Way of the Weaver

We are the Flow, We are the Ebb
We are the Weavers, We are the Web
~Chant by Shekinah Mountainwater

Welcome
Way of the Weaver is a unique program of magical study and community building. Our learning modules, immersion programs, and circles embrace adults of all backgrounds and genders who are ready to learn a powerful skill set for spiritual transformation and growth. This training is rooted in the values of service, inclusive community, critical analysis of the oppressions that bewitch our society (capitalism, colonialism, racism, etc.), and deep respect for ancestral spiritual traditions from around the world.

We believe that you are your own spiritual authority, and that by learning ritual skills and sacred technologies together in a space with clear boundaries and ethics, we can build our capacity and tap into our collective power for change. Way of the Weaver dismisses secrecy, exclusion, and hierarchy. This is not a distinct magical tradition, but rather an open-source skill set with which to develop and/or deepen your own practice based on your background, callings, and ancestry.

What is a Weaver?
Depending on tradition, those who walk the path of the Weaver are sometimes called priestess, priest, or priestx, or perhaps witch, wiseone, or shaper: the Weaver is one who is wise in the ways of mending that which is torn, calling forth that which feeds our growth, and creating and holding space for transformation.

To walk as a Weaver is to put yourself in service of balance and growth in the midst of our ever-changing world:

First, you will be in service to yourself: exploring that which is sovereign within you, tending your powers of resilience, learning to understand your shadow, and deepening your own well of joy and connection.
Second, you will be in service to your community: those near and dear to your heart, your chosen families, the places where you live, and the wider world.
Third, you will be in service to that which is greater: the Gods, the Spirits, the Unseen Ones that speak to your spirit.

The Way of the Weaver training is for you if:

You want the inspiration, companionship, accountability, and fun of a group learning experience.
You have some familiarity with aspects of modern pagan or animist practices, OR you are new to this but excited to jump into one of these specific topic-focused courses, and ready to do some extra background reading for context.
You are excited to learn from two experienced European-American Weavers who have researched their own spiritual heritage, developed a nuanced analysis of how to avoid cultural appropriation, are seeking ways to dismantle white supremacy and colonizer culture in life and magic, and tithe a percentage of the income from this program to BIPOC initiatives.
You are comfortable learning and growing in a space where all genders are welcome and we practice anti-racist and feminist values such as consent, inclusion, and equity in all our work. You are ready to communicate your needs and learn new habits that will make our space feel safer for all (such as using people's correct pronouns and unlearning racist phrases and expressions).
You have internet access that will allow you to attend our learning sessions over the Zoom conference platform (you can also attend remote sessions by phone) and participate in group chat over the Signal app. You can run signal on a smartphone, or install it on a computer. To activate a signal account on a computer requires access to a device that can read a QR code, such as a smartphone or tablet.
You are 18+ years of age.
You are happy to maintain a sober space during our online work together.

A few of the Weavers at our Imbolc Retreat in February 2020 (before COVID hit!)

About The Instructors

Jamie Waggoner is a priestess whose interests center around folk magic, mythology, oracular traditions, trance and ritual arts, and building sacred communities. She believes that magic is real, present all around us, and a profound tool for justice and transformation. Jamie trained as a priestess with the Sisterhood of Avalon for thirteen years, and now leads independent workshops and rituals across the United States. Lately Jamie has been greatly influenced by the principles of nonviolent resistance as taught by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the work of the Highlander Education and Resource Center, and the Death Positive movement. Some of her other spiritual influences include mythologists Drs. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Sharon Blackie and Gwilym Morus-Baird, as well as the poetry of Mary Oliver, the tarot teachings of Rachel Pollack, and the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. Jamie lives in Alabama, the ancestral homeland of the Mvskoke (Muscogee) people.

Murphy Robinson is a priestx, wilderness guide, activist, and a student of the sacred hunt. They have been casting circles since they were sixteen years old, and have taught both magic and wilderness skills across the US, and occasionally in Ireland and Sweden. They have pursued special study of spirit journeying, the Norse runes, archery as a magical practice, and meaningful rituals to honor the animals and plants who die to feed us. Their work often serves The Huntress and The Lord of the Dead. As a queer transmasculine priestx, they explore healthy and healing ways to reclaim the sacred masculine. Murphy's spiritual development has been influenced by the work of Starhawk and the Reclaiming Tradition, Diana Paxson's work with runes and seidh, and Lyla June’s writings on indigenous European ancestors. Murphy lives on the side of a mountain in the heart of Western Abenaki Territory (so-called Vermont) at Hunter's Hollow, the headquarters of Mountainsong Expeditions.

Want to get to know us and see how we teach?
Here's a free webinar on animal and plant allies that Jamie and Murphy taught in April 2019:

And a webinar we taught about working with personal and collective Shadow in September 2019:

Program Curriculum & Dates

Please Note: Our usual 9-month foundation Weaver Year, with four in-person learning weekends in Vermont, is suspended until the COVID pandemic resolves. This year we are offering online-only modules instead. We hope they can support you through these difficult times.

2020-2021 Online Module Curriculum and Dates
This year we are offering three separate 3-month modules. You can sign up for one, two, or all three.

Death Priestxing: Tending the Threshold of Transition
September 21 through December 14, 2020

Sept 21: Weaving our Circle, Group Agreements, Tools for Grounding & Warding. Deities of the Week: Thanatos and Hypnos (Greek).
Oct 5: What is the Good Death? How does this concept apply to magic & social justice work? Deities of the week: Makaria and Melinoe (Greek).
Oct 19: Cemetery Magic and Psychopomp Myth & Lore. Folklore of the week: The Crane as Psychopomp (spans several cultures)
Nov 2: Food Traditions & Animism. Deity of the week: Gwyn ap Nudd (Welsh)
Nov 16: Hospice Work & Traditional Herbal Allies for Death Magic. Deity of the week: Branwen and the Cauldron of Death/Rebirth (Welsh)
Nov 30: Realms of the Dead & Wisdom of the Ancestors. Deities of the Week: Hel & Hades (Norse & Greek)
Dec 14: Culminating Ritual, Reflections & Takeaways

Divination for Liberation: Tarot, Runes, and More
December 28, 2020 through March 22, 2021
Each class will include an opportunity to use our divination tools to get insight about current events within a radical perspective. Jamie and Murphy approach divination as a tool for insight about our internal processes, rather than to predict exact events and facts. By honing our insight about our own position and leverage points, we can proceed with our activism fortified with confidence and strategic focus that is informed by spirit. Divination supports our own agency in the world, our personal healing, and our pathways to joy and relation.

Dec 28: Weaving our Circle, Group Agreements, Ethics, Consent, and Discernment for Divination. Acquisition, purification, and consecration of tools. Weavers are invited to commit to a daily card-drawing practice during this module using a deck of their choice.
Jan 11: Tarot and Oracle Cards. History of the Tarot. Useful tarot spreads. Reading reversed cards. Decolonizing and queering the tarot tradition.
Jan 25: Runes. History of the Runes. Crafting a rune set. Rune spreads & reading reversed runes. Rune spells and Bindrunes. The Rune Wights as sovereign beings.
Feb 8: Scrying. How to scry in water, in a mirror, in a ritual fire or candle flame. How to interpret what you see. The distinction between scrying and trance. Grounding, warding, post-scrying purification. Traditional herbs for scrying.
Feb 22: Dowsing: body pendulum, traditional pendulum, L-rods. Divination and consent in an animist world.
March 8: Nature Augury. Carrying a question on a walk or sit spot. Seeing runes in nature. Nature augury in folklore Vetting your sources of information to avoid culturally appropriative information & bad scholarship.
March 22: Celebration and sharing: Weavers are invited to work with the card or rune that keeps showing itself in their daily readings (or any card they feel drawn to for their own growth). They will create and share a piece of art/writing/music about it, a divination spread inspired by the themes of this card, or some other manifestation of this integration.

Spellwork Laboratory: Ethics, Techniques, Impact for Justice & Re-Enchantment
April 5 through June 28, 2021Each class will discuss a broad category of spellwork and also teach specific magical technologies for building your own spells. Jamie and Murphy approach spellwork as a mechanism for cultivating personal agency and ethical discernment. By integrating ancestral magic traditions with a modern liberatory justice framework, we create a powerful toolkit to aid us in building the world we want to live in, as well as navigating personal and cultural healing.

April 5: Weaving our Circle, Group Agreements, Ethics & Consent for magic. Re-Enchanting the world through spellwork: an overview of spells for Attraction, Protection, Petition, Transformation, Release, Liberation, and Healing.
April 19: Attraction spells. Incorporating colors, herbs, stones, and symbols in the design of your spells. Sigil magic. Considering impact, and crafting powerful and precise intentions.
May 3: Protection spells. Runes, charms and talismans. Knot and string magic. The ethics of binding spells. Empowering spells with your personal energy signature.
May 17: Petitions for aid. Working with deities, spirits, ancestors, and the land itself. Making offerings. Understanding the tradition of hexes and curses. Using divination for insight when creating a spell or petition.
May 31: Transformation and Releasing spells. Timing spells to the cycles of the sun, moon, and seasons. Fire magic. The power of song, sound, and dance in spellwork.
June 14: Liberation and Healing spells. Doing magic in community. Types of healing: physical, emotional, spiritual, societal/cultural, environmental.
June 28: Celebration and sharing: thanking those who inspire our magical work, sharing about spells we’ve done during this learning journey, and setting intentions for carrying this learning forward.

All Modules: Class sessions are every other Monday from 6-9pm EST
Weekly format for ZOOM sessions:
6:00-6:30pm: Welcome and Storytelling
6:30-7:20pm: Teach one topic, including practical exercise & discussion
7:20-7:30pm: Bathroom Break
7:30-8:00pm: Breakout Room Discussion
8:00-8:45pm: Engaged Activity such as Learning Songs, Group Divination, Energetic Techniques, Magical Crafting
8:45-9pm: Closing Thoughts. Share journal prompt and magical homework.

Tuition & Logistics

Our desire is to make these modules sustainable and accessible, so we've designed a sliding scale to help fit costs into your budget. If Way of the Weaver calls to you, please let us know what else you need to make your participation possible. There are also scholarships available for BIPOC applicants, youth, and elders (see below).

What your tuition includes:

Instruction from Jamie and Murphy at seven 3-hour online learning sessions, held via the Zoom platform, every other Monday evening for three months.
Supplemental reading materials for our online learning sessions.
Journal prompts and self-directed assignments to support your learning process between meetings.
One special Weaver “snail mail” care package per module: this might include herbs, handcrafted artwork, and/or miscellaneous magical curiosities themed to the work. We love the USPS and pray for its continued operation!
Video and audio recordings of our online sessions. (Personal check-ins, sharing time in breakout groups, and circle-cast rituals will not be included in the recordings.)

Our Sliding Scale
The following income guidelines can help you select what part of the sliding scale you fall into. Please note that upon enrolling in a module(s), you are agreeing to pay the entire cost of the module(s), regardless of your ability to attend each meeting. If the sliding scale is not financially accessible to you, please see the special rates below.

This is the price for each 3-month module (not for the whole series of three modules).

Total Household Income: Program Cost:
$15,000 or less $245
$15,000-$20,000 $270
$20,000-$25,000 $295
$25,000-$30,000 $320
$30,000-$35,000 $350
$35,000-$50,000 $385
$50,000-$75,000 $425
$75,000-$100,000 $465
Over $100,000 $465 and consider donating a partial or full scholarship to a participant in need

Special Rates
Youth & Elders: $125

If you are 18-22 or over 65 *and* have financial need

COVID-19 Hardship: $99

If your income has reduced or ceased in the pandemic

BIPOC Reparations Scholarships: $0

If you identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color, we have scholarships available to cover your tuition. We offer these scholarships in the spirit of reparations, and in acknowledgement of the inevitable emotional labor inherent in participating in predominantly white spaces.

Pay It Forward Commitment: $0

Make a pledge about specific work you will do to help others as a way of paying it forward in exchange for this course. For example: volunteer 10 hours at a food bank, housing assistance program, helping an elderly neighbor with basic needs, etc. Use your creativity and engage your gifts!

Teaching Assistants: $0

Graduates of our foundational 9-month Way of the Weaver immersion year can apply to be Teaching Assistants. TAs attend courses for free, help tend the group learning, and foster continuity of Weaver culture.

Credits
We do not offer refunds, but if you decide to permanently leave a module for any reason you will be issued a prorated credit based on how many weeks of the module you've already completed. This credit is good for any future classes with Murphy at Mountainsong Expeditions or for Jamie Waggoner's other programs.

How to Apply