The ReMembering and ReEnchanting Podcast

In this solo "constellation" episode, recorded in a yurt on the Lenape lands outside Philadelphia, Sara Jolena explores why Samhain, witchiness and earth-based practice are growing so quickly. She starts with constellations as a way to orient ourselves in time and season, then looks at Samhain as the "thinning of the veil" and the witch's new year. She also traces how "pagan" and "witch" came to be defined against Christianity, and asks what today's yearning for witchiness is really reaching for: craft, community, care and the sacred feminine.

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

In this episode, Kelly Wendorf shares insights on leadership, care, and the wisdom of horses, exploring how ancient species can teach us about thriving through change and the importance of relational kinship with nature.

We had a great conversation, and we probably should have mentioned what the title of Kelly's book refers to! This is how she describes Flying Lead Change in the foreword to her book: "A flying lead change is the equestrian term for a high-level yet natural gymnastic move that happens at the canter, lope, or gallop. When a horse, say, canters, they lead with either their left or right set of legs. (Sometimes, there is, say, a radical change in topography;) this will lead the horse to change their lead... The flying lead change, or flying change, is when the animal, midflight, changes their lead from left to right, or vice versa. At its finest, when you are astride a highly trained horse who deliberately executes the motion with balanced elegance, a flying change is astonishing to experience. .... (it) requires a culmination of complex and coordinated elements executed in one dynamic flow mid-air.: attunement to change, connection, balance and equilibrium; a quiet mind; openness to new possibilities; temp; a suspension of pattern while continuing momentum; and finally levitation to create space for a transition of balance and new direction.  Collectively, we are facing the need for the same physics-defying maneuver.  Our topography is radically changing, which requires us to change the way we lead our lives, families, and organizations.  Such topography calls us to execute this change with similar mastery.

00:00
Introduction to Kelly Wendorf and the themes of leadership and horses

02:13
Redefining leadership: care, presence, and indigenous perspectives

04:44
Stories of horses as teachers of care and boundaries

07:13
Artemis and Merlin: lessons in leadership and connection in herd dynamics

11:05
The role of connection, boundaries, and discipline in herd behavior

16:57
The 56 million-year history of horses and their resilience

19:33
Horses as teachers of safety, joy, and relational harmony

24:31
Prophecy stories and the horse as a wisdom companion in times of crisis

26:25
Relational kinship with horses and learning from nature

30:11
Sensitivity, boundaries, and the electromagnetic field of horses

34:17
Joy, despair, and the capacity to feel deeply in times of crisis

37:48
The importance of feeling and being present in the moment

42:43
Kelly Wendorf’s work with humans and horses at Buffalo Spirit Ranch

47:09
Transformative experiences and practical lessons from horses

56:54
Hope, adaptation, and the microcosm of land and land relationships

57:09
Remembering and reembodying our true selves through kinship with nature

Get a copy of Kelly's book: Flying Lead Change: 56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living

Follow Kelly on LinkedIn

EQUUS Inspired org

If this episode resonated with you, please join our weekly ReMembering and ReEnchanting newsletter, where you can receive powerful stories, analysis, ideas, and inspiration directly in your inbox

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

A mathematician sets out to participate in the study of evolution... and ends up engaging in some fascinating research about social cooperation and the queerness of evolution!    In this episode, Sara Jolena sits down with her old college friend Ben Allen, a mathematician whose work models how cooperation evolves — from iron-sharing bacteria to communal-nesting birds. They consider what this research might illuminate about cooperation in human communities. They then turn towards some of Ben's current research on queerness in evolution. Same-sex behavior has now been documented in more than 1,500 species... and it just keeps getting more interesting! 

Key Topics & Timestamps

• 00:00 — Intro: welcome to ReMembering and ReEnchanting
• 01:05 — Meet Ben Allen: mathematician, old friend, and a researcher on evolution 
• 02:56 — From pure math to evolutionary biology: how Ben's path unfolded
• 04:26 — Why organisms cooperate — and why "survival of the fittest" is an incomplete story
• 06:27 — The bacteria that share iron with their neighbors
• 08:18 — Modeling evolution mathematically: networks, neighbors, and cooperation
• 09:13 — From microbes to mammals: what changes (and what doesn't) when culture enters the picture
• 11:03 — Local connection as a strategy for large-scale engagement (including activism)
• 12:52 — Other paths to cooperation: kin selection, reciprocity, and reputation
• 14:26 — What evolution actually means: reproduction, inheritance, and mutation
• 16:53 — A parallel to religious traditions: continuity and change in tension
• 17:42 — What "reproduction" really means across the tree of life (sexual, asexual, horizontal gene transfer)
• 19:37 — What biologists actually mean by "male" and "female" — and why the definition breaks down
• 23:04 — Evolution "finds a way": clonal fish, sex-changing clownfish, and the limits of a human template
• 25:45 — Sex beyond reproduction: play, pleasure, and social bonding across species
• 26:43 — The 2019 paper reframing same-sex behavior in animals
• 31:28 — Ben's current research: could early marine life not even "see" sex at all?
• 33:15 — Deep-sea squid, imperfect filtering, and why indiscriminate mating can be an evolutionary advantage
• 36:37 — Two evolutionary strategies: cost of mating vs. population density
• 38:36 — Connection, yearning, and sociability across species
• 41:10 — Individual variation: why generalizing about any species misses the truth
• 42:16 — "A very queer evolutionary story"
• 43:20 — Darwin's Victorian assumptions that we are still unlearning
• 44:40 — The perspective of the scientist shifts the questions and analysis that the scientist does. We need many, many different perspectives for these big complex questions! 
• 45:31 — Situated knowledge, Donna Haraway, and the case for multiple vantage points
• 46:23 — Closing reflections and thanks

Ben Allen is a Professor of Mathematics at Emmanuel College, Boston, MA. Their research focuses on mathematical modeling of evolution—in particular the evolution of social (other-directed) behavior. Their work has appeared in Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and The Atlantic. 

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

In this episode, we are uplifting some of the ideas in Elspeth Hay’s remarkable book,   Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food.  After starting with Sara Jolena offering a summary of some of the big ideas in the book, we move into a conversation with author Elspeth Hay and a few of the many people whom Elspeth has mentioned in the book: Ron Reed, Karuk tribal member and cultural biologist; Joanna Brooks, settler scholar and author of Why We Left; and Gale Pettifer, commoner and scholar of the New Forest in England. Together they trace a set of histories that turn out to be deeply entangled: Indigenous land dispossession in California, the enclosure of the English commons, the suppression of cultural burning, the erasure of ancestral foodways — and the folk songs, forest laws, and buried memories that survived all of it. 

Timestamps

0:00  —  Welcome & introduction: Sara Jolena introduces the episode, inspired by Elspeth Hay’s book Feed Us with Trees, and the “no farm, no food” myth it challenges.

2:51  —  Guest introductions: Elspeth introduces Ron Reed (Karuk Nation, cultural biologist), Joanna Brooks (Why We Left), and Gale Pettifer (New Forest commoner and commons scholar).

5:44  —  Ron Reed’s opening story: childhood memories of harvesting acorns, mushrooms, and salmon; the Klamath Dam removal; and the ongoing fight to restore Indigenous fire practices with public trust objectives.

9:20  —  Gale Pettifer on the New Forest: a thousand years of contested common rights, Norman forest law, and what it means to still practice ancient commoning in the 21st century.

12:58  —  Joanna Brooks on settler scholarship and song: tracing her European ancestry through folk ballads, a grandmother’s lullaby, and a plate of hazelnuts at the British Museum that the curators couldn’t explain.

18:29  —  Fire across continents: Elspeth connects her experience of gorse burning debates in the New Forest to Ron’s work on cultural burning — the same argument, on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

30:58  —  Dragons, sacred fire, and colonial memory: a discussion of how fire moved from sacred to feared in Anglo-Saxon and English tradition, illustrated by the New Forest dragon legend and the introduction of Christianity.

34:31  —  Songs of grief and displacement: Joanna traces the emotional record of enclosure through English murder ballads — songs about hazel trees, beaver hats, and families starving off the land — and what they reveal about why colonial settlers “lost their minds.”

43:12  —  Magna Carta, common law, and the 1877 New Forest Act: Gale traces how brutal Norman forest law paradoxically became the foundation of commoners’ rights, and how public outcry saved the New Forest from privatization.

47:33  —  The allotment parallel: Elspeth draws a striking connection between English allotment gardens and the U.S. federal allotment system used to break up Indigenous tribal lands — the same word, the same colonial logic, on both sides of the ocean.

1:10:42  —  Cycles of colonization and reverse transmission: Sara Jolena traces how colonial practices — from plantation timekeeping to fire suppression — were exported back to Europe, and the importance of distinguishing imperial forces from common people’s forces within every culture.

1:16:11  —  Closing round: guests share what is shifting now — prescribed fire training in Wellfleet, MA; intergenerational transfer of fire ecology knowledge; the joy of reconnecting with the New Forest through free-roaming ponies — and an invitation to listeners to bring these ideas into their communities.

Elspeth Hay

Book: Feed us with trees

Website

Bio

Insta

Ron Reed

Article about Ron Reed - How Karuk ceremonial leader Ron Reed used Western science to take down the Klamath dams

Interview featuring Ron - Fire is Food: A Virtual Brown Bag Discussion with Ron Reed and Kari Norgaard

Joanna Brooks

Book: Why We Left 

Website

Bio

Linkedin

Gale Pettifer 

Linkedin

Bio

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

In this episode of the Remembering and ReEnchanting podcast, Sara Jolena Wolcott sits down with filmmaker and spiritual innovator Nova Scott James to trace the profound arc of her film journey.

The journey begins with an exploration of Nova’s origins—from the influence of Harlem and childhood memories to the transformative power of cinema as a spiritual practice. We delve into the creation of her film 'Wild Darlings Sing the Blues' and the personal healing journey that informed her creative vision.

The conversation then transitions into a deep dive into the collective’s latest work: a land-based healing documentary. Nova shares the visceral experience of honoring ancestral land, navigating the energetic weight of filming on former plantations in Virginia, and the serendipitous rituals guided by spirits. This is a story of building a Black queer women’s collective through trust, patience, and the labor of collective transformation.

00:00 - Podcast Intro
01:30 - Introduction to the Wild Darlings Collective
03:18 - Exploring Origin Stories and Childhood Memories
07:56 - Understanding Lineage and Spiritual Innovation
17:06 - Cinema as a Temple: The Spirituality of Film
25:05 - The Healing Journey Behind 'Wild Darlings Sing the Blues'
28:19 - Healing Through Psychedelic Therapy
30:13 - The Birth of a Creative Vision
33:34 - Exploring Ancestral Lineage
37:11 - Confronting Family History and Trauma
40:06 - Introduction to Day 2 Recording
40:28 - Introduction to the journey of creating a land-based healing documentary
42:33 - The initial visions and spiritual downloads that inspired the film
44:38 - The healing and spiritual practices of the Darlings Collective
46:48 - Building community through workshops and shared spiritual work
49:23 - The significance of land and spirits in the collective’s rituals
52:43 - Challenges faced with facilitators and group dynamics
56:58 - Rebuilding after adversity and seeking an elder for guidance
1:01:13 - Connecting with land in Virginia and the impact of sacred sites
1:05:38 - The serendipitous process of land selection and the role of spirits
1:12:28 - Filming on plantations: rituals, ceremonies, and the energetic environment
1:25:30 - The immersive experience of land-based ceremonies and prayers
1:32:48 - Observations of healing and collective transformation during the process
1:35:28 - The importance of compassion in ancestral healing work
1:38:38 - Personal reflections on integrating trauma and ancestral memories
1:41:48 - Deepening trust and love for the land, spiritual practice, and creativity
1:43:58 - Final thoughts: upcoming release and ways to support the project

Movie Trailer: Wild Darlings Sing the Blues 

Fundraising page

Website

Instagram

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

In this special episode of the Remembering and Reenchanting podcast, hostess Reverend Sara Jolena Wolcott is joined by her friend, former student and collaborator, Gayano Shaw, for a reflection on the year of 2025. Going beyond our normal format where Sara Jolena uplifts other people’s work or shares some of her own, she invites Gayano to help her hold her own reflection. The process is loosely modeled after Sara Jolena’s circular time rituals.

Standing in the beginnings of 2026, Sara and Gayano look back at a year marked by profound personal and collective shifts—from the literal birth of a new family member to the mourning of six significant deaths in six months as well as immense political change. They explore what it means to "take down the altar" in times of upheaval of cosmovision, the power of indigenous-led rematriation, and letting life help us learn to refine our own practice.

Timestamps

00:00:03 – Introduction

00:01:40 – Purpose of Reflection: Sara explains her "Circular Time" reflection process, which she has practiced for eight years.

00:04:01 – Gayano shares her experience with Sara's circular calendars and the somatic nature of her teaching.

00:08:52 – January 2025: The start of the month-by-month and thematic look back at the past year.

00:10:46 – Family and Birth: Reflection on the birth of Krissy's grandchild and the "liminal space" of birthing.

00:13:15 – Work and Radical HR: Discussion of Krissy's new full-time job and the implementation of a three-month paid leave policy.

00:15:04 – Environmental Impact: Reflections on the Los Angeles fires and lessons from previous disasters like the fire in Paradise.

00:17:15 – Political and Indigenous Learnings: Sara discusses the presidential inauguration and learning from indigenous elder Pat McCabe.

00:37:26 – Cultural Revitalization: Observations from a gathering focused on indigenous healing and cultural strength.

00:58:29 – Public Speaking and Learning: Sara reflects on her growth and the challenges of stepping onto larger stages.

01:06:17 – Consistency and Improvement: Reviewing the year's progress in writing and teaching the "Remembering" course.

01:21:17 – Rituals of Death and Grief: Discussion on the importance of creating authentic rituals for death and loss.

01:31:30 – Societal Structures: Reflections on binary thinking, Christian nationalism, and the lack of processing time in modern society.

01:47:35 – Personal Challenges: Sara shares struggles regarding her mother’s care and the loss of insurance due to climate risks.

01:56:00 – Closing Thoughts: Final reflections on the richness of the current times and an invitation to "hold those seeds with care".

More about Gayano Shaw:

The Center for Nonviolent Communication

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

In this episode, Sara Jolena talks with Meda Dewitt, a Lingit traditional healer, ethno-herbalist, educator, and artist from the Tlingit culture. Together, they explore themes of the perception of time in western and Indigenous cultures, the importance of storytelling, and the impact of seasonal changes on life. This includes the contrast between Native time and what Meda refers to as "managed time," emphasizing the need for balance.   The episode concludes with reflections on the personal and the collective in a rapidly changing world.

Subsections
00:00 - Introducing Meda DeWitt
02:11 - Cultural Identity and Language
05:40 - Understanding Time in Indigenous Cultures (with a focus on Tlingit)
10:09 - The Nature of Storytelling and Memory
18:40 - Cycles of Life and Nature
25:31 - Native Time vs. Clock Time
27:47 - Navigating Between Clock Time and Organic Time
31:04 - The Impact of Managed Time on Well-being
35:28 - The Reckoning of Time in a Capitalistic Society
38:12 - Finding Balance in a Modern Context
43:05 Embracing Mortality and the Value of Time
51:39 - Moving Between Times

Websites:

Wilderness.org/imago

SanctuaryAnimism.org

medaforalaska.com

Facebook.com/sanctuaryanimism

YouTube.com/@sanctuaryanimism

Note: Tlingit culture is a matrilineal society from what is now referred to as Southeastern Alaska.  "Tlingit" means "people of the tides." Alaska has 229 federally recognized Alaska Native tribes, more than any other U.S. state, representing distinct indigenous cultures including the Yup'ik, Inupiaq, Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, Eyak, and Aleut (Unangax/Sugpiaq).    These peoples are deeply tied to their ecosystems.  The major Alaskan ecosystems include: tundra, taiga (boreal forest), coastal rainforests, marine ecosystems (including the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea and the Aleutian Islands), mountains/glaciers; and wetlands and freshwaters. 

The image used is from Fairbanks, Alaska, on the winter solstice. It depicts the short height and the narrow range of the sun on the winter solstice, when Fairbanks receives 3.5-4 hours of sunlight.  Photo: Todd Paris courtesy of University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

Feminist scholar and artist Max Dashu joins hostess Sara Jolena Wolcott to delve into matriarchal societies and the rich breadth and depth of histories of the divine feminine and various forms of female leadership. Max shares how to navigate colonial and patriarchal narratives in your own cultural lineage as part of uncovering the rich heritage of women's leadership, spiritual power, and cultural contributions that have been systematically erased or minimized. Don't miss Max's 56 years of research into suppressed women's histories!

Key Topics Discussed

Decolonizing Historical Narratives [04:21 - 12:26]

• How mainstream history gatekeeps women's stories
• The bias of written records from "elite men of dominant societies"
• Why we must look beyond Western Civilization narratives

The Archaeological Evidence [08:08 - 15:12]

• Ancient female figurines across continents
• How women's representation changes from Paleolithic/Neolithic to later periods
• The contrast between female self-representation and the male gaze

Women as Inventors and Culture Creators [10:16 - 13:09]

• "Mother tech" - women's innovations in agriculture, tool-making, and language
• Women's role in creating the "life support matrix for humanity"
• Grinding stones, basket weaving, and the origins of agriculture

Matriarchal Societies and Mother Law [26:02 - 36:38]

• Characteristics of matriarchal/egalitarian societies: matrilineal descent, matrilocal residence, social motherhood
• Non-aggression codes and communitarian ethos
• Women's public spiritual leadership across cultures

Global Examples of Women's Power

Africa [19:02 - 26:02]

• The Saharan rock art and the "Lady of Aouanrhet"
• Rain goddesses and rainbow beings in African traditions
• Pre-dynastic Egyptian ceremonial practices

Ancient Near East [16:48 - 19:02]

• Asherah in Hebrew tradition - the suppressed goddess who stood in the Jerusalem temple
• Mother of the Gods figures across Mesopotamian cultures
• Linguistic connections between Asherah, Athirat, and Ashtoreth

West Africa [36:38 - 38:42]

• Market women's economic power
• Yorùbá priestesses
• South African isangoma (diviners/medicine women)

The Complexity of Patriarchalization [45:14 - 53:31]

• Patriarchy as historical process, not inevitable human condition
• The case of India: layers of patriarchy from Indo-European invasion to colonization

Goddess Traditions in Patriarchal Societies [48:59 - 55:31]

• Why India maintains goddess worship despite extreme patriarchy
• Sanskritization and cultural appropriation of indigenous goddesses

Reclaiming European Ancestral Practices [56:14 - 01:04:08]

• Pattern recognition vs. cultural appropriation
• Spinning, weaving, and the distaff as women's spiritual power

Sacred Technologies

• Spinning and weaving as spiritual practice
• The distaff and drop spindle across cultures
• Songs and chants that accompanied women's work

Medicine for Our Times [01:03:01 - 01:10:42]

• The power of lamentation as ritual and political practice
• Why we need to grieve collectively for current atrocities

Follow Max on:

Instagram: @maxdashu

Facebook: @max.dashu

Website: www.suppressedhistories.net

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

This conversation, with Sheikh Adeyinka Mendes and hostess Sara Jolena Wolcott, explores the themes of remembering, spirituality, and the interconnectedness of humanity. We delve into the significance of ReMembering Divine Love in spiritual practices, the role of land in shaping identity, and the importance of forgiveness in personal and collective narratives. Through the lens of different religious traditions, especially Islam, we discuss the journey of self-discovery, the importance of continuing to stand for justice across ecosystems especially in the face of horrific genocides, and America as a gathering place for diverse cultures. The conversation culminates in the powerful story of Joseph, illustrating the transformative power of trials and the necessity of forgiveness.

00:00 - What are you ReMembering?

09:27 - Transcendent Experiences and Spiritual Awakening

27:04  - The Role of Land in Spiritual Journeys

38:12 - Reclaiming Cultural Roots and Reciprocity

40:58 - Justice... and Prophecies of America

49:01 - Gathering of Nations: Crafting Collective Consciousness

57:10 - The Role of Forgiveness in Healing

01:00:02 - The Story of Joseph: Lessons in Transformation

Follow Adeyinka on:

Instagram: @adeyinka.mendes

Facebook: @imammendes

Website: www.adeyinkamendes.com

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode! 

In this conversation, Sara Jolena Wolcott and Hilary Giovale explore the themes of interconnectedness and the healing journey of decolonization. Beginning with one of their shared Nordic/Anglo-Saxon heritage's understandings of the web of life, known alternatively as Orlog/Wyrd, they inquire into the purpose and nature of ReMembering as participating in the web of life. They then move into Hilary's journey, which often echoes Sara Jolena's journey and might resonate with many listeners, including the importance of facing ancestral truths and the role of discomfort in personal growth. Hilary shares her experiences in writing her book, 'Becoming a Good Relative,' and the significance of feedback from diverse voices. How do we go between the spiritual and the practical? How do we build community among philanthropists and help philanthropists do our own work? How do we see the decolonial movement growing? We end with celebrating the incredible importance of music and the revitalization of ancestral languages.; The episode ends with some music by Carolyn Hillyer.  

Grab your copy of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair

Good Relative Website

Hillary's Instagram

Book mentioned:

For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook

Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance

Orgs mentioned:

Decolonizing Wealth Project

Magnolia Mother's Trust

Music played: Sago An Snijo

Artist: Carolyn Hillyer

More about Carolyn's music

Please do share and like this episode! Leaving positive reviews really does make a difference!

Send us a message

Support the show

Learn more about Sara Jolena Wolcott and Sequoia Samanvaya

Music Title: Both of Us

Music by: madiRFAN 

Don't forget to "like" and share this episode!