The  Pagan  Institute
            
     
Curricula for Adult Education

Coursework takes place at First Unitarian Society, 900 Mt. Curve Ave., Minneapolis  55403, unless otherwise noted. Some Saturday and weekend classes may also be held, occasionally at other sites.

Workshops generally take place on Saturdays, and may take place at other sites.

Classes are scheduled based on demand.  If you are interested in a course, please register for the waiting list HERE.  
          Sliding scale fees and partial work scholarships are available.

Elemental Magick & Psychology  4 sessions
Enchanting: Hymns & Chants 4 sessions
Festivals 4 sessions
Foundations of Pagan Theology 4 sessions: 
Foundations of Polity & Community Who Owns the Coven? 6 sessions
Foundations of Religious Leadership: in development. 
Pre-requisite: Foundations of Polity and Community
Pagan History  10 sessions
Masks of the God, Masks of the Goddess 1   6-hour  workshop
Myths of Transformation 4 sessions
Pagan History: Survey Course  10 sessions
The Pagan Science of Happiness 4 sessions
Pagan Scriptures  6 sessions
Practical Herbal Alchemy Summer 2007
Practicing Paganism 8 sessions
Rise Up and Call Her Name:
A Multi-Media Pilgrimage		 Goddesses of Africa & the African Diaspora   4 sessions
Goddesses of Asia                                                4 sessions
Goddesses of the Americas                                4 sessions
Ritual in Theory & Practice 101: The Outer Form                                            4 sessions
102: Sacredpace                                          4 sessions
103: Pagan Liturgical Practice                            4 sessions
104: Liturgical Design & Leadership                  4 sessions
Spirit Guide Meditation with the Tarot in development
Who Owns the Coven? 4 sessions

The Pagan Institute seeks additional instructors.

Elemental Magick and Psychology
 4  2 hour sessions
Taught by Dr. Christa Landon. (bio below)

The four classical elements are a commonplace in modern western magick, and yet, even advanced magicians and witches will discover that Jungian psychology has a great deal to reveal to us.

King/Queen, Warrior/Amazon, Magician, Lover: these are archetypes of the mature masculine and feminine.  We will explore them through the "court cards" of the Tarot.

 No pre-requisites. 
Sliding scale $40-$80 which includes extensive printed materials. 

You will learn:
 > a deeper understanding of the four elements
> foundational ideas from Jungian psychology: archetypes, the shadow
> mature and immature elemental archetypes
Bring your favorite Tarot deck to the class and a 3-ring notebook.                                  

No pre-requisites. 
Sliding scale $40-$80 which includes extensive printed materials.                                

The Pagan Science of of Happiness
 4  2 hour sessions
Taught by Dr. Christa Landon. (bio below)

The pursuit of happiness is an American right. Everyone wants to sell us happiness, but it cannot be bought.  Paganism appeals to many because it is sex positive, sensual, and this-worldly. Still, few of us understand the magickal disciplines which maximize it. 

 Pagan ethical thought extends far beyond "the law of three" and indeed is the foundation of the philosophical discipline. This course combines a review of current psychological discoveries about the science of happiness with ancient Pagan teachings and practices to maximize your pleasure and satisfaction in life.

I.    Ethics as a philosophical discipline:     The questions it asks and its Pagan origins.

II.   How to cultivate the Pleasant Life:      Epicureanism in the ancient world and what psychological
                                                                           research has discovered about the art of maximizing
                                                                           pleasure. The path of The Lover.

III. How to cultivate the Good Life:             The way of the warrior and artisan, using your signature
                                                                           strengths and skillful means; The Path of the Magician. 

IV. How to cultivate the Meaningful Life:   Roman Stoicism, the World Soul and High Magick
                                                                            (Theurgy).  The Path of the King/Queen.   
                          
                                                                                                                                                       

No pre-requisites. 
Sliding scale $40-$80 which includes extensive printed materials.                                
Enchanting: Chants and Hymns

Chanting and singing are not only wonderful ways to heal and nourish one's soul, they are also wonderful community-building practices.  Whether you sing only for yourself (and your favorite deity) or are already comfortable with teaching chants, you'll learn new ones and have a great time.  Included in the series are Pagan devotional chants and hymns, chants for dancing, lullabye magick, circle casting, raising energy, and more.

Each student will receive a teaching CD and songsheets of the material we'll learn together.
No pre-requisites.  Sliding scale: $5-10/session                                                                 
Festivals
4   2 hour sessions

A study of the eight festivals most commonly celebrated by modern American Pagans. We'll consider traditional lore, associated myths, and ancient and modern celebrations.  The festival wheel will also be considered as an analogy to human developmental stages, in the light of Carl Jung's work. Students may create a multi-media mandala of the wheel of the year.  
No pre-requisites. 
Sliding scale $40-$80 which includes extensive printed materials and art supplies. 
 Dr. Christa Landon, instructor (bio below)
Speaking Your Pagan Faith
4   2 hour sessions

When we are communicating our religious beliefs to non-Pagans, we are doing theology.  This series will give you the tools to do it well. A single circle can comfortably include Pagan agnostics, atheists, pantheists, polytheists, and theists. If you are interested in religious leadership, interfaith dialog, or just wish you could attend a course at a Pagan seminary, this is the introductory course for you.
 
YOU WILL LEARN what these terms mean and the related issues for Pagans: 
authority, epistemology, hermeneutics, pluralism, prophetic and traditional (primal) religions, revelation & scripture, creed, theology, ontology, etc.

 WE WILL EXPLORE THESE QUESTIONS:

>  What is theology?  What is the task of Pagan Theology?
>  What are the sources of Pagan Theology? 
>  How do we know what we know? What has authority for us?
>  What do we mean by Myth, Model, Paradigm and World-view?
>  What do Monism and Dualism have to do with Pagan theology and prejudice against Paganism?
>  What is Cosmic Theology?
>  What are the common denominators of Pagan religions?
Registration: $40-$80 which includes printed materials.                                                   
 Dr. Christa Landon, instructor (bio below)     
 
 

Who Owns the Coven? Foundations of Polity & Community
4   sessions

Who "owns" a coven, a temple, or a grove?  The initiatory lineage? The creators of the tradition? The leadership? The members? 

Who makes the decisions?

What kinds of authority are there within the group?

These are all questions of polity.  The classes will focus on alternatives and the benefits and weaknesses of each. 

Session I:     Thinking about Community: Some Basic Concepts and Questions
 Session II:      Communities in Modern Paganism: Models of Organization
Session III:    Covens, Covenants, and Congregations: How Structures Shape Leadership
Session IV:    Consensus Process: What is consensus? What are its advantages and limitations?
Session V:       The Multicelled Organization: Small groups working together can achieve what they can't
                    do alone.  Why is this stage so hard for Pagans to develop?
Session VI:    Shared Ministry: Imagineering Pagan Communities  
   
 Registration: $60 (low income) -$120 which includes extensive printed materials. No textbook.                                                    
 Dr. Christa Landon, Instructor
Masks of God, Masks of the Goddess
a one-day workshop
Mask-making is one of the oldest liturgical arts. In this hands-on class you will make a mask expressing an aspect of the Divine of your choosing. Guided meditation will also be included in the program, to facilitate awakening to deeper elements of consciousness so often neglected in our busy world.  A variety of masks will be displayed and materials available. The workshop is appropriate for adults and teens.

You will learn: 
    >  Functions of masks in traditional cultures
    >  Some artistic techniques using a variety of materials.
    >  Jungian insights on the use of masks in rituals of personal transformation.
    >  Use of masks in ritual.

If you have a drum or other percussive instrument, please bring it.

We are offering this class at a sliding scale $25-50. To support this discount, we ask that if 
you happen to have any of the following you donate to the supply chest: feathers, seed pods, 
paper mache, wallpaper, art tissue, glitter, beads, lightweight cedar cones, scraps of fabric, 
lace, & leather, Misc. art supplies. 

We must have your RSVP with the identity of the deity you want to do ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE so we will have the right materials available and can send you advance literature.                                                                                                                                   
Dr. Christa Landon, instructor 

Myths of Transformation
 4  2hr. sessions
   
One definition of Magick is the art of transformation, and we'll study myths of transformation as recorded during and before the Hellenistic age (300 bce - 300 ce).  In addition to working with surviving texts directly, we will use insights from Jungian psychologists.  Myths of Transformation carry deep wisdom about how people are transformed in the pursuit of Power, Safety, Love, or Wisdom. 

By the end of the course, you will be able to design a devotional ritual and allied practices in honor of the deity of your choice.  No pre-requisites. 

 Sliding scale $40-$80 which includes extensive printed materials. You will also need a 3 ring notebook to hold provided materials and a copy of Ovid's  METAMORPHOSES (in Penguin paperback or from the classics department at almost any library.)

Additional recommended bibliography provided at registration.                                     
 Instructor, Dr. Christa Landon (bio below)

Pagan History: A Survey of 4,000 years 
10  2 hour sessions

Session I            Western Paganism 2000 bce - Alexander
Session II           Hellenistic Age: Six Centuries of Syncretism from Alexander to Constantine
Session III         Outlawed Paganism in late Antiquity
Session IV          The Dark Ages: Suppression of Paganism to the Renaissance
Session V           The Renaissance: Recovering Western Paganism
Session VI          The Burning Times: Witch Hunts XIII-XVIII centuries
Session VII        The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism XVII-XVIII
Session VIII       The Romantics XIX
Session IX          The Transcendentalists XIX
Session X            The Occult Revival  XIX-XX

Follow the continuous paper trail of Pagan thought from the Pythagoreans in the VI century bce to the Occult Revival and establishment of the modern Pagan movement. Research for this course comes from doctoral studies. Extensive bibliographies are available.   

No prerequisites.

 Printed materials will be provided.  Registrations are now being taken for the workshop for which there will be a $100-200 sliding fee which includes extensive printed materials. 

Course will be scheduled when 3 or more request it.                                                            
Dr. Christa Landon, instructor (bio below)        

Pagan Scriptures: Beyond the Book of Shadows
6  2hr. sessions
instructor: Christa Landon (see bio below)
"Pagans are not people of the book; we are people of the library." 

Many Pagans are unaware that ancient Pagans had scriptures, and that some of these have survived the past 16 centuries of persecution.  We will discuss issues of classics and canon: what are the texts, ancient and modern, which are most powerful and authoritative among us?  By what criteria might such texts be selected?  Each student will begin  their own "looseleaf Pagan bible."  

Session I:      Scriptures, Classics, Canon & Criteria:
                        Scriptures:  We had them first!
                        On what basis do we select a text as a Pagan classic?

Session II:    The Book of Shadows as a Pagan Institution:
                        as a received text and as living and growing corpus

Session III:   Ancient Surviving Pagan Religious Classics
                        Where to find them (in translation!)
                        The Hermeneutic of Retrieval
                        Editing and commentary

Session IV:   Modern Religious Pagan Classics

Session V:    Constructing your OWN "looseleaf Pagan Bible" Crafting the hard copy.
                       Student presentations of materials you've selected.

Session VI:   Student presentations and discussion.
 
Printed materials will be provided; please bring a durable standard-sized 3 ring binder for them; a 2" D ring binder is best. Registrations are now being taken for the workshop for which there will be a $60-120 sliding fee which includes extensive printed materials.   

Please register HERE 

Dr. Christa Landon, instructor (bio below).     

Practical Herbal Alchemy
 4    2hr. sessions

Taught by Dr. Christa Landon. (bio below) 

Make your own herbal soaps, tinctures, tisanes, vinegars and cordials for magickal and culinary purposes. This is especially useful for people who wish to avoid identified allergens or wish to make items charged for specific ritual purposes.       

Because we will be using alcohol for making tinctures and cordials, you MUST be 21. Tasting is optional.  A section for students under 21 or others who don't want to work with alcohol will be offered if 3 or more request it.

 Registration: $50-100 which includes a manual (with recipes and correspondences) and tasting.                                                                                                                                         
Spirit Guide Meditation with the Tarot:  Intensive

The Tarot has been used for many purposes: gambling, fortune telling, and even as visual aids for instructing the illiterate in Christian religion.  Predestination is a Presbyterian belief, not a Pagan one. If magick is possible, then there can be no fixed future to tell.  This course will not teach you how to tell fortunes.

There are many books which carry some of the minor keys to the Tarot, and you can set them to memory, and try to apply them to current situations. Learn these and spreading the cards will then function to randomize symbols.  Reading them will then be merely a matter of applying a memorized lists of others' interpretations to a subject at hand.  If that satisfies your desire, this course is not for you.

Merely reading other people's mystical experiences does not substitute for one's own. The major magical keys cannot be read in any book; they cannot be received; they are experiential.   Obtaining and using them requires us to go beyond our comfort zones; how could anything which does not challenge us be truly transformative? 

This course was developed based on personal experience and research into Shamanic techniques and Jungian psychology.  The method has been tested with nearly a dozen different Tarot decks and seems to transcend the differences among them. (Decks which are radically different may not be so suitable; discuss with the instructor before purchase or bring them to the interview.) 

No prior study of the Tarot is required, but the method DOES entail personal engagement with each card in sequence. Students must commit to regular attendance and a MINIMUM of 4 half-hour exercise sessions outside of class each week.  Sharing what we experience in our engagements with each card is an integral part of the seminar experience. Because of the nature of this course, it will be scheduled when a suitable group of students are ready. Because of the power of the technique, and the closeness which such seminars create among people, interested persons should contact the instructor, Christa HERE in advance for a free interview. 

 Course materials include a journal and additional materials. 

Cost: $50 for the journal/sourcebook and the first session; $50-100/month sliding scale thereafter.

Course will scheduled when enough students have indicated interest and available times.  To get on the list, contact us HERE

Practicing Paganism
Taught by Dr. Christa Landon. (bio below)                                                             8   2 hour sessions 

Drawing from Jungian psychology and comparative religions, this series is accessible to seekers new to Paganism but will also offer long term practitioners new perspectives. If you are interested in comparative religions, this course will provide you with some academic tools which can deepen your appreciation of your Pagan religious experience.

Natural Theology Theology is thinking about our Ultimate Value. What are the underlying assumptions shared by most Pagan traditions, ancient and modern? What sources do we draw from? What is the ultimate authority? What do we mean by "The Gods"?
The Goddess 
 		Known by a thousand names, the Divine Feminine engages in all aspects and stages of a woman's life, and a man's. The "Great Goddess" controversey.
The Masculine Aspect 
of God 		 King, Warrior, Magician, Lover -- the God also imaged in many ways, only some of which are honored in Christianity.
The Dyad:
Hieros Gamos		 Modern Western culture tends to view opposites as enemies, embraced in a death struggle; Pagans view opposites as lovers, embracing to create new life. And the God who is son, lover, and brother as well as father, is a very different person.
Sacred Times  Solar festivals, agricultural season festivals, lunations and full moons.
History A quick review of Western Paganism from pre-historical evidence of ancient Paganism, its  classical development, oppression and survival under Christian governments, its rediscovery in the Renaissance and Enlightenment and its rebirth in the Age of Aquarius. 
Ethics The metaphysics of benevolence; magickal boundaries; Karma, dharma, and doing no harm..
Magick What it is, what it isn't, and why we spell it that way.
 

Registration: $12 per session or $80-120 sliding scale for the series, which includes printed materials; partial scholarships (work exchange) are available. This series is taught 2-3 times a year.   Register here.                        


Rise Up and Call Her Name
Taught by Dr. Christa Landon (bio below)           

Through this unique, multimedia curriculum, we become a group of travelers, exploring the surviving Goddess worship in cultures of Asia, Africa, and Native Americans through song,  story, folk arts, dance, ritual, and journaling.

Each highly experiential unit consists of 4 sessions, and may be taken separately, though they 
are intended to be taken together.

Tuition: Each unit is offered on a sliding scale $50-100, and includes materials for your sacred bundle, and resource collection. You will also need to purchase your Journal and Songbook, which will cost $20, but is good for the entire 12 sessions.

Open to men and women over 10 years old. 

Each class is limited to 10 participants.                                               
Goddesses of the African Diaspora:  4 sessions:
                                      Beginning the Journey
                                                 The Black Madonna
                                                 Isis, Hathor
                                                 Oya, Yemaya, Oshun

Goddesses of Asia:                  4 sessions:   
                                                 Kali, Shakti
                                                 Devi, Tara, Kwan Yin, The Tao
                                                 Amaterasu
                                                 Pele

Goddesses of the Americas:             4 sessions: 
                                                         Tonantzin, Virgin of Guadalupe, Spider Grandmother
                                      White Buffalo Woman
                                                 Spider Woman, Changing Woman
                                                 The Travelers Return


Ritual in Theory & Practice I: The Outer Form
4 sessions
Taught by Dr. Christa Landon. (bio below)

 YOU WILL LEARN: 
   > Some of the universal elements of ritual
   > Dynamics of Tradition: major sources, how traditions evolve
   > basic principles of ritual magick
   > Intention
   > Purification in the Pagan worldview
   > Beyond Good Intentions
   > Basic "ritual hygiene": boundaries and grounding
   > Public ritual etiquette
   > Breath and visualization exercises for charging and grounding
   > Chants and spells for casting and opening circles
   > Some Pagan devotions

No prior experience is required. Printed materials will be provided. Open to all over 12.  Registrations are now being taken for the course for which there will be a $40-80 sliding 
fee which includes printed materials.     

This series will be offered in Fall '08. Register HERE.                                                                           

Ritual in Theory & Practice II:  Sacred Time
4   2 hr. sessions
You will learn: 
     >  Sacred Time as a Universal Concept
    >  Diurnal Cycles
    >  Seasons
    >  The Wheel of the Year: Eight Festivals
    >  Perpetual Cross-Tradition Pagan Calendar
    >  Astronomical Events and How to Use Them to Intensify Magick
    >  Lunar Cycles
    >  Planetary Aspects and Planetary Days
    >  Sacred Space and Liminality
   
Reading materials will be provided in advance.


Prerequisite: Ritual in Theory & Practice I                                                                        

 
Ritual in Theory & Practice III: Communal Worship
4 2 hr. sessions
Instructor: Dr. Christa Landon 
You will learn: 
>  Psychological and Magickal Functions of the New Moon Ritual
>  Sacred Time and the New Moon
>  New Moon in Traditions
>  New Moon Ritual Structure
>  New Moon Spells for memorization
>  Minor Keys to the Inner Realm (astral and etheric planes);
>  Fundamental concepts in Magickal Healing;
>  Protection Ritual;
>  Fundamental concepts relating to the Group Soul;
>  Principles for creating devotional rituals.        

     
Prerequisite: Ritual in Theory & Practice II                                                                     


Instructors

Dr. Christa Heiden Landon, has practiced Paganism since 1969, was ordained a high priestess in the Pagan Way tradition in 1972, and studied Neo-Thelemic Magick with Gerry Ahrens. She earned a master's degree in comparative religion at the University of Chicago. She studied Ritual and Spiritual direction under Robert Moore, (Jungian psychologist and one of the founders of the Men's Movement). Christa earned her doctorate in ministry at Meadville/Lombard Theological School, the Unitarian Universalist seminary affiliated with the University of Chicago. Her doctoral dissertation was entitled, SACRED COSMOS: The Implications of Ancient Pagan Traditions for Modern Liberal Theology of Nature. 

 Dr. Landon was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 1995 and is one of the co-founders and past board member of CUUPS, Inc. She has lectured on Paganism at Theosophical Societies, universities, academic conferences and cultural centers, and appears in a segment of "Beliefs and Believers," a course in comparative religions often aired on public television. 



Additional Fellows are welcome to share in the mission of Pagan Institute
as students and instructors.  See Fellows
Last updated March 20, 2008