WBL-OTO 
Lodge Open for Study, Practice, etc.
Note 11/19 is Tuesday instead of Thursday due to schedule conflicts. Arrive between 7 and 8:30 pm. Call our Seneschal if access is needed. 540-557-7036. We want folks to have at least an hour and a half uninterrupted to work on things.
Please arrive no earlier than 4:30pm and no later than 4:50pm.
$10 admission; free for dues-current WBL members…
Eclectic High Priest Witch Crimson Corvus Luna will lead a Hekate Ritual full of Chants, Singing, Dancing and Drumming. Followed by a potluck feast. This ritual focuses on the Hekatean Witchcraft Wheel of the Year, November 1 is for honoring the past, notably the dead, our Ancestors, leaving October 31 for a celebration of witchery and perhaps for the final harvest. The actual dates don’t matter as much, but the three major roles of Hekate suited for this sabbat can all be included in our practices and rituals…
Come join us and our Ancestors in the cycle of death-life-rebirth at the heart of witchcraft, especially the Hekatean variety. Hekate, as an Underworld Goddess, has many roles that can help us achieve the knowledge of mysteries and experience rebirth. The ritual is designed to be performed around the middle of November (particularly on Hekate’s Night) and begins the transformation process through the death of what no longer serves us. This marks the entrance into the Underworld. On the Night of Hekate of the Crossroads (November 30), the threshold between the outer levels of the Underworld can be crossed so that we can retrieve pieces of our souls that have separated from our embodiment due to trauma. Soul retrieval is also done in order to gain insight into our life’s mission. Hekate as Psychopompe will guide us through this crossroads towards our soul, and ultimately, our truth. Finally, on the Winter Solstice, this cycle is complete through rebirth. We emerge from the Underworld connected to our purpose and our witchery…
Please plan to come dressed in your Best Witchy Attire… (Have fun with it.)
Theme Colors are Black, Purple and Orange…
Bring your Besom (Witch Broom) as well…
Please bring if you would like a Photo or Trinket that represents your Ancestor to place on the main Altar…
Adults only…
Please bring an Ancestral dish for the potluck feast…
If you plan to imbibe, bring an adult beverage to share…
Lodge Open for Study, Practice, etc.
Arrive between 7 and 8:30 pm. Call our Seneschal if access is needed. 540-557-7036. We want folks to have at least an hour and a half uninterrupted to work on things.
Please arrive no earlier than 12:30pm and no later than 12:55pm.
More details coming soon. Please save the date!
Sponsored by Infinite Stars Chapter – More details TBA
In the world of Ancient Greece, witches were supernatural beings descended from Helios and taught by Hekate. Throughout the world and history societies have had explanations for witches based on their birth or based upon spirit contracts. In American folk traditions witches were sometimes a movement of lineal progression from ancestors to the folk devil. Our ritual will be exploring and executing on these themes by calling upon our ancestors to be with us, Hekate to guide us and Helios to join us sacramentally and imbue us and our future and past lineages with witchcraft.
Participants should wear black and bring black cloth for a head covering. We recommend that participants celebrate Hekates Deipnon during the days ahead of the rituals and also make offerings to connect with their ancestors. Participants planning to take the Helios sacrament must bring some token to represent and connect with their ancestors during the ritual. Participants taking the sacrament will need to either be able to expose their arms or their backs to have their ancestor names written in them. Please bring a list of ancestor names.
8:30pm
Doors open at 7:30.
$10 admission; free for dues-current WBL members.
Join us in making plans for future Lodge activities! Please bring a lunch dish or snacks to share.
Meeting begins 2:00pm
Doors open at 1:30pm
WBL members James Gordon and Rebecca Doll presented at the Unconference track at Notocon XII on “Spirit Possession Rituals: Safety and Consent – Lessons Learned,” drawing on several years of experience with rituals at WBL OTO, Azul Nox, and working with UTOS and other local groups.
The complete Handout and Notes are presented below. The Handout includes a history of spirit possession as a core element of religion dating back to 70,000 BCE, its relevance to Thelema, and a breakout of lessons learned concerning the safety of Attendees and Mediums.
The Gnostic Mass (Liber XV) is a ritual celebrating the union of the divine male and female through the pageantry of the lance and the cup. The ceremony culminates in a sacrament of a cake and wine consumed by the participants in the congregation. The ritual is graceful, joyful and a high dramatic ritual rich in esoteric and ecclesiastical overtones. The ritual officers consist of a priestess, priest, deacon and two “children” representing the positive and negative polarities. The Gnostic Mass is the central ritual of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O., or the Order of Oriental Templars) and was written in 1913 by Aleister Crowley. Water is available for those who choose not to drink alcohol. Please notify us in advance if bringing anyone under 18 to this ceremony (but they are certainly welcome).
The ceremony begins at 4:30pm. Doors open at 4:00pm.
0nce the ceremony begins there will be no further access to the temple.
Baptism and/or confirmation available today by advance request. Please email contact@williamblakeoto.org to request either sacrament.
$10 admission; free for dues-current WBL members.
Note: admission fee waived for first-time visitors. If this is your first time at a Gnostic Mass, it’s a good idea to read the ritual ahead of time, so you’ll have some idea of what to expect. You can also watch a video 93 Impressions of a Gnostic Mass, or a video of the full Gnostic Mass.
A relaxing afternoon of fellowship and talk for Members and Friends of WBL Lodge.
…Also some floor cleaning.