Wild Women - 6 Months Journey into the Wild Feminine through Stories

Introduction

There is an inner wildness within every woman. Sometimes that wildness discovers a voice, sometimes that voice remains buried. Some women would have been encouraged to find that inner wildness within, for many more - it would have been required to hidden. Much of the world is afraid of powerful women, therefore their stories have not been encouraged. But do not be mistaken to think they have never existed - they are here, ready to be told and heard. Are you ready to journey with them?

“Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing." - Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Course Structure

We will be together for 6 months, and we will meet once per month. At every meeting, Nana will tell you a story and then we will discuss the story in a group. We will speak about the invididual collective meanings of the story, its symbolism and metaphor, and delve into its medicine for our communities. In between meetings, there will be time to reflect on our throughts and our dreams in relation to the story. There will be spaciousness.

These stories come from the oral tradition, which is estimated to be at least five thousand years old. The stories below are at least few hundread years old, many have their routes in a pre-Christian age. Their richness offers many gifts.

Session 1: The Selkie's Skin (Scotland) Nov 09, 2023, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

A journey of reclaiming that which was stollen from us. 

A Selkie, a seal woman, whose skin gets stollen by a fisherman who wishes to mary her. The story explores her journey in an attemp to find her old skin. 

Session 2: Tatterhood (Norway) Dec 07, 2023, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

The re-integration of the wild parts of us.

Two twins are born, two girls. One is beautiful and charming, the other is the wild twin who is born riding a goat with a wooden spoon in her hand. 

Session 3: Medusa (Ancient Greece) Jan 18, 2024, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

Living on the margins of society. Transformations. Power and Powerlessnes. 

A beautiful woman, taken in a temple by Poseidon, punished by Athena for the sacriledge. The punishment - a transformation into a terrifying winged female with snakes instead of hair. Anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. The one who was gazed at by men, suddenly became invisible. Medusa was punished for something that was done to her by someone of great power. 

Session 4: The White Wolf (Croatia) Feb 15, 2024, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

Reclaiming the wild parts of ourselves.

A woman rescued by a man, her wilderness taken. A story of reclaiming that which she treasured the most. This story has similar threads to the Selkie story.

Session 5: The Madness of Mis (Ireland)  Mar 14, 2024, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

Embracing the anger and grief that we have been told to ingnore.

A woman who knows grief and is transformed by it into a savage creature by it - half bird, half wild beast. Her feminity buried deep underneath. She lives as a wild beast in the mountains and forest consumed by her anger and grief for a long time. Many warriors attempt to fight her, but she devours them all. She responds not to the strength of an arm, but the tenderness of a heart.

Session 6: The Samodiva (Bulgaria) Apr 11, 2024, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

Remembering where we come from, and what we belong to.

A shepherd falls in love with a wild woman and steals her shift, she has to marry him, but the wilderness becons her. A story with similarities to the Selkie story.

The Medicine of this Course

We often tend to read stories written by men, at times stolen from women where girls and women need to be rescued. The sories we are explosed to inflence who we become. Listening to an oral story is incredibly powerful. Discussing this story in community is incredibly rich. It is time to remember the stories with wild, powerful women. The stories in this course have carefully been selected to represent a rich array of experiences and quests in order to support our individual journeys and growth.

“Bone by bone, hair by hair, Wild Woman comes back. Through night dreams, through events half understood and half remembered…” - Clarissa Pinkola Estés 

Practicalities

Course Recording

This course will be recorded for those that will miss the occasional session. The recordings will be available to course participants only. To maintain the integrity of the group, it is required that anyone who wishes to participate can commit to minimum 4 out of 6 sessions. 

Who is this course for?

We will be exploring wild women and the wild femine through stories. The course is for all who identify as a woman and feel called to participate. 

The space will be free of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Autonomy and choice will be integral to the running of this course.  

Content of Stories

These stories are for adults and they will deal with themes such as death, grief, rape, violence and exile. They will be told and explored sensitively. If you have been personally affected by any of the above themes, please ensure that you feel resourced and supported in order to attend in a way that allows you to remain connected with yourself and the material. 

Origin of Stories

All the stories we will be exploring are European. There are many wonderful stories of wild women which are Inuit, African, Indian, South American or Native American to name a few. There are many gifted and incredible storytellers from those cultures who tell them. I feel that I do not have a right to tell stories rom other cultures which have not been gifted to me by an elder or storyteller from that culture. As a white woman, I am aware that many beautiful stories from cultures around the world have been stolen and told in a way that does not benefit the original community. It is important to me to respect the stories, the culture they come from and to tell them with integrity and skill.  If you would like to explore stories and storytellers from other non-European cultures, I can recommend the work of Shonaleigh Cumvers, Jan Blake, Dovie Thomason, Gauri Raje to name a few incredible oral storytellers.  

Course Content 

The stories and material of the course are for personal use and growth only. Any recordings received are not be shared outide of the group. Any personal stories cannot be shared without the explicit consent of the person who shared them. The content and structure of course cannot be replicated without the facilitator's written consent.

Event Image: Artwork by Tangled Muses (Lucy Tipper), used with the Artist's kind permission. You can find more about Tangled Muses on their website, instagram page, and support the artist by visiting their beautiful shop here.