How to Make Your Own Rose Herbal Coffee

I am motivated by tea.

Yes, I’m motivated by justice and kindness and those I love and the work I do, but I’m also living in an earthy body that craves earthly pleasures. One of those pleasures is hot drinks - whether herbal tisanes, black teas or matcha lattes. So my Rose Herbal Coffee is a recipe that I love to make to help motivate and nourish my body and supports the work that I do.

Rose (Rosa spp), like Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) is a much-needed herb to help our ancient bodies deal with modern demands. I think Rose is a great herbal ally if you’re an activist and organizer because they remind us that we need to know how to be gentle as much as we need to be fierce. Equipped with thorn magick, my Rose Herbal Coffee recipe supports our emotional wellbeing along with our physical wellbeing. It also includes some lovely gut and liver nourishing herbs to support our bodies inherent ability to release and renew. I add in Cacao Nibs (Theobroma cacao) because I love a bit of a cocoa taste but if you’re not inclined to chocolate or find it too stimulating you can easily remove the nibs and still be left with a delicious tea.

My Rose Herbal Coffee is grounding and helps to draw energy down and out of the body. So, if you’re someone who wakes up feeling agitated and a bit anxious you might find this brew really helpful. Because it’s caffeine-free you can enjoy a cup of Rose Herbal Coffee in the evenings, too, and it’ll help with post-meal digestion.

Rose Herbal Coffee

• 4 parts Roasted Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale)

• 2 part Roasted Carob (Ceratonia siliqua)

• 2 part Cacao Nibs (Theobroma cacao)

• 1/4 part Rose (Rosa spp.)

• 1/4 part Anise (Pimpinella anisum)

• 1/8 part Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.)

I prepare my herbal coffee in two parts. First, I add the Dandelion and Roasted Carob into my pot of water (about 1 tablespoon of herb to 1 cup of water), bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes, and then strain. Into that strained brew I add the rest of the herbs to steep for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then I add it some milk of choice and a bit of sweet, but it’s also delightful all on its own. 

Enjoy! Looking for more recipes? You can find all of my recipes and tutorials here. 

Gotu Kola Helps Us To Connect Our Heart + Mind

I’m feeling that post-class glow after getting back from The Plant Sabbat. Stories were spoken, remedies shared, and then we all blissed out together guided by Gotu Kola and singing crystals. Though I would love to easily be able to transport all of you to The Plant Sabbat, sadly floo powder just isn’t widely available and teleportation isn't stable enough tech just yet. What I can do is share some resources and inspire you to circle up with a plant ally to learn from. 

Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) is less known in Traditional Western Herbalism, but has been long used in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s a plant that I love and I think it has some really special wisdom when it comes to navigating the modern world of self-worth and social media. Plants are our ancestors, our guides, and they’re still growing us, so of course they can assist us with managing our tech and social engagement in ways that add to our wellbeing instead of detract from it. If you want the full plant profile for Gotu Kola be sure to sign-up to my Magick Mail where you’ll gain access to the secret member’s only apothecary full of resources for you to use and enjoy.

Gotu Kola is prized as a brain tonic and the herb is incredible at improving cognitive function. The herb doesn’t want us to just live for a long time but to be joyful in our longevity. In the US and a lot of western culture, though, there is an overemphasis on the brain as a seat of logic and a very narrow definition of smart. I’ve always found that Gotu Kola loves to work with other herbs - it not only helps connect the pathways of neurons but make connections with other allies in our lives. One of the ways that Gotu Kola does this is by helping us to reconnect with the intelligence of our heart and not just relying on cultural narratives to rely only on the logic of the mind. That the division between the heart and the mind are man-made but not a reflection of lived humxn experience. 

For my class on Gotu Kola I created a special extract to help create a vibrant pathway between the head and the heart. I combined Gotu Kola with Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) which has a beautiful resonance with the space between the heart and mind, teaching us to dwell confidently in our sense of self and the heart tonic and opener supreme, Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), which guides us back to the wisdom of heart. I wrote the recipe as an extract but you can adjust the herbal parts to easily create an herbal tea. You can also easily make it into an herbal hand, foot or body bath.

Heart + Mind Extract 

Combine the following herbs:

• 1 part Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)

• 1 part Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

• 1/2 part Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Either combine separate extracts or blend herbs together and make your own tincture. For extra magick say the following charm while taking your drops:

Heart and mind
Work in harmony
Whole and sacred
Blessed be

Suggested Dosage: 1 - 5 drops up to three times daily.

If you haven't met Gotu Kola yet as a plant ally I hope that this helps get you started on your journey. And if you and Gotu Kola are old friends, maybe this'll spark some new insight between the two of you. Find more recipes here and get free access to even more exclusive content by joining my Magick Mail community.

Vintage Witchcraft : Or the time when Dion told me I was doing tarot wrong…

Perhaps it’s the fact that the clothes I was wearing when I came of age and found myself immersed in the world of magick would sell as “vintage” now. Or maybe it’s because I’m feeling awfully nostalgic about the books that helped raise me into the Witch I am today with the renaissance of metaphysical publishing we’re currently living in. Truthfully, though? I like talking about books (especially magickal ones!) and this is my secret way of doing that.

I’m calling it my Vintage Witchcraft series because it’s not Traditional Witchcraft (which I practice) but something between ye olden days and the influx of esoteric literature that has flooded the market in the past few years. I'm going to write about the stuff that influenced my early craft as well as some older resources that I’ve just started to explore. I’ll share resources that I think remain useful, reminds us of our Witch roots, and maybe even laugh at ourselves and what hasn’t aged well (Does anyone else remember being super excited about magick on the internetz!? Chat room rituals?! The World Wide Web is the embodiment of the Goddess!1!1!! Late night chaos hacks!? Making sigils in MS Paint??)

I’m beginning with a book by Dion Fortune - an author that was a primary guide of mine during my young witchling days. Dion is an important figure of 20th century occultism and her influence is ongoing  - especially within Wicca and many modern Pagan traditions. Her own organization, the Society of the Inner Light, continues on today. If you’ve ever heard the phrases “All the gods are one god, and all the goddesses are one goddess” or “Magic is the art of causing changes to take place in consciousness in accordance with will” those are from Dion. Also, full disclosure that Dion is a creature of her time so some of her opinions are outdated, some hold well, contradictions are to be found, but the theory and practice has aged very well.

I think she’s one of the best resources for learning about traditional psychic self-defense. For Dion, magick was not just for personal development or, as it was for many of her (often male) contemporaries some sort of spiritual ego-fluffing but for community well-being and protection. I read her classic Psychic Self-Defense and The Magical Battle of Britain when I was in high school and these books were fundamental in shaping my view that we have a responsibility as magickal people to invest in the care and well-being of our communities. I think Dion appeared to my young mind as a esoteric Professor X which is one of the other reasons I liked her so much - she was an early advocate for creating accessibility to the mysteries in her own, rather conservative but proto-Pagan, way.  She knew that magick was a tool of revolution, radical organizing, and protecting people from fascist regimes. A great place to start learning about Dion’s work and access a great deal of her material is through the Companions of Dion Fortune website - you can even practice her original Glastonbury-based meditation developed for times of transition and conflict which has been re-adopted for modern use.

Dion's Technique for Reading Tarot

It was reading a reprint of her 1935 book Practical Occultism in Daily Life that I got the idea for this series because she wrote something in it about the tarot that caught my attention. She holds some very common views at the time (including, the idea that selling of divinatory services was not a good thing - a belief that you’ll see hanging around some Pagan circles today still) but what I found interesting was her recommendation for reading the cards. Because it directly counters something I’ve written about as a mistake that tarot readers make.  

Dion talks about the best person to read the cards to be you (something I heartily agree with) or a initiate who specializes in Tarot. She talks about the importance of only using a new deck (something I don’t think is necessary - good cleansing of a used deck is more than suffice in most cases), and to carry your deck with you to help it to magnetize to your energy (I took this advice very seriously as a middle school witch - ask me about my bag of witch books and tarot decks that I hauled around in addition to my backpack). But then she gets to how one should proceed with a reading and it becomes very interesting:

Having got in touch with one’s chosen pack, the next thing is to lay out a divination according to whatever system is chosen, work it out according to the book, and note down the results obtained and the position in which the cards fell. Repeat the process a second time, and a third time, upon each occasion keeping accurate notes of the fall of the cards, and of course, thoroughly shuffling the cards between each lay-out. (1)

Well, then. I’ve genuinely never thought that doing this would be of any benefit and instead is just playing to our need to get the “right” answer that we want to see in the cards. A sort of desperate “if I just keep shuffling the deck it’ll all get better” scenario. But, Dion thinks otherwise. She continues:

If certain cards keep on coming up, and especially if they come up in approximately the same positions, or even if the cards of the same type predominate through the three divinations, it may safely be concluded that the system is working satisfactorily, and a divination may be made on the bases of the recurring cards. But if the three divinations bear no resemblance to each other; if even the balance of the four suits does not remain constant for at least two out of the three, and if none of the Greater Trumps turn up more than once, then it must be concluded that the Tarot is not working for the diviner, and the divination should be abandoned. (2)

Next World Tarot + Pamela Smith Centennial Tarot (Pocket Edition)

She’s not only recommended doing multiple castings of the same spread for one question within the same sitting, but a new way of reading. The act of multiple castings to find out if the path of divination is open up to the querent is something that would have been relatively familiar to other tarot readers of her age. It’s not something that’s too commonly done these days - at least not in the US tarot scene. But it makes me think of Aleister Crowley’s Opening of the Key (OOTK) tarot spread (well, really, ritual and operation) with it’s card counting and techniques used to see whether or not the divination has opened up pathways between yourself and the divine or at least your inner wisdom. Crowley was a contemporary of Fortune and though the two weren’t in direct community with one another there were interesting parallels in their lives (Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune: The Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of the Age is a great read if you’re wanting to learn more about this and just about two of some of the most influential writers on modern magick and esoteric practice).

After you’ve determined that the path has been open, those cards that have turned up again and again are pulled out and read. Those specific cards are your answer to your inquiry. Having been practicing the OOTK lately, I can attest to the efficacy of pulling only a handful of cards from a spread to complete a reading. But while the OOTK is a beautiful beast of a technique that’s well worth it but a bit time consuming, Dion’s approach is more accessible. 

So, do you think you’ll give Dion’s technique a try? I definitely will. It’s a good lesson in looking beyond what we think are established boundaries (i.e. not doing multiple spreads for one question) into more expansive possibilities. If you do try this technique be sure to let me know in the comments. Or if you just want to talk Dion and your favorite works of her’s, I’d love to do that, too.

Resources Discussed + Further Recommendations

• Practical Occultism in Daily Life by Dion Fortune

• Psychic Self-Defense by Dion Fortune

• The Magical Battle of Britain by Dion Fortune

• Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune: The Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of the Age by Alan Richardson

• Companions of Dion Fortune Website

• Priestess by Alan Richardson - I've not read this book yet but it's Richardson's biography of Fortune.

• The Magical Battle of Britain by Sable Aradia explores the amazing magickal act and organizing Dion Fortune did to help keep Nazis from stepping upon British soil. Inspiring stuff for those of us using magick in our social justice efforts.

Also, I need your help! There was a fictionalized account of the Magical Battle of Britain that I can't remember the title or author. I would love to find it again so if you happen to know it, please let me know in the comments or get in touch directly. Thanks!

EDIT: The book is Lammas Night by Katherine Kurtz!

1. Fortune, Dion. Practical Occultism in Daily Life. Weiser, 1971. Page 40.
2. Fortune, Dion. Practical Occultism in Daily Life. Weiser, 1971. Page 40.

Moon Medicine : Manifestation Spell

The Lunar Apothecary is filled with small moments of magick in-between the depth work of discovering who you are as a healer and the unique wisdom you bring to the world. The following is a short spell from the course to help you connect with the ancestral current of lunar wisdom.

---

Brew a cup of dark earthy tea. 

Brew a cup of deep red tea. 

Fill a bowl with salt water.

Bring both cups out beneath the moonlight. Name the dark water potential and the red water spark. Name the bowl of salt water the mighty sea.

Speak to the dark water your desires to manifest. Speak to the red water the tools you have or seek to manifest your desires. Hold both cups over the bowl and pour the contents of each into the sea, saying:

Spiral and turn, red and dark
Into the sea, potential and spark
From the waters of salt all is born
Desire is known and desire takes form

---

Add whatever you need to the ritual to make it yours. You can also learn more about the phases and signs of the Moon to time your magick in a way that best supports your needs. 

If you're looking for more Moon magick, have a whole series on New Moon magick and ritual that you can explore. And if you're ready to take a big leap onto the path of a healer who knows they're own will, dreams, and wild desires, follow me to The Lunar Apothecary.

How to Make the Sliding Scale Better for You + Your Clients

It’s been a few years since I wrote about the sliding scale and it’s time to write that long awaited follow-up post that’s been percolating in the back of my mind. I’ve also written about ways that I focus on creating access and not scarcity in my marketing.

What my sliding scale looks like now as opposed to when I started my business is very different. I’ve grown, I’ve examined (and continue to examine) my own hang-ups around money and fears about financial stability alongside being a good activist, and what follows is hopefully some useful insight. There still isn’t a lot of resources about the sliding scale or using alternative payment methods for services and goods out there. If you have some favorites, please let me know in the comments. If you’ve found what I’ve written to be useful please feel free to use the language from this post with credit on your own page and resources. I’ve made some really amazing connections with folks through these posts and I would love to continue on the conversation through continued resource sharing.

So let’s get into it!

Photo by Annie Spratt

The disadvantages of the sliding scale.

The biggest disadvantage of the sliding scale is that folks will take advantage of it.

Most of the time it’s not entirely on purpose - in the US we have very little education in our school system and culture around money, class, service value, and fair wages. Class is a big one and folks are not only unaware of what class they belong to currently (as opposed to when they were kids or the class that their parents belong to but not them) but of any class privilege they carry. When the scale has been used incorrectly it’s often by folks who have more than enough money to pay full price yet they have purchased at the lower end of my sliding scale. As opposed to my students and clients who have far less money who typically pay the full class price or a higher percentage of their income than their financially better off peer. It’s a frustrating dynamic and it’s a whole other post about why that happens, but if you’ve been offering the sliding scale for any length of time you’ve probably experienced this.

I want to take a moment here to say that it’s ok to feel frustrated when someone takes advantage of your sliding scale. Feel your frustration, make adjustments as needed (suggestions are below) but also realize you have to also accept this as part of the risk of a sliding scale offering. If it feels more emotionally draining to offer a sliding scale - don’t do it. That’s really ok. The purpose of creating accessibility in our offerings is not to create unneeded stress or complication in our lives but, instead, to help everyone involved in the transaction feel more empowered. 

Not getting paid fairly.

Other disadvantages of the sliding scale include not getting paid enough for your time because you’ve set your scale too low - but this can be adjusted to make sure that this doesn’t happen (again, details below). Usually this takes a bit of trial and error that can feel stressful if you’re pulling in way less money than you should in the meantime. 

It stresses people out.

Finally, the sliding scale can really stress out some people when they go to use it. While this isn’t entirely your responsibility to manage you can make the sliding scale feel less scary and intimidating to people who don’t want to “mess it up” when figuring what price they should pay. I’ve definitely stressed out about using the sliding scale as a consumer before which is why I feel invested in helping my community not feel that way - so I share what makes it easier for me and my clients below.

Photo by Annie Spratt

What I have found to be really useful versus what I don’t do anymore.

I offer a managed sliding scale.

I no longer offer a completely open sliding scale (i.e. a sliding scale of $0 - $100 that folks can choose any amount from). What this means is that for any one of my classes or one-on-one offerings there is a limited amount of tickets at each price along the sliding scale. I typically offer about three different ticket prices for a class, though for some classes I offer a broader range and others I offer only two price differences. So when you go to purchase a class ticket from me you’ll see something like the following:

Tickets : The Plant Sabbat is offered at a sliding scale. The actual cost of the class is $35 and tickets listed below that price are limited. Please read my sliding scale guide below before purchasing a ticket.

3 tickets are available at $20
5 tickets are available at $30
Unlimited tickets are available at $35

I calculate the ticket prices offered and the amount of tickets in each bracket available based on my hourly wage that I’ve set for myself as a teacher, space rental or online hosting fees, supplies and materials, and any additional costs that may arise (such as the research that goes in before and after I meet with someone for a herbal consult). Setting up a managed sliding scale like this does a number of things:

1. It helps make sure that I get paid fairly.

2. It’s transparent which helps folks make decisions more mindfully. Folks are less likely to just choose the bottom option if they see that there are limits.

Overall, I’ve found this to be a much more sustainable way of offering different price levels for class or service than what I had been doing before. I have a bit more control and I usually end up being paid fairly. The whole process feels way less stressful than it used to.

EDIT: I now offer a pay-it-forward price that is a few dollars above the actual cost of the class. I let folks know that if they purchase a class ticket at this price that they are supporting financial accessibility for those folks lower down on the scale. I’ve gotten a great response to it and folks really like being able to join my class while easily contributing to my ability to make that class open and accessible to more and more folks.

The other essential component to a managed sliding scale system is to explain it to your clients as simply as possible. I tend to be wordy in my writing so this has been an ongoing work in progress. As you can see in my description above I tell folks to take a look at my sliding scale guide which can be found as part of the course or offering description and reads as follows: 

A Quick Guide to the Sliding Scale

While I encourage you to read my full thoughts on the sliding scale, here is a very brief rundown:

The top price class ticket is the actual cost of the class. If you choose a ticket price below the top tier you are receiving a discount.

The middle price is for those who are able to meet their basic needs but have little-to-no expendable income. Paying for this class may qualify as a sacrifice but it would not create hardship.

The bottom price is for those who struggle to meet basic needs and paying for this class would still be a significant hardship.

The Pay-It-Forward price is a few bucks above the actual cost of the class and that extra money goes towards supporting scholarships as well as future free and low-cost classes. Essentially it's an opportunity to not only take your class but also support your fellow community members while you're at it. Sweet!

Since creating this shorthand guide, a limited amount of tickets in each bracket, along with setting up a culture of openness around money in my classes (more on that below), I’ve found folks using the sliding scale accurately and in a way that feels empowering. Establishing and sharing the actual price of the class has been key as well as distinguishing between something that is a financial sacrifice versus a hardship (which I go into more depth here). 

image by author

I’ve set up a culture in my classes where money is not scary but fun to talk about.

Talking about money is awkward especially if you’re collecting money at the door as opposed to online sales. I try to be as clear about expectations as possible by stating when, where, and how class money will be collected (for example, sometimes for donation based classes I collect at the end of class) so that folks aren’t stressing about what to do around payment. I let folks know the range of prices and the actual cost of the course (all of which has been posted on my website ahead of time). I establish a “lucky” mug or teapot as the receptacle of abundance for collecting money; I look folks in the eyes and thank them genuinely for whatever they’re able to give (which can be hard sometimes when you know someone is underpaying you, let’s be honest. But it’s also a practice in compassion and gratefulness that you choose to take on when offering the sliding scale or hosting donation-based events). With my magickal crowds we even say a little spell between us for abundance - because that’s how my Witch kin are like and I love it. 

Making money fun to talk about is always a work in progress and I’m learning as I go along - let me know how you make money an easy thing to talk about in the comments below. I would love more ideas and inspiration!

I don’t discount my services.

I’m going to make an assumption here, but it’s based on years of observation of the herbal and magickal communities I run in (which is made up of largely queer, folks of color, gender-rebellious, and womxn-centered and femme folks). I bet that for most of you reading this, you’re already offering your services or goods for a discounted rate. Because you’ve underpriced it, because we don’t talk about money and fair wages, and because many of us would have a hard time defining what a fair wage is to begin with. Because our global market ranges from the super exclusive, hand-crafted artisan objects to “cheap” slave labor produced items (and there are plenty of times when those two areas cross-over). Then throw in social pressure, scarcity complexes, the continuing impact of childhood trauma, and some pretty unhealthy ideas about success and whether or not you’re allowed it as an activist and of course we’re confused about money and pricing.

I used to discount my services all the time. And I still felt bad all the time about charging folks and not earning enough (ugh, that’s a vicious thought cycle). Offering my services at a discount didn’t mean I made more or got more folks purchasing my remedies or classes. Nor was this behavior something that I expected my peers to do - that’s where my mindset began to shift. If I didn’t expect my peers or those I was serving to get underpaid in their work, why did I persist in this expectation for myself?

Part of my shift away from offering discounts all of the time (which, the not-so-secret secret is that I do offer a discount - but only those who sign-up for my newsletter and the very occasional seasonal sale), was realizing that I didn’t want to be running a discount emporium of magickal goods, but a space for starry-hearted community to grow. That meant I needed to get paid fairly so I could reinvest in readers like you and the community I interact with daily.

What I realized is that I would much rather be able be able to write quality, in-depth blog posts that reach a lot of folks for free than give away my classes to one person at a time. If I’m getting paid fairly for my teaching work, then I feel more able to give in my writing and in other low-cost or free services. Being able to pay my bills and save money means that I can actually offer more for free because I’m not stressed and counting pennies at the end of each month worried about paying rent and putting food on the table.

If you’re in a similar place, I recommend starting by assessing what you already give away for free - your blog posts, newsletters, volunteering in your community, the emotional labor in relationships (personal, professional, familial, and community-based), webinars, videos, and more. Celebrate what you already give and place value on it. When folks ask for freebies point them to the free content on your website which you know is good, quality stuff. I’ve never had someone email me or tell me in person how great it is that I had so many discounts back when I was constantly offering them. What actually has happened is I get regular feedback from folks saying how appreciative they are of the length and scope of free resources I offer on my site - which feels really good because I want folks to feel like their getting quality information that is of use in their life. That’s what I look for in other businesses and it feels good that I’m also providing such a service.

Photo by Annie Spratt

Other systems of exchange beyond the sliding scale.

Author's Note: I've added a number of new suggestions based on some great feedback I received over on instagram on what other folks use to create equitable systems of exchange. Thanks to everyone who have shared their ideas and insights making this conversation all the better! 

I like the sliding scale a lot but it can be tricky to manage. The closest alternative to the sliding scale (i.e. something which alleviates the burden of upfront cost of a course) that I use regularly are payment plans. I used to customize payment plans for each person that asked me for one and that turned out to consume way too much of my time and pulling me away from my teaching and writing. I used to also offer a discount on top of my payment plans (which I was already paying additional transaction fees) because I worried that if someone needed a payment plan that they also needed a steep course discount. This isn’t true - if someone needs a payment plan they just need an extended period of time to pay. Sometimes a discount would be helpful, but it shouldn’t be assumed. Again, be mindful of devaluing your services.

I now offer a standard payment plan for everyone. I worried way too much about doing this but in the end I have more people successfully using the this new payment plan than ever before. And since it is standardized and automated there is no extra work for me. Of course, in all of these systems there are exceptions and special cases where I offer custom payment plans, but those are once or twice a year at most instead of all the time. 

Donation-based with or without no one turned away for lack of funds (NOTAFLOF) is another option. Donation-based is similar to the sliding scale but usually far less formal. I occasionally hold donation-based events where money is collected at the door or end of class as opposed to online. One has to accept that you might get paid very little - if at all - at donation-based NOTAFLOF events. Alternatively, you might get paid great. Why I still offer donation-based NOTAFLOF classes is because they are some of the most accessible classes I teach (one can attend for free) and they can be great for community building. One dynamic that I’ve observed with donation-based events is that they can really stress some participants out. There can be a lot of apologizing and explaining as to why someone is giving a certain amount - all of which tends to invoke a lot of shame around money, worth, etc. That’s why it’s so important to be as clear and no-nonsense as possible (with some levity added in) when talking about money and the collection of it at the class. 

Creating multiple offerings and items at different price points is another great option. I do this in my shop and it feels like an easy way of making my work accessible. So, I offer ecourses ranging from $3 to $297. Folks who aren't able to afford my ecourses at the moment can join my patreon where they get access to my ebooks and other community gifts which are filled with the same love and spirit I put into all my work.

Collect community donations to supplement discounted or free offerings. Flat out donations are wonderful - especially when you can find a regular benefactor(s) - and there's also the option for applying for community grants for small businesses that might allows you to discount services. I can't speak to finding and applying for grants but I know that other herbalists have successfully done this in the past. What I have done before is have a ticket on my sliding scale that is $2 to $10 more than the actual cost of the class. I let folks know that the extra money goes towards supplementing the discounted costs of lower priced tickets as well as scholarships. This works best when you have a healthy conversation and understanding of class privilege and using money as a tool of justice happening in your community and amongst your clients. Especially when you pitch it as an easy way to do a "good deed" by more or less throwing some money in the "tip jar" when purchasing your own ticket.

You can also have a base-package that is accessible through the sliding scale with fixed-price add-ons. I really like this idea actually - everyone gets a great foundation of care at a price that they can afford and if they want a little or a lot more they can decide to make that investment. 

The following suggestion is about making the extra money you need to create more free and low-cost services. Some folks use Patreon and donation buttons on their site. I actually support a number of folks through Patreon with small monthly donations (which comes out to only a few bucks a month - something that is easy for me to do and since it's automated I don't even have to remember to do it.) Patreon (or a donation button) can be akin to buying your favorite artist, writer, witch, creative, etc. a cup of tea each month or a bigger investment which usually means you get special access to subscriber-only content. Do you use Patreon or a donation-button on your site? Have you found it to be helpful? I've considered opening a Patreon account with video-based content for subscribers - what do you think? Would you spend a few bucks monthly to get access to videos by me? Let me know in the comments. Edit: I use Patreon now - learn more about why I chose to create one.

Photo by Annie Spratt

Additional Thoughts

You don’t have to offer a sliding scale, donation-based services, or payment plans to be a “good” activist.

There is something radical in naming a price that reflects the actual value of what you do and sticking with it. That is an act of social justice, too, and should be honored. There is enormous pressure within activist communities to act in a certain way and lose sight of what is actually radical, loving, sustainable, and kind. Charge what you’re worth and revel in it.

Investigate your own money story.

This is a big one. Most of us in healing and magickal businesses will stress out about how to price our offerings if we’re not doing so currently. There’s a root cause to money stress and it can be really useful (and liberating!) to discover and release. There are countless folks out there talking about money and money blocks. If you’re looking for a place to start check-out Hadassah Damien’s Ride Free Fearless Money. She describes her work as “money hacks and economic real talk for weirdos who are too smart to fully trust capitalism” - so that describes a a lot of you. More resources I found via Erica of Haus Witch after originally posting this article are Jessie Susannah of Money Witch, Cheryl Rafuse of Howl Content, and Jennifer Armbrust of Sister. I've not worked with any of these folks but they are recommended by many who center what they do in inclusivity and intersectionality.

Learning about class, capitalism, and the intersections of privilege and oppression we all carry within these systems is really important. But when I began to get real curious about my own money story is when steady and sustainable change in the way I do business emerged. Because it’s not really about money, is it? It’s about us and how we value ourselves and each other. Figuring that out and what blocks you from valuing yourself and what you do in the world means that you become better equip at changing the world for the better - because you realize that you’re worth changing for. And if you’re worth changing for than others are worth changing for too. Money and exchange of services can be a useful tool for change and exploring your personal money story is one way to discover how to use that tool effectively.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

If you find a resource on the sliding scale or money alternatives that you really like approach the original writer if you can quote their work on your site. Folks do this with me all the time and I think it’s great - you have permission to use any of what I’ve written here or elsewhere on the sliding scale on your site with credit. Find resources, share them, use them appropriately, and celebrate the hard work of others so that you don’t have to spend extra time researching or writing about something that feels big, overwhelming or not your area of expertise. Use what’s out there so you can get back to doing what you’re called to do in the world - hopefully a little more informed and confident in how you’re doing it.

I know that how I’m doing things is working for me and my community because I feel less stressed and more confident about what I’m offering, I’m able to explain it easily, and, most importantly, my students and clients talk about how easy it was for them to navigate while also got them thinking about money, cost, and their own financial situation in new ways. My hope in writing these series about running a business within the healing and magickal markets is that you’ll find the right systems for you, too, instead of struggling with ones that don’t work. Because who has time for that? There’s too much tea to be drunk…

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, including any other sliding scale pitfalls, alternatives, and triumphs, as well as your favorite resources on managing money and overcoming money blocks (preferably ones that are progressive and inclusive of LGBT+, femme and womxn folks, and folks of color). I look forward to commiserating on our money mistakes, celebrating your creativity, and generally making this conversation around money in our communities waaaaay easier.