Workshops

2022 Pagan Pride Workshops

10:30-11:15 – Shane Nelson – Professional Chaplaincy as a Pagan

https://www.sacredwell.org/about-us/board-of-deacons/rev-shane-nelson/

Please join Provisional Board Certified Chaplain (PBCC) and practicing pagan, Shane Nelson, for presentation and interactive discussion about professional chaplaincy as a pagan: what is professional chaplaincy, what chaplaincy paths are there, and what it takes to become a professional chaplain.

Bio: Shane is a healer, a teacher, a chaplain, and a ritual leader that has been actively walking his path of Nature-Centered Spirituality for over twenty years. His path has led him across the country and internationally, serving the larger Pagan community and training in the traditions of Greencraft Wicca and Asatru.

Teacher — Shane is a faculty instructor at Cherry Hill Seminary as part of the pastoral counseling department, teaching courses on spiritual counseling, self-care, and human development. Additionally, Shane has taught primitive survival summer camp programs and high school career and technical education classes.

Chaplain — Shane serves three days a week as a hospital chaplain intern. He provides support for patients, families, and friends as they experience birth, illness, injury, and death.

Ritual Leader — Shane has served as a ritual leader for Sacred Well Congregation since 2006, providing OpenCircle rituals nationally and internationally. Sacred Well Congregation is a non-denominational Wiccan organization. Through training and experience gained with Sacred Well Congregation, Shane is legally ordained to provide all rites of passage (Naming & Blessing Rites, Coming of Age Rites, Handfasting Rites, Naming a Sage/Crone Rites, and Funerary Rites). Shane has been a participating member of The Asatru Community since 2017, providing rituals as requested. The Asatru Community is an inclusive, international Asatru organization. Shane is working towards ordination through The Asatru Community. Shane is in the final year of his Master of Divinity program.


11:15-12 – Taylor Ellwood – Walking with Elemental Spirits

Website: https://www.magicalexperiments.com/
https://www.facebook.com/taylor.ellwood
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MagicalExperiments

Please join author Taylor Ellwood while they talk about walking with elemental spirits and a modernized system of elemental magic.

Bio: What’s really driven me to practice magic is my insatiable curiosity. I had lots of questions as a kid and those questions have only multiplied since, but what Magic provided me was a means to get answers and ask more questions. It provided me a way to explore my sense of self, my place in the universe and of course the various mysteries of the universe.

When I first started practicing magic, I learned neo-shamanic and Hermetic practices of magic. Right from the beginning I blended the two practices together and started experimenting to see what could be done with magic. I eventually learned Qabalah, Ceremonial and Ritual Magic, Chaos Magic. Taoist meditation, and Dzogchen Meditation. All these practices continue to be a part of my magical work and yet throughout all of them I have tried experiment and explore how they could be melded together.

11-12 – Alyssa Blackwell- Hearth Craft Brooms – Making Simple Traditional Turkey Wing Hand Whisk

* CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, PLEASE VISIT ALYSSA’S SHOP *

https://www.hearthcraftbrooms.com/workshops
$65 pre-registered, 10 spots available
$75 at event, 5 spaces available

Please join Alyssa Blackwell as she provides the materials and know how to create these beautifully magical and simple traditional turkey wing hand whisk for your altar or home use.

You will be able to build a kit on site. Kit includes your preferred broomcorn and twine colors Arrive 10 minutes prior to class to pick out your items and choose a seat.

Register at https://www.hearthcraftbrooms.com/workshops. The workshop leader Alyssa Blackwell requests that you pre-register since there’s material costs and they would like to make sure to have enough materials!

All classes require a certain amount of hand, arm, and back strength. We will be using tools including sharp knifes, scissors, sharp needles, and lighters. These will be provided to share amongst participants. By participating in the class, you acknowledge the potential risk of injury and assume all responsibility for your health and wellness

Bio: Hi! I’m Alyssa, the sole owner and maker of Hearth Craft Brooms. Everything is made in the small shop space I’ve carved out in my garage so that my living room doesn’t overflow with broomcorn and twine trimmings. I began making brooms in order to find the space where magic and practicality begin to weave together, at a time when learning to create joy and peace in the mundane became crucial to my survival. Ritual sweeping became an integral aspect of my home life, which is deeply significant as I am primarily a stay-at-home parent to my two boys. Making sacred tools for the home while being physically at home and tending to my family all the while is a beautiful challenge.

Making each broom individually in my home allows me to create truly unique pieces, while focusing on the same values that drive my home and family-life. Each broom is made with it’s owner’s intent in mind, if I know it, or with mine, if it is an entirely new creation. Many of my broom designs come to me in sleeplessness, but many are also inspired by other talented craftspeople. Some begin as one concept and evolve into something altogether different through the crafting process itself. But the end product is always built from the same core principles: sustainability, craftsmanship, and a little bit of Earth Magic

Brooms have been considered magical tools for ages by nearly all spiritual practices. Full-size besoms are often used to clear entire rooms of stale or negative energies, while smaller whisks can be kept at one’s altar or meditation table for fanning cleansing smoke, clearing small circles, ushering spirits through portals, connecting with ancestors, and simply for sweeping up the dried herbs and ashes often used in ritual and prayer.

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm Cat Gina Cole- Will be giving a talk on Empaths.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.cole.94
Website: https://catginacole.com/

Please join Cat Gina Cole as she talks about Empaths.

Her book, Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft, was released on February 8th, 2022, and is available through Llewellyn, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, and many other venues.

Bio: Cat was raised in a magical system by her mother and grandmother and was initiated by them into the family tradition at age 13. Over the years her grandmother taught her the ways of a Hedgewitch, Wortcunning, and “The Knowing” which is a mix of clairsentience, personal gnosis, and psychic ability. From working in the garden with her grandmother Cat became passionate about herbal medicine. Her insights about this are often discussed in her Facebook group Herbal Alchemy.

By the age of 18, Cat was adept in clairvoyance, UPG, dream work, astral travel, mediumship, and empathic skills. She went on to use those skills in her work as a Dual Diagnosis counselor when inspired by Judith Orloff’s book Second Sight. During her 15 years of counseling, Cat worked in such places as the Salvation Army ARC, The city detox, methadone clinics, and The Native Nations in Portland Oregon.
Cat later stepped into the public arena of Paganism at age 50 through Rowan Tree Pagan Ministries. There she began teaching and became an Ordained Pagan Minister and High Priestess and ran RTPM as a public organization for five years before going non-public.

Cat founded the initiatory coven and school, by the name The Coven of the rising Phoenix in 2016 where she taught her three-level curriculum. Cat added Phaedra Bonewits as Co-High priestess in 2017 and was Co-High Priestess with Phaedra Bonewits. In 2021 Phaedra Bonewits initiated Cat into a closed practice as a Hermetic Magical Practitioner. Then in 2022 Cat handed off The Coven of The Rising Phoenix to the next generation she had trained so she could focus on her writing and Pagan career path.

In February of 2020, Oberon Zell added Cat to the Grey Council and Cat began writing for his magazine The Green Egg. The magazine and her articles can be ordered at greeneggmagazine.com. That same month Cat secured a book contract with Llewellyn at the last Pantheacon.

1:15-2 Gwendolyn Iris- Intentional Floristry

https://www.instagram.com/seasonsendflowerfarm
https://www.instagram.com/floral_oracle
https://www.facebook.com/SeasonsEndFlowerFarm

Please join Gwendolyn as she goes through an introduction to Intentional Floristry. “During my workshop we’ll talk about examples of Intentional Floristry across Cultures and History and make our own small home blessing bouquets to take home!”

From Gwendolyn: “What is Intentional Floristry? Well, if you have been a practicing witch for a while or a pagan that works with plants and herbs, you have probably been practicing it to some extent for some time now. I first discovered I was practicing Intentional Floristry when I realized I was adding flowers to bouquets and arrangements not simply for aesthetics, complimentary colors, textures, or shapes. But something more. I wanted to know the story of each flower and I found myself spending as much time researching these stories as growing and arranging the blooms themselves. It’s not just the language of flowers and how we can use them to communicate with each other, it’s the in-depth study of the origin stories of flowers. It’s why the anemone and not the rose is the rightful flower of Aphrodite, it’s why the Marigold is both a symbol of pure joy and of the mourning of the dead. It is Floristry given power through Intention.”

Bio: Gwendolyn practices Intentional Floristry as a part of her business plan which utilizes natural farming techniques and sustainable floristry and pairs these practices with the study of herb and flower lore from the mystical to the medicinal. Her business Seasons’ End Flower Farm is a micro scale seasonal flower farm run by Gwendolyn with help from her partner Michael Weed.

2:15-3:00- Oberon Zell – A workshop on GaeaGenesis

Facebook for his Fans and friends: https://www.facebook.com/groups/811336603041774
Website: https://oberonzell.com/

Please join Oberon Zell as he talks about GaeaGenesis.

Oberon GaeaGenesisis is a book for the historian, the seeker, the theologian, and the beginner. It is a complete work of science, biology, mythos, magic, theology, and research. Wizard and author, Oberon Zell left nothing out as I would expect of the Dumbledore of our time. GaeaGenesis took Oberon Zell 50 years to complete and is his first hardbacked book.

Bio: Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is the author of GaeaGenesis, Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, Companion for the Apprentice Wizard, Creating Circles & Ceremonies, A Wizard’s Bestiary, and The Wizard & The Witch. A respected leader and Elder in the worldwide magickal community and an initiate in several different Traditions, he has created and participated in many Pagan and interfaith groups and projects, playing a major role in reclaiming the spiritual heritage of pre-Christian Europe. As publisher of the award-winning magazine Green Egg, Oberon was the first to adopt the words “Pagan” and “Neo-Pagan” to describe the newly emerging Nature religions of the 1960s. Since 1968, Green Egg has served as a primary catalyst and journal for the entire Pagan community. As an artist, Oberon produces altar figurines and jewelry of Gods and Goddesses. He is Founder and Primate of the Church of All Worlds, and also Founder and Headmaster of the online Grey School of Wizardry. His current project is the Academy of Arcana in Santa Cruz, CA.

4-6– Alyssa Blackwell- Hearth Craft Brooms – Making Long Plaited Cobwebber broom on a wooden handle

* CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, PLEASE VISIT ALYSSA’S SHOP *

https://www.hearthcraftbrooms.com/workshops
$85 pre-registered, 10 spots available
$95 at door, 5 spaces available

Please join Alyssa Blackwell as she provides the materials and know how to create these beautifully magical long plaited cobwebber brooms on a wooden handle for ritual or home use.

You will be able to build a kit on site. Kit includes your preferred broomcorn, wooden handle and twine colors Arrive 10 minutes prior to class to pick out your items and choose a seat.

Register at https://www.hearthcraftbrooms.com/workshops. The workshop leader Alyssa Blackwell requests that you pre-register since there’s material costs and they would like to make sure to have enough materials!

This class will teach you how to attach broomcorn to the handle, as well as plait (or weave) and stitch. Arrive 10 minutes prior to class to pick up your kit and choose a seat.

All classes require a certain amount of hand, arm, and back strength. We will be using tools including sharp knives, scissors, sharp needles, and lighters. These will be provided to share amongst participants. By participating in the class, you acknowledge the potential risk of injury and assume all responsibility for your health and wellness

5-5:45 – Elizabeth Russell – an Earthling story of Radical Belonging

Website: https://elizabethrussell.space/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/be.space.now
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamfruit.maven/

Please Join Elizabeth Russell for an introduction to radical belonging and a special guided journey to re-weave yourself into the intelligence of the natural world. We’ll explore the Dreamfruit Almanac as a map for deepening into purpose and presence as the shining Earthlings we are.

Dive into the elements of radical belonging:
Playful Animism
✨Generative Imagination
Natural Time
…and much more!

The living Earth has been imperiled, and our creative nature is rising up. Step into the world of Dreamfruit, a magical moon book and community of fellow travelers on a mission to activate creative responses to our changing world.

Bio: For more than 25 years, social artist, dedicated witch, and joyful earthling Elizabeth Russell has guided experiences that deepen community bonds and enliven creative self-expression.
With the Dreamfruit Almanac for Earthlings, she has created more than a planner, journal, and astrological calendar, but an enchanted world that brings the Great Turning to life in our imagination and daily lives. The world of Dreamfruit shimmers with hopepunk sensibilities and an emerging vision for a regenerative future.

Elizabeth lives in Eugene, where she feeds the birds, guides moon-magic circles, and leads visionary
experiments to inspire radical engagement with the living cosmos. She is a contributing writer for the forthcoming Zundala astrology app.

10:30 am – 11:15 amShane Nelson: Professional Chaplaincy as a Pagan
11:00 am – 12:00 noonAlyssa Blackwell – Hearth Craft Brooms: Making Magical Whisks
11:15 am – 12:00 noonTaylor Ellwood: Walking with Elemental Spirits
12:15 pm – 1:00 pmCat Gina Cole: A discussion about Empaths
1:15 pm – 2:00 pmGwen Iris: Intentional Floristry
2:15 pm – 3:00 pmOberon Zell: GaeaGenesis
3:00 pm – 3:45 pmBreak for Harvest Ritual
4:00 pm – 6:00 pmAlyssa Blackwell – Hearth Craft Brooms: Cobwebbers
5:00 pm – 5:45 pmElizabeth Russell: Earthling story of Radical Belonging

11:15 am – 12:00 pm – Spenser Affleck – “Relinking the Three Great Threads of Magic Today”

“A recovering Roman Catholic since walking out 55 years ago. I feel humanity sits at the very initial ‘cusp’ of a renewed beginning of world spiritual tolerance, principally since 1970. I drifted gradually into mysticism over the decades, first experimenting with Orientalism, and Trance Meditation work. Then I shifted into examining “Western Mysticism” which is what has left us with Ceremonial Magick today. My co-witch and wife Melinda who passed in 2019 was a Forest Fairy Witch, and thus I’ve added more studies of my Celtic heritage. In our mutual PLR work we had discovered many previous shared lifetimes. Post retirement and a move west to Oregon, I’ve incorporated indigenous beliefs in my explorations. I still live just outside of Cottage Grove at Faewood with our housemate.”

“We all have very diverse views of our spirituality and practices. But do we know where they came from? Or how many of us there really are? When we know where we came from it may help us where we want to be or to get to. Aiming for some hopeful and inspired discussion.”

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm Kate Hamer – Sacromagical Forest Regeneration – Connecting to the Lands.

From Kate: In these times of climate crisis, I’ve been strongly given the message that we who work magic need to help heal landscapes devastated by humanity’s bad choices. I’ve learned much of how to do this through working with the land behind my land, first in trying to protect it and prevent it from being clearcut, failing at that, and then learning how to be deeply present with the grief of the land and it’s spirits and learning how to do healing work for it with gentleness, respect, and in reciprocity. It’s been a journey. Now I’m being asked to share what I have learned……because this work is so needed.

Bio: Kate Hamer is a greenwood witch, a Swynwraig who steeps herself  in the magic and lore of trees and herbs, banes and balms. A practicing witch for over thirty years, her other passions include mythology and mythic living, fairytales and folklore, the legends and lore of Avalon and the Arthuriad, weaving enchantments into the everyday, living in the liminal, and all things Celtic. She has the good fortune to count among her beloved teachers Briana Saussy (author of ‘Making Magic’ and ‘Star Child’), Raven Grimassi, and Bee Helygen (First Priestess of Cerridwen at the Glastonbury Goddess Temple). She has also been greatly inspired and influenced by the work of Caitlin and John Matthews and R.J. Stewart. Kate is a dedicant of Cerridwen, and is currently nearing the completion of an intensive two year training as a Priestess of Cerridwen, through the Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

2:15 pm – 3:00 pm Mason Peckel’s Yoga

https://www.instagram.com/masonyeahyoga

This yoga workshop will just be a basic relaxing introduction to yoga and meditation.

Bio: Mason has been practicing Yoga for the past 4 years and recently picked up Kundalini Yoga as well.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Becca Perry – Harvest Ecstatic Dance

Ecstatic dance is loosely based on Gabrielle Roth’s 5 Rhythms: Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness. We start slow, and then build the pace and intensity, and then celebrate on the way back to stillness. We will start and end with a circle for grounding and connection, and then embark on a movement journey together. The dance will have a harvest theme.

Bio: Becca Perry is a counselor in private practice. She co-founded Coalessence ecstatic dance and currently coleads Eugene Outdoor Ecstatic Dance (which happens every Sunday at 10 near Merry Lane and the river bike path). She was also an early member of Cauldron of Changes and has organized Pagan retreats and rituals since 1996. She is an ordained priestess in the College of Isis and a devotee of Artemis.

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Holly Shay – Sound Bath with Gongs and Crystal Bowls

https://www.facebook.com/hshay1
https://piaraelementals.com/

Enjoy a calming evening with Guest Presenter from Michigan, Holly Shay as she plays her GONGS and CRYSTAL BOWLS during an hour-long savasana. This program will RELAX THE MIND and BODY and send you on a SPIRITUAL JOURNEY through SOUND, without you having to leave your mat.
The Vibrational Sound of the GONGS and CRYSTAL BOWLS will effortlessly lull you into a restful state of lucid dreaming and meditation. The gongs are symphonic and made of bronze, emitting an intoxicating “HUMMMMM”. The bowls are made of 99.98% Quartz, tuned to 432 Hz (Nature’s frequency) with each bowl representing the corresponding chakra’s unique note. You’ll emerge feeling refreshed, recharged and ready for anything!

*once the Sound Bath has begun, please refrain from any conversation, eating, drinking or general disruption no matter how small until after the playing has stopped and participants have been gently awoken .

BIO – Holly hails from Michigan and is traveling with her Gongs and Crystal Bowls spreading the ‘good vibrations’ wherever she goes. She is an RYT-200, Yin yoga, Adaptive Yoga Instructor, Reiki Master and Certified Sound Healing Practitioner (having trained under GGM Don Conreaux in New York, NY). She has been meditating since 1982, practicing yoga since 1986 and is a TM practitioner as well.

11:15 am – 12:00 pmSpenser Affleck: Rethinking
the Three Great Threads of Magic Today
12:15 pm – 1:00 pmKate Hamer: Sacromagical
Forest Regeneration – Connecting the Lands
1:15 pm – 2:00 pmYoga with Mason Peckels
4:00 pm – 5:00 pmEcstatic Dance with Becca
Perry
5:00 pm – 6:00 pmSound Bath with Holly Shay