Teacher Bio:
Based in Denver, Colorado, Jess teaches classes that stitch together magic, art, and science with an aim to inspire her students to approach the world, and their practice, with endless curiosity. She is a big proponent of connecting with what inspires us - what exists in the natural world around us, and what our place is in that world. Her personal practice is ever-evolving, but is primarily rooted in exploring her ancestral background, particularly Greek, Scandinavian, and British folk practices. She believes that our magic, practice, and deities evolve with us in this world and is interested in how to modernize historical practices while maintaining the the integrity of the traditions that our ancestors have practiced before us.
Jess is also an artist who creates small sculptures, illustrations, and jewelry inspired by the natural world and the biological cycle of life and death. She creates imaginative miniature worlds honoring elements of nature and science. These sculptures contain magic in the form of preserved insects, bones, stones, moss, and plants. Inspired by the natural curiosity assemblages of the Victorian Naturalists and the Wildlife Halls of modern science museums, Jess hopes to inspire wonder, curiosity, and understanding for our natural world. Each piece she creates is a reminder of the beauty that lies in death and its importance in the cycle of life.
Class Description:
PLEASE NOTE* Jess will be streamed live guiding participates in person at Raven’s Veil.
Animal Magic in the Contemporary World
This class will guide you through some sustainable and responsible ways to work with animals and animal materia in your magical practice. We will touch on a bit of animal symbolism, mythology, and energies, how to sustainably and legally source these materials (if you wish to do so), and how to practically incorporate animal magic into your own magical practice.
This class will not follow the typical guides to animal magic. Jess takes a more scientific approach, one of correlation, study, and research. Often, we turn to books and the writings of others when we are new to a subject, which is a very important way to begin learning and start building a framework for your practice, however during this lesson, we will dive deeper. We will work on how to more heavily rely on our own intuition, observation, and personal experiences in order to develop meaningful relationships to the animal world.
Most of us live in urban environments, surrounded by concrete and landscaped city parks, and it may seem almost impossible to find the truly natural world in our surroundings. There is some truth to this, the contemporary world feels so disconnected from the wild that our ancestors knew. But honestly, nature surrounds us, all we need is a shift of perspective. Sit outside anywhere on a nice day, even deep in the city, and you will find resilience in nature. Plants growing through concrete, beetles dutifully searching for food, and stray cats or dogs surviving despite it all. It is so wonderful and healing to get deep into the mountains of our state, hearing the calls of native birds that sound exotic to city dwellers, or witnessing a family of deer beyond the trees along a trail… but there is something equally as wondrous about watching city crows scavenge from dumpsters behind a restaurant, or butterflies and bees pollinating the carefully curated gardens in a city square. These are the lessons that we need right now. We are all dutifully surviving in the circumstances of the contemporary world at this moment, and the animals that have been nearly pushed out by human civilization have been doing this for much longer.
Jess will also provide some instructions in practicing our observational and intuitive skills by connecting with animal materia first-hand. You will also be provided with guidance to your own charm bag to honor and harness the spirit of the snake, working with the energies of metamorphosis and adaptability. You will learn to combine animal, botanical, and mineral components with your own spirit and intention to create a piece of magic that you can carry with you, or add to your