Kate Belew

Join us for a six-month creative coven with monthly gatherings, rituals, prompts, folklore, and stories about the Witches of the crossroads, their potent gardens, and sacred symbols. Explore the crossroads, the realm of these stories, the liminal where magic is made.

Welcome to The Crossroads: The Shadow Months

Gather under the dark moon during the shadow months of October-March

During this six-month series and program, we will hold space with you at the creative cauldron. By the glow of the bonefire, and under the watch of the guardian oak tree, together we will explore and tell the tales of the Witches, Goddesses, potent plants, folklore, and myth. These stories are fodder for your creative work. They are rituals to hold you in the shifting of the seasons. Together we’ll celebrate the shadow months of the year, autumn, which turns toward winter, and finally gives way to spring. The dark moon is the keeper of many messages, secrets, and stories. And at the crossroads, a few of her favorite stories will be shared. Each class will contain a meditation, a discussion of sacred symbols, an exploration of the crossroads, a story retelling from the Goddesses and Witches of the dark moon, and an opportunity to write an invocation with guidance for each of these mythic figures.

Our Schedule

Wednesday, October 15th 7:00-8:30 pm EST, The Dark Moon of Hecate

Wednesday, November 19th, 7:00-8:30 pm EST, The Dark Moon of Seshat

Wednesday, December 17th, 7:00-8:30pm EST, The Dark Moon of The Morrigan

Wednesday, January 14th, 7:00-8:30pm EST, The Dark Moon of Brigid

Wednesday, February 17th, 7:00-8:30 pm EST, The Dark Moon of Selene

Wednesday, March 11th, 7:00-8:30pm, The Dark Moon of Cybele

October: The Dark Moon of Hecate

Alongside the whispering stars of October, Asteria welcomes us to the Shadow Months with a tale about celestial bodies, hallowed sight, and her beloved daughter, Hecate. Hecate is a spirit of witchcraft, skeleton keys, and the symbolic shadow lands. In stories, she’s flanked by hellhounds and ghosts, and as a goddess of the fringe, she is both tri-formed and moon-shaped. She is the only child of Asteria, a Titaness of shooting stars, and therefore, Hecate is the heiress of night. She is a nocturnal messenger and an embodiment of fire, her torches illuminate the numinous. Hecate’s origin is so ancient, so revealing, that her name is fixed in the starry Above. In our first gathering at the Crossroads, we’ll draw down the moon with Hecate’s words of power. Enshrined in magical speech the goddess’s sacred symbols, we’ll honor the restless parts of ourselves and unlock a constellation of potential.

November: The Dark Moon of Seshat

The dark moon of November tells a tale of the magic of Seshat. Dressed in leopard skins and crowned with stars, Seshat is the holy scribe, a keeper of records, and the Mistress within the House of Books. Although people credit her partner, Thoth, as the creator of language, the earliest stories describe Seshat as the mother of letters and words. She is the patroness of libraries and the one who ‘stretches the cord,’ a goddess of architecture, astrology, and the mysteries of the seven-pointed star. In the hall of the Akashic Records, Seshat archives our memories and notes the patterns of time. It’s there that a forgotten truth blooms from her pen: eternity is not a myth, the afterlife is not a fantasy, that which you write becomes your reality. In oue third gathering at the Crossroads, fueled by November’s dark moon, Seshat spins a tale about renewed potential, literary wands, and the sacred house of the soul.

December: THe Dark Moon of The Morrigan

For the lucky souls, Death arrives unexpectedly in the land of the living. For others, Death emerges from the full moon, flanked by chattering crows and the songs of the banshee. But for the fated, Death surfaces from the river of time, wearing the soiled clothes of the Morrigan. In Celtic mythology, the Morrigan is both an omen and an oracle, a phantom queen with an ancient riddle on her tongue: “A secret that you shall learn - the grasses wave. The flowers glow golden. The goddesses are three low like kine. The raven Morrigan herself is wild for blood.” The old stories mold the Morrigan into a prophetess and a goddess of war. She is both the Fairy Queen and the Washer at the Ford, the beautiful woman to whom the Dagda, a beloved King, surrenders his staff, his body, and all tethers to his earthly kingdom. The God of Life falls in love with the Goddess of Death beneath December’s dark moon. In the days before the Winter Solstice, the veil between worlds parts, and we meet our enemy’s gaze, witnessing the ‘other’ as our self and our equal.

January: The Dark Moon of Brigid

Archaic poetry blooms at the Crossroads of January’s dark moon. Winter lines the ground, but the season’s roots are weakening, and a carpet of tiny flower have recently appeared - snowdrops. The delicate blossoms lead us inside Brigid’s forge, where the fairy queen tends to her ever-burning sacred flame. As the patroness of the Imbolc season, Brigid is a harbinger of light. She is a spirit of smithcraft, poetry, and the shape of our creative journeys. Brigid is older than the folklore that bears her name. Her stories helped mold the landscapes of Ireland, Scotland, and at one time, Galatia. As a Celtic sage and healer, Brigid was associated with serpents and shapeshifting. Some of her many epithets include the Fiery Arrow, the Bright One, Queen of the Undying Flame, the Three Mothers, Bride, and eventually, Saint Brigit. In our fourth gathering at the Crossroads, Brigid gestures toward her workbench. An empty stool awaits, as does a hammer, a chisel, and an a lump of steel. This is poetry, she says, tossing the steel into the hearth. Inspiration has always been the domain of the goddess, and so, as the iron softens, a crescent moon rises across Brigid’s forehead. She grabs the molten metal with a pair of tongs and sets it on anvil in front of you. I can’t wait to see what you make, she says.

February: The Dark Moon of Selene

Once upon a time, the moon fell in love with a mortal. The mortal’s name was Endymion, a shepherd and hero who caught the eye of the goddess, Selene. Selene was Titaness and goddess of witchcraft and the moon, who admired Endymion’s dedication to stargazing and astronomy. Even though they both knew that love between mortals and immortals always spelled tragedy, Selene begged Zeus to grant immortality to her human lover. The god agreed, and Endymion fell into an eternal sleep. The man didn’t die, he’s didn’t grow old, but Endymion’s body was petrified, his heart, frozen in time. The etymology of Selene is connected to ‘light’ and ‘shining’ and therefore, this goddess is a herald of illumination. In our fifth gathering at the Crossroads, Selene’s chariot awaits our arrival. Her vehicle is swan shaped, and a pair of silver steeds look to us for a command. Before we can decide, Selene waves us inside and hands us the reigns. As we navigate the dark months of the year, Selene shares a story eternal love, eternal life, and surrendering to the tides of life.

September: The Dark Moon of Cybele

TBD

Exchange: 

A single payment of $444

Two payments of $222

Three payments of $148

The cost of $444 for the six-month program includes six 90 minutes class, with recordings downloadable, six downloadable PDFs with rituals, altar suggestions, and prompts for extended study, a Slack Community & Coven to connect with other Witches around the tales, potent plants, magic, astrology, ritual, and storytelling (including Kristin & Kate). We prioritize making our offerings accessible. If you require assistance, please write us a message to explain your situation and we can work together to find a solution. Payment plan are available.

FAQ: 

DO I NEED TO ATTEND ALL WORKSHOPS LIVE?

No! This program is intended to support any schedule. Workshops can be listened to via recording. And you can tune into these workshops from any place as long as you have internet.

DO I HAVE ACCESS TO ALL MATERIALS FOREVER?

The Slack Channel will end with the program (2 weeks after closing), however, the prompts, exercises, and PDFs from workshops are yours to keep forever.

WHAT EXPERIENCE DO I NEED TO HAVE BEFORE JOINING? 

No experience needed! Just a love of stories and plant magic required. 

What will happen in each meeting?

There will be a guided meditation, education around the sacred symbols of each mythic character, a storytelling experience, guidance and prompts to create invocations and word witchery for each witch of the crossroads.

Testimonials from Previous Crossroads Classes

I love the Crossroads series. Every five-week session is different for me. I love hearing the Goddess and plant stories and really enjoy the writing prompts. The Crossroads truly is a place of deep magic. It is very healing and revealing. Thank you Kate and Kristin for nurturing my witchy soul.

The Crossroads was and still is such a special hub for inspiration and creation. I have never written so many pieces of poetry in such a short time the way I did in each 90 minute session. So much magic resides in the stories and plants and Kate and Kristin know exactly how to bring you into that true space of the Crossroads where you can expand and travel into the realms of each. I have greeted the trees and the herbs, the Goddesses who tend them and have become entirely re-enchanted, I hope to do so again in the next one. I would recommend anyone remotely intrigued to run wild with the calling!

Kate and Kristin offer a tapestry of storytelling, the kind that our ancestors told long ago. The balance of ancient history with writing prompts truly helped me to overcome come hurdles and blocks within myself. I also appreciated the community that is built around the course, and being able to connect with others in the class to share their thoughts, stories and insights, made this feel extra special and deepened my overall experience. I look forward to future events, and continuing the journey.

My experience was just full of enchantment and I felt like I was just getting massive downloads of inspiration. It's so hard to pick a favorite but I really loved Kristen's stories. They were just crafted so well and I loved to hear her narrate them and feel the myth unfold in a new, special way. And also Kate introducing us to the plants - I'm not much of a plant witch, though I'd love to be and it was so cool to learn about plants and how they both have medicinal and magical correspondences but then weave into the story we've also heard. Those just worked so well together. And EVERY writing prompt was beautiful!!

After a few months of not writing a single word, The Crossroads reinvigorated my joy in writing. I came to The Crossroads to reconnect with my own voice and with the goddess archetypes that make up this inner voice. I left feeling optimistic and grateful about my writing, art, and life in general. Thank you for being so thoughtful and caring when creating this sacred, creative space for us! - A.

This course was a little bit of everything, and I cannot recommend it enough if you’re looking to connect with your creativity and the spirit of the changing seasons! There were beautifully told stories, primers on medicinal herbs, structured writing prompts that made the blank page far less daunting, a little bit of magic, and a really supportive community. I am walking away from this 5 week course with prompts and rituals that I can revisit anytime I want, some really powerful personal reflections & poems, and a fresh, creative spark. I can’t wait to sign up for the next one! - S.

Kate and Kristin use their incredible gifts of storytelling and wisdom to build a safe and loving container for beautiful things to be made and shared at the crossroads. The experience energized my creative life. Each week I felt inspired to create something as I integrated what I’d learned through writing and other art forms. Members of the online community were welcoming and supportive. There was just enough structure to the program to be organized and allow for creative expression. As someone who understands deities as metaphors only, I felt welcome to understand the characters being presented in the way that works for me without any pressure to see them in any other way. Highly recommend this experience! - D.

The way that Kate and Kristin wove elements of writing, magick, myth and herbalism into a sinuous experience was on a level all of its own; it was refreshing and definitely fuel for that creative flow we all need to keep life spicy and enjoyable. I am thrilled at the prospect of attending another. - T.

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