A few weeks ago, the reverend Erik Arneson of the blog Arnemancy, interviewed me for his podcast, My Alchemical Bromance. The specific episode is now available — where we talk about ceremonial magic, the arts of sewing and weaving as they relate to magic, talismans, and the power of poetry as a tool of magic.
Herewith, a link to Episode #48, in which we discuss “Sewing and Ritual Magic“, is now available.
If you’re interested in a set of banners either exactly like or similar to the ones in the background of Erik’s title image, the Etsy link is here.
Given what you had to say about the sash and the banners, would you recommend learning the basics of sewing in advance, or is the “surprise! Doesn’t work!” result an important part of the DOGD Work?
I think a person can take a basic, introductory sewing class — I did — with, say, six two-hour sessions over several weeks. In twelve hours of face-to-face training and some 20-minute YouTube videos, you can learn enough to produce just about anything the DOGD aspirant or stylish Ovate needs: altar cloths, tarot bags, the sashes, even a robe. An altar cloth for example is just a much-larger-than-usual napkin — instead of a 30” square of cloth you’re starting with a 45” or 50” square. The complicated challenge is figuring out the pattern, and scaling it to your needs.
That said, the “failure” part of DOGD work does come up. My first ovate sash was a mess; the second was produced in my 12-hour sewing class and was much better because a teacher helped; my first Bardic sash was much better than my first ovate sash but not as good as the second. Failure is less of an issue than adequate practice.