Doing the Work - Sacred Space 2024 - Recap

First I would like to express my sincere and profound gratitude to the Board Members of Sacred Space. Thank you for all of the unpaid and difficult work that you do - each and every year. The community that you have built is incomparable and an inspiration to all. Moving into a new space is not without its challenges, and managing presenters' issues and you all handled them all with grace and aplomb. Thank you. 

Gathering Courage

After watching my amazing husband present these last few years, I had the desire to teach at the Conference and be of service as well. That little voice in my head though, "these people are all "Big Names," they have reputations and books and scads of other qualities that you don't have. You don't measure up." 

 

Last year at SSC, I had the pleasure of supporting my HPS, Courtney Weber, in her classes, including the one that she taught on Hekate. During one of our chats, I had been musing how I'd love to teach there and that she was blessed to have the opportunity. She immediately told me to cut the shit, that I was just as capable as she was and that I should submit a workshop. Courtney has seen me at my worst and my best over the last 12 years, so I figured there was some bias there. But message received.

A bit later, after helping Courtney man her book table and packing up, another attendee asked me if I'd watch the book table while she ran to the restroom. Sure - Ariel's in a class, and I'm free. No problem. While I was minding the table, a board member, whom I'd spoken to a few times and who has been simply a delight since my first conference and I got to chatting. They asked me when was I submitting a workshop... I demurred and made some comment about Hekate being "so hot right now," and that the market could be over-saturated. They told me something that I've kept with me and am passionate about passing on to others - no one does the Work the way you do - your perspective is unique and needed. Okay, so we're two for two. When Sacred Space posted their submission openings, I waited until the last minute because I was still unsure that I was capable. My husband told me in no uncertain terms that I was capable and that I needed to get over myself and submit. Okay - 3 for 3 - let's do the thing!

I took the leap and submitted two workshops - the Hekate one and another that I may be able to teach in the future. I was nervous and scared, but I took the leap and did it anyway. What's the worst they could say? No? Well, then, I was no further behind or forward than I am at that moment. As I've developed this and other workshops, I've really had an increasing sense of confidence - while I may not have the notoriety that others may have - I do good work. I know my material and I'm able to deliver it in a way that others can understand. I'm good at what I do.  

The first step, friends, is believing in yourself.

 

 While this conference is... transformative, amazing, indescribable. It could not have happened at a more tumultuous time for Ariel and I - moving into another apartment, school, and work, we've got a lot going on. Nevertheless, I was given this opportunity and I refused to be unprepared. But, as sometimes we've discussed - you can over prepare yourself to the point of freezing. So... I did the best I could, said a quick prayer to Hekate before we started and taught the class. If it wasn't meant to be, then it wouldn't have been.

Doing the Things

The day we left, we knew we were going to arrive a bit later due to work schedules. What we didn't count on was arriving about 2 hours before I had to teach. I was... freaking out, to say the least. This was a lesson, on being prepared, but also letting go. The only thing we had control over was what time we left the city - the rest of it, would be as it was. Letting go is one of those skills that I think will be a lifetime of learning and re-learning. When we got there, and checked out the room where we would be teaching - it was huge! Thankfully it was set up like a lecture hall, and that made me a bit more comfortable. Give me a lectern and let 'er rip! I was terribly nervous the first few minutes, but as the class went on - it began to feel... like a class. Like the thing that I do every day - save these students want to be there and won't throw things... probably. Figure out what you're good at, what you know, and lean into it. 

 

 

 

I also want to point out - it isn't a competition. Just because someone is teaching something similar or has a similar workshop or ritual - doesn't mean that they're comparable. No one will do the Work the way you do - maybe someone will get something from you that they wouldn't from someone else, and vice versa. There's enough room for everyone at the table. And if there isn't - get a bigger damn table. 

I would be beyond remiss if I didn't mention my amazing, wonderful, phenomenal husband. I could not and would not be doing any of this without his love, support, and kicks in the behind. And I just love watching him teach - even though I've seen his slides before - each viewing gives me something different to think about. If you have any sort of interest in the integration of science and magick or Hermetics - he's your guy. <3

I was fortunate enough to be able to say hello and chat with several people after my workshop. For those who got something out of it - thank you for being there. Each person whom I spoke with gave me something to think about (yay! more research!). But a few people just made me realize that, yeah, this was a good idea. I'm chatting with a lady who has a strong twang (and I'm thinking how can I keep her talking? because her voice is comforting), when I get the courage to ask her where she's from - she's a fellow Mountaineer - from not that far from where I grew up. Leave it to me to find the only (likely) Southern West Virginian. I also had a moment that I will carry with me for a long time. 

When I was a kid in Baltimore - there were two Witchy shops. Shop A and Shop B. Shop A was the first one I went to when I moved there. They were a small standard witch/new age shop located in a shopping center with a small room in the back. The place was dimly lit and (at least at the time) all their wares were strewn about, no real organization - there also wasn't really anywhere to sit and talk. They could also be kinda rude depending on the day.

Shop B was also a Witch shop in a shopping center, though they had large front windows, and much more light. There was also a yoga studio and you could buy coffee and tea and just sit and be for a minute. They were also better organized and more welcoming. 

I didn't really keep up with either after I left for college, but shop B was my refuge in my last few years of HS after the Baltimore move. It was rough, I didn't have many friends, and I was quite isolated, but Shop B was a place where I could go and be accepted. It was also a place that my family didn't mind me being at for hours at time. It was the oasis in a really stormy time. I am incredibly thankful.

The owner of Shop B came to my Hekate class. And later she and I ended up running into one another in the hallway - and she told me that she had learned something from ME! I was shocked, humbled and thankful. I may or may not have teared up. I told the owner of Shop B that it was a blessing that she was able to learn from me and I was thankful to be of service. She told me to remember to pass it on, and to move the knowledge and the kindness down the generations. I won't forget, and neither should you.

 

Teaching this class has opened up a whole new world for me in the aspects of what I'm capable of. I'm ready to claim my seat at the table too. And for me - that is huge. It also re-enforced for me that my Priestess work is at the core - teaching and guiding.  

One of the highlights of this Conference was the opportunity to re-meet one of my high school classmates as an adult. It was a surreal pleasure to have her attend my class and to be able to reconnect. It's strange how similar our stories have been. I give tremendous thanks and hope that this friendship will continue.

Now the classes - I wasn't able to get to as many classes as I would have liked, due to arriving a bit later and prepping for classes, but the ones that I was able to make were phenomenal. 

The first class I was able to attend was Irene Glasse's Building a Sustainable Daily Regular Practice which was invaluable. I learned many important and insightful skills to hack my brain and actually DO THE THING. The buddy system is evil, but brilliant. 

 

 Then it was Ariel's class on Defense Against the Dark Arts - I am so proud and fortunate to call this intelligent, well-spoken, handsome man my husband.

 

 The next was Ritual Leadership Skills lead by Ivo Dominguez Jr. I always love taking class from Ivo and listening to his wisdom - this time was no different. 

 

As my circumstances have shifted, I have needed to shift my world view. I attended two classes focused on chronic illness and magickal practice and the interweaving between the two. The first was Samphire Savage's Rot Witch: The Body as a Decaying Ecosystem. And holy shit. The intelligence and knowledge in this presenter blew me away. They were also incredibly kind and validating. And let me know that - sometimes, if the game is broken - it's okay to cheat. 

The other discussion that I attended on chronic illness (Danielle Dione's Chronically Magickal - Empowering Practices for Chronic Illness) was insightful and illuminating and I've already began using some of the techniques discussed - blessing pills, what? <3

I wish I could have made Angela Pote's The Crossroads of Neurodivergency, Trauma, Chaos, and Magick. I think it would have been invaluable. 

The final class that Ariel and I made to was Jason Mankey's Magic in America 1820-1952 and that was a nice class to end on. Amusing and informative.

There were several classes that I missed, that I simply could not be two places at once - John Weller's Lithomancy, Irene and Jim's Song, Sorcery, and Support: Music for Magic, and Bo Thompson's The Inception of Metal Magic, as well as The Stranger's Gate Coven's Hekate Labyrinth and Gwendolyn Reece's Iamblichus and the Practice of Theurgy scheduled at the same time I was teaching (drat!). I didn't get a chance to hear Byron Ballard speak this year, though I've greatly enjoyed the classes I've had in the past and am in awe and gratitude for the Work she has done to further our Appalachian heritage and ways.

Hopefully by next year, we'll have all mastered that bi-location spell. 

Integration and Come Down

There is such a thing as "con-drop" where we have to re-integrate ourselves into the wider world and I would hazard that a magickal con even more so. Sometimes, if precautions aren't taken - this can be a difficult transition. So... have you moved your body today? J'eet? (Did you eat?) Did you have enough water? Be patient with yourself after a conference and don't try to integrate everything all at once. (Says the person who struggles to take my own advice).

The revelations will come as they do - don't try to force them. 

We give thanks and look forward to next year at Sacred Space.