May 7 – 11, 2018

Since the Temple’s first planned retreat to New Orleans for 2017 was so popular it sold out before we even announced it to the general public, we’ve decided to offer it again in 2018!

Come join Christopher Penczak and ministers of the Temple of Witchcraft for a magickal journey to the city of New Orleans, a crossroads of magick, spirit, and tradition from many cultures and times. Tour the historical French Quarter: it’s occult and Voodoo shops, its haunted history, and its cemeteries, and partake in classes and rituals with experienced guides.

Cost: $550 ($125 deposit required)

Please make all payments by check or money order, made payable to the Temple of Witchcraft, and send deposit and all payments to:

The Temple of Witchcraft
Attn: New Orleans Tour
49 North Policy Street
Salem NH 03079

Please notate payment is for NOLA 2018 and that the payment includes your contact information (mailing address, phone and/or email). If you need to make other payment arrangements, please contact Jocelyn at [email protected] for further information. Initial $125 deposit to reserve your space required within 30 days of registration. Full payment is required no later than March 1, 2018, and installment payments are available.

Includes: All itinerary items – does not include airfare, hotel, or meals.

To register or for more information, please email Alix Wright at [email protected].

Our planned itinerary of events includes:

• Welcome party, with evening dinner and dancing at Mulate’s!
• The Craft and the Crossroads: Witchcraft and Voodoo Cosmologies workshop: In Witchcraft and the Temple Tradition, we recognize there are many paths and many ways of experiencing Spirit. One of these is the rich family of African-Diasporic traditions, including the New Orleans Voodoo. In this class, we will “orient” ourselves at the crossroads to experience the magick of New Orleans by learning the essentials of Voodoo cosmology and comparing and contrasting them with the Temple’s own. From the gods to the lwa, from the World Tree to the Poteau-Mitain, the Underworld to the Mirror World, and from sigils and seals to veves and more, we will explore down different roads together. We will do a ritual opening of the crossroads and visionary work with the Powers that join us there.
• Workshop and Tour with Bloody Mary: Born on the bayou and baptized as Mary Millan in the Crescent City where waters surrounded on the Isle of Orleans, Bloody Mary is voodoo queen, mambo, Mamiissi and Swamp Witch with a 300 year old bloodline in NOLA. Bloody Mary will guide us to work in the river, in the cemetery, and in the forest We’ll trace the roots of New Orleans Magick from swamp magick to voodoo and in between to work with the dead. We’ll see cemeteries, connect with the oak grove in the world at City Park, and get close and personal with the mud goddess, Mother of the Mississippi.
• Guided Shopping Trip: Temple founders Christopher Penczak and Steve Kenson escort you through the occult and esoteric shops of the French Quarter. We’ll also visit Esoterica Occult Goods, with a lecture by Mimi Lansou, witch and owner. Mimi shares that her path is an eclectic blend of Catholicism, Wicca, and Gnosticism and that she performs best in the present! In her usual spontaneous manner, Mimi has requested that we decide when we arrive in New Orleans what we would like for her to teach us and give her a day’s notice!
• The Bough of the Psychopomp ritual: In this workshop with Christopher Penczak, make a talisman to function as the bough of the North and the South, to receive the blessings of the Guardian to safely do the work of the Psychopomp. In the Temple of Witchcraft tradition, we work with the Guardian of the Gate and Psychopomp, Nantur, the Scorpionic guardian of the gate. This spirit teaches the gift of conversing with spirits, to celebrate life and mysteries of the scourge or flail. Bring a small vessel that can be worn as jewelry: a glass or metal capsule, pouch or vial.
• Lecture on Santa Muerte with Steven Bragg: On the web site for the New Orleans Chapel of the Santisima Muerte, Steven Bragg writes: “Far from being the Satanic symbol of cartels and criminal activity, Santisima Muerte came into my life with a force so powerful and beautiful that it completely redefined my previous spiritual beliefs. Being touched by this Heavenly Power brings with it a new understanding of Death, its place within the cycle of Life, and renews the appreciation I have for each day I’m given. She is a mother, a sister, a protector, a healer, and so much more. Her devotion continues to grow every day, as She turns no one away.”
• Congress of the Bones Ritual: In sacred space, we commune with the Ancestors, our Beloved Dead, and the Hidden Company of our Timeless Tradition, and learn what messages they have to offer us, and ask us to bring back to the community. The Congress of the Bones is one of three “foundation” rituals facilitated by the Temple’s founders. The ritual creates sacred space and calls upon the Mighty Dead of Our Timeless Tradition to hold that space, so the ancestors can commune with us, and we with them, sharing our perceptions and any messages that come through from them for the community. In this way, we honor those who have come before us and their wisdom.
• Temple of Witchcraft Pub Crawl
• Royal Carriage Tour of the Garden District
• Visit to the New Orleans Audubon Zoo

Exact presentations are subject to change (based on scheduling and our initial retreat in 2017) but will be of similar quality and caliber.