We are all descended from peoples who at one time had a dynamic, sensory, and interactive connection with the natural world; people who knew in their bones that the elemental world was alive and inseparable from who we are.
This connection was not lost by accident, or through a single event. Forgetting our interconnectedness with spirit and place was a deliberate process of severance that happened through many stages over time.
For those of us of European descent, reengaging with our ancestral wisdom through ritual and folk practices opens a portal for reconnection to our past that can also offer us guidance and support in the present.
Through lineage research, somatics, and land-based folk practices we will stoke the fires of reconnection to help fuel our commitments to dignity, sovereignty, and liberation in the here and now.
“The wild god points to your side.
You are bleeding heavily.
You have been bleeding for a long time,
Possibly since you were born.
There is a bear in the wound.
‘Why did you leave me to die?’
Asks the wild god and you say:
‘I was busy surviving.
The shops were all closed;
I didn’t know how. I’m sorry.’
Listen to them:
The fox in your neck and
The snakes in your arms and
The wren and the sparrow and the deer…
The great un-nameable beasts
In your liver and your kidneys and your heart…
There is a symphony of howling.
A cacophony of dissent.”
— Tom Hirons
Course structure
This course is a small and intimate container allowing for group reflection and relational learning. The course is open to anyone with an interest in learning about European folk practices — with a recognition that material is taught through an anti-racist, anti-colonial, queer and trans affirming, and trauma-informed lens.
Each session will include a blend of embodied practice, teachings on themes related to Indigenous European cosmologies, and group discussion. We will explore the possible intentions for and somatic states evoked through ancestral practices, offering an opportunity to embody the values and ways of life of our ancestors and feel into how they may apply to our lives today — including our relationships with and responsibilities to the lands where we live and call home.
While healing may happen, and some somatic tools are shared, this course is not focused on unpacking personal trauma histories and is not a therapy group.
outline
Week 1: Introduction to Indigenous European Knowledge + Embodiment
Week 2: Ancestral Reconnection through Voice + Song Kulning (Scandinavia) Polyphonic Singing (Ukraine)
Week 3: Ancestral Reconnection through Movement + Dance Corrguineacht (Ireland/ Celtic) Circular Dancing (Celtic, Germanic)
Week 4: Ancestral Reconnection through Clairsentience + Trance Imbas Forosnai (Ireland/ Celtic), Bacchanalia (Ancient Italy, Roman)
Week 5: Integration + Closing Ritual
program details
Please join newsletter for announcements about future offerings of this program.
pricing
This course offers tiered pricing based on your resources and need. Those who are able to pay at a higher rate can support those who need to pay less to be able to access the course. Please choose from one of the following rates using this sliding scale fee guidance chart.
Community Rate: $350 (Reduced rate, lower/ bottom of scale)
Sustainer Rate: $500 (Full fee, covers cost of the program, middle of scale)
Supporter Rate: $650 (Helps cover a reduced rate spot, higher/ top of scale)
Online program rates are in USD
Payment plans available
About Marika Heinrichs (She/her)
I am a queer somatic practitioner, writer, and educator. My work focuses on the recovery of ancestral wisdom through body-based ways of knowing as a pathway for people of European descent to de-assimilate from whiteness and unwind from domination and supremacy. My people come from Ukraine, Germany, Britain and Ireland and I was born, raised, and live on Dish with One Spoon treaty territory in so-called Guelph, Canada. You can learn more about me and my background here.
