Fall & Winter 2023-24

Looking back at this past season in Ceremony:

Highlights this past season included the Gaia Sacred Circle Dancers’ 1st Annual Summer Shamanic Dance Retreat: Dancing the Heroine’s Journey, 'Healing Together: The Power of Community Connection': a resource sharing event, and co-creating and officiating Fall Outdoor Weddings.

The Gaia Sacred Circle Dancers - Kathleen Leeson RH, Barbara Carter and I - offered our 1st Annual Summer Shamanic Dance Retreat: Dancing the Heroine’s Journey over the August long weekend. We taught participants our own original guided dances for each of the stages of the Journey and danced the entire sequence in Ceremony on our final day.

Image: Me dancing amongst the wonderful participants who joined the Gaia Sacred Circle Dancers at the Galilee Centre in Arnprior, ON. for our Retreat: Dancing the Heroine’s Journey-

Image: Me at my display table - an example of a personal altar - at the Healing Together event held at Britannia Yacht Club, Ottawa.

This past November I took part in 'Healing Together: The Power of Community Connection' - a showcase of services and programs supporting those who are grieving. I set up an example of a personal altar for someone who had died and shared resources with other local individuals and organizations in attendance. As part of the event, members of Community Deathcare Ottawa did a Home Vigil demonstration and asked me to lead the processional out of the hall, singing Amazing Grace. I appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this valuable presentation and to bring some more live singing back into my Ceremonial activities! I also appreciated the efforts of Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program and Community Deathcare Ottawa in co-organizing this event.

I enjoyed co-creating and officiating some Fall outdoor Weddings in August and September. I worked with wonderful couples who valued personalization in their Ceremonies and with my guidance, carefully crafted them to honour the journey of their relationship so far, express their love for each other and celebrate their uniqueness as individuals and as a couple.

Image: Me officiating Annie & Mike’s wedding in Plantagenet, ON. Thankfully we got through the Ceremony without a drop of rain!