“Earth Spirit, Earth Justice” +”Walking the Edge”

1 Dec 2012

Saturday – Sunday, December 1-2
Starhawk will be Edmonton, Canada, with Reclaiming Edmonton. Two days filled with info, practice, community, magic, food, and inspiration.

Saturday: lecture, followed by community potluck dinner and a ritual.
“Earth Spirit, Earth Justice”
We live in tough times, for the Earth and those who love her. Assaults on the life support systems that sustain us have reached crisis proportions. Our social and governmental institutions seem unable to cope with global warming and environmental deterioration. Our disconnect from the Earth is part of a deeper gap, the split between body and spirit that allows us to denigrate the very ground we stand on, and that sees women, whose bodies bring life into the world, as lower and less valued. Starhawk traces the connections between our assaults on the Earth and our deep assumptions about power. To heal that split, we need to invoke a deeper source of power, power-from-within. We need the insights of Earth-based spirituality and social permaculture, that see the Earth as alive, a being that we are part of, that values the body and that honors the physical, the dark, and the low. What does the concept of the Goddess mean in such times? What aspects and images can inform us, sustain us, and give us healing and hope? Some of our greatest allies may be the lowly life forms of fungi and beneficial microorganisms. Compost can be a spiritual practice, as well as ritual and magic. Starhawk draws on her decades of writing, teaching, and practicing Goddess-oriented spirituality, as well as her front line activism for social and environmental justice, and her experience teaching ecological design, permaculture and bioremediation, to identify and invoke the great powers working with us for the healing of the Earth.
Time: lecture, 2:00 p.m.; potluck/ritual, 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, a magical day-long workshop: “Walking the Edge”
In nature, edges, where one ecosystem meets another, are the places of greatest dynamism, energy and creativity. Where the meadow meets the forest or the ocean meets the shore, we find the most diversity, and also the most stress. In this workshop, we explore our own edges. How do we walk between worlds? When have we been outsiders, marginalized and what unique vision arises from the boundaries? How do we challenge and explore our own edges? What boundaries are healthy, and which constrict us unnecessarily?
When the old answers of spiritual, political, and emotional systems no longer serve, how do we weather the conflicts and disappointments that inevitably arise in our groups and communities of support? Spiritual empowerment can be a challenging journey, one where we need to replace systemic domination with symbols of life-giving, transformative power. To be empowered is also to be engaged with the world, not removed from it, to take action to bring about justice, balance and healing.
In this crucial moment of history, we are more than ever called to step into our full power and creativity, to maintain hope and compassion, to hold our vision and the commitment to make it real. When we act from empowerment, in the service of the Earth, we tap great powers to be our allies.
In this workshop, we will learn to push our own creative edges, taking more risks, pushing our work, our rituals, and expression further into excellence. We will explore “Social Permaculture”: a set of ethics, principles, and best practices that foster beneficial relations between people, and that helps us work together cooperatively and effectively turning conflict into learning and growth. Using the tools of ritual meditation, ecstatic drumming and dancing, storytelling, group work, guided journeys, and altar building, we will create a sacred space. In this space we can deepen our practice and expand the borders of who we can be.
Starhawk has been working in collaborative groups for forty years, and training permaculture activists for a decade. She draws on insights and frameworks from her latest book, The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups.
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Cost includes lunch.

Location: Killarney Hall, 8720-130 A Ave, Edmonton, Canada.
Cost: Package for all $190. Lecture only, $13-30 sliding scale. Potluck/ritual by donation. Workshop only, $90-180 sliding scale. Tickets available at Earth’s General Store and Where Faeries Live.
For information on all Edmonton events, contact: starhawkinedmonton[at]gmail[dot]com

“Earth Spirit, Earth Justice” +”Walking the Edge”
8720-130 A Ave
Edmonton, Canada