Hello, dear ones -
We're in the "Samhain" portal now until some time in early November, depending on whether you observe the Gregorian calendar date or other, earlier, calendars and ways of marking the passage of time and the turning of the seasons.
This moment in the year marks the wrapping of the harvest season and the retreat indoors to dream, rest, and perform indoor labor (mendings, weavings, etc) around the fire - fed with stories and songs, as well as whatever food and drink was able to be stored for the harsh days ahead. These were times of divination, of honoring the fruitful darkness and it's connection to fertile abundance. Sheep and cattle would've been brought back down from summer pastures by now and in some places, it's believed ritualized sacrifices would be performed - resulting in blood to feed the land, meat to feed the humans, and fewer creatures to be responsible for in the lean times. Practical and spiritual.
As we enter the season of scarcity, the season where the sun rests below the Earth, protecting seeds until they're ready to sprout again next year; the season where bears go into caves, only to emerge as the days warm and lengthen again, miraculously, with cubs; we might ask ourselves:
- how are we honoring the quieter light of these times?
- what needs to be released or pared away so we are more lean ourselves, more able to get through the winter?
- and what seeds are we nurturing first in the dark soil of our dreams, until the time comes for them to emerge?
A couple of quick reminders about upcoming gatherings, all connected to Samhain and the honoring of this moment in the year. And all might feel supportive (especially if you're tired of trying to fit in with machines which don't care about the turning of the year and want instead to explore how more animist and ancestral ways of considering the seasons might hep you become more human-creature again):
1.
TOMORROW (Monday Oct 27th) - at 6pm ET.
In-person in Winchester, VA at Daydream Studio.
My signature workshop: “Living as Creature, Not Machine”.
Through animist and shamanic practices, story, and ceremony, we’ll get out of our heads and into contact with the Otherworld where we can begin to remember wisdom which we might have forgotten but isn’t gone yet.
Perfect for humans who feel more comfortable in nature and around animals; and have started getting into crystals, herbs, tracking their moon cycle, yoga, meditation, altar spaces, ancestor veneration, etc. Who have felt burned by “modern life” and the ways it has left them feeling numb, broken, disconnected, and caught in cycles of burnout. But who haven’t given into hopelessness and fear, instead trusting there might be some maps, memories of other ways of doing things, to be found in the magic and beauty of Life itself and a spiritual practice designed to help us feel we belong.
There are no promised outcomes because the experience itself is co-created. But it will be soul-nourishing, and a good place to:
- start finding ways to connect with your ancestors (even if you don’t know where they’re from);
- deepen your relationship with crystals, herbs, altars/ rituals, your own body’s cycles and rhythms, etc not from a modern western mindset of “symptom-cure”, but from a more ancient, holistic, and spiritual understanding of relationship;
- and acknowledge (and grieve) the ways we’ve felt burned and let down by modern life… while exploring other ways of living and relating which might feel more nourishing and aligned.
Registration is quite low right now, so if you're interested in coming/ feeling the pull/ have a suspicion you need to be here and this would be perfect for you, but have been hesitating for some reason, please know your presence would make a big difference and add immensely to the richness of the offering. If you have questions or concerns I might be able to answer, please feel free to reply to this email.
More info or register: https://www.wildsacredjourney.com/signature-workshop
2.
Next weekend (Sat Nov 1) - all day (stay for the whole thing or come for pieces).
Online.
OracleFest’s Transformation Podium.
These podium events are designed to not be passive listening sessions, or boring conferences. They are immersive, engaging, and transformational. Expect powerful insights, practices, and shared wisdom. This is one immersive day of: ceremony, transmission, live oracle readings, sound healing, and soul remembrance.
Around subjects like: Ancestors, Channeling, Family Patterns, Rites & Story, Transmutation, Death & Prayer, Journeying, & Song.
I’ll be sharing on story and rites of passage and how they can help us navigate the transformative and constantly-changing nature of life.
And I’ll be sharing alongside host Kate Graham; as well as guests Dr. Steven D. Farmer, Perdita Finn, Toni Ghazi, Denise Jarvie, Terra Kenzie, and Michelle Motuzas.
There are options to register to watch for free on YouTube, or if you’d like to be in the Zoom room with the opportunity to ask questions and be included in the Live Reading portion of the day, consider getting a Live Entry ticket or All Access Pass.
More info or register (affiliate link to let them know I sent you. doesn't cost you anything extra and sends a portion of your registration my way if you sign up for a paid ticket): https://oraclefest.com/podium-events/?aff=kate_wildsacredjourney
3.
Next weekend (Sun Nov 2) - 2-4pm ET.
Online.
Sun, Moon, Fire, and Soil - our seasonal round house celebrating Samhain and the descent into the deepest dark of the year.
A PDF goes out tomorrow with some prompts on how to think about and engage with the season. Our live gathering is next weekend and will include conversation about the season, some kind of attunement or transmission, and a story (likely an old Irish one that explains the beginning of the tradition of Jack O'Lanterns!). All to help you deepen your sense of connection with the season where you live and to feel the groundedness that doing so can bring.
More info and register here: https://www.wildsacredjourney.com/seasonal-roundhouse
4.
The following weekend (Sat Nov 8th) - 4:30pm ET [registration closes Mon Nov 3rd so we can be sure we have enough people to run the ceremony and begin preparing]
Stephanie McKinley's private residence near Front Royal, VA.
A Fire and Land Ceremony: Seeking Fire’s Wisdom for our Burnout and Inner Winters
If you were to head to the sales page, you'd see this:
When the fire in your core feels empty and cold, and nothing seems to bring it back or soothe the gaping void, where do you turn? A spiritually-impoverished society of machines, extraction, and empty consumption? Or perhaps we return to Fire itself, one of our great ancestors, and ask it for wisdom on how to feed and tend our own wild, sacred, juicy Aliveness.
If you’d been born in a pre-industrial society, one of the first things you would’ve learned was how to start and tend a fire. Yet in our modern world, few of us have opportunities to really *be* with fire in this way. We’re losing our connection with this great teacher, nurturer, and destroyer. And at the same time we’re wondering why our inner sparks are going out - why we feel so burned out, weighted down, and depleted - like the walking dead. Worse, we blame ourselves, adding more smothering weight of guilt and *wrongness* to our bodies, hearts, and spirits.
What might change if we look at burnout as our own Fire’s distress signal, a sign we’ve lost some key understandings on how to steward our sacred spark, alongside some key ancestral skills and protocols on how to stay human? What if we started that journey back by turning to Fire itself and listening for what wisdom it might have for us in these soul-starved and dehumanized-feeling times?
This ceremony is not just for us to receive from fire, land, and each other - it's also to feed the Land and Ancestors in our turn - coming back into reciprocity by practicing wonder, gratitude, and beauty.
For this ceremony, we’ll be gathering around the theme of burnout; and looking to Fire and old stories as guides to find better ways to steward our inner flame and live in rhythm with Aliveness.
A good place to:
- slow down and connect with spaciousness;
- begin repairing our relationship with fire as ancestor, elder, and initiator;
- reconnect with ancestral ways of being fully alive humans (which can help us feel less lost, more purposeful);
- find some soul-level nourishment our modern society seems to be lacking so where we’ve been feeling empty, we begin to feel more satiated;
- experience the power of group meaning-making (we can’t do this alone!)
More info and register: https://www.wildsacredjourney.com/signature-stephanie
Wherever you are in the world, may you find nourishment for your wild, sacred creature Self. And may the light of the sun find you through the flames of candle and fire as we, like the seeds, incubate dreams of a more alive tomorrow in the darkness of today.
with Love,
Kate
