Queer Spellcasting: Poetry as Vigil

In ‘Poetry as Vigil’ we will explore how our words and writing can hold loving space for queer ancestors who need it - you may know them personally or not. The workshop will unfold in 3 parts:

We will start with invoking an ancestral guide, who can act as a higher power to support us and bridge our vigil. This guide can be a blood or a queer ancestor, an ancestor of lineage who inspires you or an elemental.

In part 2, we will hold solidarity, loving presence and acknowledgement through writing to a personal ancestor who may have died in troubled ways, or who simply needs support. You can devote your poem to them, write them a letter, or make your words into offerings. Your ancestral guide will always sit in between you and the ancestor you hold vigil for, in order to offer you protection and grounding.

In part 3, we will explore collective spellcasting by going in the circle and creating a communal poem-offering to the dead, with phrases from what we have written, our breath and whispers.

We will use divination and tarot to inspire our journey and help us connect beyond the realms. There will also be a soil altar which we will charge with our offerings and bring back to the body of the earth, so the ancestors can receive this sustenance through the mycelium.

This series is inspired by my work and research into ancestral healing practices, queer temporality and ritual as a futuring technology.

No prior experience needed - this will be a welcoming space of co-creation with soft invitations and guidance to be adjusted to your needs and intuitive desires. Everything is invitational, focused on autonomy and consent, and you are deeply encouraged to make the journey yours. There will also be a small space in the room where you can go anytime if you need some time by yourself, or if the communal space feels overstimulating.

About the facilitator

Byuka Makodru aka Fortune Tailed Beast (they/them) is a migrant performance artist and witch, playing at the intersections of poetry, dance, film and tattooing. Their work explores folk futurism and practices of queer-animist world-building through community rituals, speculative fiction, embodied ecologies and ancestral healing.

Byuka is the curator and main facilitator of Lunarrr Playgroundz - a platform exploring ritual practices for the queer community. Queer Spellcasting is an ongoing research as part of their tattooing project Scribe of Earth Skins, where they blend ritual, language and symbol making.

Their work has been shown at the Royal Albert Hall, Iklektik, Camden's People Theatre, the National Gallery, Barbican, Guildhall, Ugly Duck and Mimosa House. They have been featured in the series, Witch, on BBC Sounds.

Accessibility

There will be a break halfway through, and people are invited to break whenever they need. People do not need to stand, we will be seating at tables.

There will be a communal circle at the beginning and at the end - first to share your name and something about you, secondly to share words or sentences from what you have written, so we can create a communal spell.

Neither of these are mandatory and people are invited to be non-verbal if they need, or participate in the circle by sharing a sound. People can bring stim toys and whatever support they need for the session.

The Centre’s accessibility statement is here.

Covid safety at the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre

To keep our community safe, we ask that all visitors do not visit the centre if they are feeling any Covid-19 symptoms including headache, fever, sore throat, consistent cough and chills.

You can wear a mask if you feel more comfortable. We also have masks and hand sanitiser available at the Centre.

For current information on Covid please visit the NHS website.

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