Wildheart

In this week’s episode we explore the concept of truth, and what we mean when we use this term at the Academy.

Why have we chosen to talk about truth?

* It’s a interesting follow on from last week’s episode - Story - when we talked about questioning the ‘truth’ of certain narratives about ourselves and the world

What do we chat about?

* Our inner ‘heartwood’ - the strength of self

* Holding personal truth alongside the world truth

* Unearthing our truth and remembering our wild self

* Truth as a felt experience

In this week’s episode we explore stories, both individual and collective, and consider what kind of stories the world is calling out for.

Why have we chosen to talk about story?

* This topic was a suggestion from one of our lovely Grove members, who had a dream about listening to an episode of the podcast that explored the connection between this time of year and the call towards storytelling - whether through sharing stories ourselves, listening to them, reading, perhaps by candlelight or when gathered around a fire in community.

* And this, of course, is very true! The winter months have long been a time when stories would have been told and read to find meaning amidst the darkness and create a sense of connection.

What do we chat about?

* Why the world needs more wild and tangled stories

* How our beliefs around ‘reality’ and ‘truth’ impact our relationship with story

* The melding of myth and story (you might like our episode on myth here)

* How detangling the stories we hear and tell ourselves can empower us to craft our own (life) story

In this week’s episode we explore what it means to have integrity, and why it’s perhaps more complex that it seems on the surface.

Why is the concept of integrity relevant right now?

* Winter is a season associated with turning inward, and often as part of this process we find ourselves thinking about things like purpose and values.

* For this reason, in our Rewilding Wheel framework the word we connect with November (the first month of winter) is root, because it sums up that idea of sinking in, going beneath the surface, and considering the foundations of our lives and our sense of self.

* When we do this kind of work, especially around values, what we’re often seeking is a kind of anchor - something to hold us steady and guide our path. When we’re clear on our values, it becomes easier to make intentional, aligned decisions

* One of the values that frequently comes up when we have these conversations as part of our Wild Academy work is integrity.

What do we chat about?

* Integrity and wholeness

* Why strength and trust are so essential in the journey to integrity

* Layers of the self, and why surface-level integrity might not show the whole truth

* Tuning in to our heartwood - the core of our wild essence

In this week’s episode we explore what it means to change shapes, transform, and become more wild.

Why is the concept of shapeshifting relevant right now?

* We stepped through the veil at Samhain last week, a time of shedding and release, and there is a swirling energy of change in the air as we begin a new cycle .

* There is a sense of plans and ideas stirring but not yet being fully formed, needing the germination time of winter to take shape and become more solid

* The archetype for November on our Rewilding Wheel is the Shapeshifter, connected to darkness/shadows, depth and complexity, unearthing hidden truths beneath the surface, and embracing cyclical transformation

What do we chat about?

* Being in the ‘goop’!

* Why shapeshifting as a process is different to noticing change and transformation

* How and why shapeshifting is potentially seen as sinister

* Turning to archetypes and myths as tools to support being in the crucible of change

In this week’s episode we explore what it means to connect with our ancestors, and be an ancestor.

Why is exploring our ancestors relevant right now?

* This time of year is associated with the thinning of the veil between the human world and spirit world in many cultural contexts - Pagan, Christian (All Hallow’s Eve), and elsewhere (eg: Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead in Mexico)

* The festival of Samhain invites us to consider endings/beginnings, release/renewal, looking to the past in order to support the future

* As we shift from autumn into winter, we also welcome the Sage archetype, our inner wise elder

* The tree of November on our Rewilding Wheel is the elder

What do we chat about?

* Ancestors, belonging, and feeling rooted

* Human and more-than-human ancestors

* The dissolution of time and the past / future binary

* Why it’s important to honour those who have come before us

Enjoy the podcast? You'll love Wildheart Club - find out more and upgrade your membership to receive weekly notes and journal prompts exploring each episode's word!

In this week’s episode we explore and embrace magic as we move though the most enchanted month of the year.

Why is exploring the idea of magic relevant right now?

* Samhain is magical! The upcoming festival (31st October) opens the veil between worlds, inviting us to connect with our ancestors, light candles, and embrace the sense of possibility that comes with the ending and renewal of the cycle

* We’re also tuning in to the qualities of the Enchantress archetype of October (and with the wider Mystic of autumn)

What do we chat about?

* How power and influence connect with magic

* Cultivating our personal magic, or essence

* Gender and magic

* Finding magic in the everyday

Academy news…

The Grove is open for new members - explore what membership means here.

In this week’s episode we explore the concept of resonance, and why it holds a special kind of embodied wisdom.

Why is exploring the idea of resonance relevant right now?

* We’re moving into the darker months, noticing hedgerow berries (elder, sloes), cooking up autumn soups and stews - there is a sense of depth and richness that seems really connected to this word.

* Resonance is linked to meaning, feeling and understanding - all things that come to the fore in the soul seasons of autumn and winter.

What do we chat about?

* Acting as a tuning fork - really feeling in to what’s going on around us

* Holding complexity and weightiness alongside movement and flow

* How resonance inspires and supports our Rewilding Wheel (and any kind of wild symbolism)

* The lingering quality, or echo, of things that are resonant

Academy news…

The Grove is open for new members - explore what membership means here.

In this week’s episode we explore different views of what it means to be sacred, and consider what living a sacred life might look and feel like.

Why is exploring the sacred relevant right now?

* A lot of the words we’ve talked about this season - ceremony, immerse, pilgrimage, depth - seem to come back to the theme of living a rich, meaningful, connected life. The idea of honouring our lived experience as sacred seems central to this - creating rituals, marking changes and the passing of time, valuing little things as important, treating ourselves and others with care - so we thought we’d explore this a bit more.

* As we move further into October and towards Samhain, it’s also a word that feels very seasonally relevant - from a Wheel of the Year perspective, this time of year is all about connecting with the past and having reverence for our ancestors and their wisdom, so the idea of holding that as sacred seems important too.

What do we chat about?

* The potential difficulty in connecting with the word ‘sacred’

* Imbuing our life with magic

* The sacred as a kind of softening, bringing a gentle lunar energy to our lives

* Holding the both/and of something that is rooted and honoured, and also fluid and changeable

Academy news…

The Rewild Your Year printed planner is now available to pre-order! Find out more here.

The Grove is also open for new members - explore what membership means here.

In this week’s episode we explore what it means to embrace the shadows and welcome the unknown beneath the surface.

Why is exploring depth relevant right now?

* We’re coming back to water element of autumn, as we chatted about in our recent episode on immersion.

* Autumn brings a downward energy - think of falling leaves, fading light and sinking into darkness, going within, and rooting down.

* This is also the season of the mystic archetype, connected with emotion and our inner world - the depths of who we are.

What do we chat about?

* Depth as getting to the heart of something - seeking truth

* Look for layers of meaning and understanding rather than just taking things at face value

* Deep ecology - shifting human consciousness towards accepting ourselves as an intrinsic part of nature

* Getting more comfortable with uncertainty and not knowing

Academy news…

The Rewild Your Year printed planner is now available to pre-order! Find out more here.

The Grove is also open for new members - explore what membership means here.

In this week’s episode we explore what it means to take a meaningful journey (whether physical or soul-led) back to the wild.

Why is exploring the idea of pilgrimage relevant right now?

* A pilgrimage is a journey that emerges place of meaning and purpose, and as we shift into the season of autumn, we’re invited to (re)connect with our values and roots, and take the next steps on our spiralling journey.

What do we chat about?

* Why the concepts of devotion and rootedness feel particularly important to us

* The difference between a surface journey and a soul journey

* How pilgrimage can support us to live a wild life

* How and why we might embrace the idea of always evolving and becoming

Academy news…

The Rewild Your Year printed planner is now available to pre-order! Find out more here.

The Grove is also open for new members - explore what membership means here.