BrightFlame's Bio

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	BrightFlame brings forth Mystery as a Teacher Priestess Writer Influences: Reclaiming witchcraft, faerie magic, Magaian Way, ecofeminism

BrightFlame is a teacher, writer and priestess who brings forth Mystery. She is part of the New York and Vermont Witchcamp Communities and taught at the latter in August '04. She leaped from a decade of serving as a Dianic priestess into Reclaiming in 1995 at the first Vermont camp. Active in feminist communities, she has been a presenter and priestess at Womongathering (an annual spiritual festival drawing over 300 women) for over 14 years, and has been on the teaching staff of WomenCircles (Rowe Camp, MA) for more than 9 years. She most typically offers classes, rituals and events in Bucks County, PA and New York City, and founded Delaware Valley Reclaiming. She has offered many iterations of Elements of Magic (the basic class in Reclaiming Witchcraft), as well as Reclaiming’s Pentacle of Iron and other core classes.

She loves to play in the forest as well as near the ocean, and she finds magical spots in urban areas as well. Her passion is protecting wild and natural lands, and promoting a sustainable, regenerating world. The trees, the fey, the mermaids are her allies.

Some of BrightFlame’s specialities include: sensing and shaping energy, leading trance journeys, creating labyrinths, storytelling in ritual form, working with faeries and land spirits, aspecting god/desses and introducing people to the Mysteries. She enjoys creating workshops and curricula that are experiential and allow participants to exercise their creativity and find insights and guidance. She not only teaches in the pagan community, she has brought her work to "lay" audiences as well, helping to promote earth consciousness in people's ordinary lives and in K-12 classrooms.

BrightFlame has developed and taught classes on sensing and shaping energy, journeying to the Goddess, feeling the god within, forest communication, tapping intuition and creativity, walking the labyrinth, connecting to the Earth, creating sacred space, and has adapted and taught courses in Reclaiming witchcraft. Her environmental column, Living Lightly on the Earth, has appeared in regional newspapers. She is currently working on a novel that weaves a Goddess tale.

BrightFlame produces events aligned with her work, such as the November '99 program in Philadelphia, Excavating the Great Mother: The Life and Work of Marija Gimbutas. This program included filmmaker Donna Read, artist Cristina Biaggi, composer/harper Julia Haines and other internationally-acclaimed guests, and benefitted the documentary on archaeologist Gimbutas that Read and Starhawk have created. Over the years, BrightFlame has hosted workshops with Starhawk and other special guests.

"Like" her facebook page for BrightFlame's latest info, thoughts and writing.

Sampling of Classes Offered

Occupy Love
Join BrightFlame on a creative journey to find your core values--what you hold most sacred--and then step through the heart portal with us to create the world we most desire. This workshop aligns well with the Occupy movement, with Velcrow Ripper's film project Occupy Love, and with magic, wonder and inspiration!

Magical Activism
BrightFlame will array a series of energy patterns and grids as tools for more effective activism and actions. Is the energy blocked and stagnant? Is the energy spilling away too quickly? building too rapidly or slowly? is the action or activity not creating the outcome you wish? Learn to detect and shape energy patterns and grids that will aid your work. This workshop aligns well with the Occupy movement, with the Pagan Cluster, and for anyone who would like to better understand how to detect and shape energy in any setting.

Elements of Magic
Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit—we will work with the elements in sacred space, learning tools and techniques for creating effective rituals. This is the first class in the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft (co-founded by Starhawk). We will work with energy sensing, trance, Goddess & God stories, visualization, chanting, spellcrafting, invoking and many other tools. This 6-week class is recommended for those who would like to learn to create sacred space and rituals in any tradition as well as those who want to work more intensively in the Reclaiming Tradition. (Can also be offered over a weekend or two.)

Labyrinths: Walking the Sacred Path
A labyrinth is a tool for Knowing, Willing, Daring and Healing. You will learn to create a labyrinth in this session. As we walk this ancient 7-circuit path, find its Sacredness and its message for you. Feel the heartbeat of the Earth as we trace Her moving patterns. BrightFlame will retell the myth of Theseus and Ariadne from a pre-patriarchal place as she moves us on a trance journey to the Center.

Tree Wisdom
What do the Tall Ones have to say to us? Learn to sense the auras of trees and to communicate with them. Learn to drop and open your awareness, as well as other styles of perceiving and knowing. Part of this session will be a ritual where, through trance and actual contact with trees, we will bring their messages back to the circle.

Energy Intensive
Can you feel energy? Is it real, tangible? Through experiential exercises, we will play with energy so that you can learn to sense it, to feel it . . .to see it. And know it is real. This session is for those new to ritual and energy work, as well as those who seek advanced priestessing training.

Pentacle of Iron
The points of the Pentacle of Iron are our birthright. This class will forever change you. Using our magical skills, moving and shaping energy, transforming ourselves through trance, we will explore the five points of our inner pentacle Sex (primal energy), Self, Passion, Pride, and Power (effectiveness in the worlds). This class adds much depth to personal and magical work. It includes shadow work and working with inflated/deflated/core self. This is one of the Reclaiming core classes. Prerequisite: Elements of Magic class (or equivalent with instructor permission).

Journey to the Goddess
BrightFlame will lead participants on a trance journey to the Goddess. Who will She be? Artemis of the woods and the wild? Brighid of the sacred well and flame? Sehkmet of the desert fire? Oshun of the waters? She Who Is Nameless? What message does She hold for you?

Finding the Horned God
Who is thrusting upwards and greening out? Feel His vitality and hear His messages. Connect with your wild and raw energy as we honor Him. Know when it is time for your energy to "die back" to yield to energy and activities yet unborn.

Water Magick
Through a guided trance we will immerse ourselves in the nature and energy of water. Once we feel water’s energy and properties, we will learn various ways we can use water in ritual, magick, divination, spellwork, healing, prayer. This hands-on session will explore water as a tool, water as an ally, and the qualities of the direction West as it represents emotional work, tidal work, feeling our feelings, ebb and flow.

Pentacle of Fire
Where do you store your embers? How do you get them to flame? Are you getting enough fuel? Working with the Pentacle of Fire will allow us to explore these and other questions as we learn to sense and work with energy, and feel the 5 aspects of fire moving in our bodies. Working with pentacles is a witch’s problem-solving tool. It helps her to sense and work with energy and find answers in a particular situation.

The Crone's Vulva
What happened when Baubo lifted Her skirts to Demeter? What magic transpired? What vision was gifted to Demeter? Together we will enter the Mysteries. Through trance and energy work we will learn the magic and the power of the crone’s vulva.

Breasts of Artemis: Nurturing the Land
Enter the Mystery of “many-breasted” Artemis. We will explore and live the story of Artemis as life tree, working with Earth energy to recharge and heal the land.

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