Elements of Magic
So I taught elements of magic last weekend with thistle333.
I view Elements as much more than a "Witchcraft 101" class. I am more interested in teaching about the theology of Witchcraft, the world-view of this religion, than I am in teaching about how to get a better job by lighting a candle or two. While spellwork is important, I think that Elements is an opportunity to deepen one's relationship with the sacred Elements of life. And also, it's an opportunity to deepen one's relationship to one's self, and to divinity.
We began the class by discussing intentions. We went around with a check-in, asking folks what brings them to this class. Then we discussed the intention of the class, and had a great conversation about why we set intentions. I believe that intentions are what makes magic possible, and I think that magic will be significantly impacted by the quality of the intention that is set.
To seal our intentions, we made a Bio-Brew. The Bio-Brew is a technology that I saw Starhawk do once. She took a big cauldron, added various organic ingredients, and then set the whole thing to bubbling with an aquarium bubbler. The technology of a bio-brew is like compost tea. I like the bio-brew because it is a way of physically healing the Earth--bio-brew restores healthy microorganisms and beneficial bacteria to the Earth.
So, in our class, we gathered around my big iron cauldron, which had been filled with de-chlorinated water, and added worm compost, traditional compost and molasses. As we added these ingredients, we named our intentions for the class. We then stirred the brew and created our sacred space. Throughout the weekend, participants spent time stirring the brew, manifesting the magic of healing for the earth and of our individual intentions. At the end of the class, we reviewed our intentions, and participants were offered as much of the bio-brew home as they could carry.
The big iron cauldron, full of bio-brew.
The cauldron next to the patio chair, so you get a sense of scale. Did I mention that I love this cauldron?
We connected to each of the five Elements in turn, through discussion, activities, and magical workings. We made lists of the associations of the Elements. When participants would ask questions, we would have a discussion. Here are some more photos from the class:
Notes from the discussion on Air. I prefer to write associations in clusters, rather than lists, when teaching Magic.
Notes from the discussion on Earth, and the ritual outline for the participant-created ritual. The ritual was simple and powerful.
Notes from the discussion on Spirit. I don't know if you can tell, but this is taped to the ceiling. I wanted to remind us that Spirit encompasses above and below, as well as center. I had to jump a bit to get it to stick to the ceiling, but it worked!
Notes from discussion on "What is ritual?" We engaged in this discussion on the morning of the second day, as the sun streamed in through the windows, and as my cats played at our feet.
A note-card exercise in which we create poetry out of participants' free-writing exercises. I learned this from the fabulous Willow Kelly.
Some of the poetry. It says, "Love runs everything."
Some of the poetry. It says, "Change the ones of bone, whatever this is."
Some of the poetry. It says, "Swish, swish swirl--Music. Communicate with silence."
Some of the poetry. It says, "Ears, calming through the silence. The ones between talk."
We made collages to answer the question, "What grounds us?" Here is mine.
We finished the class by eating a pie. I made this blueberry almond pie with a pentacle on the crust, and with runes inscribed in it. I made the pie as an offering, and also as a way of showing I believe that Witchcraft should be rooted in beauty and wonder. I believe that Witchcraft is an everyday thing, not just a once-a-month-when-the-moon-is-full thing, and I wanted to show how an everyday act, like baking a pie, can become a sacred prayer and an offering.
I was honored and privileged to teach this class. Blessings to everyone who attended, to my co-teachers, to those who supported, and to those who organized!
I view Elements as much more than a "Witchcraft 101" class. I am more interested in teaching about the theology of Witchcraft, the world-view of this religion, than I am in teaching about how to get a better job by lighting a candle or two. While spellwork is important, I think that Elements is an opportunity to deepen one's relationship with the sacred Elements of life. And also, it's an opportunity to deepen one's relationship to one's self, and to divinity.
We began the class by discussing intentions. We went around with a check-in, asking folks what brings them to this class. Then we discussed the intention of the class, and had a great conversation about why we set intentions. I believe that intentions are what makes magic possible, and I think that magic will be significantly impacted by the quality of the intention that is set.
To seal our intentions, we made a Bio-Brew. The Bio-Brew is a technology that I saw Starhawk do once. She took a big cauldron, added various organic ingredients, and then set the whole thing to bubbling with an aquarium bubbler. The technology of a bio-brew is like compost tea. I like the bio-brew because it is a way of physically healing the Earth--bio-brew restores healthy microorganisms and beneficial bacteria to the Earth.
So, in our class, we gathered around my big iron cauldron, which had been filled with de-chlorinated water, and added worm compost, traditional compost and molasses. As we added these ingredients, we named our intentions for the class. We then stirred the brew and created our sacred space. Throughout the weekend, participants spent time stirring the brew, manifesting the magic of healing for the earth and of our individual intentions. At the end of the class, we reviewed our intentions, and participants were offered as much of the bio-brew home as they could carry.
The big iron cauldron, full of bio-brew.
The cauldron next to the patio chair, so you get a sense of scale. Did I mention that I love this cauldron?
We connected to each of the five Elements in turn, through discussion, activities, and magical workings. We made lists of the associations of the Elements. When participants would ask questions, we would have a discussion. Here are some more photos from the class:
Notes from the discussion on Air. I prefer to write associations in clusters, rather than lists, when teaching Magic.
Notes from the discussion on Earth, and the ritual outline for the participant-created ritual. The ritual was simple and powerful.
Notes from the discussion on Spirit. I don't know if you can tell, but this is taped to the ceiling. I wanted to remind us that Spirit encompasses above and below, as well as center. I had to jump a bit to get it to stick to the ceiling, but it worked!
Notes from discussion on "What is ritual?" We engaged in this discussion on the morning of the second day, as the sun streamed in through the windows, and as my cats played at our feet.
A note-card exercise in which we create poetry out of participants' free-writing exercises. I learned this from the fabulous Willow Kelly.
Some of the poetry. It says, "Love runs everything."
Some of the poetry. It says, "Change the ones of bone, whatever this is."
Some of the poetry. It says, "Swish, swish swirl--Music. Communicate with silence."
Some of the poetry. It says, "Ears, calming through the silence. The ones between talk."
We made collages to answer the question, "What grounds us?" Here is mine.
We finished the class by eating a pie. I made this blueberry almond pie with a pentacle on the crust, and with runes inscribed in it. I made the pie as an offering, and also as a way of showing I believe that Witchcraft should be rooted in beauty and wonder. I believe that Witchcraft is an everyday thing, not just a once-a-month-when-the-moon-is-full thing, and I wanted to show how an everyday act, like baking a pie, can become a sacred prayer and an offering.
I was honored and privileged to teach this class. Blessings to everyone who attended, to my co-teachers, to those who supported, and to those who organized!