Magical Arts Dept.

MAGICAL ARTS

The Department of Magical Arts is devoted to the study of magic in theory and practice. "Magic" is a slippery word with many definitions and connotations. At one time magic was the foundation of what we now call science. Its roots are in trying to understand cause and effect and the way the cosmos works. Since the advent of modern scientific empirical methods of inquiry, the field of magic has become separated from science. (For more see Magic and Science)

MA 001 Medicine Pouches, Bundles, and Amulets (1 cr)
Tsis'detsi Tsigoti

This is a short one-credit course running for five weeks. The student will learn how to construct a small medicine pouch for a specific purpose, and will understand the basic theory of amulets, pouches, and sachets. This is a very basic, beginner’s course to familiarize the student with the theory of medicine pouches, using intent, and creating things that are not just pleasing to the eye but that have specific purposes.

MA 101 Trance, Meditation, and Dreamwork (3 cr). Tsis'desti Tsigoti.

An exploration of the practices of trance and visualization, meditation and dreamwork. This course is intended as a foundation for further metaphysical practice.

MA 104 Techniques of Magical Praxis (3 cr).

Prerequisite: PHIL 101. The intent of this course is to introduce the student to different magic theories, exercises and techniques that are common to several western occult traditions. These exercises strengthen the student's abilities in all areas of magical application. By the end of this course, the student will be capable of applying these basic magical exercises in whatever magical system is applicable to the student.

MA 201 Totem Animals and Familiars (3 cr). Tsis'detsi Tsigoti.

Prerequisite: PHIL 101. An introduction to working with totem animals and stones, familiars and other nature helpers. Students will study their own individual totems and spiritual helpers, starting with a guided meditation and progressing inwardly. They will learn how to observe the portents in nature, and, by studying animals of their choice, will learn the lessons that the winged ones, finned ones, four leggeds, creeping crawlies, standing ones (trees) and stone people have to offer to all who are willing to embrace their message.

MA 202. Stonelore and Earth Mysteries (3 cr). Flidais Airmid.

Prerequisite: MA 104. Overview of geology and the spiritual study of stones and crystals, their uses in magical applications and meditation. Vibration and color, charging, and uses in healing practices. The wisdom of stones in the wild and in meditation, working with the spirits of the stones and the Earth elementals. Also included in this course is a discussion of the magical and spiritual properties of metals, stone circles and alignments, ley lines, and earth powers.

MA 203. Charms and Spellcasting I (3 cr). Elizabeth Sterling.

Prerequisite: MA 104. Types of charms and their composition. Students will study spells from various ancient, medieval, and contemporary sources. Methods of spellcasting. Consideration of ethics and safety. Psychic self-defense.

MA 204. Ritual Tools (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 203 or permission. The crafting and enchantment of ritual tools in various traditions, their uses, and symbolism. Students will have an opportunity to make their own ritual tools and be shown some techniques of working in wood, metal, and clay. Historical aspects of the traditional tools, such as wand, staff, bell, book, and candle, chalice, etc.

MA 205 Dreams and Dreamwork (3cr).

Prerequisite: MA 101 or permission. Focused study of dream interpretation, dream journaling, practice with lucid dreaming, astral traveling, and scrying.

MA 301. Reading and Writing Grimoires (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 203. A look in depth at the work of various medieval sources. Agrippa, Paracelsus, the Key of Solomon, the Lemegeton, the Goetia, and The Sacred Book of Abremelin the Mage. The magical notebooks of Dr. John Dee will be studied in some detail. Students will also study some modern spellbooks and the grimoire as the laboratory notebook of magical practice. Uses of Latin, Hebrew, and other magical languages and esoteric alphabets will be considered and put to practice. Students will complete the course by assembling their own substantial grimoire.

MA 302. Talismans, Amulets, and Sachets (3 cr). Tsis'detsi Tsigoti.

Prerequisite: MA 203. The methods of making talismans, amulets, and herbal sachets as power objects charged by spells or charms. The writing of sigils as glyphs of intention will be practiced, as well as the uses of correspondences in the medieval tradition of planetary talismans as found in the Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon and other sources. Students will produce a number of practical examples.

MA 303. Magical Beasts (3 cr).

Prerequisite: PHIL 101. Study of bestiaries and magical beasts from the Egyptian semi-human gods and goddesses to the Greeks and Romans and medieval additions, up through the modern Gremlin. Consideration of these creatures as inhabitants of the Otherworlds and the nature of their intrusion or influence upon the mundane world. Qualities and uses of magical beasts and their relationship to Faërie folk of various kinds. Students will engage with several magical creatures through guided meditations and independent work. A report on the student's field research will be handed in at the end of term.

MA 304. Enchantment of Power Objects (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 203. Methods of enchantment of objects for magical purposes. Magical tools, rings, weapons, and books. Special emphasis on spells of protection against mundane and magical attack or accident.

MA 305. Psychic Self-Defense (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 104. Defense against the dark arts and psychic attack by other wizards or ethereal entities. Discussion of dangers of delusion and possession, involuntary projection, the loss of personal boundaries, and the psychic nature of demons. Students will practice banishings, grounding, shielding, binding and other techniques of defensive magic. Special attention to problems of group work and handling of group energies.

MA 401. Invocation and Evocation (3 cr).

Prerequisites: MA 301 and 305. The arts of magical invocation and evocation will be studied in detail with emphasis on the differences between religious prayer and the evocation of spirits, god-forms, etc. into manifestation. Degrees of manifestation will be considered along with issues of safety. Students will be engaged in discussion of the nature of deities, demons, angels, daemons, elementals, and Faeries, their relationship to subjectivity and the hazards of delusion and possession. Students will carefully record their experiences and write a report for their final term paper.

MA 402. Elementary Alchemy (3 cr).

Prerequisites: MA 304 and OS 302. Introduction to the art of alchemy. Discussion of its relationship to physical chemistry and to psychology. Its use as a spiritual practice. Practical as well as theoretical work in the creation of alchemical elixirs. Metal alchemy is covered in this course. Suggested Reading: Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy. Frater Albertus, The Alchemists Handbook. Gilchrist, Elements of Alchemy. Goddard, The Tower of Alchemy.

MA 403 Intermediate Alchemy (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 402. Plant alchemy and further study of both the literature and the laboratory practice of alchemy. Laboratory work and meditation form a large part of this class. Suggested Reading: von Franz, Alchemical Active Imagination. Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis. Goddard, The Tower of Alchemy.

MA 405 Wand and Staff in Wood (3 cr). Dr. Maertens (Alferian)

Prerequisite: MA 204. The making of a Druid wand and staff for personal use and the use of these tools in Druid ritual. Methods of consecration and enchantment. Carving and woodcraft aspects and adornment of the tool. Its use as a symbol of archetypal masculinity and elemental Fire. The creation of intention and assertive action. Projection of energies.

MA 406 Wand and Staff in Copper (3 cr). Tsis'detsi Tsigoti

Prerequisite: MA 204 Ritual ToolsStudents will learn the concepts of how wands and staves work, and throughout the course will take part in constructing an energy wand of their own. They will learn the mechanics of working with wands and staves, the advantages of having different wands for different uses, and the ethics of using these tools. By the end of the course, students will have constructed a useable wand, learned how to use it and how not to use it, and will have a working knowledge of the metaphysics of such a tool.

MA 407. Faerie Lore (3 cr)

Prerequisite: PHIL 101. Focused study on the Realm of Faerie in Celtic lore and literature. Relationships to the creative Imagination and the Otherworlds. Considerations of the wide variety of sentient creatures reported in Otherworld contacts. Reality of creatures of the Imagination. Introduction to Faerie fieldwork.

MA 408 Advanced Faerie Fieldwork (3 cr)

Prerequisite: MA 407. Emphasis on meditation and field work with Faerie races for students with some experience working in this area.

MA 501. Advanced Alchemy (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 403. The search for the philosophers stone and other sublime goals of alchemy as a spiritual quest. Students who actually find the philosopher's stone will receive extra credit.

MA 502. Deities and Divine Aid (3 cr)

Prerequisite: MA 401. Intensive studies of deities from many pagan pantheons with an aim at mastering their forms and engaging them in mediation and ritual. Students will use visual (and possibly other) arts to aid the process of visualization. Discussion of the use of godforms in ceremonial magic, and the invocation and evocation of deities in religious praxis.

MA 503. Ritual Design (3 cr).

Prerequisite: MA 401. Intensive work in ritual design for magical and spiritual purposes. The design and execution of group rituals for large and small groups. Designs for one or two practitioners. Tools and props, setting, and drama. Scripting and spontaneity. Students will design and perform their own ritual compositions during this course.

MA 504. Directed Study in Magical Arts (3 cr).

Students will design a course of study with a professor and their academic advisor in a topic of their choice.