Classes

Denver Classes 2018

Please contact Tonja at tonjareichley@gmail.com to register for classes unless otherwise designated.

Check back often as additional classes, including in-person in Denver and Ireland and online, will be offered throughout the year.

Classes Autumn/ Early Winter 2018 

 Introduction to Botanica Magica:

Sunday Oct 14 from 3-6 PM 

Spiral through the Elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth and the magical powers and blessings associated with each as we reclaim our magic.  We will ally with herbs as alchemical thresholds to the liminal and learn how to create herbal incense and spell bundles, lunar infused oils, ritual baths and teas, and herbal charm jars.  We will call in Irish goddesses Brighid, Maeve and the Morrigan to co-create with us as we find the beauty and power in remembering our magic.   Everyone will create two herbal potions to take home.  $50. Held at MoonDance Botanicals.  Register HERE.

Druid Herbal for Samhain:

Tues Oct 16 from 6:30-9 PM

The veil is thin and the Ancestors are close during the mystical season of Samhain.  The priests and priestesses of the ancient Celtic lineage, the Druids, lived seasonally with the Earth and so to may we.  We will journey with Celtic/ Irish goddesses the Morrigan and the Cailleach and their specific powers for the winter season of Samhain.  We will discover herbs to nourish the physical and spiritual body during this time of nesting and resting, dreaming and stillness. We will dress a candle blessed with a spell for the season, connect to elderberry and make a deep dark syrup for the immune system.  We will create an herbal tea to nourish and quiet the body and the mind, to connect us to and celebrate the dark.  $45.  Held at Ritualcravt in Denver, register HERE

Herbcraft: Wild Irish Roots:  

Four Wednesdays Oct 17- Nov 7 from 6-9 PM

Reclaim your heritage and learn the wise ways of your Wild Irish Roots through this 4-week immersion.  We will learn how to embrace herbs as a way to live a more connected, rooted life, based on traditions of Native European lineage.  Each week we will focus on a different body system and learn ways to treat the dis-eases of that system using herbs, aromatherapy, flower essences and more, all connected to our wild Irish roots and the inherent wisdom found therein.  We will learn how to create tinctures, salves, infused herbal oils, tea blends and anointing oils. $160.  Held at MoonDance Botanicals.   Register HERE.

Tea Crafting for the season of Samhain: Monday October 15th from 6:30-9 PM

Cold days invite us to slow down with a delicious cup of herbal tea.  Gather in circle, in community and drink tea together as we rediscover the ancient art of tea blending.  Learn herbs to invite into your life for the season and how to ensure you are making a delicious brew every time.   We will create alchemy with the herbs and make blends to alleviate the blues, to warm up and relax, and to nourish the immune system.   Includes three tea blends to take home.  $45 Held in Central Denver.  To register, email tonjareichley@gmail.com

Full Moon Ritual:

Sunday October 21 from 7-9 PM

Gather in circle and ritual to celebrate the radiance of the full Taurus moon, connecting to her sensuality and abundance, reflecting in our own lives. We will discuss the energies of the full moon and deepen into her magic as our ancestors have done for thousands of years. $10- $20 by donation. Held at Ritualcravt in Denver, register HERE.

The Morrigan: Irish Goddess of Transformation

Thursday Oct 25 from 6:30-9 PM

She is the Dark Goddess of the Irish pantheon.  She is the lady of battle, war and transformation.  She is raven and she is woman.  She is fairy and she is ancestor.  Join us for this special circle to call in the Morrigan, to journey through the veil, which is thin as we approach Samhain.  We will create an elderberry and mugwort potion to nourish our spiritual and physical self, we will create the Holy Salve to give us the courage to sacrifice and be transformed.  $45  Held at Ritualcravt Denver, register HERE.

New Moon Ritual: Monday Nov 5 from 7-9 PM

The new moon in the sign of Scorpio marks the time of lunar Samhain, the ancient celebration marking the Celtic New Year. Join us in circle to release and call in, to remember the potential of the dark and to traverse to its holy depths where all life will again be reborn. Join me for a lunar Samhain new moon ritual. $10-$20 donation suggested. Held at Ritualcravt in Denver, register HERE.

Intuitive Plant Medicine: Sunday November 11 from 1-3:30 PM

The natural world awaits our connection.  Discover ways to connect to the wild and cultivated plant spirits of this land and the land of our ancestors.  We will open up to the wonder of the medicine for body and spirit as we journey with a plant spirit, learn to create flower remedies and lunar elixirs, herb bundles and plant brushings.  We will discover how to ally with a plant and co-create in joyful community with the wisdom teachers within and without.  Includes a flower remedy and herb bundle we will create in class.  Held in Lafayette at the Colorado School for Clinical Herbalism. $45.   To register, email tonjareichley@gmail.com.

Botanica Magica:

Four weeks: Wed Nov 14- December 5 from 6:30-9 PM (offered individually or as series)

Spiral through the Elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth each week and the magical powers and blessings associated with each.  We will ally with herbs as alchemical thresholds to the liminal and learn how to create lunar waters, anointing oils, aromatherapy sprays, spell jars and herb bundles.  We will call in Irish goddesses Brighid, Maeve, Sheela na gig and the Morrigan to co-create with us as we find the power in reclaiming our magic. 

·        Air: Awakening Inspiration.  Week 1.   Connect with the alchemical powers of Air and the direction of the East as we call in triple goddess Brighid, use the power of words to create spells and invocations, blend an herbal incense and create an enchanting aromatherapy mist. 

·        Fire: Courageous Transformation.   Week 2. Ignite your passion as we connect with the element of Fire and the South.  We will call in Maeve, Irish goddess of Sovereignty, to guide us as we consecrate anointing oils, create a magic spell candle and work with the power of tarot.

·        Water: Creative Potential.  Week 3. Flow in the sensual delights of Water as we call in the fertile potential of Irish icon Sheela na gig and co-create with the ancestors of the West.  We will create a gem elixir in rhythm with the moon and a ritual bath blend to drink with our custom-created ritual tea.

·        Earth: Remembered Connection.  Week 4.  The Morgan/ Morrigan will be our guide as we connect with the element of Earth and the direction of the North.  We will feel the presence of our ancestors as we create herb bundles and charm jars, deepening our connection with the Earth’s gifts and magic. 

Classes offered individually for $45 each or as the series for $160.  Held at Ritualcravt in Denver, register HERE.

Botanica is from a Latin root, from which most of the English language is derived.  The class name mimics our ancient (and Native European-created) botanical naming system based on a genus (family name/ Botanica) and species (specific plant or in this case class: magica or erotica).  We are in no way claiming any links or connection to the name of Mexican shops that sell herbs, which is a totally different context.

Friday Night Circle: Held by the Cailleach: Friday November 16 from 6:30- 9 PM

In Irish tradition, the Cailleach is the wise old woman who holds the sovereignty of the Earth within her.  She appears in the stones of the land and as the hag guarding the well.  She holds mysteries and magic.  She is our grandmother and guides our way on.  Gather in circle around my hearth, to listen to the stories by candlelight, to sip whiskey and herbal tea.  We will journey with the Cailleach and create a potion or two to connect with her wisdom during these dark nights. $35.  Held in Central Denver.  To register, email tonjareichley@gmail.com.

Friday Night Circle: Mother Mary as Goddess:  Friday December 7 6:30- 9 PM

She holds the sun within, to be reborn as light.   She is Brighid, Mary of the Gael.   She is mother and she is icon.  She is woman, radically courageous and willing to say yes to the great unknown.  Gather in circle around my hearth to journey with Mary as Goddess, to sip herbal-mulled wine and drink tea.    We will discover the sacred feminine within and without, ignite our own light to share with the world, dress a spell candle and create a rose-infused herbal anointing oil.  $40.  Held in Central Denver.  To register, email tonjareichley@gmail.com.

Botanical Gifts for the Winter Solstice: Sunday Dec 16 from 2- 5 PM

Even in the darkest days of the year, herbs and trees inspire us to create with them, to handcraft items to celebrate the season.   Gather in community and create a holiday peace bough, inspired by ancient Irish tradition using symbolic herbs and trees.  We will discover herbs and resins to blend own festive incense and we will pour our own all-nature candle, as a beacon of light for the darkest of nights.  Includes three botanical gifts to take home. Held in Manitou Springs.  To register, email tonjareichley@gmail.com. $70

Irish Traditions for the Winter Solstice: Wed Dec 19 from 6:30- 9 PM

Learn ancient traditions of the Irish culture associated with the sacred season of Winter Solstice.  We will gather in circle to participate in a simple Winter Solstice ritual honoring the dark and welcoming the return of the light.  We will create a mystical kissing bough using symbolic herbs and trees, listen to stories and myths and pour our own all-nature candle as a light in the darkest of nights.  $50.  Held at Ritualcravt in Denver, register HERE.

The Serpent and the Veil:  A Mystery School of Indigenous Celtic Wisdom

Samhain 2018- Samhain 2019

Mystery schools are an ancient and often secret gathering of community, to learn and remember indigenous wisdom, perform ritual and connect with the Otherworld.   We will come together to connect to the spiral dance of life, and through that deepen our sense of responsibility to the Earth, our ancestors, to community and our own sovereignty.   We will participate in sacred circle as our indigenous ancestors have gathered, to live, remember and embody the rhythms of the seasons and the powers found within and without these cycles.  We will reclaim our sense of belonging, remember our truth and reunite disparate aspects of ourselves through myths, land, herbs and ritual.   We will collectively work to reconnect the Otherworld with our own, thus restoring balance and healing to the Earth.

Beginning with a retreat weekend near Denver and culminating with a week in Ireland, Serpent and the Veil is a unique gathering of individuals committed to remembering the old ways by working with and through the veil. 

Begins Samhain 2018.    Click HERE for more information.

Planning Ahead 2019

Herbal Warrior Apprenticeship

One Saturday per month (dates listed below) from 10 AM- 4 PM January-September (except July) plus at home study and monthly projects.  $995   

The Herbal Warrior Apprenticeship offers an in-depth, rigorous, nine-month intensive into the medicine of our Native European ancestors: folk, or wise woman herbalism.  We will meet one Saturday each month (except in July), to delve into medicine-making, herbal and holistic remedies to address life stages and dis-ease, connect with herbal plant spirits and integrate aromatherapy and flower remedies, tinctures, teas and other herbal remedies into the healing wheel and our individual practice.  Each month you will have 5+ hours of at-home study to include case studies, development of monographs and other special projects.   The intention of the Herbal Warrior Apprenticeship is to create community herbalists who confidently can take their practice into their own circle of influence and vocation.  You will receive a certification upon completion of all requirements including a designated herbal apothecary, five case studies and nine monographs.   Non-refundable $200 deposit holds your spot and is applied to tuition due in two installments.  Take in conjunction with Sacred Ritual Arts, which meets each Friday night prior, and save $100 on both.

Herbal Warrior Apprenticeship Dates for 2019:  Saturdays January 19, February 16, March 16 and March 30, April 13, May 18, June 8, no class in July, August 17, September 14 from 10 AM- 4 PM.  

Sacred Ritual Arts

One Friday per month from 6-9 PM January-September (except July) plus reading list and monthly projects. $375. 

We will gather around the hearth one Friday per month for nine months to learn, remember and connect with Six Sacred Warrioresses (Brighid of Kildare, Maeve, Goddess of Sovereignty, Sheela na gig, Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and Hildegard of Bingen).  We will ally with the herbs as thresholds to the sacred and create potions and remedies in alignment with the seasonal celebrations.  You will receive a certification in Sacred Ritual Arts at the completion of the course upon successfully completing the design of your own ritual, based on Irish spirituality, an Herbal Spiritual Art project, completion of reading list and circle participation.   Please contact Tonja at tonjareichley@gmail.com to register.

Each Friday night aligns with the Herbal Warrior Apprenticeship (which is the following Saturday).   Save $100 on Sacred Ritual Arts when you take in conjunction with Herbal Warrior. 

Sacred Ritual Arts Dates for 2019 one Friday per month: January 18, February 15, March 15 and March 29, April 12, May 17, June 7, no class in July, August 16, September 13 from 6- 9 PM.