Thuri Calafia - Dedicant: A Witchs Circle of Fire

About the Author

Thuri Calafia (Oregon) is an ordained minister and Wiccan High Priestess, teacher, and creator of the Circles system and Circles School. She is actively involved in the Pagan community in the Pacific Northwest, teaching Circles classes and a variety of workshops, and presenting public rituals, Witches Afternoon Teas (fundraisers for local Pagan organizations and charities), and other priestess work as needed. She lives with her beloved Labrador, Miss Alyssa Ramone.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Dedicant: A Witchs Circle of Fire 2008 by Thuri Calafia.

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First e-book edition 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738722115

Book design by Steffani Sawyer

Editing by Brett Fechheimer

Cover art 2008 by PhotoDisc

Cover design by Ellen Dahl

Interior illustrations 2008 Chris Down

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my matron goddess Artemis, for being a loving and clear guide to me all my life, and for pushing me forward relentlessly on this sacred Path.

Second, I would like to thank all of my studentsgood and bad, past, present, and futurefor you are the ones who continually teach me how to teach .

I would like to thank Elysia Gallo, my editor at Llewellyn. Thank you, Elysia, for believing in me and my work, for your warmth, humor, and the admonishments to cite, cite, cite! If I have achieved anything near excellence here, it is to your credit as well. Any mistakes, of course, are mine alone. I would also like to thank Brett Fechheimer, my production editor, for helping me polish this work to a shine. Thanks also to all the good people Ive had the pleasure to work with at Llewellyn.

Jerica, spirit daughter, I thank you for being an incredible peer who taught me so much in our short time together. You inspire me to be a better priestess, and moreover, a better person , and I will love you forever for that. My darling DreyWolf, thank you for your amazing stories of the animal world, and for your open, enthusiastic spirit. For all your young years, you have such a heart for the Goddess that you inspire us all.

I would also like to thank Carmella Cook for providing a wonderful venue for my priestess work in my new home here in the Pacific Northwest, for healing me and my little girl, and for listening to my dreams with unbridled enthusiasm. Your warm welcome has been a true gift.

Last but certainly not least, Id like to thank a very special man who came to me as a student but who was quickly fired, for he knows more of spirit and magic than I can hope to learn in a lifetime. My love, there are no words to express my gratitude for all the times you took care of my responsibilities, fixed computer problems, and supported my time away from us so that I could complete this book in relative sanity (and I do mean relative!). Without you, it would have taken much longer to accomplish, and so I dedicate it to you...

For my Eagle

for teaching me the power, and the freedom,

of flight

Contents

Part O ne

Forging the Vessel: Foundation Work

Part two

Filling the Vessel: The Monthly Lessons

Part three

Tempering the Vessel: The Initiation Unit

Introduction

On a starlit rise in a small meadow high in the Rocky Mountains, a woman casts a circle, alone. The forest of aspen and pine surrounding her is deep in shadow; although she cant see him, she can feel the Horned One watching from the perimeter. Luminous puffs of cloud drift slowly by, as if to tell her she has all the time in the world. Her hair, still damp from her purification ritual, is caught by a gentle breeze, sending a chill down her spine. She tells herself shes ready. She has her tools, her three years of study, her breath, and her body. Suddenly, shes moved to touch the earth, and she removes her shoes and places her palms on the ground, drawing energy up from the Mother. She is ready. As she watches the full moon rise, she raises her arms, and beckons the Lady to listen. She makes her vows, pledges her love, and dares to make one bold request.

Be my teacher, she beseeches her. Guide my path.

The night grows long as the woman chants and sways with the pulse of earth and moon as they dance together in a song only she can hear in the deep stillness. Later, initiation over, she sleeps better than she has in years.

The next morning, while striking camp, she remembers the night before, and a wave of warmth washes over her. She feels... changed. She smiles with pride and satisfaction that she is now a Witch, a Wise One, a priestess of the Lord and the Lady. She puts the last item in her car, and looks around.

Now what? she asks, and it occurs to her that shes thinking about more than mere camping gear. She looks up into the sky, the rich turquoise mountain blue, the shockingly white clouds racing by like dreamstuff, like shreds of her life, already past, which cause her to consider her future. She opens her arms and says it aloud, this time to her gods. Now what?

Now what, indeed. The woman on that gentle slope was me, many years ago, and after initiation, I felt somewhat lost. As I lived in a small community, I couldnt find a teacher, and the only Witches I could find were at best pretty strange. I read everything I could get my hands on and learned from the greats: Starhawk, Adler, Bonewits, Buckland, Stone. I read everything I could find that these authors wrote, and then I started on the bibliographies in the back, reading as much as I could find of what theyd read . As the years passed, I added Cunningham, Reed, and Campanelli to my growing list of favorites, which quickly became too numerous to mention. I did the exercises, wrote rituals, conjured spells. I tuned in to the moon and the earth, read reams of mythology, and continued my search for a teacher. I knew that other than the Lady herself, these authors were probably the best teachers anyone could ever hope to find, yet I still yearned for a clearer path, some sort of structure, a guide through the fog. I read more books and tried some workings I later realized I wasnt ready for. Then, when I was ready for more intensive study, I kept finding books and techniques that were in a place Id already been. I floundered. Like trying to deep-sea dive with a life jacket on, I couldnt find a way to go deeper but just kept skimming the surface. My friends were all at the same level as I was, and although we learned a bit from each other, the greater knowledge we all craved just wasnt happening. I helped start a coven, then a discussion group, then another coven, and all of them fell apart due to lack of leadership and commitment.