Alchemizing grief & Sorrow Asheville

An 8-week course for personal and collective grief around the hearth

January 13th - March 2nd

A transformative Journey

The hearth, a symbol of radiant warmth and togetherness, will become our sacred space, as we gather around the fire to share, be witnessed, and navigate the wild waters of grief. For many of us, grief comes with endings - the death of a loved one, pregnancy loss, a divorce or breakup, or an illness that alters the course of life. Grief also emerges in response to the desecration of watersheds, the loss of languages, and the disappearance of forests, animals, and insects. Sorrow can grip our hearts when we witness rampant injustice, economic disparities, or the horrors of war. These experiences, when seen with all our senses, forever change us, marking a profound shift in who we are.

As we undergo this transformation, we find ourselves in a liminal period—a threshold between who we were and who we will become. It is an unsettling place, reminiscent of the underworld, where dreams, mystery, and the mythic beckon us. It is also a deeply challenging place, one in which we shouldn’t do alone. Dominant culture, steeped in grief-phobia, has conditioned many of us to suppress our emotions, hide our struggles, and deny sorrow's presence. But within our circle, around the hearth, together we embrace the unknown and the long night of grief, finding solace in the collective radiance of fellow seekers and the warmth of life itself. We hope you will join us on a transformative journey as we delve into the sacred depths of grief and sorrow.

Our intention in hosting this course is to cultivate a deeply supportive space for folks to step closer to their grief and their innate wholeness, belonging, unique gifts, and the medicine within their grief. We intend to go deep together and build connections with one another in ways that aren’t often a part of this culture through ritual, nature-based practice, sharing circles, and discussions.

All personal and collective grief is welcome (heartbreak, death of a loved one, illness, pregnancy loss, ecological and climate grief, socio-cultural grief, trauma, generational trauma).

Words from previous participants

  • In this class I was able to see how living life in fear of and aversion to loss was muting my existence. I have always felt so deeply and I work in mental health but another layer was revealed that made it so clear that loss is essential to fullness, to being more fully and authentically alive. My grief keeps me connected to all that is and was and will be. And now I feel I have the understanding, resources and support to go there within myself, to know I can hold it and that others and the natural world can hold it with me.

    Katie

  • Being guided through the sometimes scary and overwhelming terrain of grief and sorrow by Madison and Jacob opened me to dimensions of the experience I don't feel I could have accessed on my own. The course helped me come into meaningful relationship with my own grief, and softly warmed me out of a frozenness I had developed inside my sorrow. I came away from the course with jaw-dropping gratitude for the precious sense of connection I woke up to inside my own grief, as held by the course container, the facilitators, the group, and the natural world. Madison and Jacob bring integrity, authenticity, skillfulness, groundedness, and a touch of the sacred to everything they do. To experience their strong and gentle presence walking alongside me as I navigated my own grief alchemized what could have been sheer hell into a world of sublime Beauty.

    Marga Laube

  • Alchemizing Grief and Sorrow helped me come back home to myself. This course gave me the resources to coexist with grief in a very sacred way and to help other's do the same. Madison and Jacob are incredible facilitators who lead our group into deep connection with ourselves, with each other, and with the more than human world. Whether you are in the throes of grief currently, are curious about grief tending work, or simply want more resources for how to live and lead and wholehearted, connected life, this course is for you. I have nothing but deep gratitude, admiration and appreciation for Maddison and Jacob and the incredible course they curated.

    Attily

  • Alchemizing Grief and Sorrow allowed me to get in touch with and address deep seated grief that traditional and somatic therapies/ body work hasn't been able to touch. Nature based ritual has been essential to my healing and grieving process, and I highly recommend this course for anyone willing to deeply connect with and process grief. I feel more whole as a result, and I appreciate Madison and Jacob's ability to hold a sacred, safe container for such important work.

    Erin Passarello, PT, CST

  • Madison and Jacob helped prepare me to hold space not only for my own grief but that of others. I learn both practical and Earth integrated ways of being with grief. My understanding and compassion of grief has expanded.

    Jennifer Coby

“Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” -Oscar Wilde

Alchemizing Grief Details:

Course Format:

Our grief course takes place over eight weeks, offering a unique and immersive experience for us to be together in the serene surroundings of Willow Moon Farm in Weaverville. Each session will be held in a cozy yurt, creating a comforting and intimate space for our time together.

We will meet for every Saturday from 2pm - 5pm January 13th - March 2nd

Optional readings, meditations, deep imagery journeys, self-care, and community care practices will be provided between sessions.

Trauma-informed Grief Group Progression:

Nurturing Practices and Frameworks:

In the initial weeks, our focus will be on establishing a nurturing and supportive space where everyone in the group can connect and support one another in their unique grief journey. We will be engaging in nurturing practices that prioritize our connection with the natural world and the care of our bodies and overall well-being. Through a model rooted in the cycles and seasons of nature, we will explore and cultivate our innate human wholeness. This model, based on the four directions, will provide a foundational framework for the duration of the course.

Understanding our Grief and Cultural Implications:

There are many ways to understand grief and its extensive cultural implications. In our time together, we will talk about how we have been conditioned to grieve and acknowledge the prevailing culture's avoidance and fear of grief. We will explore various techniques, such as inner child dialogues and deep imagery meditations engaging with different parts of ourselves and outside forces among others to delve into our grief and better understand our unique relationship with loss and healing.

Navigating the Liminal and Feeling our Grief:

Engaging with the natural world, we will take our questions, feelings, and experiences onto the land and share our grief with the waters or trees, seeking wisdom and lessons on grief, resilience, and support. Together, we will seek glimpses of beauty and embrace the sacred mystery of life and death. Drawing guidance from our dreams, nature, and our intuitive selves, we will discover what our lives are asking of us in the present moment.

Healing Through Sharing, Witnessing, and Ritual:

Participants will have the opportunity to fully engage in the ceremonial and practical aspects of grief tending, rooted in ritual, sharing, witnessing, and being with the liminal and unknown waters of grief. Various practices, such as talking circles, dyads, poetry, dream work, deep imagery meditations, writing exercises, somatic/embodiment practices, parts work, and solo practices on the land will be incorporated to tend to our grief and uncover the gifts that lie beneath.

Sliding Scale Pricing

At Remembering Earth we recognize that people have varying access to resources. Therefore, we offer a sliding scale pricing structure for our program with a range of $280-555 with a payment plan option available in the application. We strive to make our program accessible to all, regardless of financial circumstances so please reach out if you’re interested and finances are a limiting factor. The payment plan has no additional fees and can be set up with two or three payments.

Flourish Rate: 3 payments of $185

This rate is recommended for individuals who have a strong financial foundation, including factors such as financial security, property ownership, double-income household, personal savings, or a household income exceeding $115,000. This price enables us to offer cover the full costs of this course and helps us offer more accessible spots.

Sustain Rate: 3 payments of $141

If you have a steady income and find stability in your home and life, this rate is for you. Additionally, if you have access to resources through family or friends and can budget for opportunities like this training, the sustain rate is suggested. It reflects the median price and helps cover the full cost of hosting the class.

Support Rate: 3 payments of $94

For individuals whose access to resources is limited, and whose economic situation restricts their ability to attend at the higher tiers, the support rate is available. We want to ensure that everyone can participate and benefit from our program, regardless of financial constraints.

Register

For many this course may feel scary to register for. It is courageous to ask to be witnessed and supported and to know you deserve it. We are here to answer any of your questions and reflect your wholeness and worth back to you. Email Madison.

If you feel ready to join this program, please fill out the application below. A payment confirms your spot in this course.

FACILITATORS

  • Healing is possible. I know this deep in my body and soul. I have experienced the intensity of my parent’s deaths as well as many others I love. I too am a survivor of abuse. And, I have the embodied experience of healing, reclaiming, and enacting my whole self.

    My connection with the natural world, potent mentors, and my chosen family shaped my way when I was lost. I eventually found, practiced, and trained in eco-depth psychology. These methods offered insight and instruction for me to reclaim my body and self through love, authenticity, belonging, connection, and soul. Sharing these practices and frameworks with others is essential to my existence. I live to guide others to reclaim wholeness and the truth at the center of their being.

    As a ritualist, ceremonialist, wilderness guide, grief specialist, and eco-therapy practitioner, I guide people to remember how to trust themselves, their bodies, and their healing. You can learn more about my training here.

  • Jacob guides people to wild and ancient places for them to uncover their gifts in this precious life. He believes individuals befriending death and darkness opens doorways to fall in love with life and further prepares them to be the gift we were meant to be.

    Jacob desires to tend the flower beds of our individual lives so we may be the bouquet of flowers to offer death, to make beauty with our life. In these times of rapid unfolding and unraveling, he believes we can still orient to our unique service to the world and one another by bravely going forth amidst the perilous storms ahead by carrying a light amidst the darkness.

    Jacobs relationships with the night and her creatures, death, the hunt, and stewarding the wild world guide his work. Through deep imagery, dreams, trauma-informed care, mindfulness practices, wilderness backpacking and nature immersion, Jacob feeds the internal and external world. Jacob has a MA in Sustainable Communities where he studied eco-depth psychology and has trained with guides from Animas Valley Institute and School of Lost Borders.