Hybrid In-Person and Online Program | April to October, 2024

Spider Threads Program

Enrolling now! Click here for the Spider Threads application portal.

THE SPIDER THREADS PROGRAM is a community of magically skilled, radically inclined, compassionate humans who weave magic and ritual together over the course of several months. We offer ethical rigor, a commitment to continual learning, a culture of celebrating each participant’s unique spirit and authentic strengths, and a queer context for our magic.

Program Curriculum & Dates

We meet in person for three long weekends in Central Vermont, 12pm Thursday - 12pm Sunday in May and October, and 12pm Wednesday - 12pm Sunday in June (the June immersion weekend coincides with Weaver Camp and includes one extra day for our Spider Threads cohort). We also have fun and interactive learning sessions hosted via Zoom once a month. These 2-hour sessions feature plenty of breakout discussions and experiential group activities. Our Spider Threads program curriculum includes:

1: April 22 Zoom Session: Welcome to our Web!

• Answering the Call: What does it mean to be a Weaver? Who is a Weaver?

• Weaving Our Web: Inclusivity, boundaries, consent, active listening, witnessing

• Service as Sacrament: Three levels of service (self, community, that which is larger)

• Deity lore (in preparation for May immersion weekend)

2: May 2-5: Immersion Weekend

• Energetic Protection: Cleansing, grounding, warding, psychic self-defense

• Daily practices, building and maintaining meaningful altars

• Establishing a Trance Practice: Journeys within and beyond ourselves

• The Elements: Cultural context and advanced magical correspondences

• Group ritual featuring a deity from European folklore

3: May 20: Zoom Session

• Origins: Tracing the development of western magical practice

• Ethics, Consent and Discernment in Magic: Writing your personal Code of Honor

• Understanding primary and secondary sources in folklore and mythology

• Trance journey topics: learning & discussion

4: June 17: Zoom Session

• Devotional Practices: Everyday animism and relationships with deities

• Weaving Community Ritual: Ethics, engagement, and impact

• Trauma awareness and compassionate tending in magical space

• Trance journey topics: learning & discussion

5: June 26-30: Weaver Camp

• Gathering Insight: Divination and scrying

• Charging Our Intentions: Sigils and bindrunes

• Magical Apothecary: Intuitive esoteric herbalism

• Group ritual featuring a deity from European folklore

6: July 15: Zoom Session

• Spellwork

• Folk magic & avoiding cultural appropriation

• Trance journey topics: learning & discussion

7: August 19: Zoom Session

• Aspecting & Tending: Preparation, boundaries, consent, discernment

• Deity reveal for our October retreat

• Trance journey topics: learning & discussion

8: Sept 16: Zoom Session

• Aspector deity presentations (in preparation for final October retreat)

• Additional Student-Chosen Topics

9: Oct 3-6: Immersion Weekend & Closing

• Why myth & magic remain relevant in modern times

• Collaborative planning for two group rituals, with opportunities for several Weavers to aspect deity for the first time

• Toasts, Boasts, and Oaths: Setting intentions for taking our Weaver skills into the wider world

Tuition & Logistics

Thanks for understanding that many threads come together to create this program: travel costs, venue rental, food for our group, compensation for facilitators, preparation and in-person teaching time, as well as tithing a percentage of the income from this program to BIPOC initiatives.

Your Program Tuition Includes:

• Instruction from Jamie and Murphy at three in-person immersion weekends in Vermont (one of which overlaps with Weaver Camp), and six evening online remote learning sessions.

• Delicious hot meals at the in-person weekends (Thursday dinner is potluck, Friday breakfast through Sunday breakfast is catered), with menus designed to meet most common dietary needs if they are present in our group (vegetarian, gluten free, etc.). Coffee and tea are available daily.

• Supplies and handouts for our in-person weekends.

• “Sleepover” style lodging (bring your own bedding to sleep on the floor in shared space) for the May and October weekends, or you can camp on site with your own tent. These sessions are held in a modest house on 90 private forest acres in Topsham, VT.

• Camping space in the forest for the June Weaver Camp. A couple of accessible campsites are available at the site, including one where you can plug in a CPAP. This session is held on private forested land by a lovely mountain brook in Worcester, VT (bring your swimsuit!).

• Recordings of our online training sessions.

What Tuition Does Not Include:

• First night dinners during in-person weekends are potluck, so please bring something to share. If you want snacks between meals, please bring your own.

• Travel to and from in-person weekends is your responsibility, but we are happy to help connect people for carpooling, and it may be possible to find someone to pick you up at the train or bus station in Montpelier or White River Junction if you arrange the timing with us in advance. Public buses can get you from the Burlington airport (BTV) to Montpelier on weekdays (not available on weekends).

Our Sliding Scale

We have a sliding scale for Spider Threads tuition. Please pay higher on the sliding scale if you are able – this is what allows us to offer discounted spots to those who need them. Below are rates for Spider Threads 2024:

• $2540: I can pay for myself and another person who needs support to attend

• $1940: I can pay for myself and a bit extra for someone else

• $1640: I can pay my own way

• $1390: I need financial support to come to camp

• $295: BIPOC Reparations Rate

Please note that upon enrolling in the program, you are agreeing to pay the entire cost of the training, regardless of your ability to attend each session.

Advance Payment vs. Payment Plan

A deposit of $550 will hold your place in the program. If you can pay your balance in full before the cohort starts, that’s ideal! If you need a payment plan we are happy to work with you, just inquire via email. Your program tuition must be paid in full by September 1, 2024 (regardless of whether you miss any sessions).

Credits

We do not offer refunds, but if you decide to permanently leave the program for any reason you will be issued a prorated credit based on how many months of the program you’ve already completed. This credit is good for any future classes with Mountainsong Expeditions or for Jamie Waggoner's other programs.

How to Apply

Spider Threads is enrolling now, and limited to only 20 participants! Click here for the Spider Threads application portal.

Questions? Please email us: wayoftheweaver@gmail.com. Thank you so much for your interest in the Way of the Weaver!