It’s Time to Hex the Patriarchy
Are we really going to take this BS sitting down?
It’s time to hex the patriarchy — and by that I don’t mean men. If you think I mean men, please get an education. Amy Comey Barret is as much a part of the patriarchy as Brett Kavanaugh. Marjorie Taylor Green is as much a part of the patriarchy as Trumpster.
The patriarchy is the system we’re currently living under in the United States and most of the world in which the people with power step on the people without it — including women, queer people, people of color, poor people, disabled people, and every other dis-empowered group.
Patriarchy sucks.
Patriarchy is what caused the “morality police” in Iran to beat a woman to death for not “properly” covering her hair.
Patriarchy is what caused the Extreme Court to control, oppress, and endanger women’s lives.
Patriarchy is what supports and sustains domestic violence and our nightmareish rape culture.
This unholy bullshit is piled so high on top of women and other dis-empowered groups that it’s easy to imagine there is no way to dig ourselves out. But that’s just not so. There are many ways to effect change in a society, all of which start with the individual. Remember that Margaret Mead quote? If you study history, you know it’s true.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead
So what should you do if you want to change the world? If you live in a democracy, of course you must vote. But what if you don’t? Or if you want to do more?
In Iran, people are currently protesting in the streets. And I like a protest as much as the next oppressed person. I went to the Women’s March in DC after Trumpster was elected. I went to a march for Abortion Rights in SF after the Extreme Court issued its harmful misruling. But I want to do more.
But what?
In a visit to New Orleans recently, I bought this book about historical voodoo queen Marie Laveau, expecting it to be a biography, which it was. But it also had a number of positive voodoo spells and a few hexes in the back.
That got me thinking: as a responsible, fair, and equality-minded human, shouldn’t I be trying to hex the patriarchy? The answer is yes. And you should too!
One of the hexes that spoke to me in the book, the “Traditional New Orleans Voudou Black Coffin Spell,” involved making voodoo dolls and burying them in a little black coffin. I found doll-making instructions here:
Because I don’t want to become evil myself, I decided not to hex any individuals. Just ideologies. A few that come to mind include racism, homophobia, sexism, classism, fascism, and of course, the patriarchy.
I’m going to follow the instructions in the book the best I can, but I’m thinking that you don’t really need a professionally-designed ritual to cast your hex. Just make a doll, identify it with something evil, and then abuse it. You can stick pins in it, bury it, set it on fire, drown it, boil it, whatever you think is best… Come up with a few words to say over it to make your intentions clear. Gather up your personal power and use it for good.
As I discussed my hexing plan with friends, I found that some of them wanted to join in. My husband is building us a little coffin. We’re designing a ritual together. One friend is hexing Fascism. Another is hexing Shame and Regret. I’m busy making dolls and looking forward to a different future — a lovely, fair future — one in which freedom and liberty are available to all, not just the powerful few.
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