So with the start of October, the widely-advertised Season of the Witch begins! This is the time of year that I personally look forward to most as my feline familiars come to me for snuggles, to share our body heat but also to show that we three are a little family unit.
I love this time of year for another reason and that is the annual virtual conference hosted by Emily Morrison of Wise Woman Witchery! In all honesty, I started looking forward to this as soon as the 2022 conference ended - and it's only because I enjoy them, I get to spend time learning from wiser witches, and I get to have fun with all of these magickal souls.
This year, the conference became a three-day event (as it's usually held over 2 days) with a pre-conference ritual being added to the day before the first workshops. The ritual was hosted by Emily herself and it was certainly interesting as I connected with my wild(er) self, although I don't think that I need much of an excuse to do this because I feel like I live on the wilder side of life anyway. There was a meditation journey, some singing, and some definite thought-provoking ideas that struck a deep chord within me.
Then came the first full day of the conference and the first workshop was "Alchemy in the Cave of the She-Wolf" with Rachel S. Roberts. This was really thought-provoking as it started with the symbology and history of physical caves, as well as ideas around the metaphorical cave. Having a She-Wolf as a guide is definitely intriguing and after this workshop, I did do a little more research on the legend of Romulus and Remus which tied into a lot of the wisdom that Rachel presented.
The second workshop was "Dancing with the Divine Lover - Solo Sexual Magick for Every Witch" with Halo Quin. This was interesting as it was all about getting to know my own body better. I'd never really considered doing this before and it felt like almost an invitation to fall in love with my own body.
The third workshop was "Death Doulaship: Ceremony, Rites & Rituals" with Jess the Death Empath. Jess left me with a lot of questions that I need to consider about my own end-of-life but also the relationships I have with Life as well as Death. While Death is but the end of this journey through Life,
The fourth workshop was "Dancing with Deity: Relating to the Divine" with Irisanya Moon. Diana and Hekate turned up with Diana being there from the start of the path. Hekate arrived after I turned down the right path, which I'd apparently decided on before I fully knew it myself. Both called me "daughter" which surprised me.
I felt like I was missing a bow and quiver of arrows with Diana but Hekate handed me a huge black cauldron and I felt was symbolic of me being handed the responsibility of the cauldron.
The penultimate workshop of day one was "Voodoo and African Traditional Religion" with Lilith Dorsey. I was particularly looking forward to this as a lot of my friends believe that voodoo and other similar practices, religions and cultures are "evil" or to be avoided at all costs, alongside those who practice it. I definitely learned a lot and Lilith opened my eyes and mind up to these.
The final workshop was "An Alliance with Elemental Dragons" with Angelina Caporale. This was interesting and built on what I already believed about dragons as well as cementing my experiences with dragons previously. I received some knowledge and information that I can make use of moving forward in my relationship with dragons in general as well as the one I have with my personal dragon-guide.
And then it was day two! Another 6 workshops that started with "Song of the Soul: Voice as a Divine Gateway" with Jessica Fein. This was very thought-provoking as it opened my mind up to how voice can be used to honour deity or ancestors. This was really interesting but I was too self-conscious (even through Zoom) to sing along myself but it was truly a soul-experience.
The second workshop was "Create Your Magical Herbal Apothecary" with Erin Lafaive. I love Erin's workshops as I am working on deepening my relationship with plants and trees. This particular workshop brought with it the realisation that my kitchen is my apothecary because while I do have a set area for where I store my herbs I use in my Craft, I have a huge love of teas (at the time of this, I have 71 different blends) that I can also make use of in my Craft if I could only remember it when I want to get my Witch on.
The third workshop was "Longing- Energy & Manifestation Workshop" with Karena Osborne. I've loved working with Karena as her energy, attitude and personality are just amazing to know and experience. It was another thought-provoking workshop as I started to think about what longing means to me as well as what might be holding me back from manifesting what I long for.
The fourth workshop was "Self Care for Your Sun Sign" with My Tarot Lady Christine Michele. I think of Christine as my astrology tutor because I have learned so much about astrology from her and this workshop did NOT disappoint at all!! I discovered that how I practice self-care is how I should be practicing it based on my Sun, Moon, Rising sign and a huge planetary energy in my natal chart. So at least I know now that I don't necessarily need to change anything that I've been doing.
The penultimate workshop of the day (and the entire conference) was "Working with Crystal Skulls" with Celena Spolarich. Celena was a new presenter to me but I have to say that I really enjoyed her workshop because I learned so much about the symbology of skulls in general through history but also how I can work with them as crystal carvings.
The final workshop was "Creating Your Personal Relationship and Rhythm with the Moon and Lunar Cycles" with Pati Diaz. This was really well-timed as I needed some inspiration as to how I can deepen my relationship with the Moon. Pati definitely suggested some new methods that I hope to infuse into what I already do.
This was an amazing Conference to attend and I'm already looking forward to the next one in 2024!!!! Every Conference I attend always has amazing presenters and I hope you'll choose to attend one in the future so you can experience hanging out with such amazing magickal beings yourself!
Peace and love to all!!!!
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