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MAVENS OF THE MYSTERIES, ORACLES OF THE UNKNOWN!

Witch hat with candles and books.

OUR CURRICULUM


Letter T
he core curriculum of every good School of the Mysteries is structured in ways that are dependent on that school's own knowledge, spiritual beliefs, and goals that it intends to assist its students in achieving. In that respect, the Celtic Order of the Féth Fíada is no different.

Drawing upon the more than fifty years of research, study, praxis, and training undertaken by our APs Rhianwen Bendigaid, COFF has developed a core curriculum that we feel works best for our students, one that unfolds in an orderly, progressive fashion, with each lesson evolving naturally from its predecessor, providing an extremely logical, challenging, and thought-provoking path for each Quester at our school to follow. Further, every single lesson we offer consists of original, in-depth material that has been written especially for our Mystery School. So when you enroll here at COFF, you can expect to receive the highest quality lessons, with each being devoted strictly, accurately, and coherently to its subject matter, to enable you to build a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding.


Q: What will I learn here at COFF?

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Q: Will I have to do homework? Do I need to complete my lessons within a certain time frame?

A: Yes, you will have to do homework. However, COFF has a "rolling" course of study, specifically tailored for the individual. That means that you undertake your studies at our Mystery School at your own pace, beginning and ending each and every lesson of our curriculum in your own time, rather than being compelled to start and finish with a class, tied to witnessing and a rigid, pressing schedule that may not mesh with your own personal one. So, although the collection of high-quality lessons for each of our degrees has been designed to be completed in the traditional time frame of a year and day, you may actually spend as much time as you desire and need beyond that to absorb and finish the work. People grow and learn in their own way, and a hectic routine schedule not only isn't required to become a magickal being, but can also produce exactly the opposite effect by causing you unnecessary stress, making you want to drop out of your studies altogether.


Q: How will my lessons be delivered?

A: Your lessons will be made available to you through the Moodle™ (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) platform, the most popular open-source, online Learning Content Management System (LCMS) in the world. Further, although all of COFF's lessons are in English, you do have the option of choosing a different language for the Moodle™ platform itself. Currently, we offer Breton, Danish, Dutch, English (both American and British versions), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese (both Brazil and Portugal versions), Scottish Gaelic, Spanish (both International and Mexico versions), Swedish, and Welsh. If there is another language you prefer, but don't see listed here, just ask. We can probably accommodate you.


Q: Who are my teachers, and what are their qualifications?

A: APs RHIANWEN BENDIGAID: COFF's Arch Priestess, Founder, and Director of Studies is Rhianwen Bendigaid. Our teachings are based on her more than fifty years of research and study of the Celts and their magickal, mystical spiritual practices. She has had a lifelong interest in and dedication to Paganism --- especially Druidry, Witchcraft, Celtic Faery Lore, and the Avalon Mysteries --- and she has been an actively practicing Pagan for decades now. She holds several Druid and Wiccan/Witchcraft Degrees, is a Certified Crystal Practitioner and an Usui Reiki Master, and taught Oracle Studies for nearly a decade. Among other places, she has studied and trained at the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), where she is an Eisteddfod Golden Harp Recipient for her long poem The Wild Hunt, as well as at the Sisterhood of Avalon, the Avalon Mystery School, the Covenant of the Waters, the Temple of Witchcraft, and the North Star Road Witch School. She completed her Basic Shamanism Training under the direction of Shaman Shilo Satran, a shamanic practitioner for the Medicine for the Earth alliance, founded by Sandra Ingerman; and has been initiated into Munay Ki Shamanism.

Under her mundane name, APs Rhianwen was at one time one of the youngest authors in the United States --- only 23 years old when a major publisher bought the very first book she'd ever written. It went on to become a best seller, even going all the way to #1 on one best-seller list. For over thirty years after that, prior to her retirement, APs Rhianwen remained a best-selling, award-winning author, penning nearly three dozen titles and appearing on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today best-seller lists, among many others. In addition, her work has been translated into eighteen languages and published in over sixty countries worldwide.

APs Rhianwen has a Master's Degree in Communications, and before becoming a published writer, she taught Interpersonal Communication for two years at University, under the direction of one of the then-foremost authorities in the field. So she is highly familiar with a number of Pagan practices, including affirmations, deep listening, meditation, mindfulness, self-reflection, shadow work, etc., which are also found in Interpersonal Communication and other related fields.

In addition to our Director, we have a variety of knowledgeable, experienced Leadership Councilors, Teachers, and Moderators and Faciltators here at COFF. Collectively, they have trained in several different Traditions and at a number of different schools, so each has different knowledge and skills. Among many other fields of expertise, they are all proficient in several of the following: aromatherapy, astrology, crystals, divination, healing, herbalism, Hoodoo, meditation, mediumship, Mindfulness, shadow work, Shamanism, shielding, spinning and weaving, and yoga.


Three Degrees Jam-Packed With Education, Training, & Magick
64 High-Quality Lessons in Total (Including 1 Introduction to COFF Lesson)
A "Rolling" Course of Study, Tailored to the Individual
Highly Knowledgeable, Experienced Teachers, Moderators, and Facilitators
A Low, Easily Affordable Tuition



We truly don't believe that you'll find a better program of study,
at such a low tuition cost to you, anywhere else online!

Join us!


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Enroll in COFF now!

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MAVENS OF THE MYSTERIES, ORACLES OF THE UNKNOWN!
Witch hat with candles and books.

OUR CURRICULUM


Letter T
he core curriculum of every good School of the Mysteries is structured in ways that are dependent on that school's own knowledge, spiritual beliefs, and goals that it intends to assist its students in achieving. In that respect, the Celtic Order of the Féth Fíada is no different.

Drawing upon the more than fifty years of research, study, praxis, and training undertaken by our APs Rhianwen Bendigaid, COFF has developed a core curriculum that we feel works best for our students, one that unfolds in an orderly, progressive fashion, with each lesson evolving naturally from its predecessor, providing an extremely logical, challenging, and thought-provoking path for each Quester at our school to follow. Further, every single lesson we offer consists of original, in-depth material that has been written especially for our Mystery School. So when you enroll here at COFF, you can expect to receive the highest quality lessons, with each being devoted strictly, accurately, and coherently to its subject matter, to enable you to build a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding.


Q: What will I learn here at COFF?

A: FIRST DEGREE: The Celts recognized the Three Realms of Sea, Land, & Sky, and here at COFF, our First Degree immerses itself in the Realm of Sea, because the ocean is the great, bubbling cauldron whence all life on Earth began (as a reminder of this, although its salinity is just slightly different, the amniotic fluid within a pregnant woman's womb is otherwise virtually indistinguishable from seawater). We also start with COFF's Lunar Calendar, both because Lunar Calendars are much older than Solar Calendars, and because for the Celts, darkness preceded light. Thus, the Celtic year began with the Dark Half of the Year (Winter), followed by the Light Half of the Year (Summer).

COFF's Lunar Calendar

As you can see, here at COFF, we celebrate an eight-spoked Wheel of the Year, and we employ Old Irish names for all our Solar/Earth Festivals. Our names for the Full Moons come from the Celts' Coligny Calendar, a 1st Century BCE Gaulish peg calendar. Many people argue that the Celts did not celebrate or otherwise mark the solstices and the equinoxes, although much respected Celtic scholar Alexei Kondratiev points to some evidence that, in fact, they did (The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual). Here at COFF, we think it's highly unlikely that a culture so exceedingly knowledgeable about astronomy that even the Greeks and the Romans remarked on it would have failed to observe either the solstices or the equinoxes in some fashion. For that reason, we include them on our own Wheel of the Year.

During the 21 lessons of our First Degree, you'll be introduced to Celtic Mysticism and Druidcraft, and how they can represent the best of various belief and magickal systems, as well as learn about the origins and history of spirituality, cosmology, and religion, in general. You will begin laying a firm foundation for the remainder of your studies here at COFF, and discover how to build the inner sanctuary in which you will perform much of your work on the Inner Planes. You'll achieve an understanding of what it means to become a magickal, spiritual being, how to weave your mundane and magickal lives together seamlessly, and how to incorporate Wicca/Witchcraft into Druidcraft and your own personal spiritual practice. You'll dip into the Healing Waters and Holy Wells, ways of cleansing and purifying both yourself and sacred space, lustral baths, and the Allus Bothán, Teach an Allais, or Tigh 'n Alluis (Sweathouse).

Among many other things, you'll study the Dark Half of the Year, the Lunar Calendar, the Mansions of the Moon, the Thirteen Moons, Moon Magick, and creating moondalas. You'll celebrate Lunar Festivals, begin writing, participating in, and even leading Lunar Rituals of your own, and practice Drawing Down the Moon. You'll dive into the Ocean, the Nine Waves, and the Tides of Time, the Seasons, Life, and the Sea, as well as Water Priesting/Priestessing and Witchery, Sea and Water Magick, and Storm and Weather Magick. You'll start work with the Elements and Elementals, auras and chakras, and the Cauldrons of Poesy. You'll begin learning how to meditate, achieve altered states, and engage in shamanic journeying and trances, and you'll gain a good grasp of Protection Magick and Psychic Self-Defense to shield and defend yourself along the way. You'll be introduced to Ritual Tools, the Chessboard, and Shadow Work --- plus, much, much more.

Because, as you will learn, Druidry, Shamanism, and Witchcraft are not only theurgic (divine intervention), but also thaumaturgic (magick-working) belief systems, we think that students should begin working with what we call their Quester (Divine or Higher Self) and Magick right from the start, in order to be able to successfully master the skills necessary to raise Power and direct Energy to Manifest both tangible and intangible results.

For that reason, in addition to the subject material, each of COFF's lessons for all our degrees contains:

  • Element Water: A Divination
  • Element Air: Homework
  • Element Earth: A Meditation, Journey, or Immram
  • Element Fire: A Praxis (a Craft, Ritual, Spellwork, etc.)
  • Element Spirit: A Divine Communion

All this is so that our students can gain immediate and ongoing "hands-on" experience and expertise from their very first Introductory Lesson to their very last Final Exam. We recognize that it is not enough for you to know. You must also be able to do!

However, we can already hear some of those knowledgeable about the Celts insisting that they actually had nine Elements or Dúile --- not the classical four or five. Well, let's take a look, shall we? Traditionally, the nine Dúile are given as: Stone, Earth, Sea, Plant, Sky/Wind, Sun, Moon, Cloud, and the Heavens, and they are often associated with Bone, Flesh, Blood, Hair, Breath, the Face, the Mind, the Brain, and the Crown/Head, respectively. But in addition, An Irish Astronomical Tract, a medieval Irish text written by an unknown author in the first half of the 14th century and based on a Latin translation of an Arabic work, De Scientia Motus Orbis, by Masha'allah ibn Athari (c. 740-815 CE), tells us the following:

The earth is a round point in the very middle of the universe, fashioned as a perfect sphere with no substance beneath to support it and the water, as is natural, around it on every side, and, moreover, the Creator created the upper part of the earth as a dwelling place for men and for the animals that cannot live under water. And air surrounds both. And fire surrounds the three of them, and the firmament is on all sides around those four.

The following is a description of those four elements- Description of fire-A warm, dry, burning, light, liquid, movable body, beneath which is the air. Description of air-A warm, wet, liquid, movable body, heavy in comparison with fire, and light in comparison with water. Description of water-A cold, wet, liquid, movable body, beneath which is the earth, heavy in comparison with air and light in comparison with the earth. Description of earth-A cold, dry, heavy immovable body that is beneath the whole of creation, and thus the earth comes before the water and the water before the air and the air before the fire and the fire before the firmament, because the firmament is the outermost of them.... (An Irish Astrological Tract, author unknown; translated by Maura Power, with additions by John A. Williams; electronic edition compiled by Beatrix F�rber, Eoin Kelleher, Ruth Murphy; accessed online at CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts)

Based on the information contained in this particular historical text, then, COFF believes that employing the five classical Elements in this manner for its lessons is perfectly in keeping with the Celtic spirit --- and this is just another example of the kind of things that you will learn in our Mystery School!

Enroll Now
Prerequisite: Introduction to COFF Lesson
21 Lessons
$240/year
or $20/month subscription


A: SECOND DEGREE: Our Second Degree here at COFF turns its attention from the Realm of Sea to the Realm of Land. Having learned about the Lunar Calendar, we now begin a detailed exploration of the Solar Calendar and the Wheel of the Year, as well as how the changing seasons dictated both the pastoral and agricultural practices of the Celts, and thus their spiritual beliefs.

COFF's Solar Calendar

Again, you can see our eight-spoked Wheel of the Year and our Old Irish names for the Festivals. One of the reasons why we don't use the "standard" Wiccan Wheel of the Year here at COFF is because the names of its Sabbats are an admixture of Irish, Welsh, and Anglo-Saxon, and the God Mabon has no genuine historical claim to any Autumn Equinox tradition whatsoever. Rather, he is usually seen by Celtic scholars as being associated with either one or both of the solstices.

The Wheel-of-the-Year names we employ instead are not only all Old Irish, but also have legitimate associations with their Festivals. Robartae (Springtide; Torrent, Flood, Innundation), for example, derives from the Proto-Celtic *ro-bertiā (torrent, innundation), which was certainly an apt description of the springtide and its thaw around the Spring Equinox, when the snows melted and the mountain rivers and streams grew torrentious, innundating the plains and glens far below. Among other deities, Mother/River Goddess Danu is honored at this time, as, among other things, she symbolizes the fertility and lifeblood of the Land.

During the 21 lessons of our Second Degree, you'll continue your study of Celtic Mysticism and Druidcraft, and how they can represent the best of various belief and magickal systems, as well as learn in depth about the Wheel of the Year and its eight Festivals. You'll add the study of the Light Half of the Year to the Dark Half of the Year, along with the Solar Calendar, Astrological Timing, the Sun, Sun Magick, and creating sundalas. You'll celebrate the Solar Festivals (the solstices and the equinoxes, also called the Quarters) and the Earth Festivals (also called the Cross Quarters), begin writing, taking roles in, and even leading Solar/Earth Rituals of your own, and practice Drawing Down the Sun. You'll find out about the Land and Sovereignty, the Green Man, and working with flowers, herbs, plants, and trees, as well as Earth Priesting/Priestessing and Witchery, Green and Healing Magick, and the Poison Path. You'll continue your work with Ritual Tools, and begin ascending the great World Tree, in search of knowledge and healing.

Along with the Land of the Living, you'll explore the Land of the Dead, Honoring the Ancestors, the Keeper of the Keys, the Phantom Mare, the Wild Hunt, the Harlequin, the Männerbund, and the Lady With a Mead Cup. You'll meet the Áes Sídhe (People of the Mound; Faeries) and discover that they're not the sweet, twee little creatures that you may think they are. At harvest time, you'll learn why John Barleycorn must die, acquire a deeper understanding of the Grim Reaper and the Crow Road, investigate what causes the Sorrow of the Earth, and delve into Faery and Harvest Magick. You'll learn about the Immortality of the Divine, Great Gob's Brew, Apple Magick, philtres and potions, and crystals/stones and crystal grids. You'll find out how to incorporate Druidry into Druidcraft and your own personal spiritual practice, and how Druids gained powerful poetic inspiration and what they did with it once they had it --- plus much, much more.

Enroll Now
Prerequisite: First Degree
21 Lessons
$240/year
or $20/month subscription


A: THIRD DEGREE: Leaving behind the Realm of Land, our Third Degree here at COFF hitches a ride with the Gathan Dubha (Storm Riders; lit. Black Darts) to soar through the Realm of Sky. Having examined both the Lunar and Solar Calendars, we now take a look at the Navigator's Compass and the Twelve Winds of Color detailed in the Saltair na Rann (Psalter of the Staves or Quatrains) and other Irish historical texts. After all, even though calendars tell us when, they don't usually tell us where --- and here at COFF, we're not too shy to ask for directions!

COFF's Winds Calendar

Again, you can see our eight-spoked Wheel of the Year, but this time with the cardinal directions and Twelve Winds of Color in place on it. Magick Circles are employed for a number of reasons, among them to delineate sacred space, to hold and concentrate Power, and to provide protection. But the Compass Round has some very different purposes of its own. It can be used for traveling the Spirit Roads or journeying over bodies of water, especially the ocean, during immrama (sea voyages). It can define a sacred landscape and where castles and geographical features, such as mountains and rivers, are located on it. It can show us the directions from which the winds blow.

The Twelve Winds of Color each have many different characteristics. Further, the six "gloomy" winds belong to the Dark Half of the Year, while the six "cheery" winds belong to the Light Half of the Year. The Black Wind is described as a "blustery, moaning wind," the kind that might be associated with ghosts and other spirits, for example, while the Blue Wind is described as "brave." So, if we were going to journey into a perilous landscape, we might well want the Blue Wind in our sails or at our back. This is all information good to know when traveling into the Celtic Otherworlds, working with spirit allies, and meeting beings like Faeries and Nature Spirits, some of whom might not be particularly friendly and might, like the Gathan-Dubha, be capable of using the winds to their own advantage.

During the 21 lessons of our Third Degree, you'll continue your study of Celtic Mysticism and Druidcraft, and how they can represent the best of various belief and magickal systems, as well as learn in depth about the Navigator's Compass and the Twelve Winds of Color. You'll explore Wind Priesting/Priestessing, and Wind Magick. You'll ride with the Gathan-Dubha, and work with the Dagda and his magickal harp, Uaithne (Four-Angled Music), which sings on the winds and changes the seasons and humans' emotions. You'll spend some time star-gazing, working with Arianrhod's Silver Wheel, delving into Star Magick, and being introduced to the Mill of Time. You'll meet Spirit Allies, Clan Totems, Nature Spirits, and other entities, and discover how to develop a relationship with your own personal Guides and your family Totems. Like the Shamans and Witches of old, you'll continue learning how to Walk Between the Worlds, how to become adept at Hedge Riding.

Air is the provenance of both the First Breath and the Last Breath, and in between come both words and song. You'll engage in controlled breathing in conjunction with raising energy, and learn how both intonation and rhyme strengthen magick and make spellwork easier to remember. The Celts revered both speech and song, seeing them as tools perhaps even more powerful than a magick wand or a sword. Satire was one of their primary weapons, and they compared their God Ogmios to Hercules, because the eloquence of Ogmios's speech was considered as potent a force as Hercules's great physical strength. You'll explore this and other such concepts. In addition, you'll study the Music of the Spheres and hear that our planets are all singing, and you'll investigate the relationship between music, song, and our own health and well-being. You'll find out how to incorporate Shamanism into Druidcraft and your own personal spiritual practice --- plus much, much more.

Enroll Now
Prerequisite: Second Degree
21 Lessons
$240/year
or $20/month subscription


Q: Will I have to do homework? Do I need to complete my lessons within a certain time frame?

A: Yes, you will have to do homework. However, COFF has a "rolling" course of study, specifically tailored for the individual. That means that you undertake your studies at our Mystery School at your own pace, beginning and ending each and every lesson of our curriculum in your own time, rather than being compelled to start and finish with a class, tied to so-called witnessing and a rigid, pressing schedule that may not mesh with your own personal one. So, although the collection of high-quality lessons for each of our degrees has been designed to be completed in the traditional time frame of a year and day, you may actually spend as much time as you desire and need beyond that to absorb and finish the work. People grow and learn in their own way, and a hectic routine schedule not only isn't required to become a magickal being, but can also produce exactly the opposite effect by causing you unnecessary stress, making you want to drop out of your studies altogether.


Q: How will my lessons be delivered?

A: Your lessons will be made available to you through the Moodle platform, the most popular open-source, online Learning Content Management System (LCMS) in the world. Further, although all of COFF's lessons are in English, you do have the option of choosing a different language for the Moodle™ platform itself. Currently, we offer Breton, Danish, Dutch, English (both American and British versions), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese (both Brazil and Portugal versions), Scottish Gaelic, Spanish (both International and Mexico versions), Swedish, and Welsh. If there is another language you prefer, but don't see listed here, just ask. We can probably accommodate you.


Q: Who are my teachers, and what are their qualifications?

A: APs RHIANWEN BENDIGAID: COFF's Arch Priestess, Founder, and Director of Studies is Rhianwen Bendigaid. Our teachings are based on her more than fifty years of research and study of the Celts and their magickal, mystical spiritual practices. She has had a lifelong interest in and dedication to Paganism --- especially Druidry, Witchcraft, Celtic Faery Lore, and the Avalon Mysteries --- and she has been an actively practicing Pagan for decades now. She holds several Druid and Wiccan/Witchcraft Degrees, is a Certified Crystal Practitioner and an Usui Reiki Master, and has taught Oracle Studies for nearly a decade. Among other places, she has studied and trained at the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), where she is an Eisteddfod Golden Harp Recipient for her long poem The Wild Hunt, as well as at the Sisterhood of Avalon, the Avalon Mystery School, the Covenant of the Waters, the Temple of Witchcraft, and the North Star Road Witch School. She completed her Basic Shamanism Training under the direction of Shaman Shilo Satran, a shamanic practitioner for the Medicine for the Earth alliance, founded by Sandra Ingerman; and has been initiated into Munay Ki Shamanism.

Under her mundane name, APs Rhianwen was at one time one of the youngest authors in the United States --- only 23 years old when a major publisher bought the very first book she'd ever written. It went on to become a best seller, even going all the way to #1 on one best-seller list. For over thirty years after that, prior to her retirement, APs Rhianwen remained a best-selling, award-winning author, penning nearly three dozen titles and appearing on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today best-seller lists, among many others. In addition, her work has been translated into eighteen languages and published in over sixty countries worldwide.

APs Rhianwen has a Master's Degree in Communications, and before becoming a published writer, she taught Interpersonal Communication for two years at University, under the direction of one of the then-foremost authorities in the field. So she is highly familiar with a number of Pagan practices, including affirmations, deep listening, meditation, mindfulness, self-reflection, shadow work, etc., which are also found in Interpersonal Communication and other related fields.

In addition to our Director, we have a variety of knowledgeable, experienced Leadership Councilors, Teachers, and Moderators and Faciltators here at COFF. Collectively, they have trained in several different Traditions and at a number of different schools, so each has different knowledge and skills. Among many other fields of expertise, they are all proficient in several of the following: aromatherapy, astrology, crystals, divination, healing, herbalism, Hoodoo, meditation, mediumship, Mindfulness, shadow work, Shamanism, shielding, spinning and weaving, and yoga.


Three Degrees Jam-Packed With Education, Training, & Magick
64 High-Quality Lessons in Total (Including 1 Introduction to COFF Lesson)
A "Rolling" Course of Study, Tailored to the Individual
Highly Knowledgeable, Experienced Teachers, Moderators, and Facilitators
A Low, Easily Affordable Tuition



We truly don't believe that you'll find a better program of study,
at such a low tuition cost to you, anywhere else online!

Join us!





Enroll in COFF now!

Take advantage of our current school specials!

Enroll in COFF's free extension classes!

Visit our Market Street Shops!