From Sisters to Aunties, to Mommy: How the Ahari Clan is Maturing Their Family Legacy
Let’s face it. Most millennials would rather adopt the title of aunty before claiming any permanent position in a child’s life. In this economy, we can’t blame you… but in the spirit of Halloween, embracing the unknown might bring new blessings our way.
On the other hand, when you were raised upon a firm and steady family foundation and have a powerhouse family supporting you, you start to reconsider your options. Perhaps that is why Eria Ahari, the baby of the Conjure Family Clan, is ready to wear the title of mom loud and proud. Just a week ago today, she welcomed her little one into the world, and in this season of new beginnings and spooky surprises, her journey couldn’t be more timely. We shot this story in July when Eria was a little smaller, capturing her journey leading up to this beautiful moment.
In this month’s edition of Mature Magazine, we are joined by two-thirds of the Ahari sisters—the model and singing duo Eria and Chaela. The two discuss how Eria’s recent step into motherhood has brought them closer together, their upbringing and family values, such as the practice of Hoodism, and how they intend to use these values to raise the next generation of Aharis.
Halloween may be about the mysteries lurking in the shadows, but for Eria, it’s about stepping boldly into the unknown and finding joy on the other side.
MATURE: Eria, your pregnancy is coming to a close. What are some of the lessons you’ve learned over the past 9 months?
ERIA: Definitely selflessness. I think a lot of new moms don't realize how much you have to give up to create this life and to make sure they get here safely…sacrificing your eating habits, what you drink, what medicine you take. It's a big sacrifice and it comes with a lot. I've just learned that he comes first above anything and everything. It's definitely taught me to mature. My mom always taught us that every decision has a consequence. So the same applies with being a mom. It's one decision that could change everything. Even being careful with the things that I do when I get upset… I definitely can say I matured a lot.
MATURE: Chaela, can you recall the day and moment your sister told you that she was pregnant?
CHAELA: I don't remember too much about the day, but I do remember for sure how I felt. I was very shocked, but also kind of, not too shocked because I knew she would have kids before me. I think everybody knew I'd be the last one. When I did find out,I think I kind of went into protective mode. I'm her bigger sister, l’m not the oldest … But I was like, ‘oh my gosh!’ This is a really huge journey, huge moment to go through, and I just been wanting to support her every step of the way. Honestly, I’ve learned more about motherhood and pregnancy too through helping her and through her whole experience. So all of it has been a learning journey for both of us really.
MATURE: What are some values that you have grown up on that you want to keep as you raise your child and are there any that you want to do away with?
ERIA: With my nieces and my nephew, I see that mom-figure in me. I noticed I'm a lot like my mom when it comes to the things she instilled in us like discipline, discernment, practicing restraint, morals and respect. We were always taught to treat other people the way we want to be treated, two wrongs don't make a right. I want to instill all of these things in my son. But our upbringing was different as girls. It was a little more strict. With a boy, you wanna toughen him up, but not too much to the point that you make him numb. I want him to have all of those things, but I also want him to respect women, be respectful to elders, and know how to talk to people. When you are strict with your kids, they think, ‘I can’t come to mom, she won’t understand.’ I want him to understand that he can come to me. There's nothing that will ever be
too hard, that I can't help you fix. Even if I can't fix it, you got Grandma. You got auntie. You’ve got another auntie. You have a village. Don't run from me just because you're afraid. I used to run from a lot of responsibility and felt like, I can't tell mom about it..but you know mother's intuition. So I definitely want to be gentle with him in that way to make sure that he doesn't he doesn't fear consequences.
MATURE: I want to dive into a conversation about spirituality especially as we inch closer to Halloween. You girls were very much raised upon Hoodism. For someone who has never heard of this before, describe what this practice is?
CHAELA: Hoodoo is a practice that actually originated in America through slavery. It was a way for Africans to still be in tune with their own spirituality while they were in America. It works mostly with elemental magic- Earth, water, air, fire to manifest. It also involves using elements like different herbs and plants because the idea is that they contain the spirit. The spirit has an intention that helps you push out what you want to manifest. For example, we all know roses are meant to resemble love. So the idea is that roses might be a spirit of love. If you have an idea or an intention relating to love, you could use roses to help you manifest your intention.
MATURE: What does this practice look like daily?
CHAELA: Hoodism encompasses many different aspects. It can be one and done or it could be something done on a daily basis. For instance, you can make an altar and use herbs and different oils to send out an intention for manifesting love. It could be something for a daily basis. For example, if you want to make what's called a mojo bag. A Mojo bag will have different herbs or other other things to help you manifest such as crystals. You can make it a bag of intention that you carry with you, speak over it and carry that energy of that intention that you want to manifest. Let's say you want a Mojo bag for money or luck in finances, you could put shredded money in it, like herbs like cinnamon, adventuring or quartz crystals to help you manifest money and keep that in your mojo bag, speak over it, carry it with you and that's like your good luck charm.
MATURE: What do both of your Hoodism practices look like?
CHAELA: I use black salts in the corner of my home but I don’t need to do it on a daily basis.There's some things I mostly do for maintenance purposes. I'll keep a Black obsidian or Black tourmaline under my bed at night to protect me while I sleep. I have my own Mojo bag as well that I keep with me. My mom's candles and her products are made with hoodoo so I use her body oils daily. I like to use her charm which really helps with my confidence. I just like the idea of setting an intention and wearing that on me too. I switch it out for whatever I'm feeling at the moment. I go off at the intention of the moment.
ERIA: Similar to Chaela I strongly agree with going off the intention of the moment. I use the souffles and the lotion, especially the guardian and the protection lotion. Especially since being pregnant, I make sure his energy stays protected as well. When I first moved into my home, I did a fiery wall which is basically, taking a handful of a concoction that is mixed with different herbs and you throw it out your front door to keep all bad intentions, evil energy and bad people away from your house. Also, I sage the house if I hear something funny or get a weird vibe.
MATURE: During Halloween, people like to embrace certain spirits and try practices that they wouldn’t normally do. Has this time of year changed for you as you’ve matured into adults?
CHAELA: In a traditional sense, every kid loved Halloween because you got candy every year. That was kind of like the main thing that got us excited about Halloween. As we got older and we got more into spirituality, it definitely gave us a different meaning. This is a time where the veil is thin and I like to do work that enhances my psychic abilities.I know that the energy on the other side, such as ancestors or spirit guides, are trying to communicate with you and that communication comes through a lot faster when the veil is thin. When your ancestors are trying to help you, that energy comes through a lot stronger.
MATURE: Is there anything you believe can be dangerous when playing with spirits and the afterlife?
CHAELA & ERIA: YES. Absolutely. For sure.
CHAELA: I think dabbling into any type of form of magic when you don't have prior understanding can be very dangerous. When you're trying to communicate with the other side, to a specific spirit or entity, there are other things present there too. If you don't know what you're doing, you might think you're talking to someone, but you could be talking to something or someone else. It [the spirit] could be there and follow you back to your home or be in your home and you may not know how to dismiss them. You don't know how to remove them. Like there's so much that goes into it, which is another reason why protection work is important. I hear a lot of people get into witchcraft and crazy stuff happening to them and it might sound exciting at first …but it can still have its consequences.
ERIA: For people who are new or like to dabble in the afterlife or are curious, you have to understand that, spirit knows intention right away, whether the spirit is good, whether the spirit is bad, or even innocence. Contacting anything that is not alive is very tricky because you can be a kid who's vulnerable and now you're mounted, or the spirit took over your body, or you welcomed it into your space. It can be very dangerous especially if you are new. You are more vulnerable to be attacked by these things.We’ve been attacked on multiple occasions, but because it's our practice, we understand how to remove it. A kid who just got a Ouija board wouldn't know how to close that door.
CHAELA: It's called a practice for a reason. There are systems in place to ensure that you get the results you're looking for. If you're just going willy-nilly, grabbing a Ouija board and trying to use it but don’t know the initial steps you were supposed to take prior to using the Ouija board, or the steps you are supposed to take after to ensure that this spirit has been dismissed and is not going to be lingering in your home trying to attach to you or people in your home is dangerous.
CHAELA & ERIA: This is why you should get some information about these things first or learn from somebody. Educate yourself and do your research.
MATURE: What does mature mean to you?
CHAELA: Mature to me means wisdom. It means understanding. To a certain level, it means boldness. There's a level of boldness that comes with standing in your own energy and being authentic with yourself .
ERIA: When I hear mature, I think of evolving.You're getting older. You're getting wiser. You're learning new things. You're becoming the person that you're supposed to be and meant to be. Mature means standing on principle, standing on business standing on what you say.
Credits:
Photographer: Dayjon Bacon (@d_baconboy)
Photographer Assistant: Nevaeh Ligon (@oh.vaeh)
Art Director & Wardrobe Stylist: Oliver Brown (@olvrbrwn)
Assistant Wardrobe Stylist: Tygee King (@__tygee__)
Hair Stylist: Lanitra Lashay (@lanitralashay)
Makeup Artist: Cherie (@cheriebeauty_)
Makeup Artist Assistant: Makayla Webb (@makaylascanvas)
Cover Edit: Liam Jenkins (@liamjenkins.retoucher)
Article edited: Oliver Brown