. . . and we are in a breathing space before the next begins. I’m talking about my year-long Art of Ritual class. We start the year on July 1st and end it on the last Friday in June.

Our three students are outstanding. They are funny, intelligent, and generous people who clearly *grew* over the course of their year with us. I am very very proud of them and what they’ve accomplished. Moreover, two of them will be joining JaguarMoon as Dedicants; thereby continuing the cycle of student to mentor. (The third may join our daughter coven, Southern Cross, as she is in Australia and the timing of rituals and such is so much more complicated for her.)

Each year is so different, even though the overall structure of the lessons remains constant. Since I first created this lesson plan in 1998 my life has followed its rhythms, with a couple of exceptions (that is, the year I took a semi-sabbatical and the year we closed the class in mid year).

Six months ago I didn’t think we’d have a class to teach. Now we have five students, two of which are the rare breed: males, and one is a returnee from a previous year. With four people mentoring, my HP (Daystar) and I don’t have to mentor as well as lead. That means we can start to develop a more advanced curriculum, and get deeper into the Mysteries.

I may occasionally dream of a tradition that spans the globe and encompasses thousands of practitioners, but I am truly pleased that we remain small and focused on our mission of teaching in service to the Lord and Lady, teaching Wicca to those who are unable to find teachers elsewhere, and expanding/deepening our spirituality.

The Wheel turns, and a new cycle begins.