WORKSHOPS

 

HECATE OF THE CROSSROADS

with Cerridwyn RoseLabrys

‘Tis the season of the Crone, and Hecate is our most beloved. She is a Triple Goddess, with the power to travel in the heavens, the earth, and the Underworld. The dark of the moon belongs to Her. Hecate is She who will receive us with love at the end of our days. She receives what we compost, and transforms it to renewal. In this workshop, we will review the attributes of Hecate and Her significance to us in these harrowing times. There will be enactments to engage in, meditation, and drumming. Come join us to honor the Crone. 

 

PURIFICATION and CONSECRATION OF THE RITUAL SPACE

with Ruth Barrett

This class is focused on how to energetically prepare your personal or group ritual space for a magical or ritual working. With tools to access bodily memories from lived experiences of Air, Water, Fire and Earth, participants will learn a process of evoking lived memories to embody the diverse elemental cleansing aspects for your rites. This class is especially for women who participated in the pre-gathering Energetics for Magick & Ritual intensive, and for women who have been previously introduced in The Spiral Door program and want a refresher.

 

RITUAL AS A TRANSFORMATIONAL PRACTICE: Notes From A New Initiate

With Julia Freya

How does Dianic ritual transform our minds in ways that strictly academic and instructional approaches cannot? As a new initiate reflecting how Dianic ritual as a transformational tool and practice has deeply affected her, Julia will discuss ways that ritual as a symbolic and emotional practice engaging all the senses reaches deeply to the preverbal psyche, transforming deep memory structures and opening to a broader range of experience. Both newcomers and longtime practitioners are encouraged to attend and participate in this discussion.

 

AMAZON ARCHERY - Basic Ground Archery Skills for Mounted Archery

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

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.

 

COMMUNITY CRONING PREPARATION with Caterina Fiordellisi Nelli

The PREPARATION: A “Croning” ritual marks the life transition of women 58 and older into honored elderhood, celebrating their power and accumulated wisdom. 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 Crones. If you have already had a personal Croning 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 Croned.

 

COMMUNITY CRONING RITUAL with Caterina Fiordellisi Nelli

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

 

DRUMMING TO PREPARE FOR OUR HALLOWMAS COMMUNITY RITUAL

with Catherine Ridder

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

 

EMBRACING THE GODDESS WITHIN: THE RADICAL JOY OF EMBODIMENT

with DiAnna Ritola

Using a combination of journaling, meditation, and somatic yoga postures, we will deepen our awareness of being fully alive as divinely female beings. DiAnna will lead participants through body movement, guided imagery, and journal prompts to help each woman access and release places of emotional and physical “stuckness” to more fully inhabit this amazing body and open into the mystery of embodied divinity...the very thing that gives us the courage and energy to be the change we want to see in the world around us from the personal to the political. Please bring a something to write on (paper or journal) and something to write with (pen, pencil, marker, etc.). If you have a yoga mat, you can bring that, but if you don’t have it, it’s ok.

 

VOICES WEAVING JOY THROUGH SONG

With Tracie Jones and Nicki Harris (California)

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.

 

DRUM PLAY WITH PELE

Come drum and explore African and Afro-Cuban rhythms and release your inner child. All levels of drumming are welcome. Some drums will be available for this class, but bring your own if you have a drum.

 

BEYOND DIVINATION--USING YOUR INTUITION

With Sandy Cybele

Can we get beyond using a divination system to answer questions and remember how we innately used to see, hear and sense the world?  Like most womyn, you have probably had some “psychic” moments in your life, but under patriarchy maybe you’ve suppressed them.  As womyn we haven’t been allowed to acknowledge or talk about our innate female wisdom without ridicule or punishment.  No one teaches us what it is or how to use it.  We are taught that by ourselves we know nothing of our power, and so we turn to outside divination systems rather than listening to the still small voice inside.  By sharing our stories and exploring our diverse ways of knowing we can learn to use these skills together and reconnect to ourselves and sisters.  As we know ourselves and trust our individual processes, we can use any divination system and go beyond the symbols, reduce our dependence on them, and even do divination without the use of props to jog our deep mind. We are our own best teachers to reclaim and empower our female deep inner knowing.

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RADICAL JOY IS OUR SUPERPOWER

A group discussion facilitated by DiAnna Ritola

"Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow." - Helen Keller 

Radical joy has been defined as “a conscious choice and a practice of cultivating deep happiness and contentment, even amidst challenging circumstances, by embracing acceptance, presence, and gratitude. It's not about ignoring difficulties, but rather choosing to find moments of beauty, connection, and meaning in the face of them.” Finding, practicing, and maintaining radical joy in these times is our challenge. Let’s discuss. 

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CARVING YOUR PATH IN JOY 

with Temple Ardinger

The Labyrinth is a tool for contemplation and self-reflection, not a maze or puzzle to be solved. Many walk the Labyrinth as spiritual meditation but having access to one 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 to carve out our own labyrinth altar tools to create our path of joy.  

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. 

 

RITUALS AND SPECIAL OFFERINGS

 

OPENING CIRCLE – With Ruth Barrett and other Gathering goddesses

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

 

HALLOWMAS COMMUNITY RITUAL

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

In community together we gather at Hallowmas, the holy night between the worlds where 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 may to the voices in the crackling fire, rain, and wind. In our ritual, 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 through embodied radical joy.

 

WALKING THE LABYRINTH: TAROT GUIDANCE FOR LIVING WITH RADICAL JOY

With The Fates, Hestia Bee, Ruth Barrett, and Catherine Ridder

This ritual is our second part of our community magical working we began at our Hallowmas ritual on Friday night. Join us for an interactive personal divinatory journey with The Fates, Tarot, drumming, and the beautiful outdoor labyrinth at our camp. Together, we will prepare ourselves to live with embodied radical joy in the year ahead.

Saturday evening, 7:30 – 9:00 pm (estimated end time). 

 

CANDLELIGHT SEASONAL CONCERT with Ruth Barrett, Falcon River, Pele, and others

A favorite Gathering concert of seasonal song, chant, and spoken word, with Ruth Barrett and other DoDG Gathering musicians, singers, and storytellers.

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CLOSING CIRCLE facilitated by Ruth Barrett and other Gathering goddesses

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

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