Sib. Ayin will lead an O.T.O. Degree Discussion Group on the Minerval Degree, closed to initiates of this Degree or higher. Discussion will include a review of recommended study materials, symbolic analysis, Q&A, and practice upon request.
3:00pm
Please arrive no earlier than 2:30pm and no later than 2:55pm.
Please RSVP to attend by emailing: secretary@williamblakeoto.org
Reiki Master/Instructor Richard A. Davis will lead a Reiki Share and give free Reiki Level 1 (Shoden 初伝 – “First Teaching”) Attunements (Reiju 霊授) to attendees. Anyone is welcome to come and receive a Reiki treatment, or practice giving Reiki to those who would like to receive it.
Richard began studying Reiki in Florida in 2007, studied under and received attunements from Reiki Masters in Tokyo and Kyoto from 2008-2010, has visited several sacred sites of Reiki, Shinto, and Shingon Buddhism such as Mt. Kurama, Mt. Fuji, and Mt. Koya, and has taught and attuned hundreds of students to Reiki since 2010 in Tokyo, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, and DC. We will also study Reiki’s compatibility with such practices as Yoga, Asana, and Pranayama as they relate to one’s spiritual development. Our group’s study of Reiki will examine the influences of Mount Kurama, Esoteric Buddhism, and Japanese language and culture on the Reiki system, in addition to teaching techniques from both the Eastern and Western lineages that have been the most effective for Reiki treatments.
Whether you are a beginner or already attuned to the Master/Teaching level of Reiki, all paths and all practitioners are welcome to join our Baltimore Reiki Share and learn more about the Japanese view of Reiki, the cultural influences on the Sacred Symbols, and how these concepts are understood in the Japanese language. Attendees will also examine the connections Reiki has to the mythos and deities of Mount Kurama, and come to appreciate the full meaning of the Reiki Principles written by Usui Mikao through an in-depth study of their Japanese/English translation. Our primary aim is to cultivate a holistic sense of understanding that can be passed on and shared with all practitioners of Reiki.
Facilitator: Richard A. Davis
Reiki Share will begin at 5:00pm.
Please arrive no earlier than 4:30pm and no later than 4:55pm.
Suggested Donation: $10 (No donation necessary to attend.)
Andrew and Justin from Spooky Action At A Distance discuss not just the use of music in ritual as a means of sensorial control, but also the creation of music AS ritual. We’ll be discussing and demonstrating the use of timbre, rhythm, and tone in assisting in manipulating the senses, how creating and manipulating music electronically can be a meditative exercise, and an examination of the attributions of musical notes with the paths on the Tree of Life.
After the lecture, Cleveland electronic band Spooky Action At A Distance will be bringing their act to William Blake Lodge for an evening of music and ritual! Using synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers, and samplers, members Andrew Lent and Justin Smith weave live, spontaneous soundtracks around narrator George Sulea’s words, from dark cyberpunk tales to poetic prose. Bring a beverage and/or snack to share, and get ready for a great party!
Please arrive no earlier than 6:30pm and no later than 6:55pm.
$20 admission; $5 for dues-current WBL members
A world authority on Gnostic spirituality, Tobias Churton is Britain’s leading scholar in the field of Western Esotericism. Holding a Masters degree in Theology from Brasenose College, Oxford, he was appointed Honorary Fellow and Faculty Lecturer in Western Esotericism at Exeter University in 2005. Tobias is also a filmmaker, poet, composer, and the author of many books, including The Gnostics, The Golden Builders, Occult Paris, The Babylon Gene and acclaimed biographies of William Blake, Aleister Crowley, Elias Ashmole and G.I. Gurdjieff.
While all of his books are of relevance to Thelemites, we’ve asked him to speak in particular about Aleister Crowley in America: Art, Espionage, and Sex Magick in the New World. Join William Blake Lodge in a conversation with Tobias Churton through the magick of the internet! We’ll be able to communicate back and forth, so please show up with plenty of questions!
$20 admission; $10 for dues-current WBL members.
Please email contact@williamblakeoto.org to RSVP and confirm attendance for tour.
Join William Blake Lodge for a tour of the Goddard Space Flight Center organized by Soror Hypathia.
Please arrive no earlier than 9:30am and no later than 9:55am. Tour starts promptly at 10:00am
“The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory. Activities, exhibits and events at the Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provide inspiring and captivating educational experiences for all ages.
The visitor center demonstrates Goddard’s innovative and exciting work in Earth science, astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary science, engineering, communications and technology development.
Only 30 minutes from Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; and Annapolis, Maryland, the visitor center gives you the opportunity to explore the universe in your own backyard.”
Visits and tours are free of charge.
Location: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
Admission: $25; $15 for dues-current WBL members.
Please arrive no earlier than 10:30am.
William Blake Lodge, OTO in Baltimore will be hosting BJ Swain author of Living Spirits: A Guide to Magic in a World of Spirits, to teach two classes and lead a ritual from the book. Join us for a fun and educational afternoon. Schedule pricing and class descriptions below.
Living Spirits Classes and Ritual
11:00 – 1:00: Class One: Mapping and Navigating a Living World
Lunch
1:30 – 3:30: Class Two: Workshopping Rituals to Engage the Spirit World
3:30 – 4:45: Pentacle Consecration
Class One: Mapping and Navigating a Living World – If we begin with the premise that we reside in a living, magical world, in which spirits of various types also reside then we need to know what that world looks like and how its shape influences our magical interactions. In this class we will explore types of spirits, how the spirit world is organized and how that impacts how we approach those spirits. We will also look at how our interactions with spirits, and their social structures and habitats suggests and shapes our course of action with each other.
Class Two: Workshopping Rituals to Engage the Spirit World – Modern systems of magic have generally approached structures drawn on Kabbalah or on dramatic initiation to engage a singular spiritual power, which may or may not be approached as a true spirits. Later occult texts which presented more traditional European magic often called upon God and approached a singular spirit. When we look at contemporary traditional cultures, and even at High Medieval and earlier European magic we see that often many spirits are called upon in facilitating contact with the spirit or spirits who will assist us. As we understand the shape of the world, its spirit residents and their interactions with us and each other we can begin to see how that shape suggest ways of more fully engaging hosts of spirits in ritual. In this class we will look at options for approaching spirits based on a living world full of spirits who serve different roles in the magical structure which surrounds us.
Ritual: Consecration of a Pentacle
Stick around afterwards for a second event: Chilling Adventures at William Blake Lodge
| Details | Price | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Admission | $25.00 (USD) | Expired |
| WBL Member Admission | $15.00 (USD) | Expired |
5:00pm
April 20th is the Easter Vigil, or the Harrowing of Hell. It is the day when the Church is dead and Christ is in Hell.
Thus what better day for some heretical magic?
Join us for some fun, some education, some ritual and some blasphemy as we explore witchcraft and compare it with its very popular recent pop cultural appearance in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Afterward we will explore how art and ritual can intersect as we engage in a ritual touching on themes of Thelema and historical witchcraft using imagery and aesthetics drawn from Chilling Adventures.
5:00 – 6:30: Witches, the Devil, and Factual Fictions
6:30 – 8:00: A Path of Night Familiar (Ritual)
8:00: Feast of Feasts Potluck Party
Witches, the Devil, and Factual Fictions – In this class we will explore the nature of the Witches’ Devil and certain traditional ideas about witchcraft and compare them to depictions of witchcraft in the recent Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. When this series came out there were many who were upset about the campy cannibalistic Satanic witchcraft depicted in full 1950s southern church glam. Others enjoyed the grittier darker depiction of magic and witchcraft. Love it or hate it, Sabrina gave a new face to witchcraft in the popular high school supernatural drama genre. So in this class we’ll look at the magic in the show, and we’ll look at witchcraft and The Devil in historical European magic.
A Path of Night Familiar – a ritual which demonstrates the ability of art to provide inspiration for magic. We will explore Thelemic themes present in the magic of the Church of Night, conjure the Witches’ Devil and bind familiars in an act of authentic conspiratorial witchcraft drawing on contemporary artistic aesthetic and traditional historical magic.
A Feast of Feasts – We will celebrate our heresy with a potluck feast, drinks, and unholy fellowship. Join us as we live deliciously. Please bring a dish to share!
$20 admission; $10 for dues-current WBL members
Also earlier in the day, check out our event “Magic in a World of Spirits”
| Details | Price | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Admission | $20.00 (USD) | Expired |
| WBL Member Admission | $10.00 (USD) | Expired |
Three Days of Initiatory Experience with Author and Spiritual and Erotic Authenticity Educator Lee Harrington – April 17-19, 2020
The elements and practices of Sacred Kink are boundless… Spiritual seekers, erotic explorers, and sexual kinksters alike are drawn to the power of alternate states of consciousness. During the course of this three day immersive intensive, we will explore the Eightfold Paths of Sacred Kink through hands-on practices, hearts-open exercises, and rituals of energetic engagement. This weekend experience is a chance to awake the skin, embrace our breath, arouse creativity, laugh loud, purge pain, and release rhythm. We will further develop our natural abilities in an intimate group setting, learning how others have been traversing their erotic journeys as well. Join internationally known sexuality and spirituality educator, author and shaman, Lee Harrington, as we journey into the shadows of our passion, descend into desire, face our fears, and find the touchstones of our erotic authenticity along the way. Whether you’re a seasoned explorer or have never delved into the depths of adventurous sex and personal truth, this immersive experience will expand your own path of Sacred Kink.
About Lee Harrington
Lee Harrington is an internationally known spiritual and erotic authenticity educator, gender explorer, eclectic artist and award-winning author and editor on erotic and sacred experience. He’s been traveling the globe teaching and talking about sexuality, psychology, faith and desire, and believes you deserve passion and connection in your life. Lee has been a passion instigator, academic, adult film performer, world class sexual adventurer, outspoken philosopher, polytheist priest/ess, kink/bondage expert, and has been blogging about sex and spirit since 1998. You can check out Lee’s adventures, as well as his regular podcast, tour schedule, free essays, videos, and more, over at PassionAndSoul.com.
Nonfiction Books by Lee Harrington
Registration Note: Please include an email so that you can receive the detailed questionnaire for the Intensive
Friday 18 October – Sunday 20 October, 2019
William Blake Lodge brings you another weekend-long Gnostic Mass marathon, with workshops, classes and meals! Join friends you’ve known for years, and ones you’ve yet to meet for a jam packed weekend of Masses, Classes and Workshops, framed in an environment of fraternal fun. Bring your friends, bring your lovers, bring your Brothers and Sisters and show us how you do Mass at your local body, learn how others do it in theirs, or team up with people from other bodies and experience doing the Gnostic Mass with a whole new team.
Early Registration (through Sep. 20, 2019): $40 per person; $35 for dues-current WBL members
Late Registration (Sep. 21 – Oct. 12, 2019): $50 per person; $40 for dues current WBL members
On site registration: $65 full weekend; $30 single day.
Schedule subject to revision as the date draws closer. Register today!
FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER
6:00pm Doors Open; snacks served
7:00pm Gnostic Mass
9:00pm Gnostic Mass or Workshop
11:00pm Gnostic Mass
SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER
9:00am Doors Open; breakfast served
10:00am Gnostic Mass or Class
12:00pm Lunch
1:30pm Gnostic Mass or Class
3:30pm Gnostic Mass
6:00pm Go out for dinner
9:00pm Gnostic Mass (Closed to 0°)
11:00pm Gnostic Mass (Closed to 0°)
SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER
10:00am Doors Open; brunch served
11:00am Gnostic Mass
1:00pm Break
2:00pm Gnostic Mass
4:00pm Cleanup/Closing