Want To Be A Witchy Healer But Grew Up In A Fundamentalist Home (or Culture)?

Introducing The Witchy Healer Wisdom School

Support for the Aspiring & Closet Good-Witches, Black Sheep, and Elders-In-Training Recovering From a Fucked-Up Childhood

An online ancestral healing and shadow integration school including self-paced foundational courses, guest instructors, seasonal rituals, and three live support calls/month (on Thursdays) all held in a private off-facebook gathering place.

NOTE: There is a new path appearing within WHWS in service of helping witchy healers attract their right-fit clients in connection with the unseen via the GUIDED case study for witchy healers.

For details on this case study, join my newsletter AND email me directly asking for the current offer doc.

INVESTMENT (LIFETIME ACCESS): $2500
*payment plans available*

Greetings love,

Before you continue reading, as this letter is necessarily long, take a moment to settle in  – procure your favorite beverage, snuggle up in your coziest chair, call over your beloved animal companion, whatever works for you…

♥

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♥

And now, let’s begin:

“I thought I was done with that!”

That’s what I’ve heard over and over from clients throughout the past years.

If you’re on this page, then I’d guess that three things are true:

First, you grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home (or something like it – see FAQs below).

Second, you are a healer.

Third, you are seeing how your childhood religious brainwashing is interfering with your ability to show up fully as a witchy healer (and also, to support yourself fully).

Ooph.

I mean, you see it so clearly. You’ve fully rejected the notions that humans should have dominion over the Earth, the madness of the ‘one true Church/God’, that good people go to heaven and bad people burn in hell for all time, that all humans are born filled with sin and need saving, that life is a struggle to endure, that women must submit to their husbands and also, homophobia.

But now you are more aware of how, despite your rejection and despite having moved towards a more non-dogmatic belief system, you are still regularly experiencing the

Thirteen Symptoms Of Fundamentalism

Symptom #1: Rigidity of viewpoint combined with judgement of others who think and feel differently (and/or self-judgement).

Symptom #2: Difficulty with self-compassion and forgiveness including frequent and vicious blame (self-criticism) and shame of selves and others.

Symptom #3: Ongoing self-doubt; looking to others for validation (of any/everything). You’ve spent your entire childhood being told what to think/do by some external authority dictating what is right or wrong. Now, you are being asked to trust your own inner knowing/guides. Of course that is going to be terrifying! Of course you are going to doubt yourself and seek external confirmation/validation.

Symptom #4: Constant self-sacrifice or life-as-struggle with heaven as the (if you are good enough) reward upon death.

Symptom #5: Perfectionism, difficulty taking risks. In a fundamentalist community, you are expected to conform, follow the rules, and be the perfect woman. If you do, all is well and you are safe. There is no space for experimentation, for taking risks. If you don’t conform and get it right the first time, you run the very real risk of punishment or being expelled.

Symptom #6: Insecurity and confusion (about who to trust, what is right for you, what the next step is). In a fundamentalist community/culture, safety is established through control, strict rules, punishment and through the ‘othering’ of those who behave/believe differently. While conforming to the rules creates a false security, not having these rules to guide you in knowing right from wrong leads to deep insecurity and confusion. While you are likely to have moments of clarity, it’s not long before the fog of confusion settles back in.

Symptom #7: Broken relationships. Coming from a place of ‘I’m right; you’re wrong’ (one of the hallmarks of fundamentalism) tends to fracture relationships whether familial, intimate, collegial, or friend.

Symptom #8: Chronic pain and/or fatigue. When you conform, follow the rules, and do as you’re told (even when you don’t want to or know it isn’t right for you), you suppress your natural inclinations, instincts, and desires. Eventually, your body will rebel and say ‘no’ for you through developing chronic pain and/or fatigue that makes you unable to do the things being asked of you (and also, unfortunately, the things you actually want to do).

Symptom #9: Ongoing stress, overwhelm, anxiety. You constantly find yourself on edge and questioning ‘Am I doing this right?’; ‘What are they thinking of me?’; ‘Am I going to be punished for (could be anything; even stuff I’m not aware of)?’; ‘Am I doing LIFE right?’. For those of us with fundamentalist backgrounds, stress, anxiety, and even an underlying sense of dread are ongoing, baseline experiences. It’s just how life is.

Symptom #10: Deep lack of belonging. Even though it is based on a false premise of safety and on conforming, there is a sense of belonging in fundamental communities strengthened by the rituals of consistently singing/worshiping/eating together. When you leave these communities, there isn’t really anything to replace that (unless you join another Spiritual type community where the same patterns often play out). So there is this void. And also, a deep longing for this specific kind of connection (to others, to Spirit).

Symptom #11: Distrust of body/intuition. Women especially are taught that our true nature is sin (story of Eve) and that our bodies in particular are sinful/not to be trusted even by/especially by us. That combined with really strict ideas about how women ‘should’ look/behave is a total mindfuck and leads to deep insecurity (you don’t feel secure/safe in your bodies, in your communities, being seen…)

Symptom #12: Lack of curiosity, humor, and play. Being right and knowing The Truth is serious business. Even small things can feel like a matter of life or death when what you believe/know is right is questioned or threatened in some way.

Symptom #13: Urgency. Life often feels urgent. There’s this underlying sense of ‘now or never’ or ‘all or nothing’ that adds intense pressure to your life. The world could end at any moment, so everything (decisions, that project, losing weight, your healing…)  must happen NOW. If it doesn’t, the fear is that it never will. And yet, our bodies don’t respond well to pressure (at least not over the long-term). Paralysis often results.

In short…

Despite years of inner work…

Fundamentalism is still a blindspot for you. 

Damn.

How does this happen?

Our particular rigidities are often invisible to us. It never seems like fundamentalism to us. It seems like this is just how the world works, how things are. The belief is simply a matter of fact, utterly unquestionable. You can tell it’s there though because you’ll often shake your head, and widen your eyes in disbelief as hear yourself say things like

• ‘How can they believe that?’
• “I can’t believe they think/did that!”
• “How can they just stand there and lie!”
• “How can they be so duped?”
• “How could they be so naive?”
• “What’s wrong with them?”
• “Those ideas are dangerous!”
• “Poor things. They’ve been so misled.”
• “They’re just not ready to hear the truth yet, I guess.”

You might feel shocked and surprised at how others don’t ‘get it’ despite how clear the evidence is. You often find yourself listening to people with the intent to respond (and so not actually listening). You feel an urgency in conversations to convince the other person that their views are wrong before the conversation ends (which often has those conversations end badly). This creates more pressure and drama in interactions than is needed. You may notice people pulling away from you (and maybe lost a few friends along the way).

You’re beginning to think, “Maybe it’s me…”

You might even be starting to think, “Maybe it’s the fundamentalism I thought I’d gotten over. I thought I was done with that but here it all is yet again!”

It’s not about Christianity anymore. It’s about feminism. It’s a vegan diet. It’s your left or right wing politics. It’s the same furniture, just a different color scheme.

The ideology might be different but the neurology is the same.

The content might be different but the context is the same.

The archetypes might be different but the architecture is the same.

You have likely tried a lot of things to free yourself from this conditioning:

• therapists (and you’ve had some good ones)
• other healing work (e.g. energy work, bodywork/massage, acupuncture, workshops on healing and transformation etc.)
• ritual/ceremony (ayahuasca or other entheogens even perhaps)
• journalling, reading books, listening to podcasts
• yoga and meditation

But here you are.

Again… Damn.

You feel powerless, anger, grief, shame and keep wondering, “Now what? What else can I do? Will anything really make a difference? These patterns run so deep/are so ingrained!”

You want to know why, despite your rejection of your fundamentalist programming and all the (very good) work you’ve done to transform how you view the world, these painful/harmful patterns keep playing out in your life.

You want to solve this once and for all.

But, why bother?

And, more importantly, why now?

Three Reasons You Want To Be Free From Your Fundamentalism Sooner Than Later

Reason #1: You’re getting older. Added to this is your stage of life. You’re not getting any younger and your recurring patterns are making you realize life is short and precious and it is time to step fully into your life’s work that you’ve been putting off. You yearn to bring your gifts into the world in a meaningful way that contributes to increased beauty, love, healing and transformation.

Reason #2: You want the pain of this fundamentalism to stop with you. You don’t want to pass it onto your kids, grandkids, friends or community. You feel ready to find peace (even if you never speak with or engage living family again).

Reason #3: The world is on fire. Added to that is the state of the world: There is this increasing sense that the world is on fire and it might actually be now or never. You know you have a role to play in the current crisis. You are ready to be fully present and take action from a place of guidance, love, and inspiration.

To make it worse (and better), now you are drawn to witchy, dirt-worshipping things.

Ah…

Triple damn.

You are a nature lover, a healer, a storyteller and writer, herbalist, sensitive social-justice warrior, an artist, energy worker, a medicine maker, a plant and animal whisperer, and devoted to working in collaboration with Spirit. Some nights you might even lie awake and imagine yourself as a wise elder to whom people come for guidance and support.

You want to be free to feel the backing of Spirit and your ancestors as you fully express your witchy ways instead of being in the thrall of your inner fundamentalist.

My guess is you’d be thrilled to spend your days doing or being at least one of the following:

And so you are seeking someone with a similar background to help you disentangle and heal from the harmful aspects of your fundamentalist upbringing.

Hi! My name is Larisa.

Over the years of working with clients I’ve seen the lasting damage that a Christian fundamentalist upbringing can bring. Many of my clients have been stuck for a very long time, unable to make the changes they desire. In short, they’ve struggled and struggled “but so does everyone” they say. And then, one day, they realize that their upbringing still lies at the core of most of their suffering in this lifetime.

I understand.

I also grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home.

Long story short, as a teenager, I abandoned all I’d been taught about ‘the world’ and went on a search for healing and to discover what was true for me. It was exciting and freeing initially.

Fast forward a decade or so and you’d find me walking a path of being a healer myself. From the outside, I’d done the hard work and freed myself from the pain of my fundamentalist upbringing. But, at the same time, I was in a place of extreme struggle, self-doubt, confusion, chronic pain, and anxiety. I just wanted to hide away forever as the fundamentalist programming of my childhood re-asserted itself in ways I could not have predicted or imagined.

1. A deeply embedded and unconscious fear of losing myself to others led to me fully believing I never wanted to be married or have children – all of which were eventually shown to be complete distortions as, in truth, my heart’s deep desire was/is to be in a committed partnership and have children.
2. Constant sabotage. Every time I started to gain traction in my work as a healer (started to have more people notice me/my work or to bring in more income), I would shut it down.
3. Rejection of god and higher powers left me bereft of other-than-human support and guidance as well (and also unwilling/untrusting of human-humans to support me). I was on a hero’s journey and it was all up to me – to heal, to fix, to survive, to thrive – and if things weren’t working as I desired, then the fault was all mine.

Now, while I still have moments of self-doubt and struggle, the old programming no longer controls me.

I am free to follow the calling of Spirit and to help others also become free of the tendrils of fundamentalism that are keeping them stuck in struggle and pain. I know first-hand how painful and embedded these tendrils are.

I know as well, without doubt, that you also can become free of them so that you can do your witchy, healing work in a way that is healthy, nourishing, sustainable, and life-enhancing and doesn’t lead to burn-out.

But how?

And, WHY have you struggled so much with this?

Because rejecting fundamentalisms is hard.

If it were easy, we wouldn’t see it everywhere around us. And we do.

Healing from it once you’ve rejected it is still hard. For many of us, pain has lingered even decades after rejecting it.

Healing it on your own? That is nearly impossible. You know. You’ve tried.

A different approach is needed.

Allow me to offer my definition for fundamentalism along with a path to freedom.

Fundamentalism is a pattern arising over generations (thus the need for ancestral healing) out of unresolved trauma. It is a way of seeking control (over self, others, the world) in order to feel safe, to access a sense of belonging, and in order to mitigate the feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, fear, pain that unresolved trauma perpetuates.

Fundamentalism casts the world into stark black and white (fundamentalism is rooted in the binary). Further, fundamentalism judges one aspect of the binary as good, the other as bad. Essentially, when our inner fundamentalist is evoked, there is little-to-no room for nuance.

Again, this pattern is the result of unresolved trauma and this placing of the world into right/wrong is an attempt to counter fear and to control others/self/the world in order to increase feelings of safety and of belonging.

The problem with fundamentalism is that it leads to othering, to polarization, to judgement, to persecution (of ourselves and others).

While fundamentalism can be described as a pattern of thoughts and beliefs, it’s not just that. Fundamentalism can also be recognized as a pattern of behaviors, emotions, and physical sensations in the body. Building body awareness of this pattern combined with ancestral healing is necessary in order to heal the deeper levels of fundamentalism.

*For a much deeper dive into how I view fundamentalism including the 11 Premises That Underlie My Work, read my Healing Fundamentalism ebook (I link to it below).

In short, fundamentalism is full of contradictions, cognitive dissonance, and blindspots (primarily to not realizing that we have any blindspots in the first place). Getting free from fundamentalism can feel like trying to escape a hall of mirrors at times. We are often trapped in this reflective labyrinth and the escape can be sped up considerably if we are guided by someone who has familiarity with the twists and turns.

If we could heal fundamentalism on our own, we would have already done it.

Fundamentalism is just the air we’re breathing, the water we’re swimming in. As fundamentalism is woven into the very fabric of who-we-are and how-life-is, we need help in order to recognize where fundamentalism still lives in our bodies/lives. The good news is, you are not alone and this guidance is available.

“Not feeling alone on this journey… has been a bigger part of the healing than I realized.”

Being held in a space with everybody here who has their own story about how fundamentalism has affected them and just being together and not feeling alone on that journey or ‘well, this happened to me but it doesn’t happen to most people’ has been a bigger part of the healing than I realized. When I think about that part of it it is really astonishing because there is suddenly so much more space around it… ‘oh wow, this isn’t in a tiny container, this is in a  big container’ and that changes it.

Lydia Schosnig
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

The Six Step Journey of the Witchy Healer From Fundamentalism To Freedom 

So many of the people I work with are operating as ‘invisible healer people’ rather than as the ‘powerful witchy healers’ that they crave to be.

How can they make that journey?

“Now, I feel wildly confident in my decision to choose spiritual entrepreneurship.”

“Practicing ritual in community with regularity and a container with deep integrity is powerful.

When I first entered the Witchy Healer Wisdom School I was struggling with feeling safe to choose an alternative career path to graduate school. I was struggling with shame around my sensuality and my lack of boundaries with other people.

Now, I feel wildly confident in my decision to choose spiritual entrepreneurship, and am not deterred by setbacks. I have full trust that it will unfold in the perfect time as I listen for guidance. I feel confident in my ability to drop into connection with the realms beyond, no matter what the current energetic weather is inside my body or outside in the world. I know how to use my voice or my intention placed in my throat area to command energy within & around me, and feel confident in my absolute ability to use this power to hold healthy boundaries with both the seen & the unseen.

I think Larisa’s greatest gifts are her ability to truly listen to what other people are saying, beyond just their words. She listens with her heart and without judgement and this allows people to unfold in their process organically.”

Kelsey Grace

The Witchy Healer Wisdom School

WHO IS IT FOR? Witchy Healers practicing or drawn to the healing arts who grew up in a Christian fundamentalist home (or something similar – see FAQs). You know deep in your bones that you are here to serve in a healing/whole-ing capacity and can recognize how the above-named patterns (judgment, self-criticism, doubt, etc) are interfering with your ability to be your truest self and do the work you are here to do.

WHAT IS IT? An online school + community for witchy healers who grew up in a fundamentalist households, communities, or cultures.

WHERE: all of the self-study curriculum is available online via the Witchy Healer Wisdom School (hosted by mighty networks) and via zoom for the live calls.

WHEN: All of the course-work is available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the school. Additionally, we meet via zoom for 1.5 hours three weeks out of each month (currently on Thursdays at 1pm Pacific).

INVESTMENT (LIFETIME ACCESS): $2500

• Read, listen, learn and participate at your own pace.
• Access all the coursework forever (all downloadable).
• No end date or pressure to fit the courses and live support calls into your calendar!

The Witchy Healer Wisdom School includes:

INVESTMENT (LIFETIME ACCESS): $2500
*payment plans available*

So, what is this program like to participate in?

You know what it is to participate in online communities; you’ve been on zoom calls.

None of this is likely new to you at this point in your life (or in the world).

You know how to organize your day and life so that you can dive deep into online course-work. For zoom calls, you know how to arrive on time, with your tea or water on hand, journal and pen as well.

You expect to go deep, to feel stuff, to experience a safe, anchored, ritual container in which the difficult sensations of unresolved trauma can arise and transform with the support and love of your guides.

That’s all great. That’s all, to varying degrees, known and expected.

What you might not yet realize is how life might unfold outside of the online coursework and zoom calls for this program. Let me paint that picture for you.

You begin with a deep dive into Embodiment and Boundaries and experiencing how the Ancestors intersect with and influence both via the Embodiment, Boundaries, And The Ancestors online course.

From there, you dip your big toe into the community of wise and wonderful witchy healers who are journeying with you via the online forum and the live support calls.

Through the coursework and the live support calls you have the experience of connecting with ancient and truly wise, loving, protective, fierce, luminous ancestors and you begin the journey of working with them to bring healing to all the not-yet-well ones in your lines, especially those under the thrall of fundamentalism.

As this process unfolds, your ancestral guide gives you specific ritual prescriptions and other practices that will allow you to integrate and embody their gifts in a more tangible way.

You hop offline, take a moment to drink some water, scan your notes, and then:

• step outside to gather the natural bits requested for your altar; or
• you fill a jar with water to take out to a tree; or
• you set a timer and begin to settle into meditation for the first time in your life; or
• you open the ancestry.com tab or your computer and see a new document has just been found detailing the life of one of your ancestors; or
• your sister calls and she has found your grandmother’s ring and is certain she would have wanted you to have it;or
• you come across a healing modality you’ve never heard of before that you know is the next step in your healing journey (for yourself or as a person who initiates healing for others); or
• you discover you have the courage to make that call you’ve been putting off. Or ….

In short, once you start this journey, the way it unfolds is as unique to you as are the gifts that flow to you from your ancestors.

The online coursework and zoom live calls are only the touch stones for what unfolds in real-time, in real life, off the screen.

Functionally, within the school you will find self-study coursework that you can engage in the timing and pace that works for you. Additionally, each month you have the opportunity to participate in three 1.5 hour support calls via zoom described in more depth in the FAQ – Will you describe the three monthly support calls (all 1.5 hours)?

Teaching Call – typically* held the first Thursday of the month
Mentoring Call – typically held the second Thursday
Healing Circle – typically held the third Thursday
Integration – Rest/Integration (no call) – we aren’t meant to just go-go-go. The natural world takes the 4th season off for deep stillness. We follow this wisdom as well.

*there are months where the three calls fall on different weeks than as described here.

INVESTMENT (LIFETIME ACCESS): $2500
*payment plans available*

Five Reasons To Enroll Now:

Reason #1: Be held by myself and other incredible witchy healers who truly get *you* – because we’ve all come from a similar background and struggle with the same patterns.

Reason #2: Priority invitation to the Witchy Healer 6-month Mentorship Program (after a minimum of 6 months immersion in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School and at least one fully well ancestral line).

Reason #3: Exclusive access to 1:1 sessions (via phone or zoom audio) with me when you need additional support. Only members of this school have ongoing access to me in this way; I seldomly work 1:1 with clients outside of this school.

Reason #4: Resource list including the books, articles, podcasts I’ve found most useful on my healing journey.

Reason #5: First access to new courses/classes including half-day retreats offered only to those who are working or have worked in depth with me.

“I can do this too.”

Just being a part of your container, Larisa, and seeing you and how you are and how you share your magic in such a natural, authentic way has given me this knowing that I can do this too. Not because I'm special but because it's totally possible and it's here and it’s just in the fabric of life, of existence, of connection. It’s not some separate thing.

I’ve loved your transparency throughout this whole process and getting to see your own creative ancestral connection weaving into problem solving.

Being through this whole experience with you has helped me solidify in myself that there is this way that things can be done that isn’t typical and that is very grounded but also deeply deeply connected to the unseen and guided by that and also really here and present and grounded. Thank you.

Kelsey Grace
@iamkelseygrace

Seven Promises You Can Expect Myself And All Guest Instructors To Keep In The Witchy Healer Wisdom School:

Promise #1 – To hold a strong ritual/energetic container for our time together:

• starting with an invocation specifying who is welcome in our space;
• teaching/modeling embodiment and boundary skills;
• teaching/modeling how to track nervous system activation and how to return, when needed, to a more settled and resourced internal state

Promise #2 – Have Working Tech: Have as many tech kinks worked out as possible prior to us meeting online. ie: hard-wired internet, computer recently restarted, clear instructions for when/how to join online meetings….

And, of course, I’m (perfectly, imperfectly) human and things still go wrong at times. In that event, I’ll communicate as quickly as possible and, if the event was a total disaster, reschedule and/or make it up to you in some way as quickly as possible.

Promise #3 – Be Clear And Concise: via email and other forms of communication with regards to what is expected or required for each online or in-person gathering,

Promise #4 – To Show Up Well: Show up for both online and in-person events on time, grounded, and ready to begin

Promise #5 – Start On Time: Start the class or event within 5 minutes (or less) of the appointed start time.

Promise #6 – End Events On Time: End classes or events (with rare exceptions), within 5 minutes of the scheduled end time. In the rare instance the class runs over, I will let you know we will be running late by X amount of minutes and give you the option of leaving at the normally scheduled time. Your time is precious and I respect you/your time by starting and ending classes and events at their scheduled time.

Promise #7 – To Continue Our Own Healing: the dismantling of fundamentalism is a life-long journey and we are committed to receiving the necessary support in order to continue this journey for ourselves and our lineages.

“Now I can just rest, I can just rest inside of myself”

I've had my eyes opened around the extreme white western theology I've been embedded within my whole life, and have had a huge layer of ignorance pulled off- thinking that is just how it is.

A big realization is around how much of the rest of the world is immersed in the understanding of ancestors and animism. It’s like living in a whole different world, and waking up to the reality of ‘ok, I’m a piece of this but…’

It’s been a meaningful piece of a profound identity shift for me… Now I know I can just rest, I can just rest inside of myself and not have to follow this mythology of the individual, and leadership, and all this bullshit I've been fed my whole life around white supremacy and white supremacist mythology. And it feels comforting to be surrounded and in community with like-minded others.

Sarah Luella Baker, she/they
Multidisciplinary Artist, @radicleheart

Seven Things This Program Will Ask Of You:

Ask #1 – Show Up, A Bit Early, Ready To Engage: take the time to gather everything you are expected to bring and show up 5 minutes prior to the start of the online (class, ritual, workshop…)

Ask #2 – Dedicate The Time: set aside the required amount of time needed in a week to actually do the work (attend the class, listen to any replays or audios if needed, engage the deepening practices). At a minimum, actually attend the live class and do the ritual work requested in between the live classes.

My best guess is you will need to set aside approximately 3-5 hours/week (1.5 for the live class and another 15-30 minutes/day to practice skills and be in communion with your ancestors and guides) for this program at a minimum.

Ask #3 – Ask For Help: reach out to me and to others in the school via the online community with questions or to share how things are going so we can offer witnessing, prayers, feedback or suggestions as needed.

Ask #4 – Question Old Beliefs: the insidious thing about fundamentalism is that we are often not aware of the tendrils still hiding within us. This program will challenge you. You will be asked to question beliefs that are so embedded you are unlikely to even know they exist. I know because I’m on this same journey and I’m constantly encountering previously unseen tendrils within myself.

The good news is… there is so much support and love available (along with a lack of judgement) for us as these tendrils come to light. And yet, you must be willing to walk into this wilderness (not alone, never alone) not knowing what you will uncover, what will be waiting for you.

Ask #5 – Be Willing To Change (Your Mind). One of the hallmarks of a fundamentalist upbringing is a rigidity of mindset, an inability to take in new perspectives or information… an inability to allow oneself to let in and be impacted by anything ‘other’ than what is already known/believed.

Think of something you adamantly KNOW to be true (about yourself or the world…). Are you able to entertain the possibility that there might be some perspective or some information on that very topic that could lead to a shift in how you feel, in what you believe? If so, that’s a good sign you are ready for this work. If not, even being willing to consider this question is a great first step.

Ask #6 – Expect For Change To Happen In Close Relationships. You can’t do this deep internal and ancestral work and not have your external world shift in some way (large or small).

As you become an even more loving, integrated, and powerful version of yourself, you are likely to experience pushback from those around you who are invested in some way in you staying the same. This is normal and to be expected. Some loved ones will celebrate the changes and change alongside with you; others won’t.

Ask #7 – Pause And Move Slowly. This work will bring stuff up. Old pain and trauma is likely to be activated at some point in this journey. This is also normal, to be expected, and is part of the healing process. In these instances, it is important to pause, tend to the feelings that are arising, and reach out for support from trusted humans and other-than-humans.

If what you are experiencing (fear, grief, anger…) was activated by something I did or said, reach out to me directly (or, with a friend at your side) when you are ready. I will listen, take in what you are saying, receive support myself if needed so that I can be responsive versus reactive, and be available for ongoing resolution work as needed.

If activated by something that was said or happened within the larger community, the process is essentially the same. Receive support, tend to the feelings, reach out to me and/or the person if applicable. Conflict is a part of life and part of the dismantling of fundamentalism is learning how to be in and, if possible, resolve conflict in a safe, resourced, supported, and responsible way.

“I’m part of a wider web of people supporting me.”

So much has changed in the past six months. Moved my residence, office, stopped seeing a therapist I’d been seeing for the past two years…

It was a very big deal to start doing this work in the middle of a pandemic.

What has been really helpful is knowing that I'm part of a bigger web of people that are supporting me and knowing that I can keep going, it is going to get better, it is all connected and this will bring them relief and myself as well.

Also, I have been reaching out to my ancestors a lot when I go to sleep because I grind my teeth and have been asking them to help me process whatever I need to process during the day so I don’t need to process it at night. And that seems to be helping which is really nice!

Celine Elise Redfield
M.A., LMFT, ATR, EFT Master Practitioner

Refund/Cancellation of Enrollment Policy

When you enroll in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School, your payment is non-refundable. I invite you to pause before you enroll and make certain that your YES is full and your commitment is steady.

I know from personal experience how easy it is to want to do something and then to have something come up or just not feel ‘up to it’ in some way. Or, perhaps you’ve mismanaged your schedule and you’re unable to make the time for the online coursework or to attend the live calls (you can still participate via the replays). Even in these instances, your tuition is non-refundable.

Further, this program is likely to bring up strong feelings including, perhaps, a feeling that you need to exit the school. This is normal. As we live in a time/culture where commitments are taken pretty lightly, know that if you join this school, you are responsible for when and how you show up and whether or not you engage the coursework and live calls.

Please be clear about what you are signing up for and agreeing to as I cannot make exceptions.

Make certain you are truly ready and willing to commit in this way. Through pausing and making certain your yes is whole-hearted and full-bodied, you respect and honor both your own time, energy, and finances as well as mine.

From this place of whole-bodied YES, I invite you to join me and others who are as deeply committed as you are.

If you are feeling unsure, here’s what I’d like to propose: read through the page again including the refund/cancellation policy and the Are We A Fit? page and then, walk away, take a day or two (or more).

Feel into it; take this decision to your guides or into meditation or on your walk. There is no urgency here. You’ll know if it is right. You’ll know if the time is now.

“Thank you… for being a leader who allows people’s brilliance to shine.”

Thank you for holding this months-long ritual for us. I’m really appreciative. I appreciate so many things about you. Right now I’m really appreciating the power you have in terms of bringing so many brilliant people together... the right people. I appreciate the leadership you bring, in allowing people’s brilliance to shine - that feels exceptional to me. I appreciate being in a space with such health. I feel rich healing in this circle and that has been incredible. 

Sarah Luella Baker, she/they
Multidisciplinary Artist, @radicleheart

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I have a lifelong pattern of feeling on the outside in some ways and like there are some parts of myself that I’ve needed to keep hidden in order to feel/be safe (and to not be rejected, shamed, shunned, outcast etc). Will I feel included here? Am I safe here?

I don’t know if you will feel safe here (I do know I’ll do everything I can to create a culture rooted in respect, listening, and healthy resolution of conflict if needed). Safety requires trust and trust is built over time (thus the 6-month initial commitment). What I do know is that you are welcome here. It is ok to enter and bring all of this distrust and not-knowing with you. That is welcome here as well.

So many of us recovering fundamentalists have very real lived experiences of not belonging. Of feeling removed from or outside of the bodies, families, communities, or cultures we were born into or live in currently.

This is a common theme with my clients – many experience a deep sense of ‘outsider syndrome’ and of ‘not belonging’ that has been a constant their entire lives.

For myself, growing up in a Holdeman Mennonite community with my dad leaving and rejoining (or being kicked out) of the church throughout my childhood, I experienced living on the fringe of a community that already existed on the extreme fringe of typical American culture (and that had for generations).

At 13, when my parents chose to leave ‘The Church’, I was thrown (willingly) into the ‘The World’ where I again, was on the fringe, the only person in my class in middle and high school who had grown-up Mennonite and who had no context for all of the normal American teenage obsessions/cultural references of the time.

Entering adulthood, that feeling of being different than everyone else followed me everywhere I went, to the extent that I seemed to actively gravitate towards situations and people (and healing work) that was also on the fringe and that confirmed/validated/affirmed my internal experience of not really belonging anywhere, of being ‘different/weird/not quite like everyone else’ in some indiscernible way.

Adding to the complexity is that in order to ‘belong’ in our Mennonite community, there were strict rules around what was or wasn’t ok (to be, to think, to do, how to act, etc). If one didn’t follow those rules/guidelines, you risked being ex-communicated and thrown out of your community (for many, the only world they had ever known). In order to conform, any parts of you that aren’t ‘acceptable’, had to be repressed/hidden/disappeared.

All this to say, I hear you. I find this question to be tender and courageous. So much of what this question speaks to are at the very core of the fundamentalist patterning we are here to dismantle.

I can also say that there is magic when in a space with others who have similar lived-experiences of ‘not belonging’, of having to hide parts of who they are in order to be/feel safe…. There is magic to being in a space with others who truly ‘get’ these things on a body level.

In the words of a previous Witchy Healer Program participant:

“Not feeling alone on this journey… has been a bigger part of the healing than I realized.”

Being held in a space with everybody here who has their own story about how fundamentalism has affected them and just being together and not feeling alone on that journey or ‘well, this happened to me but it doesn’t happen to most people’ has been a bigger part of the healing than I realized. When I think about that part of it it is really astonishing because there is suddenly so much more space around it… ‘oh wow, this isn’t in a tiny container, this is in a  big container’ and that changes it.

Lydia Schosnig
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

And, from another participant:

“It feels so foundational… To have a safe place to talk about these things.”

This is the first group of people I've found who have similar beliefs to me. I live in the world of psychology that is very western and shitty in many ways and then I have my beliefs that would lead some to want me to go to a mental hospital. It is so good to have people who I can be myself with.

This whole experience of feeling the presence of my ancestors or showing something to them or calling on them or recognizing that this guide is stepping forward right now… you are the only people I can talk to about this, who know about this and know that it is important. It feels so foundational... To have a safe place to talk about these things.

Celine Elise Redfield
M.A., LMFT, ATR, EFT Master Practitioner

So, again, I hear you and if this journey is calling to you, you are welcome here (all parts of you, including the doubt and distrust).

“I’m always connected.”

I’m noticing this theme of ‘I’m always connected.’

Abandonment has been such a big theme for me, and I now understand that even when I'm not in familiar places or around trustworthy people, that I’m still always connected. I know now that I have the capacity to reach out and ask for help. I have the capacity to command this with my voice, intention, actions, with my prayers, wth my rituals.

There is this new space where I feel like I can be more forward and daring with my life knowing there is this unconditional web that is holding me and that both my gifts and my struggles, on some level, are personal to me and on another level, they aren’t personal to me at all. There is a buoyancy and resilience that has come with embodying that knowledge over these past months.

Kelsey Grace
@iamkelseygrace

You’re ready to Enroll? That’s wonderful! Celebrations!

Many witchy healers read this page and simply know, in their bones, that this school is the next step for them. If this is you, simply click this button and you will be on your way!

INVESTMENT (LIFETIME ACCESS): $2500
*payment plans available*

If you feel drawn to the school but have some questions, that’s great too. I suggest reading the Are We A Fit? page (if you haven’t already) and then reach out to me and we’ll set up a time for a 20-min chat by phone. I’ll answer any questions you might have and we’ll make certain this school is the right fit for you.

To set this up, send me an email with your phone number, time zone, and several windows (days/times) that work for you. I’ll confirm a time and give you a call.

Not A Fit For You Right Now? Then Check Out…

Would you love to join the Witchy Healer Wisdom School but, for whatever the reason, the timing (or the format, or…) isn’t quite right? Here are some other ways you can begin this work:

1. Join the Witchy Healer newsletter, take the quiz and read the Healing Fundamentalism e-book
2. Check out the upcoming events and see if something there calls to you.

Sincerely,
Larisa

P.S. If this all terrifies you… I hear you. This is deep, vulnerable, humble work. I know the courage and tenderness that is required to walk into this particular wilderness.

I’ll offer to you words that a colleague once offered to me when I was in the throes of terror, terror I felt utterly unequipped to meet, that even with all the resourcing available to me, was at the very edge of my capacity to stay in relation with.

“The depths of terror you experience point directly to the courage you hold within you; the terror allows you to fully know your courage.”

Basically, without fear, it is impossible to fully embody courage. If this work was easy, it would already be done. If this work could be done alone, you would have done it.

You are here because there is something in these words that calls to you. It is likely you feel both the tug of fear and the call to courage. I know that if the time is right for you (and complete respect if that time is not now), you will answer that call to courage.

I trust you. I trust your tender, courageous heart to know when the time is right (and also to know if the answer to that call is this work or if it needs to take some other form).

I know as well the specific patterns of shame, self-doubt, and self-judgment that plague you and keep you from being your full witchy self. I understand not just the words but the essence of your experience because I have also lived it.

If you are seeking both healing and also mentorship in the specific gifts that are yours to give to the world, the Witchy Healer Wisdom School is here for you!

INVESTMENT (LIFETIME ACCESS): $2500
*payment plans available*

“You have a light but tenacious touch in wrestling with the legacy of fundamentalism.”

It's been transformational in all the best senses of the word. You have a light but tenacious touch in wrestling with the legacy of fundamentalism, and you have the most amazing ability to bring people together.

One thing that stood out, that culminated in the last week, is realizing how I already know what my highest gifts are and that I already know how it feels when I am using them to their highest ability. So, that was wonderful and clarifying. It’s also been really great to see how everyone’s experiences have commonalities and differences and how that contributes to a feeling of spaciousness. It is really nice to be with other people who know what it is like to experience fundamentalism in a similar way.

Maud

“My heart overflows with gratefulness”

Dearest Larisa, I cannot possibly describe the transformative power of being in circle with you and the courageous ones who share the space and the journey. Your gifts are so bright, and your loving presence is not afraid to welcome healing pathways where only ashes and reactivity could be found for many generations. You embody pure love and generosity, bringing healing magic that is gentle and kind. My heart overflows with gratefulness.

Lydia Schosnig
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner