Psychology, Ritual Arts, & the Earth

Greetings of Northern Autumn.

Hope you're thriving there despite and amidst the turmoil and adversity. Certainly here in the U.S. the next month promises more intensities.

Gratitude to everyone who participated in our three Summer online courses, the final completing today; it's been a delight to share in the time, and we hope you might consider continuing on.

Registration is still open for Autumn courses (Foundations of Ritual and Animist Psychology: Earth, Ancestors, and Mental Health). Ritual begins this Thursday, October 22nd, and Animist Psychology begins next Friday, October 30th. Both will be well resourced with four optional live calls each week in international time zones; one with me and three with practitioner-anchored small break-out groups. All small breakout groups include LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-only options for participants who may find those dedicated spaces supportive.

The free accompanying e-book, Animist Psychology: Healing Self and Culture Through the Path of Relationship, sketches out some key concepts on bridging animist principles into psychological theory and mental health practice (details below).

The teaching and Q&A on Friday, October 23rd (on Facebook Live) is open to all and a great way to get a better sense for the Animist Psychology course. The replay will be available on our Facebook and YouTube afterward.

A word of praise to the 33 ancestral healing trainees (and twelve retreat supporters) who yesterday completed the second online immersion before taking their services into the world. Although our directory of practitioners is for those who have completed the certification process, most new trainees will also begin offering client sessions this month, including for those requesting low-income sessions. Big respect to each of them for navigating the additional demands of pandemic ritual training.

Ancestral Medicine has an active FAQ page which includes our public statement on conflict resolution. As with anything, questions to info@ancestralmedicine.org are always welcome.

Finally, if you're in the United States and are eligible to vote; gentle encouragement to do so. May we see an overwhelmingly positive election outcome and a peaceful transition of power in the months ahead. Prayers with and for the potent times here and elsewhere.

Please keep resourcing with the old powers who have seen all this and more.

Daniel

Registration now open! Ritual is both art and discipline, cultivation of personal intuition and renewal of ancestral knowledge, instinctual and learnable. The styles and approaches to ritual are as diverse as people, human and otherwise, and the only ‘wrong’ ways to approach may be those that become untethered from love, wisdom, and relationality.

The course is eight weeks long with a weekly pre-recorded lesson, a live Q&A call with Dr. Foor (recorded for playback), and three additional (optional) live calls each week. Our meetings will be a blend of responsive teaching and experiential guided practices each gathering. Payment plans and scholarships are available.

Registration now open! Animist Psychology seeks to identify and build on common ground between ritual, psychology, and cultural healing. This course is a good fit for practitioners of ritual arts, mental health professionals and students of psychology, and anyone interested in the intersections of ritual, culture, and psyche. No need for psychological training or prior experience with animist, earth-honoring ritual to join.

Topics include: colonialism and mental health, ancestral curses, archetypal possession, psychosis and spiritual emergency, belonging in places with major historical trauma, cultivating resilience in partnership with the ancestors and land, and a range of other considerations under the banner of Animist Psychology.

The course is eight weeks long with a weekly pre-recorded lesson, a live Q&A call with Dr. Foor (recorded for playback), and three additional (optional) live calls each week. Payment plans and scholarships are available.