[Ardantane Herald] New Ardantane Schools!

[Seusomon Starweaver]

																														From:

																														 "magickalarts" <magickalarts at telp.com>	  	 

																														Date:
																														Monday, April 09, 2007 8:41 AM

																														To:

																														<ardantane--herald at lists.ardantane.org>

																														Subject:

																														New Ardantane Shcools!

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														New Ardantane Schools!

At the Ardantane
visioning retreat in January, we took a careful look at the schools of
Witchcraft and Magickal Arts and decided that their names (and, to some
degree, their subject areas) were not as clear as they should be.

As
we had set them up, the School of Magickal Arts was to include most of
the how-to of Neopagan ritual, divination, and magick. The School of
Witchcraft was to include classes on witchcraft as a historical and
anthropological phenomenon, and the theological, ethical, and
philosophical aspects of religious witchcraft, specifically modern
Wicca.

One problem with this arrangement is that it gave the
School of Witchcraft a very specifically Wiccan emphasis. Today, most
people use the word "witchcraft" in a much broader sense, to encompass
many different types of practical magic and nature spirituality. A
second problem is that "witchcraft" suggests the practical (how-to)
aspects of a practice (it is a "craft", after all), and these practical
elements were actually being taught in Magickal Arts instead. Third,
"Magickal Arts" makes many people think of ceremonial magick, whereas
the school's curriculum actually had a more down-to-earth, pagan
emphasis than that would imply. Finally, since Wicca is a religion
known for its integration of magick and spirituality/theology, there
was a recurring problem of line-drawing between these two aspects.

The
Ardantane board and faculty have decided to replace these two schools
with two new schools, the School of Magic and Witchcraft, and the
School of Pagan Spirituality.

														The School of Magic and Witchcraft
will encompass the topics of ritual, divination, and magic, which were
under the previous School of Magickal Arts. In addition, there will be
more attention given to witchcraft (broadly understood, not just
Wicca). This is the school of earthy and practical magic and the how-to
of Neopagan practice.

														The School of Pagan Spirituality
will focus on the theology, ethics, history, and philosophy of
different Pagan traditions. The long-term goal is to develop
overlapping courses of study in Wicca, Druidry, Ásatru, Goddess
Spirituality, and other Pagan paths, and to explore the comparison and
integration of different belief systems.

The School of Magic
and Witchcraft, being a continuation of the previous School of Magickal
Arts under a clearer name and with a clearer mission, is fully active
at the present time. Look for a revised description of the school's
programs and offerings on the Ardantane website soon.

The
School of Pagan Spirituality has a different and broader scope than
either of the previous schools. Some offerings of the former School of
Witchcraft will be offered through the School of Pagan Spirituality,
under the heading of Wiccan Studies. The overall program of this
school, however, is under development at the present time, and classes
will gradually be added to the school's offerings as the program
evolves.

What happened to the "k" in "magick"? Magic as a
spiritual discipline is often spelled "magick" to distinguish it from
stage magic and other uses of the word. This spelling is especially
common among those whose background is in traditional Wicca or
ceremonial magic. We have decided to drop the "k" in the School of
Magic and Witchcraft to make it more welcoming and accessible to those
who are not acquainted with the alternative spelling or do not identify
with the specific traditions in which it is most frequently used. You
will still find the spelling "magick" at Ardantane, whenever its
special connotations and atmosphere suit the circumstances.

The
Ardantane board and faculty hope that these new schools will better
serve our students and make our current programs easier to understand
and participate in. We welcome your comments on these changes. We would
love to hear what you think, and what you would like to see us offer in
the future.

Blessings,

Starweaver (Tom Little)

For Ardantane

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)O(    Starweaver    )O( 
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