by Jeffrey Albaugh
Contemporary Pagan Traditions engage the spiritual world through ritual and ceremony. Masking can be a powerful tool, allowing us to easily engage in storytelling while portraying ancestors, animals, and mythical entities. Diverse cultures created different styles of masks based on the type of materials available or specific beliefs, but they were all created with a common purpose: to facilitate communications between the physical and immaterial worlds. This three-part mask workshop relates a brief history of masks in magic and ritual, instructs participants in the use of masks as ritual objects, and engages participants in the construction of a simple mask. All materials required in this three-part workshop will be provided. The second workshop presents ideas on how masks are used to guise, disguise, and make invisible, continues with some theatrical mask work, and guides participants in painting their masks.
Jeffrey Albaugh, MA, is an independent scholar and educator. Jeffrey holds a Bachelor’s in Theatre, and a Master’s degree in Depth Psychology. He is currently working toward a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. Jeffrey has served on the Board of Directors for Cherry Hill Seminary, currently serves as Program Manager for the Conference on Current Pagan Studies, and the Program Manager for the Virtual Symposium of Pagan Thought and Practice.