Way of the Weaver
We are the Flow, We are the Ebb
We are the Weavers, We are the Web
~Chant by Shekinah Mountainwater
We are the Weavers, We are the Web
~Chant by Shekinah Mountainwater
Special Note: Now more than ever, our world needs Weavers! We want you to know that we are dedicated to offering this program, come what may. If we are still experiencing the need as a society to practice physical distancing, alternative online arrangements will be made for the immersion weekends.
Welcome
Way of the Weaver is a unique, nine-month journey of magical study and community building. Our circle embraces 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:
Welcome
Way of the Weaver is a unique, nine-month journey of magical study and community building. Our circle embraces 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 to develop daily spiritual practices and ritual facilitation skills.
- You have some familiarity with aspects of modern pagan practice, and are ready to go beyond "Magic 101" and explore next-level skills like psychic self-protection, aspecting deity, everyday animism, and effective techniques for crafting powerful group rituals. OR you are new to this but excited to jump into an accelerated course of learning, with a little extra homework to catch you up.
- 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 projects led by the indigenous Abenaki people on whose land they teach.
- You are comfortable learning and growing in a space where all genders are welcome and feminist values such as consent, inclusion, and equity ground 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).
- You are able to travel to Central Vermont for our four in-person immersion weekends at lunar Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasagh, and you have internet access that will allow you to attend our nine remote learning sessions over the Zoom conference platform (you can also attend remote sessions by phone).
- You are 18+ years of age.
- You are happy to maintain a sober space during our in-person and online work together.
Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash
About The Instructors
Jamie Waggoner is a priestess, oracle and poet. Her areas of study include magic, folklore, mythology and sacred community, as well as bardic traditions, trance possession and ritual arts. Jamie has a B.A. in philosophy, trained and taught as a priestess with the Sisterhood of Avalon for thirteen years, and now leads independent workshops and rituals across the United States. She believes that magic is real, present all around us, and a profound tool for justice and transformation. Lately Jamie has been greatly influenced by the principles of nonviolent resistance as taught by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the Poor People’s Campaign and the Death Positive movement. Some of her other spiritual influences include mythologists Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Dr. 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, her partner, and various cats live together in Alabama, the ancestral homeland of the Creek/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 Vermont mountain 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:
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
2020-2021 Program Curriculum and Dates
The Way of the Weaver training program offers a review of the basics that sustain healthy magical practices (grounding, ethics, shielding); an exploration of the origins of Western esoteric philosophy; advanced magical skills such as psychic self-protection and aspecting the gods; and proven techniques for designing and leading effective, engaging group rituals for your community. We will meet in person for four weekends in Central Vermont (5pm Friday though 12pm on Sunday), and have monthly online learning sessions. Our program syllabus includes:
1: “Self-Awareness” Immersion Weekend Oct 30-Nov 1, 2020
2: Evening Online Session Nov 9, 2020
3: Evening Online Session Dec 14, 2020
4: Evening Online Session Jan 11, 2021
5: “Transformation” Immersion Weekend Jan 22-24, 2021
6: Evening Online Session Feb 8, 2021
7: Evening Online Session Mar 8, 2021
8: Evening Online Session Apr 12, 2021
9: “Synthesis” Immersion Weekend Apr 23-25, 2021
10: Evening Online Session May 10, 2021
11: Evening Online Session Jun 14, 2021
12: Evening Online Session Jul 12, 2021
13: “Celebration” Immersion Weekend Jul 23-25, 2021
The Way of the Weaver training program offers a review of the basics that sustain healthy magical practices (grounding, ethics, shielding); an exploration of the origins of Western esoteric philosophy; advanced magical skills such as psychic self-protection and aspecting the gods; and proven techniques for designing and leading effective, engaging group rituals for your community. We will meet in person for four weekends in Central Vermont (5pm Friday though 12pm on Sunday), and have monthly online learning sessions. Our program syllabus includes:
1: “Self-Awareness” Immersion Weekend Oct 30-Nov 1, 2020
- Answering the Call: What does it mean to be a Weaver? Who is a Weaver?
- Weaving Our Web: Inclusivity, boundaries, consent, active listening, witnessing
- Service as Sacrament: Three levels of service (self, community, that which is larger)
- Energetic Protection: Cleansing, grounding, warding, psychic self-defense
- Establishing a Trance Practice: Journeys within and beyond ourselves
2: Evening Online Session Nov 9, 2020
- Showing Up for Magic: Daily practices, building and maintaining meaningful altars
- (Supplemental Reading: Understanding privilege & avoiding appropriation)
3: Evening Online Session Dec 14, 2020
- The Elements: Cultural context & advanced magical correspondences
- (Supplemental Reading: Tracing ancestral magical lineages)
4: Evening Online Session Jan 11, 2021
- Ecstatic Practices: Storytelling & sound magic
- (Supplemental Reading: Primary & secondary sources in mythology)
5: “Transformation” Immersion Weekend Jan 22-24, 2021
- Diving Deep: Shadow work
- Gathering Insight: Divination and scrying
- Magical Apothecary: Intuitive esoteric herbalism
- Charging Our Intentions: Sigils and bindrunes
6: Evening Online Session Feb 8, 2021
- Devotional Practices: Everyday animism & relationships with deities
- (Supplemental Reading: Animist theories and philosophies)
7: Evening Online Session Mar 8, 2021
- Spellwork and Weaving Community Ritual: Ethics, engagement & impact
- (Supplemental Reading: Ritual structure & ethical frameworks)
8: Evening Online Session Apr 12, 2021
- Weaver Toolkit: Trauma awareness & compassionate tending in magical space
- (Guest Speaker: Izzy Swanson)
9: “Synthesis” Immersion Weekend Apr 23-25, 2021
- Encountering Deity: Invocation, aspecting and trance possession work
- Applied Ritual Skills: Co-creating ritual and spellwork in community
- Wisdom of Numbers and Shapes: Sacred Geometry
- Courting Allies: Animal spirits & nature omens
10: Evening Online Session May 10, 2021
- Working Toward Positive Peace: Principles of nonviolent action
- (Supplemental Reading: Kingian Nonviolence)
11: Evening Online Session Jun 14, 2021
- Repairing the Web: Transformative and restorative justice
- (Guest Speaker: Moriah Helms)
12: Evening Online Session Jul 12, 2021
- Student-chosen Topics
13: “Celebration” Immersion Weekend Jul 23-25, 2021
- Cultivating Magic as Lifestyle: Empathy, trust, and resilience
- Applied Ethics: Using your ministry skills to empower (not enable)
- Step into Sovereignty: Final ritual together and blessing of group
Cost & Logistics
Thanks for understanding that many threads come together to create this training: travel costs, venue rental, food for our group, compensation for facilitators’ preparation and in-person teaching time, as well as donations to the indigenous Abenaki on whose lands we teach. Our desire is to make this training both sustainable and accessible, so we've designed a sliding scale and payment plan to help fit training 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 several scholarships available for BIPOC applicants (see below).
Your Program Tuition Includes:
Our current venue is a lovely mountainside private home in Worcester, Vermont (near Montpelier). This cozy and private space includes wood heat, a modern kitchen and bathroom, space to sleep on the floor (bring your own bedding), and beautiful woodland to walk in.
Accessibility:
We invite people of all different abilities and backgrounds to join our program, and we find deep value in learning to serve each other better across differences in ability. Our venue is not formally "accessible" so if you have mobility limitations let's discuss what we'll need to do to make sure you can get over small steps, travel over uneven forest ground, and similar small obstacles. Supporting each person's individual needs as a community is a key part of our work.
Your Program Tuition Includes:
- Instruction from Jamie and Murphy at four in-person immersion weekends in Vermont, and nine evening online remote learning sessions.
- Four delicious hot meals at the in-person weekends (Saturday breakfast through Sunday breakfast), designed to meet most common dietary needs if they are present in our group (vegetarian, gluten free, etc).
- Supplies and handouts for our in-person weekends.
- Optional sleepover lodging at the venue (bring your own bedding and sleep on the floor in shared space). We are also happy to help arrange a homestay with local participants if you need more accessible sleeping space, but we can't promise that it will be available.
- Video and audio recordings of our online training sessions.
- Supplemental reading material for our online training sessions.
- Friday dinners during in-person weekends are potluck, so please bring something to share. Snacks and teas throughout the weekend are also potluck or bring-your-own.
- If you need private sleeping space, you will need to get an AirBNB room in the Montpelier, VT area, at your own expense.
- Travel to and from in-person weekends is your responsibility, but we are happy to help connect people for carpooling, and can probably pick you up at the train or bus station in Montpelier if you arrange the timing with us in advance. Public buses can get you from the BTV airport to Montpelier on weekdays (not available on weekends).
Our current venue is a lovely mountainside private home in Worcester, Vermont (near Montpelier). This cozy and private space includes wood heat, a modern kitchen and bathroom, space to sleep on the floor (bring your own bedding), and beautiful woodland to walk in.
Accessibility:
We invite people of all different abilities and backgrounds to join our program, and we find deep value in learning to serve each other better across differences in ability. Our venue is not formally "accessible" so if you have mobility limitations let's discuss what we'll need to do to make sure you can get over small steps, travel over uneven forest ground, and similar small obstacles. Supporting each person's individual needs as a community is a key part of our work.
Our Sliding Scale
The Way of the Weaver training costs $1,500-$2,000 per person, sliding scale. The following income guidelines can help you select what part of the scale you fall into. Please note that upon enrolling in the program, you are agreeing to pay the entire cost of the training, regardless of your ability to attend each meeting.
Total Household Income: Program Cost:
$15,000 or less $1,500
$15,000-$20,000 $1,550
$20,000-$25,000 $1,600
$25,000-$30,000 $1,650
$30,000-$35,000 $1,700
$35,000-$50,000 $1,800
$50,000-$75,000 $1,900
$75,000-$100,000 $2,000
Over $100,000 $2,000 and consider donating a partial or full scholarship to a participant in need
Advance Payment vs. Payment Plan
A deposit of $500 will hold your place in the class. If you can pay your balance in full before the training starts, that's great! If you need a payment plan we are happy to work with you, just inquire via the contact page. Your tuition must be paid in full by July 23, 2021 (regardless of whether you miss any meetings).
Credits
We do not offer refunds, but if you decide to permanently leave the program for any reason you will be issued a prorated credit based on how many months of the program you've already completed. This credit is good for any future classes with Mountainsong Expeditions or for Jamie Waggoner's other programs.
BIPOC Scholarships
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. To apply, just mention your interest in the scholarship on your application.
The Way of the Weaver training costs $1,500-$2,000 per person, sliding scale. The following income guidelines can help you select what part of the scale you fall into. Please note that upon enrolling in the program, you are agreeing to pay the entire cost of the training, regardless of your ability to attend each meeting.
Total Household Income: Program Cost:
$15,000 or less $1,500
$15,000-$20,000 $1,550
$20,000-$25,000 $1,600
$25,000-$30,000 $1,650
$30,000-$35,000 $1,700
$35,000-$50,000 $1,800
$50,000-$75,000 $1,900
$75,000-$100,000 $2,000
Over $100,000 $2,000 and consider donating a partial or full scholarship to a participant in need
Advance Payment vs. Payment Plan
A deposit of $500 will hold your place in the class. If you can pay your balance in full before the training starts, that's great! If you need a payment plan we are happy to work with you, just inquire via the contact page. Your tuition must be paid in full by July 23, 2021 (regardless of whether you miss any meetings).
Credits
We do not offer refunds, but if you decide to permanently leave the program for any reason you will be issued a prorated credit based on how many months of the program you've already completed. This credit is good for any future classes with Mountainsong Expeditions or for Jamie Waggoner's other programs.
BIPOC Scholarships
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. To apply, just mention your interest in the scholarship on your application.
How to Apply
We'd like to know more about you so we can confirm this is a good fit! Please fill out an application at THIS LINK or send us a video or audio file of yourself answering the questions on the form. If you need a different accommodation for your communication style, just let us know.
Once you've applied and we've had a conversation with you to be sure this is a great fit, a $500 deposit holds your place. Please pay using the button below or send a check made out to "Mountainsong Expeditions" to:
Mountainsong Expeditions
99 Upper Hancock Brook Rd
Worcester, VT 05682
Thank you so much for your interest in the Way of the Weaver. Blessed be.
Once you've applied and we've had a conversation with you to be sure this is a great fit, a $500 deposit holds your place. Please pay using the button below or send a check made out to "Mountainsong Expeditions" to:
Mountainsong Expeditions
99 Upper Hancock Brook Rd
Worcester, VT 05682
Thank you so much for your interest in the Way of the Weaver. Blessed be.
