WOMEN'S RITES OF PASSAGE
I walk with you to discover what is yours to craft in this life
welcome
I tend the thresholds of life's transitions focusing on rites of passages for adolescents, adults and elders by creating and guiding handmade transformative circles, journeys and trainings that acknowledge and celebrate the significant cycles and stages of our lives.
From the metamorphosis of adolescence to young adulthood, to the
transitions of matrescence and creative leadership in our adult years, from the mature feminine to elder; each rite of passage is a quest to discover our own calling, a 'dropping in' to a deep listening for our own ways of knowing, and a remembering of who we are.
Transitions require a separation from what no longer serves us, to embrace the liminality of change. Sharing our stories and facing the challenges of each life stage is how we transform toward a renewed understanding of the gifts we bring to the world, what it means to belong- to ourselves, to our kin, and to the unfolding vision of our lives.
As a Rite of Passage guide and mentor, my methodology comes from layering the social technology of
Rites of Passage alongside my training and experience in group facilitation, trauma informed space holding, and motherhood studies within a group, circle or retreat setting. Each program I offer is created with expertise in evidence -based research; courageous inquiry, grounded embodiment and reflective creative practices held through ancestral and earth-honouring ritual and ceremony.
I am dedicated to creating inclusive and brave spaces for all women and committed to undoing the harm of toxic spirituality in women's circles and healing spaces (that so many of us have experienced) with transparency and clarity on the intentions and contents of my programmes. I actively resist any prescriptive definitions of 'the feminine' through an intersectional feminist and animist perspective supported by decolonising and actively anti-racist values and commitments. My approach names the personal, cultural and planetary mother wound for all humans living within patriarchal systems. Wayfinding together on this journey provides the opportunity to claim our own ways of knowing and unlearning the myths of the Good Girl/Good Woman/Perfect Mother in order to attune to the cyclical nature and stages of our bodies, our lives,
and the earth.
I believe that gender is a binary construct and yet I teach and facilitate gendered Rites of Passage programs because I know that often we need to reflect and unlearn the conditioning we may have received when assigned female at birth and having grown and matured in a patriarchal culture.
I pay my respects to the traditional owners and elders both past, present and emerging
of the Bundjalung Nation lands on which I live and work. I also acknowledge the revolutionary black and indigenous feminist foremothers who have made so much way-finding possible for all women.
You can read more about my DEI journey statement here.
scope of practice
HANDMADE TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEYS
Mother Daughter Camp
“I know that women carry their wisdom deep within,
and remembering these other ways of knowing
is the medicine we need to reweave the world."
about me
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As a women's rites of passage guide and mentor to coaches and leaders, I know that it has taken the my 6 decades of living and learning to create inclusive and diverse journeys that support our life's transitions.
With 20+ years experience as a pioneering arts & cultural leader and strategic head of programming I have honed my approach to creating collective transformational experiences. Through my work in sustainability education projects and my experience living in a community dedicated to rainforest restoration and wildlife sanctuary on the lands of the Widjabul-Wiabul people of the Bundalung nation, I am brought closer to the beauty and magic of being in relationship with our more than human kin.
My journey now is to relearn the craft of elder as one who humbly stands on the shoulders of the fire keepers, healers and foremothers that came before me. I am the mother of grown daughters who are my joy and inspiration.
lineages, teachers and trainings that inform my work
I acknowledge of all the women of my ancestral lineage, all those whose creativity and courage has allowed me to embody this work. I am the daughter of Celtic women, some healers, guides and warriors. My people are from France, Scotland and Germany. I honour the ancestors of place and lineages with gratitude. Reconnecting to my Motherline has meant reconnecting to the enduring love, strength and powerful wisdom they hold. This connection to the ancestral feminine guides my understanding of the burdens and grief of women across centuries, as well as the harm they perpetrated as early settler-colonists of North Eastern US. Healing and cultural repair is foundational to my own journey and I am committed to creating and facilitating programmes that are based on intergenerational, animist & feminist in values, actively anti-racist, decolonising and LGTBQ+ inclusive.
Mentors & teachers I have learned from:
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Turiya Hanover, Founder of The Path of Love and Working with People Holistic Counsellor Trainings for her mentoring, care and inspired embodied leadership. Find her work here.
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Dr. Kimberly George, Psychosocial Somatic Theorist and Scholar, and Founder of Feminism School
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My daughters, Grace and Ella
Trainings and Experience:
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Motherhood Studies Practitioner Certification with Dr. Sophie Brock. Learn more about Sophie's work here.
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CULTIVATE, Trauma Informed Space Holding with Katie Kurtz (LISW-S), creator of the Trauma Competencies™ and the evidence-informed 'Trauma-Informed Space Holding (TISH) Blueprint™. See Katie's work here.
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Group Facilitation Training with Margarete Koenning, Gestalt Therapist and Internal Family Systems Counsellor
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BlackCard Cultural Capability Training with Mundara Bayles, based on the work of Dr. Lila Watson and Dr. Mary Graham Aboriginal Elders and Educators and course developers for the University of Queensland.
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DEI Journey with Annie Gichiru, Racial Equity Educator
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Fundamentals of Attachment Theory - Diane Poole Heller
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The Rites of Passage Institute Level One and Level Two Leadership trainings
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Certified Youth Mental Health First Aider with Mental Health First Aid, Australia
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Ancestral Medicine: Ancestral Lineage Healing / Foundations of Ritual / Animist Psychology with Dr. Daniel Foor
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The many hundreds of women & mothers I have sat in circle with who have shared their stories, challenges and hearts.
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The edge dwelling artists, creators and storytellers I had the priviledge to work with as Head of International Arts & Cultural Programmes, Dartington Hall Trust & Dartington College of Arts
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Current Working with Children check
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Undertaking through 2022: PACFA certified Counsellor - Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC)
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.
by John O'Donohue
CONTACT ME
To enquire about programmes or mentoring please reach out to discuss
