This Sunday, under the new moon, two pennies will be released. The first is a cauldron with the inscription “ars magica semper aeterna” (The magical art, ever eternal). The phrase may look repetitive with “ever eternal”, but I loved incabtory effect and the deepening of meaning. Ars magica is the making itself, the artistry of enchantment. Semper aeterna insists that this force is both unending and forever outside of time.

I think of cauldrons as blank space, much like the 11th meditation in the Tao Te Ching: “We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes it useful.” A cauldron’s power is in what we place within. Each of us carries such a vessel, a deep well into which every memory, scent, and taste is gathered. Rosemary’s fragrance that steadies us. The water we drink, carrying memory of its own. Even the little cauldrons on our desks, our melting spoons, those colorfully kaleidoscopic waxes that remind us to slow down, to notice, to mix colors like alchemists of patience and play.

This week I taught a workshop in a private home in Montecito. I never know the dynamic until we begin, yet magic always unfolds once the wax starts to melt. Conversations meander above the table, laughter threads through the room, and the group itself becomes a kind of cauldron. It is living ritual. Vital. Precious. Timeless.

So many people look at life and judge it too soon, tasting raw herbs or uncooked potatoes, comparing buffets at other tables. They forget that the ingredients before them can be transformed. With the vessel they already carry, each person has the makings of the most nourishing and magical of meals, one perfectly suited to their inner constitution, a recipe known only to them.

A cauldron is not a plastic prop with a fog machine. It is a living symbol of that deep knowing, that source of inspiration and beauty each of us carries. This new penny is an honor for me to pass along, because it carries the reminder that your art, your flow, your magic, are eternal.

These are also the only pennies I have finished by hand. I wanted them to feel authentic, like hammered metal, sparkly yet worn, so that when pressed they leave impressions as irreplicable and alive as a true cauldron. In finishing the engraving by hand, I thought of creating space for you, a vessel waiting to be filled with your own creativity.

On the reverse is a historic inscription, “All have their hobbies.” Traditionally paired with a witch on a broom, I chose instead a witch’s hat and broom. It is a playful reminder that hobbies can be magical even when misunderstood, and that humor itself is part of the alchemy. The people who came before us laughed, too, and their wit lingers in these small motifs.

This penny, like the cauldron it depicts, is an invitation: to remember that the true magic is not elsewhere, but already within you, waiting to be stirred.

The Second Penny

The second penny also launches this Sunday, and it carries a cheeky spirit.

On one side is the inscription, “we listen and we don’t judge.” This phrase, often said in jest when someone shares a wild story, belongs to the lexicon of modern friendship. It signals acceptance, permission, and camaraderie.

Yet the phrase also lends itself to playful reinterpretation. Many people add their own footnotes, such as “…unless they cross my friends” or even “…we listen and we tell the judge.” The humor lies in bending a statement of unconditional openness into something more conditional, revealing the tension between what we say and what we actually mean. In this way, the phrase mirrors the duality of human relationships: humor and loyalty on one hand, and boundary-setting on the other.

On the reverse side, the guillotine stands starkly, paired with the inscription “stay sharp.” At first glance, the blade is unsettling, but as with many symbols, its meaning unfolds through metaphor. The guillotine’s sharp edge becomes a call to vigilance. It is the instrument that cuts cleanly through falsehoods, illusions, or distractions. The phrase “stay sharp” is a reminder not to dull the senses or grow complacent, but to cultivate clarity, precision, and discernment.

Historically, the guillotine was a tool of justice, though also of terror, a paradox of mercy and brutality. In symbolic terms, it is less about bloodshed and more about the uncompromising demand for truth. To invoke it here is to suggest the necessity of discernment in our stories, friendships, and even in our judgments. Together, the two sides of the penny form a dialogue. On one side, open-hearted listening; on the other, sharp perception. The penny as a whole asks us to balance compassion with discernment, softness with clarity, humor with seriousness.

Both pennies will launch this Sunday, each carrying its own play between humor and sharpness. First, they will be released to collectors, honoring those who have supported the vision from the beginning. Later in the day, they will open to everyone else, inviting a wider circle into the conversation these designs spark.

With love,

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