The ART of Becoming a Witch 2 Prayer Intensive

Description

The A.R.T. of Becoming a Witch
How to Awaken, Remember, and Trust
Your Innate Ability to Cross the Threshold Between Worlds

2nd prayer intensive in The Witch Sequence

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you
Don’t go back to sleep
People are going back and forth across the threshold where the two worlds meet
The door is round and open
Don’t go back to sleep
Rumi

Welcome to Mystica Inner-Versity
At a mystic witch gathering in February, the incomparable seer Sabin Bailey, asked Our Lady if she’d like to choose a Tarot card. Our Lady chose #1 The Magician. Sabin smiled, “The Magician is the witch card.” She paused, then said, “Every prayer is a spell.” As a prayer artist, I knew something big was coming.  

The next morning at 4am, I clearly heard, “Our Lady Queen of Magicians.” Of course! What a perfect name! It’s now my favorite prayer salutation. That night, the Queen returned to tell me to create a radical setting for my upcoming prayer intensive. “Look at Hogwarts,” She commanded, “Hogwarts was a complete world.” Before I could take that in, She continued, “___________ is a complete mystical world within the world.” But she didn’t give me a name. Instead, She rapidly dictated two pages of components. Finally, She whispered the name of this world: Mystica. 

The moment I woke, I called everyone working with me on The A.R.T. of Becoming a Witch: How to Awaken, Remember, and Trust Your Body’s Natural Intuitive Senses and we gave everything we had to create Mystica Inner-Versity. Mystos the Raven arrived to help. Maybe it was he who led us to our mysterious Latin motto: song of the sleeping dragon. 

What is The Witch Sequence?

When we were halfway through that intuition intensive (which was recorded and is now available On Demand), I began to see that activating our intuition was a critical witch skill, but it was just the first of many. Following my freshly intensified intuition, I found myself staring at 7-circuit labyrinths, especially raw ones made of stone in prehistory. Why this particular labyrinth? I reread Max Dashu’s research into the etymology of the word witch in Witches and Pagans. It means a woman expressing her sacramental gifts. She writes about dozens of gifts, but 7 grabbed my attention. Which came first, the labyrinth or the gifts? Who can say. 

Once I said yes to creating whatever wanted to be created in whatever form it wanted to be created, the floodgates opened. There are 7 spiritual witch gifts, therefore there are 7 intensives. Each one is to be called The A.R.T. of Becoming a Witch…followed by the name of the gift. We activate each gift by walking one of the 7 paths of the ancient labyrinth. And we walk for 77 days. The whole long holy labyrinth walk is called The Witch Sequence, which is, of course, a 77. 

And that dragon? Draconis showed up and revealed not only who he is but who the labyrinth really is. And how walking it carrying our 7 gifts heals the wasteland. He even showed me why I have this strong but seemingly irrational gut feeling that we have to gather around the two Equinoxes. Equinox, it turns out, is the time of the dragon. This is way bigger than anything I could have imagined. And more powerful, more lovely. And fun. Oh my Goddess, is awakening our spiritual gifts ever fun! But it’s also the holiest thing we can do. This is the reason we came: to become a Whole, Intuitive, Threshold-crossing, Creative, Holy witch. We are the ones who can and must heal the wasteland. How we do that will become clearer as we walk the labyrinth. 

What Are Our 7 Sacramental Gifts?

“[T]he oldest names for witch in European languages emphasize their spiritual gifts: powers of prophecy, divination, and incantation; of healing, herbal knowledge, shapeshifting and shamanic flight…the old witch-titles honored women as cultural authorities.”
Max Dashu, Witches and Pagans

Women and witches have been silenced and controlled under patriarchy for so long, that it’s hard to remember that women were once the beating heart of matrifocal societies, revered for serving, healing, and blessing their communities with a profusion of sacred talents and gifts. There are many witch gifts, but these seven are the heart of Becoming a Witch. 

We will walk one circuit of The Path of Seven labyrinth in each prayer intensive to awaken, remember, and embody each one.

1. Intuitive Senses—Trustworthy intuition flows effortlessly when you awaken your natural ability to see what wants to be seen, hear what wants to be heard, feel what wants to be felt, know what wants to be known, and go where you are called. Witches rely on intuition.

2. Threshold Crossing—The mystical theta brainwave state is the only gateway to The Mystic, radical creativity, the presence of the past, the Imaginal Realm, morphic and Akashic Fields. Witches drop into theta around the clock. 

3. Prayer—Original prayer is powerful witch medicine that infuses both the one who prays and all who are prayed for, present, past, and future, with healing, love, forgiveness, and joy. Prayer, as defined and practiced by patriarchy, is lifeless in comparison to the beauty and magic of this, our original, spell. Witches are magicians of prayer.

4. Anointing—Sacred anointing is the multi-sensory, full-body sacrament of remembering passed to us through a long lineage of witches and priestesses who served the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth. Anointing is the gift of The Magdalene. Everything and everyone is blessed when a witch anoints.

5. Divination—The original prophets and oracles were women. We connected, then and now, with cosmic, mystic, and mythic wisdom to be shared for the healing of individual hearts and the collective wasteland. Witches are all called to be oracles and seers.

6. Devotion—Long before patriarchal religions with their disembodied male gods, there was the Goddess—the Goddess in the heavens, the Goddess in the land, and the Goddess in and through the female body. We who walk the witches path honor Her and dedicate ourselves to cultivating Her Garden of Reverence.

7. Dragon—Patriarchal religions denigrated this magnificent serpent from the ultimate symbol of the Goddess to the ultimate of evil, and called her “the devil.” Every statue of St George or Archangel Michael killing the dragon and every tale about knights killing dragons are reenactments of the patriarchal command to destroy the Goddess. Witches love the Dragon and recognize that the restoration of the Dragon is essential to the healing of the wasteland and the return of the Goddess. 

Sacramental Gift #2: Crossing the Threshold Between Worlds

“[W]hen the censorship of the waking consciousness is not operative, information can read the mind from almost any part of aspect of the universe.”
Ervin Laszlo Science and the Akashic Field

When we drop into theta, information, guidance, creativity, and ideas you know did not come from you flow effortlessly from unknown but clearly fertile places. This is the playground all creatives know and love. 

Where does this information come from? Here are a few sources, each a vibrant field, a cosmic sea of possibility:

• Akashic Record—library of all lives and all beings throughout time
• Morphic Field—presence of the past
• Imaginal Realm—where mystics have always gathered
• Deep Memory—of the cosmos, land, nature, the body
• Mystic Family/Group Soul—those anchoring us lifetime after lifetime across the veil 
• Dream Fields—soul symbol playground
• Mythic Memory—Goddess-centric stories, songs, prayers, memories of living in reverence
• Land of the Dead—ancestors, not just biological 

How do you know you are in theta? Here are a few attributes:

• Paradox: complete emptiness overflows with possibility 
• Paradox: rare and beautiful voices that can only be heard in silence 
• Paradox: chronos time dissolves into Kairos and time ceases to keep time 
• Paradox: theta is not under your control, but you can train yourself to drop into it
• Unexpected: comes in bursts, always a surprise, leaves indelible impression 
• Presence: what wants to be heard, seen, felt, known, remembered, forgiven, healed, experienced, created…is now here 
• Personal: speaks with a unique signature in tone and physicality 
• Wild: brings radical, surprising, breathtakingly beautiful impulses, insights, connections
• Persistent: insists you explore questions you have never considered, create what wants to be created, go where you are lead, become who you came here to be
• Ecstatic: leaves you full of wonder and joy and wanting more 

What we will explore together in
The A.R.T. of Becoming a Witch:
How to Awaken, Remember, and Trust
Your Innate Ability to Cross the Threshold Between Worlds

This second The A.R.T. of Becoming a Witch prayer intensive is overflowing with magic and possibility as we explore multiple ways to train ourselves to enter mystical theta.  

OPENING CEREMONY

• Why this is the moment we are called to Become Whole and Holy Witches
• Why we gather at the Equinox—the time of the dragon
• Introduction to the ancient 7-circuit labyrinth, finger walk and draw one together
• Meet our mystical guides: Draconis, Mystica Oracle of the Threshold, Our Lady Queen of Magicians, and Mystos the Raven
• Sanctify our bodies with A Magician’s Anointing Spell  

GATHERINGS 

We gather in the Theatre of the Miraculous. To prepare for mystical experiences, we create Sacred Space, invoke Mystica Oracle of the Threshold, Our Lady Queen of Magicians, Archangels Luci and Michael, Joan of Arc, and anoint with A Magician’s Anointing Spell. In each gathering we will name and transmute a big lie with which we have been indoctrinated. 

 Gathering 1: Introduction to Theta and Deep Soul Writing 

• Introduction to brain waves and our natural state of theta in childhood
• Why patriarchy suppresses theta to keep us addicted to fast, worry-filled beta
• Radical difference between journaling in alpha and deep soul writing in theta
• How to sanctify your journal and set yourself up to drop into theta on each page

Big Lie: access to the divine is only through approved sources and leaders (all male)
Big Truth: everyone has direct and immediate access to the sacred 

Gathering 2: Theta night and day

• How to exit conscious mind, cross the threshold, and enter the state of nothing 
• How to set up a theta-supportive sleep environment
• Night Fall, Schumann waves, Morning theta—how to hover in liminal state 
• Middle space, day dreaming, shower, bath, sitting outside…endless possibilities 

Big Lie: be productive, protestant work ethic, “devil makes work for idle hands”
Big Truth: patriarchy profits from our productivity, stillness is radical, subversive, empowering 

Gathering 3: Prayer—the magic spell that drops you into theta 

• Relationship of breath and prayer across all traditions 
• Why we pray on beads with sacred sound language mantras and chants 
• How and why patriarchy took the transcendental juice out of prayer 
• All prayers are spells, create a personal prayer-spell practice you love   

Big Lie: religious organizations “know” how to pray
Big Truth: church consciously took the magic out of prayer to block women from transcendental experiences 

Gathering 4: Creativity comes rushing through in theta  

• Breakthrough thinking and wild radical creativity is only available in theta
• Learn from musicians and other theta-ticians how they access theta and keep it flowing
• Paradox of not having a goal, not knowing, not planning, yet receiving more than you could have asked for
• Crosspollination happens when you play in multiple creative fields

Big Lie: be practical, you can’t make a living doing what you love
Big Truth: giving full reign to creativity generates synchronicity in ideas, relationships, collaborations, even income 

Gathering 5: The Imaginal Realm 

• The Imaginal Realm is not imaginary, but what is it and where is it and how do we get there? What did Henri Corbin mean when he coined the term?
• What does the transmutation of caterpillar to butterfly through imaginal cells tell us about our own mystical transmutation?
• How mystics of all traditions describe the Imaginal Realm: Cynthia Bourgeault, Black Elk, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and more
• Mystical poetry love fest with Rumi, Hafiz, The Radiance Sutras, Thomas Merton, and more

Big Lie: only the few, the rare, and the isolated can experience divine communion
Big Truth: Imaginal Realm is real and present, under our feet and over our heads; as we walk the labyrinth we not only enter the Imaginal, we become the Imaginal

JOURNEYS 

Journey 1: Enter the labyrinth

Following Mystica, Oracle of the Threshold, Cathy will invite us to journey over the labyrinth, dropping onto the second circuit to see and feel and hear and remember what wants to be perceived.

Journey 2: Multi-sensory immersion

Jennifer DeVille Catalano will invite us into a multi-sensory immersion in the sacral chakra with crystal bowls singing in D, color and scent of orange, mudras and chants and movements and more   

Journey 3: Deep morphic memory

In this life, past lives, and the lives of witches through time, things happened that conditioned us to fear the invisible, repress our creative talents, and believe we aren’t worthy to have direct cosmic experience. These blockages are still present in the morphic field. Jennifer will guide us across the threshold to remember something that wants to be released.

Journey 4: Healing and forgiving 

Kahu Lāhela will guide us in the Hawaiian shamanic prayer of Hana I Ka Pono to release what is blocking us from confidently crossing the threshold between worlds, then fill the vacuum with Her Grace, restoring us to our natural state of harmony and wholeness in pono. 

Journey 5: Receive and celebrate your witch gift! 

We will journey once more on the labyrinth to complete this circuit and receive a personal gift that carries the wisdom of crisscrossing the threshold between worlds.

CLOSING CELEBRATION

Prayer intensives in the Theatre of the Miraculous always conclude with a mystical party, a celebration created by the members as we share their discoveries, creative expressions, and gifts. These celebrations cannot be described in advance. They emerge as we embrace our whole and holy witch selves. 

What will you receive?

Invitations to all live gatherings and journeys on zoom

Access to a password-protected resource page with recordings of all gatherings and journeys in both video and audio formats, plus a feast of support materials:

Getting Started PDFs

• Welcome Handbook—Introduction, bios, theatre of the miraculous

• Labyrinth Handbook—articles, examples, history, seed pattern, unique features of the 2nd circuit, bibliography

• Mystica Inner-Versity—how it happened, introduction to Our Lady Queen of Magicians, Mystos, Familiars, Mystica, and information about and links to order any of our support materials that you would like to have including: Becoming anointing oil, witch pendulum, ART Gift 2 journal, Cathy’s ART items on zazzle, and larger cloth labyrinths

• Prayer Handbook—our anointing and other core prayers

Bonus Videos 

• Janet on The Witch Sequence: 7 sacramental gifts, 7 chakras, 7 oracles
• Cathy Pratt and Janet on The Path of 7 labyrinth and how to draw one from the seed pattern
• Emma Kupu Mitchell on the Becoming Anointing Oil 
• Emma and Geralyn Camarillo on how to use our Witch Pendulum
• Janet, Cathy, and Suzi von Mensenkampff on Choosing your Familiar
• Marcia Wade, Cathy, and Janet on the Draconis Constellation
• Janet on the 7 Steps to Get into Theta while writing, plus 25 minute theta music audio
• Janet on how to sanctify your journal so you drop easily into theta
• Jennifer Catalano on how she works with her Crystal Tones Alchemy Bowls
• Kahu Lāhela on Hana I Ka Pono to cleanse your energy field 

Membership in a private Facebook discussion group (optional)

Our Schedule

Mystica-Innerversity gathers in the Theatre of the Miraculous for 77 days with 18 gatherings: 

2 opening and closing ceremonies
5 learning gatherings
5 experiential journeys
5 conversations in The Witch Café
1 Equinox ceremony to bless our labyrinths

Learning Gatherings meet on Sundays from 2-4:15 pm Eastern so Mysticans around the world can join live. If that doesn’t fit your schedule, we can arrange a separate watch party at a convenient time. All gatherings are recorded. Note that the Equinox ceremony is on Saturday, September 23.

2pm Eastern = 1p Central, 12 Mountain, 11a Pacific (including AZ), 8a HI, 3p Atlantic, 7p UK, 8p EU, 9p Eastern Europe. Monday morning in the Pacific Rim. Check the time in your home on the world clock.

Sun August 6 opening ceremony
Sun August 13 theta and deep soul writing
Sun August 27 theta night and day
Sun September 10 prayer the magic spell that drops you into theta
Sat September 23 SPECIAL EQUINOX LABYRINTH CEREMONY
Sun September 24 creativity comes rushing through in theta
Sun October 8 the Imaginal Realm
Sun October 22 closing celebration 

Experiential Journeys meet on the Thursday after the learning gathering for a little over an hour. 

Thurs August 17 1pm Enter the labyrinth
Thurs August 31 1pm Multi-sensory immersion
Thurs Sept 14 1pm Deep morphic memory
Thurs Sept 28 3pm Healing and Forgiving with Hana I Ka Pono
Thurs Oct 12 1pm Receive and celebrate your gift

Witches Café Story Salons are hosted on different days and at different times by different people to give everyone a chance to participate. They are not recorded. These intimate chats were a big hit in the first A.R.T. intensive. They are perhaps the icing on this delicious witchy cake.

No Pre-Requisites

There are no pre-requisites, but to experience the full alchemical transformation that this intensive holds, you might consider:

• If you don’t already have a deep soul writing practice, start reading Writing Down Your Soul. To help everyone drop quickly into theta, I always post a bonus video on 7 Steps to Get into Theta on each intensive’s Resource Page. We soul write in all the gatherings, so you’ll want a journal. Cathy Pratt has designed a special journal for this ART gift and the link to order is on our Resource Page.
• If you were not in The A.R.T. of Becoming a Witch first intensive on intuitive senses, it is now available on demand. You do not have to follow the ART intensives in order, but it is fun and powerful to know and trust your intuition.
• Witches have our own Archangel! Did you know that? We met Archangel Luci a year ago through Freddy Gerow who is Luci’s voice and advocate. That led to a short 3 session intensive: Archangel Luci and Archangel Michael Speak. We’ll be invoking this astonishing pair in every gathering.  

Registration

The investment for this 77-day radical prayer intensive is based on the sacred feminine number 108. An interesting nuance to this famous Goddess number is that 108 is a multiple of 27, the numerology of the title witch. 

If you require financial assistance, you are welcome to choose the self-selected scholarship option. If you wish to support Janet in offering these scholarships, please consider adding a $50 donation to your registration.

$ 432 if this is your first intensive in 2023
$ 324 if you were in the A.R.T. intensive that just ended
$ 216 self-selected scholarship
$50 scholarship donation