Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Course Three: Practice 125

magickal topics, and sometimes they will bring in

speakers and presenters (I often make guest appear-

ances at such stores). Don’t be surprised, however, if

some stores won’t let you attend classes or buy mate-

rials without the permission of your parents, as they

don’t want to get into trouble with mundane parents.

Lesson 3: Faires, Festivals

and Pagan Gatherings

If you happen to have been blessed by being born

into a magickal family, you will surely have already

attended such gatherings as I have described above—

and could even add much to what I have said here! If

you have magickal friends at school who come from

mundane families, you can let them know that it’s all

true. If your parents are mundane, but you feel drawn

to the magickal path and world (you must be, or you

certainly would not be reading this Grimoire!), seek

out other magikids at your school (look for those pen-

tagrams!). Some of them will have magickal fami-

lies, and perhaps they can introduce you to the

magickal world.

Here are several events that occur annually in or

near many large cities, and that are always attended

by many real magickal folk. These are open to the

public and widely advertised in local papers, so check

the “Entertainment” sections. Once you learn to rec-

ognize us at these events by our dress and jewelry,

you’ll be able to make many magickal friends.

Renaissance Faires

“Ren Faires,” as we call them, are the most pub-

lic of these gatherings, being held every weekend over

a couple of months and advertised everywhere. The

Ren Faire is sort of like an outdoor theme park set in

a fantasy version supposedly recreating the period of

the English Renaissance in the late 1500s. The com-

mon language spoken at the Faire is Elizabethan—

the English of Shakespeare. Sometimes there will be

elements of historical accuracy, such as having Queen

Elizabeth or Henry VIII as the reigning monarch.

Unlike the real Middle Ages and Renaissance, how-

ever, there’s no Black Plague or Witch-burnings here,

and magickal people are quite public!

I started doing Ren Faires in 1980, the year our

first unicorns were born. That was when I first began

to appear in public with them as a Wizard, in my robe

and cloak, and carrying Pathfinder, my then-10-year-

old staff. My lifemate, Morning Glory, appeared as

an Enchantress. Over the next few years, the fame of

our unicorns spread so widely that we were invited to

bring them to every Ren Faire in the United States

and Canada. I’ve often wondered how many people

realized that the Wizard was as real as the unicorn!

At the Faire, there will be jousting matches with

armored knights battling on horseback with real

lances. Bands of pirates will fence with wicked swords

over looted booty—“Aaarr!”—and will teach you a

bit of swordplay, if you wish. Gypsies will be camped

in the woods, with gaudily painted wagons, and will

tell your fortune by cards and crystal balls. You might

meet Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the green-clad

Merry Men and Women of Sherwood Forest. Real

Wizards and Witches will be afoot—cleverly dis-

guised as Wizards and Witches of fantasy (but you’ll

know if you check out their rings...).

The marketplace at the Faire goes on and on—

with all that I have described above, and more! This

is where I got my astrolabe and pocket sundials. Beau-

tiful costumes like those worn by regular Faire-goers

can be purchased at specialty boutiques. Exotic foods

can be bought at stalls—such as “Toad in the Hole,”

shepherd’s pies, turkey legs, the Queen’s buns, and

the King’s nuts. On stages small and large, perform-

ers will be acting out sidesplitting comedies—and may

even bring you on stage to join them if you stand too

close! Strolling minstrels, musicians, and magicians

provide continuous entertainment, and bawdy

wenches in overflowing bodices will turn your head

and give you whiplash.

And here’s a good hint for you: Don’t go to the

Ren Faire in mundane clothes, such as jeans and a

T-shirt. Dress in your most magickal regalia, or even

a simple tunic and leggings. Rent a Shakespeare movie,

like Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,

or Shakespeare in Love, and learn to speak in Elizabe-

than. The best way to enjoy the show is to become

part of it! Try and talk your parents into taking you

(get them to dress up too!), and bring your friends.

Pagan Festivals and Gatherings

Many (though not all) people in the magickal

community are involved in the Pagan spiritual move-

ment. Pagan festivals and gatherings, however, are

Houston Sun, Sept. 29, 1982 (Photo by Carol Shugart)

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