do you mean potions for ingesting?
i love the idea, and have never heard of anyone teaching it. I also like the idea of a hands-on workshop during which participants get to make a potion of their own.

I too am often put off by what people are charging for similar classes. I suppose that is an unfortunate side-effect of living by your own hand vs. having a day job that pays the bills, and this is the challenge every creative person faces. We all want to ask for what we feel our time and energy are worth, but the bigger picture is our Divine Will and doing what we feel called to do regardless of the compensation we receive. Ultimately if we are all doing our highest work, our Life's work, that alone is compensation for sharing our teachings--because we are fulfilling our destiny as healers, shamans, teachers, guides, etc.. But of course we have to eat and pay the rent like everyone else...so a balance must be found somewhere.

When i've done astrology classes, i have taken into consideration the cost of renting the space (whether or not you are actually paying that, it could be hypothetical as spaces cost money), how much i feel my teaching time is worth per hour, the cost of materials and advertising, and then i divide that between the number of people i could reasonably expect to attend. You can choose a low estimate and a high estimate, say 5-10 people, to obtain the range of how much money the class will bring in for you total. So 5 people paying $45 each would bring in $225, 10 people would bring in $450. If you are uncomfortable with the lower of the two figures once you subtract your costs, then you need to charge more. 5 people at $150 brings in $750 which is quite a lot of money, and in my opinion, to charge this much you should be offering a weekend workshop along with a book and some snacks.

Good luck with this idea, and please let us know how it turns out. It looks like you have some homework to do before you're ready, but you are inspiring me to get together some classes of my own...so thanks!

m7

Daniel Schulke? If you have a moment this week, would you please spend a few moments explaining to me what makes him, in your opinion, "the uber-genius of potions"--please? ;o)

And, yes, having each student take home a number of potions was already a personal mandate--I want it to be very "hands on", so that they can develope more personal "esteem" in their creative capabilities; even if it allows them to learn from their mistakes; but also to develope their sense for scents, and record what they smell like to them, alongside some of my own notes in this respect (after all, what I smell when using orange peel powder in a potion might vary from person to person based upon their own sniffer!).

Sadly, however, I have always had a hard time locating a source of bottles (with lids and stoppers of some sort) that seem to be in any way appropriate for potions. Often they are simply ugly, too small, or far too plain, and even too ornate and expensive, etc.! Other than that, I'd love to find a source for bottles (in every colour of the rainbow) that are simple; elagent; inexpensive; and can hold between 8 and 12 ounces of potion. (I'm always open to recommendations of sites and soiurces!) Presently I'm looking for some a bottle made from ruby-red glass for my formula for Protection Potion, and have had no luck!

Take Care,
Wade

i got a case of blue bottles for my body sprays at Zenith Supplies here in Seattle. I looked at their website and it doesn't show that they sell the bottles online, but perhaps if you called and asked they would consider shipping them. I don't remember what i paid, but i know that i got a case discount.

m7

There are a number of online bottle places, like www.specialtybottles.com that would be good if you were ordering a fair number of bottles. I guess I am still not really clear on your intent for this class. It seems you would have to narrow it down quite a bit since the subject of potions is so vast. Doing a tisane style water infusion seems easiest. Once you start infusing into alcohol, brandy, wine, rum and so on it can become much more complex, and many of those infusions can take weeks or months, as has already been commented on. But I do like the idea since so few people take the time to do the complicated infusions anymore.