Ninefold Festival

In this class, we will connect with the Realm of Land through sacred plants found within the Avalonian Landscape. There are many plant allies that are connected with the Avalonian Landscape. We will learn how to deepen our connection to Avalon by using water and plants together! We will first identify sacred Avalonian Plants and Flowers. We will then dive deeper connecting with their spiritual nature as plant spirit allies. We will discuss topics such as plant identification, tools, wildcrafting, gardening, and crafting from intuition. We will then discuss how to utilize these magical plants in our own practice through the creation of Flower Essences and Simmer Pots to aid in our magic, use as offerings, as movement meditations, and as rituals to connect deeply with the energies of Avalon. 

Annwyn Avalon is a Water Priestess and Celtic Witch. She is the Author of The Way of the Water Priestess and Water Witchcraft: Magic and Lore from the Celtic Tradition. She is the founder of Water Priestess Training, The Water Priestess Confluence, Bewitching the Waters Symposium, and Triskele Rose Witchcraft a Avalonian Witchcraft Tradition. She has devoted her life to the study of Esoteric Water Mysteries, art, witchcraft, and magic. Her path is one of sacred service to the waters of this world and her ancestors. She is an initiated Witch and Priestess, Reiki Master Teacher, award-winning Dancer, published author, and has a BFA in sculpture, BA in Anthropology.. She has also received an apprentice certificate in Herbalism. She writes for the Magical Times Magazine in the UK and has contributed to other published works such as The New Aradia a Witches handbook for resistance, Brigid’s Light: Tending the Ancestral Flame of the Beloved Celtic Goddess, This Witch, and Witchology Magazine. She is the author of the Patheos Blog The Water Witch. She now lives in Glastonbury as the sacred steward of Chalice Orchard, the former home of the famous occultist Dion Fortune and is a Keeper at the White Spring, one of the sacred springs located in Glastonbury.

In this session we will work with the Morgens of three Realm of Land priestess paths: Guardian, Hearthkeeper and Artisan. We will look to these spiritual guides to help us make peace with our bodies, set clear boundaries and joyfully claim space in the world.  

Join Sydney in exploring:

The Path of the Hearthkeeper to rediscover your body as home.

The Path of the Guardian to set boundaries and respect your body as sacred.

The Path of the Artisan to nurture self trust and self expression.

Sydney is a registered social worker (MSW) with over twenty years experience in the field, both clinical and community based work. Her work also includes offering workshops and training in a variety of areas, but mostly on the topic of healing from body shame through reclaiming body sovereignty.  Her most recent training session was offered to the British Columbia Association of Pregnancy Outreach Programs titled Holding Space for the Body-cultivating Experiences of Stability, Connection and Safety in April 2023. Sydney has facilitated various workshops and sessions at different Sisterhood of Avalon events (AvaCon, Ninefold Festival). At the 2020 Ninefold festival I offered a workshop called Dancing with the Loathly Lady: Exploring the themes of choice, sovereignty, harmony and beauty in the mythic Loathly Lady motif.  Connect with Sydney at www.gaiatherapy.net.

When we think of the Sacred landscape, we often think of the Sacred sites and holy places of far-off lands. What happens when we frame our own local geography as sacred? What tools can we use to discover and connect with the spirits and energies that dwell there? What do we discover about our personal and collective histories? Join Laurelei Black in the exploration and cartography of the holy lands that you call home.

Laurelei is a hedge-rider, a Cunning Woman, and a traveler on the crooked path. She is a priestess of love and pleasure, an Ishtar-woman, an Aphrodite-woman. She is a friend to daemons and a mate to the Red God. A bone collector; a temple dancer. Laurelei is the author of over dozen books on Aphrodisian and Witchcraft practice, a co-Director and frequent presenter at the Babalon Rising Festival, a co-owner of Midian Events and also of Driftwood Tiny Retreats, and the proud proprietress of Asteria Books & Events and also of Blade & Broom. You can connect further at www.laureleiblack.com.

An exploration of the botany and folklore of a few key medicinal herbs which have a rich history in supporting women’s health. We will focus on herbs for hormonal support, fertility, pregnancy, menopause and longevity, as well as herbs for emotional wellbeing. We’ll also discuss the magical and spiritual significance of these plants, which are even considered sacred in some Celtic traditions. You’ll receive some simple recipes for making your own herbal preparations at home, and perhaps cultivate a deeper appreciation for the plant world.

Diana Byron, RYT 200, is a Kripalu Yoga teacher, certified Herbalist, and founder of Dhyāna Yoga & Wellness in Putnam, Connecticut. She has been offering herbal wellness consultations, trainings, and workshops for the past eight years and she serves as Healer Matron on the Sisterhood of Avalon’s Council of Nine. Learn more about Diana’s offerings at https://www.dhyanayogaandwellness.com.

“The question begins the quest” is traditional Celtic wisdom. Sarah Heartsong will begin by telling the story of Rhiannon as an offering for reflection upon the question, “How do we heal if our ‘sisters’ wound us deeply?” The story of Rhiannon is a powerful and important story with wisdom to mine. It speaks to the power of women, the power of patriarchy, and the power of the body. It is a story that should be remembered and shared as we seek healing and wellness both in ourselves and in our communities.

During the workshop, Sarah will lead participants through a process of inquiry, challenge, growth and healing/resolution. This process will help participants begin to explore their personal experiences of sisterhood, trauma, and healing.

Rhiannon is known as the goddess of the healing power of love and forgiveness, and is one who remains strong even in the hardest times. The workshop will conclude with a ritual of healing and renewal. This ritual will help participants to release the pain of the past and to embrace the possibility of healing and new beginnings faced with courage and strength, faith and perseverance. 

What to expect?

In this workshop, you will:

* Learn about the complex and often contradictory nature of sisterhood

* Meditate upon how sisters can both wound and heal

* Explore your own experiences with sisterhood

* Participate in a process of inquiry and healing

* Experience a ritual of healing and renewal

Sarah Heartsong has a BA degree in Religion and specialized in comparative Religions, considering herself to be a “modern professional Nature-centered priestess”. Sarah also has a MA in Communication Studies from New Mexico State University and has served her community both as a professional priestess and volunteer for over 30 years. She Serves as the Main Sanctuary Servant for the TOLIS and is the Lady of the Land of Erosia. She served in a multitude of leadership positions over 10 years of service with the Unitarian Universalist Church, where she received a variety of leadership training, including interfaith worship training. Sarah has been a priestess on a Nature Centric spiritual Path since 1992, when she had an epiphany and “came out” as a Witch. She’s been “out and open” in most venues since. She wrote her Master’s Thesis on “Coming Out of the Broom Closet: The Communicative Act of Self Disclosure as a Witch” in 2004 and it is housed in the NMSU library. She’s been working on several books for years, as she’s accumulated teachings over the 30 years of being on this path. She learned storytelling skills as a child growing up as a Girl Scout and with a family full of bardic talents. Sarah’s personal spiritual Path is centered in her modern US American interpretation of Druidism. You can connect further at www.rareearthdesigns.net and www.tolisanctuary.org.

The Realm of Land. The present, the physical, the ground we walk on. Rich, supportive, and solid. What better way is there to experience it than with a tactile, hands-on working? Spend some time with your inner child/inner artisan and feel the magic of creation coursing through your fingers.

Using natural air-dry clay and your own two hands, you will be guided to connect with the energy of the Realm of Land, charge your tools and media, and create a finger labyrinth that can also be used as a crystal grid. Follow your heart and soul to create a unique piece that can help strengthen your connection to the Realm of Land in your personal workings. No prior clay experience needed!  You can pick up air-dry clay to bring at any craft store.

A member of the Sisterhood of Avalon since 2007, Maddi Jabin currently serves as Artisan Matron on the Council of Nine. Her previous teaching experience includes 35 years as a Music Educator, during which time she taught all levels from Nursery to College. Her love of crafting, particularly yarn crafts led her to branch out and teach Continuing Ed classes in Knitting to adult members of her school district. Now retired, she’s been remembering, reclaiming, and renewing her life, including returning to clay and sculpting! She lives on Long Island, NY with her patient husband and three spoiled ex-feral kitties. Reach her at justplayingwithstring@gmail.com

A tea ceremony is a beautiful way to simultaneously celebrate and ritualize the values, beliefs, traditions, and overall aesthetic of any culture – whether that culture is an entire country, or a small Sisterhood – and in doing so, a tea ceremony can become a tradition in and of itself.  By creating a traditional tea ceremony, a group of people can also decide what they want to say about their own culture, and can use the ceremony to welcome, commune with, and educate people from outside their culture as well.

In this class, we will discuss the various reasons and inspirations as to why we might want to craft our own tea ceremony, before delving into an abridged version of my “Morgana’s Materia Medica”, learning about some of the most important Avalonian and “priestess plants”, such as Hawthorn, Lady’s Mantle, Blue Lotus, and more. Following this, I will give you some tools, guidelines, and inspiration for crafting your own Avalonian Tea Ceremony (for yourself or your women’s circle).  Finally, I will teach you how to perform my signature Avalon tea ceremony, “The Cauldron of Inspiration”, inspired by the Nine Maidens of Annwyn.

Suzanne O’Gara, owner of Alchemy of Avalon LLC, has been a member of the Sisterhood of Avalon since 2017.  She is a Certified Herbalist, having studied under Joann Sanchez at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ, from which she graduated in early 2011.  At Samhain in 2012, Suzanne launched her tea shop online, and after many years of dreaming, working, and planning, opened Alchemy of Avalon as a brick and mortar shop in Greenfield, MA in August of 2021. When not running her shop, Suzanne can be found dreaming about running away to Glastonbury, Ireland, and just about any ancient sacred sites. A Priestess, Witch, and devotee of Morgan LeFay, Suzanne practices her Craft both alone and with her husband, Sean, and her two children, Sebastian and Selene. Since autumn of 2018, she has also served as the Herbcraft Professor for Rockstar Priestess’ 11-month online course, “Morgan LeFay Mystery School”, under the direction of Demelza Fox.  Suzanne also teaches her own class series in Herbalism, “Herbs of Avalon: Morgana’s Materia Medica”, and also runs in-person classes and events at her shop as well – see www.alchemyofavalontea.com for more info!

This exploratory workshop will look at tools we can use to find empowerment in various areas of our lives, while still establishing needed boundaries. Storytelling, movement, meditation, art, and music will all be discussed and explored while utilizing real-life scenarios and issues as the canvas for our work.

Margo Wolfe is the Guardian Matron for the Sisterhood of Avalon. As a writer, educator, and assemblage artist, her workshops often include multi-disciplinary elements that lend themselves to personal reflection and development for both adults and teens. Professionally, Margo is also the Academic Dean for Cherry Hill Seminary and a freelance grant writer and assessment strategist.