Creating a Personal Curriculum: Magickal Studies Edition
Last year I learned about personal curriculums which then led to dreaming up an imaginary university for my patrons (called Mugwort Commons) full of interesting departments and courses to inspire their own curriculums.¹
This summer I decided to share the first personal curriculum for your herbal studies with all of you and now I'm back with suggestions for a personal curriculum with a magickal focus. Mugworts Commons is a (imaginary) liberal arts, multi-disciplinary, progressive and cooperative sort of university, so of course we need a department of magickal studies!
The current departments in our imaginary university are:
Herbology (HERB)
Magickal Studies (MAGK)
Ancestral Studies (ANC)
Art Studies (ART)
Apothecary Arts (APOTH)
Literature & Media Studies (LMS)
Critical Social Thought (CST)
Herstory, History, & Theystory (HER)
Community Practice (COM)
Department of Rest (REST)
With an introduction to our imaginary university complete, let’s review the course offerings!
image via @mrrrk_smith
Mugwort Commons: Equinox Term Courses
✨ The Elements of Practice: An Introduction to Witchcraft and/or Paganism (MAGK101)
Choose one to three introduction to Witchcraft and/or Paganism books to learn about the foundations of either or both paths. For long-time practitioners taking this course, you might choose this path of study to reconnect with the basics or explore how the foundations of each path is being taught now as compared to when you began your studies.
✨ The Sacred Branch: Creating Magickal Spaces with Herbs (MAGK301)
An exploration of creating magick circles and/or establishing a space for magickal and/or healing work using plant allies as guides. From burning sacred herbs to clear a space, asperging with herb bundles, making and using wands, and the placement of herbs in sacred arrangements to affect energy, students will explore the ways that they can work with their plant allies to create a temple of magick and/or healing to assist them in their work.
✨ The Witch's Life: Magickal Auto/Biography Intensive (ANC102)
Dive deep into the life of one witch, reading their auto/biography, and studying the cultural context and communities that they existed in. Reading about Doreen Valiente, for example, might include studying the origins of Wicca in England to broader cultural studies of England during Valiente's lifetime, and more specialized topics such as the efforts of magickal practitioners during World War II to protect the United Kingdom from land invasion (look up the Magical Battle of Britain if you’re interested).
✨ At the Ancient Campfire: The Legacy of Ancestral Traditions (ANC301)
In this course students will explore one part of their ancestral legacy (including biological, cultural, and/or spiritual ancestors), learning about the practical skills, the cultural framework, and ways that ancestral magickal practices have survived and been transformed. Language studies are encouraged if the ancestral practices were originally practiced with a specific language.
✨ Heretics, Activists, & Healers: A Study of Organizing and Resistance by Witchfolk (CST201)
Explore the world of activism within the magickal community to create change. In the United States, traditions like Reclaiming have been vocal organizers and activists for a cross section of issues from nuclear disarmament, feminist and LGBT+ causes, climate crisis, and anti-facism. Starhawk's book Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics is a great text to start with for historical context of magickal organizing, but there are plenty of modern books exploring the intersections of activism and magick. Highly recommended texts to explore include Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maria brown.
✨ The Art of Magick: An Artistic Practicum (ART101)
Students are encouraged to choose one art medium to explore from the perspective of magickal practice including watercolor and manifestation, fiber arts and the witch's ladder, ceramics and witch’s bottles, etc.
✨ The Art of Magick: Sigil Studies (ART201)
In this course, students will focus specifically focus on sigil magick, studying the history of sigils, their modern application, and different ways of creating sigils from the elimination method, the witch's wheel, and freehand as well as adjunct practices such as magickal squares and incorporating astrological glyphs. Practicum in the form of using sigils on physical objects associated with your practice (such as traced over teas, drawn on jars, etc) is encouraged.
✨ Apothecary Arts: Studies in Magickal Herbalism (APOTH204)
Combining herbalism with magickal arts, this course explores the magick, myth, and folklore of working with plants. Students are encouraged to choose one book on magickal herbalism to read and one plant ally to work with from a magickal perspective. Practical hands-on work is encouraged from spells to making magickal teas or charms.
✨ Apothecary Arts: Create a Magickal Plant Ally List (APOTH203)
Create your own list of magickal plant allies through studying the herbs you choose and creating your own plant profiles to reference. Additional credits can be earned by creating and/or writing down recipes for each of your indispensable herbs. Practical measures are encouraged such as ritual and spellcraft with your chosen herbs and creating an altar with all of your magickal indispensable herbs present or represented, adjusting throughout the term.
image via @oliandud
✨ The Magickal Reader: Witches in Literature (LMS104)
Choose one to three fiction books to read (preferably with tea) that feature witches or magickal practitioners. What about the world-building or magickal systems in these books appeal to you and your own magickal practice? Additional credit can be earned by students who design their own original character to be featured either in an already existing literary world or one of their own making.
✨ Witches Among Us: A Review of Witches in Media (LMS103)
A review of your favorite and new-to-you magickal media including podcasts, movies, television shows, and video games. Students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the experience with additional credits given to students who achieve ideal levels of coziness and/or inspiration.
✨ Of Witches Past: Era or Event-Specific Magickal Practices & Practitioners (HERS302)
Whether the the events of Salem and surrounding areas in 1692, the legacy of pre-Apollonic Oracle at Delphi, the influence of the Libyan Oracles or any other era or event-specific magickal episode in history, in this course students will explore a particular time and place in our collective magickal heritage to help them understand their current personal practice as well as broader social systems of power.
✨ Community Studies: In the World Magickal Practice (COM103)
This course focuses on bringing your practice into the world including activities like adding magickal resources to little libraries, visiting places of magickal significance (sacred sites, etc.), attending or hosting community events, creating public altars or leaving magickal sigils in public places.
✨ Moss Beds & Crescent Lounges: A Seasonal Rest Seminar (REST101)
A course dedicated to finding ways to rest and slow down this season, prioritizing screen-free activities and extra credit if rest occurs outdoors. Students gently observe the seasons as wellsprings of inspiration for their rest practices. Connecting with Sacred Ones of dreams, rest, and healing sleep is encouraged, as well as working with plant allies that help relax the body.
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Be sure to check out the personal curriculum for herbal studies if you haven’t already as well as the following resources for herbal students including:
Of course, there are plenty of Worts & Cunning archives to peruse to support you on your path wherever your studies and interests might carry you (just click on the Blog link for a full array of archives to choose from). May your curiosity be well fed!
This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎
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Footnotes
1. We’re calling it Mugwort Commons and I am, as ever, fully committed to supporting the deep well of nerdy energy in our community.
