The Making & Mending Rituals Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#83 Exploring living funeral ceremonies with Emily Cross May 29, 2020

Show notes

Hey everyone, I hope this episode with the wonderful Emily Cross finds you well and safe. I really, really loved talking to Emily about her work as an end of life doula and a facilitator of living funeral ceremonies. Our conversation covers things like fear of death, natural burials, living with embodied death awareness and what it's like to participate in one of her living funeral ceremonies. If you feel curious and open to thinking about your own mortality and are in the right place to engage with thoughts around death I think you might really enjoy listening to this episode. If you like you can also consider joining the next virtual ceremony on June 5th, the link is below and here is a video that will give you a better idea of what to expect: https://youtu.be/da_NJjqwGtw

Emily Cross is an end-of-life doula, musician, and artist living in Austin, TX. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where her visual artwork centered around mortality and loss, she moved to Austin and quickly became integrated within the arts and music scene. In 2015 she decided to pursue a career serving the dying, and earned professional certifications from the University of Vermont and from Quality of Life Care. She established Steady Waves End of Life Services in 2017 and brings her unique set of skills to her work with the dying and their families. You can sign up for the virtual living funeral ceremony on June 5th here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=15983494&appointmentType=14314217 https://steadywaveseol.com/ https://www.virtuallivingfuneral.com/

//If you enjoy listening and would like some support for your practice please consider joining my Patreon. In the Practice // Space community you’ll get access to recorded workshops, ritual guides, journaling prompts and movement & creative practices to explore in your own time. I also host monthly intention setting sessions and quiet co-creating sessions on Zoom around each new moon. Join here: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/practice/

Thank you!//

#82 Intersectional herbalism for difficult times with Alexis J. Cunningfolk May 18, 2020

Show notes

Hey friends,

I hope you are safe and doing as okay as you can <3 I loved listening back to this episode with Alexis J. Cunningfolk – their work is so comforting to be around and continues to inspire my own practices. We recorded this last year, which now feels forever ago, and so much of what Alexis shared feels extremely immediate and important today. Here is some of what we talked about:

Centring re-enchantment in our work and our lives
Remembering ourselves back home
Working with plant allies and tarot archetypes
Self-care practices for difficult times
Embodying interconnectedness

Alexis J. Cunningfolk (she/they) is the intersectional herbalist and witch behind Worts + Cunning Apothecary. She is dedicated to the re-enchantment of the world and helps folks to re-member themselves back home to their magick through herbal healing, magickal arts, and sound therapies both ancestral and modern. Her work is informed by her queerness, mxd ancestry, and the fact that they’re a young hag just waiting for time to catch up. They host online and in-person courses for starry-hearted healers as well as offering in-person services grounded in building communities of inclusivity and justice. Connect to free resources and more at wortsandcunning.com.

Thank you!//

#81 Exploring myth as healer and life in ceremony with Lara Veleda Vesta May 01, 2020

Show notes

Happy Beltane & May Day sweet listeners! I recorded this episode with the wonderful Lara Veleda Vesta quite some time ago and felt bad for publishing it so late, but listening back to our conversation just now made me realise that the timing is just perfect - Lara has so much wisdom and beauty to share around rites of passage and working through really difficult times. I love her work and am honoured to be one of her student and to share her message. Here is some of what we talked about:

- What it means to be a Dís-ability Witch living with chronic illness
- Myth as healer
- Living in ceremony in big and small ways
- Leaning into ancestral support and creative practices through difficult times
- The magic of naming yourself
- Rites of passage as death transformations

Lara Veleda Vesta is an artist, author and educator transforming chronic illness into a path of healing and reclaiming. She is the author of The Moon Divas Guidebook and The Moon Divas Oracle Book, illustrator of The Moon Divas Oracle Cards and The Runes Revealed, and is currently working on two books exploring death transitions: Dark Goddess, a handwritten, interactive rite of passage guide, and Coven Invisible, a memoir in myth. She has a patron community supporting this work, and to thank them she offers rituals, circles, mentoring and other gifts. Lara also teaches classes by donation at The Wild Soul School, where explorations include folk magic, ancestral connection, self-initiation and ritual practice. To learn more and weave/create: laravesta.co

Thank you!//

#80 Studying the tarot as an anchor for personal practice with Benebell Wen Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

I hope you’ll enjoy today’s episode, which is a really interesting conversation with the wonderful Benebell Wen. If you’re into tarot and would like to hear a different perspective grounded in deep research and wild curiosity this might be for you <3 Here is some of what we talked about:

Making friends with the tarot and experiencing it as an ally for decision making and growth
Psychology in tarot, seeking proof and engaging our rational mind
Writing a book and staying committed to the creative process
Sigil making and the tao of craft

Benebell Wen is a practitioner of various metaphysical arts. She studies tarot, feng shui, the I Ching, numerology, and both Chinese and Hellenisic astrology. She is the author of Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth and Tao of Craft: Fu Talismans and Casting Sigils in the Eastern Esoteric Tradition. When not lecturing, teaching or writing on metaphysics, Wen practices law in California and New York. She is of Taiwanese descent and currently lives in Northern California with her husband James and their beloved cat.

Thank you!//

#79 Living an uncompromised life with Jessica Uys Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

Hey friends,

how are you holding up?

As promised I am publishing more episodes for your isolation enjoyment <3

This one is a beautiful conversation with Jessica Uys in which we talked about the following:

The joy if ignoring common life and business advice
What it means to live an uncompromised life
Working with the enneagram to better understand our patters rather than getting into a box
Intentionally creating community culture

Jessica is a Coach, Facilitator & Researcher who believes in living an uncompromised life.

After 15 years in the corporate world of Consumer Insights, she’s spent the past 7 years as a “thinking partner”, helping people tune into what they really want, look at themselves through a different lens and design their lives through conscious choice.

Jessica works intuitively, integrating her business experience alongside her work as an Enneagram Coach, BodyTalk Practitioner, Eating Psychology Coach and Breathwork Practitioner. Her corporate work includes both Enneagram team facilitation and research into organisational culture, diversity & inclusivity.

Website: https://www.jessicauys.com

Monthly Life Letters: https://www.jessicauys.com/life-letters

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicauys/

Thank you!//

#78 Exploring tarot for self-reflection and creativity with Kathleen Callahan Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

Hey everyone, I hope you are safe and able to stay home. As promised I am sending more podcast episodes your way so that we can least connect through the cosmic internet vibes. This Sunday I am also hosting a donation based grief circle - we'll do some gentle breathwork, meditate together, journal and do some self-massage to ease the lack of touch. You can learn more, sign up and invite your friends here: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/grief-tending/ I really loved talking to Kathleen for this episode and have received several tarot readings from her that I still treasure and listen to lots (they are currently on sale for $25). Kathleen is truly magical, very real, very creative and very wonderful. Here is what we talked about:

- Tracing our journey through life with tarot journals
- Transforming harmful patterns in our lives
- Creating a tarot deck and being in creative flow
- The reality of building a small business under capitalism and worrying about money
- Working with the memories we carry in our bodies

Although she thinks of herself as an eternal student, Kathleen has been working with the tarot for the past 19 years. Her father was a tarot reader in the 1970s but kept it secret from her until she bought her first set of cards at the initiatory age of 13. He refused to teach her the language of the cards, so she spent many years finding her own way with them. She has taught herself plant medicine and astrology over the course of the last 7 years, and now weaves her love for tarot, astrology, and plant medicine together in her work to support transformation in herself and clients. She is also trained in IET (Integrated Energy Therapy) and Reiki to nourish the space she holds for others. By learning to find the voice within after all these years, she now teaches others how to find their own inner wisdom and that we can be our own healer. https://www.daughterofwands.com Kathleen's tarot readings on sale: https://www.daughterofwands.com/offerings-1/recorded-tarot-reading https://www.instagram.com/daughter.of.wands/

Thank you!//

#77 A woodland visualisation for times of crisis Mar 15, 2020

Show notes

Hey friends, I recorded this woodland visualisation as a way to offer some easily accessible grounding practices in these uncertain and stressful times. I'm thinking of all of you and am really committed to releasing more episodes over the next few weeks so we can stay in some kind of dialogue and connection as we are practicing self-isolation and social distancing. Please reach out and message me if you have any wishes for practices or ideas you'd like me to cover. A reminder also that becoming a Patreon gets you access to the Embodied Magic program, my live classes and zines as well as recordings from past workshops that you can explore in your own time from home. Small businesses will appreciate your support now more than ever! I've lifted the different tier levels so that it's more accessible, any pledge will give you access to all I offer.

Thank you!//

#76 The good, the bad & the magical: celebrating five years in business + my biggest lesson Mar 01, 2020

Show notes

I am celebrating five years in business today! ⁠ "I trust myself to make this work" is still my favorite business affirmation and I am excited for the next five years. ⁠ ⁠ Working for myself has given me a lot of freedom, room for creativity, community, rest, inspiration and joy. Obviously it's also given me a lot of headaches and challenges, but at the end of the day I have never regretted it. ⁠ ⁠ I've recorded an episode sharing my biggest lessons - ⁠I talked about unlearning competition, having good boundaries, rethinking success, making time to work ON your business and listening to your body as a wise mentor. Enjoy! ⁠ ⁠ Thanks for supporting my work, being here, listening and sharing and for making all this possible. ⁠ ⁠ Love you,⁠ ⁠ Yarrow

Thank you!//

#75 Queering herbalism and grief as sacred practice with Brunem Warshaw Feb 24, 2020

Show notes

Happy new moon in pieces, wonderful listeners! This episode feels like a really wonderful treat to kick this moon cycle off with. It's been a deeply resonating, wonderful and insightful conversation with Brunem Warshaw of Well Deep Remedies. Here is some of what we talked about:

- Making friends with neighbourhood plants
- Weaving disability justice and anti capitalist values into healing work
- Prioritising plant connections in the way we spent our social energy
- Navigating feminized labour with the support of plants
- Heartbreak and grief as a sacred practice

Brunem mentioned the books Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women by Silvia Federici. You can sign up for Brunem's newsletter here: https://www.subscribepage.com/f1n2m3 Learn more about their upcoming class on herbal support for emotional intelligence and relational work: https://www.welldeepremedies.com/herbal-support-for-emotional-intelligence-relational-work And find Brunem on instagram: instagram.com/welldeepremedies Brunem is a Clinical Herbalist and wellness educator who weaves scientific and intuitive approaches together to support people in healing themselves with the assistance of plant medicines. Brunem is also a queer nonbinary femme with invisible disabilities who is descended from Irish and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors. Their clinical practice Well Deep Remedies has a particular focus on trauma and addiction recovery, queer/trans support, ancestral magic, and disability justice.

Thank you!//

#74 Reclaiming dance and creative expression with Jess Grippo Feb 21, 2020

Show notes

Hey everyone, happy Friday! I'm loving this episode so much and I hope you will too! Jess Grippo is so fun and wonderful to be around and she has really inspired me to finally f*cking dance again. In this giggly interview we talked about the following, amongst many other groovy things:

- The joy of dancing in your own way and why it's so liberating
- Letting go of ideas about what a dance practice should look like
- Overcoming body image issues
- Creative processes that are joyful and easy

Jess Grippo is a dancer, performer, writer, creativity coach, and the author of Dance With This Book. After leaving her ballet career and being distanced from the dance world for years, she started making dance videos alone in her room. These DIY expressions would become the catalyst for reviving her creative expression and later transitioning her career back into dance - but this time, in her own way. Since then, she's been invited to speak and perform at TEDxNYU, Lincoln Center's Dance On Camera Festival, the New York Comedy Club, and more. Her programs and videos have been helping people for years to reclaim dance, feel at home in their bodies, and revive their creative expression. You can dance again: https://www.jessgrippo.com/you-can-dance-again-2020 jessgrippo.com Instagram/Tiktok: @jessgrippo

Thank you!//

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