Myth as Healer

Story is a sharp knife.

Story is a spirit being.*

Storytelling is how we survive.*

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.**

In the world of myth and magic there once lived a woman with an ear for the wind. She lived in a moon blessed house somewhere between the seasons. She was quite young, and so very old. Lean in, child at the edge of the world, for her story has something to say to you.

We are made of stories, every aspect of our lives a tale. Yet we have forgotten how to connect with the mirror of healing inherent in myth, and so the difficult stories in our lives--rites of passage, death transitions, massive transformations like illness, divorce or childbirth--are born into the world devoid of mythic meaning.

In this class we will restore our relationship with the greater ongoing stories, find sacred tales from our lineage that support and nourish our current transformations--or celebrate and integrate an old rite of passage that left a hole in our soul. We will find our place in the world of myth and magic, curl at the hearth of the ancient grandmothers, and listen as they sing to us our new names.

When did you stop believing your life was a story worth telling?

When did the magic leak out of your daily experience?

Where have you lost your will, or voice, your song or power?

Where are you at in the myth cycle of your journey?

What are your death transitions teaching you?

What rites of passage are you missing?

What is your deepest longing?

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

Over four weeks we will track our stories, engaging with them through practice and research, exploring their context within our psyches, and beginning to see them as a living fabric, part of the greater communities we occupy.

When I became deeply ill, finding a story is what sustained me. Imbuing my own experience with the elements of story helped me transform my experience of chronic illness and dís-ability into a rite of passage process, so that with each underworld descent I could emerge stronger, less scared, visibly transformed.

This is not a "class" taught from a place of expertise, but a space of exploration and resource sharing together with a love of myth and a willingness to listen.

This Wild Soul School class is community supported. The class, including the Mythic Ritual Practice, has a suggested donation of $150. All donations support the work of Myth as Healer and the Wild Soul School, and there are no financial barriers to access thanks to the generous support provided by my Patreon and Fractured Atlas communities.

If you wish to join the community in supporting the creative effort and energy of the class, you can make a one-time donation via PayPal, Venmo or Fractured Atlas (links below) or making a recurring donation by becoming a patron of this work on Patreon and be a part of the greater Wild Soul School story:

PayPal: [email protected]

Venmo: @LaraVesta

Fractured Atlas (tax deductible donations via my fiscal sponsor): https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/sacred-art-...

Patreon Community:https://www.patreon.com/laraveledavesta

Non-monetary donations and trades are also welcome! Please email me at [email protected] to chat about non-monetary contributions.

Whatever you choose, please know your contribution helps me to work sustainably with the cycles of my disability, supporting embodied difference.

Also, because of my disability, class times and dates sometimes need to be revised, extended or rescheduled. This necessary flexibility makes my work possible. Because of this I cannot offer refunds. Your donation is a gift, the classes are a gift, and by this exchange we agree to reciprocity without expectation. All gifts help support me in creating and reweaving new visions for living, including one where I can continue to offer this work while living in alignment with my body's disability and healing.

With love--

Lara*Martin Shaw

**Muriel Rukeyser