{"id":129,"date":"2016-08-09T08:35:54","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T16:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=129"},"modified":"2016-08-08T16:59:39","modified_gmt":"2016-08-09T00:59:39","slug":"priestesscomesknocking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html","title":{"rendered":"Priestess Comes Knocking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I\u2019m returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, \u201cBut you\u2019re already an artist! Your dance is art! You draw and make stuff! You design things! I love your work!\u201d<\/p>\n

But for over a decade, I didn\u2019t feel like I was really<\/em> making art. \u00a0That\u2019s not to dismiss anything I made that others said and felt was art, but more about me<\/strong> being able to more fully realize\u00a0myself and truly make the art I wanted to make. \u00a0It took getting out of an extremely difficult relationship, allowing myself the freedom to create, while\u00a0simultaneously taking a huge amount of risks \u2013 for me to finally feel like I was (and am) an artist again.<\/p>\n

A fan of Rainer Maria Rilke, I have long loved the line\u00a0from\u00a0Letters to a Young Poet\u00a0<\/em>where he wrote:\u00a0\u201cAll art is the result of one\u2019s having been in danger, of having gone through an experience all the way to the end, to where no one can go any further.\u201d<\/em> But I didn\u2019t understand the full depth of it until that year. \u00a0It\u2019s not the stereotypical romance of the starving artist, but rather getting down to your bare bones and rebuilding from there. \u00a0Sometimes you have to take apart yourself to find out what truly matters.<\/p>\n

And now in 2016, I\u2019m examining the term \u201cpriestess\u201d the way I did with \u201cartist\u201d over 4 years ago. \u00a0Somewhere between leaving the Pagan society I founded\/most of the people who made up my tradition to move to California in 2001 \u2013 and focusing more on dance as a profession, I stopped considering myself a priestess. \u00a0Even though I did what many would consider sacred dance, and I believed in the amazing power of teaching dance to others, I didn\u2019t embrace that title anymore. It didn\u2019t feel right \u2013 especially since quite a few others in the dance world who claimed that title appeared (to me)<\/em> to be\u00a0the farthest thing from being actual priestesses. \u00a0But unlike my conscious decision to reclaim artist<\/em> again, priestess<\/em> has come knocking on my door, like a forgotten promise.<\/p>\n

\"Nathaniel
Nathaniel & Tempest, photo by Carrie Meyer<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And I can actually pinpoint the moment from when it went from gently rapping on my door to a distinct hard knock. This past March at Paganicon, Nathaniel<\/a> and I presented \u201cHekate At The Crossroads<\/em>: A Dance Ritual Performance.<\/a>\u201d Now, we\u2019ve done several goddess-inspired ritual dance performances over the last couple of years (including \u201cDreaming The Raven: A Morrigan Dance Ritual\u201d<\/em>) which is typically us presenting an improvised piece for 15-30 minutes, followed by discussion, but due to the amount of time we had been allotted, we were able to actually go past that and bring people into another level of more active, participatory ritual. \u00a0Nathaniel, observing the reactions and responses from people for the rest of the weekend, starting saying to me, \u201cThat\u2019s because you\u2019re a priestess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Followed each time by some eyebrow working and lip-biting on my part. I\u2019ve been teaching and performing dance for years \u2013 to and for dancers and P-words alike for a long time, what changed? \u00a0Teaching has always been important to me, and I see it as a calling. \u00a0Performing creates a conversation that can be a sacred experience for all involved. \u00a0But did either of those qualify as priestessing? Not quite, at least to me.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to this past weekend when I taught a movement workshop and co-facilitated the De-Possession Ritual<\/a> at Many Gods West <\/a>with Anaar, Gwion Raven, and Phoenix LaFae. \u00a0As we were doing the latter, I realized how long it\u2019s been since I facilitated a large ritual, and how that felt. \u00a0I spent the next day thinking about it, and rolling the word priestess<\/em> around in my head, coming to a sense of peace or more like a place of acceptance. \u00a0I realized what set the PaganiCon presentation apart \u2013 the fact that we went beyond a performance and brought people into it, and lead them through it. \u00a0And again on Saturday, there I was guiding, feeling, conducting the energy.<\/p>\n

In a workshop, I lead by engaging students to incorporate what I teach into their own practice. \u00a0In performance, I demonstrate my practice and create a kind of experience where the audience is an observer and a passive participant. \u00a0In ritual, the attendees put the theory into actual practice and become active participants in the rite. \u00a0Which explains I have long-eschewed rituals that delegate the attendees to a passive\/watching position. \u00a0I not only want them to watch or to learn, but rather I want them to DO as well.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo of Tempest by Lilia Lobo de Albuquerque<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many many years ago, I assumed the title of priestess because I had earned the education-based marks for it, achieved the status\/position to run a group, produced events, and was\u00a0a public spokesperson. \u00a0That\u2019s what it meant back then \u2013 to me, and to many others.<\/p>\n

Now, in answering the knocking on the door, I have found a new meaning and identity within the word. \u00a0Beyond teaching and beyond performing, I am actively guiding and working with the people to connect them with themselves and the divine \u2013 within and without. It\u2019s not so much of a title as it as an action and a state of being. \u00a0It\u2019s the service and the work that\u2019s done with<\/em> and for<\/em> others that defines the word for me.<\/p>\n

And the knock on the door is the beating of my own heart.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I\u2019m returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, \u201cBut you\u2019re already an artist! Your dance is art! You draw and make stuff! You design things! I love your work!\u201d But for over a decade, I didn\u2019t feel like I was really making art. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,12,72,14],"tags":[24,73,76,83,82,81,43,7,4],"class_list":["post-129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-modernpractice","category-movement","category-tradition","tag-community","tag-dance","tag-manygodswest","tag-paganicon","tag-performance","tag-priestess","tag-ritual","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nPriestess Comes Knocking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I'm returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, "But you're already an artist! Your dance is art!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Priestess Comes Knocking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I'm returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, "But you're already an artist! Your dance is art!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Modern Traditional Witch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-09T16:35:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-08-09T00:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2016\/08\/11696347_970027689714903_1108893141417731396_o.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTempestZ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html\",\"name\":\"Priestess Comes Knocking\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-09T16:35:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-09T00:59:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72\"},\"description\":\"A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I'm returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, \\\"But you're already an artist! Your dance is art!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Priestess Comes Knocking\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/\",\"name\":\"A Modern Traditional Witch\",\"description\":\"Weaving the Realms of Tradition, Folklore, and Modern Practice\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72\",\"name\":\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\"},\"description\":\"Laura Tempest Zakroff is a professional artist, author, performer, and Modern Traditional Witch based in New England. She holds a BFA from RISD (the Rhode Island School of Design), and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Her work embodies myth and the esoteric through her drawings and paintings, jewelry, talismans, and other designs. Laura is the author of the bestselling Llewellyn books Weave the Liminal, Sigil Witchery, and Anatomy of a Witch, as well as the Liminal Spirits Oracle (artist\/author), The Witch\u2019s Cauldron, and co-author of The Witch\u2019s Altar with Jason Mankey. Laura edited The New Aradia: A Witch\u2019s Handbook to Magical Resistance (Revelore Press). She is the creative force behind several community events and teaches workshops online and worldwide.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.lauratempestzakroff.com\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/owlkeyme.arts\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LTempestZ\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/author\/ltzakroff\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Priestess Comes Knocking","description":"A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I'm returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, \"But you're already an artist! Your dance is art!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Priestess Comes Knocking","og_description":"A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I'm returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, \"But you're already an artist! Your dance is art!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html","og_site_name":"A Modern Traditional Witch","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff","article_published_time":"2016-08-09T16:35:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-08-09T00:59:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2016\/08\/11696347_970027689714903_1108893141417731396_o.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Laura Tempest Zakroff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LTempestZ","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Tempest Zakroff","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html","name":"Priestess Comes Knocking","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-08-09T16:35:54+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-09T00:59:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72"},"description":"A few years ago in 2012, I said to the world: I'm returning to being an artist. \u00a0Many voices responded, \"But you're already an artist! Your dance is art!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/08\/priestesscomesknocking.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Priestess Comes Knocking"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/","name":"A Modern Traditional Witch","description":"Weaving the Realms of Tradition, Folklore, and Modern Practice","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72","name":"Laura Tempest Zakroff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Laura Tempest Zakroff"},"description":"Laura Tempest Zakroff is a professional artist, author, performer, and Modern Traditional Witch based in New England. She holds a BFA from RISD (the Rhode Island School of Design), and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Her work embodies myth and the esoteric through her drawings and paintings, jewelry, talismans, and other designs. Laura is the author of the bestselling Llewellyn books Weave the Liminal, Sigil Witchery, and Anatomy of a Witch, as well as the Liminal Spirits Oracle (artist\/author), The Witch\u2019s Cauldron, and co-author of The Witch\u2019s Altar with Jason Mankey. Laura edited The New Aradia: A Witch\u2019s Handbook to Magical Resistance (Revelore Press). She is the creative force behind several community events and teaches workshops online and worldwide.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.lauratempestzakroff.com","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/owlkeyme.arts\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/LTempestZ"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/author\/ltzakroff"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}