ETHICS AND FOUNDATIONS OF WITCHCRAFT
deep dive into ethical & practical considerations for embodied spiritual practice through the wheel of the year
What is witchcraft?
Ancient, fluid, and deeply transformative, witchcraft is a practice with many definitions and iterations. The work of “witchcraft” goes by many names, and is a deeply personal, sometimes deeply cultural, and certainly very diverse in its expression. Witches and witchcraft have blossomed in popularity and accessibility in the modern age. This is a blessing—but can present some challenges. Spirit workers have always embraced a rigorous process of spiritual study and spiritual discipline. In an age in the anthropocene, with the backdrop of colonial violence and deep ancestral trauma present for most people living today, the containers of lineage which provided the support for this kind of learning and discipline are not always available. Modern witches are tasked with the art of reweaving and reimagining what these containers might look like today.
In service to this reweaving, I offer this foundations class as a deep dive overview of some considerations around an ethical practice of witchcraft and spirit work for modern practitioners who operate outside of the context of an intact lineage. Witchcraft & The Witch as an archetype defy any exact definition or all-purpose parameter. This is an offering that seeks to provide a sense of boundaries and considerations that I feel are important, given my over ten years* of practice and training within the spiritual realm. This space is meant to spark your own thoughts, provoke your own questions, and hopefully provide some context that is supportive for your deepening into the realm of The Craft.
Witchcraft is sacred, ancient, and essential. Deepen your connection to magic that flows eternal through the body and the Earth. Consider what your sacred role is, and what service means to you. Develop a stronger sense of your cosmology and your relationship to the divine.
*I am a Witch, folk herbalist, mystic, and practitioner of folk healing. I have been teaching classes, guiding folks in 1:1 mentorship, and generally supporting people in deep explorations of the Spirit for the last six years. Before that, I have been training, apprenticing, studying, offering community work and community herbcraft for the last ten years. If you’d like to read a little more about me and my work, click here!
The wheel of the yeaR
The Wheel of the Year is a way of honoring & celebrating the changing seasons in order to build relationship with land, and with the seasonal shifts of the spirit as felt by our bodies. This way of marking time is profoundly ancient and supports us in developing a sense of connection to embodied spirituality that is rooted in Earth, and to assist us in creating rituals and spiritual routines. This program will use the framework of the Wheel of the Year to hold an exploration of The Witch and Witchcraft & Spirit Work that is responsive and alive to the land you live on, and the body you are in.
The curriculum for this course will follow the elements and seasons:
November-January: Winter, Earth, The Roots. Foundations of spirit work practice and cosmology & delving into the magic of the Wheel of the Year. Creating and working with altars, embodiment & magic, trauma magic, Ancestor work and offerings.
March-May: Spring, Air, The Sprouts. Working with the mind, mental discipline and agility, discernment. Exploring beliefs and thought forms, methodologies of spirit travel and journeying, sound and song healing, cosmic magic.
June-August: Summer, Fire, The Blooming. Building energy for active working. Spells, ritual, and divination. Agency and the heart, will and desire. Devotion, service, and the warrior spirit. Pleasure and Beauty as Sacred. Deity work.
September-October: Autumn, Water, The Harvest. Culling and surrender, rituals of release and clearing. Dreaming, channeling, and grief work. Death and the work of the Psychopomp. Gratitude ceremonies and closing.
SCHEDULE:
This class will include two group classes per month taking place over zoom on alternating Thursday evenings 6pm-8pm PST starting in November 2024 (held live, but recordings will also be sent. live participation is encouraged but not mandatory) and 6 1:1 sessions to be used at your discretion throughout the year+ one introductory 1:1 session as soon as we begin this journey together. This container is meant to support your personal exploration into witchcraft as well as be in community and share questions together as a cohort! 1:1 sessions will also be over zoom and will be booked via a private scheduling link. In the 1:1 sessions, we will have space to address your personal craft, dive into specific questions and circumstances, and build skills that are personally relevant to your practice & beliefs. If more 1:1 sessions are desired, all students will be able to book at a 50% off throughout the time of the program.
There will be a quarterly break each season to support an integration and resting point between the threshold of season to season. A list of dates will be sent to those who are registered.
COST:
Class is offered on a sliding scale and with both pay in full and monthly (for the year) payment options. $125/month scholarship rate, $150/month regular rate, $175 full price rate. If paying in full, there is a discount, with the tiers being $1200 scholarship rate, $1500 regular rate, $1800 full price. Once you’ve paid, you’ll be sent an intro email to schedule your first 1:1 intro session, and then get signed up for a payment plan that works for you, classes begin in November!
Registration is open until Samhain (Oct 31). Samhain is the New Year of The Witch, and will mark the crossing of the threshold. Then the work begins with classes starting in November 2024 and continuing through til October 2025 with a quarterly break each season.
policies:
The first introductory session must be scheduled within 30 days of signing up for the program. You will receive a link to schedule and if any times do not work for you, get in touch over email and we can find something for you! The additional six 1:1 sessions are your responsibility to book. You will have access to a private booking link and can use them at any time. If you do not use them during the time of our class, they do not roll over so please use them! If you would like to book extra sessions throughout the year, you will receive a discount code that you can then use to book any additional 1:1 time you’d like!
If you need to reschedule a 1:1 session, please give 24 hours notice (unless in case of emergency). If you no-show to a 1:1 session time, you will forfeit that session from your 6. If you cancel for a non-emergency without 24 hour notice or no-show a session more than once, you will be asked to pay a fee of 50% of the full price session rate (which would be $65). If you have ongoing issues with last minute cancellations or no shows, or the fee is unpaid, it may be grounds for removal from the program. Group and 1:1 sessions may be rescheduled on my end as well due to unforeseen circumstances. If so, this will also always be communicated with at least 24 hours notice (unless in case of emergency) over email and/or a group Discord chat if we choose to begin one.
For monthly payment plans, there are no refunds once the payment has gone through. However, if for any reason you need to exit the program, email to let me know and your payment plan will be ended if you have given at least 3 weeks notice. If not, you will make your final payment and then your subscription will be canceled. You will be able to access the classes and recordings and finish any 1:1 sessions for the duration of the paid for time. For payments made in full for the year, you can get a 50% refund within 30 days of payment.
Social and group agreements will be covered in our first group class, but this is a space that takes a stance against kyriarchy in any form or fashion. No anti-Blackness, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or other forms of oppressive ideologies will be supported here. This is a space that strives to center queer & trans magic and so makes an effort to divest from overly gendered or binaried ways of speaking. That said, there is always room for improvement and deepening in how we can each be accountable to the ways supremacy cultures show up in our interpersonal dynamics, so this space is one where we will strive to move towards love and liberation in every way we can, divesting from purity culture, and prioritizing each of our sacred humanity. We will connect more about these ideas as we open our container together!
Questions? Get in touch here.
