Compass 

a Seasonal Study of Ritual and Craft with the Elemental Forces of Change

There is nothing so steady as change. 

At present, I find myself securely positioned in the Nature is change; I am nature locus of life. 

The constant in all this change is the ritualistic web woven by the five elements, one feeding another, two balancing a third, all of us entirely possible because of the whole of them. 

Thus is born Compass, a study of these energies and their edges, the in between spaces, and the parts of us that press up against them, willingly or less so.

Join me and a close cohort of no more than five humans as we move through the seasons with the elements. 

We’ll begin now with directional wood in spring, crafting the life before us; stir with fire as summer moves in, relishing intensity and harnessing it for our alchemical motions; tend the earth with every mark of change, understanding in our very depths the grace between them all; liberate our spirits with metal as autumn breezes carry us into all the wisdom we find in our bones; and dance through and around and in and beyond with water in the depths and darkness of winter. 

This is a gathering… 

for us to mark our lives with the seasons and steep in them and wander through them to these places where change happens and know ourselves to be not only capable but masterful in our presence and our agility there.

When You Sign Up

You are choosing a seasonal connection with the wild, the weather, your own spirit, me, and a few other gemmy humans as well as

• Five cohort gatherings with the seasons: Spring, Summer, Transition, Fall, Winter

• Ten personal sessions, two sessions with me per season delving into your unique journey with the element of that season

• Fifteen guided meditations deepening into three aspects of each season: early edges, deep center, late fringe

Register by May 11

Expected dates of gatherings (subject to change based on your availability)

Elemental Wood | May 2024
Elemental Fire | July 2024
Elemental Earth | September 2024
Elemental Metal | November 2024
Elemental Water | January 2025

Gatherings will include

• deep study with the five elements and their seasonal affinities (see more below)

• elemental poetry and inspiration from guides who tend the seasons and the elements with their lives

• personal practice: community support and sharing for how you are connected with yourself in these seasons

• seasonal reflection

• mystical integration with the elements

• somatic practice finding and returning to our own edges, where wood meets fire meets earth meets metal meets water and so on and so forth in all directions

Here’s a glimpse into the sort of forces I’m talking about…

WOOD 

Wind into the light of sun as the days stretch longer with the sincere and tempered guidance of the plants. Together, we’ll follow the pure example of the green beings, the understory and ground dwellers as well as the towering trees of the forest and then the hedges and the backyard gardens and the persistent ones who carry us along highways and byways. Sway and grow and gather into your own being the golden light of the sun as we personally and collectively gather ourselves into our vision and direction and place. 

Guided by the green beings, plants low to the ground and reaching high into the clouds.

FIRE

Blossom with the bright; trust the sun; tend your internal fires. Lend your senses to the quieter voices that breathe us towards and through and even beyond the spark that is fire. Bring your personal integrity into the creative and destructive powers of wild fire.

Guided by flashes of light and color in the blossoms of high summer and the lasting glow of the sun star.

EARTH

Settle. Observe. Adapt. Allow yourself to hold the strength and stability, the knowing and care, the extension of grace and presence that is earth. Feel the support you desire in your journey while pouring that quality of grace and meaning back into the ground beneath you. And, in so doing, build with earth the stamina and integrity you desire to carry earth with you into the chaos of the world.

Guided by the slow, clear, knowing strength of the mountain.

METAL

Stretch into the width of time and space with the lifetimes of stones. Honor the levity of change with the wind. Bring your own intuition into the steps of the everyday with this moment and the next. Tend quiet, internal spaces with curiosity, understanding, and trust. Build the subtle connections that reside deep within you as you navigate the bridges between your depths and the ways of the world. You are wisdom. 

Guided by the ancient quiet of the stones and the weaving movement of the wind. 

WATER

Stand in the water. Truly, come stand in the water. Let the stories of the ancients wash over you as they pour down from these blessed mountains. Let your heart find home in the comfort of this glorious place. Find personal ritual with water through guided collection from ancient and new waterways near you into vessels for our water gathering. 

Guided by the percolating flow of springs, the power of waterfalls, and the rhythm of the sea.

Click here for more information and registration for Compass.

past event details

e p h e m e r a APRIL 13 10-12:30

[ ephemera // the fleeting ones, here for just the sweetest window of time ]

We’ll have a pot of herbal tea on the camp stove when you arrive, with time to gather and land and talk about what brings you to the woods this day. We’ll welcome some poetic guidance into our midst. We’ll talk briefly about some of the plants who are really out and about at the moment. I’ll offer a simple introduction to making flower essences for those who are interested and provide supplies to you in case you’d like to take a vessel with you to make your own. Then you’ll have a good chunk of time to yourself, to wander or find a spot and rest or stick to the circle and talk about these things together. Finally, we’ll gather again, chat a bit about the connections we’ve made in the world, and harness a bit more of that poetic medicine before we go on our ways.

This gathering is so much about making space and time to be lean into our connection with the world. Connecting with the plants at early spring moment can mean all sorts of medicine for us. It’s my hope to host seasonal gatherings like this where we get to tap into the energy of the moment in this beautiful place, sense the changes of the seasons, and offer some of ourselves to the story.

If you have questions about the gathering, please reach out to me! graham@rootdeepliving.com. If you want to be there to celebrate this ephemeral moment, be sure to register.

spring ephemeral plant walk APRIL 14 1:00-3:00

[wandering with wild ones]

This little journey won’t take us too far from point a to point b, but along the way there are so many early spring blossoms and other sprouting plants to connect with. 

Spring ephemerals hold a special place in the human heart, easing our burdens as we move from winter to spring and wake our own spirits to the life around us. The little yellow bellwort and bright trillium blooms, sweet wood anemone, brilliant geranium… opening us into the moment. 

We’ll start with a little cup of herbal tea to sip while we talk about the ecology of this particular zone, how it helps to shape the Southern Appalachian ecosystems, and what kinds of plants you might find here. We’ll cover some very, very basic botany to attune our senses to the intricate beauty of these small and significant flowers and then go walking to look for the spring ephemerals and their neighbors. If you want to get close, you can peer through a loupe to see even more of what is happening in the flowers. And if you’re a tree person, you should know, we still have cherry blossoms and the dogwoods are just starting to bloom. It’s going to be a beautiful day.

If you have questions about the gathering, please reach out to me! graham@rootdeepliving.com. If you want to be there to celebrate this ephemeral moment, be sure to register.

Would you like to stay up-to-date on upcoming events? Sign up for infrequent, seasonally-inspired notes from yours truly.