AstroLogic*Gal

Coming Soon: THE PRACTICE AND PURPOSE OF MAGIC w/ Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki

Got word that the grand dame of ceremonial magick will be wending her way to the States soonish. Totally going.

THE PRACTICE AND PURPOSE OF MAGIC 2011 w/Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
September 2 - 4, 2011 At Seelie Court near Georgetown, DE
Begins Friday at 7:00 pm - Ends Sunday at 3:30 pm
Cost: $175

We live in a magical universe, we are magic beings yet we imprison ourselves with the manacles of disbelief. Why?
If we allow ourselves to believe there will be nothing left to wish for, hope for, search for or discover. Magic is all around us and it is as natural as breathing but human beings have hedged it around with gestures, movements, symbols and names. In many ways we are still children afraid of the dark, the darkness within ourselves.

To account for this inner power we invented ritual and have used it ever since as a ladder on which to climb to perfection as a species.

Ritual: the word invokes the idea of chants and altars, incense and strange symbols and the speaking of the barbarous names of power. But what really is ritual? Why does it make us believe in magic? Where did it come from? And .... Do we really need it.?
In this workshop we will try to trace the whole idea of Ritual back to its beginning and see how its tools and symbol came about. Does it really create power, or is it simply a means of focus. What kinds of ritual are there, why do they differ from country to country and race to race? Can anyone work magic if they have a ritual?

We will look at the composition of Egyptian , Greek, Celtic, modern Pagan and ancient Craft. The ways and means of opening and closing sacred space. At the possibility of working in cyberspace. What is the difference between what we think of as ritual in ancient times and now in 2011?
We will conduct mini rituals showing how they differed from tradition to tradition, and the power of ritual as it was portrayed in Greek Theatre and how Voice came to be the main magical tool.

What part do God forms, angels, and other beings play in ritual? The magic of patterns and movements in a temple. Does sex play a real part in magic and if so why, and how. We all know how ritual affects us, but why does it affect us? What is the inner power we all have and yet seldom use? These are things to which there has to be answers, at least in part.

posted by theShizzKnit @ 12:59 PM