Dark Moon Mysteries

with Christopher Penczak
Monthly Online via Zoom. Recording available.
7:00 – 9:30 pm Eastern
Cost: $35 per class

After a hiatus from 2021 to 2024, the series which ran for seven years straight providing a foundation to deepen Temple teachings has returned! Each year has a series of themes interwoven along with single topic classes, and themes will evolve over the course of the next three years. Take one, a few, or all of them to deepen your craft! Join us to experience and experiment in the magick, and let your voice become a part of the growing traditions of our community.

Each class offers 1 CEU for ordained ministers in the Temple of Witchcraft, contingent upon the submission of a short-answer paper. Attendance is not required, but the paper must address a specific question provided during the class. Please attend the class or watch the recording to receive the question needed for your paper.

The Quest for the Hallows of the Witch: The Cup of Compassion

Nov 4, 2024

The wand, blade, cup and stone are the four classic hallows of the magician, used by Witches to evoke the four elements and work their Craft. Each the four elemental suits of Tarot embodies a magickal quest to find and embody a deep magickal virtue – Will, Truth, Compassion and Sovereignty. We recognize these quests hidden in the trials of life.

The elemental spirits of the realm of water, dwelling in the Temple of the Sea and Stars, are the keepers of the Cup of Compassion. They help us renew our sense of love and hope, and regenerate ourselves for our own healing and to be of greater service in the world. Learn ritual techniques to further empower your cup or chalice to become a touchstone for the powers of compassion and love. Through this guided journey, encounter the illuminated ministers of the Moon and sea, the undines and nymphs, the Elemental rulers Niksa and Mara and the Archangel Gabriel to deepen your understanding of the mysteries of Water and the Cup of Compassion.

Hecate, the Mighty Dead, and the Soul of Witchcraft

Dec 2, 2024

The Soul of the World is the connecting and mediating force of the cosmos, perceived as the soul of planet Earth on one level, and the starry soul of the cosmos on another. The anima mundi is the interconnecting and interpenetrating force. In some theurgic practices, Hecate is seen as this anima mundi as well as the mistress of magick and triple Queen of Witches. In the mystical practices of the modern Witch, the Mighty Dead are both venerated ancestors who died with sorcerous might, and those who find collective understanding and union with the Soul of the World. Explore growing concepts of magick as a fundamental force, the ancestors, the Goddess of Witches, and the Soul of Witchcraft and end with a guided journey to seek your own personal understanding. Have a candle on hand for the meditation.

The Forty-Two Assessors of the Underworld

Jan 6, 2025

In ancient Egypt, the Assessors of Ma’at are forty-two gods of the Egyptian district, the nomes, who aided Osiris in the weighing of the heart against the feather of Ma’at in the Duat. Each one stood for a “negative confession” those journeying to the Duat in vision or in death, had to declare. Today we can work with the assessors in the healing of our karma, and in particular, learn a visionary ritual to help release karmic imbalance when you have given or done too much to resolve a conflict in a relationship and believe there is no hope to work things out with the other party. Learn this powerful, pioneering technique to heal yourself and move on from situation that would otherwise weigh you down.

The Quest for the Hallows of the Witch: The Sword of Truth

Jan 30, 2025

The wand, blade, cup and stone are the four classic hallows of the magician, used by Witches to evoke the four elements and work their Craft. Each the four elemental suits of Tarot embodies a magickal quest to find and embody a deep magickal virtue – Will, Truth, Compassion and Sovereignty. We recognize these quests hidden in the trials of life.

The elemental spirits of the realm of air, dwelling the Temple of the Winds, are the keepers of the Sword of Truth. These spirits aid us in revealing our deep seeded truths and expressing our true voice, thereby consciously claiming the power to think and speak our reality into being. Learn ritual techniques to further empower and honor your ritual blade, be it an athame or single edged knife to become a touchstone for truth and life. Through guided journey, encounter the illuminated ministers of the Winds and breath, the sylphs, anemoi, and airts, the Elemental Rulers of Paralda and Eostar and the Archangel Raphael to deepen your understanding of the mysteries of Air and the Sword of Truth.

The Spine of the World: Raising the Djed Pillar

March 3, 2025

In Egyptian traditions, the Djed Pillar is associated with both the spine of Osiris and the world tree, the central column that holds up the world. Within us, our own magickal spine, our first staff, holds up our world. Divided into five sections and thirty-three vertebrae, we embark on a detailed vision to heal, align and balance each section of our bodies, our lives, and the world.

Calling Back Your Vital Energy Rite

March 31, 2025

Through our conscious and unconscious actions, we can fragment, fracture, and scatter our vital life force, the energy of consciousness. While some is sent out for specific magick, often we do not realize how much we have left someplace, given away, or lodged in unresolved hopes, dreams, and fears. We can return our energy back to ourselves through a simple, but effective rite to bolster our vital energy. Then we are called to purify it, manage it, and integrate it for our greater healing good. If your attention is divided, you feel scattered, or you do not have the energy and enthusiasm for the good things in your life, this ritual is for you. Have with you some source of flame such as a candle, vegetable oil lamp, or small alcohol cauldron flame. Also have a bowl of water, and a pinch of salt and a power herb you feel is most healing or beneficial to you personally, as a drop of essential oil or a small pinch of the dried herb.

The Quest for the Hallows of the Witch: The Stone of Sovereignty

April 29, 2025

The wand, blade, cup and stone are the four classic hallows of the magician, used by Witches to evoke the four elements and work their Craft. Each the four elemental suits of Tarot embodies a magickal quest to find and embody a deep magickal virtue – Will, Truth, Compassion and Sovereignty. We recognize these quests hidden in the trials of life.

The elemental spirits of the realm of earth, dwelling in the Temple of the Earth, are the keepers of the Stone of Sovereignty. These spirits aid us in drawing together our will, truth, and love to rule the kingdom of out life, establishing our proper boundaries and right relationships with all those around us. Our inner light becomes grounded in the world and we more consciously understand our incarnation. Learn ritual techniques to find, consecrate and empower your stone or crystal as the touchstone for sovereignty. Through guided journey, encounter the illuminated ministers of the Earth and of structures of the world, the gnomes and goblins, the Elemental Rulers of Ghob and Tanu and of the Archangel Uriel to deepen your understanding of the mysteries of Earth and the Stone of Sovereignty.

The Primordial Gods of Creation and Cosmos

May 26, 2025

The ancients often had many seemingly different or conflicting creation stories, though each detailed a different perspective, or aspect of the creation of the cosmos. Many of the most ancient gods were not simply an individual, but a place in the cosmos as well as a type of person. From ancient Egypt to the Neoplatonist, humanity explores the gods before the gods in their quest for knowledge and we too continue that tradition, and seek a primordial vision of the source and mystery of creation.

Alchemical Osiris and the Mysteries of Rebirth

June 30, 2025

The story of Osiris’ death and rebirth with the magick of his sister-wife Isis is not just a tale of the seasons, stars, and flooding of the Nile. Hidden within the story are the alchemical keys of not just a psychological transformation, but the rebirth of the energy body. Explore different facets of the well known myth, and meditating upon the, bring the mysteries of alchemy into your spirit body in a new way.

The Quest for the Hallows of the Witch: The Staff of Victory

August 4, 2025

The wand, blade, cup and stone are the four classic hallows of the magician, used by Witches to evoke the four elements and work their Craft. Each the four elemental suits of Tarot embodies a magickal quest to find and embody a deep magickal virtue – Will, Truth, Compassion and Sovereignty. We recognize these quests hidden in the trials of life.

The elemental spirits of the realm of fire, dwelling in the Temple of the Sun, are the keepers of the Staff or Spear of Victory. These spirit help us discover and enact our will in the world through following our passions, thereby kindling new levels of vitality and our ability to find who we are in this lifetime. Learn ritual techniques to obtain and empower your wand, stick, or staff to be a touchstone for divine will. Through guided journey, encounter the illuminated ministers of the Sun and of light, the salamanders and drakes, the Elemental Rulers Djinn and Litha and the Archangel Michael to deepen your understanding of the mysteries of Fire and the Staff of Victory.

Underworld Initiation of the Tarot

Sept 23, 2025

Occult tradition tells us that the secrets of magick and initiation are encoded in the images of the Tarot. Drawing on teaching from The History and Practice of Magic by Paul Christian and Tarot of the Bohemians by Papus, we will explore a tradition of magickal healing and empowerment rooted in the mythos of Egypt but applicable to anyone through the art of the Tarot. Experience a guided visionary journey on the initiatory path of evolution through twelve gates from the Major Arcana. Experience the portals of transformation in the underworld, their guardians and teachers, through the twelve “hours” of the night, starting with the Sphinx of the Wheel of the Fortune through death, rebirth, and empowerment in the world.

The Quest for the Hallows of the Witch: The Crown of Humility

Oct 20, 2025

Beyond the four elements is the divine presence of aethyr, spirit, akasha or quintessence, the mysterious fifth substance. Beyond the four hallows of wand, blade, cup and stone are the mysteries of the arcana, the golden road of initiation, and the one true thing. Originating in the realm of the starry heavens through the heart of the underworld, we seek it in the form of a pentacle, cauldron, or crown. Bring together the teachings of the four elemental hallows through the twelve signs of the zodiac, the mysterious rose of the Venus Star, and the royal heart of the Witch to better embody truth, compassion, victory and sovereignty through humble service to the gods, the community, and the planet.

Temple of Witchcraft