UPDATED AUGUST 2021
Currently Ligaya is offering her services to the community. Ligaya has been a practicing Pagan and witch for 20 years, and a practicing Reconstructionist in the precolonial beliefs and practices of the Philippines for 10 years. She is knowledgable in the precolonial history, traditions, and culture of the Philippines and works with her guides, the anito, and diwata in healing the body, mind, and soul through traditional herbal medicine. She has also been teaching precolonial Filipino history, culture, and our mythologies for almost 10 years through her blogs.
CONTACT:
If you are interested in my services you can contact me @thepinaywriter on IG or through email at thepinaywriter@yahoo.com
↞ Workshops
Current topics I am open to teaching and discussing are:
- Precolonial History & Culture
- Anituo Reconstructionism, the precolonial beliefs of our ancestors, and folk practices
- Traditional Herbal Medicine and Spiritwork
My workshops include a powerpoint to go along with my discussion a long with participation through song, dance, music, games, art, and crafts as learning methods and materials. Each workshop will open with a short prayer to the anito, diwata, and my umalagad. For workshops that are 3 hours or more this will include a short opening ritual to them presented with offerings by me, however participants may also give their offerings.
As things are with the current state of Covid, safety precautions in an event must be placed. If the event is outside of the NYC/Long Island area transportation and accommodation must be provided.
➼ PRICING:
- 1 hour = includes powerpoint presentation and discussion. = $100
- 2 hours = includes presentation, discussion, and interactive methods of learning based on the topic, age group, and materials. (Ex: games developed for a younger or older audience, creating art, etc.) = $160
- 3 hours = includes presentation, discussion, interactive methods of learning, and a short ritual to the anito and diwata. = $250 + extra $75 per extra hour
➼ SCHOOL/COLLEGE:
For students interested in me teaching and holding a workshop for a school or college related event, prices differ. I can hold a workshop for 1-2 hours with a presentation, discussion, and interactive learning for $80 for an hour and $130 for 2 hours.
➼ VIRTUAL:
Due to Covid, some restrictions are still in place in some areas. If you would like to have a virtual workshop we can do this as well.
↞ Sensitivity Reader & Cultural Consultant
Status: CURRENTLY OPEN
Writing a book, short story, or a comic inspired by or based on the precolonial beliefs and practices of the Philippines? If you are looking to have your story as accurate as possible with respects to our ancestors and want me to read over your draft or comic to edit and give suggestions, we can discuss my service and fee’s. When reading, I look at physical descriptions of characters and places, stereotypes, tropes, and historical accuracy on beliefs and cultural practices.
Please have a draft already written and finished that has been proofread at least once. If it is a comic, you must have an outline for your chapters and story available. Files must be as a Google Doc or .xdoc. I will be reading over the draft or outline and highlighting in red and writing my comments as I read on Google Docs.
➼ PRICING:
- 5000 words or less: $50 flat rate
- 5001 to 10,000: $60 +(# words) x ($0.005 per word)
- 10,001 to 50,000 words: $150+(# words) x ($0.002 per word)
- 50,001 and over: $200 +(# words) x ($0.001 per word)
So for example, if you have a 60,000 word count it would be $200 + (60,000 x 0.001) = $260.
➼ GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS:
- Turn around will be between 7-14 days once I receive your draft and payment. You will receive an email confirmation from me stating that I have started to read and go over your draft.
- You will receive the draft of your outline back with my comments on Google Drive along with a 2-4 page edit letter for my suggestions and feedback.
- Accepting your draft to read and consult does not guarantee my direct endorsement of it.
- Payment is accepted only via Paypal or Venmo.
- Full payment of service is expected prior to service and consultation.
- I do offer a payment schedule if you have any financial issues that may hinder you from paying in full. This can be discussed along with deadlines for payments.
- Payment is nonrefundable, unless for some reason or another I can’t finish reading your manuscript. If so, I will email you to let you know and issue a refund.
↞ Content/Article Writer
I’ve been blogging and writing articles for over 9 years on Filipino history, culture, precolonial history, mythology, and folklore from running the old Pinoy-Culture blog and currently this blog. I have also had experience writing for a digital magazine by running my own several years back called, Kapwa Magazine that focused on Filipino history, culture, and our stories.
If you are looking for content writers on these topics for your magazine, blog, newspaper, etc. feel free contact me.
➼ PRICING:
My freelance writing rates do differ based on the content I am writing, how many words, and any historical research involved in writing an article.
My standard set rate is $0.18 per word. So a 500 word article would be $90.
↞ Diwatahan Mentorship
While I do offer my classes for Anituo Reconstructionism and traditional healing, I also offer personal one to one mentorship. This can be in person or virtual through Zoom. This mentorship will be focused on reviving the precolonial and ancestral beliefs of our ancestors based on historical research and current practices. We will also be working on developing your own personal relationship with the spirits, your own ancestors, and the diwata. Further mentorship on traditional healing through herbal medicine and rituals such as pagtawas can also be provided if needed.
Pricing is based on the individual’s needs and circumstances and will be discussed. Mentorship is available only to those who are 18+.
↞ Spiritual Consultation and Healing
I offer both spiritual consultation and healing of the spirit and body. My approach through healing is through both a holistic and spiritual approach, as both are intertwined. Consultation is available for up to 2 hours at the present time. I utilize divination, mediumship, and energy work to get a sense of a problem or situation.
HEALING SESSION:
I provide healing through hilot, which is a traditional form of healing practice in the Philippines. Methods that I incorporate in my healing are cupping (bentosa), pagsasala and panghihila (the use of banana leaves to diagnose areas on the body that are tense and have poor energy), pagtawas (a form of divination and diagnostic method to determine a problem and whether it’s caused by a spirit). These methods were taught to me by my lola who learned her practice from her nay, my great grandmother who was a manghihilot.
In my sessions I talk and work with the spirits and ancestors. Each session I give my prayers and offerings to them and encourage my clients to do the same with their own ancestors. My moms maternal side of the family have all been a line of those who are spirit workers, healers, and connected with the spirit world. From a young age I’ve always seen and felt the presence of spirits. I’ve known my guides since I was a little girl, who growing up I called them my “imaginary friends”. These were in fact my umalagad, ancestral guardian spirits, and spirits who I grew up with. My gift of claircognizance and clairvoyance have also been passed through my mom and lola and they aid me in my work.
➼ PRICING :
Pricing for my healing sessions are based on what you think the session was worth. Because I work with the spirits and ancestors in my spiritual and physical healing, I can’t ask for a set amount of money as this goes against the spiritual healing teachings my lola passed down to me. When I work with the anito in my healing, I let them guide me, essentially becoming their vessel to do my healing. I tap into their energies and the energies around me to do my work. Compensation for each spiritual healing session can be through monetary donations or food. If you are an artist I also accept art pieces that represents healing, the anito, diwata, and spiritual wellness as forms of payment.
