TEXT:  
  greenbelts & gardens 
   
  meditations on a forest kept in fences 
  game jam draft 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  a collection of devotional rituals-as-games for citybound witches of all ages 
  by blake s. // fenced forest media 
   
  
   table of contents 
   
  introduction
  2 
  two shrines
  3 
  ivy witching
  4 
  penny wish
  5 
  herbologer’s grimoire
  6 
   
   
  1 
  
  introduction 
   
  what you are looking at is only a demo for a project that has a long way left to go. 
   
  GREENBELTS & GARDENS is made with two goals in mind: to further push ritual and 
  spirituality into the cultural space occupied by games, and to facilitate reconnection with 
  nature through ritualized play. as such, it may read like a book of games but play like a book 
  of spells. 
   
  this was always intended as a submission to my own game jam, but when i first envisioned it, 
  it was only supposed to be a packet game, or perhaps a zine of a few pages. now, i plan to 
  extend it into a hand-bound book of 30-50 pages, with better illustrations which are 
  intended to be colored in by the book's owner. i'm currently intending for this to be my first 
  physical publication. 
   
  please stay tuned for updates. if you have work you think would be a good fit for a larger 
  volume of this book, please contact me to see about collaborating. this includes art and 
  poetry as well as games or spells. 
   
    
   
  2 
  
  two shrines 
   
  go to a green space where many people have littered. take care not to disturb any spaces 
  which are lived in. be safe in your choice of location and how you explore it. 
   
  pick up any small items which are of interest to you. these should be an even mix of natural 
  and synthetic objects. gather at least a dozen. 
   
  take a picture or make a drawing of this place. return to your home with these objects. 
  print the photo, or remove the drawing from its sketchbook. 
   
  you will need a small flat space in your home, or a container with visible interior which is 
  large enough to accommodate all of these items. prop the picture up against the back of the 
  space. arrange the items you have gathered in the space in front of the picture, changing 
  their positioning until you are satisfied with it in every way. leave the shrine you have made 
  in a place where it will not be disturbed. 
   
  gather a similar array of items from your home, both natural objects and made. return to 
  the green space with them. you may bring some centerpiece figure or image if you choose. 
   
  choose a hidden location in the space and build a shrine in similar manner from items found 
  nearby, incorporating the objects from your home into it. natural objects should 
  predominate. be as artistic as you like. when you are done, choose any objects you’d like to 
  add to your home shrine. take some trash away with you as well; clean up the space around 
  your shrine in a spiral radiating counterclockwise outward. spread salt if you like. 
   
  return at least once a week. each time, incorporate more from the space around you into 
  the ever-growing shrine, and take more trash away with you along the spiral. 
   
  you have won when the green space is clean except for your shrine. keep maintaining it. 
  3 
  
  ivy witching 
   
   
   
  find a tarot, oracle, or playing card deck. choose a deck you would not mind receiving a bit 
  of dirt or moisture. shuffle it as you normally would for use in divination. go to a wall 
  covered in ivy or some other climbing plant, or find a bush if a wall is not handy. 
   
  formulate your question. draw any amount of cards you choose; at least three. when you 
  draw cards, do not look at them. instead, hold them between your first and middle finger 
  and throw them toward the plants, attempting to cut them through the foliage. 
   
  ● cards which land completely hidden may be read as irrelevant, or discarded. 
  ● cards which land face down on the ground are read as reversals in which the 
  meaning is a caution or portent against a negative possibility. 
  ● cards which land sticking out of the foliage but not visible are read as reversals in 
  which the upright meaning is blocked, delayed, or restricted. 
  ● cards which land sticking out of the foliage and are visible indicate things, whether 
  upright or reversed, that you may not be seeing are at play. 
  ● cards which land face up and upright on the leaves are read as upright cards of 
  particularly notable importance to the present or immediate future. 
  ● cards which land face up and upright on the ground are read as upright cards of 
  particular importance to the history and causes of the situation in the reading. 
  ● cards which land face up and reversed on the leaves indicate what you need to gain 
  or resolve in order to move ahead. 
  ● cards which land face up and reversed on the ground indicate things that may be 
  working against you. 
  ● a card which lands in a significant manner different to those listed here should be 
  interpreted as direct advice. 
   
  write about the session in your divination journal, and reflect on it again later. 
  4 
  
  penny wish 
   
   
   
  take a penny or other small coin. go to a green space where the grass grows thick. 
   
  stand facing the sun or the moon, whichever you can see. if you can’t see either, stand 
  facing the north. set the penny face up on your thumb as if to flip it. 
   
  think of a wish. it can be anything. hold your wish in your mind, less as words, more as image 
  and feeling. entreat the sun, the moon, or the earth, depending what you’re facing, to listen 
  to your wish. 
   
  offer them the coin by flipping it back behind you over your shoulder without looking. do not 
  look. do not ever, at any point, look back at the spot for the coin. do not look for the coin. 
  that coin is not yours anymore. 
   
  maybe your wish will come to pass, in time. 
   
   
  5 
  
  herbologer’s grimoire 
   
   
  find a very old, heavy, cheap hardcover book you don’t mind getting dirty. thrift stores and 
  used bookstores are great for this. outdated technical manuals work well.  
   
  walk a clockwise spiral around your house. take a basket and a camera. notice each type of 
  plant life you come across. if it is something that grows freely and is okay to disturb, take 
  a small piece of it. if it should be left alone, take a picture. return home when you have 
  many samples and are tired. place the photos in a dedicated folder on your phone or 
  computer. press the plant pieces carefully between the pages of your heavy book. 
   
  if you stop for each type of plant you see, the walk should move very slowly. you will not get 
  far in a single outing. repeat as often as you can until you have covered the ground for at 
  least a block radius around your house. 
   
  once every new and full moon, and on every quarter and cross-quarter of the year, repeat 
  your clockwise spiral of the neighborhood, taking note of any new plants, those which have 
  changed, and those which are gone. photograph or take samples of new growth. 
   
  when the pressed plants dry, use clear tape to mount them in the book. interpose them with 
  printed photos of the other plants. give each type of plant its own page. look up the names 
  of each plant and write them as headings. use this book to record anything you know about 
  each plant, its biology, cultural significance, and ritual or medicinal uses. 
   
   
   
   
  6 
  
   
   
  end of 
  first draft 
   
  ♡♡♡ 
   
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  7 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/LARP [multi]/Greenbelts & Gardens.pdf