My Nonprofit Reviews

My experience with the Grey School of Wizardry has been very pleasant, contrary to recent reviews. I have found the course material not only engaging--but enlightening. It is important to note that this school has a philosophy on which it is based. The idea of a wizardry apprenticeship is just that. It is an apprenticeship. The school treats Wizardry as a trade. As such, there are rules and requirements that you must meet to obtain your Journeyman certificate. Wizardry--as a trade--calls on us to do more than just have personal practices. We are called to serve our communities. Like the Wizards of lore, we are trained not only in the occult--but in personal and community relationships, the sciences, history, and more. This school aims to provide a well rounded foundation upon which the Journeyman Wizard can venture into the world and apply what they have learned to everyday life situations. (Magisters are excused from the Wizardry rules and are free to take any courses regardless of the course level.)

As far as the content of the lessons not being engaging--or *gasp* being childish--well...you get out of it, what you're willing to put in. The lessons are indeed written in an accessible way--so that our youth apprentices can access them. As an adult, if you enroll in this school, be aware that you will be expected to engage in the content in a more in depth way. You would be well served to be able to research and develop a deeper understanding of the content than what would be expected of a youth apprentice. As I said, if you put the work in, you'll get something out of it. If you go into lessons expecting information to be handed to you on a silver platter--well, that's not what Wizards do. Sorry. If you want to go out and do research to learn--that's a perfectly viable way to learn about the occult. If you like--or need--a bit more structure, guidance, and a gentle nudge in the right direction as well as feedback on your grasp of the concept...that's what this school provides.

As far as a link to Harry Potter, and a "Fandom" based philosophy, well...it's there in appearance only. There is no Harry Potter fandom, and the only real parallel between the HP universe and the Grey School of Wizardry is a four lodge system (for adults, youth only have one lodge). The idea behind the lodges is to provide some friendly competition (we compete for the lodge cup--points are earned when classes are completed or merits can be earned for engaging with challenges), as well as to sort the apprentice and magister bodies into smaller groups that are managed by student leaders who help guide apprentices on their journey through the school.

I'll also note that every single one of our instructors are active members of the occult community and while they may not have graduated from a higher learning institution (many of them actually have) they have demonstrated leadership and knowledge and life experience in the occult. Many of them have their own businesses, are authors, and work for several magickal organizations. The implication that the instructors are some haphazard group of know-nothings is laughable. The headmaster of this organization--who approves faculty hires, many of whom he has personally recruited--is a world renowned wizard and one of the fathers of the modern pagan movement. As a matter of fact--he coined the term Neo-Pagan.

There are also several ways to connect with faculty and the apprentice body. There is an app that allows mobile access to the forums as well as the forum chat. There is a private discord that is active and lively. There is a virtual campus with weekly meet-ups as well as moots at the Sabbats. The magister or apprentice who finds themselves lacking in connections, hasn't taken the time to do their research or attempted to make those connections themselves. I can't express how much these ways of connecting have helped me--and others in the school--to feel connected over this past year when so many of us are isolated due to the current pandemic. Grey School has provided the ability to meet and talk much like you would at a pagan festival or ritual--albeit in a virtual setting.

I'd also like to mention that new and more challenging classes are constantly being added, including occasional real-time zoom classes and classes on the virtual campus. They are always looking to build curriculum and engaging content.

I am proud to be an Apprentice at the Grey School of Wizardry and look forward to the journey ahead as I earn my Journeyman Certificate and venture into the world as a working Wizard.