Our new Bee candle for Oshun’s altar :)
“She flows like water, like honey … she is sweet and I love Her”
Mama Oshun via The Orisha Project
Iyanifa Osuntokun Fatunmise is an Osun (pron “oh-SHOON”) priestess in Greater Atlanta, GA. She is Janice Hunter, too - a quilt artist. She is the conductor whose ideas and designs are commissioned by an orchestra of orisha, especially Osun - the mother of rivers, the queen of creation and creativity, orisha of love. Here, she talks about channeling Osun and the other divine entities through her quilt-making.
“She’s the embodiment of beauty,” Iya Osuntokun says. “And I try really hard to realize her beauty inside and out.”
May Events at The Sacred Well!
Offerings & Events – May 2012
Rabbit’s 5th Annual Oshun Party
Friday, May 4
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Free Event!
Each year in May, in gratitude for the love, abundance, intuition, and joy that is present in her life, Rabbit offers a ritual celebration in honor of Oshun, the Orisha of sweet waters, love, beauty, and wealth that offers us so many blessings: fresh water to drink, the beauty of the natural world, and the blood in our veins.
This annual event is a beautiful, elegant, and fun-filled celebration with singing, dancing, drumming, storytelling, hors d’oeuvres, fancy water and champagne, and store specials on select items to help draw love, wealth, beauty and healing.
Drop in between 5:00 and 7:00 pm to shop, chat, nibble, sip and socialize. Bring your drum and join us from 7:00 to 9:00 pm as we sit beneath the Colonnades and offer our energies to Lake Merritt, the Oshun of Oakland.
Special Events
Drum circle with Albert & Rabbit
Tuesday May 1 (1st Tuesdays)
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Donations gratefully accepted
Join Albert and Rabbit for a drum circle at The Sacred Well. Bring your drums, rattles, bells, etc. From month to month we’ll be exploring different rhythms, practicing techniques such as drumming and singing at the same time, developing our own drum language, and doing shamanic journey together.
Spellwork Sundays with Iris
Sunday May 6
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
$35 per class
This Month: Body Adornment as a Magickal Act
Far more than just fashion; make-up, tattoos, piercing and other decorations can be a way to turn your body into a sacred altar. Come and join Iris for a discussion about sacred decorations for the body, a (PG rated, please) tattoo/piercing show and tell, and a hands-on, non-permanent body adornment spell.
This class was partly inspired by Jim Ward’s book “Running the Gauntlet” now available at The Sacred Well. For more information on this impressive contribution to cultural history visit runningthegauntlet-book.com
Tarot Salon - with Grey
Tuesday May 8 (2nd Tuesdays)
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Donations gratefully accepted
Cards for this month: The Magician and the Two of Wands
For this Tarot discussion group we choose two cards from the Tarot each month and spend some time really getting to know them in a roundtable discussion where we can all learn, share insights and gain inspirations from one another.
Bring your favorite Tarot deck with you, and be ready to share, learn (and maybe even teach) some new ideas!
“Visceral-ization” with Stan Morey II
Wednesday May 9
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
$25
Stan Morey II, Founder of Wizard Craft Technologies and 3rd Degree High Priest in the English Tradition of Wicca, brings us his own technique for manifestation across spiritual boundaries. He calls it “visualization on steroids” and this session is an interactive approach to one of the best tools for effective manifestation of your reality, and your spellwork.
Practitioners of any faith are welcome to join us for hands-on exercises in Time/Space folding.
VortexHealing® Open Talk & Group Healing with Dragonfly Adularia H.P.
Thursday May 10
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Donations graciously accepted
VortexHealing® is a divine healing art that works directly through consciousness and with energetics to help release the deepest issues we hold as humans beings. Join us to find out more about this ancient healing art which originated in India and moved across continents to be revived in England.
This group healing is intended to be a informal interactive group experience with an open talk about Merlin and the classes that are coming to the Bay Area in 2012. Plus, come experience a lovely forty five minute healing so you can have a chance to experience this powerful healing art.
(For more info. go to www.VortexHealing.org)
Join us at the 11th annual Pagan Fest!
This year’s theme: Paradigm Shift!
Saturday May 12th, 2012
10:00 am - 3:00 pm with parade at 12 noon!
Berkeley Civic Center park.
FREE
Our friends at the Pagan Alliance are again putting on an awesome outdoor festival in Berkeley. Along with The Sacred Well, many fine vendor booths will be there for shopping, info booths for networking, and don’t forget the storytelling, music, rituals, speakers, food, costume contest… the list goes on. Our very own Rabbit will be a part of the ceremonies as the Outgoing Keeper of the Light!
Please see the Pagan Alliance website for more details, including what to bring for the Alameda County Food Bank and how to volunteer at the festival.
Come on by the park and look for The Sacred Well’s red tent!
Classes with Ava Park:
Rabbit’s beloved friend and teacher, Lady Ava Park will be offering deep teachings and private sessions this month.
Saturday May 12
A very limited number of private sessions will be offered at The Sacred Well, $150 for a one hour session. Call today to reserve an appointment, no walk-in sessions will be available.
Sunday May 13
Ava will be offering The Queens’ Convocation: Ruling Your Life in Peace and Prosperity. This full-day class will be held at a private residence. $75-125 Sliding Scale
To inquire about this class, contact Rabbit directly via email: Rabbit@sacredwell.com
Spirit Art Class
Wednesday May 16
A class on sacred creativity with our special guest Luisah Teish!
We are still finalizing all the details, so watch this space for an update soon!
astrobarry’s Astrology Salon
Thursday, May 17
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
$20 suggested donation
Join a lively astrology discussion led by astrobarry in this informal interactive group experience. Topics covered in each Astrology Salon will vary, based on who attends and what’s going on in the sky. The Salon is intended to provide burgeoning astrologers with a chance to practice their chart interpretation skills in a safe, fun environment.
Attendees should have a good working knowledge of the astrological language. Please bring 5-10 copies of any astrology chart you’d like us to discuss (free charts available at www.astro.com).
The Witch’s Garden with Rabbit
Sunday May 20 (note special date and time!)
12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
$35 for any individual class
May 20: Tinctures
The Witch’s Garden is a series of classes for the budding herbalist. If you have been studying or practicing on your own, or if you are curious and seeking to deepen your knowledge of how to use herbs magically and for personal healing, this class is for you! Each session is a fun, casual, interactive, hands-on lesson in one facet of practical and magical herbalism.
As a general rule, please wear clothes that you can get dirty in as we play with the plants and make our potions!
Way of the Rabbit Witchcraft
Sunday May 20 (usually 3rd Sundays)
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
$35 for any individual class
May 20: Ancestors, spirits, hauntings
Life is such a sacred journey! And this class is a journey into my personal philosophies and practices of witchcraft. The methods I share in this class come from my twenty years of experience in making magic that works for my own purposes, and for the good of the world.
This class is a “year and a day” training in witchcraft, employing my methods. Suitable for beginners on the path, but also satisfying for advanced practitioners who are curious about new perspectives and practices. Be prepared to laugh, to explore your own magic with affection and humor, to wield your power mindfully, and to open to the wonder and adventure of life as a witch.
American Sabbats with Rabbit: Memorial Day discussion & ceremony
Tuesday, May 29: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
with ritual begining at 8:00 pm
Donations gratefully accepted
Rabbit invites believers of all faiths to join her in a series of Round Table discussions and Interfaith ceremonies in celebration of secular American holidays. These holidays drum up a tremendous amount of energy and cross the borders of many different spiritual traditions, but to what purpose? How can we, as Keepers of the Old Ways and Creators of New Traditions, channel this energy toward the highest good for all?
After a brief presentation on the history of the holiday, and its cultural meanings in the US, we will open a dialogue around how spiritual practitioners might choose to observe these days in sacred ways and then conclude with a ritual to focus the energy around the holiday toward healing and well-being for our nation and our world.
Emotional Freedom Technique class with Andrea Johnson, MA
Sunday May 13 (2nd Sundays)
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
$10 per class
May: How Cravings keep us stuck.
Bring items that you want to reduce cravings for, such as chocolates, cigarettes.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) balance the electro-magnetic, energy systems of the body for positive health results. Tapping over the energy meridians of the body release the energy blockages that create negative emotions. Negative emotions are the basis for limiting beliefs, body pains, and unnecessary stress and worry. As we use our spiritual practices to heal us, EFT is a welcome addition in our “toolbox” for our healing practice.
Monthly Spiritual Services at The Sacred Well
Goddess Awakening Temple Services for She of 10,000 names
Sunday May 6 (1st Sundays)
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Donations gratefully accepted
Theme for May 6: The Goddess of Creativity
with Guest Priestess Ashley
Women! Join our spiritual circle for an empowering start to your day, bringing alive the wisdom of the Goddess within! We are a holy community of sisters, encouraging one another through our challenges and celebrating our triumphs.
Temple of Aphrodite
Sunday May 13 (2nd Sundays)
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Donations gratefully accepted
Theme for May 13: The Eros of Everyday Lifewith Guest Priestess Venus Rose
Priestesses and devotees of Aphrodite invite you to monthly Temple of Aphrodite rituals and activities dedicated to the benevolent Lady of Love. Aphrodite’s power is found in beauty, grace, forgiveness, compassion, sensuality, sexual chemistry, and moments of pure joy.
Men and women of all backgrounds are invited to participate in these services to help them tap into the ever-flowing fountain of love within, and to connect that love with their personal practices, work, relationships, and activities in the world.
Tea and Chanting with Rabbit
Tuesday May 22 (4th Tuesdays)
Meet for tea at 7:30 pm,
chanting begins at 8:00 pm
$5 suggested donation
Join Rabbit for an evening of “the herbal and the verbal.” After sharing information about this month’s unique, delicious herbal tea, explaining this month’s mantra, and offering a brief dharma talk Rabbit leads the group in rhythmic, harmonic chanting for approximately 30-50 minutes.
Rabbit meshes Tibetan Buddhism with paganism, and is an enthusiastic student of the dharma. It is her joy to share this warm, inviting, and holy evening with you.
Monthly Temple Service with
Ile Orunmila Oshun
Sunday, May 27 (Last Sundays)
11:00 am-12:00 pm
Ile Orunmila Oshun, the Yoruba-based house of worship founded by Luisah Teish (author of Jambalaya), hosts its monthly Temple Service at The Sacred Well.
Join us at 11:00 AM on the last Sunday of every month to explore the mysteries of the Orishas with Initiated members of the Ile’s clergy. The powerful, ancient wisdom of Ifa is readily applied to modern situations, and each ceremony is a life lesson. At the end of the service, donations are gratefully accepted.
