Witch School Online

Witch School is a nine week intensive for witches, wanderers and wildfolk of all stripes and levels of experience. We will delve into a wide array of topics, focusing on experience based learning as we explore the history, mystery and magik of witchcraft in its many incarnations. Witch School is uniquely student led, all questions are welcomed and focus is put on the direction(s) the class determines it would like to explore.

Week I | The Basics

In Week One, we will cover a lot of ground, examining Witchcraft in History and debunking the myths around it, its foundations, building blocks, core elements and mechanics, as well as the various techniques by which it is made effective. We'll explore key components of a personal practice, what powers our spells, the basics of spellcraft, various schools of magik and choosing one's ingredients.

Week II | Building Blocks

In Week Two, our scope will broaden in order to make sense of the essential, abiding building blocks of magik. Witchcraft around the world and throughout time has been known to be built upon three simple, core elements: doing harm (cursework), undoing harm (purification rites) and preventing harm (protection magik). There will be extensive time given to the ongoing dialogue each of must have around morals, ethics, laws and ideas.

Week III | Ancestor Veneration & Spirit Work

In Week Three, we will lay down the structure by which the majority of witches and, by extension, the world's religions, have established and understood their practices and beliefs: Ancestor Veneration. Attendees will tackle the big questions including "what happens when we die?". We will work through the essential elements of honoring one's ancestors, how to erect an ancestor altar, make petitions, leave offerings, elevate spirits, etc. After this we'll embark into the unknown, in order to make sense of a murky, nebulous world of spirits. Together we will address the most common classes of spirits documented throughout human history: Spirits of the Dead, Deities, Plant/Animal Spirits, Anthropomorphic Spirits, Nature & Land Spirits, etc. We will also spend significant time on debunking a wide array of myths and misinformation and navigate how to identify potential allies, various forms of altered states, journeying and spirit communication, potential relationship dynamics and some very real do's and don't's.

Week IV | The Art of Divination

In Week Four, we will lay down the foundations by which each of us is able to form our own individual practice, path or tradition: the Witch's Arsenal. Foremost above these is the Witch's Art: Divination. Few pursuits play a more vital, intrinsic role in each of our lives as it informs our decision making at large, not just in spellcasting. In putting it all together, we will also discuss making sense of personal morals, ethics and standards, as well as witchcraft in a broader sociopolitical context as an expression of one's autonomy, agency and personhood.

Week V | Astrology for Practical Magik

In Week Five, we will tackle one of the most essential components in the cosmology and working theory of witchcraft throughout time and across the world: astrology. We will nail down the key differences between traditional and modern astrology and the methodologies of tropical vs. sidereal astrology. This week will largely focus on the possible magikal applications of astrology in one's practice and how it figures into their framework of understanding, in everything from timing spells to choosing ingredients.

Week VI | Elements & Correspondences

In Week Six, form begins to take shape as we set out the various frameworks and ideologies behind the elements and correspondences, systems through which countless individuals have attempted to make sense of the world around us by identifying and organizing the literal and symbolic links amidst both the microcosm and macrocosm.

Week VII | Plant Magik

In Week Seven, we deep dive into the world of Plant Magik, of plants, herbs, roots, resins, leaves, flowers - not just their attributes but how they are practically used in seemingly countless ways. We will not only make sense of what it is that makes certain plants sacred, but also how one may go about accessing the medicine, magik and the very spirit of each plant and how to establish alliances with them.

Week VIII | Key Concepts

In Week Eight, we will tackle the key concepts one engages with when establishing their practice from Altars & Sacred Spaces to Spellbooks & Grimoires to Symbols, Seals & Sigils. Many of the topics covered in this class will be drawn from student submissions.

Week IX | Spellcraft Workshop

In our final week we will have a spellcraft workshop in which Dakota will create entire spells including ritual components, timing, ingredients, etc. based on student submissions after which we will examine the essential mechanics of spellcasting.

This class is open to all, regardless of experience or personal faith. Closed captioning will be provided.

Discussion topics will be chosen by the attendees beforehand through the Apokrypha.co Discord server. To join the server, contribute topics, access exclusive discounts and attend Beginner Witch Study Group for free each month visit our Patreon and join the Bear tier ($1/month) here: https://patreon.com/shopapokrypha