So the weekend before Samhain, I attended a virtual 2 day conference run by the amazing Emily at Wise Woman Witchery. It was called the 2nd Annual Season of the Witch Conference and it was just as good as the first one last year.
There were 11 workshops over the 2 days and the topics ranged from Knot Magick to Moon Magick, Herbal Tisanes to Scrying. I learned so much from these workshops and I'm already excited for next year's conference!
Day One
This started with a Creating Your Spiritual Retreat, led by Krista Nestoruk. Her workshop helped us to dive into our own personal inner retreat, a place where we can seek guidance from our inner voices and intuition. The meditation we did as a group is definitely one I will be revisiting to build on my retreat. My retreat was very similar to the place I discovered in my post about Finding My Inner Space and, again, I will be revisiting it through the meditation from that meeting or from this workshop's meditation.
The second workshop was about Scrying, run by Emily of Wise Woman Witchery. Now, scrying can be done in many forms: using fire, candles, mirrors, water, and crystal balls, and this workshop was about candle scrying. It was incredibly interesting because there was an exercise where we gently gazed into a mirror that was reflecting a candle flame. While gazing into the mirror, we each held a question in our minds as a focus.
I asked who my goddess is and received several indications and signs that it is Diana: the flame appeared to look like a Cypress tree, tall and swaying in the wind, which is sacred to her. The flame also appeared to have a shadow that moved individually to the flame itself. The flame also appeared to have three light paths that reached from the mirror and flame towards me, similar to the symbol of Awen within Druidism.
The next workshop was "Connecting to Your Roots - Ancestral Veneration", run by Andrea Savar. This was particularly interesting for me as I don't know much about my blood ancestors, who would be termed as my "Beloved Dead" - people I am related to who came before me. There is a story within my family that there is an ancestor who came from a Gypsy tradition, and this particular mysterious branch of my ancestors would be classed as the "Mighty Dead" - people who may not have blood ties to me but with whom I still have connections. A third group of ancestors would be the "Ancient Ancestors", and this group would be comprised of teachers of powerful lessons, important plants and animals - it's a part of the soul story of my self and my ancestors.
Now, veneration is not the same as worship because it's more about showing them reverence than worsipping them. So doing things like cleaning the graves of your relatives is part of this and would be helpful for their progress with their own healing, but also with your own. The Ancestors want to help us to heal but they still see through the lens of their own time. Our Spirit Guides can also be part of those you venerate as they are the people, even deities, we connect with during our journeys.
The penultimate workshop of Day One was "Harvest Your Best Look" and was run by Desiree Burland. This workshop was all about how we can use make-up with tarot to generate a magical look. I rarely wear make-up so this was interesting for me. Desiree is a professional make-up artist so she used her knowledge to give us all tips and tricks on how to apply make-up with and without brushes. This is definitely a workshop I will be rewatching in the future so that I can learn every time I do decide to weak any form of make-up. The final workshop of the first day was "Cord & Knot Magick and the Witches Ladder - History, Lore and Application". There was a lot of information given about how cords and knot magick can be used, particularly within love spells, as well as how to dispose of any knot magick. This could be anything from untying the knots to burying the cord in the earth, as it would depend on the type of spell the cord was being used for.
Day Two
The first workshop was "Making Magick with Herbal Tisanes" and was run by Erin LaFaive, a herbalist and Plant Priestess. This was so eye-opening because Erin spoke about the differences between a tea and a tisane - the second is a brew that is made without the presence of black tea, so most herbal teas that can be found within shops could be termed as being tisanes. Erin also taught about the elements, not just in teas/tisanes, but how they can be represented within the plants themselves. (Because of this workshop, I found Erin's Facebook page, Full Circle Herbals, and I have signed up to attend a free 2 day workshop in a few weeks with Erin.)
The second workshop was "Modern Moon Magic: A Practical guide to Working with the Moon" run by Tirra-Omilade Hargrow. This was all about the Moon, obviously, but I still learned so much from this. I am always surprised by how much I can still learn about anything. Tirra spoke about how the various phases can be used mindfully to manifest as well as release ideas and physical things in our lives.
The third workshop was "Aspecting: The Conscious Act of Offering the Body and Heart to Deity" run by Irisanya Moon. This was particularly interesting because it was about how we can deepen our connection to a deity through becoming a channel of sorts. The practice of Aspecting is primarily done with someone else so that they can assist you with coming back to yourself and being on your own in your body but I asked and found that it is possible to do it on your own if you are a solitary practitioner.
The next workshop was "Deck-A-Dance: Designing your own spreads and finding your intuitive voice" with Corbie Mitleid. This was a very interactive workshop and was all about how we can connect with decks (tarot or oracle) without using guidebooks. This has pushed me to use any and all of my decks in a more intuitive way, while also figuring out what kind of readings each deck prefers - relationship, general, life, etc.
The penultimate workshop was "The Magic in Being Rebellious" with Pati Diaz. This was all about how being true to ourselves brings its own magic through self-confidence, self-pride, self-esteem by doing and being who we are in our hearts. I loved this as it personally cemented the idea that while I don't conform to society's norms, or the expectations of others, I am being rebellious but I'm also being true to who I really am. I don't keep up with the latest fashions because I buy clothes that I want to wear, instead of wanting to fit in with the crowd. So in a way, I'm already rebelling against societal norms/expectations but I'm happy with this (although I do know people who would rather fit in and that's okay).
The final workshop of the whole conference was "Candle Magick" and this was run by Emily of Wise Woman Witchery. This was supposed to be run by Sequoia Brittany, but sadly, she was unwell and had to pull out, and Emily volunteered to run it instead. This was a fun workshop to finish off the whole event because Emily talked about how candles bridge the earth (wax) and fire (flame) elements but also talked about dressing candles. Dressing a candle is when you lightly cover it in oil before adding dried herbs to the outside. You can also use this time to carve a sigil or symbol to the outside of the candle before adding the herbs. Emily also spoke about how the colour of a candle can aid with the intention it is being used for.
The whole event was full of information that I thoroughly enjoyed learning about. I look forward to each and every conference that Emily organises because I learn so much from each one.
If this has inspired you to learn more, please feel free to follow the Wise Woman Witchery Facebook page for all sorts of witchy goodness, including news of any future conferences!
I hope you've enjoyed reading about my experience of the 2nd Annual Season of the Witch Conference.
Peace and love to all!!
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