Welcome Home!

Plant Spirit Ally

When you read this post, I will be in my new home, likely unpacking and getting settled in. I am terribly excited to finally start the new life I have dreamed of in Ohio. I have been in limbo for almost 6 months after my cross-country move from Oakland, California- setting down temporarily in Appalachian Ohio with my partner's relatives until we found the right place in Columbus. While I met some wonderful people and did some fun things (mainly through the UU church in Marietta), I am excited for this new chapter of urban homesteading, art making, and settling down into homeschooling.

And find our dream we did! While we had a tall order of what we sought in a place, this place satisfies all of them, albiet differently than we expected (magick manifestation often works that way- you get what you seek, but not as your limited brain thinks to ask for them). We have awesome neighbors who are artists, activists, and organizers- so we have lots in common. They also have small children, and that is great for Rowan.

In our new place, Rowan will be growing up. He will be getting his own room, his own bed, and a pet fishy! He will start potty learning, going on weekly trips to the library, the zoo, and the community garden (as well as working in our yard). He will start homeschooling in earnest.

We will be rebuilding our temple and finding other traditional Witches to circle with. We have friends in our small tradition in Tennessee and West Virginia, but my partner and I are the only initiates in Ohio. There are other traditional Witches in the area, and perhaps some of them have things in common with us (we are not Wiccan). I am hoping to meet them as well as folks from the ADF (Columbus has a large druid population and the local ADF grove hosts public sabbats).

Mine and Yours!

I will be starting up a new version of my parrot business (I work with parrots, corvids, and other birds professionally).

I will be developing our Etsy store and local business for Boline. I plan on making remedies with the herbs and mushrooms and bees I raise. I have 4 types of medicinal mushrooms coming and will be making herbal syrups, herbal honeys, sachets, tinctures, balms, salves, and lotions. Our magickal offerings will be amulets, charms, candle spells, talismans, divination, and poppets.

We will be doing mostly custom work, based on the needs of our clients- although I will offer some basic spells like blessings, protection, love, and abundance spells. These are all done according to the principles of our Craft: following lunar cycles and other portents, using our Contacts for reinforcement of the work, following the principles that make our tradition so unique (being an American Craft tradition, we have influences form all the populations that are on this continent- indigenous and immigrant. Our tradition has brujo, Appalachian, southern conjure, European, Ho O'mana, and Voudou influences. That gives us a lot of power to draw upon!).

Where are you, Ohio Rad Fae?!

I am excited to start homesteading, both in our yard with our neighbors and in the neighborhood community garden. I am hoping to raise chickens at the community garden, since our yard does not work for such an endeavor. It is in walking distance! I am thrilled to start living sustainably again- no more throwing away so much! (In the part of the world that I stayed in for 6 months, no one recycles- there is no curbside service, no centers to take items to, and everyone just throws everything away. The house I stayed in did not garden or compost, either. They used toxic cleaning products that hurt my throat and it was very squicky experience for me.)

I have already bought a worm composter and will be using my coffee grounds to raise oyster mushrooms. If I get the chickens I want, they will be getting scrap greens and eggshells, too. My neighbor and I will be building a large container to hold our recyclables and take turns driving them to the center.

We will be building our tribe. My partner and I have talked about having regular gatherings- Radical Faery brunches, crafternoons, game nights, backyard movie and fire pit nights, and so much more. We will be making art, writing poetry, organizing events, getting hooked into causes, and becoming part of these communities. We want to find our people and create community here in our chosen city. Part of the tribe-building will include starting Pagan Playdate Columbus and maybe even a homeschool outing group and spiral scouts troop.