SACRED ARTS INTENSIVE

Friday, January 16 Year 4 Aquarius Greetings from beautiful Washington DC. After driving all night Rev. Ruthann Amarteifio, Rev. Casey Carraher, and I arrived in Washington DC to begin our weekend intensive at Sacred Arts Witan Shrine. It was a most interesting drive through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, a bit of West Virginia, thence into Maryland to arrive in the District of Columbia at 6 AM.
Above: Rev. Mark Crewson and Rev. Don on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking across toward the Washington Monument. We're not sure, but we think Mark was a bit cold when this pic was taken.
Our host the Rev. Mark Crewson spent the day showing us this exciting and cosmopolitan city. We drove down Massachussetts Avenue AKA Embassy Row. We saw the Smithsonian Institution, the Capitol Building, the Whitehouse, and then visited the National Mall -specifically the Korean and Viet Nam Memorials, and the Lincoln Memorial. We took lots of photos which will make their way online at a later time. After a brief nap we ended our first day in Washington by attending the Open Hearth Foundation's Pagan Night Out at Hunan Gate restaurant. This was a lovely event filled with great people, and we understand it was the largest PNO they have held in quite some time. Among many wonderful people we met was Witchschool student Kate,who was celebrating her birthday today -happy birthday Kate!
Above: Rev. Casey Carraher and Rev. Don at the Lincoln Memorial.
Tomorrow we begin the weekends program with the Balancing the Elements Workshop, to be followed by a dinner hosted by Sacred Arts Co-Head the Rev. Sapphire Star. Sunday we will present several discussions followed by ritual and the closing night feast. We are very much looking forward to the weekend's festivities, the many new people we will meet, and are very grateful to Sacred Arts Shrine for arranging it. We will keep you posted! Many Blessings Rev. Don Lewis Chancellor
Above: The sigil of Sacred Arts Witan Shrine. The sigil incorporates symbols of several of the different sacred arts taught and practiced at the Shrine including a ceremonial sword for ritual arts, a crystal for healing arts, a lotus for meditative arts, and a stringed instruments for the musical arts.	Saturday, January 17 Year 4 Aquarius Greetings, Well, we have finished our second day at Sacred Arts Witan Shrine in Washington, DC. It has been a wonderful day, and once again we got to meet some great people. Our day began unexpectedly -with a fire alarm at 3 AM. Luckily there was no actual fire, so we got to go back to bed for a few more hours sleep.
In the morning we went to the United States Holocaust Memorial -a sobering way to start the day. We didn't have nearly enough time to do the Memorial justice, but we were glad to have gone. It is always important to remember the past, so that by remembering we can safeguard the future -and especially important in this day and age to remember what horrible things can happen, even in a highly civilized country, when people cease to respect one another and give in to bigotry.
In the afternoon we went to the home of Sacred Arts Co-Head the Rev. Sapphire Star to present the Balancing the Elements Workshop. This workshop focuses on connecting with and experiencing the elements in a personal way, through various elemental exercises and visualizations. The workshop included aura combing, sigil crafting and burning, Chakra dowsing, drumming, visualization, toning and chanting.
After the workshop Sapphire Star hosted a delightful dinner in our honor, which combined sumptuous food and stimulating conversation about "the whichness of the why." We greatly enjoyed meeting the Rev. Sapphire Star face-to-face, as well as her husband Steve, a practicing Shaman, and their charming daughter. Sapphire Star has been with us for quite some time and we know her to be an excellent Priestess and Mentor: and her passion and dedication are all the more obvious in person.
Above: Group photo at the home of Rev. Sapphire Star. L to R Rev. Don, Lady Ruthann, Rev. sapphire Star, Rev. Kestra, Steve, Jennifer, Rev. Casey, and Rev. Mark.
We were also delighted to meet Kestra, whom we have come to know well through the Witchschool chatroom, and be able to talk to her at length. We also greatly enjoyed meeting Jennifer, one of Sapphire Star's students, who is to be formally Dedicated tomorrow. Tomorrow we will start our day at the National Cathedral, then in the afternoon we will be presenting a series of workshops on spiritual subjects, followed by real-time initiations and an evening ritual.
Blessings to all! Rev. Don Lewis Chancellor Right: Rev. Don demonstrates Chakra Dowsing on Jennifer as Lady Ruthann assists. Sunday, January 18 Year 4 Aquarius Greetings Well, we have come to the end of our final day in Washington, and it was a pretty good day too. We had intended to begin our day at the National Cathedral, but all-night conversation caught up with us and things didn't quite turn out as planned. In the afternoon we offered several workshops. Doreen and Dave of Mugwort Grove, ADF, were kind enough to open their home to us for the purpose. Mugwort's Senior Druid Katherine was also present -and a nicer group of people than the Mugworts crew we have rarely met. Workshops included "Ritual Structure and Elements", "Ethics and Responsibilities", and "Paganism -Lifestyle or Hobby?" all of which engendered lively discussion. Right: Mugwort's Senior Druid Katherine gives Chakra Dowsing a try.
	After the workshops we retired to Mugwort's magnificent ritual room for an initiatory confirmation for First Degree Priestess Marcia, who impressed us greatly, and from whom we hope to hear much more in the future. Then in the evening we held a public ritual which included a formal Blessing for Sacred Arts Shrine, Dedications for Shrine members Jennifer and Diane, and a healing ceremony. After the ritual we enjoyed a sumptuous feast prepared by the vivacious and energetic Carolina. Everything was delicious, but in particular we will not soon forget the exquisite combination of chocolate and cayenne in Carolina's dessert brownies. Left: Lady Ruthann demonstrates energetic healing techniques on Kate.
Above: A Druid's kitchen. Dave (in green), Doreen (in red), and Carolina (in black) busily preparing an exemplary feast that was a delight to all.
Lady Ruthann, Rev. Casey, and I wish to extend our thanks to the Rev. Mark Crewson of Sacred Arts for bringing us out for this seminar, which has been a source of much learning and enjoyment. You can learn more about Sacred Arts Shrine at www.correllianwiccasacredarts.com. Tomorrow we will leave our new friends in DC and begin the journey back to Illinois. But happily in the age of email staying in touch will be easy, and we certainly hope to do so. Many Blessings to all! Rev. Don Lewis Chancellor	Above: Lady Ruthann, Rev. Marcia, and Rev. Don after Rev. Marcia's Initiatory Confirmation.
Above: Group photo at Mugwort's Grove. L to R Rev. Don, Rev. Casey, Jennifer, Lady Ruthann, Katherine, Rev. Mark, Carolina, Diane, Doreen, Dave, and Rev. Marcia.
Tuesday, January 20 Year 4 Aquarius Our trip home was very interesting. Rev. Casey drove home most of the way -though Lady Ruthann and I also took turns driving. We got lost in the Pennsylvania Triangle again -that energy vortex in Pennsylvania that swallows up travelers and occasionally lets them back out. Of course I was the one driving at that point -trust my famous travel curse to kick in at such a moment. At the time we found it all quite vexing, as it added several hours to our trip -but when we were nearly home to our cozy Elephant* in Hoopeston we saw a most amazing shooting star in the night sky -which we would certainly not have seen if we had gotten home on time. I have never seen such a clear and beautiful shooting star in my life, and take it as a portent of good things to come. It was probably about 3 in the morning when we finally got home, and we collapsed into our respective beds exhausted but delighted by our experiences on the East Coast. It was a wonderful weekend full of friendship and joy, and we look forward to visiting Sacred Arts Witan Shrine again in the future. Many Blessings to all! Rev. Don Lewis Chancellor *Elephant -The Witchschool campus in Hoopeston, Illinois, is affectionately known as the Elephant because it is big and gray and a little bulky, but solid and full of wisdom.