Crowdfunding is Magical
Alice Scarlet Death
Money magick is a bit complicated for me. On one hand, I roll my eyes at it. On the other, I literally spent a year doing Jupiter hexagram rituals.
I’ve always felt weird doing ritual for tangible things. I felt like you should do ritual for concepts and ideas. You don’t wish for a pony, you wish for transportation. You have to focus your intent. That’s why I always turned my nose up at ‘money magick’ but would still do Jupiter rituals because Jupiter is much more than just money and things of that nature.
Since then, I have done several crowdfunding campaigns. It isn’t fun. It is actually quite embarrassing, but I’ve done it. Here’s what I’ve learned.
My first few where to help me with my gender transition. I got enough to legally change my name. People were on board with that. The second time was when my roommate wouldn’t pay his rent and I needed to keep staying in a house. People were less on board with that. The third time was when I was desperate to move out because my roommate wasn’t paying rent and he was abusing his dog right in front of me which is one of my PTSD triggers. People were even less on board with that.
Over time, people seem to believe you less. They think that you are just begging and there’s obviously something you could be doing differently in your life.
The fourth time was over a year ago, when a bunch of my customers at Vanderbilt University wanted to help me with my transition again, since TN was hard to get funding for such things. They raised over $1000 for me and had almost 400 Facebook shares.
After that, I became pretty ill and bed-ridden. I was no longer able to work and used that money to stay keep the lights on. Unfortunately, that didn’t last very long. Eventually, I started couch surfing in Tennessee near Nashville while trying to get on disability.
My disability claim was denied at the hearing level, and I was out of places to stay. Someone offered me a plane ticket to Seattle, and someone else offered to keep my stuff in storage. It is a lot easier to be homeless and get transgender healthcare there than in Nashville by far. So, in August 2016 I packed a suitcase and two books for my flight to Seattle.
Fast forward to late October, and I’m staying at a new homeless shelter I was referred to by a case worker. While I’m there my suitcase breaks and I can no longer lug it around by the handle. I have sensory processing disorder, so it really messes with my balance and I get tired quicker when lifting things. It was mandatory I get a new suitcase. Being homeless, you have to lug your stuff around. There aren’t always lockers available for usage.
Did I make another gofundme? Nope. I went to Facebook, explained the situation and someone paid for me to get a new suitcase.
Which was a good thing, because at this point I was starting to panic. I was told I would not be welcome back at this particular women’s homeless shelter unless I looked more feminine. I am broke. I can’t afford clothes. I can’t afford makeup. It was paramount that I get out of there and I needed a working suitcase. And I got one. This may have been the result of doing a Jupiter hexagram ritual the week before. I prefer not to care about correlations like that, but I feel it would be improper not to at least mention it.
The point I’m working towards here is that you can draw hexagrams, buy an amulet, construct a sigil, or light up some incense all you want. There is nothing wrong with that. I’m not here to argue to Magick theory.
Abrahadabra.
Sometimes all you have to do is ask. This is the Aeon of the Crowned and Conquering Child, after all.
