It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that’s generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.
Unfortunately, these “self-sufficiency” skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the “good old days,” a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.
In the spirit of building safe communities, here’s a complete list of the safe resources I’ve found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.
Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:
Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)
Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)
How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)
Gardening
Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)
Country/Rural Living:
Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it’s like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)
“Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy” by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)
Sewing/Mending:
Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)
Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)
Sustainability/Land Stewardship
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs – in this case, indigenous American beliefs – can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)
Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)
Avoiding the “Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline”
Note: the “crunchy to alt-right pipeline” is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use “crunchy” spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.
“The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline” by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)
Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it’s a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)
These are just the resources I’ve personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!
These are some of the guidelines I follow when working with the dead:
When entering a graveyard, be sure to greet and leave something for the guardian of the graveyard.
Never walk on the graves of the deceased.
Never take anything out of the graveyard without permission of the guardian or a specific grave’s resident.
Never take items people have left for their loved ones off the graves.
Only gather graveyard dirt from the perimeter of the graveyard, never from the graves themselves.
Upon leaving the graveyard, say farewell to the dead you encountered, and the guardian.
Never force the dead to work for you, if they are unwilling or unable to aid you try again later or try another spirit.
Be mindful of the dead’s beliefs in life, not all will be friendly to those who practice magic.
Give the dead the same respect and thought that you yourself would wish to be given.
Obey your local laws and ordinances regarding the dead and graveyards/burial sites.
Given the state of the global economy, having enough money on hand for the essentials of life is likely to be a true struggle for millions of people. It’s a stressful reality, impacting even the hardest working among us. There’s nothing immoral or selfish about wanting to have enough money to live your life. The purpose of a sigil, after all, is to turn an abstract or unspoken desire into something more tangible. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about private-island money, or pay-the-rent money. Ultimately, it’s speaking to that deep, essential need for the security that money provides.
Here’s a sigil for money that flows right to you. Use it well.
21. What qualities in your family members do you most dislike or have trouble dealing with? What might these qualities in your loved ones secretly reveal about you?
22. In which areas of life do you tend to expect others to conform to your beliefs? (Also, what scares you the most about allowing others to have their own beliefs in that area?)
23. When are you the most critical of yourself? Explore what your self-talk sounds like below.
24. Describe five things you love about yourself and feel gratitude about.
25. How judged do you tend to feel on a daily basis? Explore how much of that perceived judgment is real and how much is imagined.
26. Take a look at the best and most enjoyable aspect of your life right now. What is your underlying fear in that area and why?
27. Write about the last time you tried to manipulate a situation to your advantage and examine how you feel about that in hindsight.
28. If you could say one thing to the person who's hurt you the most right now, what would it be and why?
29. What do you currently envy in someone else's life and why?
30. which of my weaknesses could have potential?
31. what makes me feel the happiest
32. how worthy do I honestly believe I am?
33. if I could communicate with the person I was 10 years ago today, I would say...
34. why do I have issues with trust?
35. the way I spend my daily life is how I will spend the rest of my life. how do I feel about this idea?
36. do I trust myself?
37. how can I have more trust?
38. which situations have shaped my personality and why?
39. while reflecting on my childhood, what makes me extremely angry or sad to this day?
40. my absolute dream life: how does my perfect day begin?
41. do I handle my feelings in a healthy and constructive way?
42. do I project certain aspects of myself onto others?
43. did my parents provide me with everything I needed?
44. what makes me really angry and why?
45. would I describe my childhood as happy?
46. what is it that makes me sad?
47. what do I consider the most challenging for me?
48. have I forgiven myself?
49. have I forgiven all the people who ever hurt me?
50. if I were to write a letter to a person who hurt me, what would it say?
51. how do I react when something does not turn out the way it should?
52. if I could write a letter to myself, apologizing for all the self-blame, what would it say?
Wordpress Version
Spirit contracts are formal agreements between a practitioner and spirits to get certain results in exchange for offerings. Contracts are best when something has multiple components that should play out a certain way to meet the goal the best, succeed in succession, or where there are multiple highly related requests. They’re unnecessary for simple goals, or to successfully complete just one part of a process.
For an example of a type of situation that warrants a good contract: let’s say you want to get a boyfriend/girlfriend. Well first you have to put yourself out there, if you aren’t already. And you have to make sure that you’re getting out at the right places: you’re more likely to score a date at a bar or classes than a grocery store! Then you must attract or meet the right people, and dissuade those you aren’t compatible with. After that you have to succeed on several dates. So in this process, there are several components that must go right in succession.
On the other hand, if your goal is simply to “attract love”, then a spell or a simple offering to a spirit would be best. It is too broad and unfocused for a contract; there are many ways that attracting love can manifest.
Writing spirit contracts is timely, but relatively simple. Like a real contract, a spirit contract should have these basic components:
Who
Terms
Reward
Timelines
Signature
Writing a contract is beneficial to both the practitioner and spirit. For the practitioner, it can help you to solidify and focus on what, and how many things, should go right, and in what way is “right”, for you to manifest a long-term goal. For the spirit, it helps to clarify exactly where they should come in. It tells them what factors are out of the practitioner’s direct control, or where the practitioner has weak control.
Contracts should only be with spirits you trust: to not to harm you, and to actually manifest results.
There is no point in going through the effort of making such a lengthy and specific deal if you cannot trust the other spirit to not twist your words, and to actually bring the goals to fruition. If you have never been able to manifest a goal with clear communication of deadlines and ability limitations with the spirit you have in mind, then look to another. It’s better to hear “that is beyond my capabilities” than “wait” and “wait…”…but the goal never happens, or happens several years later when that length of time isn’t warranted. This should be a spirit that you have a practical working partnership with, not simply friendship.
Additionally this needs to be a spirit you can communicate with, clearly, directly, and truthfully. This should not be a spirit that:
You hesitate to question, such as a god or goddess
You cannot contact frequently
You struggle to communicate with clearly, whether it be through clairaudience or some form of divination
This should be a spirit that you can call up frequently to ask questions, check on progress, or provide information on what you have done on your side to bring the goal to fruition.
The contracts can be as formal or informal as you wish them, as long as the above components are included. Therefore, using first or third person to refer to yourself is up to you. But if you really want to be particular or formal, go with third.
Now, for more detail on each component of the contract:
A contract needs to list who both sides are. List yourself first. Whether you use your magical name or real name, or any other name or nickname to identify yourself is up to you.
My name is X, I am the requestor of this contract.
Then list your spirit(s). It is best to be as specific as possible, including their ranking or title if they have any.
For this contract, I am asking for the assistance of Librarian Spirit Y, who resides in the Library of Woah.
List your goals, ideal or possible methods of achieving them, and actions, events, or methods that should be avoided. It should be clear where the spirit should interfere, boost, or otherwise aid with their magical abilities. It may help to say where the spirit can use their own best judgement, though that’s not always necessary to include. It is beneficial to also include what you are doing on your side to try and bring the goal to fruition.
This can be in paragraph form, List form, or a mixture. Whatever you are comfortable with.
Example of Paragraph Form:
I am trying to study well to pass my Biological exam with an A. However, I struggle to focus due to the noise level of the library, and I am not certain what to study. Straight memorization is also not a strong suit of mine. I ask that you kindly aid in controlling the noise level in the library, whether it be by quieting other students or helping me to find a quiet study location, or other means. Please guide me to figure out what to study, by helping me figure out who I should talk to (How should I approach the teacher/TA? What classmates of mine know what they’re doing? Which tutors would be best for me?). And please use your magical abilities to boost my capacities for memorization as well.
List Form:
Goal: Study well to pass Biological exam with an A
Issues/Where Aid is Needed:
Control level of noise in the library, particularly where I study
Guidance on what to study; and who to ask about that
Boost my memorization capabilities
What I am doing on my side:
Studying for 1 hour daily, from 7-8 PM
Exploring the library more to see if there are other, less-popular areas I’m not aware of
Asking my older friends who’ve taken this class before what the exam was like
The purpose of rewards is to motivate the spirit to complete the task(s) successfully, of course. The reward should be an offering of some sort; whether it be at traditional offerings such as food or incense, or a service such as picking up litter.
For multi-part tasks, or tasks where partial completion is possible, I suggest having partial rewards. As the name states, it won’t be the same as a full reward; it will only be part of the reward, or an offering that is not as valuable to the spirit.
Example:
Bio is my weakest subject, so I usually get C’s on them. So rewards are as thus:
Full Reward: I receive an A on my bio exam
I will clean up some of the grafitti in the bathrooms I can access (ones made with permanent marker, pen, or pencil)
I will leave offerings of coffee and tea in my dorm room, daily, for one week
Partial Reward: I receive a B on my bio exam
I will clean up some of the grafitti in the bathrooms I can access (ones made with permanent marker, pen, or pencil)
No Reward: I receive a C or lower on my bio exam
All contracts need to have a timeline. This lets both sides know how long they are bound by the terms.
Consider the following:
Is there a specific deadline to your goal? “The exam is on March 31st.”
Is there a timeframe? “If you qualify for an interview, we will call you within the next two weeks.”
Or will it be a renewing, long-term service? “I seek your protection for a full year. This contract will renew each year on the Spring Equinox.”
First you must confirm with the spirit if they agree to the terms of the contract. This can be done by simply speaking with the spirit via clairaudience, or may be confirmed via divination.
Once both parties agree to the terms, both will sign it. On the practitioner’s side that’s easy, simply sign your name on the contract, or with a seal that represents you. For the spirit to sign is a bit trickier. If the spirits have their own seals or sigils, such as the demons from the Ars Goetia, then place that on the contract. If not, then ask the spirit if they have a signature of their own to use; whether it be a sigil or an actual signed name, and use that. Or, do automatic writing, with your hand guided by the spirit, to sign the contract on their behalf.
The above was just writing the contract, here is how it’ll play out
You write your side of the contract, as much as possible
Summon the spirit, present the contract and discuss it. Ask if there are any changes it would like
Confirm and agree the contract with the spirit, and sign it.
Once the contract has begun, communicate with the spirit on the regular. Progress checks and informing of issues should be done on both sides. For example, if you have a yearly contract for protection, check in on a regular basis to ask if there has been any suspicious activity that has gone unnoticed by you.
When the contract has been completed, partially completed, or the deadline has passed, discuss the contract once more. What went wrong/right, and what rewards are justified?
Contracts are a useful tool that can help spirit workers to list and achieve what they aim in life, while building a practical and fulfilling relationship with the spirits they work with.
“I Find Lost Things”
Draw this on your dominant hand while you’re looking for something and/or cleaning the space you’re in
Happy Litha, my beautiful fairy angels ✨💛✨
Beautiful rainbow babe 🌞✨
IG: mamadivaaa
Yule blessings and Happy Winter Solstice everyone ❤️
Call me clover or zen 🍀 Head of a near abandoned coven🍀Im not wiccan🍀 He/She/Ey 🍀 23 yrs old 🍀 two spirit and Genderfluid🍀 butch bisexual 🍀 Alloaro 🍀 my main devotion is to hera but i also work with Artemis, hermes, and many others 🍀 Zeus stans can die off thx 🍀 sigil/pendulum/card readings: open 🍀 somewhat of a sigil blog somewhat of a general witchy blog 🍀 Hellenistic/ astrological/polytheistic/native-religious wizard, druid, witchdoctor and tribal healer 🍀 Inuit/metis/Cherokee mixed, not raised in culture and trying to reconnect to those roots as well as focus on my practice more🍀 i do not follow the 3 folds law, i support curse usage, you cant fuck and have a relationship with a god, you have no right to tell me how to practice, my magic is vaild without peer review, paganism dosent have dogma, i will always support patron gods/goddesses, Persephone was raped by hades so stop acting like their beauty and the beast and fuck off if you villianize the goddesses who are mothers, ur sus. No full religion is culturally exclusive, only certain practices and certain titles are. Cryptid worship is vaild🍀 always supporting jewish and muslim witches 🍀 dni: racist, terf/transphobe/nbphobe/, tru/med, proship, anti-choice, fascist
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