A Faerie Haven: Living in Myth, Being Magic

For some people, magic isn't something they do, it is what they are. This blog focuses less on theory and more on lyrical mysticism, applied spellcrafting, experiential awareness of Divinity, and related topics. A haven for you who long to become your myth and live your poem. Faerie tales do come true.

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Faerie Shamanism . . . and Joss Whedon?

Faerie Shamanism . . . and Joss Whedon?

Connecting a Lot of Supposedly Unrelated Dots:

 

It occurred to me today that several actors who appeared in Joss Whedon's TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer went on to do their own things in remarkable ways. 

 

Examples I can think of offhand:

 

Despite enormous acting talent, Sarah Michelle Gellar left the entertainment industry to start a line of her own food products. 

 

Tom Lenk does hilarious photo-parodies of celebrity fashions. If you haven't seen those photos of him in drag, oh my Goddess, you've got to look them up online.

 

Renaissance woman Amber Benson, who knows how to sing as well as she acts, is now publishing her novels. That woman can write!

 

Felicia Day wore the hats of producer, writer, and lead actor for her groundbreaking comedic web series The Guild. The show demonstrated the viability of an online series. 

 

All this got me thinking: does Joss draw independent people with original ideas? 

 

The folks I mention didn't instead follow in his footsteps by becoming producer, director, or writer of a TV show along the lines of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Though doing so could've been innovative in its own right, for sure, but that's outside the parameters of this article.) They went their own way.

 

Why does this interest me, and what does it have to do with Faerie shamanism? I am just having fun, connecting lots of dots. 

 

If you enjoy traveling along pathways between connected dots/thoughts that may seem unrelated at first, keep reading … even when something I write seems irrelevant initially.

 

The way I teach Faerie Shamanism includes not only teaching magical techniques but also nurturing people's unique paths on both the magical and mundane planes.

 

People drawn to my work tend to be go-getters who achieve their own thing or want to become like that. They range from best-selling authors in fields other than shamanism to celebrity chefs to folks quietly forging paths beyond the public eye. Example of the latter: one of my initiates is a homeschooler. I mean, what could be more advanced than homeschooling children so they have a good way of life? Another example of a subtle go-getter: not homeschooling your children but teaching them through your daily actions that ethics are important.

 

Some of my students discover that doing their own thing includes being trained to teach my material. 

 

But, in too many traditions, the only message the teacher seems to give is, "Do what I do, teach what I teach, then you are successful in this tradition." Whereas my message is "This is a tradition you never have to leave to do your own thing. This tradition is about you doing your own thing. As you advance, I can teach you more and more advanced tools that help you along your unique path." 

 

Did Joss attract innovative personalities because he listens so carefully to the beat of his own drum, and/or is there something about the way he directs actors that encourages them to dance to their own drum beat? 

 

My students, though original thinkers, might be blocked in lesser or greater degrees about acting on some of their dreams. I work on that with them through the transformative power of shamanism. 

 

I do that by teaching transformative rites and providing guidance about what they as an individual might need to unblock internally. 

 

But I also do it through the “culture” of my classes: the classes are an environment. I teach via group phone call, but an environment still exists on the etheric plane.

 

That environment is a magical place—comparable to a shaman’s cottage where transformation is accelerated. 

 

Were the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer spiritually transformative spaces? It wouldn't surprise me.

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Francesca De Grandis aka Outlaw Bunny is the bestselling author of "Be a Goddess!" Founder of The Third Road, a Faerie Shamanism tradition that she teaches through both text and oral tradition, De Grandis says, "I'm a trickster working for benevolent chaos Gods, so I don't play mean tricks." Bard, painter, mystical innovator, and busy elf who works part-time for Santa Claus, she blogs here and on her own sites, www.stardrenched.com and www.outlawbunny.com

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