*Author’s Note: The following interview contains the phrase Crip Ritual. Crip is shorthand for cripple and is used as a reclamation of a word long used as a slur towards disabled communities.

From the sounds of birds chirping outside our windows as the Sun rises to Electro-Pop tracks blaring through our headphones, music and sound are a constant companion in most people’s lives. Even those in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities have a unique relationship to sound through the vibrations they feel and utilize throughout their lives. Sound, whether we realize it or not, is an important aspect to our daily rituals, and much like coffee we drink on the way to work or the prayers we chant while lighting our deity candles, these rituals hold spaces of intentions that set the tone for our days, weeks, and lives. 

Today I am joined by Alexa Dexa (they/them), a Sound Witch from New York who’s unique and magical relationship with Sound shines light on the magic that is found within each and every one of us and proves that magic and mysticism is something that can be accessed by everyone.

Luca: Alexa, thank you so much for joining me today. It’s wonderful to meet you. 

Alexa: It’s so nice to meet you, too! 

L: So a little about you; I know you briefly because I am a patron of Catland Books and I’ve seen your information on there. When I saw you were an Audio Witch it really piqued my interest. 

A: That’s amazing! Yes, I’m Alexa Dexa and I’m a Sound Witch; I craft and cast songspells, which is a term that I’ve coined to describe intentions that hold space for our infinite possibilities that manifest transformation as we listen more deeply to ourselves. I like to think of songspells as a seed of self and collective care and that the magic really happens in what we give our attention to and how it grows from there. 

L: I’ve always leaned into the term Witch and used it as a self-indicator for my practices. How does that word make you feel? What is your title that you give yourself; would you say it’s Sound Witch? 

A: Yeah! So I definitely consider myself a Sound Witch and I also really lean into the term Witch. I think it’s thrown around sometimes as an insult and it isn’t always treated with respect, but I think it’s a calling-in and an understanding that you have a power within yourself and a connection with your own agency outside of the systems that claim you need them in order to survive. 

L: I love that. That was so beautifully put. So where are you located? Do you practice in person or is it mostly in an online space? 

A: [Because of] the ongoing [Covid-19] pandemic, I am only online. I am chronically ill and immunocompromised so going out-and-about is not very accessible to me with the total abandonment of national and local Covid mitigation measures. I’m based in New York but I’m working with and seeing anybody anywhere in the world because [my practice] is fully online at the moment. 

L: Let’s delve in a little deeper into your practice–it’s so incredibly unique. How would you describe it to someone new to it? 

A: I like to think of it as this little sonic space, this listening space, that tunes us into ourselves and outwards . . . whichever way we need to be tuning, in order to have our intentions and let them sit with us, root deep within us, and watch how that unfolds over time. In my readings, I use my Sacrosanct Oracle//Composition Deck to offer up a space of access, comfort, and care in order to help foster these intentions into existence through songspells that we create together. 

***VIDEO DESCRIPTION: Toy chimes with two mallets sit atop a tiny baby grand toy piano. To the left of the frame are a larger baby grand toy piano and a deck of Sacrosanct Oracle//Composition cards face down. To the right is an alto xylophone. On top of the xylophone is the card “No Sadness is Insurmountable”. Alexa’s white hands reach out to hold one mallet each. Using the mallets to strike the toy chimes, an uplifting reverberant sound space is created. As the toy chimes ring out a little longer, Alexa switches to playing the toy piano with steady plunks that shimmer with density.***

L: I’ve never heard of anything quite like that before. Were you an apprentice or did you create this method? Where did it all start? 

A: I haven’t had any apprenticeships and I’m actually unaware of anyone else that does what I do. It’s a gift that I’ve really just been sitting with and that I’ve come into through my own doing. When I was younger–I have a twin sister–and when we were younger, one of our caretakers was Wiccan, so we grew up learning candle magic and spells and a little kitchen witchery! So it’s something that I’ve been around most of my life. 

L: That’s amazing! 

A: And since then I’ve sort of transitioned into this. I have my toychestral electronic pop solo project that I’ve been doing my touring with for maybe ten years before the pandemic hit. I used to take the Mega Bus around the United States for really cheap– 

L: I LOVE THE MEGA BUS!

A: Oh I LOVED the Mega Bus–and I was riding the Mega Bus like they were ready to sponsor me when I was touring. Just before the pandemic, I transitioned into making my first electroacoustic toy opera, Be a Doll. With the pandemic, I shifted my practice towards cultivating intimate online space. Now I’m making a lot of Crip Rituals that really honor Disabled brilliance and belonging. 

I’ve always been interested in music and the sonic capabilities of healing. And in the jumble and disruption of my Saturn Return, I found myself becoming what I felt was a full human again after countless existential panics by returning to my magic. With an understanding that everything I do can be influenced by that magic, I began centering myself and was able to stop dissociating and come back into my body. 

L: How would you say you channeled that magic the most? 

L: So would you consider these musical scores you create your spells? 

A: Absolutely! Once I started creating these oracle//composition cards, I realized that these sounds, for me, are songspells, and they hold within them so many intentions. For instance, pulling the card with the message “Keep Opening”, you know, when I play that card, for me, that’s my spell for the day. It keeps me grounded and centered and it resonates within me so that it can then tumble outward. 

L: I find this fascinating because I feel like this is such an incredibly unique approach to audio magic. I have to ask, though . . . why toy instruments? *laughs* What got you into that? 

L: So your practice revolves around these songspells and creating these small spaces of intention through them. What would you say is your ultimate goal with your practice? Anything in particular you hope to give out in the world? What do you hope to receive back? 

A: Yes, I love this question and for me, it’s all about collective care. When I sit down with someone for a session–I have a few different Crip Rituals that I do and one of them is called Bewitch Yourself–we meet over Zoom and we have a little chat about what kind of support we want to draw in to ourselves. It’s about recognizing where we need support at that moment and it’s holding that space within the songspell and being able to have that as something to hold onto, to root ourselves with, and to go back to as a reminder of how to access that support that we need. And when folks show up to these sessions they are also holding space for me, because this practice is a lifeline for me. 

L: This was all so beautifully put–-I feel as though your practice is so much deeper than I had originally realized and I love how many layers there are to this. I noticed you used the term Crip Rituals as a title for some of your practices. Could you expand upon what that term means to you? 

A: It’s good to note that crip is a reclamation of the ableist slur cripple and some Disabled folks have chosen to reclaim that word as a source of Disabled pride and Disabled joy; not all of us have, but I am one of those people, and that’s what Crip Ritual is to me. 

L: I love how thoughtful you are when it comes to accessibility in your practices. Would you say your practices are accessible to Deaf/Hard of Hearing folks who maybe can’t audibly hear sound? Or to people who have no background in musical theory? 

A: Accessibility is so important for me and anybody can engage with sound. I like to say you can join into these sessions with any mechanism for generating sound and a connection to experimentation and play. Helping to eliminate those barriers–using ASL interpreters, utilizing sound descriptions, offering my practices at no cost–helps to facilitate this. Because it’s not just about listening to sounds . . . it’s also about listening to ourselves and listening to the intentions we want to sit with. And however you want to enter that space and access those intentions is 100% valid. 

L: I keep saying this but that is incredibly deep. It’s so not cookie-cutter and I feel like even though there’s nothing wrong with practicing the magic of our ancestors, there is definitely something to be said about really tapping into such an individual experience with your spiritualism that is unlike any other, and I love that for you. 

A: Thank you so much! 

L: And that’s what drew me to you. Alexa, thank you again for being a part of this experience with me. Where can people find you and how can they book with you? 

A: Right now I am a recipient of the Creatives Rebuild New York Artist Employment Program, so I’m able to offer Bewitch Yourself for free for two years (through July of 2024). So anyone who wants to engage with Crip Ritual is welcome to sign up for a free session to Bewitch Yourself with me. And I feel very blessed to be able to provide this ritual for free because as I said I believe everyone has a right to access this magic regardless of whether or not you’re able to pay for it and with all access needs being able to be met.

L: As an herbal healer, I definitely understand that. Thank you again for everything and I wish you the best on your journey. Have a great rest of your night and take care. 

A: Thank you again for having me, Luca, it was so nice meeting you. Take care! 

Alexa Dexa can be found on Instagram @lopsidedart. Their website is alexadexa.com and all of their links can be found on their Linktree. Listen to their album Bewitch Yourself for an anytime cozy crip ritual. Lastly, you can find them leading classes and accepting bookings through Catland Books. 

Who would you like to see next join The Coven? Let me know in the comments below if you know anyone who may be interested in being interviewed! Until next time . . . Merry Part.