Invitation to Summer Solstice Gathering + 3 Delights
A Venus Day Love List plus Invite
Inside: An invitation to my Summer Solstice Retreat, plus three fun things you need to know about sacred plants, how to take good notes, and fulfilling your calling.
Dear Witches!
I am so delighted to finally formally announce my first ever IRL retreat! It’s called…
Witchcraft 1: Sowilō – Bright Life Forces
Beginning on the Summer Solstice, this retreat is an opportunity to restore your energy: to nourish your imagination, your power, your practice, your relationships, and all the things that make life worth living.
I’ve designed it to be both healing and educational. By participating, you’ll walk away refreshed, inspired, and you’ll have a bunch of core skills you can use in your practice.
Sowilō is the rune of the Sun and Stars, it is a sign of energy, clarity, and awareness. The Sun’s warming rays vitalize us with confidence and hope. The Sun is the bringer of prosperity. This retreat will be an opportunity for you to soak in this vital life force energy and return to your life with joy.
I’m calling it Witchcraft 1 because I see it as part of a series.
In the first retreat, you’ll learn foundational skills that will support you in life and in witchcraft (and in your business or your artwork, or whatever else it is that you’re seeking to nourish in your life). You’ll need the skills you learn here to do future more advanced workshops.
Please note that we are selling out fast so if you want to come you’ll want to grab your ticket!
Witchcraft 1: Bright Life Forces will be a source of blessings for all who attend. I’m so excited to share this experience with you! I can’t wait for Summer Solstice.
Have a look through the itinerary below. You’ll find everything you need to know.
Skills You’ll Learn
Circle Casting
Grounding, Centering, Shielding
Altar building
Trance work to call in a Familiar
Scrying Divination
Prayer to conjure herbs and work with the spirits of the land
3 songs/chants to use in your practice
1 dance to raise energy (variations for all levels of ability)
Ceremonies and Rituals
Litha (Summer Solstice) Ritual: to honor and invoke the power of the summer sun
Brigid’s Healing Ceremony: for power, inspiration, and skill
Fetching Your Familiar: a ritual to get you a spirit guide, or strengthen your relationship to one you already have
Joy & Rejuvenation Practices
Yoga (my brother – who is a FANTASTIC yoga instructor specializing in back pain – will be leading these)
Breathwork (for all levels)
Meditation
Mythology and Storytelling
Working with the solar deities
A gentle hike to a waterfall (optional)
Healthy food
Singing and chanting
Dancing! (my favorite cure for the blues)
Logistics:
When: Friday, 6/21/24 11am - Monday, 6/24/24 11am pst. Three full days with Saturday evening off for you to do as thou wilt.
Where: A special retreat space in Sierra Madre, CA, about a 30 minute drive (depending on traffic) from downtown Los Angeles. I’m especially excited about this place because it’s the place where I went to MY first ever retreat as I was becoming the Oracle of Los Angeles. It was a life changing experience for me, and I know it will be for you as well.
Accommodations: We’ll be holding ceremony in the “ball room” where people will be able to lay out mats to sleep if you plan on spending the night. There are also 3 spaces available to camp, 6 glam cots in a group room (imagine a youth hostel in the Alps), and one private(ish) room with its own bathroom and a double bed that two people could share. There are also a bunch of nearby hotels, Air BnBs and such. I know many of you live in LA or have friends here, so many of you might want to sleep at home. However, I will be spending the nights on the premises, and there’s a fire pit to tell stories around. There’s also a kitchen in case you’d like to bring your own food. Showers (moderately) available.
Food: We haven’t decided on the caterers yet, but there will be 3x light (think pastry) breakfasts with coffee/tea, 3x lunch, 2x dinner (with Saturday night available for you to go out on the town), and snacks. The food will be healthy and yummy. And there is also a kitchen so you can bring and make your own.
Accessibility: The venue was built in the 20s so it’s not up to modern accessibility standards, but I want everyone who wants to participate to be able join us. So if you have accessibility needs that you’re concerned about email us (at guardian@oracleoflosangeles.com) and let us know and we will do our utmost to accommodate you. Your needs are important to us and we want you with us!
Pricing:
All options below are first come first serve. The basic price to attend is $999, with additional rates for those who wish to sleep on site.*
Private Bedroom, 1 Queen Bed for double occupancy ($1,500 per person / $3000 total). Would suit friends or couple who want a private room with their own bathroom.
Private Room Link to Book (only 1 bed that sleeps two people available)
SOLD OUT: Bedroom with 6 glam cots, dorm style ($1,250 per person)
Dorm Room Link to Book (6 beds available, book yours individually)
Camp Site ($1,100 per person)
Camp Site Link to Book (3 camping spaces available)
Sleep in the Main Hall, bring your own bedding ($1,100 per person)
Attending but sleeping elsewhere, like at your home or a hotel ($999 per person) (note we will send you a list of local accommodations once you’ve booked the retreat)
Please note that your purchase includes a $350 non-refundable deposit.
Refunds are available until 4/21/24 after that there are no refunds. We recommend travelers insurance in case you have to cancel.
*Please note that we have a few reduced price scholarship tickets available for people who are truly in financial need. These would be for sleeping in the main hall or off site. BIPOC and/or trans/disabled folks especially encouraged to apply. If you would like more information, please email us at the address below.
Got Questions?
Email us at guardian@oracleoflosangeles.com
Your Calling will Never Leave You
I had a glorious conversation with Lucy H. Pearce on her podcast - Creative Magic - about creativity, magic, and how to recognize your calling. It’s on the first season of her Creative Magic – Wild Initiations series, intimate conversations celebrating the launch of her 12th book Crow Moon: Reclaiming the Wisdom of the Dark Woods... You’ll definitely want to hit that subscribe button on iTunes because she’s got some fantastic guests coming up discussing the more-than-human world, symbols, initiation, creative magic, and more!
Creative Magic starts April 1st - wherever you get your podcasts.
Spotify:
Or find it wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s a link to the Apple Podcasts version.
How to take good notes…
Since I started my PhD program I’ve learned something about how to take good reading notes: it’s important to write in the margins. If you just highlight or underline texts, it just isn’t a big enough intervention. It’s too passive. You’ll forget what you underlined, and/or why you underlined it. When you write a note in the margin, which can be anything from a thought that occurs to you as you’re reading, your reaction to the text, how you might use it in your writing… not only will you be more likely to remember what you read, but when you scan through the text to use it as a reference it will be easier for you to find the right reference.
I follow this awesome Substack, NOTED, about, well, note-taking, and it turns out that PhD students are not the only people who have fleshed out this technique. Medieval alchemists and ancient philosophers used it too! I feel vindicated. Have a look!
White Sage is Sacred…
… we need to protect it.
I know most of you are aware of this, but white sage - every yoga studio’s favorite fragrance - is ENDANGERED. It only grows in coastal California, and it takes a long time to mature. It’s in such high demand that poachers are ripping it out from the roots (which means it can’t grow back) and selling it at Walmart. Indigenous people (and witches) know that the medicine of a plant is in our relationship with it. Working with exploited sage is not medicinal. I only use white sage that comes from someone I know personally.
As Elena Rios of White Sage Project says:
“There is no amount of sage that was sourced from a poacher that can purify space – it’s just bad medicine. The medicine starts from the moment of how the medicine is gathered.”
Interested in learning more about the poaching of white sage? Watch the California Native Plant Society produced documentary film “Saging the World”.
You can also download an educational guide on the Taft White Sage Restoration Project here.
Check out the CURes blog post covering the Native Plant Fest event here.
Thank you to Mystery Cult’s dear KK Wootton for sharing this essential intel with us!