Celtic Clip Art Border by Gunther at Synergy.
'Just Wizard.'
by Lara Bradley.Fairies in the garden, bats in the attic... welcome to Ireland's school for budding Harry Potters.
When Harry Potter headed home for the summer after term learning quidditch and transfiguration he caught the Hogwart's Express.
Tonight, real life witches and wizards will depart from Ireland's very own School of Witchcraft and Wizardry -but are more likely to be travelling by campervan.Castle Pook in Co. Cork may not be as grand as Hogwart Castle, but this tiny cottage in a forest clearing 15 miles from Mallow is the base this weekend for some real-life lessons in witchcraft.
The cottage, complete with an attic full of bats, was bought six years ago by 'hedge-witches' Bev and Del Richardson. 'Castle Pook translates as the castle of the rock of the ghosts' said Bev, as he stepped carefully over altars made from crystal balls and candles, dotted around his house. 'Although I've never seen a ghost here, I have seen many fairies with my peripheral vision.'Bev's wife, Del, says that the two have big plans for the little cottage. 'After completing college, kids could come here to learn that there is more to life than making money and a nine-to-five job.' It will be a few years before the finishing school for trainee witches and wizards is up and running but, this weekend , both Muggles and magic folk gathered at Castle Pook for a series of workshops similar to the lessons Harry Potter followed at Hogwart's.
Bev and Del say many witch skills can be taught but are also firm believers in instinct and allowing each witch to follow his or her own path.The weekend of Wizardry began on Friday night. Four Irish wizards taught a class how to divine the auric field - the energy we radiate which is said to have different colours or vibrations depending on how we feel.
This was followed by workshops on runecraft and how a crystal-tipped wand is made from bog-oak. High Priestess Lora led a discussion Working the Craft in Ireland Today, Bev took the wizards through Reintegrating the Divine Warrior and Tina debated The Witch as a Feminist Archetype. At midnight last night the group came together to study the stars with renowned astronomer Paul Underwood. There were classes, too, in reiki, herbalism, dousing and energy healing.
The participants got a break from study to enjoy story-telling, music and dancing around the camp-fire as well as relaxing in the homemade hot-tub which was crafted from an old milk churn by Bev,but looks spookily like a steaming cauldron. One of the weekend's highlights was a bonfire ceremony where the participants formed a circle and called upon the spirits to join them. 'We provide place where people can find out how they personally touch the god-head' Bev said. 'We tried to organise this weekend as close as possible to the feast of Lughnasa but it is difficult to get all the country's witches and wizards together at such a busy time.'
