Welcome to Back to the Root: An Online Course for Samhain
Harnessing the Potency of Heritage
Learn about the ancient beliefs, folk traditions, & magick
around the turning of the year
The Celtic Fire Festivals are rooted in the native traditions of the Land and Her people, giving us a more in-depth and complex perspective than the NeoPagan wheel of the year.
Back to the Root explores the seasons and sacred cycles through the ancient Celtic way of seeing and being, offering you ways of carrying these folk traditions and wisdom forward to nourish you in the modern world.
In this self-paced course, you will explore Samhain in its root from the Land and people from which it comes. You will learn history, folk traditions, rituals, seasonal energy, herbs for magick and medicine, and receive practical offerings to tune in to the season of Samhain and the cycles of Nature within and without.
Come take a seat with us at our cauldron hearth as we unearth
the ancient magick of Samhain.
Check Back Soon for the Next Offering in the Back to the Root Series
The Inspiration Behind Back to the Root
Connection to the olde ways has always been the root system of our study, our practices, and our living. Following something back in time and history to its beginning, learning and embodying the wisdom of the ancients, then carrying that knowledge and energy forward to see how it makes sense in the modern world has been the fundamental path of our work. It fills us with awe and wonderment daily, and connects us in deep bone knowing to the lost (much needed) medicine of people and place that has come before us.
Back to the Root is inspired by those that came before — plants, people, culture, and Spirit of place. The wisdom that has been passed on to us as we have stood on the Lands of Scotland & Ireland is the heart of this course.
You Will Learn:
History of Samhain
The most important elements & themes of the festival
Dispelling mis-information of what Samhain is and is not
Connection to Ancestors — beyond blood and bone
What Scottish & Irish folk practices & traditions were/are known to be practised at Samhain
Energy of Samhain
Herbs, Plant Allies, & Medicine of the Season
Living the energies of Samhain as a Season
Contemplative Seasonal Prompts and Questions
This Course is for You If:
You are curious about the magick, rituals, & practices of Samhain
You are seeking to go deeper than the Neo-Pagan, Contemporary Witchcraft, & Wiccan appropriation of Samhain & gain an understanding rooted in history & the Land from which it comes
You seek to return home to the natural world connecting more deeply to Nature, Earth-based living, & the gifts that come from the Land
You seek to cultivate an intimate, sacred relationship with yourself through ceremony, ritual, & connection to the olde ways
You desire to find a sense of belonging & connection to ancient wisdom, tradition, folkways, & your Ancestors
You are drawn to the liminal, the lunar cycles, & animism
You feel the longing to enrich your relationship with Life, to embrace the fullness of your human experience & re-enchant your life with magick & meaning
You are a beginner, a seasoned scholar, or in the space between —we are always more than the categories we put ourselves in, & there is always something to learn
You’re not sure why, but your intuition is telling you this is for you
What’s Included:
Two Samhain pre-recorded Videos totalling 2 1/2 hours
One pre-recorded Audio including guided journaling prompts/contemplative questions and a guided meditative drum journey totalling 40 minutes
Downloadable PDF of a Samhain Ritual Ceremony offering including:
-a simple guide to building an ancestral altar to connect to the medicine of the season
-seasonal acknowledgment of the elementals and directions
-incantations and recitations
-Samhain candle spell to connect to your Ancestors
Bonus Introduction Video includes:
-Rethinking the modern 'wheel' through the traditional two cycles from which the four fire festivals are born
-Historical understanding of Cross-Quarters versus Quarters
-Ancient understanding of the lunar cycles
-Liminal spaces, places, and time
Optional Add-on Bundle of seasonal herbal products to be used in the Samhain Ritual offering and to support you in connecting with the Samhain season offered exclusively with course registration
*You will have access to this self-paced course for a year and a day beginning on the Dark Moon of October 2, 2024. The portal will close completing the course cycle on October 3, 2025.
*This course in non-refundable
Check Back Soon for the Next Offering in the Back to the Root Series
Your Guides:
We (Jackie & Lisa) have been passionately teaching physical, mental, energetic, and spiritual Self development across the globe, working with hundreds of students and clients both online and in-person. With a total combined teaching portfolio of over 50 years, we are teachers of teachers; training, mentoring, and guiding countless students in the art of teaching and the integrity of leadership. We are devoted to inspiring folks to fully live their unique vibrancy and magick, and do so through skillfully curated programs, workshops, ceremonies, retreats, apprenticeships, and trainings, as well as one-on-one work.
Our own study and training has mostly taken shape as traditional, lineage based, long-form study, one on one with a teacher, apprenticing ourselves to the studies and practices. In this way of learning, advancement in practice and knowledge is based on the student’s progress rather than an external pre-conceived timeline, which has afforded us the opportunity for a depth of understanding, growth, and development rarely offered in these times. We have been given direct permission by our own teachers to pass on the wisdom and knowledge that we teach which is often only given after many years of study and embodiment. We deeply believe that it is our responsibility as teachers to continue studying and developing ourselves, and thus live in a constant state of learning, curiosity, enquiry, wonderment, and awe. While most certainly sharing the same root system, our paths of study, apprenticeship, and teaching include: Celtic indigenous folk tradition, myth, storytelling, spirituality, and ceremony, western herbalism (folkways and clinical), holistic health, Ayurveda, Hatha yoga, & permaculture and biodynamic history, practice, and implementation.
Our deep connection to our own Scottish & Irish lineage and our passion for uncovering the wisdom of the olde ways has led us to take annual pilgrimages to the Land of our Ancestors. Here is where we apprentice ourselves to the philosophy, life, and breath of culture, tradition, and Land through scholarly study and folk tradition, as well as receive the wisdom from the Spirits of Place. Rooted in ancient and heritage ways, we carry these traditions forward into the modern world so each of our days becomes a ritual living magickally and deliciously in deep partnership with the Land and Spirit.