The Birth of Chicago Reclaiming
by Marie Gross
From the January 2005 Chicago Reclaiming Newsletter

For many, January is a time of reflection, acknowledging the passing of the old, and welcoming new things. Perhaps you’ve made resolutions to “begin” something? A new activity, a new relationship, perhaps even a new diet after those holiday feasts. January signifies not just a new year, but also new energy and new intentions to be manifested throughout the rest of the year. After all, resolutions are intentions; and it all starts with an intention.

Many of you may know that Chicago Reclaiming, Inc. is a non-profit organization that incorporated this past summer. I look back at the past year in awe and marvel at how much we, as a community, have grown. Truly, we’ve only just begun. Believe it or not it was only in August 2003 when many of the current members of the organization’s Core Group met at an Introductory Tarot class on the city’s north side. Little did any of us realize that not only would we be learning about the Fool’s journey, we would soon start our own together.

That Tarot class became a catalyst for not only our own personal discovery, but joint discovery as well. Many of us may not have realized it at the time, but we were all searching for a connection that drew us to this class, and to each other. We decided to manifest and nurture those connections. Soon after the class ended, many of us began getting together for “Tarot Tarot” parties. Through those little get-togethers, we began learning not only more about Tarot, but also about each other.

Over the next months, many of the same group of people who had taken that first Tarot class accepted opportunities to take Elements of Magic and Iron Pentacle, both Reclaiming Core classes. It became clear that many of us were looking for answers, for a place to ask questions, and gather knowledge in a safe communal setting with people who sought out the same. Through sharing these experiences, an idea began to take form: how could this work continue? How could it be shared with others, like us, who might be looking for a wonderful new connection to self and to deity? How could we share the work with others in an expansive, nurturing, and sustainable community setting?

An idea was conceived to cast a kind of spell for community, by community, and so in January 2004, the Chicago area Reclaiming group held its first public ritual and fundraiser in honor of Brigid, the Celtic Goddess of Abundance. On the coldest day of the year, over 50 people gathered at Transamoeba for a potluck dinner, a live and silent auction, entertainment, and a public ritual. It was truly a celebration of community, a commitment to keep it going, and the start of its new life in a new form.

That form soon took shape later that spring. After Brigid, I was invited to join the Core group of Chicago Reclaiming, along with Jennifer, Elias, Tari, Elizabeth Anne, Michael, Wolfe, River, Robin (Web), Maggie, and Ryan. We wanted to make some kind of a structure, a base, a form in which to help offer others the same opportunities for growth and transformation that we had been experiencing. We explored our core values, constructed an online mailing list and website, divided our group into cells, and even incorporated into a non-profit organization. On July 27, 2004, Chicago Reclaiming, Inc. was officially born!

Our intention was simple, and we decided to memorialize it in a mission statement: Chicago Reclaiming is a nonprofit organiztion dedicated to creating opportunities for personal and universal growth, transformation, and shared vision in the context of a sustainable, open, and active spiritual community. Since then, we've worked to bring those opportunities to all who seek them, including classes in Tarot, Astrology, Reclaiming Core Classes, and even Magical Activism. We held our first Samhain celebration, and in February, we plan to once more celebrate the feast of Brigid with a public ritual. Many have asked us how they can help in nurturing our new community, and on January 18, 2005 we're hosting a Community Meeting to answer that very question. Our spell is indeed coming to fruition.

As we move into 2005, we renew those intentions we formed such a short time ago, and open ourselves to expanding beyond those forms we started with. Communities often begin with a common intention: joining people together with common interests and goals. The makings of Chicago Reclaiming were all there, and we all met and connected...and through that common search, desire, experience, and resolution, we formed something wonderful to be shared.