Ordeal & Catharsis

Ordeal & Catharsis Workshops by Wintersong

Crafting Sacred Trauma

Ordeal, Catharsis, Initiation. There is a growing shift towards doing structured rituals designed to effect the internal or spiritual tidal shifts that can sometimes happen as an byproduct, intended or otherwise, of the kind of play that we do in the kink/BDSM world. This class will help you learn to deliberately craft these types of rituals, for yourself or for others. We will discuss when and why this kind of ritual is valuable, how to determine the best techniques and processes to achieve a desired goal, and how to fit the work into a broader personal, spiritual, or religious context. Although the instructors are coming from a pagan perspective, this class is open and appropriate for people of all faiths and those with none.

A Crucible For One: Creating Solo Ordeals

There are many reasons why a trial may need to be faced alone: Perhaps there isn’t anyone who can help create the ordeal experience that you need; solitude could be an important aspect of the ordeal itself; or maybe you are (or soon will) experiencing some form of challenge in your life that you want to bring a structure and spiritual context to. This class will help you learn to deliberately craft rituals for yourself to effect the internal or spiritual tidal shifts that can sometimes happen as an byproduct, intended or otherwise, of the kind of play that we do in the kink/BDSM world. Building on the structure from his popular “Crafting Sacred Trauma” class, Wintersong will cover topics such as when and why this kind of ritual is valuable, how to determine the best techniques and processes to achieve a desired goal, and how to fit the work into a broader personal, spiritual, or religious context.

Reconciling Safety and Spirituality in Ordeal and Sacred Play

What do we do when the needs of the the spiritual, or the spirits for that matter, seem to call on us to go to physical or psychological places outside the bounds of what we or our community might see as “safe?” How do we strike for the delicate balance between fulfilling the spiritual purpose of an scene or ordeal and protecting ourselves and those we guide (or are guided by)? What additional precautions do we take to ensure maximum safety when we are likely to be distracted by all the extra woo woo shit going on? And what can be done when what needs to happen is simply outside the bounds of what seems like a good idea? This class won’t give you the answers to these questions, because frankly there aren’t hard and fast answers. But we work to determine how to approach each situation with new strategies and perspectives.

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