Category: Spring Retreat

Awaken Our Magick

April 12 – 14, 2019

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC

Loving members of my ever-extending family,

The time is nigh to awaken with the opening of the green world all around us. We humans often think we live by our own rules, but it is usually nature which holds final sway. Every spring is a time to shoot out of the insulating casings we’ve built around ourselves to survive harsh times with our delicate petals of infinite colors to attract the next step of our life’s journey.

The natural die-back of the winter is coming to a close. We have made our necessary sacrifices, and into that void, we thrust our being with the beating hearts of all our ancestors, our brothers and sisters of the natural world, and all our future realities, spun from our favorite dreams and woven into a growing community with our intentions, desires, experiences, and joys. I offer this spring retreat to you as an opportunity to build yourself a gossamer web of connections between past and future, self and other, heaven and earth, and space and form, built upon acceptance, understanding, and appreciation.

The world is such that we are interdependent beings, reliant on one another, whether we want to be or not. What kind of world can we create when we consciously come together? What limitations are left in life when we open our hearts to loving all beings? What do we want our lives, our words, and our worlds to become? Is it possible to separate the you from the understanding I have of myself? What part of nature exists independent of everything else? What can possibly live in a vacuum?

Coming together is not just a fun and fanciful idea. It is actually impossible NOT to do. You choose not to come together with one being, and that forces you to come together with something else. When we consciously come together and share our thoughts, hopes, fears, and desires, we can reach much farther than we could ever go by ourselves. Alternately, when we view ourselves as independent, suddenly all our resources are scarce, everyone is an Other, and if I cannot do it myself, it cannot be done. These are all lies. You know this to be true.

So set the old beliefs aside. Come and explore with us what life could be like, if only a taste, a sweet possibility, a temptation of another way to live. Or come and dive deep into our swiftly spiritual waters, if wading is not enough to quench your thirst. We all carry a bucket of beliefs with us wherever we go and if we pool these waters together, we begin to see that anything is possible.

There is always more room in this mountain lagoon for your beliefs. Let’s dissolve the destructive and limiting beliefs, take their component parts and rebuild our inner world with grace and kindness. Let’s share our truths, our theories, our experiences, and our techniques, and knit our worlds together tighter and stronger. There is love in this labor that yearns for release. Why not share it with those who are sure to cherish it?

You are welcome here. You will always be welcome here. You are felt in your absence, even if you have not yet walked these paths. Come as you are. Come with all of yourself. There is no need to be anything more or anything less that exactly who you are, in all your shame, glory, courage, or lack thereof. Generations of wisdom run through your veins, whether you know it or not. Like buds in spring, open yourself to the truth that you are already everything you need to be. For yourself, for us, for the world.

This is a liminal event. Yes, it exists in a specific place and time, but really, it’s where and when it’s not taking place that’s important: your daily life. Yes, it’s both real and very temporary. We cannot live in this space. It’s an infinite space, where anything can become anything else, so long as you believe that it can. This is something for you to use to break out of the winter cocoon of your spirit (regardless of how long you’ve been sleeping) and reenter your everyday reenergized.

Yes, change can be scary, but it can also be fun. And yes, change can be hard, but it can be so rewarding. Come and explore the possibility of what your magicks bring to community. We’ll be here for you, and you’ll be here for us, and isn’t this give and receive in the same act really something sublime?

If you are interested in helping out with the retreat in any way during, before, or after the retreat, which is a great opportunity to really inject your magicky goodness into this and meet other people, consider reaching out to me directly at [email protected] or at [email protected] for more information in ways to be of assistance. Fire us an email too, if you have any other questions, comments, or concerns.

Remember, we do offer financial assistance, if finances are an obstacle. And most of us are happy to carpool. Please do not hesitate to lean on us. Why else are we here but to rely on one another?

With love, light, and the indomitable spirit of play,
Jason Lloyd Buchanan, Convener
GSV Spring Retreat, 2019

Register for the 2019 Spring Retreat

Awaken Our Magick

April 12 – 14, 2019

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC

Most exalted siblings,

The Spring Conference approaches and the liminal window it promises shudders in the winds of your coming change. Will you be here with us when we open this window and usher in our wildest dreams? We can do more together. Add your voice to ours and let the universe hear what you have to say.

If not here, where? If not now, when?

Spring is the perfect time to clean out our skeletons and take stock of what we’re left with after winter has finished whitening our world. The crocuses bloom, the daffodils creep, and the lilies of the valley pop along with the spring beauties while the song of the spring peepers trail close behind. It is time to shed our snow-stiffened snake skins and burn ourselves back to life with phoenix fire.

Here at The Mountain, I offer a space and a place for you to warm yourself with like-minded magicians of all walks of life. To swap mental seeds for your inner garden and explore what you may have been too nervous to try alone or in the past. You are more powerful than you know. You can do this and anything after. We are creating an opportunity for you to stand in your power, unafraid of your own God-self, supported by all of us who follow a similar path.

Maybe you’re unsure of what you have to offer. Come anyway. Your openness is a gift as good as, if not better than, any expertise you may or may not claim to have, but we often know more than we think we do. Even a small thing we pick up along the way has the power to change another person’s world. One of the tricks of magick is that you have to believe you’re fully capable of changing the world. If you feel you’re not there, come anyway. We’ll believe in you for you. The universe loves to play.

And play we shall.

Intermixed with weekend workshops will be free-form exploration in solo or spontaneous groupwork through the establishment of designated and open play spaces throughout the conference for various fields of spirituality, such as connecting to spirits, creating rituals of your own, sharing healing touch with others, and discussing concepts in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. Wherever you are, you will find both mentors and seekers in whatever flavor you come: non-theist, poly-theist, mono-theist, medium, healer, psychic, shaman, spiritualist, practitioner, priest, dreamer, channeler, alchemist, mage, meditator, wizard, witch, writer, whatever. There is a place for you here.

We still have space for more workshops. Show your brothers what you can do; show them how to do it for themselves. Please contact [email protected] directly or [email protected] with requests and further questions.

Looking forward to magicking with you,
Jason Lloyd Buchanan, Convener
GSV Spring Retreat, 2019

Register for the 2019 Spring Retreat

Awaken Our Magick

April 12 – 14, 2019

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC

Beloved Siblings,

Magick is defined as the science and art of causing change in conformity to one’s will.

Maybe this turns you off, but I want to magick with everyone, everywhere, all the time. You may not know it, but every single one of you magicks, and every single one of you magicks in a deliciously unique way.

When I say “you magick,” what I mean is “you think, speak, and act in ways that manifest your world.” The shadow side of this is that, in reality, you can never not manifest your world. You either do it consciously through intention, or unconsciously through reaction.

Our dominant society often indoctrinates us into a cold (minus 457.87 degrees Fahrenheit) and unfeeling (without consciousness and absolutely objective) universe of material limitations, which distracts us from our own limitless possibilities. As salve, we are often taught that “everything happens for a reason” and “there is a bigger plan for you.” But neither of these partial truths give us back our power to define our own universes and become what we desire to be, so let me offer this to you as a reminder: There is no power in the universe that can stop you. So long as you have your will, you will find a way.

As convener, I request your presence this spring at The Mountain to “Awaken Our Magick” as a community. Together, we are going to create a space for all your magicks to be present, heard, and shared with others. Whether your magick takes the form of basic intentionality, ceremony and ritual, trance and other altered states, energy manipulation, psychic intuition, spirit communication, or any other form you have dreamt up, you are welcome here. Advanced practitioners, complete neophytes, and everyone left of, right of, or in between, are welcome here.

Raise your freak flag, gather your talismans, and prepare yourself for explorations into the invisible fabric of reality that underlies this one. Hand in hand, let’s cross the veil, and feel the omnipresence of love and light on the other side (safe, sane, and consensual practice, of course). No dying necessary.

Now calling for workshop leaders for the aforementioned topics and anything else that your intuition and your spirits tell you needs to be at our spring retreat. Please contact [email protected] directly or [email protected] with requests and further questions.

So mote it be,
Jason Lloyd Buchanan, Convener
GSV Spring Retreat, 2019

Register for the 2019 Spring Retreat

Embodying Community: Our Big Spring Thing!

April 13 -15, 2018

at The Mountain, Highlands, NC

Cost is $257.43 (double occupancy) | $332.16 (single occupancy)

Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”
— Auntie Mame

Lovely Brothers,

What are your driving passions? What fascinations do you have that you might want to share with others? What portion of the experiential banquet can you provide for Our Big Spring Thing?

We would love for you to present a short workshop on a topic dear to your heart, so that we can benefit from your enthusiasm and experience.

GSV retreats are, and have always been, a place for our community to share gifts, hone skills, and reveal our deliciousness to an open-hearted audience. This year’s Spring Retreat aims to be a showcase of our community for our community.

Sharing our interests in this way helps to expand our minds, share our fascinations with others, and tighten the weave of our community.

Several of your GSV siblings have already signed up to share their knowledge, gifts, and talents. Our Big Spring Thing is shaping up to be a delightful feast of experiences, and we’d like the benefit of your knowledge, your hobbies, and your experience as well!

Won’t you please join us for Our Big Spring Thing?

If you have a clear sense of what you would like to present, please send a short description of what you have in mind to [email protected] along with a list of any supplies your workshop might require. Those who sign up in advance will get the better presentation spaces, but, as in years past, there will also be a sign-up sheet for those who get up to The Mountain and decide at the last minute that they would like to offer a workshop, give a presentation, or host a salon.

We look forward to seeing you, and learning from you, up on The Mountain!

Your Council

Register for the 2018 Spring Retreat