Summary3 min read

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode 1373: Protection Spell Jar by Cynthia Marie Hoffman
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: October 14, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Maggie Smith explores the intersection of magical thinking, emotional safety, and the rituals we create to protect ourselves, especially when facing uncertainty and fear. By reflecting on her personal talismans and daily superstitions, Maggie leads into the poem "Protection Spell Jar" by Cynthia Marie Hoffman, which chronicles a journey through obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The poem captures the longing for control and comfort in a precarious world through small, deeply personal rituals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Magical Thinking and Everyday Rituals

Personal Anecdotes:
- Maggie shares her own engagement with magical thinking, describing how she looks for meaning in moments (like making wishes at "11:11") and carries talismans—including her children's drawings—on flights.
- “While I knew logically that holding that note in my hands didn’t keep the plane in the air, I felt better when I had it with me.” (03:16)
Purpose of Rituals:
- These rituals—though not logical—provide a sense of control or safety in challenging situations, especially when circumstances are beyond one’s influence.

2. The Darker Side: When Ritual Becomes Compulsion

Understanding OCD:
- Maggie deftly transitions to explain how magical thinking, while mostly harmless, can become a trap when it spirals into obsessive compulsive disorder.
- “Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a vicious cycle. People who live with OCD have unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions. Those obsessions lead to repetitive behaviors called compulsions.” (04:09)
Examples:
- Checking locks; counting; repeating words or phrases as forms of ritualized protection.

3. Poetry as Empathy and Exposure

Introduction to Cynthia Marie Hoffman’s Poem:
- The episode’s featured piece, "Protection Spell Jar," is from a collection chronicling a woman’s experience with OCD, inviting readers to witness the inner workings of compulsive thought.
- Maggie admires the poem’s ability to immerse us in the speaker’s consciousness, revealing both the comfort and the cost of obsessive rituals.

Poem Highlight: "Protection Spell Jar" (by Cynthia Marie Hoffman)

Read at 05:06

The poem is presented as a list of objects and gestures placed in a “jar”—from “blinking, counting to the number seven” to “a star sticker pressed to the hem of a curtain.”
The collected items—mundane and magical, real and metaphorical—highlight the urgency of protecting oneself from disaster via ritual.
The poem’s ending evokes both the fragility of safety and the lingering anxiety of catastrophe:
- “Suspend disaster over the jar like a raindrop that pulls the fragile bloom down by its throat, the windshield wrapped around your body, tapping in a pattern, counting squares, the blazing heat of the star, the explosion.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On magical thinking:
- “It was as if my love for my daughter was a protection spell of its own. I wanted to believe in the power of that love, as if it were protective. Like a force field around us.” (03:30)
On the purpose of ritual:
- “Magical thinking is a way we try to protect ourselves in a world that feels unsafe. It’s an attempt to feel a little more in control when so much is clearly out of our control and it’s mostly harmless.” (03:51)
On OCD:
- “The ritual is about protection. The thinking is, if I do this, then there’s a better chance that the terrible thing that I fear won’t happen.” (04:33)
About the poem:
- “I admire the way we are invited into the speaker’s consciousness to see her mind at work.” (04:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

01:22 — Maggie Smith introduces herself and the episode's theme.
01:40 — Personal anecdotes about talismans and magical thinking.
03:51 — Reflection on why humans create rituals for protection.
04:09 — Explanation of obsessive compulsive disorder.
05:06 — Reading of "Protection Spell Jar" by Cynthia Marie Hoffman.
06:14 — Episode closes.

Tone & Atmosphere

Maggie Smith maintains gentle, empathetic storytelling, blending her lived experiences with broader reflections on mental health and poetic empathy. The featured poem deepens the contemplative tone, inviting listeners to ponder their own rituals of protection and the fine line where comfort gives way to compulsion.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:00]
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[01:22]
C
I'm Maggie Smith, and this is the Slowdown. I'm a pretty practical person, but that doesn't mean I don't entertain moments of magical thinking. I make wishes when the clock reads 11:11. I've been known to carry good luck charms or talismans, especially when I'm traveling. A piece of my grandmother's jewelry, A crystal, a little gift from someone I love. For years, when I had to get on an airplane without my children, I would take items of theirs on the plane, drawings or notes or little treasures of theirs. I would grip those items tightly during takeoff and landing and whenever there was worrisome turbulence. For a while, I was flying with a letter that my daughter Violet wrote to one of her stuffed animals, a cheetah she named Spots. The note read, hi Spots. We will play Legos after school. I loved that note, her cute little kid handwriting and the crayon drawing she did of Spots. While I knew logically, that holding that note in my hands didn't keep the plane in the air, I felt better when I had it with me. It was as if my love for my daughter was a protection spell of its own. I wanted to believe in the power of that love, as if it were protective. Like a force field around us. Magical thinking is a way we try to protect ourselves in a world that feels unsafe. It's an attempt to feel a little more in control when so much is clearly out of our control and it's mostly harmless. But in some cases, we can become trapped by our own thinking. Obsessive compulsive disorder, or ocd, is a vicious cycle. People who live with OCD have unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions. Those obsessions lead to repetitive behaviors called compulsions. People often check doors again and again to make sure they're locked, or silently count or repeat a word or phrase. The ritual is about protection. The thinking is, if I do this, then there's a better chance that the terrible thing that I fear won't happen. Today's poem is from a collection of prose poems that chronicles a woman's journey through obsessive compulsive disorder from childhood into adulthood. I admire the way we are invited into the speaker's consciousness to see her mind at work. Protection Spell Jar by Cynthia Marie Hoffman Add to the jar the blinking counting to the number seven drawing a star counting to four gold flakes panned from the creek, the whisker of a stuffed dog, a salamander freckles, star sticker pressed to the hem of a curtain, the ocean sand that scraped your cheek and the wave that turned your body over the breath of air when you were no longer drowning. The first breath after choking and the sweet chocolate melted in your throat suspend disaster over the jar like a raindrop that pulls the fragile bloom down by its throat, the windshield wrapped around your body, tapping in a pattern counting squares the blazing heat of the star, the explosion the Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram @downdownshow and bluesky.downdownshow.org foreign hi, it's Maggie. Thanks for listening to the Slowdown. Whether you press play to find calm or vivid inspiration, we're glad you're here. As a public media podcast, we rely on listener support to share these moments of poetry. Please consider donating today@slowdownshow.org donate.