The Daily: 8 March 2023

Women in Agriculture Thoughts on Food Production for International Women's Day We regularly hear about the gender wage gap. We know about glass ceilings and barriers to advancement. We wring our hands over leadership roles filled mainly by men. These are all vital concerns. But today I’d like to address a disparity that doesn’t get… Continue reading The Daily: 8 March 2023

The Daily: 10 January 2023

Distaff Day, or St. Distaff’s Day, is an obscure and faded custom that has rather a bit more weight behind it that one might expect. The day is observed most often on January 7th, the day after Epiphany, the last day of the winter holidays. Less commonly, Distaff Day falls on the first Tuesday after Epiphany, being known as Distaff Tuesday in keeping with Plough Monday.

Further Exegesis of A Man

In the past couple weeks I’ve encountered two new books from people who should know better claiming that our big brains and social systems are rooted in hunting. This is the bad penny of origin stories — Man the Hunter. It is time someone bites down on this one and shows once and for all… Continue reading Further Exegesis of A Man

Magic as Wisdom: a Winter Spell

I am an odd witch. Most would not consider me one at all. This is just fine with me, because most witches in history have not named themselves in that manner either, and not merely because it was rather bad for one’s health to claim the title. Most simply had no use for titles. They… Continue reading Magic as Wisdom: a Winter Spell

An EarthCraft Origin Story

Every religion needs its mythos. I wrote this one a while ago and posted it last year. It seems a good day to share it again. Eve Eve woke up with the birds each morning. The piping and burbling of thousands of little brown birds in the reeds, so numerous in kind they’d not even… Continue reading An EarthCraft Origin Story

Distaff Day

Distaff Day, or St. Distaff’s Day, is an obscure and faded custom that has rather a bit more weight behind it that one might expect. The day is observed most often on January 7th, the day after Epiphany, the last day of the winter holidays. Less commonly, Distaff Day falls on the first Tuesday after Epiphany, being known as Distaff Tuesday in keeping with Plough Monday.

The Cult of Busy-ness

I am reading Sarah Jaffe’s Work Won’t Love You Back. As you can imagine, this is rather like throwing gasoline on a flame. Jaffe’s book is packed with all the things I hate about our working world — or perhaps our not-working world — and she’s put names and vivid life stories with all the… Continue reading The Cult of Busy-ness

Gatherers

I’ve been an armchair archeologist/anthropologist for most of my life. I’ve always had a fascination with deep history. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to tease out the Story of Us not mediated through the words of the privileged few; and deep history, pre-history, is where you find the story before it was broken. Further, when… Continue reading Gatherers

Further Exegesis of A Man

In the past couple weeks I’ve encountered two new books from people who should know better claiming that our big brains and social systems are rooted in hunting. This is the bad penny of origin stories — Man the Hunter. It is time someone bites down on this one and shows once and for all… Continue reading Further Exegesis of A Man

Women in Agriculture

We regularly hear about the gender wage gap. We know about glass ceilings and barriers to advancement. We wring our hands over leadership roles filled mainly by men. These are all vital concerns. But today I’d like to address a disparity that doesn’t get much press — women in agriculture. Women farmers embody the merger… Continue reading Women in Agriculture