Now that I’m doing weekly divination readings at the local bookstore, Sticks and Stones in Fairfax, Virginia, I’ve been willingly corralled into offering workshops and classes for the public. Being one of the few ceremonial magicians and geomancers on the East Coast, I’ve got a lot of experience and knowledge under my belt (though by no means enough) to share around with folks willing enough to hear me out and pay a small-but-reasonable fee, about $30 per class. With that in mind, here’s my teaching schedule for the rest of 2012. All the classes will be on Sunday afternoons.
- “Geomancy I & II”, September 23 and September 30, 2p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tired of Tarot? Pained by pendulums? Weary of runes? Want something new and fun, or just a system of divination that makes sense? Learn geomancy! This ancient art was second only to astrology for centuries, and known across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for its ease and accuracy of getting answers. Join a seasoned geomancer, yours truly, as he introduces geomancy back into the occult scene once more. Learn about its history from desert sands of the Sahara to its modern revival across the world, the sixteen geomantic figures and their meanings, and how to answer any kind of question with geomancy using basic and advanced techniques.
Note that this class is not about feng shui, the I Ching, ley lines, or sacred geography, all of which may be called “geomancy” in other contexts. Due to the amount of material, this class is broken up into two sessions; attending the first is a requirement for attending the second! A basic knowledge of astrology and mathematics is suggested but not required.
Written 2000 years ago in Egypt, the powerful ritual known as the Headless Rite has been used for exorcism by mages in the Mediterranean, knowledge and conversation of the higher Self by Samuel MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, and empowerment over harmful forces by countless other magicians. Join yours truly in discussing the origins, development, and use of this ritual as he shows participants how and where to use the ritual to get the most out of it, both in the physical and the astral. No prior knowledge is necessary, but a desire for ultimate cosmic power would be appreciated.
The Western Mystery Tradition is often seen as dry and boring, barren of the vibrant multitude of spirits, fey, and familiars that many forms of paganism and rural religion have. Not true! In fact, this system of occult philosophy is teeming with huge numbers of spirits, many of whom are more than happy to lend a hand. Join yours truly in learning about the two major kinds of spirits worked with and called upon in the Hermetic tradition, who’s who in the seven planetary families and the four elemental families, how to call upon them, and what they can do for you in your own practice and life. No prior knowledge is necessary, but a desire for getting chatty with the spirit world would be appreciated.
When you hear about “conjuration”, do you think of pompous magicians in ruined castles wielding swords and hurling imperious threats at misunderstood spirits bound in arcane circles? Then stop by with yours truly and learn the truth about ceremonial magic’s most famous type of ritual! Yours truly will go over how conjuration really works, its history and roots in shamanic practices, proper conjuration etiquette, and a complete and easy introduction to conjuring and chatting with angels. With little more than a circle and a glass of water, you too can start a magical practice with some of the most powerful and easily accessible forces in the cosmos! Some knowledge of spirits in the Western Mystery Tradition would be appreciated.
I’ve already got some ideas lined up for some classes in 2013, so stay tuned, both on my blog and the Sticks and Stones site for more details! I’m thinking about going over sections of the PGM, various topics on geomantic technique, Hermetic cosmology, Greek gematria and stoichiometry, magic circle design, ceremonial magic timing, and more. If you have any suggestions for classes, feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Digital Ambler 
I SO WISH I was anywhere near this. I would TOTALLY go, and it would be worth more than you’re charging as well. Ah, well. When you’re world famous and touring, and charging 10 times this per class (or more), maybe I’ll be able to attend…?
I didn’t realize you were that close geographically. Hmm.
Oh? Where might you be found?
Southern Maryland- and since I routinely drive into Richmond or all the way down to Norfolk for Festivals and what-have-you, I call you close.
Dang, that’s close indeed. I assume by “southern” you mean the part south of Baltimore and east of DC, yes?
Yes. I have to come north quite a ways to get to The Bridge. And I’m sure you know exactly which one-lane-each-way drawbridge I mean.
Actually, I don’t. Living in this area, I try to not drive as much as possible. Hell, I try to not go outside as much as possible, for both my health and sanity. :P But I take your word for it that it’s awful. Would it be the one by…whassit called, Sandy Point beach or somesuch?
lol- fair enough. Actually, Sandy Point State Park is over on the Chesapeak Bay side of the peninsula. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge is the nasty drawbridge on the River side that I have to cross to get to VA.
Oh good heavens. I do not envy you that sojourn, lovely. D:
The only other option from my spot on the Southern MD peninsula is to go all the way up Branch Ave. into DC and over. I’d rather risk the bridge.
One of the few ceremonial magicians on the east coast or just one of us foolish enough to admit it? ;)
Yes. :P
I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. Too bad I’m 3000 miles away from you (Phoenix)–your classes seem like they’d be very informative and a hell of a lot of fun.
Aw, thanks! This is my first time teaching actual classes or workshops, so I’m excited and paranoid about it at the same time. But since they want me to teach, and I have maybe enough knowledge to do so, I may as well get used to it. Hopefully I won’t do the topics a disservice by being horrible at it. :P
Eventually, I might start writing white papers of my own and selling them for small prices, but given the amount of stuff already available, I don’t quite see the point. We’ll see.
LOL! Just because there’s quantity doesn’t mean there’s a lot of *quality* out there. Llewellyn publishing comes to mind…
And you, good DM, win the morning ZING!
Well, the traditional golden dawn take on this was to make the papers available to copy for all members. So you paid your dues, a subscription, then you got the library appropriate to your grade. This doesn’t happen anymore.
That being said, I think there’s a market for small magazines, which is what RO is doing. No offense intended to him, he’s got a kick ass attitude and I’m sure his stuff is solid, but at $20 for the same number of pages, it’s overpriced. I just picked up DuQuette’s book on Thelema and it was the same price, new, for 230 pages, maybe half of which was stuff he wrote as commentary on stuff he reproduced from Crowley. The price point has to match what people expect the value to be. How many ceremonial magic magazines are out there? One for each lodge and OTO-ish order. For most of us (myself included) that means “two”, and the JWMT is free as are blogs via RSS. If you’re going to sell something, I think the sweet spot is like $5 and about the size of RO’s little magazines. I would encourage you to do it.
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