Add some magic to the mundane by sprinkling in The Belden Witch, a source of bewitched energetic healing from high-altitude alchemy to enchanting events.
Turn sipping tea into an experience of energetic efficacy, knowing the maker perfected the blend and attuned it to the body’s physical and metaphysical alignment. Attend a Full Moon Sacred Circle & Cacao Ceremony to crack open your heart chakra, attain connection and gain community.
Jocelyn Laferriere, The Belden Witch, adopted her name in 2018 from a regular guest at her place of work, an inn nestled in the Colorado Rockies. This guest routinely returned from the nearby Belden Mine with cuts, scrapes and dry hands. Although the mine gave many locals the heebie-jeebies, Laferriere felt drawn to it. This magnetic pull, in combination with her endless witchy ailments, earned her the name from her miner guest: The Belden Witch.
Laferriere began making healing herbal remedies about 10 years ago. At first, she only gifted them to friends and family. Eventually, The Belden Witch website brand was born in 2020.
All photos by Carly Finke.
“All these new age modalities are actually ancient healing modalities, topically and internally,” Laferriere explains. People keenly label The Belden Witch’s remedial approach to herbalism, ceremonies and classes as “new age,” but these tactics have existed for thousands of years. “It’s cool to see a reawakening in people when they go, ‘hold on, something feels right here.’ ”
When it comes to intentionality, The Belden Witch provides. She believes humans are energetic beings and can feel any underlying stickiness, such as with trendy products advertised on Instagram. Customers seek authenticity, and Laferriere tests each product until she’s certain it will resonate with any buyer. Her best-seller, Wild Harvested Pine Resin Salve, takes three to four hours to harvest enough sap for nine one-ounce jars—and that’s just harvesting. Laferriere will venture into the woods and pick bits of sap off the trees, never tapping them, utilizing their natural healing elixir. Sometimes, she doesn’t find any sap, or the tree says, “don’t take this from me today.” Once home, Laferriere will dry, test and concoct the batch of sap to perfection. If she wouldn’t use the resin herself, Laferriere starts over with fresh sap. The finished product, however, is worth the wait. This magical mixture can treat scrapes, bruises, eczema, chapped lips, congestion and be applied to the soles of feet during sickness.
“I’m not selling it to anybody if it’s not perfect,” Laferriere says. “I feel like people can feel the intention behind it and this is such a big part of my life. I want my brand to be an extension of who I am, and I think it really is because I won’t allow anything other than my authentic self.”
The Belden Witch attracts anyone wanting to return to the practices of innately knowing humans are dynamic, receptive beings. Ritual kits are another one of Laferriere’s top-selling items. These kits enable the user to focus on their personal intention, tune-in with energies, evoke extraordinary vibrations and sense something otherworldly.
All The Belden Witch ceremonies and classes root in the necessity to slow down and show up as you are. For example, at a Full Moon Sacred Circle & Cacao ceremony in Minturn, anticipate profound connection to yourself and to others. Sit in a guided meditation nearby a mandala adorned with flowers, candles, crystals and herbs. Embrace pure love as you sip on heart-opening ceremonial grade Keith’s Cacao from Guatemala. Expect to leave the magical occasion rejuvenated as a physical and metaphysical being.
Find The Belden Witch at her new storefront located at 23698 Meadow Mountain Business Park, Unit B4 Minturn, CO 81645, at local farmers markets or TheBeldenWitch.com for products, ceremonies, yoga classes and, of course … magic.
“Reading the overall energy of people, we need to slow down and show up as we are.” Laferriere says. “We’ve forgotten how to be human. At these events I want to show people how to tune in and be human. Not just like I’m good, I’m fine. No one’s good all time.”
To Laferriere, we aren’t meant to incessantly go and produce. Sometimes, something within us calls for a change. We may feel called to tune inwards and slow down. Just as nature cyclically ebbs and flows, so do we.
“People are starting to look for a more holistic approach to everything,” Laferriere adds. “The fact that I can be a conduit to that is super exciting.”