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My name is Michael J. Morris (they/them/their), and I am a witch, an astrologer, a tarot reader, an artist, a writer, a teacher and facilitator based in Columbus, Ohio—the ancestral and contemporary territory of the Shawnee, Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, Peoria, Seneca, Wyandotte, Ojibwe, and Cherokee peoples. Currently, along with my consultation practice, I am a contributing writer for the CHANI App, a contributing artist and facilitator with Livable Futures, and a teaching assistant with online astrology courses with Kelly Surtees of Kelly's Astrology.
I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I have been practicing witchcraft for over fifteen years—creating rituals, casting spells, reading cards and astrological charts for myself, loved ones, and local communities. As a queer, genderqueer/nonbinary person, these practices have been integral to my healing, self-care, self-actualization, and growth. In addition to my own ongoing practice, I was previously a member of the Temple of Ara, an earth-based Wiccan community founded by Phyllis Curott. I have studied practices and approaches of the Ara Tradition—including cultivating relationship with more-than-human nature, intuition, divination, and elements of core shamanism—with Elder High Priestess Linda Maglionico. I have also had the great joy to circle with Starhawk for sabbat rituals, and I have drawn significant inspiration from her work and the the Reclaiming Tradition. You can read more about my approach to witchcraft here. I am primarily a self-taught astrologer, supporting my studies over the last several years with online courses with Demetra George, Chani Nicholas, Austin Coppock. I received my Certificate of Completion in Chris Brennan's Hellenistic Astrology course. I have also studied with Kelly Surtees in online classes, workshops, and in group mentorship sessions. I was honored to be a presenter at the 2020 Queer Astrology Conference and the 2020 Fresh Voices in Astrology Summit. In 2021, I have also offered astrology webinars with Inner Sense Healing Arts and Fresh Voices in Astrology. I am a member of the Association for Young Astrologers. I have had the honor of being in rich conversations about astrology on a number of podcasts, including The Astrology Podcast with Chris Brennan, The Strology Show with Kirah Tabourn, the homebody podcast with Mary Grace Allerdice, the Queer Skies Podcast with Daniel Bernal and Drew Levanti, The Magic of the Spheres Podcast with Sabrina Monarch, the Energetic Principles Podcast with Melissa LaFara, and the Livable Futures Podcast with Norah Zuniga Shaw. Links to all of the podcast episodes on which I've appeared can be found on my Resources page. You can read more about my approach to astrology here. I have been reading tarot for over 15 years. Around 2004, I took a series of tarot workshops with Mark McElroy at New Vibrations, a magical shop and haven for spiritual seekers that was tucked away in the arts district of Fondren in Jackson, Mississippi. Since then, tarot has been a regular practice of reflection, meaning-making, and divination in my life. I have also studied tarot with T. Susan Chang and Camelia Elias. You can read more about my approach to tarot here. I have been practicing yoga since 2003, and I began teaching yoga in 2009. I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training at the Laughing Lotus Yoga Center in San Francisco, California, and was honored to teach a weekly Queer Yoga class in Columbus, Ohio, for over four years. I began practicing yoga at the local YMCA in high school in Baton Rouge, then developed my practice at Butterfly Yoga in Jackson, Mississippi, with Scotta Brady and Edy McConnell. I also studied for several years with Laurel Hodory at The Ohio State University. My practice expanded with the faculty of Laughing Lotus—Jasmine Tarkeshi, Alex Crow, Minerva Arias, Brima Jah, Alice Tarkeshi, Robin Wilner, Valerie Starr, and Dia Tschirki-Penning. I am a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT-200). You can read more about my approach to yoga here. I have completed Reiki 1 and 2 trainings and attunements with Alexandra Crow. You can read more about my approach to reiki here. As an artist, my work has been focused on issues of intimacy, connection, belonging, social relations, and agency for many years, and these creative investigations deeply inform my view of healing as a process of connection. I hold a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, and a PhD in Dance Studies from The Ohio State University. My dissertation focuses on ecosexualities and performance, examining the ecological entanglements of sex and sexuality, and how those entanglements show up in the work of performing artists. As a choreographer and performer, my work is influenced by minimalist postmodern dance, Japanese Butoh, queer performance art, and queer burlesque. My work as an artist has taught me invaluable lessons about collaboration, the co-creation of meaningful shared experiences, and the wisdom to be found in uncertainty, ambiguity, and subtlety. Learning to craft and interpret art as an artist and a scholar are skillsets that are integral to how I practice interpretation of mediums like astrology and tarot. I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Denison University from 2015-2021, where I taught in the Department of Dance, Women’s and Gender Studies, Queer Studies, and Environmental Studies. At Denison, I facilitated sabbat rituals for students, staff, and faculty at The Open House Center for Religious & Spiritual Life. I have also co-facilitated Spell Rebellion rituals with the Temple of Ara. For more about my choreography, performance, teaching, writing, and research, visit: https://michaeljmorris.weebly.com Photo above by Megan Leigh Barnard |
ABOUT CO
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Co is for:
Connect Collaborate Cooperate Commune Conjure Combine Compose Co-create Corporeal Continuity Contradictions Contentment Co-presence Companionship Compassion Configure Conjunction Contact Conjoin Consultation Courage Collective liberation |
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