WORKSHOPS

(not everything here is in scheduled order.

A couple of offerings will be repeated during the weekend)

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VOICES WEAVING JOY THROUGH SONG with Tracie Jones and Nicki Harris

Join your sisters for an empowering experience that blends intuitive women’s wisdom with the science that confirms what we already know in our bones: when women raise their voices together in song, our hearts open, our nervous systems regulate, and healing begins. Singing in community is not only transformative, it’s a radical act of joy and reclamation in tumultuous times. It connects us to each other, to the earth, and to something greater. It changes us, and it can change the world. ZERO singing experience required. Just bring water, your presence, and an open heart.

 

CARVING OUT YOUR PATH, HOLDING ONTO OUR FUTURE with Temple Ardinger

The Labyrinth represents the path we are collectively walking. It is not a maze you get lost in or puzzle to be solved. As we walk forward every step lands within the path and Goddess rises within to meet us with every step. Many walk the Labyrinth as spiritual meditation to reflect on how and where they are on the Path but having access to a labyrinth to walk is not always possible. Come learn more about Labyrinths and how to use them as a tool of meditation. Then get your hands dirty with me as we work with the elements of earth and water. Carve out our own labyrinth altar tool to create representation of your Path that you can hold in your hands.  

• All supplies will be provided to create your own labyrinth.  Please wear clothes you can get messy in as we will be crafting with clay. 

 

AMAZON ARCHERY - Basic Ground Archery Skills for Mounted Archery

with Nicki Harris, Sara Macaluso, Falcon River, and Kathy Crocco

Amazon Nation Rise! Learn the ancient art of intuitive archery, including basic ground archery techniques used for mounted (horseback) archery. Tap into your ancestral memory and shoot like your Amazon foremothers. Hone your personal will, step up to the mark, focus, and release your energy toward your target. Girls under 17 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. All equipment provided. THIS WORKSHOP REPEATS.

 

PREPARATION FOR ELDERWOMAN HALLOWING RITUAL (formerly called a “Croning”) with Hestia Bee

A Hallowing Ritual (formerly called a “Croning”) marks the life transition of women 58+/60 and older into honored elderhood, celebrating their power and accumulated wisdom. To “hallow” is to “treat as sacred” or “honor with great respect.” Preparing involves discussion and a guided group process to create a ritual experience to be enacted on Saturday afternoon with DoD attendees welcome to witness and support the new Elderwomen. If you have already had a personal Hallowing ritual, you are also welcome to celebrate this rite of passage in this group ritual of elderhood. You must participate in the preparation in order to be included in the Hallowing ritual at DoDG.

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COMMUNITY ELDERWOMAN HALLOWING RITUAL with Hestia Bee and Ruth Barrett

The RITUAL: This ritual experience is for the women who participated in the Hallowing Ritual preparation workshop earlier in the Gathering.  All DoDG attendees of any age are welcome to witness, support, and celebrate the new Elderwomen.  You must have participated in Friday’s preparation in order to be included in the ritual.

 

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH WOMANDANCE with Cerridwyn RoseLabrys

Bellydance is one of the oldest known dance forms, and always belonged to women. In ancient times, around the Middle East and North Africa, women danced to honor the Goddess, celebrate the lunar cycle and women’s Mysteries, and strengthen their bodies. The dance originally had spiritual significance, and priestesses danced and embodied the Goddess in temples. Bellydance for performance was a much later development, and its practice for women’s rites of passage exists to this day in parts of North Africa. In this class we will have some brief discussion, meditation, and practice with some slow and fast movements of the dance. Beginners and experienced dancers are welcome. There will be some dance shawls provided, or feel free to bring your own hip shawl or tassel belt, if you have one.

 

MOON LORE, MAGIC AND EMBODIMENT with Julia Freyja

The subconscious in many schools of thought is viewed as a place where live the repressed throwaways of conscious life or is disparaged as the Shadow – rich in creative potential but dangerous, dark, defiant of conventional rules that govern women’s waking lives. The subconscious, ruled by the Moon, is the generative source of dreams, intuition, magic, ancestral memory and is the gateway to deep mind. This presentation will explore Moon goddesses and magics throughout history, the cyclic nature of women’s lives and how through embodiment and other non-language-based practices we can harness the lunar tides to live fully in all of Her phases.  Optional - bring a dream or other image to work with during this presentation.

 

FORGING OUR FUTURE IN SOVEREIGNTY: A group discussion

Last year our theme was Radical Joy is Our Superpower. One year later, what have we learned that supports ourselves and our work toward a world free from patriarchy? How will we become the future we hold for our beloved planet and one another? Let’s share and discuss. 

 

DRUMMING TO PREPARE FOR OUR HALLOWS SEASONAL RITUAL with Catherine Ridder

If you have experience as a drummer and interested in drumming for our Hallowmas community ritual on Saturday night, please attend this meeting. Bring your drum and/or percussion toys.

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DRUM PLAY WITH PELE with Pele Yemaja  

Come drum and explore African and Afro-Cuban rhythms and release your inner child. All levels of drumming are welcome. Bring your own drum, some available to borrow for the class.

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THE PRACTICE OF BEING HELD FROM WITHIN:  Safety, Connection and Sovereignty in Uncertain Times

with Tracie Jones

In times of uncertainty, our instinct is often to reach for answers, certainty, or escape. This experiential workshop invites you to practice something different. Through gentle Havening touch, somatic listening, ritual, and the wisdom of the forest, we'll explore how to root into your own inner sovereignty while allowing the Earth to hold you exactly as you are. Rather than trying to change or fix what is difficult, you'll experience what it feels like to sit beside it with curiosity, compassion, and presence. Together we'll remember that true magic isn't found in controlling life, but in learning to remain deeply rooted within it.

 

FEMINIST TAROT with Cybele Silvermoon and Luna Ravenwing

In this nontraditional tarot class we’ll be working with two round-card feminist decks:   the Motherpeace Tarot, created by Karen Vogel and Vicki Noble in the late 1970s, and Daughters of the Moon, by Fiona Morgan & Shekinah Mountainwater.  Their circular forms and female imagery invite us to do a different way of reading: intuitive and embodied, rooted in a womon’s life experience.  You’re welcome to bring any tarot deck you love and learn how to read it through a feminist lens. Whether you’re brand new to tarot or have been reading for years, this class offers a freshening of your divination practice. This is tarot for remembering who you are and trusting that wisdom.

MP decks will be available for your use as well to purchase.

 

WORKSHOP with Queen Hollins - TBD

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RITUALS AND SPECIAL OFFERINGS

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OPENING CIRCLE – with Ruth Barrett and other Gathering goddesses

Welcome to the Sisterhood, setting our intentions for our time together, formally beginning our Gathering.

 

OPENING NIGHT DRUM JAM with Pele and Dean

Come drum, dance, or just hang out and relax after our Opening Circle. Shake off travel, arrival, and transition to the possibilities of our precious time together.

 

WALKING THE LABYRINTH MEDITATION with Hestia Bee, Catherine Ridder and others

This labyrinth meditation is the first part of our community magical working in preparation for our Hallows Seasonal Ritual the following night. Join us for an interactive personal divinatory journey with Tarot, music, and the beautiful outdoor labyrinth at our camp.

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HALLOWS SEASONAL RITUAL

Facilitated by Temple of Diana co-founder Ruth Rhiannon Barrett and numerous awesome DoD ritual facilitators,

and guest Priestesses

In preparation for the holy night between the worlds, we are invited to enter a place stillness and simply be where we are: not moving forward or backward but being utterly present, suspended in the space between past and future. It is here that we listen to the voices in the crackling fire, rain, and wind. We enter the dark season of the year by releasing the year that is closing behind us, honoring our beloved dead, remembering the witches who perished in the Burning Times, and receiving divination guidance with which to dream in the dark. This year we will also prepare ourselves for the work ahead with commitments to self and the protection of our democracy, female sovereignty, and Mother Earth.

 

CLOSING CIRCLE facilitated by Ruth Barrett and other Gathering goddesses

Harvesting the gifts of our sisterhood, formally closing our Gathering together until we meet again.

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