Welcome To The Coven
A Spinster’s Guide to Thriving in Uncertain Times
The Unraveling
There is a sense of urgency in the air. Our rights, liberties, and freedoms are slowly being stripped from us. Even our very bodily autonomy, once considered settled, is back on trial. In the face of this I made a decision to stockpile skills. The results of the recent election opened my eyes to my new reality; the conveniences we once had and took for granted are quickly fleeting away. While I feel concerned for the future I am pacifying my anxiety with preparation. I’m turning to the practices of our ancestors: learning to do things myself with my own two hands. And I decided to do this with a dash of magic and whimsy!
It is my belief that in reclaiming the old ways (growing my own food, learning to cook from scratch, finding community) I am not retreating in my fear, I am fighting back. The way I’m preparing is by developing my homemaking skills! The domestic arts have long been dismissed as meaningless women’s work but the reality is they are life skills that are essential for survival. I admittedly am not an expert homemaker, at least not yet. Here, on Substack, I will document my journey into preparing for the future by becoming a homemaker, and I invite you to join me!
I feel the magic has been lost from our lives, stolen away from us along with our imaginations. So in response to this I’m building a coven. Together, we can build a new, resilient foundation for ourselves, especially for women. And as it turns out, our so-called ‘old lady hobbies’ may just be the key to our modern survival. In the face of so much uncertainty this blog is my act of defiance.
From Convenience to Crisis: The Urgent Way
The systems that have been put into place that provided us with easy access to food, the ability to access healthcare, and the freedom to form community, are now under threat. And while they’ve never been equally accessible to all, now we’re at risk of them collapsing further. Let’s think of our grandmothers’ and great grandmothers as the original survivalists. They didn’t have the luxury of convenience; they relied on skills, grit, and each other. Anything they needed, they provided for themselves, for their families, and for their communities. They knew how to take the produce from a garden and use that to nourish and heal the body. That knowledge is essential and enlightening. In trading that resilience for ease, we’ve grown fragile and vulnerable.
The Practices: From Hobby to Survival Skill
Since the election, I’ve leaned into new hobbies that are not only entertaining but also give me a sense of purpose. I consider them to be practices and skills that are essential for survival:
- Gardening: I started my victory garden as a direct response to potential scarcity.
- Canning: Preserving food is a way to protect against scarcity and rising prices.
- Cooking From Scratch: Knowing what’s in my food, and how to make it, gives me control.
- Sewing, Mending, DIY: I may be learning, but these skills will give me the independence I need to repair and create not just consume and discard.
- Feminine Reclamation: These skills were long dismissed as ‘women’s work.’ However, I see them as radical power. I can explore my femininity through what my hands can do for myself and my community.
The Community: From Solitude to Coven
Our grandmothers developed these ancestral skills for the survival of their communities. I’m building a coven; a space where we share, teach, and hold each other up. Together, we can learn from and encourage each other. Our collective knowledge and desire to not just live, but to flourish, is our greatest asset. Together we can be each other’s safety net.
A New Kind Of Productivity
In the face of threat, we are often expected to be afraid and honestly, I am. But being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. It means you choose to act despite your fear. So in the face of my fear, I will be productive and prepared.
I do not know what the future will bring, but I, together with you, will move forward with a purpose. We will move with the soft determined strength of a gardener who knows that from a small seed, a mighty resilient plant can grow. Consider this a documentary of that growth. This is The Spinster’s Survival Guide. Here, softness is not weakness; it’s our strength.
Welcome to Spinster Living. Make yourself at home and let’s get our hands dirty.