Hi everyone, my name is Chloé Valdary and I grew up in New Orleans, LA at the intersection of multiple cultures. I am an African-American woman who grew up Christian but observed Jewish customs so I have been formed by long and winding conversations shaped by many wisdom traditions, ecologies, aromas, languages, and spices.
My spiritual and epigenetic lineage includes farmers and shepherds in the Middle East hailing from the tribe of Judea, hyper-musical forest dwellers in West Africa in the region now known as Ghana, rose and cedar wood and honey mixed together to form an incredible fragrance, and so much more. The essence of my identity is best described as in-between. I am always becoming.
Some of you may know me through Theory of Enchantment, an organization I founded in 2018 to center love and compassion in really difficult conflict zones like Israel-Palestine and race relations in a post-Obama era America. In 2020, Theory of Enchantment gained a lot of traction and I am grateful for the experience I got working with companies and nonprofits to help them succeed in building community. If you’d ever like to work with my org, please feel free to reach out on my website.
I love the idea of describing myself primarily through my relationships since relationship is really all we ever are. This has been a great and humbling realization I get to discover everyday. The biography below is my attempt to honor that fact. I encourage you to try writing one for yourself one day:
I am called Chloé Valdary and I am the daughter of Max & Tracy Valdary, sister of Gabby, Julia, Victoria & Sophia, grandchild of Richard & Shirley Lavigne, Grandpa Valdary & Mama Joan; kin to the bayou and the Gulf of Mexico, and as a native of New Orleans, I am a cousin to Huracán, Taino god of the wind, from which is derived our modern word “Hurricane.”
I am the long lost niece to the city of Shreveport, Louisiana, where much of my mother’s line hails from and a dancer and seeker of a mythopoetic life partner.
Finally I love and am beloved by the birds, the words, and the gesturing Jester, the great mystery in all things and I am honored to be a dear friend of Am Yisrael. The great task I have been given in this lifetime is is to dance and listen and praise.
In my posts I’ll be writing primarily about identity and culture. I offer a free version and a paid version of my blog. The free version is delayed and comes out, on average, one week after the paid version. I’d appreciate if you signed up and would be overjoyed if you bought a paid subscription. It would help me pay off my student loans, and, in addition, I’m hoping to achieve financial independence one day and just bask in the sunlight without having to worry about money.
Thanks for reading and for being here. See you at the stream!
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