United Earth Assembly October 2nd & 3rd, 2010
Come and attend our wonderful workshops!
We have something for everyone!
United Earth Assembly workshops are selected to provide a rich and rewarding experience for attendees to deepen spirituality with fun and education. Our intention is to provide a place for learning, truth, laughter, kindness, and wisdom where we meet Mother Gaia and hear Her Rhythms in our own lives.
Our informative workshops offer variety, depth, and something different than expected! See the NEWS page for our complete schedule in early September!
See the Registration page to attend!
Saturday, October 2, 2010 Workshop Schedule
If you have any questions, please send an email to Workshops@UnitedEarthAssembly.com
Time | Event | Room | Track |
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | “Tz” Tzivia Stein-Barrett: Tree Goddess Mind Body | Snapdragon 1 | Gaia |
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Heidi Snelgrove: 7 parts of a whole person | Snapdragon 2 | Rhythms |
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Dr. Linda Cameron: Open Your Heart To Gaia or Mother Nature and Beyond | Snapdragon 1 | Gaia |
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Delfin Pythia: Bindrunes | Snapdragon 2 | Rhythms |
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Sara Willerson: The Way of the Horse | Snapdragon 1 | Gaia |
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Jennifer Culver: Working with the Mothers: Implementing Ancestor Work into Regular Practice | Snapdragon 2 | Rhythms |
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Lunch (Included to Meal and Full Packages) | Atrium | |
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Guest Speaker: Amy Martin Cauldron Circles: Smoke-Based Outdoor Ceremony for Catalytic Change | Snapdragon | |
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Featured Speaker: Elizabeth Cunningham En-chant-ment: Circle Singing and Improvisation – Bring rattles, drums | Snapdragon | |
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | UEA Ritual – Gaia Rhythms | Snapdragon | |
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Dinner (Included to Meal and Full Packages) | Snapdragon | |
7:15 PM – 8:00 PM | Keynote Address: Our Bodies, Our Earth Elizabeth Cunningham | Snapdragon | |
Featured Speaker and Keynote Address:
Elizabeth Cunningham
Elizabeth Cunningham is the author of The Maeve Chronicles as well as three other novels and two collections of poetry. She has just released her first album called, appropriately, MaevenSong.
http://passionofmarymagdalen.com
Elizabeth is our featured guest speaker at United Earth Assembly this year. She will inform us with her Keynote address: Our Bodies, Our Earth in her keynote speech after dinner where she will delight all with a brief dramatic piece from her award-winning novel The Passion of Mary Magdalen, one of the central novels of The Maeve Chronicles, the feisty, pagan, Celtic Magdalen who is nobody’s disciple.
Her afternoon workshop will invite us to sing our hearts out.
En-chant-ment: Circle Singing and Improvisation – Bring rattles, drums
We’ll begin by singing the seed syllables that correspond to the chakras, and then move to simple chants as a basis for creating connection, raising energy, and taking off into improvisation. During the workshop we will also create a new chant and discover how simple, joyful, and healing it can be to make music in the moment, for each moment.
THE MAEVE CHRONICLES
Why does Mary Magdalen make only a brief, dramatic appearance in the Gospels and then vanish? Maybe the world simply hasn’t been ready to hear what she has to say—until now. Meet Maeve, the feisty Celtic Mary Magdalen. Speaking directly to her 21st century audience, she tells her story with wit and humor, wisdom and passion. And it is her story. No one’s disciple, she is lover, bard, priestess, and healer. And like her beloved Jesus, Maeve incarnates the divine redemptive mystery of love. The Maeve Chronicles recount the life adventures of this refreshingly unconventional Magdalen. Each novel is designed to stand alone, and the series can be read (and re-read!) in any sequence. Think of The Maeve Chronicles as narrative Celtic knotwork: the stories spiraling out and spiraling in, each one whole, each one leading to the others.
Magdalen Rising: The Beginning Prequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalen
In this Celtic wonder tale, young Maeve and Jesus, brimming with youthful charm and arrogance, find each other and fall in love, forging a bond that is stronger than death. Born to eight warrior-witches on a magical isle, Maeve heads for druid college with high hopes of meeting the Mysterious Other she has glimpsed only in visions and dream. From the start, Maeve and Esus, as the druids call him, are sparring partners, by turns delighting and outraging each other with their opposing views on just about everything. Their pleasure is overshadowed by a brilliant but unbalanced druid who knows a perilous secret about Maeve’s past. He also becomes obsessed with Esus as a perfect victim for the most sacred druid rite. In a daring scheme, Maeve risks everything to save the life of the one she loves.
The Passion of Mary Magdalen
This central novel of The Maeve Chronicles follows the intrepid heroine’s perilous journey through slavery and prostitution in Rome to founding her own holy whorehouse in the good-time town of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee. Throughout her trials and triumphs, Maeve never gives up hope of finding her lost beloved, a young man she once knew as Esus, whose life she saved at enormous cost to herself. The ultimate reunion of the lovers is as stormy as it is ecstatic. As we make our way through the terrain of the Gospels—healings, exorcisms, miracles, feastings, riots, and terrifying prophecy—Maeve and Jesus fight and make love, nurture and confront each other, infusing this unique passion narrative with their passion for each other. And in the end, they dare together the most awe-full mystery of all.
Bright Dark Madonna: Sequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalen
After playing an intimate role in the mystery of the Resurrection, what is left for Maeve, the Celtic Mary Magdalen? Never a follower, will she emerge as a leader of the early church? Will she retire quietly to mother a sacred bloodline? Will she set sail for France to proselytize and go spelunking? The answer: all and none of the above. No sooner does Maeve open her mouth to preach the gospel her way than a fierce debate begins about what to do with the child she is carrying. Maeve has her own ideas about where best to raise the savior’s scion. When she returns to Temple Magdalen, the holy whorehouse she founded, a custody battle of biblical proportions ensues. Maeve, her infant daughter Sara, and Jesus’ mother flee to the remote Taurus Mountains where they live in hiding among the Galatians until a mysterious man is dumped on their doorstep more dead than alive. When Maeve discovers the identity of the man she has healed, she is appalled and determined to keep her family’s secret. But Maeve has reckoned without the will of her brilliant, angry adolescent daughter who resolves to find out the truth about her father—for herself.
Accessible to fans and to those new to The Maeve Chronicles, Bright Dark Madonna takes the reader on a breathtaking journey from the temple porticoes of Jerusalem, to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, to the south of France, and, as always, to the treacherous, beautiful terrain of the human heart.
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Guest Speaker: Amy Martin
Amy Martin is a writer, educator, and publisher based in North Texas who manages Moonlady Media. Executive director of Earth Rhythms, bringing sacred concerts and spiritual lecture speakers to North Texas Amy Martin is also known as the Moonlady for her popular Moonlady News list serve, and creator of the renowned Winter SolstiCelebration an interfaith, interactive commemoration of the longest night .
Memorable ceremonies rely on vivid sensory sensations that take ritual beyond rote. ~
Workshop: Cauldron Circles: Smoke-Based Outdoor Ceremony for Catalytic Change
Learn how to make a hibachi fire and burn herbal blends on hot embers for Cauldron Circles that include immersion smudges with billows of smoke and intensely aromatic burnt offerings. Led by Amy Martin, author of "Holy Smoke: Loose Herbs & Hot Embers for Intense Group Smudges & Smoke Prayers," Cauldron Circles fully involve participants’ five senses with the warmth, aroma and sensation of burning herbs. Smoke ceremonies provide enough distractions to occupy the conscious mind so that the subconscious is free to connect with the deep message being conveyed. Learn to create embodied moments that people can remember and call upon in their times of need.
Books and blends will be for sale before and after the talk.
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Workshops in order of appearance
Title of Workshop: TreeGoddessMindBody
Presenter: “Tz” Tzivia Stein-Barrett
Phone: 214-232-5159
e-mail: Tzivia@HealingCircleCenter.org
Website: www.HealingCircleCenter.org
Workshop: TreeGoddessMindBody
Like the statuesque trees, our bodies will grow and sway with winds of change, tensions, and safety; created through word, thoughts and actions while in an environment of others. In this 50 minute experiential workshop, we scan our bodies with our imagination, create a community grove and explore the sensations and feelings our relationships stimulate.
Through the experiences we come to understand how our bodies hold our past and present feelings, while using the magic of the moment to transform rigidity to equanimity; accepting the flow of life.
Presenter Bio: “Tz” Tzivia Stein-Barrett
Tzivia “TZ’ Stein-Barrett has been in the healing arts for over 20 years, assisting hundreds of individuals explore their relationship to themselves and others. As a Yoga Instructor and psychodramatist, Tz uses physical techniques to release congested energies, while guiding clients in practicing new behaviors. In MindBody Integration work, the wisdom of the body reveals unconscious stories that need telling and transforming. Tzivia is a clinical social worker, Registered Yoga Teacher, and Massage Therapist with a clinic in west Garland. She takes Insurance and private pay for sessions.
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Title of Workshop: 7 parts of a whole person
Presenter: MysticTree Grove / Heidi Snelgrove
Workshop: 7 parts of a whole person
We talk about girls growing from Maiden, to Mother, to Crone, and boys from Warrior, to Hunter, to Sage. Each of us at any one moment has all of these aspects inside us needing to be fed. In addition to these six is the reflection of deity in each of us for a total of 7 aspects.
During this talk we will be exploring different ways these 7 parts of the whole person manifest at different times in our lives as well as brainstorming ways to help others in our care embrace missing parts of their whole.
Presenter Bio: MysticTree Grove / Heidi Snelgrove
With Taichung, Taiwan setting the background for her earliest memories, MysticTree was drawn to the Eastern cultures. Her studies of the Tao lead to the study of Chinese Astrology, Feng Shui, and eventually Eastern Mysticism. From a completely different source, MysticTree was introduced to Tarot from a Portuguese tradition and that lead to a life-long love of these images and the Archetypes they represent. Her Tarot Journey led to her discovery of the Western Traditions and to the path of a Kitchen Witch.
More than once, MysticTree has been warned that mixing Asian Mysticism and Western Magick could not be good. Contrary to that, her studies have led her to see more similarities than differences and now she blends the two traditions without hesitation. In Tarot, she sees the wisdom of Confucius and the simplicity of the Tao. In the pages of the I Ching, she sees the images of the Major Arcana. When weaving a spell, she calls upon the power of the elements to work with the QI energies of motion and stillness.
In addition to MysticTree’s spiritual journey, she was gaining skills in the corporate world. As a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), she has taught all over the country. It was natural to blend her love of teaching with Tarot and Magick just as it was natural to move from writing children’s stories to articles about Tarot.
In the spring of 2007 MysticTree stopped accepting new clients and set aside the Tarot book she was developing to pour her energy into the creation of Tarot World Magazine and its parent company TWM Publishing, Inc. Because she believed the Tarot community deserved to know the legal name of the magazines creator MysticTree set aside her chosen mystic name and asked the Tarot World to welcome Heidi Snelgrove into their lives. They did and in January 2008 the first issue of Tarot World Magazine premiered with the first issue shipped worldwide.
At the same time, what would become the Tarot World Annual was made available as a limited edition called the 2008 Tarot Professional’s Appointment Book. This collection of articles included several written by MysticTree. She decided to use her legal name for the editor and publisher tasks, but to continue to use MysticTree Grove for writing and consulting.
Unfortunately the hard financial times brought an end to TWM Publishing, Inc. in 2009. Since that time, MysticTree has been working with Sacred Journey Fellowship to create a pagan friendly worship place as well as continuing her own studies. She is doing limited reading and charts at this time.
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Title of Workshop: Open Your Heart to Gaia or Mother Nature and Beyond
Presenter: Dr. Linda Cameron
Phone: (972) 463-2966
Email: drlindacameron@AOL.com
Website: http://www.drlindacameron.com
Workshop: Open Your Heart to Gaia or Mother Nature and Beyond
Dr. Linda Cameron, psychologist, author, mystic, and great granddaughter of a Cherokee medicine woman will present, “Open Your Heart to Gaia or Mother Nature and Beyond.” It will combine lecture and actual experiential exercises to help you achieve inner harmony and resonate your heart with Mother Nature and then move to an ecstatic experience of Source Being or the Universal Energy Field. The Heart Resonating Exercise will use the 528 Hz or Love frequency from the Ancient Solfeggio Musical Scale. A review of the mystic literature indicates that powerful mystical experiences generally occur when we connect with Mother Nature — Jesus went into the desert to meditate, Moses communed with God on a mountain, Buddha went into a forest for 6 years and had his awakening while sitting under a Bodhi Tree, and Mohammad was meditating in a cave when he received his revelation. Dr. Cameron will discuss the six stages of a mystical experience with Mother Nature from her book Cosmic Surfing.
Presenter Bio: Dr. Linda Cameron
Dr. Cameron received her B.A. degree in psychology from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in psychology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She completed an internship in a pain management program in Dallas and has been in private practice there since 1987. Dr Cameron conducts a meditation group that meets every other Saturday evening at sunset at Lake Ray Hubbard located at Dalrock and Interstate 30. For details contact Dr. Cameron at (972) 463-2966 or drlindacameron@AOL.com. You can visit her website at http://www.drlindacameron.com.
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Title of Workshop: Bindrunes
Presenter: Delfin Pythia
Workshop: Bindrunes
Explore the practice of creating and using bindrunes. This workshop focuses on the Elder Futhark of the Norse/Germanic tradition. We will take the basic understanding and meaning of the runes and expand upon it to the next level by combining select runes together to create a 'custom' rune that's just for you. You will create a bindrune you can use in your own personal lives as you journey along your chosen paths.
Presenter Bio: Delfin Pythia
Delfin Pythia started walking the Wiccan path as a solitaire in 1998. She came to find a spiritual home and family of the heart in the Circle of the Serpent in 2001. Circling and growing with this group for seven years, she began to find her focus in divination and rune magic. In 2008 she received her 3rd degree and is beginning the journey of forming her own coven. She has also been a member of Widsith since 2003, a seidh group which focuses on seidh magic, journeying and oracle training with its background being Norse and Germanic. She is also a member of the Texas Local Council of The Covenant of the Goddess (also known as COG). She is also a mother of four and grandmother of ten and still considers herself young at heart and even with all this, considers herself always a student of life.
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Title of Workshop: The Way of the Horse
Presenter: Sara Willerson
Phone: 214-596-8300
Website: www.horsesheartandsoul.com
Workshop: The Way of the Horse
In this time of great change and transition, even the animals have something to say. Horses, especially, are here to assist not only in our healing, but also our growth toward expanded connection and Higher Conscious Awareness. Participants will learn about the role of these magical beings on this earth, the healing power of horses, and the messages they have to share with us at this time.
Presenter Bio: Sara Willerson
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Pilot Point, TX. Her Horses, Heart & Soul, LLC program (www.horsesheartandsoul.com) is located on 19 magical acres surrounded by woods and a lake where Ms. Willerson and her equine partners offer individual, family, group, couples, and workshop programs for children, adolescents, and adults. Ms. Willerson has also been trained as a Shamanic Practitioner. Together with her equine partners, they invite everyone to experience the healing power of the horse!
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Title of Workshop: Working with the Mothers: Implementing Ancestor Work into Regular Practice
Presenter: Jennifer Culver
Workshop: Working with the Mothers: Implementing Ancestor Work into Regular Practice
Ancestor worship comprised a large part of the religious life across the world, including in Northern Europe, yet many struggle with this component of tradition more than most. In this workshop, Jennifer will discuss not only the history of ancestor worship but also many practical techniques for honoring the ancestors into your regular religious experience.
In medieval heathen times, holidays existed for honoring the ancient mothers, figures who watched over the family and provided protection and guidance. These mothers remain today and await you!
Presenter Bio: Jennifer Culver
Jennifer holds and M.A. in English Literature and is currently working on her Ph.D. in an Interdisciplinary field mixing language, literature, and history. Widsith has facilitated workshops for UEA, COG, Goddess Rising, Harrow Moot and other events in past years as well as hosted at least one training workshop a year for the past 4-5 years.
Jennifer’s Master’s thesis argued for a larger presence of the valkyrie figure in Anglo-Saxon culture. Her academic training includes study in late medieval and early modern witchcraft, ritual, shamanism, and myth in media. She has been heathen for well over a decade and works hard to create a sustained community for her children and many godchildren.
Currently, Jennifer focuses on Widsith and Holy Spring Heathen Fellowship. She is also a Fellow in the Rune Gild. In the past, Jennifer has functioned as clergy and Steward for the Troth.
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