Description
Many of us have read and intellectually comprehended something of the ancient myths, but these ancient mysteries were not originally intended to be drily read from books. They were spoken by skilled orators – and absorbed into the listening body as reverberating sounds. They were acted out by those who could give themselves over to such strange power – and such shapeshifting was witnessed, received and felt.
When we give body and breath to a myth, it ignites. It awakens and leaps forth from the sarcophagus of the past into present and vivid aliveness, transforming all that it touches.
To truly know the power of myth is to taste it, to breathe it, to open our entire sensory systems and feel it. Moving through our blood and bones, it invigorates. It commingles with the raw materia of our modern lives, bringing realisations, sometimes succour, and sometimes shocking new insights into our relationships and ways of being in this world.
WHAT THE COURSE CONSISTS OF:
- A reading and embodied study of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter
- Exercises to expand body sensitivity and awareness
- Guided meditations
- Guided movement practises working through and with mythic forms
- Dreamwork
- Group feedback and discussion in our private Facebook group
- Private witnessing and support if required
- Supplementary reading materials and resources
- Space for your own writing, note-making, art or creative expression
COURSE STRUCTURE:
The course runs over three consecutive days. It’s ideal if you can join the three days that the majority of the group will be taking the course so you may benefit from the collective experience. However it is also possible that you can choose another three days that suit you better, and also you can make it more of a solo practise if you prefer. The group feedback and discussion is optional. You can take the course in whatever way suits you best, though setting aside at least two consecutive days plus the evening before is essential.
All the materials are pre-recorded for you to fit more easily into your own schedule.
Day One is preparation, consisting of three hours of practise, plus overnight dreamwork. This could all be undertaken during the evening so you don’t need a full day off that day, if that fits better for you.
Day Two is a full day of practise, with further overnight dreamwork.
Day Three involves a full day of further practise, and grounding, integration and distillation of your experience.
If at all possible, I advise that the subsequent fourth day be a restful day, for you to further process and integrate your work.
WHO THE COURSE IS FOR:
- People looking to expand their bodily awareness and sensitivities in general, who want to come ‘out of their head’ and more fully into their earthy sensual bodily felt experience.
- Those who may be feeling stuck creatively, emotionally, physically, energetically, spiritually, or in need of fresh inspiration or insight about anything happening in their lives.
- Anyone intrigued by the idea of exploring the strange wonder of myth as a living entity with the power to move through us, shifting and healing and transforming our lives.
- Devotees of Persephone, Demeter or Hades, but also anyone interested in mythology and storytelling in general who might like a new way to apprehend the ancient tales.
THE INSTRUCTOR
Red K. Elders is an artist, bodyworker and somatic movement practitioner with 30 years of experience in eastern forms of meditation and spiritual praxis. This circuitous path ultimately brought her right back to exploring and working with the folk magic practices of her own ancestral lands of the British Isles, and with ancient Greco-Egyptian sorcery. Red works with individuals and groups practising massage, deep bodywork and movement therapies, with many years of experience in creating beautifully held ritually guided movement spaces for creative exploration, healing and play. Drawing from insights in her private practice as a deep bodyworker combined with her own explorations into movement, sorcery and earth-based ritual work, her iconic portrait graphite drawings of old gods and mythic beings have emerged, infused with their own unique magic. Her drawing process calls forth deep devotional practice, ritual and movement bodywork, facilitating the ability to move seamlessly between realms.
Red is a published author. You can read her article: See yourself through these hands: The moving body as a portal to spirit possession. Working with ancient ritual technologies to create portraits of spirits, gods and mythic beings.
