Rebekah Dawn is a community herbalist, crisis counselor, artist, and death doula. Join in for an interview exploring death as a vital stage to our human growth and development, how we can make friends with our mortality. Learn the skills of grief, and how grief might actually make our lives more joyful!

We will discuss mushroom wisdom, the carbon cycle, and our place in it. We will examine why our culture is so resistant to death, and at what cost. Join us for a deep dive into what it means to be human, and how the mushrooms are amazing teachers for living and dying in peace.

In this workshop, participants will read thought-invoking prompts. These questions will open us up to our own beliefs, edges and experiences around Death, creating a container for contemplative heart-opening connection. With multiple rounds, everyone will be able to pair with different participants with varying experiences and perspectives and drop us into heartfelt contemplations.

Learn about the roles and services of end of life doulas and using raw elements of music to respond to various patient conditions. Liz Franklin and Susan Nesbit will share personal stories from their work. In the second half of the workshop a death dialogue will be facilitated where we will open the circle to discuss topics related to death and dying. A safe space will be created and held for sharing and listening.

In this exploration of the time between time, we look at how spending time in liminal space whether through journey work, assisting the dying, or psychedelic experience can expand our sense of self and our place in this world. Explore these topics with Wise Women: Rebekah Dawn Long Litt Woon Caitlin Matthews Katherine MacLean Mariavittoria Mangini

This talk seeks to share what is known, what is knowable, and what is unknowable about the psychoactive properties of Psilocybe species.

We can learn from the rich story of the ancient Sumerian Goddess Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, and her underworld sister Ereshkigal. Their story of power struggle, liberation, and forgiveness requires trust, a bit of grace, and a whole lot of compassion. How might we see these two Goddesses within ourselves? What is possible when we learn to let ourselves off the hook?

Katherine MacLean will trace the development of psilocybin mushroom medicine from its underground, secret, humble beginnings in the hills of what is now called Oaxaca, Mexico through the halls of academia and the social lives of modern Americans, and finally, to its current lofty status as an alleged treasure of the Western corporate pharmacopeia.

In this workshop, we will investigate the relationship between psilocybin-containing mushrooms and various sacred plants and healing herbs by drawing upon qualitative (interview-based) academic research, biographical explorations of Maria Sabina’s life, and anecdotal stories from present-day mushroom healers. We will also discuss a more modern concept, of the role of the mushroom ceremony in preparation for death.

Thank you for joining us for an engaging and magical Community Conversation between herbalist Linda Conroy and Mystic Rev. Judith Laxer who talked about Judith’s journey that led her to call herself a mystic, a priestess and an herbalist. They also discussed what Judith plans to cover during her presentation, Skills of the Herbal Mystic, in the 2026 In Our Own Hands: Women’s Wellness Series.

Together, we shall deepen our understanding of our hormonal cycles within our bodies, illuminating the vital seasons of death and decay and the life they bestow—akin to the wondrous mycelial realm. We will explore how various mycology terms can enlighten our understanding of womb sovereignty and honor our cyclical essence.

This experiential workshop invites us to enter the mycelial forest of grief, where loss is not something to fix or avoid, but to compost. Through embodied practices, communal ritual, and deep listening, we'll honor personal, collective, and ecological grief, allowing what is dying to be laid down with reverence.