In conversation with The Sopris Sun, Willow Windgood defined magic as “shifting from the mundane to extraordinary, from one frequency to another.” She believes in nature magic, which ebbs and flows, and our ability to tune in when it’s present by being present within ourselves, witnesses to each moment. “I feel like we’re all so overwhelmed with too much information and not enough time,” she said. “Cultivating ancient practices can attune one to … the ability to cultivate one’s life as sacred ceremony – to be able to step into a sense of true essence and connection to Source. Guidance is so necessary, especially now.”

Windgood is a former resident of Carbondale, where she lived with her mother, Karen Good. Eventually they made the transition over McClure Pass and, in 2006, began remodeling an old General Electric building into an artist residency space, now known as Elsewhere Studios. The building itself has a living quality, with earthen walls, a meandering ditch, surrounding grove of trees and reclaimed wood from all over. Windgood came to refer to the building as her “Temple of the Muse,” a name which is now adopted for a few months each year as the space becomes home to Paonia’s School of Magick (SoM).

The seeds of SoM began to germinate for Windgood after she attended a year-long living tarot course with Dr. Robert Sullivan, a Choctaw, Kabbalistic teacher known also as “Chi.” Windgood recognized that a plethora of esoteric teachers live in and around Paonia and she sought to bring their traditions together for a multi-lineage sharing opportunity: Toltec, Mexica, Kabbalah, Celtic and more.

“This is the third blooming of the program,” Windgood said. The School of Magick first convened for one month in 2022. Coming out of COVID, Windgood heard a wake-up call to slow down and localize, to live life with utmost intention. Last year, SoM programming spanned three months. This year, they are focusing on three immersion workshops, with one spanning May 4 to May 10.

“Drum Birthing: An Embodied Alchemical Process of Birthing Your Drum and Song” is enrolling students through April 15. This seven-day immersion will be guided by Tara Seren (taraseren.com), also a former resident of Carbondale. Seren will take participants through the process of building a personal drum, accompanied by methods to unite one’s spirit and body.

Seren, now living in Cedaredge, has hosted private retreats for 12 years. She offers her drum-building workshop for a minimum of three days with the preference for it to last a week in order to evoke the subtle energies that help a student emerge feeling renewed. “When we slow down enough and open into the inquiry,” Seren said, “we inherently know how we’re going to unfold, or birth ourselves.”

Seren is also a doula, working with the birthing and dying processes. She studied natural medicines and believes in “using what takes us home to help us heal.” A drum is a beautiful medium, she said. “It’s a portal or gateway to a lot of things.” Nonetheless, “It’s not so much about having a drum.”

As each person builds their instrument, they will be exploring their psyche and spirit. Other teachers, including Chi, will accompany the process with Kundalini yoga, Qi Gong, purification ceremonies and more.

“It’s going to be an exceptional and really amazing experience to have seven other individuals to help regulate systems while moving through changing our way of being,” Seren said. The final of five ceremonies will challenge each participant to stand before the fire and their peers and share a personal song with their new drum.

All materials for the drums will be provided, with different choices of animal hides, all ethically-sourced. Meals will also be provided by chef Chrys Bailey, using as many local ingredients as possible.

“The more people there are with drums in hand, connecting with their heartbeat,” Seren said, “the less we have people going straight to violence.”

Learn more about SoM’s offerings at www.TheSchoolofMagick.org