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Classes & Teachers
Traditionally animal fats were used in pharmacy to provide healing to injured skin. In this hands-on class, we shall render lard, clarify butter to make Ghee and use duck fat or beef tallow to make a salve and demonstrate how to make suppositories. We will answer some questions as in: what is an emulsion, what’s the best way to make an emulsion, hand-whip or blender? What are some good preservatives, and more…
The Den Mothers is a new offering at symposium intended to provide an additional warm welcome for newcomers. Cousins Elise Higley and Jamie Della will be your Den Mothers and be a loving presence as you step into the powerful circle of Sisterhood. As your Den Mothers, we pledge to you
- A warm welcome as you check in at registration on Friday.
- A brief introduction and layout of the land and an invite to Friday night dinner in front of the Den Mother Tipi .
- A grounding spot for first timers with questions and concerns throughout the weekend with hours from 9am-9pm. There will be a note pad with a pen to write messages or question for "Mom" if no one is at the tipi. We will stock a few extra necessities that a first timer may have forgotten that they can borrow if needed; a chair, dishes, paper & pen, flashlight, dress up accessories for ceremony etc.
- A Monday breakfast near the Den Mother's tipi to hear how everyone's experience has been and get feedback.
Come learn about the art and ethics of spellcrafting. Discover how spells work, the four questions you must ask yourself before any spellcrafting, and magickal properties of up to 20 herbs. You will learn how to set up a protective circle to cast a spell as well as many other influences of spellcrafting, including tools of the craft, chakras, animal totems, runes, colors, candle magick, numbers, day of the week, season, cardinal directions, phase of the moon, tarot, and deities. Create your own mojo pouch for a spell that you design. Let's make magick together!
Join us for hands on luxuriating and fun. Depending on the desires of the participants possibilities include: learning about various skin care delights as we pamper each other, collaging and art as we express ourselves, natural body painting and henna for adornment, and more. Helpful to bring towel and cup for pampering and elixirs. Please be mindful that this class is designed to focus on our teens, however, if you are cruising around class sites and there appears to be room and supplies please join us. This class repeats.
The right container is essential whether it is a pot to boil water, holding the sacred space of a healing journey, having a conversation, or creating enough space for ourselves to make it through the day. Drawing on the tools of Somatic Experiencing, the magic of Flower Essences, and principles of Aikido we will explore ways to strengthen our relationship to our boundaries, perhaps beginning to repair boundary ruptures, allowing for the possibility of increased connection and safety as we move through the world.
This will be an opportunity to practice user friendly holds found in Craniosacral Therapy, Somatic Experiencing and Polarity Therapy which can be helpful when you and your loved ones have a headache, injury, or rough day and need some support. While professional help is often a great idea, we don’t always have the time and resources to get there or we want to be able to support the work we are doing with practitioners at home. While the systems mentioned above cannot be learned in one Symposium session, some basic principles, hand positioning and intention setting can be a great start!
Join this interactive class and let your inner artist out to play as we create a tool for magical manifestation. In this class we will start by creating sacred space for our magic. Then we will do a creative visualization exercise to focus on what we want to manifest. Finally, we will each decorate a 7-day candle which can be used at home to be a reminder of the magic we are creating. All are welcome. Limited to 20 participants.
Mental health is the keystone of ALL health in the Tibetan understanding. Intro to how they approach mental dis-ease with basic self-care helps using topical herbs/oils and meditations for shifting into peace and satisfaction.
An introduction to Tibetan Medicine’s understanding of conception and fetal development and the mirror process of death of the body. Will include a simple and profound meditation on the dissolution of the 5 elements opening the way to clear awareness.
Learn about cultivation, applications, constituents etc., of one of the greatest herbs of all time—and celebrate the glories of the Goddess Tulsi! Hear Her lore and learn the songs to sing in worshipping Her and seeking Her myriad medicinal gifts!
This will be more of a conversation rather than a more formal class, a time to explore together our often complex experiences as we seek to help heal our cultural dysfunction around death.
Essential Oils have become all the rage in today’s world however the average user lacks the proper amount of training required to safely implement these powerful plant allies. Join me under the canopy of trees as we discuss proper usage, dilution & safety in essential oil use. We will sample a wide variety of distillates (hydrosols) in addition to observing a distillation of lavender flowers. Each attendee will take home an essential oil roller ball blend and a sample of Lavender hydrosol.
In this class we will cover the basics of herbal medicine making. We will discuss varying uses of plant medicine including: Tisane, Tincture, Glycerite, Acetum, Melita & Vinum. You will have the opportunity to experience each of these varieties of Herbal Medicine as well as learn the why and how of varying modes of extraction. We will discuss formulation mathematics as well as formulation ratios and compounding. The second part of this workshop will include a lab portion where we together will formulate & infuse an herbal oil of collective choosing.
You will leave this intensive with a thorough understanding of herbal medicine basics and the ability to use and build upon your understanding of this ancient form of healing in your own home or practice.
What you need to know about labeling legalities if you are starting/running an herbal products business.
Taught by an alcoholic in recovery with 12 + years of sobriety, this class expands awareness of alcoholism, addiction and recovery in the context of herbalism and prepares the herbalist to support the patient, friend, family member or self beyond tinctures. We will make strong non-alcoholic medicine together; we will discuss beliefs about non-alcoholic medicine, and we will sample dozens of sober preparations as we answer questions about how to trust non-alcoholic medicine to get the job done. Honey, apple cider vinegar, glycerine and fats are your very smart allies! We will outline the simple magical tenets of sober herbalism which rocket the herbalist into the fourth dimension of supporting all beings with plant medicine. Open your mind, expand your apothecary and become a more dynamic herbalist!
“Do you think it’s possible to dissect a human being, render it down into it’s constituent parts, feed them into a machine which measures such things and determine from that its ability to paint or create great music? No? Then why do you think that once you have done this with my body you know anything about me?”
~ Message from a Plant Spirit
Cannabis has been providing humans with clothing, food and medicine for hundreds of thousands of years. Her roots are spiritual in nature and she’s eager to offer us wisdom and healing just as she has been doing all these years. This 2 part class is an opportunity to get to know her story, her spiritual nature and how to work in partnership with her for connection, balance and enhanced well-being.
Part I: In Part I of this highly experiential class we’ll explore the origins of Cannabis, where Cannabis fits in the hierarchy of the plant kingdom and embark on a drum journey to explore the mystery of how Cannabis came to be with us. Please bring whatever you may need to be comfortable sitting or lying down, plenty of water for hydration, a sunshade should you need it and a journal or notebook. This class is not suitable for children.
“Do you think it’s possible to dissect a human being, render it down into it’s constituent parts, feed them into a machine which measures such things and determine from that its ability to paint or create great music? No? Then why do you think that once you have done this with my body you know anything about me?”
~ Message from a Plant Spirit
Part II: In Part II of this highly experiential class we’ll explore what it means to be in “right” relationship with Cannabis, the unique medicine she brings to you and embark on a drum journey to meet the Spirit of Cannabis to receive the guidance and/or healing you most need now to restore balance and harmony within yourself and your unique relationship with Cannabis. Please bring whatever you may need to be comfortable sitting or lying down, plenty of water for hydration, a sunshade should you need it and a journal or notebook. This class is not suitable for children.
Join us for a meditative walk on the land here at Black Oak Ranch while we seek out plant friends high and low. Black Oak Ranch is home to a diversity of medicinal plants, and we’ll identify and discuss the medicine of these hardy plants that can thrive in this landscape of seasonal extremes.
An ancient medical tradition from India, Ayurveda is deeply guided by patterns seen in nature, and these patterns can be applied to deeply illuminate our understanding of our bodies, minds, and spirits. Join us for an introduction to the system Ayurveda and how we can use these patterns to evaluate our personal constitutions and improve our health.
Ayurveda, the traditional medical system of India, offers us techniques to use our senses to evaluate the medical qualities of herbs and foods. One method to illuminate deeper knowledge about the healing plants is to engage our sense of taste! Join us to learn about the Six Tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, astringent, and bitter), and how we can use our taste buds to help guide us to the herbs best for our personal constitutions.
Eli Painted Crow and Seawytch will be tending the central fire during the fall session with the intention of lighting our way forward in these times of change. Envisioning a bright future for all, beings.
This is the time, of the Woman. We feel and experience the changes Mother Earth is experiencing. Learn and remember the ways to feel, heal and recommit to sustaining our beloved planet. Understanding the role of the elements, herbal medicine, ceremony and reclaiming sovereignty ...for the hope of future generations.
Essences are infused vibrational waters that can create subtle, but very distinct, shifts in consciousness, enabling us to meet the moment in new ways. Come learn some of the less-often-heard aspects of making essences ~ of plants, trees, rocks, planets, journeys, and more! We'll also experience and explore the ways that taking essences can support our bodies and beings in adjusting to and engaging with the shifting energies of these times. Prepare to be dosed!
Wood carving is an amazing way to become more present in your body and hands, and to learn to approach life in a crafting way. Through carving a Swedish-style wooden Butter/Jam Knife (smör kniv), you’ll learn knife grips and cuts (as well as safety and sharpening basics), and how to work with the grain of the wood. In Part I you'll rough out your butter knife. Limit 20 students, preference to those that bring a Mora 120 wood carving knife (though I will have a some to lend or sell).
In a continuation from Part I, you’ll learn additional knife grips for shaping your butter knife, as well as techniques for finishing wood. Only for those who attended Part I
Friday Night 9–11pm
Saturday Night 9–11pm
Come join us for an evening under the late spring constellations. Guided by a green laser wand, you’ll learn to find your way around the night sky and the names of the stars and constellations, while hearing folklore from different times and cultures. We’ll meet the bright shining stars of the Twins, the Lion, Virgo, the Scorpion, and more… You will also be dosed with Essence Elixirs!
Please note the new stargazing location at the Parking Lot area.
Natural Health, Natural Healing, Natural Energy, & Natural Power
Do you want to know simple herbs and spices:
- Keep you healthy and energetic?
- Heal muscles, bones, blood, skin, & hair damage?
- Give you energy and vitality?
- Change your mood and outlook?
Are you afraid that learning about herbs makes you seem new “agey,” hippy, strange & weird?
Come share and learn some simple basics! This herbal workshop offers the herbal basics for the regular person who wants to understand simple and easy ways to eat and live healthy, to have more energy, and even to be healed by adding basic herbs spices to your diet and in your regular self-care. We will share the capabilities, the uses, of the value of common herbs & spices in your home. There will be herbs to touch, taste, and smell – including some plants from which herbs & spices are derived.
We will also share some mixtures and materials from which common herbs are made, and we will discuss common products that have herbs and spices as their key or core ingredients.
Come on in and get healthy, get healed, and get happy!
Natural Health, Natural Healing, Natural Energy, & Natural Power
Do you want to know simple herbs and spices:
Keep you healthy and energetic?
Heal muscles, bones, blood, skin, & hair damage?
Give you energy and vitality?
Change your mood and outlook?
Are you afraid that learning about herbs makes you seem new “agey”, hippy, strange & weird?
Come share and learn some simple basics! This herbal workshop offers the herbal basics for the regular person who wants to understand simple and easy ways to eat and live healthy, to have more energy, and even to be healed by adding basic herbs spices to your diet and in your regular self-care. We will share the capabilities, the uses, of the value of common herbs & spices in your home. There will be herbs to touch, taste, and smell – including some plants from which herbs & spices are derived.
We will also share some mixtures and materials from which common herbs are made, and we will discuss common products that have herbs and spices as their key or core ingredients.
Come on in and get healthy, get healed, and get happy!
Clothing is required for this class.
Come share and experience movements, styles, and sounds of the African Diaspora, broken down to basics, while learning root cultural stories and ideals behind some dances, movements, and rhythms.
Shereel will lead and show you;
- How to move in rhythm to different sounds & music
- How to hear and internalize rhythms;
- How to tap into your natural ‘inner rhythm’;
- How to move with enhanced coordination and flexibility.
Pan African Dance - Dance movements and styles deriving from African cultures and/or ethnically descended groups in the Caribbean, The Mediterranean, The Americas, The Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Rim.
Bring a towel and bottled water and supportive foot wear. Clothing is required for this class.
Wrap skirts (lappa or pare`u) are optional.
Make a net bag from colored hemp twine for your water bottle using tools made from oak shoots & redwood. These bags are light and versatile and make it easy to carry your water bottle with you wherever you go. The knot used can also be applied to larger projects like carrying nets, fishing nets, etc.
The Circle of Light women’s circle is a sacred gathering for the woman seeking to restore her self-love and her connection to the Divine. Each Circle is a Collective Ritual using traditional herbal medicine self-care practices to heal and activate your Divine Feminine Energy. In this special Fall Women’s Herbal Symposium Edition, Jaguar Womban will lead you in the “calling in” and activation of the Goddess Oshun within your individual womban body, and within the sacred womb waters of the river that move through the Black Oak land. The Circle is a spontaneous experience and co-created ritual of sound, breath, meditation and movement designed to release, balance and energize the feminine mind, body and spirit. No two circles are the same and each circle is a unique moment curated to address the needs of each woman joined together, holding space in the collective. Come dressed in whatever makes you feel beautiful and comfortable enough to move your body. Come ready to lay down your burdens at the riverside with Jaguar Womban and anoint your body with the coconut oil and honey of the Goddess. Be ready to wiggle your body, giggle from your soul, hold silence in your heart, re-connect with your inner child, activate your outer goddess, listen and share the unique songs and stories that let your light shine!
This class is an exploration of the Womb ~ Throne room (or womb space) and cunt, in wellness, dis-ease and the phases in between. You are invited to come wholeheartedly as yourself. Bring your story, your knowledge, your questions, and concerns.
“I have found, when connecting with women in a clinical setting or through the intimacies of friendship and romantic love, that woman of all ages have unanswered questions and concerns, both simple and complex, about their bodies and sexuality.”
As women we question the way we look, feel, and smell. We question the way we are ever changing after childbirth, and with age. We wonder about our changing sexual desires or lack of desire.
We live in a world where it is commonplace for our Cunts and wombs to be silenced, shamed, brutalized, pathologized, and colonized.
As we evolve and change our questions and concerns can sometimes be accompanied by feelings of curiosity, and an eagerness to share our new experiences. We may also feel shy and sometimes shame.
In this class we will talk about self-care practices, witchy home remedies, and wives tales in order to help us live our best lives.
This class is a safe space to occupy our cunts the source of the power of creation within us.
Crones
Maiden, mother, crone.... A maiden is said to enter the mother phase of her life when she begins her monthly bleeding. The crone phase begins when a woman begins to "hold her wise blood within." A common feeling among new crones is "Crones are old. I don't belong with them." But just as it is wise for the new mothers to begin to look to the next phase of their lives; the baby crone can learn from her crone sisters how to navigate common experiences as one ages and how to manifest the crone archetypes. Join us for a somewhat structured discussion of the crone archetypes and what you may experience for your third phase of life. This is an orientation for new crones or crones new to the Symposium. My old cronies are most welcome (pretty please!) to help orient the new!
Share lunch with your fellow crones, served by maidens in the Symposium community. We use the time to meet each other and share our experiences of our crone years. We will also discuss our role in calling the directions for the Sunday evening ceremonies, and our own ceremony to honor us as crones.
If you have lost a child through abortion or miscarriage, you may not have had the opportunity to share your experience and your feelings about it. These losses can cause what is called disenfranchised grief, as these topics are verboten in much of our culture. Join us for a simple ceremony to honor your experience and your unborn child.
Crone Stephanie will be available in the crone corner at 1:00 to answer any questions you have about being a crone, the Sunday ceremonies, or life. Stephanie will remain there as long as there are crones who want to talk to her, and then she will disappear into the market crowd (or her tent for a nap).
Young Women
Maidens of the First Moon – is a series of classes in preparation for the Maiden of the First Moon Ceremony🌙 on Sunday.
Opening: Welcome, create sacred space, group rules/boundaries, introductions and rapport building, intentions, and sharing about first moon experience.
Read the myth, Sir Gawain and Lady Ragnell, to introduce the concept of sovereignty in one's life, one's body. Body image, how to hold boundaries, hold center, grounding, (chant from Starhawk). Cycles of the moon and our sacred blood mysteries, with cross cultural references. Ancestors and our legacy. Beauty and our gifts, predators, sisterhood.
Read, Vasalisa the Wise, to introduce intuition, guides, mentors. Create an intuition doll, imbued with power, protection, inspiration.
Self care, mindfulness. Introduction to ceremony.
Ceremony structure, practice, and preparation. Henna to adorn the body, mudras, chakra meditation, with Art response.
Join us for hands on luxuriating and fun. Depending on the desires of the participants possibilities include: learning about various skin care delights as we pamper each other, collaging and art as we express ourselves, natural body painting and henna for adornment, and more. Helpful to bring towel and cup for pampering and elixirs. Please be mindful that this class is designed to focus on our teens, however, if you are cruising around class sites and there appears to be room and supplies please join us. This class repeats.
Mid Kids
Come play in the cool wet mud! Make a fairy house, cup or bowl a small animal or a bird in a nest. We can make anything your heart desires and Lauren will help you along the way. We will have plenty of clay and tools for you to work and many decorative items like feathers and beads. If time allows we can go down to the river and dig for clay and create a group sculpture. Come to the shade of the tall trees and lovely grass where we will meet and create in each others company. We look forward to making art together. This class repeats.
Simple or grand, sacred space can be created anywhere. In this class we will talk about different elements that can be used to create one's own sacred spaces. Letting the beautiful Symposium altars be our inspirations, we will explore for found treasures and create our own personal altars to take home. Limited to 20 kids.
Join this interactive class and let your inner artist out to play as we create a tool for magical manifestation. In this class we will start by creating sacred space for our magic. Then we will do a creative visualization exercise to focus on what we want to manifest. Finally, we will each decorate a 7-day candle which can be used at home to be a reminder of the magic we are creating. All are welcome. Limited to 20 participants.
Mindfulness, meditation, movement, mantra, reading, breath, fun. A yoga class specially designed for children ages 7-12.
Kids will understand the culture of yoga, be empowered in the minds and bodies, and will know the names of yoga poses. Each class builds on the previous.
Mindfulness, meditation, movement, mantra, reading, breath, fun. A yoga class specially designed for children ages 4-6.
Kids will understand the culture of yoga, be empowered in the minds and bodies, and will know the names of yoga poses. Each class builds on the previous.
Use the blocks that architects use to design and build structures. You can build the most amazing towers and structures with these blocks. They are small, light and perfectly balanced. Plus they cause no hurts when towers fall down. Great fun and very satisfying.
Using soapstone (a soft but durable stone) and ghost pine nuts (Pinus sabiniana), we will drill holes in soapstone using a drill made of willow & bamboo, shape that stone in to a bead using abrasive stones, polish the bead with "horsetail" sticks, and oil the finished bead with fat. We will then create a necklace by hanging our beads on a piece of string that we will create by twisting plant fibers together into cordage.
Song, Dance and Yoga
All classes begin with meditation, gentle movement, progress to accessible standing poses, culminate with restorative, integrative practices including pranayama and healing sound — Tibetan bowls, tuning forks, and more. Om Namo, all levels welcome.
Wear loose clothing and bring a yoga mat or blanket.
