Symbols and Archetypes

This course, facilitated by Wendy Dixon, explores the concepts and exercises in Wallace Slater’s book *A Simplified Course of Raja Yoga*, which follows the Yoga Sutras or Aphorisms of Patanjali. We meet online every Wednesday night and follow the 10-lesson structure created by Slater, allowing a month for each lesson. We will thoroughly explore each step, with time for discussion and practice. Each session contains material on one or more of the eight limbs of yoga, so named by Patanjali - self-restraint (yama), self-discipline (niyama), posture (āsana), control of breath (prānayāma), control of the sense (pratyāhāra), concentration (dhāranā), meditation (dhyāna) and contemplation (samādhi). Additional material is sourced from I. K. Taimni, Swami Vivekananda, H. P. Blavatsky and contemporary Raja Yoga books. We begin and close each session with sitting meditations. **This is an ongoing course that you can join at any time.** **COURSE LINK** Please click on this link to join: [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86376822389](https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86376822389) Meeting ID: 863 7682 2389 Passcode: 251130 **Admission by Donation:** A suggested donation of $5 or more per session assists Blavatsky Lodge to continue to offer online Theosophical courses. Please donate via PayPal here: [https://tinyurl.com/blavatskylodgedonation](https://tinyurl.com/blavatskylodgedonation) or email info@tssydney.org.au for other payment options. The course is run by **Wendy Dixon**, a National Lecturer for the Theosophical Society in Australia. She has been a member of the Theosophical Society for over 53 years, attending the youth group for at least 4 years prior to joining the TS at the age of 16 years. The works of Blavatsky, Hodson, Krishnamurti, Taimni, Besant, Leadbeater and the Dalai Lama are the cornerstone of her ever-continuing studies.

Hi Architects, Welcome to our first AWS Melbourne Well-Architected User Group Meetup for 2026, including more exceptional speakers and topics! :-D At each meetup we covered off various pillars in detail, best-practices and insights from industry leaders that specialise in the Well-Architected Framework. And giving away drones, of course. Lots of drones. Our speakers this month include: * **Mystery Speaker** **Can Cost Optimisation Improve your other pillars?** In this talk, we'll go through whether Cost Optimisation can improve your security, operational excellence, reliability, etc. and more importantly, how (spoiler alert - it can but it will be an interesting exploration). This month's menu will include: * Pizzas * Beer: Nastro Azzurro * Wine: Big and red 🤤 NB: Please check in up the stairs from the ground floor to the Mezzanine Level. So come join us at 5:30 for a 6pm **SHARP** start, followed by beer, wine, pizza and friendly networking after our talks :-)

This is the World Premiere, please check in - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/world-premiere-tell-me-more-unlocking-quantum-consciousness-tickets-1963694691684 We will meet in the Nova Bar from 5:30 p.m. onwards, please book your tickets early, Stefan - 0437777522

QUICK UPDATE: For this week only Boardgames has been moved to Wednesday as the cafe is closed on Monday and Tuesday - Feb 9th and Feb 10th - for a staff trip. The event will be held concurrently but separately with HK Mahjong. Both events are separate. Please update your rsvp if you pre registered and you now cant make it. Whether you're looking for a short, light game or a longer strategy-heavy game, come join the Melbourne Asian Board Gamers on Tuesday night at Marché Board Game Cafe for some fun! To **check in**, please head to the front counter and show your RSVP for the Meetup event to a Marché staff member. They will then point you towards the event host for the evening to take down your attendance. **⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ Cost ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆** Attendees who have registered for the event on Meetup can play at discounted rates, with the following payments to be made: * **$7 in total per session” to cover Meetup subscription and cafe costs. Payment of $7 should be made to Marche at the front counter upon notification to the staff member that you are here for the scheduled meetup. There is now no minimum spend on items at the cafe as there were before. The cafes menu can be found here https://mbgcafe.com.au/menu.pdf . Only attendees on the "going" list are entitled to the discount. attendees that are on the waitlist or didn't register on Meetup are still welcome to come, but will need to pay the regular Marche rate of $22 for three hours of board games (includes one free drink). **Attendance** As our events are highly popular, if you have RSVP as going but can no longer attend, please amend your RSVP to allow others a chance to attend. If we notice people are not showing up when they have RSVP, you will be moved to the waitlist the following week and give priority to those who actually turn up. We appreciate everyone's understanding and co-operation. We really appreciate your support and look forward to playing with you.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, join us at the Atlassian Melbourne office for an Atlassian Community Event exploring modern service management - and why the best service experiences feel a lot like great relationships. In the coming months, customers using Jira Service Management (JSM) will automatically get access to the ‘Service Collection’!  This will be rolled out in phases from February to June. 2026 If you’re already using JSM, this session will help you understand what’s included and how to make the most of it. We’ll explore the Service Collection and how Jira Service Management (JSM) and Rovo AI support modern, human‑centred service teams. Tools included in the Service Collection Jira Service Management (JSM)AssetsCustomer ServiceRovo AI We’ll keep this high‑level and practical, focusing on how these tools come together rather than diving into detailed configuration. Who should attend This event is ideal for: Executive Customer Service Desk Leaders ITSM practitioners Enterprise Service Management (ESM) teams Operations & Support Managers Service & Delivery Leads Atlassian Administrators People, HR, Legal, Facilities & Internal Services teams Anyone using or exploring JSM and AI‑enabled service delivery Presenters Chloe Martin – Senior Solution Engineer, Service Collection Micky Rathod – Senior Solution Engineer, Service Collection Host Michelle Letho – Head of Partnership & Strategic Growth, Willyama Togetha (Atlassian Partner) Details: Date: 11 Feb, 2026 5:30pm – Arrival, drinks & nibbles, Valentine’s‑themed service icebreaker, group photo 6:00–7:00pm – Presentation & Q&A 7:00–7:30pm – Networking Spots are limited – RSVP required. Agenda --- Hosted By Mit Tolia, Atlassian practice & capability lead With 20 years of consulting experience, I specialize in helping organizations leverage Agile and technology to drive business outcomes. Passionate about Agile Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools, I work with enterprises to implement Atlassian solutions that foster business agility, enhance collaboration, and provide meaningful insights for informed decision-making. As an Atlassian geek, my expertise spans the entire Atlassian ecosystem, with a focus on Enterprise Strategy & Planning, Cloud Migrations, and Agile Scaling. I have extensive experience in implementing Jira Align, Jira, Confluence, and Jira Service Management (JSM)—helping teams optimize workflows, inculcate the right behaviors, and scale Agile practices from the team level to enterprise-wide adoption. Always eager to explore new possibilities in the Atlassian space, I thrive on enabling organizations to build adaptive, customer-centric solutions that embrace the future of work and to build communities to constantly learn from each other. Bonnie Emmerson, Atlassian Community Champion Andy Fleming, Atlassian Community Champion Michelle Letho, Account Executive & Networking Junkie Michelle (Miche) Letho is the Melbourne Atlassian Community Event (ACE) Champion and an Account Executive at Willyama Togetha, Australia’s only Indigenous-owned Atlassian Platinum Partner. She helps organisations imagine, build, and scale better ways of working through Atlassian solutions that boost collaboration, visibility, and impact. A member of the Transformers Unite leadership team, Miche supports national change and transformation events that bring practitioners together to learn and share. With a career spanning tech, FMCG, a Startup founder and consulting, she blends commercial know-how with curiosity and heart. If she's not at networking events, outside work, she keeps busy ubering teens at calisthenics and netball. and recharges through yoga, Pilates and hiking. --- Global Partner Atlassian (http://atlassian.com) Millions of users globally rely on Atlassian products every day for improving software development, project management, collaboration, and code quality. For over a decade, Atlassian customers have come together to network, share ideas, solve problems, and find new ways to use Atlassian products. Today, more than 15,000 people take part in Atlassian community events in more than 30 countries. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://ace.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-melbourne-presents-service-collection-hearts-tickets-amp-happy-teams/.

Players of all skill levels are welcome to join us at Marché Board Games Cafe in the CBD for a casual night of mahjong - Right in the CBD. We'll start around 6:00pm till we all need to go home :) Our typical session concludes usually around 10:00pm. Please change your RSVP to not going if you're no longer able to attend, 24 hours prior the event. For those that have a record of non attendance without communicating, you will be moved to the waiting list for future events and be contacted directly to confirm that you indeed intend to turn up, at which you will be allotted a spot subject to availability. For more details on the rules of the game, please refer to: http://mahjongtime.com/hong-kong-mahjong-rules.html Marche has been kind enough to offer us a deal to play in their cafe. **⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ Cost ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆** Attendees who have registered for the event on Meetup can play at discounted rates, with the following payments to be made: * **$6 in total per session” to cover cafe costs. Payment of $6 should be made to Marche at the front counter upon notification to the staff member that you are here for the scheduled meetup. There is now no minimum spend on items at the cafe as there were before. The cafes menu can be found here https://mbgcafe.com.au/menu.pdf .

Adults have basically been robbed of the right to play. Creativity started needing a purpose, a product, or at least a gallery invite. Meanwhile, it’s human to dance, it’s human to sing, and it’s human to draw, especially poorly! Sketchy Behaviour is here to break that spell. ([Link to tickets here](https://www.trybooking.com/DIGHO)) Doors open at 6pm, settle in and get your drinks at the bar (mocktails available). At 7pm, the night begins: • Guided drawing activities with your host, prompts and visual inspiration provided • Three activities/games per night a mix of collaborative chaos and solo scribbling • Breaks between rounds to regroup, hit the bathroom, top up a drink, grab some nibbles, and mingle with fellow doodlers It’s all about connecting through process rather than polishing a product. Expect laughter, strange drawings, and surprising conversations. In a world drowning in increasingly polished AI art, making something imperfect is a revolutionary act. Supplies provided. Masks welcome. Sharing your weird creations, highly recommended. Come draw like a kid, laugh like a fool, and leave with memories instead of masterpieces. Note: Pride of our Footscray is located on the first floor of a building with no elevator and is therefore not wheelchair accessible. We apologise for our reduced accessibility.

**The crone represents our trust in wisdom held within, gathered through our lives and experiences – and which, in the later stage of life, makes us most open and confident. They are a spiritual mentor to others who are actively engaged with their community, teaching either through example or directly.** ***‘The inner hag whose image we each carry within us reflects our own unique variety of wisdom, the gift that each of us has to offer this breaking and broken world, and our own particular brand of connection to the numinous.’* \- Dr Sharon Blackie\, Hagitude** **This is a space for women over 50, both Cis and Trans, who have chosen the uncomfortable path of walking with and alchemizing their own shadows in order to move into wisdom that serves family and community. In this place we hold space for each other to learn, grow and purge if needed, so that we can continue doing the work necessary to serve our communities so that they may find their way to self actualization; that they may Flourish.**

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Love and Monsters,”** on the inescapable bond between romance and horror, with Joshua Barton, scholar of horror and lecturer in English at Virginia Commonwealth University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-love-monsters](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-love-monsters) .] Romance and horror might seem like opposite genres, but they share a deep emotional core, and the combination of them has captivated audiences across time and culture. Put even your worst Valentine’s Day in perspective by hearing this strange relationship discussed by Joshua Barton, who has earned a big following among Profs and Pints fans with his past talks on cryptids, American horror, and Christmas ghosts. He’ll explore the undeniable and unsettling intersection of romance and horror and examine how and why love and fear intensify each other and combined to create tension, drive narratives, and explore human vulnerability. We’ll look at works that have blended passion and terror, including Gothic literature like the vampire novella *Carmilla* and modern films like *Spring* and *Crimson Peak*. We’ll study the fine line between obsession and adoration running through Stephen King’s “I Know What You Need,” Adrian Lyne’s *Fatal Attraction*, and the timeless *The Phantom of the Opera.* We’ll discuss the seeds of monstrous love that were planted with *Beauty and the Beast* and *Creature from the Black Lagoon* and bloom ferociously in works like *Twilight* and *The Shape of Water*. Through it all, we’ll find the threads of otherness and the taboo that intertwine horror, love, and reflections on identity. Join us for a journey through storytelling that combines the grotesque and the scintillating as we uncover why romance and horror are a match made in the dark. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: From the original 1954 advertising poster for *Creature from the Black Lagoon* (Artist: Reynold Brown / Public Domain).

***We have now resumed in-person meetups!*** We are a group of tarot practitioners and enthusiasts who are looking to practice and expand our tarot skills through both collaborative discussion and hands-on practice. Everyone is welcome regardless of skill level, even if you've never picked up a deck in your life! Each month we'll have a topic to discuss together, and when that discussion wraps up the session is opened up to any questions people might have about tarot. We also often break up into smaller groups to practice giving readings to each other. (The giving and receiving of readings are both completely voluntary, so please don't feel pressured!) Having a tarot deck is not required. (If you're looking for recommendations for a first deck, we'll be more than happy to help!) Some have found it helpful to bring pen and paper for notes as well. No fee, however snacks, donations for the tea fund, and gifts of practical items for the shop (toilet paper, paper towels, etc) are always welcome. Use of workshop space agreement at Sticks and Stones: 1. Feel free to arrange and decorate the space before your event, and make sure before you go to leave it as you found it. 2. Hot water and tea are provided by the store and you are welcome to help yourselves. We accept donations in the form of money, tea, paper products (tissues, paper towels, toilet paper) dish soap, etc, to help pay for this free service. 3. You are welcome to bring snacks and drinks to your event (no alcohol.) It is suggested that you bring any utensils and plates if needed, however we might have some available from previous donations if you forget. 4. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times, in all areas of the store. Anyone under 18 must have a parent or guardian present to take any of the workshops/classes. 5. Sticks and Stones respects each and everyone’s spiritual path; we do not discriminate based on race, religion, sexuality, political views, etc. Please be kind and respectful with your discussions, as we have many people from all faiths entering our store during business hours.

Saturday is forecast to be sunny & almost 50 degrees - welcome relief after the "hike shutdown" weather of the past three weekends. We will meet at noon by the Tenleytown metro station and walk down Nebraska to Foxhall Road and back up the Glover Archbold Trail. We will stop at the National Cathedral and then wend our way back to Tenleytown. My goal this time of year is to keep hikers off of ice or snow during a jaunt. If the Glover Archbold trail is icy, we will tweak the route and stay on more solid footing to get the same distance. The starting point for the hike is a hop and a skip from a Whole Foods store with the best peanut butter cookies in the D.C. area. ❶ **What we'll do:** * From the meetup point we'll walk southeast along Wisconsin Ave NW, turn left at Nebraska Ave NW and follow it southwest to Foxhall Rd NW, * We will hook a left on Garfield Ave. and follow to the Glover-Archbold Trail through the woods back to Cathedral Ave. We will cross Wisconsin Ave and stop at the National Cathedral. We will then wend back to Tenleytown via 36th St., 37th St., and Van Ness. * Total distance is around 5 miles and should take about 2 hours, . The surface is paved and slightly downhill on the way out, and a slightly uphill mix of pavement and woodland trails on the way back. This is a fairly easy walk. * [map is for prior version of the hike; update pending] Google map: http://tinyurl.com/y9bthc7a ❷ **How to get there:** * Metro (recommended): The Tenleytown - AU Metro Station is on the Red Line. See the Metro Trip Planner at https://www.wmata.com/ * Driving: If you must drive, the Tenleytown - AU Metro Stationstreet address is 4501 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. There is limited parallel parking in the area, but mind the street signs and leave plenty of time to find a spot! ❸ **What to bring:** Plenty of water, comfy shoes. ❹ **Weather:** The forecast is sunny and a high temperature of 49F. Updates here: https://tinyurl.com/sw2ejvu8 ❺ **Advisory**: As a reminder, this is an adult group, and you are ultimately responsible for your own safety and well-being during events. No one under 18 years of age is allowed at this event, either as members or as guests, to include babies in carriers and/or strollers. Dogs must be leashed at all times. ❻ **Administrative stuff:** There are restrooms near the meetup point at Whole Foods, Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread, Starbucks, and Target and at the Cathedral.

Whether you practice divination, ritual work or more craft related activities… this series of classes taught on two Sundays of each month will help you explore various aspects related to sharing your gifts in the physical and virtual marketplace. This week, we'll briefly review our previous class homework on Defining My Brand, then we’ll jump into this week’s class, on Marketing & Services through... * Building an online presence (website, social media, email list) * Sharing authentic content: tips, rituals, and insights * Designing promotional materials and visuals * Collaborating with other practitioners and local businesses * Hosting free events or sample readings to attract clients Newcomers are encouraged to attend, and individual virtual classes are available for those who may have missed a class along the way by contacting Papa Bones Moon. Cost: $25 / Please check-in & pay once you arrive at Sticks & Stones.