This would have been a good book to have years ago, when I was a solitary practitioner, looking for a deeper practice into the old ways which Wicca couldn‘t provide. Pagan ways still fascinate me but I no longer believe many of the things I once did. Traditional Witchcraft is different in that it is more primitive. If that calls to you, this book is for you.

Shown: a Samhain altar from many years ago

This book can‘t be taken seriously. It‘s full of misogyny, racism, and harmful ideas that you should never attempt on your body. But what do you expect? This is from the Victorians. It was a laughable read.

Years ago at one of these big library book sales I went to, I noticed a man there had one of these with him to haul his picks around. I thought, that‘s a good idea. One day at Lidl, I saw them, grabbed one, and now I use it every time we go to the big library book sale. I‘m talking big like thousands of books! You can imagine how good it smelled in there…especially with the really old books only inches down from my nose. Take my money!

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I want you to see the table of contents.
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Here are some photos from the inside. The Victorians were a strange type of peoplx. Some things about them I have always found very interesting—their obsession with and vampires, death, and the spirit world; their use of poisons; their floral lore; the jewelry they wore that contained hair of lost loved ones, and the infamous ‘sleeping‘ (death) family portraits.

A friend lent me this book. She found it at a library book sale. It‘s brittle, and a 1922 edition. It‘s basically a Victorian manual of misogynist propaganda. I can just imagine what Dr. Jennifer Gunter, OB/GYN would say about it!
I‘m just going to say right now that I, am not one of these ‘ideal women‘. I‘d be everything they were warned about!
Note: the drawing on the R side of cover reminds me very much of a vulva. This is no accident.

I chose this photo because this girl is how I imagine Vanessa—even her demeanor. A friend lent me this book and it was hard to get through. So often, we don‘t see abuse for what it really is in the beginning, even though parts of us are screaming on the inside: RUN. This book was full of gross moments and a lot of manipulation but worth the patience. If you want to read more about sexual abuse and the me too movement, I strongly encourage you

A friend lent me this book and I absolutely loved it. I chose this photo of the author because it kind of sums up the relationship that this story is about. This book was heart breaking at times but also hilarious. Dani‘s grandmother was a scary but strong, loving woman who would do anything for her grandkids. The word ‘fuck‘ seems to have been one of her favorite words. This story is about the crazy but loving relationship Dani had with her.

Can you all wish me some good luck today? I have an interview this morning for a librarian position! This position doesn‘t require a degree and I have zero experience in the field. I‘ve been at my other job 16 years and it‘s time for a change. I can‘t think of a better way to be of service to the community, then to be a librarian. And also, we really need to stand up for libraries right now, more than ever.

FIGHT BACK!!!
May 3, 2022
SCOTUS

I remember when the author first put out her tweet for this book, asking for clinic escorts and defenders who had experience with it back in the really scary days, the 80s-90s. I immediately reached out to my friend and veteran escort (left), because I knew she had seen a lot. I‘ve read so much about those days, and it never gets any less scary. We may have FACE Act now, but it isn‘t really enforced. This book tells the story that isn‘t often

Abortion is, at its core, about life, just not in the way that abortion upon its claim. Everything that surrounds getting an abortion—from the decision to the cost to travel and getting in the door—is about someone‘s life, The course of that life, the value of that life. The life of the pregnant person is the point. The course of their life is the point. The realities and complexities and hardships and accomplishments: they matter. Their actual

The patients we serve stay with all of us, because that‘s the spirit of what we do. In those 60 or so seconds before they get inside the door, clinic escorts are possibly the only source of human connection and visible support that some of these patients and their companions experience. For that moment in time, the human connection supersedes everything. It‘s about a fundamental human need to be seen and valued, particularly in the face of

Every time I feel burned out or think about giving up on this fight, I remember that putting my body on the line for another person, as painful and difficult as it was on the worst days, has always been worth it. Every patient we get in the door is a woman‘s life, a person‘s life, that is going to unfold the way that person wants it to, no matter what choice they end up making.

Shown: one of the first bad days for me when I started doing this…

Everyone loves someone who has had an abortion. And if you think you don‘t, they just haven‘t shared their story with you yet.

Let‘s talk about it! Story-telling is the most powerful way to end stigma! Have you ever heard ‘my abortion saved my life‘? I‘m one of those peoplx 🌻

Abortion is about more than just bodies on the line— it‘s someone‘s future, their dreams, their lives.

Shown: me telling my story at the SC Statehouse in Columbia, February 17th, 2022–to fight back against anti-abortion bills.

The central theme of all these activities, from volunteering as a clinic escort to funding abortions to booking travel for abortion patients, is community. The work of community building around abortion care, of the destigmatizing and humanizing people who have abortions, can‘t be the sole responsibility of embattled clinics and providers. Telling stories, driving patients, paying for gas money, walking someone from their car to the clinic—these

This happens everywhere. This is not some random, a couple of crazy people at one clinic. This shit happens everywhere in every state and it will continue to happen until people decide that they‘re going to reclaim their communities.

Shown: Matt Brock and his bullies on a ladder to see and scream at pats over a 6 foot privacy fence at Greenville Women‘s Clinic in SC. UNFUCKING ACCEPTABLE!!!

Because when I put it on, I thought, *This is my armor*. It‘s only made of polyester, and it‘s not bulletproof, but it‘s hate-proof and its judgment-proof.

This is what being a clinic escort is all about. Being the face of love in the face of hate. Shown: endurance at my local clinic

You don‘t need a big group of protesters to do damage. We could be out there and have one aggressive protester who just says the most vile shit to someone and that will make them cry…that‘s the thing—one of them out there is too many.

It‘s WEIRD & CREEPY to stand around at someone‘s doctor appointment. Shown: Christians and Proud Boys outside my local clinic

… more than sixteen years after Roe v. Wade was decided, a clinic in a liberal city like Ann Arbor had to covertly smuggle patients in through a side window, just to have a legal health-care procedure. And that was considered a victory, no less.

•It is truly astounding, the level of nightmare that pregnant peoplx endure just trying to access their medical appointments. Why is this allowed? This isn‘t ‘1st amendment‘, nor is it ‘support‘.

Our first line of defense for protection of reproductive rights is self-defense. We cannot rely on the courts, police, or legislatures to protect our fundamental rights to control our bodies and reproductive options.

Shown: one of my escorts and a team of clinic defenders.

Unkindness is a serial killer.

—Tarana Burke

First, I want to say how stunning the book cover is. It shows Tarana as what she really is: a queen! Her story is powerful, uplifting, and it made me emotional. I too, am a survivor of sexual assault. I stand in solidarity with every survivor and I can‘t imagine the pain Tarana suffered—especially when white feminism hijacked her work. ‘#metoo‘ did not begin when Hollywood actresses came out against Harvey Weinstein. It began with one Black

This is the first book I‘ve read centered on AAPI experiences. How often do we really have this conversation? Not enough. The author shares her experiences with racism in America and how it intersected with her education, her dreams, and more. She also talks about assimilation, and the pressure to be good enough, the right kind of AAPI. Highly recommended.

So glad I found this book! The first part discusses the matriarchal societies that existed 25,000 years before the patriarchy of abrahamic religions; the second, how to take back our power through consciousness, rituals and community; the third, and biggest: politics. It is past time for womxn to be at the front. They (patriarchy) only have as much power over us as we let them. Think about what we need to do…to be, and stay—FREE.

I really enjoyed this book. Some parts were funny (coping mechanism), and most parts were terrible. This book is about the continuing lifelong trauma from the Children of God cult the author grew up in. It certainly wasn‘t easy being queer in that environment. She also talks about her later life experiences in the military, crappy jobs, bad relationships, and more.

Shown: David Berg, children of god cult leader

So excited for this book mail today! These stories are ours to tell. Right now we are seeing relentless attacks on bodily autonomy like never before. Peoplx with uteruses, our Trans friends and family. We will keep going, no matter what. If not us, who? If not now, when?
Fight back!

A friend lent this to me and I‘m so glad he did. Until now I haven‘t heard of ‘leftover women‘. This book is about how womxn are treated in China by the government, their friends, families. They are pressured to marry early or just instead of pursuing an education, a career, doing whatever they want. They aren‘t allowed to have homes in their names, yet they are expected to finance all of it while having the home in their husband‘s name. ⬇️

…Patriarchy creates a culture that is destructive and death-oriented.

Just look around at all the laws they are creating right now. Laws that are literally designed to get peoplx killed. Too many politicians for one photo. Dominoes begin to fall. #fascism

Religion in the common understanding of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim monopoly emphasizes sin, guilt, authoritarianism, fear, and promises of future well-being rather than self-knowledge, love of self and other, and integration of inner power with outer power. In addition, these religions as institutionalized exclude women, the Earth, and the body, and separate the emotions from the spirit, thus denying any chance of wholeness. —Hallie Iglehart

Estrangement is the combination of a long, historical process. Its roots lie in the Bronze Age shift from matrifocal, Earth-centered cultures, whose religions censored around the Goddess and the gods embodied in nature, to patriarchal, urban cultures of conquest, whose gods inspired and supported war. Yahweh of the Old Testament is a prime example.

—Starhawk

Awareness means participating in your own evolution.

—Nancy F.W. Passmore

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Know your power ladies! Change comes when we know what we can do and we fight back. We can live in and become the most beautiful things we can imagine.

The Goddess does not rule the world; She *is* the world.

—Starhawk

In England, the artist Monica Sjoo was nearly brought to trial in 1970 and again in 1973 for exhibiting a painting titled God Giving Birth (1968), featuring a large female figure in the process of giving birth while the planets revolve nearby. This the British authorities found deserving of a blasphemy and obscenity charge!

See the full painting and read more details here: http://www.artcornwall.org/features/Monica_Sjoo_God_Giving_Birth.htm

The objective of patriarchy was and is to prevent women from achieving, or even supposing, our potential: that we are powerful in both mind and body and that the totality of those powers is a potent force. All of the myriad varieties of patriarchal oppression—co-opting and replacing the Goddess, imposing patrilineal descent and ownership of woman‘s womb, restricting and mutilating woman‘s body, denying woman education and legal rights, forbidding

A small group of Jewish women survived the Holocaust because they were coerced into sewing clothing for the SS at Auschwitz. One of those survivors, Bracha Kohut, shared her story with the author. These women couldn‘t have imagined that sewing would one day save their lives. An incredible story of survival; highly recommended.

Shown: the author with Bracha.

This is a great timeline of feminist ideas and actions, all laid out and broken down into detail. There were some things I didn‘t see here, such as menstrual equity. But it was a pretty good book.

Shown: me and my friend Lynn, at an abortion rights march in Charleston, SC, 2021. Lynn established the first ever Pride in Charleston, and its first Womxn‘s Social Club. A queer activist that I am so proud to know!

William Still collected the stories of people that had been enslaved, after their freedom. This book has 40 narratives. Heart breaking, and necessary reading for recognition with and healing from the American past. It won‘t be long before they try to ban this too. Critical race theory=American History. Thank you Mr. Still. Highly recommended.

This book was phenomenal. It was painful, it was written beautifully; told in a way that only a Black Womxn can tell it. When I first picked it up, I was unaware it was the story of BLM. As a white cis womxn, I‘ll never know what it‘s like to experience the things she and so many others have lived. But I can imagine, I can listen, I can love; can help dismantle these harmful institutions and work for a more just, loving world for all peoplx.

A feminist in her time, Mary was far ahead yet no doubt trying to voice the same things that so many other womxn had, before her (which we are STILL shouting today). Her words would make for powerful signs at a march; no doubt she marches with us in spirit today.

Shown: a statue of her that sparked ‘controversy‘ placed by feminists in London, in November 2020.

I have to say that this man and his words here, were pretty advanced in equality for the time (1856). I would‘ve liked to have seen more explored but this was worth the read. We needed more mxn like him then, and we need them now. Not to speak for us, but to speak alongside with us. Because, feminism is for everyone. Onward!
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We need systems of COMPASSION
…not systems of oppression 🌻