The Voices of the wells
The Voices of the Wells is a self-study, on-demand course which you can join at any time and work through at your own pace. We’ll take a deep dive into the well of womanhood in the ancient traditions of Britain and the Celtic nations. We’ll understand how and why women were viewed as voices both of the land, and of that Otherworld which is so perfectly entangled with this one. We’ll explore old European stories about the Grail, and ask ourselves what the Grail quest – a Heroine’s Journey to restore the Wasteland both inside and outside of ourselves – means for women in these ever-more challenging times.
‘If the power of the [Celtic] woman is the power of place speaking, then this is the gift that we can offer to our world, the contribution that we can make to the healing of our Wasteland. We are the carriers of the wisdom of our native places, the knowledge of the plants and the animals, the rich intelligence of the cycles of life and the seasons. We are the mediators of the wisdom of the Otherworld, the Voices of the Wells. … Be the power of the land speaking. Pass the gift on. Pass it on, and in this way we, like our female ancestors from long ago, like the goddesses of Sovereignty in our native mythology, become guardians and protectors of the land.
By taking up these ancient roles, we begin to restore life to the Wasteland. Refuse the continuing destruction, because what hurts the Earth hurts us. Because we are the whole Earth. We are the Voices of the Wells; we are the power of the land, speaking. Use your voice. Speak.’
from If Women Rose Rooted – Sharon Blackie
THE TIME BETWEEN STORIES
The world is changing. The old stories that Western civilisation has been living by for the past few centuries – stories of limitless growth, of the pursuit of progress as the primary purpose of life, of human separation from and domination over ‘nature’ – are crumbling. These are the stories of the patriarchy. The stories which we need to replace those destructive tales will be born from the wellspring of creative, generative wisdom which belongs to women.
In this time-between-stories, and in these days of crisis and uncertainty, we need visionaries. We need the stories of the land; the stories of our native traditions, and the wisdom which is encoded within them.
We also need more than just talk: we need practical commitment to real, meaningful change in the ways we choose to live, and the ways in which we perceive our place in the world. In this course, I’ll encourage you to take time out to explore the critical questions we’re facing now. Among them are:
– What are the stories we need to guide us in the future? – stories which are life-enhancing, rather than soul-destroying?
– What is the essence of women’s power and creativity?
– How do our old native myths and stories help us uncover more balanced ways to live on this earth?
– How do we take those old stories forward for new times?
– How do we take responsibility for our own choices?
– Most important of all, how do we begin to create genuine, authentic, and lasting change – from the individual, to the social?
COURSE CONTENT
MODULE ONE
The Voices of the Wells: an introduction to women in our native traditions.
MODULE TWO
The origins of the Grail; the Cauldron of Rebirth and Inspiration; the gifts of the Cauldron.
MODULE THREE
Sovereignty: women and the land; the Grail quest and the Fool’s Journey.
MODULE FOUR
The Divine Hag, and the Loathly Lady.
MODULE FIVE
The Question That Must Be Asked: what ails thee?
MODULE SIX
Consequences: the Wasteland, wells, and inundations.
MODULE SEVEN
The foundation stones of Celtic spirituality; developing coherent practice.
HOW IT WORKS
All of my work is grounded in a firm commitment to ongoing academic and professional training in the fields of psychology (with a focus on narrative, depth and transpersonal psychology) and mythology, as well as in my longstanding personal practice, and exploration of the native traditions of the British Isles and Ireland. Please check out my academic and professional qualifications here.
SELF-STudy
This is a self-study course, and once you’ve enrolled you will be able to log in to the members section of this website. From your course ‘welcome’ page, you’ll have immediate access to all the material and can work with it at your own pace. You’ll retain your access for the lifetime of this website.
The course material is divided into seven Modules, and for each Module there will be a workbook to download and explore. The workbooks will provide stories and perspectives on the subject matter of the course, along with recommended reading.
Practical exercises and creative responses to the material are a fundamental part of this course, and are offered up in the workbooks – as well as ‘challenge’ questions, which guide you to explore the relevance of the material to your own life today.
There’ll be an introductory video in which I’ll set the work in context, and a closing video in which I’ll suggest ways of deepening your practice as you move forward. In four of the other five Modules, you’ll be invited to view a video in which I speak with a guest teacher.
From January 2020, anyone who is signed up to any of my online courses or programs with a login to the members/courses area of my website will also receive a monthly email, exclusively for members, with a story, article or reflection about an aspect of British, Celtic or other European mythic and folkloric traditions which I think will be of interest to you. You’ll be able to receive those emails for as long as you choose to subscribe to them.
ENROLMENT AND PAYMENT
The course is priced at £80. (For those of you in other countries: currency exchange rates change by the hour, and so we’re not able to tell you what the cost of this course is in your currency. This currency converter offers you live rates, though they may or may not reflect the rates actually given to you by your bank or credit card provider. It will, however, give you an indication.
When you sign up to Voices of the Wells, you’ll be prompted to create a login which will allow you access to the ‘Membership’ section of my website. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON THIS SITE, YOU MUST USE THE SAME EMAIL ADDRESS AND USERNAME THAT YOU’RE ALREADY REGISTERED WITH, IN ORDER TO SEE ALL YOUR COURSES UNDER THE SAME MENU.
If you have a discount code, you must enter it by clicking on the ‘Have a coupon’ link above the ‘Select payment method’ section below, before you make your payment. We cannot apply discount codes after the event, or create partial refunds in the case of errors.
*Please agree to the terms and conditions to continue
Please note in particular, before purchasing, that no refunds can be given for this course.
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