Path Offerings 2025

Entering the Garden of Conflict ~ 
Restoring Connection in Community 
Teachers: Acorn and wildRose
2-day path

Path Description:
Together we step knowingly into the Garden of Conflict, ready to share a journey of grounded presence, listening, accountability, and transformation.  From a foundation of seeing all people as whole, loving, wounded beings, we will offer magical, consent-based, trauma-informed conflict transformation strategies for preventing and addressing interpersonal conflict.  Drawing from the rich tradition of Restorative Circles, as well as from our own experiences adapting these practices, we will offer a flexible, structured methodology for hosting conflict transformation circles (facilitated conversations). We will enlist magical technologies to support our journey, including grounding, circle casting, chanting, invoking allies in the work, purification, and divination. 

Teacher Bios:
Acorn~
(they/them)

Acorn is a queer cultural worker, hearthkeeper, and parent working to grow the better world our hearts know is possible. They are co-founder of Garden Gate Conflict Transformation and have been hosting conflict transformation circles since 2015. Acorn tends the hearth of an independent therapeutic school, directing the food program and teaching culinary arts. They bring a well regulated nervous system, keen intellect, and abiding dedication to all they turn their heart and hands to. Acorn is an organizing camper for VWC 2025 and is honored to support this community that has held them and their family for so long. 

wildRose~
fae/femm/faer (+ she & they)

wildRose plants the seeds of a more resilient world by sharing skills & knowledge needed to root well anywhere.  Fae identify as a trans & queer cultural worker, Earth-mover, and community hearth-keeper.  wildRose brings lenses of ecology, magic, and justice to bear while sharing practices that tranifest greater love, growth, and healing in the world.  Fae enjoy cultivating feelings of Home & belonging, while sharing delicious food & deep breaths with friends of all stripes.  In her wake, she tends to leave increasingly fertile gardens, well-fed communities, and growing, shared visions of regenerative culture.  Faer humxn ancestors hail from the many connected lands & peoples around the Sea ‘Between the Worlds’ (the Mediterranean).  
 

From Root to Sky: 
Elemental Connections to the Green Ones
Teachers: Beth and Betsy
2-day path

Path Description:
This path takes an experiential approach, allowing the natural world to guide us through the five sacred things as we seek deeper connection. It combines close observation, guided trance, and energetic sharing to bring us into closer community with ourselves and our Green Kin. We’ll embark on an embodied journey with the forest in an exploration of the relationship between human and plant communities. This path is a deep dive into the natural world and the elements held within all beings. 

Teacher Bios:
Beth~
(she/her)

Beth (Virgo/Pisces Moon/Capricorn rising) began as a solitary witch in her teens, joined the Reclaiming tradition 46 years ago after recognizing herself within the pages of The Spiral Dance.  A lifelong political and environmental activist, her undergraduate work was in botany, forestry and environmental sustainability.  Beth’s continuing passion is ensuring a future where the earth and all beings thrive.   She has been part of the Vermont WitchCamp community since 1995.  She lives at the forest edges.

Betsy~
(she/her)

Growing up immersed in nature, I learned to love the outdoors from my father, a beekeeper, and my grandparents, subsistence farmers. In my early twenties, I worked at Wise Ways Herbals under Mariam Massaro, where I honed my skills in plant medicine and trained others in herbal practices.

My journey with Reclaiming began around the same time. Attending a workshop by Starhawk led me to Vermont Witchcamp, where I have been active for over 20 years, helping to create community planned rituals and serving in planning and facilitation roles.

I trained in Permaculture under Bonnie Wodin and through Permaculture FEAST, integrated Social Permaculture into my personal and professional life. In my human services work I advocate for parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, bringing a transformative leadership approach rooted in empathy.

Astrologically, I am an Aquarian Virgo, deeply committed to social change with the skills to bring ideas to life. 
 

*The two shorter paths listed above will be offered Sunday/Monday and Thursday/Friday, allowing for a looser schedule for the week.*

We also have more traditional five day paths:

The Well of Wyrd: 
Honing our Tools for Vision, Meaning, and Magic
Teachers: Murphy Robinson and Leigh
5-day path

Path Description:
In this time of escalating political chaos, global climate emergencies and ongoing human rights crisis, our relationship with mystery, fate and divination offer us tools that help us care for ourselves and one another and creatively vision & act upon pathways of change.  We journey together to the ancient Well of Wyrd, where we are offered glimpses of our fates.  The three Norns guard this well and we can ask them for good counsel as we discern the best path for us to walk in these powerful times of upheaval and potential.

Pouring divinatory nectar from the deep into the practical details of our lives & communities feeds our souls and strengthens our bones.  The well asks us to keep engaging our creative imagination together.  Our tools on this path will include trance journeys, divination, magical bindrune spells, and shared song.  We will review the medieval Norse lore of the Norns, and encounter them directly in the spirit-world to seek insight and guidance for our lives and activism.  Path will include discussion in small and large groups, trance work, divination, magical crafting, personal spellwork, and a strong focus on how our magic feeds and empowers our activism.

Even when it seems there is no way through, what is being whispered from the deep now? What is Earth dreaming through you and us?  What new pathways and strategies are possible?

If you are seeking a path grounded in ancestral European myth, in a rigorous anti-racist and queer-literate context, join us.  Ours is a path of both reflection and commitment to action for a better world.

Teacher Bios:
Murphy Robinson~
(he/they)

Murphy Robinson is a queer transmasculine weaver of magic, a radical activist & street medic, and a wilderness skills teacher. Their magical specialties include trance journeying, divination, Norse pagan lore, rune magic, aspecting, and the sacred hunt. They teach magical skills at the Way of the Weaver program and were a wilderness skills instructor for many years.

Leigh~
(she/her)

I am devoted to mystery, the wild beings of this beautiful earth and liberation. I give to my people through bodywork & healing arts, hosting restorative circles, community herbalism, and earth-based mentoring and ministering. My magical focus includes nature connection, dream magic, plant magic, thresholds and the descent to soul, divination and trance journeying.

Rhythms for Resilience and Resistance!
Teachers: Chrys Ballerano and Jeffrey Alphosus Mooney
5-day path

Path Description:
An invitation to literally tap into your heart's desire through facilitated drum and percussion poly rhythmic play, connecting with your inner muse, channeling emotions for which you've not had words, or simply exploring what's possible when we deeply listen to sounds and textures surrounding us in nature and among human companions. Chrys will provide percussion and a variety of drums for up to 30 participants to participate in a practice she's led for over 25 years after being mentored by Black and Indigenous teachers in the 90s.

Teacher Bios:
Chris Ballerano~
(she/her/they/them)

Chrys Ballerano is an advocate, facilitator, musician, songwriter and yoga teacher who makes her home in Albany NY. As a certified holistic health coach and trainer she enjoys sharing liberating somatic practices that foster resilience and healing to individuals and communities. As a survivor advocate Chrys works extensively sharing her 25+ years of experience in the anti-violence movement coordinating collaborative ways to transform trauma into meaningful action. As a survivor of sexual trauma she’s dedicated herself to healing-centered approaches that are culturally humble, sensitive, and inclusive;  she is a founding member of NYS Trauma Informed Network and Resource Center. Chrys has facilitated hundreds of workshops that lead individuals in exploring the power of rhythm circles and expressive arts to build connections to themselves and with other individuals in supportive community spaces. She’s been invited to lead drum circles of all sizes in a wide range of settings including city classrooms, rural retreats, college campuses, professional conferences and health forums.  Chrys also speaks publicly about secondary traumatic stress and holistic approaches to transform human services. She is certified to teach yoga and meditation Find out more about Chrys and her work by contacting her directly at: chrysballeranoconsulting@gmail.com

Jeffrey Alphonsus Mooney~
(he/him)

Alphonsus has been a Witch camp teacher for 30 years. From the very first day, (of Vermont's first camp) he felt a deep connection to the land and the community of Vermont, and is excited to return after many years absence. He has also taught in Australia (Cloud Catcher),  Spiral Heart, Missouri, and California Witch camps, as well as Canada. In his home community of San Francisco/Bay Area, he teaches ritual drum and voice and sound healing. He says, “This is a powerful time and we need a creative approach to story and meaning as we weave together many strands of perspective into a viable expression of magical community. Shenanigans will ensue.”
 

Bee Liberation
Teachers: Innana and Jaguar
5-day path

Path Description:
Dive deep into the intersection of the plight of the honey bee and the mushroom kingdom...as we glean wisdom and inspiration from their respective roles in the Natural World, as well as the gifts they offer humans to strengthen our own resilience. We will immerse ourselves in the world wide network of bee guardians, working to re-wild  honeybee populations by using biomimicry , cradle to cradle, and upcycling technologies as acts of resistance .  Along the way, we shall discover the powerful magic of mycelium, and their role in bioremediation strategies...from oil spills to farmland run off to increasing honey bee resilience. THRILLING STUFF !  There will be snacks!

Teacher Bios:
Innana~
(she/her)

Inanna is a passionate bee guardian, creating a bee sanctuary on her .4 acre lot at the intersection of commercial and residential zones . She has been sharing her knowledge and passion for Earth honoring and heart healing practices with communities for over 15 years at VWC, Luna Sol Retreat, Shalom Mountain Retreat Center, Spirit Kindred Medicine Women's Gathering, Green Women Gathering, Where Womyn Gather and Syracuse Red Tent . She resides in Syracuse, NY where she has been practicing holistic skincare and body work at her private practice, Sanctuary Spa, for the past 25 years.

Jaguar~
(he/him)

A Reclaiming Witch for 20+years, Vermont camp was my home camp for many of those years before I moved to Texas and started organizing with Tejasweb. I'm excited to be in these hills once again. I have a strong drive to apply my magical practice to serve social justice and planetary justice. I love to bring a sense of play and laughter into the things I do. I'm a listener, with capacity to hold space for others. I'm also a queer/trans fey creature who prefers skipping about in the wilds.
 

Break The Silence:
Reclaiming our Sovereign Song
Teachers: Marrow Nocturne and Renee
5-day path

Path Description:
Sound is one of the most powerful forces on this planet. A song can lull an infant to sleep, while a soundwave, at the right frequency, can shatter a glass. Join us for “Break the Silence: Reclaiming our Sovereign Song”, a transformative path that explores the power of Sacred Sound and Ritual Music.

This path will offer concrete skill sets to add to your magical toolbox. You’ll learn practical techniques like chant writing, improvisation, energy-raising, drumming, and vocal practices—including rhythm and harmony—that you can use in your everyday life, as well as apply to any community ritual. These tools allow us to deepen our connection to ourselves, to the sacred, and to the world. Through these practices it becomes clear that sound is a vehicle for not only transformation, but our collective liberation.

Throughout this journey, you will not only acquire skills. You will also have the opportunity to explore deep personal work. We will strive to deprogram the harmful belief systems in which we have all been steeped, year after year. We will engage in shadow work, finding those unacknowledged rough places where we’ve become blocked, small, and quiet. Using various tools (including meditation, trance, small group work, journaling, improvisation, play, didactic discussion and more) we will learn to break those silences that have been imposed upon us by the over-culture– and yes, even those silences we’ve learned to impose on ourselves. When we make space for our individual healing, we empower ourselves to show up as more resilient, authentic, members of our communities. When we live authentically, we become agents of change, weaving the threads of our magic into a tapestry of collective transformation.

At the heart of this path is the belief that music is medicine, and that self-expression is vital to the liberation of our whole selves. Through sound, you will reconnect to the full, uncensored parts of yourself – the parts that allow us to resist false narratives, and speak truth to power.

In the face of rising chaos and division, it may feel like the clouds are gathering. The storm may seem inevitable, but we have everything we need to weather the night. Together, we will reclaim the birthright of our sovereign song. We can rise, resist, and overcome. We welcome all levels of engagement, and all levels of experience. Even if you’ve never sung a note, or ever touched an instrument, you’re invited to the chorus. Join us as we create a new symphony, one that speaks to the indomitable spirit of the witch. One note is noise. Many notes together make a song. Come sing with us.

Teacher Bios:
Marrow Nocturne~
(them/they)

A musician, sex worker alumni, make-up artist, feminist, and mother, I am an anarchist witch based in the unceded lands of the Unkachaug (currently known as New York) and walking many disparate paths. It is here, in the between, the liminal places that delineate an edge, that I believe the most potent magic lies. Medusa is my patron deity, and I am a devotee of fireside chats, the brilliance of carnivals, the silence of cemeteries, the cool clarity of starlight and the nuance of cognitive dissonance. A ritualist practicing and teaching in the Reclaiming tradition, I am most drawn to work that forces us to examine our most jagged edges. Where there’s fear, there’s power. 

Favorite topics include: Sacred sound and medicinal self-expression, personal and cultural shadow work, Mono No Aware, Sacred Sex Work, and the juxtaposition of science and spirituality. Those interested can read more about my sex work and activism at my blog: Body of Indulgence

Renee~
(she/her)

A musician, sex worker alumni,Music has saved Renee’s life more times than she can count. Renee has performed professionally with opera companies in Philadelphia and more recently as a soloist with Concord Chamber Singers in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, as well as the Allentown Symphony Chorus and other local groups.  Renee is also a 2020 graduate of Freestyle Love Supreme Academy’s program Fundamentals of Freestyle, which builds bridges of communication, joy and support between people of different races, ethnicities, identities and nationalities all over the world using the tools of freestyle hip-hop and improvisational music making. 

Renee has been singing in one form or another since a young age, but it was only in 2015 when she first learned that the music she performed and loved so much can also  be a powerful conduit for meditation, true spirituality, magic and healing.  She is one of two co-anchors of the Soundspinner team for SpiralHeart. A classically trained “Opera Heretic,” who seeks to build community through song, she is stepping into her life’s purpose by presenting the healing power of sound and music as a SoundWitch- a voice in the woods that attracts the lost, only for them to instead discover a community of fellow seekers who help them ultimately find their way back to themselves.
 

Priestessing the Resistance
Teachers: Davis and Rebecca
5-day path

Path Description:
We live in interesting times. Many of our closest loved ones and indeed we ourselves feel threatened and confused. Often, living our truths day-to-day feels difficult and even dangerous, but we are Reclaiming Witches, and this moment is what we are made for.

This will not be an introductory path. On this path, we will seek our practices and powers that can support living in right relation and honesty in our personal lives. We are activists, living our lives as an act of resistance.   We will approach this path intending to strengthen our practices and sharpen our tools.  We will work on deeper grounding and holding space.  We will reach deeply into the Elements, the Pentacles of Iron and Pearl, and practices for identifying and aligning with our core values.  We will explore daily practices, appropriate self-care, and our shadow selves.  We plan to meet for additional path work outside of the scheduled morning hours as well.  

Prerequisites for this path are an understanding of the basics of Reclaiming (Elements Class/Path or equivalent), and the ability to follow guided journeys of up to 30 minutes.

We are requesting adults only, but if strongly motivated younger people want to join, we ask that they discuss this with us first.

Teacher Bios: 
Davis~
(they)

Davis was a spiritual wanderer, drinking deeply from the potent fountains of Quakerism, chaos and ceremonial magick, QBLH, medieval astrology, the Craft, Ecstatic Ritual, and the healing arts, until about 20 years ago, when davis attended their first WitchCamp.  Since that time, they have identified as a Reclaiming witch.  In Reclaiming, they found the deep spirituality of magick and ritual, as well as ecological consciousness, social responsibility and activism. They have served the community in the roles of organizer, RFT, and path teacher since 2008.  They are a healer by profession, living in the Hudson Valley of New York with their stepdaughter and a rag-tag collection of 5 dogs. 

Rebecca~
(coming soon)

Pixie Path
Teacher: Rosemary
5-day path

Path Description:
Community building and magic designed to be accessible to our youngest witchlets, but meaningful for all ages.  Path will include stories, songs/music, movement, other creative arts and learning, and connection with the surrounding natural environment.

Teacher Bio: 
Rosemary~
(she/her)

Rosemary has been both practicing Reclaiming magic and offering Early Childhood Education programs for over four decades.  She specializes in creative, embodied learning experiences that emphasize connection to nature and the earth as well as social and emotional learning.  With several years of teaching Pixie Path under her magical toolbelt, she sees this role as a gift that allows her to integrate these two passions.