This challenge is a month-long journey designed to help you reconnect with yourself through small, cozy, witchy, culturally rooted prompts. It is not about becoming a witch or practicing a specific spiritual path. It is about honoring the ways magic naturally shows up in your life. It is about softness, self-care, intuition, and cultural memory.

Each day gives you a simple prompt that encourages reflection, creativity, and grounding energy. Some are practical. Some are emotional. Some are nostalgic. Some are spiritual. But none of them are overwhelming. This challenge is meant to feel nourishing, not stressful.

Some examples include:

• your morning ritual
• your favorite protective charm
• your favorite tea
• a superstition you still carry
• a cozy night routine
• your favorite tree
• a one word spell
• a message to your younger self
• a gratitude ritual

Every prompt is an invitation. A moment to slow down and reconnect with your intuition. A pause in your day to ask yourself what you need, what you remember, and what you hope to reclaim.

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Why Soft Bruja Energy Matters Right Now

Soft bruja energy is gentle and grounding. It is the opposite of hustle culture, perfection culture, and the need to constantly perform. Soft bruja energy says:

You do not have to be powerful in loud ways to be powerful.
You do not have to be fierce to be worthy.
Your intuition deserves your attention.
Your softness is not a weakness.
Your culture is a source of magic.
Your emotions matter.
Your rituals matter.
Your spirit matters.

For many of us, especially those who grew up in immigrant families or culturally mixed spaces, softness was not always safe or encouraged. Strength meant silence. Survival meant hustle. Our mothers and grandmothers didn’t always have the luxury of softness.

We do.

This challenge honors them by honoring ourselves.
It is healing the line by healing the individual.

How the Challenge Connects to My Writing

If you have been following my journey, you know that my upcoming novel The Ordinary Bruja explores themes of identity, ancestral memory, psychological warfare, and the quiet magic that lives in the ordinary. Marisol, the main character, spends her life doubting herself. She feels small. She feels disconnected from her culture and her worth. She feels haunted in more ways than one.

Her journey is about remembering who she is.
Remembering where she comes from.
And remembering the magic she carries.

The Soft Bruja Challenge is not a marketing gimmick for the book. It is a reflection of its emotional heart. A way for readers to understand the atmosphere of the story through lived, gentle experience.

When you light a candle with intention, when you walk a path that grounds you, when you hold an object that reminds you of home, when you speak a word that feels like a spell, you are connecting to the same emotional world Marisol walks through.

This challenge invites you into the atmosphere of the book long before you turn the first page.

An Invitation to Begin

Whether you join every day or only some days, whether you post about it or keep it private, this challenge is yours to shape. You can journal, film, photograph, meditate, or simply take a quiet breath for each prompt. You can move through the days in order or follow them intuitively.

The point is not perfection.
The point is connection.

If you are feeling tired, overwhelmed, spiritually drained, creatively blocked, or simply curious about reconnecting with your inner magic, this challenge is your soft landing place.

I invite you to walk with me for the next thirty days.
To soften.
To remember.
To breathe.
To return.

Your magic has always been there. Let’s uncover it together.

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