Tag Archives: Otherworlds

Iron Pentacle Workshop – Announcement

28 Thursday Oct 2010

Posted by in Following Delight, Magic

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My dear friend and I are running an Iron Pentacle Workshop next February… below is the announcement we’ve sent out.

I’ve personally been working with this tool for a good few years now, and I’m still uncovering fascinating discoveries everytime I muse on it. Running this workshop, from organising to actually teaching it is going to be a real challenge for me, one that I am looking forward to with great excitement.

I’d love to hear your experiences of taking something you’ve been learning to the next level… for me, on the Iron Pentacle, this is introducing others to it. For you it might be performing an instrument you’ve been learning in front of an audience, or speaking a language you’ve been studying in its own country… whatever it is, we take these steps, where we’ve worked on something for long enough that we’re ready to expand. And its scary. And thrilling.

I’m excited, I’d love for you to join us. And I’d love to hear your experiences in similar situations… here is the announcement, and I hope you’ll join me in the comments below…

We would like to invite you to join us for a weekend intensive on the Iron
Pentacle in Glastonbury on 4th-6th February 2011 With Raven Edgewalker and Halo
The Iron Pentacle is one of the core Reclaiming and Feri tools for
self-transformation.
It’s points – Sex, Self, Passion, Pride and Power are our birthright as free
human beings. Through our work with the Iron Pentacle we can learn to claim
these and integrate them into our lives. This workshop offers an intensive
introduction to the Iron Pentacle, and the work of integration is the work of a
lifetime. During this workshop we will use ritual, trance, energy work,
self-awareness, communication and group-work to work on areas where growth and
balance are required and learn tools to take this work out into your daily
lives.

This workshop is an intermediate workshop, Iron pentacle work can be challenging
and we will not be spending time teaching basic magical skills. It is open to
anyone who has taken one or more reclaiming core class, workshop or camp or who
has equivalent experience in other traditions. If you would like more
information or to request a registration form please contact Raven at
greenwomancrafts@gmail.com or Halo at craftyhalo@gmail.com

We will start work on 6pm on Friday with Ritual and will close on Sunday at 4pm

Cost: Sliding scale £80 – £120 a £40 non-refundable deposit it required to hold
your place with the balance being due on 10th January 2011. We anticipate this
workshop filling to capacity.

This is a non-residential workshop. For people coming from afar there are a wide
range of accommodation options in and around the Glastonbury area. Some useful
links will be sent out with the registration form.

We invite you to bring vegetarian food to share, there are also many cafes and
restaurants close to the venue.

Location: Glastonbury, Somerset – address and directions will be given on
receipt of deposit.

Teachers

Raven Edgewalker
Raven, is a British Witch who has been teaching in the Reclaiming tradition for
over ten years, she is an initiate in both the Reclaiming and Anderson Feri
traditions. She loves to travel and has been honored to have taught classes,
workshops and WitchCamps in the UK, Germany, US, Finland and Israel. Raven is
a self-employed artist and crafts-person, a teacher, jack-of-all-trades, a poet,
writer and recovering academic. She has a deep love of the natural world and
works closely with the land and the magic of connections. Raven believes that
the most important tool she can share as a teacher is that of personal practice
– a practice will flow through daily life and connect and reconnect us to the
divine with each breath.

Halo
Is Fascinated by the Fey and dreams of delight. An artist, philosopher and
Witch, Halo is enchanted by the world and committed to filling it with beauty
and joy wherever possible. To this end she turns her gaze towards magic,
questions whatever she can find, and invites you to join her in weaving a witchy
web of wonder!

Herbology – Holly

09 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by in Herbology

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A flash of colour in the grey,

A splash of light to lead the way

Spines to hold the gash of light

Berries brighten up the night…

A Tree in Your Pocket* tells me that Holly was loved for its ability to bring cheer to winter nights, and that is why it decorates our homes at midwinter. That and it protects us, Human and Fey alike, raising spirits and soothing sadness with its cheerful optimism.

Holly-spines are sharp, a deterrent to any that try to steal its pure-white wood… a deterrent to those who would cross the boundaries holly watches over.

Approach Holly with respect, it stands as a guardian of joy, and as a joy-bringer itself.

Holly, the Holly King, the ruler-twin of the dark half of the year. As such, Holly holds the light in the dark, light to warm our hearts in the long nights.

It seems an odd time to draw this tree from my ogham sticks, when the sun is at its height, and yet it speaks clearly to me right now. Firstly, there is always hope. I have left my chosen home and found myself without a clear path ahead. The everlight of the holly will hold my heart safe as I am buffeted through this summer. Secondly, I’ve been worrying over my art, hoping it will give me a way to earn a living, make me less dependent (in some respects) on location for financial security. Holly suggests that perhaps I should focus on shining, and worry about what the world reflects back when it does…

*Jaqueline Memory Paterson, A Tree in Your Pocket (Thorsons, 1998)

Haunted by Gods

24 Monday May 2010

Posted by in Magic

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I have, in my life, two rather different groups of gods. The Feri gods, and the Others.

I am still in the process of accepting these Others, although my actions tell me that I have, really. The altars, the offerings, the studying of their lore… all actions which say; yes, yes I see you. Yes, you are entering my life, and I am not fighting.

I’m not fighting anymore, but I’m still wary, still scared.

I’ve spent the past few years slowly opening up to the fact that one of Them is present… as gentle as She has been with me.

This year I learnt who the other face, the hidden one, was.

And in opening to this hidden piece, opening rather than hiding as I’ve always done (every night she came I cried out ‘go!’ And she would leave), in opening, I let the others in.

Some are still on the fringes, waiting for the right time. I know now that I cannot simply avoid them, they will arrive when they choose to. For now I am given work to do, to become strong, to learn things that can serve later, though I’m not sure how.

And all this raises questions.

Why did I avoid them? Was I scared of the power I can feel they hold? Was I scared of the reality, the reality in magic that I believe but often doubt? It feels that way. They are real, powerful, capable of turning my life upside down. And yet, they are being oh so gentle with me. This does not match the stories I’ve heard of them from others.

And so now, I doubt. I doubt that they are who I think they are… and then I remember the external confirmations (coincidence some part of me states firmly, I shake it away).  I doubt that they are really interested in me, and wonder if I’m just hoping that I’m useful. And I doubt that any of this will be useful, to anyone.

And here is where the hard lessons come in; trust, surrender, risk.

I heard once that it is better to fight with a sword in both hands and your heart open, than to hide behind a shield.

What else am I doubting? What other powers am I scared of? What is it that will come of this?

So I’m learning to trust, working out a way of building up a relationship with these beings that are entering my life, learning about the things they’ve pointed me towards… and generally finding that everything is enhanced as a result.

And I’m trying not to invite catastrophe by doubting them because my life is still up the right way!

The Cheshire Cat’s Smile

10 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by in Reflections

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~ A Review

I walk home after the sky has moved from blue to purple, and above the rooftops I see the thin sliver of a Cheshire cat smile.

Two nights before my sweetie, a friend and I went to watch the new Alice in Wonderland film by Tim Burton in 3D. Its a rare treat to visit a cinema from the Valleys of Wales, so we were most excited!

It was beautiful, and a strange blend of Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass and The Jabberwocky. When the 3D technology has developed even a little further it will be a fantastic addition to the visual experience and I look forward to seeing how it may perhaps add to the storytelling. For the moment, it was pretty (despite my personal difficulties focussing, and preference for brighter colours, which were washed out by the special glasses). We all giggled at the spectacle of ourselves in the huge frames over our modest daily glasses we wear to see the world.

But I left the theatre feeling that here had been a spectacle, and little else.

It being Burton, there were plenty of treats, and a familiar cast of actors who pulled off their roles wonderfully. There were characters, long loved and often missed, reappearing in new guises. There were amazing details and vast vistas of beauty.

And yet it lacked something…

And under that sliver of moon I began to realise what.

In the story that captured our hearts so long ago, it wasn’t a narrative that we fell in love with, but the surrealness, the moment by moment twisting and turning of a world which whispered with wonder.

Now the fantastical has become so commonplace it cannot invoke the same degree of dreaming on its own, and forcing a loose narrative on pieces of art which have little truck with beginning, middle and end takes a little more away.

The story of Alice is not a narrative, but a dream, and that is why we love it.

Alice shows us how reality flows between the two worlds of dreaming and waking, and watching her adventures lets us walk away with a little piece of her ability to walk between these worlds. It felt to me like the new film tried to make this more obvious, and perhaps missed the point.

But it was still gorgeous, I will still watch it again, and I do still adore the Cheshire Cat and his smile…

I walk home after the sky has moved from blue to purple, and above the rooftops I see

the thin sliver of a Cheshire cat smile.

Two nights before my sweetie, a friend and I went to watch the new Alice in Wonderland

film by Tim Burton in 3D. Its a rare treat to visit a cinema from the Valleys of

Wales, so we were most excited!

It was beautiful, and a strange blend of Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the

Looking Glass and The Jabberwocky. When the 3D technology has developed even a little

further it will be a fantastic addition to the visual experience and I look forward to

seeing how it may perhaps add to the storytelling. For the moment, it was pretty

(despite my personal difficulties focussing, and preference for brighter colours,

which were washed out by the special glasses). We all giggled at the spectacle of

ourselves in the huge frames over our modest daily glasses we wear to see the world.

But I left the theatre feeling that here had been a spectacle, and little else.

It being Burton, there were plenty of treats, and a familiar cast of actors who pulled

off their roles wonderfully. There were characters, long loved and often missed,

reappearing in new guises. There were amazing details and vast vistas of beauty.

And yet it lacked something…

And under that sliver of moon I began to realise what.

In the story that captured our hearts so long ago, it wasn’t a narrative that we fell

in love with, but the surrealness, the moment by moment twisting and turning of a

world which whispered with wonder.

Now the fantastical has become so commonplace it cannot invoke the same degree of

dreaming on its own, and forcing a loose narrative on pieces of art which have little

truck with beginning, middle and end takes a little more away.

The story of Alice is not a narrative, but a dream, and that is why we love it.

Alice shows us how reality flows between the two worlds of dreaming and waking, and

watching her adventures lets us walk away with a little piece of her ability to walk

between these worlds. It felt to me like the new film tried to make this more obvious,

and perhaps missed the point.

But it was still gorgeous, I will still watch it again, and I do still adore the

Cheshire Cat and his smile…